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InThe King Is Watching, one of the most exciting moments in each run is choosing a new Artifact. These powerful objects grant you a permanent buff that lasts for the rest of the game, often enough to build your strategy around or shift gears for a new approach.
Of course, with so many to choose from, even picking one from three can be a tough decision. We’ve sorted the game’s extensive list of Artifacts into a tier list to help you pick the best ones for each run. Where do your favorites land?
Once per game, if your castle reaches 0 HP, it regains 20 HP and all enemies are stunned for 7 seconds.
If you need this Artifact to survive, you’re probably in too much trouble to save the run. You might survive another wave, but if you’ve gotten to the point where you’ve hit zero it will probably happen again soon.
Dead Rat
Immediately gain 150 Meat.
Leonid can use this to fuel his HP Boost ability, but otherwise buildings that require Meat need a much more consistent source.
Frag Bomb
Buildings that deal damage deal 25% more.
Normally this would be a great Artifact to build around, but defensive buildings are so rare and prohibitively expensive that it’s usually not worth taking.
Garland
Immediately receive 30 of each resource.
This includes “special resources” likeRelics, so it can be a cheeky way to get an extra purchase out of the Cemetery Trader. However, it also includesBlood, so be careful when Lord Draven is incoming.
Restore 10 Castle HP when each of the next 5 buildings are depleted.
It’s fairly unreliable, and ideally you won’t need it. It’s best combined with the Giant’s Bedding, since Giants deal damage to your castle upon being recruited.
Your Grunt units get 2% more HP and deal 3% more damage for every other Grunt unit on the battlefield.
Grunts are generally too weak to be useful, even with lots of stacking bonuses from this Artifact. You’re much better off building a proper army.
Prospector’s Map
Immediately gain 150 Oil.
you may use the Oil to build an Archmage’s University, if you have the Crystals to consistently use it.
Tax Decree
Immediately gain 150 Flour.
Flour is a bit more useful than Oil or Meat overall, but it’s still better to get a Mill going than to rely on this Artifact.
C-Tier Artifacts
It’s best to take these Artifacts when they’re available as part of a free choice, butsave your Denarii for other things.
Restore 1 Castle HP whenever a friendly unit dies.
This is a good way to recover from a bad wave or two, but ideally you won’t need it.
Get 3 Gold for every point of damage dealt to the Castle.
It’s risky, but it’s a good way to build up gold if you get it early in the game - especially if you have a way to build back up.
Immediately receive 3 large resource packs (3 picks each of 90).
This Artifact is slightly better than the other one-time resources, since you can save the picks.
Indestructible Shield
All your units have a 10% chance of ignoring damage when hit.
It’s better than not having it, but too small a dodge chance to be effective.
Iron Hoe
Starter buildings last twice as long.
You generally don’t want to be stuck relying on Basic Production buildings, but if that’s what it takes to win the game, this Artifact can help seal the deal.
Mystice Tome
Immediately learn four spells, chosen at random.
Four spells is okay, but it’s a roll of the dice that you’ll get what you need. Also, remember that if you don’t have enough room, any extra spells that you would learn are just lost.
Refunds 10% of resources spent to construct buildings.
The extra resources can really add up, especially if you get the Piggy Bank early.
Every 40s, one of your troops is replaced by a Scarecrow when slain, as if you’d cast the Scarecrow spell.
It’s useful, but hardly a game-changer.
Temporary Units have a 50% chance of respawning when their timer expires.
Since Ruin Scouts are technically Temporary, the Second Chance can sometimes bring them back in the Graveyard.
Morale is very important, and every little bit helps!
Triples the timer for all Temporary Units.
Again, more useful for Ruin Scouts and the occasional use of Necromancy.
Sweeping Blade
Sawmills and Trees deal persistent damage to enemies while active.
You can do some decent damage if you load up on lumber buildings and keep your Gaze on them, but that’s a lot of work and commitment to a single resource.
Whenever a building is depleted, a Temporary Toad Unit spawns.
you’re able to get a few Toads if you time your selection of this Artifact with your starter buildings expiring, but you can potentially also clog up your Troop Limit this way.
B-Tier Artifacts
There’s rarely a bad time to pick one of these baseline Artifacts, unless there’s a better one up for grabs.
