Neverwinter Artifact Weapon Guide for Mod 14

Ever since Tyranny of Dragons, the fourth module of Neverwinter, Artifact Weapons are a major part of the refining system and gear progression. Players of the game level up their weapons as they move up, making any set a long-term commitment. So it’s advised to pick your weapon wisely. Otherwise you’ll just waste tons of refining points when switching later on.

[blog_subscription_form]

If you’re a regular visitor of our site, you certainly know that we already break down new Artifact Weapon additions individually when they get released. This guide however is aimed at helping you through the Artifact Weapon choices in general. As such, it’s mostly suited for new players that want to have an overview about the options they have. Please note that this is no class specific guide. Your final choice obviously also highly depends on what class and build you plan to run.

Stay Away: Weapon Sets Earlier Than Module 11

[sc name=”discord”]

The lastest tier of Artifact Weapons started with the Lost City of Omu. This means that older ones are now outdated, albeit still available. They feature much less weapon damage, which is the number one factor in overall DPS. Some sets remain viable however, which is described below. There might still be other little niches, but our general advise is to stay away unless you know what you’re doing. This includes all sets from the Tyranny of Dragons and Elemental Evil campaign, the old Stronghold Masterwork set, Relic Weapons, and Demogorgon’s (Maze Engine).

If you’re unsure, just check the sets below. If you think about acquiring something that’s not listed there, don’t do it!

Vistani Weapons

  • Example: Vistani Stiletto
  • PRO: Free set for completing the Ravenloft intro story line
  • CON: Bad set bonus

Here’s your good news right out of the bat: A set from the very latest tier of Artifact Weapons is handed out for absolutely free! All you have to do is bring a character to level 70, fight through the Barovia introductory story line and get your set. We’ve talked about Ravenloft as a major-catch up module, and this is a prime example. A fresh 70 might struggle a bit in the quests, but you can probably ask a friend or guild-mate to get you through. Vistani weapons outperform many older choices on most builds. So new players can safely grab them. Veterans however find better choices somewhere else.

More information:

Chult Weapons

  • Example: Wootz Kilij
  • PRO: Cheap, easy to get, available on the AH
  • CON: Weakest of all choices

The other way to obtain a set early in your progression are the Chult Weapons. They belong to the old, now outdated, tier of Artifact Weapons that ranged from Mod 10 to Mod 12. Even when introduced in Neverwinter’s Module 12: Tomb of Annihilation they were weaker than other options. So why would you get them now? Well… they are super easy and cheap to get. You can either claim them off the Auction House for a reasonable price or entirely farm them for yourself by getting into the Chult profession recipes. They are great for the new and casual players that hit 70 and are looking for their very first weapon. Do note however that you’ll replace these sooner or later. So don’t drop too many RPs into them.

More information:

Cloaked Ascendancy Weapons

  • Example: Fey Longbow
  • PRO: Endgame viable as budget support weapons
  • CON: Repetitive farming of the River District

Artifact Weapons are one of the core points of the Cloaked Ascendancy campaign. They are obtainable in the campaign shop, and can be fully farmed. As part of the last tier of Artifact Weapons they are no longer viable however. The one exception is the Fey set, which still offers a budget option for support builds that don’t want to or can’t buy Stronghold Weapons.

Be warned though, the grind is real. You’ll need to do a weekly lair 35 times for some of the required resources and additionally accumulate 105 Arcane Magical Writings from Heroic Encounters. There are more resources you need, but these two are the bottlenecks. You can shortcut a bit by buying Writings off the AH, but that obviously requires ADs. That said, prices have fallen a lot as the demand naturally goes down. So check the AH and decide for yourself whether to buy or to farm.

Moe information:

Stronghold Weapons

Speaking of AD, here come the Stronghold sets! With their clearly support oriented set bonus it’s the top choice for all you buffers, healers and tanks. This comes with a price though. The sets are only obtainable through the super expensive Masterwork Professions. This means that you need someone that has unlocked the recipes, which is no small feat. And you additionally need to supply your crafter with the necessary resources.

The builds that don’t utilize power can thankfully settle for older variants. Power sharers like Pallys or DC however only find “bis” in the Module 13 versions. In any case you might want to go with Fey or Pioneer Weapons from the Cloaked Ascendancy campaign for much better value.

