Summary
the newest product from beloved developers Ghost Ship Gamesis out in Early Access, and it’s calledDeep Rock Galactic: Survivor. This is obviously a game that takes place in theDeep Rock Galacticuniverse, but instead of being a cooperativeobjective-based extraction shooter,Deep Rock Galactic: Survivoris aVampire Survivors-esque game whereplayers control one dwarfwho uses multiple weapons at once.
As players dig deeper, mine more materials, and advance further in their objectives, they’re bound to unlock more and more Artifacts to find on future runs. And, among all the Artifacts the game offers, these seem to be the best ones to keep an eye out for.
Delicious BLT
+70 Map HP & +2 Life Regeneration.
First up is the BLT Ration Pack, one of the best Artifacts in the game, hands down, in terms of survivability. Not only does this Artifact make it possible for players to charge through a wave of Glyphids without dying, but it also makes it possible to regenerate health withoutputting any points into the Health Regen Upgrade. Compared to the immediate benefit gained from grabbing this Artifact, there really aren’t any other Artifact options that even compare.
Pickled Nitra
Relish the Pain
Increase your Damage by 2 percent and decrease your Move Speed by 0.5 percent for every Nitra you currently have.
Actually unlocking Pickled Nitra can be a real commitment, considering 1337 damage in one hit is pretty absurdly high. But, with a build centered around high-damage weaponry, Critical Chance percentage, and Critical Damage buffs, it’s possible.
Anyway, once players actually unlock this Artifact and find it in a subsequent run, hitting for thousands of damage becomes a lot more viable. Of course, the decrease in Move Speed can be pretty rough, but as long as players counter this by occasionally taking Move Speed level buffs and by spacing themselves properly, Pickled Nitra is far more beneficial than it is detrimental.
Popup Tripod
Pillar of Society
Increase your Fire Rate and Reload Speed when standing still by +2 percent each for 2 seconds. Stacks up to 10 times.
There are usually a couple of characters or even item builds inVampire Survivors-like games that are focused on the idea of standing still and essentially letting the game ‘play itself’.Garlic + Holy Bible inVampire Survivorsis a good example of this, but inDRG: Sthis playstyle is pretty much what the Engineer’s turrets were designed around.
So, getting the Popup Tripod on the Engineer is an easy recommendation, but it’s also a great item to grab on just about any Dwarf. As long as players don’t have to constantly move to aim their directional weaponry such as the Lead Storm Minigun or the Warthog Shotgun, this Artifact is a huge boon.
XP Scanner
N/A
You get a small chance to find XP, when mining any kind of rock.
Nitra Scanner
Gotta Stay Nitrated
You get a small chance to find Nitra, when mining any kind of rock.
Gold Scanner
Get That Midas Touch
You get a small chance to find Gold, when mining any kind of rock.
Next up for the Artifact recommendations are the three different ‘Scanner’ Artifacts, the XP Scanner, the Nitra Scanner, and the Gold Scanner. The XP Scanner is available to the players by default inDRG: S, but the Nitra and Gold Scanners need to be unlocked first. Thankfully, doing this is very easy as gathering 250 of either mineral is something players will end up doing passively over the course of a couple of runs.
Regardless, all three of these Scanners are worth grabbing if players find themselves mining a lot more than they are farming XP, and even if they fight Glyphids more often these Artficats still help them out while they’re digging out the area around the Supply Pod or digging through walls to escape the swarm right behind them.
Squint EE5
Squint & Squeeze the Trigger
+30 percent Critical Chance, +100 percent Critical Damage, & -30 percent Damage.
The ‘viability’ of Crit Chance and Crit Damage inDeep Rock Galactic: Survivorreally depends on the player’s loadout. Depending on the weapons they choose at 5, 15, and 25 it may end up being a lot more beneficial to go for overall damage buffs than rely on Crit-based upgrades.
However, if players find themselves at all building into Crit Chance in the run, the Squint EE5 is absolutely an Artifact worth keeping an eye out for. That damage debuff it gives is pretty huge, but as long as players have even 20 percent Crit Chance by the time they pick this Artifact up their damage output shouldn’t drop much and will instead jump up due to all the Critical Hits they’ll be giving out.
Barley Bulb Juice
It’s Got Electrolytes
Gain a temporary Move Speed buff when standing still of +5 percent Move Speed for 3 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times.
Depending onthe ‘type’ of roguelike gamesomeone is playing, the Movement Speed stat can really vary in how useful it is to invest in. For example,in a game likeRisk of Rain 2, Movement Speed is one of the best stats in the game. And thankfully, this is also the case withDRG: Sas the more Move Speed one has, the faster they’re able to run around mining, completing objectives, and picking up EXP.
Barley Bulb Juice is great for this, as it not only synergizes well with other Artifacts built around standing still such as the Popup Tripod, but it also makes it very easy to reposition when enemies get close to a player who is stationary.
Nitragenic Powder
Sprinkle of Nitra
Increase your Critical Chance by 0.5 percent for every Nitra you currently have.
Last up is another Artifact that’ll takeDRG: Splayers quite a few runs to unlock, the Nitragenic Powder. Requiring around 10 times the amount of Nitra to be mined as the Nitra Scanner, the Nitragenic Powder is thankfully worth all that effort. If players find themselves unable to get up to that 75 percent Crit Chance needed to get the Squint EE5 Artifact unlocked, they’ll be able to do it in a single attempt by getting the Nitragenic Powder. A player with this Artifact simply needs to hoard all their Nitra instead of spending it in between levels, and they’ll find that their Critical Chance stat will skyrocket without really needing to invest in it much at all.
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivorreleased February 14th, 2024 is available on PC.