Analysis
Blade of Vengeance
Deals 50 damage to a randomly-selected enemy whenever one of your troops dies.
Unless you’re playing as Leonid, you’re able to expect lots of casualties. You may as well make your enemies pay for each loss you suffer.
Blood and Wine Amphora
Defeated enemies drop 2 Wine each.
It’s a decent source of Wine if you don’t have a Winery operating.
It basically saves you having to watch a Crystal Mine.
Cupbearer’s Vessel
Produces 1 Wine every 10 seconds for every Well or Big Well in your city.
Your troops will usually drink wine faster than you can produce it unless you have a lot of Wells, but it’s a guaranteed Morale boost at the start of most fights.
Enchanted Totem
Places two Standard Seals on random tiles in your city.
You don’t get any control over where they go, but Seals are a great buff wherever they land.
Spawns 2 temprorary Crossbowmen at the start of each wave.
Crossbowmen are a very solid ranged unit; if you build an Archery Range and upgrade it with Stunning Arrows, the spawned archers will give you two more stuns per wave.
Free Housing
The next 3 structures you build get their costs refunded.
attempt to use this on big, expensive buildings; it’s a waste if you just plant trees.
Golden Bull
Get 25 Wheat at the beginning of each wave.
The Wheat can add up incrementally, which is good because it can run out fast as you reinforce.
Hand of the Avenged
Casts Wrath on a random friendly unit each time one of your troops dies.
An attack speed buff is nice; just be sure that your entire army isn’t annihilated or there won’t be anyone left to get Wrath!
That translates to a quick production buff.
Indescribable Figurine
Once every 140s, a friendly unit that dies will resurrect as a Dreadful Creature.
Dreadful Creatures are powerful Temporary Units, well worth letting a Grunt or Warrior transform.
All current and future troops' max HP is increased by 30.
More useful early in the game when you have smaller units, who have more to gain.
Restores 3 Castle HP every time you cast a spell.
This is probably the best of the castle restoration Artifacts, especially if you have a reliable way of getting new spells.
Get one of each Basic Production Wheat Field, Sawmill, Iron Mine, and Clay Mine
These buildings are actually more valuable than they sound, so Means of Production is a very worthwhile Artifact despite being single-use.
Mage’s Notebook
Immediately get 2 spell picks.
Remember, if you have six spells, any picks are discarded. ensure you have room!
Metal Mask
Get 3 Ore each time you kill an enemy.
Ore is easier to come by than a lot of the other Mask resources, but it’s important enough that you never want to be caught without it.
Moon Talisman
Get 3 Healer Mages each time you upgrade your Gaze.
This is a very good early pick, but loses value the later in the game it shows up.
Porcelain Chip
Get 25 Clay at the beginning of each wave.
Clay is only valuable sometimes, depending on your build, but when it’s part of your strategy it’s vital.
Red Eye
All buildings work 5% faster.
It’s a small bonus, but a helpful one, and stacks with any other enhancers you can scrape together.
It’s like Homemade Fireworks, but all at once.
Rune Shard
Reduces the cooldown of one King Ability by 25% (which one depends on the color of the Shard).
All are useful, but you’ll want different ones specifically depending on which King you’re playing as.
Instantly receive one each of the blueprints for Magic School, Magic College, and Archmage’s University.
You’ll need the resources to actually build them, of course. Alternately, Leo can sacrifice the Blueprints for Morale.
Tasty Fruit
Increases your Unit Limit by 2.
The extra troops are very useful, but not enough to completely overwhelm the enemy.
Vine Mask
Get 4 Grapes each time you kill an enemy.
Useful for fueling a Winery or recruiting units that need Grapes.
Wooden Key
Get 3 Wood whenever you create a new unit.
This is essentially 3 Wood each time a unit dies - you just need to be able to replace them.
Old Dice
Get 40 of a randomly-selected resource at the beginning of each wave.
You can get some surprisingly useful drops this way.
Voodoo Beads
Lets you reroll once for free each time you choose a reward.
If the reroll doesn’t work out, you may still recycle the pick for extra Denarii.
Walrus Mask
All your troops deal 10% more damage to bosses.
This is a very good Artifact, but you need to survive to get to boss fights. It’s also more helpful against some bosses than others, as foes like Mortifax are very good at locking down your troops.