More information:

Pioneer Weapons

  • Example: Pioneer Fanous
  • PRO: Obtainable through currency; viable for specific support builds
  • CON: Weakest option otherwise; need access to Omu

From the current tier of weapon sets, Pioneer represented the “starter kit”. It’s what Chult Weapons were in Mod 12, a budget option that’s easily obtainable. Pioneer Weapons come from the Omu campaign store and can be farmed in reasonable time. Some support builds, preferably those that share power, also have a budget option to Stronghold Weapons here. The +1,000 power in a full party indeed is a nice feat and at least superior to the Mod 11 SH sets. A user even makes a compelling case for Pioneer as second best DPS option behind Primal in the comments below.

More information:

Pilgrim Weapons

  • Example: Bonesnapper
  • PRO: Instantly available on Auction House / ZEN Market; viable for endgame DPS
  • CON: Expensive compared to what they offer

The Pilgrim Weapons of Module 13 come from the ZEN Market and can instantly be bought. It also makes sense to look up the Auction House as players sell the weapon packages in case they don’t need them themselves. Pilgrim is basically the premium option of the current weapon tier with a very viable set bonus for DPS toons or solo play.

If you not yet have access to Omu and absolutely want to own one of the latest sets, there you go. Please note though that Pilgrim Weapons are overpriced for what they offer. Before you invest the ZEN absolutely make sure you can’t get your hand on another set in a reasonable amount of time.

More information:

Sunset Weapons

  • Example: Sunset Greataxe
  • PRO: “bis” in Barovia content, including Castle Ravenloft
  • CON: Situational set that is outperformed by other choices outside Barovia

In Module 14 the devs went an interesting route in terms of the weapon set progression. Since they couldn’t already raise the item level bar, Sunset Weapons offer “situational bis”. It means that the weapons are slightly better than other choices in Barovia content, but get outperformed everywhere else. So it’s up to you whether you want to refine an additional “niche” set to be able to sport the absolute best of the best in every possible situation. As we know now however, Castle Ravenloft will remain the capstone content for quite some time. So it definitely won’t hurt you to get a pair of these. Additionally it’s not like you’re super weak in older dungeons because you bring Sunset.

More information:

Primal Weapons

  • Example: Primal Miztonhiyo
  • PRO: Easy to farm; most likely very viable to “bis” for your DPS builds
  • CON: Not viable for support

Primal Weapons is what you probably see on most DPS builds nowadays. It’s on of the top choices for all those damage dealers. The set bonus is easy to maintain and offers a steady DPS increase. The fact that the set is available for 1,500 Seal of the Brave and hence easily farmable through all group content including the very basic random queues adds to its popularity. If you run a DPS build this is most likely what you want to go for.

More information:

Tyrant Weapons

  • Example: Hexbringer
  • PRO: Best set bonus from current weapon tier
  • CON: Hard to farm (Tyrant Hunt); in most cases not worth the effort; long set bonus build-up

Tyrant Weapons offer the best set bonus from the current tier of weapons. It’s in fact the only one that enhances damage, defense, and healing. On the other hand this set needs to build stacks over a certain time to be most effective, whereas Primal is available instantly. Add that most builds do not need damage resistance or healing anyway and you get why it’s questionable to go after this one.

The effort to even get to one Tyrant Hunt, let alone farm it for the set, in most cases is not worth the effort. By the way: We don’t know what the mysterious “Trophy Hunter buff” is that’s mentioned in the Tyrant’s tooltip. Some people say it’s the buff from the Chain of Scales, others proposed the Hunter’s Keffiyeh as possibility. Some even say the set bonus stacks to 20% in case it’s doubled, but there’s simply too much uncertainty to really confirm anything.

More information:


I hope you enjoyed our Artifact Weapon guide, currently updated for Module 14! 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!

Neverwinter UN:Blogged is always looking for writers to contribute to the blog. If you are an active player and search for a way to spread your opinions, analysis, diaries or reviews to more than 75,000 regular visitors, then don’t hesitate and get in touch with us on our contact page or message board! We are currently especially looking for console and PVP content, but that’s not exclusive. There is no frequency requirement, you post how often you want.

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.

