| Capt. Sage's Geneforge 4 Artifact FAQ |
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Geneforge 4 Artifact FAQ
by Captain Sage (politicissue@hotmail.com)
with much information gleaned from the official Geneforge 4 hint book by Jeff Vogel and the Geneforge 4 FAQ by MattP
<http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/936894/46900>
Introduction
Chapter 1: General Artifact Creation Procedures
Chapter 2: Step by Step Recipes
Chapter 3: Ingredient Locations
Chapter 4: Artifact Statistics and Subjective Evaluation
Introduction
Item creation was introduced in Geneforge 3, and the tradition continues in Geneforge 4. Some items that could be created by the player were relatively common in the game. Others, however, were extremely powerful, and would never appear in the game unless the player creates them. These items are known in the official Geneforge 4 hint book as artifacts.
Geneforge 4's artifacts and recipes are all entirely new, although most of the ingredients are retained from Geneforge 3. (The recipes for non-artifact items are the same as in Geneforge 3.) Below are the recipes and statistics for Geneforge 4's artifacts, as well as information about where to find some of the components, and where in the game some of the recipes are revealed. A highly subjective evaluation of the utility of some artifacts will also be offered.
Chapter 1: General Artifact Creation Procedures
Item creation in Geneforge tends to fall into a pattern. For example, wands are created by simultaneously combining a wand, a gemstone, and other ingredients. All wands contain a stick and gemstone, and it is the other ingredients that determine what sort of wand will be created.
Similarly, all artifacts require a perfected piece of armor as a base. The type of armor and the ingredients added to it determine what sort of artifact will be created.
Only Shaped pieces of armor, that is, armor with a name such as "Shaped Boots", can be perfected. There is no way to Shape an unshaped item. There are some Shaped items, such as the "Shaped Breastplate", which are not useful for ingredients in this game. The only artifacts in this game are armor; weapons, such as Shaped swords, are not ingredients in armor.
To perfect an item, first create Purification Elixir by combining Mandrake Tincture and Demon's Bile. Next, combine the Purification Elixir and the Shaped item. It is important to recall when making an artifact that the armor must be perfected before being combined with the other ingredients. Nothing will occur if a Shaped item, a Purification Elixir, and other artifact ingredients are combined. Instead, the Shaped item is first perfected, and then combined with the other artifact ingredients. Further details are in the step by step recipes.
Chapter 2: Step by Step Recipes
Section 1: Purification Elixir:
Ingredients: 1 Mandrake Tincture, 1 Demon's Bile
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Mandrake Tincture and 1 Demon's Bile on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Elixir has become your cursor.
Section 2: The Perfected Armor:
Perfected Cloak:
Ingredients: 1 Purification Elixir, 1 Shaped Fiber Cloak
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Purification Elixir and 1 Shaped Fiber Cloak on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Perfected Cloak has become your cursor.
Perfected Boots:
Ingredients: 1 Purification Elixir, 1 Shaped Boots
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Purification Elixir and 1 Shaped Boots on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Perfected Boots have become your cursor.
Perfected Belt:
Ingredients: 1 Purification Elixir, 1 Shaped Belt
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Purification Elixir and 1 Shaped Belt on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Perfected Belt has become your cursor.
Perfected Greaves:
Ingredients: 1 Purification Elixir, 1 Shaped Greaves
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Purification Elixir and 1 Shaped Greaves on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Perfected Greaves have become your cursor.
Perfected Gauntlets:
Ingredients: 1 Purification Elixir, 1 Shaped Gauntlets
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Purification Elixir and 1 Shaped Gauntlets on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Perfected Gauntlets have become your cursor.
Section 3: The Artifacts:
Cloak of Shadows
Ingredients: 1 Perfected Cloak, 1 Pure Crystal Shard, 1 Purified Essence
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Perfected Cloak, 1 Pure Crystal Shard, and 1 Purified Essence on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Cloak of Shadows has become your cursor.
