Sandustry Wiki

Artifacts & Augments Guide

Artifacts are the remains of the planet’s ancient civilization. Each one is hidden behind an environmental puzzle, and claiming it permanently improves your character or tools through Augments. This guide covers what Artifacts do, how to claim them, common puzzle types, and when to hunt them.

What Artifacts Are

Artifacts sit in deliberately arranged underground chambers. Unlike normal cave generation, these rooms are symmetrical, enclosed, or built around a single obstacle. If a chamber looks too intentional, it probably is.

Key facts:

  • The first Artifact you recover unlocks the Ancient Technology Steam achievement.
  • Artifacts are found on specific tiles or structures inside these rooms.
  • The Locator is unlocked at Tier 5 for 3,000 Gold. Fill it with Voidjuice to scan for hidden alien artifacts nearby.

The official wiki does not yet have a dedicated Artifacts page, so the exact total count in Early Access and the full Augment list are still being documented by the community.

Rewards: Augments and the Augment Forge

Claiming an Artifact advances your Augment Forge progress and offers a permanent upgrade choice. Reported rewards include:

AugmentEffect
Swift IFaster movement speed.
Triple ShotWeapon augment that changes how the Gun fires.

Augments can improve:

  • Utility items: Gun, Rocket Launcher, Shovel.
  • Personal mobility: movement speed, boost speed, and boost duration.

Each Artifact appears to advance a counter, such as “1/5 toward Triple Shot.” Collecting multiple Artifacts unlocks further choices at the Forge. Exact thresholds are not yet fully verified.

How to Claim an Artifact

  1. Reach the chamber and solve its puzzle.
  2. Interact with the Artifact itself. Reaching the room is not enough — confirm the reward counter advances before leaving.
  3. Choose the Augment when prompted.

Puzzle Archetypes

These patterns have been verified by multiple players.

Frostbed over Water

The Artifact lies past a body of Water, with Frostbed suspended above it.

  1. Break the Frostbed with any tool that affects it, such as the Shovel or Gun.
  2. Snow falls into the Water and freezes it into Ice.
  3. Cross the Ice and interact with the Artifact.

This room teaches the Snow + Water → Ice interaction.

Dark Maze

  • Bring a light source: the Flashlight (Tier 2, 600 Gold) or the Flare Gun (Tier 1, 150 Gold).
  • Follow corridors, backtrack at dead ends, and watch for the Artifact tile.

Blocked Entrance

  • Inspect the blocking material first. Ask: can the Shovel affect it? Can it burn? Can the Gun destroy it? Is Water part of the solution?
  • Burn-gated chambers need the Flamethrower (Tier 2, 400 Gold).
  • If none of your current tools work, mark the location and return after the next meaningful unlock.

When to Hunt Artifacts

Artifact hunting should run alongside factory progression, not replace it.

Solve the room when…Walk away when…
It is already on your exploration route.None of your tools affect the obvious obstacle.
You recognize the puzzle pattern.You are making huge mining detours.
You have the right tool ready.The factory has a clearer blocker.
You are one or two interactions away from finishing.You are burning resources without learning anything.

A good exploration kit includes: a light source, the Grappling Hook, the Flamethrower, and Pipes or Pumps for water puzzles.

General Exploration Tips

  • Follow intentional cave clues — arrows, structured rooms, and unusual material layouts — before brute-force mining.
  • Some puzzles require tools or resources you do not yet have. Note the spot and come back.
  • Freezing a bridge across teleporter gaps is often the intended solution.
  • If trapped, use the unstuck command from the pause menu.
  • A Flamethrower beats solid ice stalactites more easily than a Rocket Launcher.
  • The Laser (Tier 5) consumes a lot of power but tunnels through surface obstacles quickly.

Sources

This guide is a rewritten compilation based on:

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