A-Tier Artifacts
These Artifacts are good enough to base your strategy around.Pay attention to the classes of your units in particular.
Ancestral Power
Spells deal double damage.
Focus on offensive spells and cast them as often as you can.
Golden Wings
Flying units get a 30% buff to movement and attack speed.
Flying troops are hard to come by, by the buff is worth it if you can get them.
Spells deal 3% more damage for every Arcane unit on the battlefield.
You’ll need plenty of Arcane units and frequent casting for this to be useful, but in the hands of a character like Spellus it can be devastating.
Magic Prism
Each spell has a 30% chance to be cast twice.
Have at least one spell research building active to make sure you always have something to cast.
Memento Mori
All Riders regenerate 1 HP per second.
Goose Riders, Squires, and to a certain extent Worm Riders spend the least time in combat generally, focusing instead on hitting and running, so they have the most time to regenerate between fights.
Samurai Helm
All Warrior troops get a 10% buff to HP, damage, and attack speed.
Warrior buffs are fairly common, especially combined with Ranged units and other Warriors, so this is an easy Artifact to build around.
Stunning Mace
Champion units' attacks stun enemies once every 20 seconds.
Champions are expensive but very powerful, and the stun makes them even more worth the investment.
Each Warrior on the battlefield gives your Ranged troops a stacking 4% chance of firing twice with each attack.
Combines very well with the Samurai Helm and Warrior/Ranged builds in general.
All your units gain 5 bonus HP each time you cast a spell.
Again, make sure you always have spells to cast.
Rusty Bell
Summons 2 Goose Riders as Temporary Units at the start of each wave.
Goose Riders are good in general, but if you can get five on the field at once they grant a powerful buff to Warriors. The Rusty Bell is a great way to make that happen.
Lets you sell Clay, Grapes, and Crystals at the Market.
Clay and Crystals aren’t used in every build, so converting them to Gold is a great use for the Market later on. That goes double if you’ve upgraded it for the Morale bonus.
S-Tier Artifacts
It doesn’t get any better than these amazing Artifacts. If you see one, take it.
All resources are produced 10% faster
The game is all about resource production; naturally, you’ll want to do so faster!
Comfy Bed
The capacity of all current and future Barracks increases by one each.
Be sure to recruit troops that don’t fit onto the battlefield to the Barracks; that way you can reinforce straight away as you suffer casualties.
Dummy Target
All troops are produced 20% faster.
Fast reinforcements are important, especially during boss fights. Just be sure your resource production can keep up with costs.
Eye of the Storm
All your troops deal 20% more damage for the rest of the game.
Cast Wrath whenever possible to get even more damage out of your troops.
Golden Arrow
Bosses take 10% of their HP in damage as soon as they appear.
A head start is always welcome, especially on higher Threat Levels.
Hearty Borscht
Increases your troop limit by 6.
The more troops you’re able to fit on the battlefield, the more damage you’ll do to enemies. If you can support more Barracks to keep units in reserve, so much the better.
Invigorating Nectar
All your troops heal for 15% of their maximum health at the beginning of each wave.
This Artifact goes a long way toward improving your overall survivability. Fewer casualties means less time spend replacing dead units.
All current and future troops' max HP is increased by 75.
With more than twice the bonus of the Iron Helm, the Medal is good even for Champions, and makes Grunts practically Warriors in terms of durability.
All current and future troops' max HP is increased by 20%.
This works wonders on Riders, Champions, and some Warriors, especially when you’ve stacked it with other buffs.
Ram’s Horn
A random friendly unit restores 20% health whenever an enemy dies.
Use Prophecies to balance between swarms and elite enemies; your troops can then use the swarms to heal without much danger.
Royal Rune
All King Abilities cool down 25% faster.
King Abilities can make or break your run, so using them more often is a huge advantage.
Stone Gaze
The building in the center tile is always active, even if your Gaze isn’t on it.
Place the Monument to the King’s Gaze in the center to activate four more buildings. Alternately, you can place a Tavern or Arena for Morale, or just your most crucial production building. The Stone Gaze is extremely versatile.
Trusty Compass
Places a Legendary Seal on three randomly-selected tiles.
Legendary Seals dramatically speed up their buildings; the earlier you take this Artifact, the more you’ll get out of it.