Impervious Cape
Ingredients: 1 Perfected Cloak, 1 Pure Crystal Shard, 1 Purified Essence
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Perfected Cloak, 1 Purified Essence, and 1 Essence-Infused Skin on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Impervious Cape has become your cursor.
Flameweaver Greaves
Ingredients: 1 Perfected Greaves, 1 Solidified Flame, 1 Crystal Fibers
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Perfected Greaves, 1 Solidified Flame, and 1 Crystal Fibers on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Flameweaver Greaves have become your cursor.
Legs of the Tyrant
Ingredients: 1 Perfected Greaves, 1 Essence-Infused Iron, 1 Blood Poison
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Perfected Greaves, 1 Essence-Infused Iron, and 1 Blood Poison on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Legs of the Tyrant have become your cursor.
Gloves of Savagery
Ingredients: 1 Perfected Gauntlets, 1 Essence-Infused Skin, 1 Blood Poison
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Perfected Gauntlets, 1 Essence-Infused Skin, and 1 Blood Poison on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Gloves of Savagery have become your cursor.
Shapemaster Boots
Ingredients: 1 Perfected Boots, 1 Perfect Drakon Skin, 1 Deep Focus Orb
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Perfected Boots, 1 Perfect Drakon Skin, and 1 Deep Focus Orb on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Shapemaster Boots have become your cursor.
Girdle of Succor
Ingredients: 1 Perfected Belt, 1 Perfect Drakon Skin, 1 Unmelting Ice
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Perfected Belt, 1 Perfect Drakon Skin, and 1 Unmelting Ice on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Girdle of Succor has become your cursor.
Sunstone Belt
Ingredients: 1 Perfected Belt, 1 Deep Focus Orb, 1 Unmelting Ice
1. Click on the anvil.
2. Place 1 Perfected Belt, 1 Deep Focus Orb, and 1 Unmelting Ice on the anvil.
3. Click on Combine.
The Sunstone Belt has become your cursor.
Chapter 3: Ingredient Locations
This is not an exhaustive list, but a representative one. Most of these I have actually found myself; some should be in certain locations according to hint books and FAQs.
Section 1: Common Ingredients
Mandrake Tincture:
East Rivergate Keep, past locked lever door and guard in locked cabinet
Southeast Electrified Field near pylons, need deactivate all spore boxes before reach it
North Purity Workshop B (under Dillame Fields) in cabinet in northwest part of Workshop B, near 6 or so Hellhounds (Roamers w/bit more hit points (HP), acid spit, curtains of fire)
Southwest Wrecked Lab in locked room; need 11 Mech to do w/1 Living Tool- give to Jared as object of a quest
East Quessa-Uss in Southern Lab past northwest locked lever door
Central Valeya Ruins - need leadership to convince Rajskub to sell to you, she sells 3 for 850 coins each
Southwest Khima-Uss in drakon-only area in blue chest- Leadership advised so guard drayk will remain neutral toward you rather than attack you
Demon's Bile:
North Purity Workshop B (under Dillame Fields) in cabinet in northwest part of Workshop B, near 6 or so Hellhounds (Roamers w/bit more HP, acid spit, curtains of fire)
Southwest Moseh's Bunker in blue chest in west part of his lab
West Wrecked Lab - give to Jared for object of quest
East Monarch's Realm in cabinet near clawbug eggs & Experimental Clawbug, east of Tinker's Gloves
Southwest Sandros Mine near Forgotten One
East Quessa-Uss in lab cabinet
Central Valeya Ruins - need leadership to convince Rajskub to sell to you, she sells 1 for 1275 coins
