You’ve been there. You’re forty minutes into a run, the screen is a kaleidoscopic mess of purple void energy and explosions, and suddenly a Wandering Vagrant one-shots you because you blinked. It’s frustrating. But then you remember there’s a way to basically play god. In the world of Petrichor V, we call those artifacts (or as the Russian-speaking community and deep-wiki lurkers often search for them: реликты).
Honestly, playing without them is fine for the purists, but if you haven’t tried a "Command and Sacrifice" run, you haven't lived. It turns the game from a desperate scramble for survival into a calculated power fantasy.
What Exactly Are Risk of Rain Wiki Реликты?
In the Risk of Rain universe—both the 2D "Returns" version and the 3D sequel—artifacts are permanent gameplay modifiers. They aren't items you pick up in a chest. You toggle them in the lobby before the drop-pod even touches the dirt. Some make the game a living nightmare (looking at you, Artifact of Glass), while others, like the Artifact of Command, let you choose exactly which item drops from a crate.
The community uses the term реликты interchangeably with artifacts because, well, that’s how they translate. Whether you're browsing the English wiki or the Russian one, the goal is the same: find the hidden codes, survive the trial, and break the game’s rules.
Unlocking Artifacts in Risk of Rain 2
If you're playing the 3D sequel, you can't just stumble upon these. You have to put in the work at Sky Meadow, which is always the fifth stage of a loop.
Deep underneath the main floating islands of Sky Meadow, there’s a massive structure called the Compound Generator. It’s a 3x3 grid of stone cylinders that you can interact with to change their symbols (Square, Circle, Triangle, and Diamond).
💡 You might also like: Resident Evil Karl Heisenberg: Why This Magneto Wannabe Is Actually Village’s Best Villain
The Trial of Bulwark’s Ambry
Once you punch in a valid code—and I'll list the heavy hitters in a second—a portal opens to Bulwark’s Ambry. This is a pocket dimension where the artifact you're trying to unlock is active against you. If you’re trying to unlock the Artifact of Evolution, the monsters will literally be holding items like Crowbars and Ukuleles while they try to end your run.
To win, you have to:
- Collect Artifact Keys that drop from enemies.
- Use those keys on the giant floating orb (the Artifact Reliquary) in the center.
- Repeat this until the orb shatters.
Pro-tip: Don't hoard the keys. Using multiple keys at once doesn't do extra damage; it just wastes them. Use one, wait for the animation, then use the next.
The Most Essential Artifact Codes (The Cheat Sheet)
If you're looking for the specific "реликты" that everyone actually uses, here are the patterns.
Artifact of Command (The Best One)
This is the one that lets you choose your items. It removes the RNG.
💡 You might also like: Kim Possible A Sitch in Time Game: What Most People Get Wrong
- Code: Square, Square, Square | Square, Square, Square | Triangle, Triangle, Triangle
- Why use it: You can finally build that "100% crit chance" build without praying to the RNG gods.
Artifact of Sacrifice
Monsters drop items on death, but chests no longer spawn.
- Code: Triangle, Triangle, Triangle | Triangle, Triangle, Triangle | Triangle, Diamond, Triangle
- Why use it: It pairs perfectly with Command. You just sit in one spot, farm enemies, and watch the loot pile up.
Artifact of Glass
You deal 500% damage, but you only have 10% of your maximum health.
- Code: Diamond, Diamond, Diamond | Diamond, Diamond, Diamond | Diamond, Diamond, Diamond
- Why use it: It makes the game a "one-shot or be one-shot" experience. It’s stressful. It’s fast. It’s glorious.
Artifact of Swarms
Monster spawns are doubled, but their health is halved.
- Code: Circle, Circle, Triangle | Triangle, Diamond, Triangle | Triangle, Circle, Circle
The Difference in Risk of Rain Returns
If you’ve hopped over to Risk of Rain Returns, the process for finding these реликты is way more "classic." There's no code generator. Instead, you have to find them hidden in the geometry of the levels themselves.
For example, the Artifact of Command in Returns is tucked away in the Hive Cluster. You have to look for vines that are literally invisible or blinking in and out of existence. It’s a platforming challenge that requires a lot more patience than the 3D version.
Another tricky one is the Artifact of Origin. You can't even see this one until you've beaten the final boss (Providence) with all the other core artifacts enabled. It’s the ultimate "I beat the game" trophy.
Why the Lore Matters (Sorta)
There's actually a bit of a tragic story behind these things. According to the lore logs, the artifacts were created by the two brothers, Providence and Mithrix. They were experiments in shaping reality. When you're using the Artifact of Vengeance (which spawns a doppelganger of yourself every 10 minutes), you're essentially playing with the same technology that created the Umbrae.
The "Artifact Key" itself is described as a memory of better times between the brothers before they had their massive falling out that led to the moon being a prison. Kind of heavy for a game about shooting space lemurians, right?
Common Misconceptions About Реликты
A lot of players think that turning on artifacts disables achievements. It doesn't. In most cases, you can still unlock new characters and items while artifacts are active. This is why the Artifact of Command is so popular for finishing those annoying "reach stage 20" or "kill a boss in 15 seconds" challenges.
However, be warned: using certain artifacts (like Dissonance, which lets monsters spawn anywhere) can make some specific stage-based unlocks harder because the enemy scaling gets weirdly unpredictable.
How to Optimize Your Runs
If you want the "meta" way to play, you combine Command, Sacrifice, and Swarms.
🔗 Read more: Apple Arcade Free Trial: How to Actually Get the Most Out of It Without Paying a Cent
- Swarms doubles the number of enemies.
- Sacrifice makes enemies drop items.
- Command lets you pick those items.
Basically, you get twice the chances for item drops. By the time you hit the second loop, you'll be so overpowered that the game might actually lag. It’s the closest thing to a "creative mode" you can get without installing mods.
To get started on your collection, head to the fifth stage in your next run. Look for the massive hole in the ground at Sky Meadow. Drop down, find the grid, and start with the Command code. It’s the single most important реликт you’ll ever unlock.
Once you have the Artifact of Command, your next move should be focusing on the Artifact of Sacrifice in the Magma Barracks (Returns) or Sky Meadow (RoR2). Combining these two allows you to ignore the gold economy entirely and focus purely on combat efficiency. After that, go for Swarms to increase the drop rate even further.