Sephiria Artifacts Guide: Choose, Place, and Build a Run

What an Artifact changes in a run

Artifacts are the decisions that make one Sephiria run feel different from the next. The official Steam description says you collect and upgrade them while climbing the tower, and then arrange them inside the strategic inventory system. TEAM HORAY’s 1.0 announcement puts the total at around 300, so no new player should expect to recognise every pickup immediately.

The useful response to an unfamiliar Artifact is not to chase its rarity or a screenshot. Read its current effect, decide what it would improve for this run, and give it enough board space to prove that decision. A single well-understood effect is more valuable than five items that were placed only because their names sounded strong.

A four-question Artifact decision loop

Use this four-question pass before you commit a new pickup. It keeps the decision tied to the character you are actually playing, instead of forcing the run into somebody else’s finished build.

If one answer is unclear, delay the commitment. You can compare it in a safer moment or inspect it in the menu rather than filling the last empty cells and losing the ability to test what mattered.

• 1. What does this Artifact improve for the way I am fighting right now: survival, weapon use, a resource, a status effect, or another active item?
• 2. Is its current level useful, and can I realistically raise it without damaging the important pieces already on the board?
• 3. Does its Combo help the direction I am already building, or would I be keeping it only because the label looks rare or familiar?
• 4. What space will this take away from the next Artifact or Tablet, and is that trade worth the effect I can actually use?

Read level before you judge the item

A current player-maintained Artifact reference explains that an Artifact has a current level and a level cap, shown in a form such as current level over maximum level. Higher level strengthens its effect only until that cap. Before rearranging the board around an item, inspect both values. Space spent trying to raise a capped Artifact is space you cannot use for another useful effect.

The same reference says Tablet output and direct enchant effects can raise a level, while some Tablet outputs can reduce one. It also says an Artifact that falls below level zero stops triggering its own effect, although it can still count toward a Combo. That can be a deliberate advanced trade, but it is not a default new-player trick: first make sure you know which effect you are giving up.

Build one direction before chasing every Combo

The reference describes each Artifact as carrying zero to two Combo tags and describes 18 Combo types in total. Reaching the required number of matching tags can unlock an additional benefit. That makes Combos meaningful, but it does not mean every matching pickup belongs in every bag.

Start with a visible direction: perhaps the weapon action you are relying on, a resource you keep running out of, a defensive problem, or an active effect you can use consistently. Keep Combo pieces that reinforce that direction. If a new item asks you to abandon a functional board for a completely unrelated tag, wait until you can explain why that switch helps this particular run.

Know whether you are adding a passive or an action

Not every Artifact is something you can forget after placing it. The community reference describes active Artifacts as the ones that add an action to the hotbar after they are placed. Some use MP, while others use a trigger condition or a special cooldown instead. Check the current tooltip and hotbar before assuming a new item will activate itself.

For an early run, one active effect you can remember to use is usually more useful than several buttons you never press. If the new action makes your weapon plan harder to execute, it is reasonable to leave it out until you can test it. The goal is a board that helps you play, not a board that looks complicated.

A quick board check after every meaningful pickup

After adding or moving an Artifact, look for the visible result before you move on. Did its own effect stay enabled? Did the target level change as you expected? Did you accidentally remove the space needed for the Tablet you were planning to place next? This check catches most inventory mistakes while they are still easy to undo mentally.

If the answer remains uncertain, use the current game’s start-menu reference to read the Artifact and Combo text again. The player-maintained FAQ says this reference exists for Artifact effects and Combo effects. For a later comparison, the same FAQ reports damage dummies at several floor entrances; treat their location as version-sensitive, but use any safe repeatable test rather than trusting a guess.

• Effect enabled and still relevant to the current weapon plan.
• Level is below its cap and the Tablet plan does not create an unwanted penalty.
• Combo is helping the board’s direction rather than merely consuming valuable space.

Why this guide does not publish a fixed best-combo list

Official notes show that the item pool changes: the 1.0.19 update added 19 new Artifacts, and later notes fixed individual Artifact behavior. A fixed recommendation without the version, board, and weapon would age quickly and send players toward effects that may have changed.

Use this page as the decision process around a pickup. When we later add a named Artifact entry, it should state the current version, quote the exact in-game effect or reliable evidence, and show what it combines with. Until that evidence exists, an invented tier list would be worse than no recommendation.