Southwest Khima-Uss in drakon-only area in blue chest- Leadership advised so guard drayk will remain neutral toward you rather than attack you
Northwest Breeding Pits- use lever north of blue crystal, bile is in north room in cabinet
Section 2: Rare Ingredients
Blood Poison:
Central Dumping Pit in middle of 4 Spinecores (no overlapping fields of fire) need 2 Living Tools to access (assuming you have 8 Mech)
Western Morass
Crystalline Fibers:
South Matala's Workshop (under Western Morass) in chest near healing pods, west of captive drakon
Deep Focus Orb:
Northwest Eliza's Bunker past sliding doors (I killed Eliza to open them) and heat pads (don't think they can be turned off- use Augmentation and Protection)
Essence-Infused Iron:
on Golem in central The Golem's Fen
Essence-Infused Skin:
Southwest Turabi Gate (need to use Speed to sneak about, in chest near big crystals and pool)
Southwest Khima-Uss in drakon-only area in blue chest- Leadership advised so guard drayk will remain neutral toward you rather than attack you
Perfect Drakon Skin:
North Quessa-Uss in Salassar's sarcophagus- only available after his (inevitable) death
Pure Crystal Shard:
Southwest Breeding Pits in heavily locked room in midst of energy fields and about five Wingbolts
Purified Essence:
Path through trees just southwest of Malformed Drayk nest in central Circle of the Drayk
Sealed Catacombs
Solidified Flame:
Northwest Sea Caves in blue box- lots of Burning and Submission Turrets in region, and probably need to deactivate defenses with nearby spore box
Unmelting Ice:
Wrecked Labs
Section 3: Shaped Armor
Shaped Fiber Cloak:
on Moseh (get when he surrender or die, I believe)
Gasspahr in Khima-Uss sells one for 1120 coins
Shaped Greaves:
on Mutated Thahd in southwest Eliza's Bunker (to open sliding door to it, I found I needed to kill Eliza)
Northwest Khima-Uss, two sold by Gasspahr for 1120 each
Shaped Gauntlets:
Reward from Pirik for helping caravan escape
Glick in Derenton sells one for 350 coins
Northwest Khima-Uss- one sold by Gasspahr for 350 coins
Central Breeding Pits on body near Corrupted Unbound
Shaped Boots:
Northwest Dillame Fields past Shaper
Southwest Sentinel Road in northmost crypt near Soulstealer Shade (need quest from shade to northeast to enter)
Glick in Derenton sells two for 420 coins each
Gasspahr in Khima-Uss sells two for 420 coins each
Shaped Belt:
Reward from Capt. Trianus for finding Shaper Camp & telling truth (maybe also for lying)
Southwest Rocky Point
Section 4: Recipe Locations
Cloak of Shadows Recipe:
South Wrecked Labs- careful of Maddened Rotghroth!
Impervious Cape Recipe:
Central Breeding Pits near Corrupted Unbound
Flameweaver Greaves Recipe:
Book in Southwest Dumping Pits near two Filthdrenched Worms
Shapemaster Boots Recipe:
Northwest Sandros Mine in the middle book near the Imprisoned Soul
Sunstone Belt Recipe:
Southeast Grosch Pits in jar
Chapter 4: Artifact Statistics and Subjective Evaluation
It is highly important to note that the Shapemaster Boots, Girdle of Succor, and Sunstone Belt are mutually exclusive. Because there is only 1 Deep Focus Orb and only 1 Unmelting Ice in the game, only one of the three artifacts above can be made in any given game. There are enough ingredients to make the other artifacts once; that is, you can make both the Impervious Cape and the Cloak of Shadows, but you can't make two Impervious Capes.
All artifacts have a Value of 1250 coins, one of the highest amounts in the game. This means that you can sell an artifact to a storekeeper for 1250 coins, although there is no way to retrieve it or buy it back later.