23 thoughts on “Neverwinter Artifact Weapon Guide for Mod 14

  • December 8, 2017 at 8:05 am
    Permalink

    It’s notable that relique and cloaked ascendency weapons already unlock their second enchantment slot on the offhand on epic, while you need to refine chilt and mw2 weapons all the way to legendary.

    • December 8, 2017 at 9:45 am
      Permalink

      Thanks! We’ll check that asap and will tweak the article in case.

  • December 8, 2017 at 8:44 am
    Permalink

    The 2nd enchantment slot on my various alts’ Chult weapons unlocked at epic. I can’t say for certain about MW2 weapons.

  • December 8, 2017 at 9:51 am
    Permalink

    any data on how much of a difference each makes? the base dmg of chult is the same as others, it’s the proc that’s crappy, iirc. What % dps does going from chult to bis make (at same level of refinement)?

    • December 8, 2017 at 10:23 am
      Permalink

      Relics are a +3.3% DPS over Chult on average

  • December 8, 2017 at 10:34 am
    Permalink

    awesome, tyvm! good to know before spending a ton of time grinding. <3

  • December 8, 2017 at 10:45 am
    Permalink

    The answer to that depends on class, build, party composition/gear, personal ability to proc the correct buff, and the chance that the Chult random proc produces a useful stat (probably a negligible chance if already operating near relevant caps, such as Armor Pen or Crit, or if the stat is a useless one, like Regeneration). Using GWF as a rough example, If you can reliably proc the buff, the Relic Weapon with a party where everyone else is using MW2 Weapons is about an 18% dmg increase over a party all using Chult weapons (depending on how the bonuses apply (i.e., additive or multiplicative)). If you aren’t the primary damage dealer for the party, buffing that person by equipping a MW2 weapon will increase total party damage (and utility because you’re also reducing incoming damage) at the cost of personal dps. However, for some builds and some scenarios (pvp for example), other weapon sets may be more desirable either for individual dps or personal utility (e.g., impact of fey set on AP generation).

    NWO Uncensored did a good discussion on Cloaked Ascendancy Weapons in comparison to other existing sets at:
    https://blog.nwo-uncensored.com/module-11-ascended-artifact-weapons-well-balanced/
    -Note: not included in the links above.

  • December 8, 2017 at 10:52 am
    Permalink

    The 18% mentioned above is during the proc, which is only 10 secs out of every 30, so the actual increase is actually less (roughly a 11.3% increase over a chult weapon party set-up). An egalitarian party where every member uses MW2 weapons is a 10% dps increase for all party members all the time over a Chult weapon party in addition to the bonus healing and reduced incoming damage. However, such groups do not maximize the role of the dps in the group.

  • December 9, 2017 at 9:15 am
    Permalink

    Relic’s set bonus is triggered: encounter power for DMG and shadow slip/dodge/sprint for DEF. That means that relic set isn’t “top choice” for TRs.

  • December 10, 2017 at 11:49 am
    Permalink

    That’s wrong. Outgoing damage doesn’t mean what you think it means. Also, depending on the cadence of your battles and/or how sloppy you are triggering the defense portion, you can have wildly different uptimes on the bonus

    • December 10, 2017 at 12:39 pm
      Permalink

      Also don’t forget this is a guide aimed at new players that want to survey the landscape. We don’t think you’re doing something terribly wrong when generally pointing towards Relics as “best DPS” option. There are, as always, exceptions.

  • December 12, 2017 at 1:19 pm
    Permalink

    This is not correct. Both Chult and MW2 unlock the second gem slot at Epic, exactly like Relic and River District weapons.

    • December 12, 2017 at 4:31 pm
      Permalink

      Indeed. We had incorrect tooltips in our database (probably from earlier preview versions). Not sure this is what caused irritations, but Chult weapons definitely have all slots at epic.

    • May 3, 2018 at 5:32 pm
      Permalink

      Nope, you are (partially)wrong.

      The MW 2 off-hand needs to be Legendary for the second slot, at least on DC and OP.

