Artifacts in Risk of Rain Returns allow you to modify the game in certain ways to make it easier, harder, or just to spice things up a bit. Each artifact has a different acquisition method, but you usually just have to find them somewhere in the maps.
This article covers how to find the 4 Artifact Shards needed to unlock the Artifact of Dissonance. We’ll first go over how to get the shards and then quickly explain what you get when you collect all of them.
How to Find the 4 Hidden Artifact Shards
Each of the 4 Artifact Shards can be found in some part of one of Risk of Rain Returns’ maps.
The first Artifact Shard can be found in the Sunken Tomb environment, on the Third Level. It’s actually really easy to get.
All you need to do is get to the bottom left corner of the level, near a small ledge, and jump off the ledge while hugging the wall. You can even see the Artifact Shard.
The next Artifact Shard is in the Ancient Valley, another option for the Third Level. On top of a mountain, there’s a temple like in the image below.
If you go to the right side, you’ll find a rope like in the image below. Climb down it and you’ll get into a hidden area with the second Artifact Shard.
The third Artifact Shard is in Hive Cluster, an option for the Fourth Level of your run. On the top layer of the stage, somewhere near the center of it, you’ll see the artifact in a small pocket.
Get to the ledge of the rock it’s in, jump down and hug the left wall and you’ll get inside the hidden passageway to access the Artifact Shard.
The last shard is in the Magma Barracks environment, the other option for your Fourth Level. Go to the top of the stage and look for another rock where you can see the Artifact Shard inside.
In the rock that’s next to it, there is a hidden passageway to go down. Drop down into the passageway and jump across to the room with the Artifact Shard.
NOTE: Artifact Shards do not spawn in every variation of the environment. Meaning, sometimes you’ll have to retry a few times to get the variation that has it.
How to Use the 4 Hidden Artifact Shards
Once you get the 4 hidden Artifact Shards, you’ll unlock the Artifact of Dissonance.
Enabling the artifact in your menu at the start of a run will cause enemies to appear outside of their usual environments. This means that any enemy can appear in any stage, which is great for adding variety to your runs.
Credit to Storm_ for the images used.
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