For the sake of standardization, I shall use "lbs." to stand for the weight of the item in pounds, and the acronyms developed by MattP in his Geneforge 4 FAQ for describing the statistics of items. They are:
"Str- strength, Dex- dexterity, Int- intelligence, End- endurance, MW- melee
weapons, MIW- missile weapons, QA- quick action, PA- parry, BM- battle magic,
LM- blessing magic, MM- mental magic, SC- spellcraft, FS- fire shaping, BS-
battle shaping, MS- mental shaping, HC- healing craft, Lead- leadership,
Mech- mechanics, Luck- luck, Stl- Stealth, TH- to hit, SR- stun resistance,
FR- fire resistance, CR- cold resistance, ER- energy resistance, MR- mental
resistance, AR- acid resistance, PR- poison resistance, HER- hostile effects
resistance (all resists raised by that value), 'c' effect applies to creations."
"Unusual effects include EnP- energy preservation, VT- Vampiric Touch, Rad-
Radiance (undead-bane), DS- damage shield, AP- action points and DLVL- Damage levels."
Cloak of Shadows:
2 lbs., +10% armor, +2 Lead, +2 Mech, +2 Stl, +1 AP
The Cloak is one of my favorite items, perfect for characters who want to be diplomatic and sneaky like I do. It also provides good armor for little cost, and 1 extra action point can be handier in combat than one might think- it might allow you to edge just within range or use another item, for example. Nevertheless, even I found it advantageous to equip this item during more peaceful times and equip a different cloak, such as the Agent Cloak, during combat. (The Agent Cloak is not an artifact, but an item you can find during the game.)
Impervious Cape
2 lbs., +12% armor, +5% TH, +10% HERc
I don't like the Cape as much because I don't feel it doesn't improve much on one of its ingredients, the Shaped Fiber Cloak. True, one does gain more armor for oneself and hostile effect resistance for one's creations, and 1050 more coins of value, but I'd like a few more stat boosts. Still, it's undeniably a very strong piece of armor, and I like how its increase in your chance to hit also allows it to increase your offensive power. Considering how hard it is to hit high-level creations, players who engage in frequent combat may find this artifact very useful.
Flameweaver Greaves
13 lbs., 16% armor, +2 BM, +2 FS, +20% CR
These are my favorite pants. They're a bit heavy, but they provide plenty of bonuses and armor to make up for it. These items are ideal for either players who specialize in Shaping or Magic, or alternately for someone who specializes in combat but wants some Shaping or Magic without spending precious skill points.
Legs of the Tyrant
10 lbs., 14% armor, +8 VT, +5 MW
These are clearly excellent pants for a melee fighter, or for anyone who wants to become a melee fighter without spending precious skill points. I found myself very tempted, especially by the Vampiric Touch, which I presume gives the player character hit points each time the player character hits an enemy with a melee attack.
Gloves of Savagery
6 lbs., 6% armor, +2 Str, +2 Strc, +2 MW, +4 QA
I did not exclusively use these gloves only because I sometimes equipped Tinker's Gloves (normal items that can be found in the game) when I was picking locks. Other gloves tempted me, but the large boost to useful statistics, and the increase of Strength for creations, make this a very appealing artifact for any style of play.
Shapemaster Boots
6 lbs., 16% armor, +2 FS, +2 BS, +2 MS, +10% HERc
These boots provide characters who enjoy Shaping with well-rounded bonuses and good protection. It's one of the three exclusive artifacts mentioned at the beginning of this section, and I chose it because I wanted to make high-level creations.
Girdle of Succor
6 lbs., 14% armor, +2 LM, +2 HC, +8 creation armor, +4% HERc
It's one of the three exclusive artifacts mentioned at the beginning of this section. This belt provides good protection and a useful boost to healing and blessing, as well as armor for yourself and your creations. Few items increase your creations' armor, increasing this artifact's value.
Sunstone Belt
5 lbs., 14% armor, +10% EnP, +20%, ER, FR
The Sunstone Belt has the advantage of being light. It's one of the three exclusive artifacts mentioned at the beginning of this section. Although this belt does a decent job of protecting oneself, it doesn't much help creations or your statistics. Nevertheless, there are few pieces of armor that pack so much protection into so little weight.