Neverwinter Artifact Gear Guide For Module 14

Ever since Rise of Tiamat, the fifth module of Neverwinter, Artifact Gear is a major part of the refining system. Players of the game level up their pieces as they progress, making it a long-term commitment. So it’s advised to choose wisely. Otherwise you’ll just waste tons of refining points when switching later on.

Please note that this article only includes neck and waist pieces, Artifact Weapons have their own guide. Additionally this is no place to look up the best sets for a specific class or build. As part of our gear guides, the article instead aims to provide a basic overview of available Artifact Equipment and where to get it. With that being said, let’s go through your options!

Level 60 Gear

  • Example: Lathander’s Cloak
  • PRO: Cheap; instantly available through main characters
  • CON: Outdated; not endgame viable

For the sake of a complete guide, we’ll touch on level 60 equipment first. It’s still available in some campaign stores, but has no endgame viability. You might want to use it for leveling purposes, but I highly recommend not putting any refining points into it. You will most certainly replace them rather sooner than later.

Item Level 405

This section deals with the gear that ranges from Mod 6 to 12 and features item levels up to 405 on legendary ranks. Although Neverwinter’s Mod 13 introduced a new line of gear with item levels of up to 500, some of the older pieces are still viable thanks to their set bonuses or as budget versions.

Pre Mod 13 Campaign, Dungeon and World Drops

  • Example: Amulet of Tiamat’s Demise
  • PRO: Mostly cheap to reasonably priced on Auction House; some great set bonuses
  • CON: Gated behind RNG; potentially expensive if popular; no state-of-the-art stats

The majority of Artifact Gear drops from campaigns and dungeons. Nearly every module features its own set, and some of them are tied to specific content. The Svardborg Trial for example is the only place to drop the Belt of Valhalla and Cloak of Valhalla. The best way to look up what pieces are available and where they drop is the “Artifact Equipment” category in the collection.

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The more difficult the pieces are to farm and the more popular they are, the more they cost on the Auction House. Although technically outdated since Module 13, the pieces feature some of the stronger artifact set bonuses. Most of the gear is cheap or reasonably priced, but do no longer feature the latest item levels. You can obviously specifically farm content for the gear, but it often makes much more sense to buy it instead thanks to cruel drop rates.

Lockboxes

  • Example: Cloak of the Protector
  • PRO: Cheap on Auction House when included in current lockbox
  • CON: Gated behind real money and RNG; currently outdated

Lockboxes rotate Artifact Gear in their “Equipment Packs” as well. Normally they just contain pieces that drop from other dungeons and campaigns, there is however one lockbox exclusive in the Cloak of the Protector. That one only dropped from The Keep’s Artifact Equipment Pack in the Lockbox of the Nine.

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Gear quickly becomes cheap on the Auction House if it’s included in an active lockbox since everyone is opening the packs and the supply goes up. So it’s always worth looking up whether the current lockbox might contain gear you need. You can obviously also try your luck and open the packs yourself, but you need a lot of those to actually get the piece you want. In most cases it’s better to buy it off the AH instead and since lockboxes do not feature the latest items levels right now anyway, the current recommendation is to stay away.

Stronghold

  • Example: Company Raider Cloak
  • PRO: Easy to farm; good for alts; attribute points on neck pieces
  • CON: Weak set bonus; outdated; require guild affiliation

Players that are members of a guild can access the Stronghold Outfitter that sells unique Artifact Gear. “Company” waist and neck pieces come in three different variations that feature unique combinations of stats and attribute points. Since Company is outdated this is strictly an option for alternate characters or casual players. For the same reason I wouldn’t recommend upgrading these pieces to legendary either. It’s likely that you will switch later. In case an artifact set bonus doesn’t help your build however, or you can’t yet get to superior options, Stronghold gear can make sense since it’s relatively easy to farm at 6,500 Guild Marks and can be supplied to alts.

One unique aspect of Company Artifact Gear definitely is that it features attribute points in neck pieces. So min/maxers want to check whether this helps their build more than other options.

Masterwork II Recipes

  • Example: Rubellite Amulet
  • PRO: More diversity in stats and attribute points
  • CON: Very expensive; weak set bonus; outdated

Just like the Stronghold Company pieces, Artifact Gear from Masterwork Professions extends your range of attribute and stat choices. The Masterwork II recipes feature four different unique waist and neck pieces, but are often overpriced. Getting the necessary recipes is a huge undertaking and reserved for the endgame elite. Even if you’re in a well organized alliance that has access to Masterworks, you still need to supply you crafter with expensive resources to forge your piece of choice. Masterworks generally is for those that want to maximize their builds in every possible way.

