Legion - Artifact Weapons

Artifact Weapons
You will use your Artifact Weapon throughout Legion, powering it up with Artifact Power, Traits, and Relics.

• You can obtain your first Artifact Weapon at level 100 after the Broken Shore intro.
• Each spec has a specific intro for them, explaining some of the story and how they obtain the weapon.
• You can obtain your other Artifact Weapons at level 102, completing the artifact intro for each new weapon.
• You can transmog your Artifact weapon into another weapon model, just like any other weapon.
• You can transmog the main artifact weapon and the offhand separately.
• Artifact Weapons are fully functional in PvP.

Artifact Power
Artifact Power is rewarded from many different activities in game and is spent on Artifact Traits.

• You can keep track of your current Artifact Power by shift right clicking on the weapon or looking at your Artifact Power bar while the Artifact you are interested in is equipped.
• The cost of purchasing Artifact Traits doesn't increase linearly. See the graph below (click and drag to select a range) for the cost progression.
• The cost of the first 13 traits is low enough that you should be able to purchase them all just from leveling as long as you grab some treasures.
• Almost any activity that rewards you in some way can reward Artifact Power in Legion. This is usually through an item that can be used to give the Artifact Power to your currently equipped weapon.
• Artifact Power gains can be increased by increasing your Artifact Knowledge level.

Artifact Knowledge
Artifact Knowledge increases your Artifact Power gains by providing a bonus Artifact Power multiplier.

• Artifact Knowledge helps players to catch up and increases Artifact Power gains over time for all Artifact weapons on that character.
• Artifact Knowledge is per character, so you will need to do the research on each character individually to benefit from this system.
• Unlocking Artifact Knowledge is done by a quest you get at Level 110 that sends you around the world to collect some ancient tomes.
• The followup to this quest introduces you to the Artifact Knowledge work orders system.
• Each Artifact Knowledge work order takes 500 x Order Resources and five days.
• The work order completion time will be reduced as the expansion progresses.
• Work orders reward Artifact Research Notes, which increases your Artifact Knowledge level by one.
• There are a total of 25 Artifact Knowledge Levels, ranging from a 25% bonus to almost 25000%. The bonus doesn't increase linearly, it is closer to exponential.
• Artifact Knowledge will not change items that you already have that grant Artifact Power, so there is no need to hold on to them.
• Artifact Knowledge will apply to treasures and quests, but it is still okay to just to do the quests and loot the treasures as you come across them.

Artifact Traits
You can use your Artifact Power to purchase Artifact Traits.

• Traits can be either passive or active, with passive traits usually empowering your regular abilities in some way.
• Traits are unlocked by spending Artifact Power and can only be unlocked if one of the traits directly connected to them has been fully unlocked.
• You need to visit the forge in your class hall to purchase a trait.
• Purchasing traits grants an additional 0.75% Stamina, up to 34 traits. You can see this in the top left corner of the Artifact weapon window.
• You need to visit an NPC in your class hall to respec your Artifact.
• Your initial trait is free and is an active ability.
• More powerful abilities are marked by a gold dragon border on the trait.
• After filling out the main trait tree, you can put another 20 points into a bonus trait that grants you additional health, healing, or damage. This ranges from a 5 to 15% bonus.

Artifact Respec Cost
The current cost to respec your artifact is however much the next trait or rank would cost you. If your next trait costs 525 Artifact Power, you will need to spend 525 Artifact Power to unlearn the traits you previously knew.



Artifact Relics
You can add Relics to your Artifact weapon to increase it's item level and the number of ranks of traits.

• Rather than getting weapon drops in Legion, you will use Relic drops to empower your weapon.
• Each Artifact weapon initially has two slots open for relics, with a certain school of magic type on each slot, limiting which relics can be inserted.
• You can unlock a third relic slot by completing your order hall campaign.
• A relic will show you how many item levels it grants to your Artifact weapon in the tooltip, along with how many ranks of a trait it grants.
• Relics grant you the extra rank and the point in that trait automatically.
• Hovering over a relic will put a glow around the trait on the Artifact weapon window.
• Relics have an item level and quality, just like a regular armor or weapon item.
• If you replace a relic with a new one, the old relic will be destroyed.
• Relics can come from quests, dungeons, raids, world bosses, and crafting.
• Relics that do drop from a dungeon or raid can be randomly upgraded, just like other raid loot.
• There are a few Bind on Equip relics of each type, usually crafted or uncommon quality drops.

Artifact Appearances
Each Artifact has four different models and one hidden model, with each model having four different color variations. An additional sixth model was added to the game but doesn't have a source yet.

Base Skin

• Unlocked by default
• Recover one of the Pillars of Creation
• Recover Light's Heart and bring it to the safety of your Order Hall
• Complete your first major campaign effort with your order

Second Model Variation

• Complete your class hall campaign
• Unlock every Artifact trait
• Research the full history of your artifact in your class hall
• Complete the achievement, "This Side Up"

Third Model Variation - PvE

• Complete the quest line, "Balance of Power"
• Complete the achievements, "Unleashed Monstrosities"
• Complete a Challenge Mode Dungeon using a Level 15 keystone
• Complete the achievement, "Glory of the Legion Hero"

Fourth Model Variation - PvP

• Complete the quest, "The Victor's Spoils" after reaching Prestige Level 1, rank 50
• Reach Prestige Level 5 and earn a Crest of Heroism
• Reach Prestige Level 9 and earn a Crest of Carnage
• Reach Prestige Level 13 and earn a Crest of Devastation

Fifth Model Variation - Hidden

• Varies per spec
• Complete 100 dungeons using a hidden artifact appearance.
• Complete 200 World Quests using a hidden artifact appearance.
• Kill 1,000 enemy players using a hidden artifact appearance.

Artifact Effects and Hidden Appearance
Some of the Artifacts have a special hidden ability that may be helpful in combat or just cosmetic. Every spec has one unique hidden model they need to acquire to begin to unlock the rest of the color variants.



Artifact Achievements
There are lots of artifact achievements, with many for unlocking the different appearances.

Name	Side	Points	Category
Arsenal of Power Obtain every artifact available to your class.		10	Artifacts
Artifact or Artifiction Reach Artifact Knowledge level 10 through the researchers in your Class Hall.		10	Artifacts
Fighting with Style: Classic Unlock all 4 color variations for your original artifact appearance.		10	Artifacts
Fighting with Style: Upgraded Unlock all 4 color variations for your upgraded artifact appearance.		10	Artifacts
Fighting with Style: Valorous Unlock all 4 color variations for your valorous artifact appearance.		10	Artifacts
Fighting with Style: War-torn Unlock all 4 color variations for your war-torn artifact appearance.	Alliance	10	Artifacts
Fighting with Style: War-torn Unlock all 4 color variations for your war-torn artifact appearance.	Horde	10	Artifacts
Forged for Battle Complete your Order Campaign and unlock a new appearance for your artifact weapon.		10	Artifacts
Honoring the Past Unlock a new color variant for your artifact by honoring its past.			Artifacts
Improving on History Complete the quest line "Balance of Power," unlocking a new appearance for your artifact weapon.		10	Artifacts
Part of History Learn everything there is to know about an artifact weapon through the researchers in your Class Hall.		10	Artifacts
Power Realized Unlock every Artifact Trait for a single artifact weapon.		10	Artifacts
The Prestige Successfully reach Prestige level 1, rank 50 and be recognized for your valor by the leaders of the Alliance.	Alliance	10	Artifacts
The Prestige Successfully reach Prestige level 1, rank 50 and be recognized for your valor by the leaders of the Horde.	Horde	10	Artifacts