      I was surprised when I upgraded mine, but that is how they work…

  • May 3, 2018 at 12:07 pm
    Permalink

    Pioneer weapons are way superior for support builds of any set,as concerning personal dps,and for party buffs nearly on par with MH sets.
    1k power ,crit ,RI and defense .If you have Assasin’s covenant insignia bonus there is 1,3k power,(~3% dmg) ,1k crit (0,75 dmg at 75% crit sev,now most toons run at 85%+ cause of boons etc,so let’s say 0,85% dmg) and around 9% RI for endgame toons.Most toons are capped at RI,so you can swap a dark for a radiant when you equip pioneer,a radiant r14 is 1000 power =2,5% dmg.
    Sum up (3+0,85+2,5)~ 6,5-7% damage with out any proc and constant stats.Plus rec and defense.
    They dont beat primal,in case the primal equipped toon is babysitted by Dcs and gets the heals,this means the set will proc,as is in curent meta.However for a secondary DPS,primal will rarely proc.I would go so far to say that in normal red parties,3 dps one tank one heal,the primal will be up at best 33% of the time and worst 15% of the time.

    As for general procs etc,many make the mistake ,as in this thread to take the procs at face value.In general ,in NW ,the procs of combat gear,are counted when you are in combat and reset when you go out.So in most of the cases,cause of dungeon /raid phases,Relic was never a 3,3% increase as the known theorycrafters of NW were saying ,but as high as 8-10% .
    same with brutality and general sudden rings.Most of the times,in real conditions are near 100% uptime,cause the ttk ratio is lower than 10 secs,so the proc goes up at every battle.

    • May 3, 2018 at 1:53 pm
      Permalink

      1. 1.3k Power will not give you ~3% damage. Nor 1000 power will be 2.5%

      http://jannenw.info/pages/mechanics/relative

      http://jannenw.info/pages/mechanics/power
      Bottom graphs ^

      2. Relic was/is bad because:
      a. The maintenance of not procing the defensive buff instead of the offensive is not worth it for many classes.
      b. The uptime that matters most is not on mobs where you run from mob to mob, and pray your cooldown match and you didn’t waste your buff on exactly the no mobs phase. But on bosses, where you can’t reset out of combat, and the cooldowns actually matter.

      • September 6, 2018 at 8:26 am
        Permalink

        i don’t think i can trust anyone that uses commas instead of periods…screw that guy lol

    • September 6, 2018 at 8:25 am
      Permalink

      stop using commas instead of periods man

  • May 3, 2018 at 1:22 pm
    Permalink

    Hi, you are 100% sure that Tyrant weapon with Chain of Scales work like that? This give 20% dmg bonus? chain of scales is Trophy Hunt? Can you tell me and explaine how that works?

    • May 3, 2018 at 2:16 pm
      Permalink

      It’s what we hear. Basically if you have any buff form the Chain of Scales up, the set bonus is doubled. We do however not have 100% confirmation, so treat with caution.

    • May 3, 2018 at 2:55 pm
      Permalink

      max 10%dps increase, but with chains up u will get to 10% increase 2x faster

  • May 3, 2018 at 5:16 pm
    Permalink

    The stacking for the tyrant wrapons is not really an issue. The stacks disappear if you are 10 or even 15 seconds (forgot the exact value) out of combat, which is a very very long time… Also the stacks add up every 5 seconds instead of 15 seconds (dont know whether that is fixed) so getting max stacks is pretty quick.

    Tyrant is very hard to get though.. that is the main issue

  • May 4, 2018 at 5:24 pm
    Permalink

    Worth noting that the Chult (Wootz, Teak, etc) weapons are basically free to craft if you have a master crafter, which is why they’re cheap on the AH and often *free*. I personally keep multiple spare sets around to give away to alliance and channel alts, and occasionally troll Sharandar or Dread Ring looking for fresh 70s who don’t have those weapons and just mail them out.

    Sure, they’re obsolete compared to Mod13 weapons, but they’re available to fresh 70s, *free* to craft for Mod12+ crafters, give max enchant slots at purple, and much better than all the other “new 70” weapons.

    In fact, unless you *already* have River District weapons, or epic+ relic weapons, Wootz/Teak are clearly BIS until you can get a mod13 weapon. The fact that they’re cheap, better than Elemental/Twisted weapons, and functionally identical to River District/Relic weapons until maxed out, makes them clearly the ONLY sensible choice to use while preparing to get your Mod13 set.

Comments are closed.