Since Module 13 introduced new recipes with Artifact Gear going up to item levels 500, carefully check whether the cost-benefit ratio is still there. If you’re willing to pay for your gear anyway, it probably makes most sense to save a few more ADs and go for Masterwork V stuff instead (see below).

Item Level 500

The Lost City of Omu and Ravenloft introduced a new line of Artifact Gear ranging to item level 500. It’s currently the most you can get.

Mod 13 Campaign, Dungeon and World Drops

  • Example: Wrap of the Serpent
  • PRO: Mostly cheap on Auction House; “bis” stats
  • CON: Gated behind RNG; mediocre set bonuses; strange stats

If you’re looking for the current best items levels, you have to get into Module 13 content. Artifact Gear drops from the Cradle Trial and Hunts, and the pieces form set bonuses with older Artifacts. These sets are in a weird state however. They usually do not offer a better set bonus than precursors, and feature “wrong” stats. The “Serpent” DPS set has defensive stats (Life Steal, Defense, Deflection) for example. So even though the sets do offer more stats overall, you should carefully check whether it’s actually an upgrade for your build.

Masterwork V Recipes

  • Example: Lichstone Sash
  • PRO: More diversity in stats and attribute points; often “bis”
  • CON: Very expensive; weak set bonus

The next source of item level 500 Artifact Gear is Masterworks. The pieces are often “bis” because they offer a wider range of stats and attribute bonuses, but that comes with a hefty price tag. If you want to max out in every possible area though, Masterwork is what you might have to buy into although the sets do not feature a strong bonus unless you’re looking for Recovery.

Also please note that Ravenloft has devalued the current line of Masterwork products, which might make it feel like overspending. Especially in case your build can’t fully utilize the extra stats, I would think twice about upgrading to Masterwork sets.

Ravenloft Sets

  • Example Lacings of the Dead
  • PRO: Most stuff easily and cheaply available through the campaign or Auction House; viable set bonuses
  • CON: Set Artifacts might be expensive or hard to get

Neverwinter Ravenloft introduced fresh item level 500 artifact gear that’s both easy to get and has serviceable set bonuses. So what’s not to like? Honestly, not much! With the exception of the “Barovian” set that drops from the endgame dungeon Castle Ravenloft, all neck and waist pieces can be bought from the campaign store and farmed within days. Additionally all items are unbound and available on the Auction House for mostly reasonable prices. Since the set bonuses are at least viable, this is probably what you should aim for in case you do not already own item level 500 pieces.

The only real downside is that some Artifacts for the set bonuses might be hard to get. The Tarokka Deck requires considerable grind, Thirst access to the latest endgame dungeon, Bloodcrystal Raven Skull doing PVP, and the Apocalypse Dagger waiting for the Day of the Dungeon Master event. You’re even completely out of luck in terms of the Apocalypse set if you either discarded the Dagger or used it as feeder in the refining process back in the day (it was a pretty “meh” item before Mod 14). You can’t re-acquire it right now, meaning that you won’t be able to complete the set.


That’s our overview of available Artifact Gear with all their pros and cons! In case you have any questions or remarks, make sure to post them in the comments below or visit the corresponding thread on our message board!

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j0Shi

j0Shi plays the Neverwinter MMORPG since the open BETA in 2013 and is a regular contributor to the blog and the whole UN:Project. Originally a Guardian Fighter, he has built up ALTs of all classes and plays on BIS/near-BIS level.

5 thoughts on “Neverwinter Artifact Gear Guide For Module 14

  • May 9, 2018 at 1:09 pm
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    Why are you not mentioning the Orcus set, which is still “bis” for some classes?

    • May 9, 2018 at 1:44 pm
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      This guide is more meant to provide basic information about gear options and where to get them. Class and build specific advise like mentioned in the first paragraph can be found elsewhere.

      Cheers!

  • July 17, 2018 at 7:45 am
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    Valhalla neck and waist are currently dirt cheap on PC. I got them for possible future need on my GF for 2k AD. I think they drop from the current lockbox?

    • July 17, 2018 at 8:40 am
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      They do, yes. We’ve reworded the article to not make it look like Valhalla is generally expensive.

  • July 17, 2018 at 10:29 am
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    i haven’t tested it but its been reported that the Apocalypse set is bugged and is currently debuffing the caster not the target. Otherwise it becomes an interesting option for DC despite its lack of wisdom. This would be a huge issue and I’ve seen no response from developers on fixing it (some our even questioning if its a deliberate trolling in the nature of the gear with negative bonuses. If so this would be a very expensive troll

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