Artifacts

An Artifact is a new type of gear that you will slot into a new equipment slot, and that you can rank up and fortify to unlock powerful bonuses. Unlike other types of gear that you replace frequently as you advance in Combat Rating, Artifacts require a long term investment and grow with your character. Many Artifacts will also grant new Passive or Active abilities in addition to stats, and will provide new options for how you build or play your character.

Obtaining Artifacts
You will get your first Artifact by completing the new Artifacts Mission from John Constantine (available at level 20). Once completed, you can obtain additional Artifacts from Constantine in the Watchtower or Hall of Doom for Marks of Victory.

Upgrading Artifacts
In your inventory, we’ve added a new tab called Artifacts. Once you have an Artifact and some Nth Metal, you can combine the two to add Item Experience to the Artifact. Different kinds of Nth Metal are worth different amounts of Item Experience. Get enough Item Experience into your Artifact and it will increase in Rank. Each Rank gives a small, exponentially increasing stat boost. Every 20 Ranks is a Milestone Rank, which offer larger bonuses and require specific Catalysts to break through.

Nth Metal
Nth Metal is the core reagent for your Artifact. Once you’ve acquired your first Artifact, you’ll be able to find Nth Metal as a rare drop from defeating NPCs. In addition, you’ll be able to get large caches of Nth Metal by completing the Vault and the Stabilizer Event. Nth Metal comes in various qualities, with rarer, more refined pieces granting larger amounts of Item Experience when used to fortify your Artifact.

Catalysts
Catalysts are special items required to break through Milestone Ranks. These can be acquired by completing specific Duos, Alerts, and Raids throughout DCUO. Each Milestone Rank requires a different and specific combination of Catalysts, which in turn should bring some traffic to the places where they’re found.