The Artificer in Risk of Rain 2 stands out for her devastating offensive power. Unlike survivors who chip away at enemies, she excels at unleashing bursts of magic to eliminate them swiftly. However, this burst-oriented playstyle has a catch: cooldown management, limited survivability, and mobility options.
This guide explains various Artificer build options, each tailored to a specific approach in Risk of Rain 2. Whether you prioritize raw damage output, crowd control, or a specific difficulty like Monsoon, there’s a build here to optimize your Artificer’s potential. Each build details recommended abilities, utility, special items, and explanations for their synergy and effectiveness.
Artificer Build 1: Will-o’-the-Wisp
Artificer’s jump ability is preferred over flamethrower as it allows for better positioning and avoidance of enemy attacks. This build is ideal for later stages of the game, where you encounter enemies that can one-shot you.
Will-o’-the-wisp artifact can significantly damage the enemies and trigger chain reactions, killing multiple enemies at once. Apart from this artifact, this artificer build does not require any excess of any other item in Risk of Rain 2. This is because the damage scales with the number of enemies killed. However, you can use Gesture of the Drowned to reduce the equipment cooldown by 50% and Paul’s Goat Hoof to increase movement speed.
This build uses the given abilities, utility, and special items:
| Primary Ability | Plasma Bolt |
| Secondary Ability | Charged Nano-Bomb |
| Utility | Snapfreeze |
| Special Items | Ion Surge |
Artificer Build 2: Crowd-Control
First and foremost, it’s essential to ditch the fireball power and focus on killing 20 enemies quickly to get the primary hitting hard. This can be achieved with the Swarms artifact, which easily clarifies crowds.
Another crucial aspect of this build is effectively using the nano bomb. This involves charging it while sprinting and then sprinting out of the way to avoid taking damage. Timing your primary attacks with the recharge of the nano bomb is vital, and it’s essential to maintain a consistent shooting rhythm to maximize damage output.
The flamethrower is not a viable option for the Artificer, as it’s too close-range and leaves the character vulnerable. Instead, switch to ion surge, which provides a safe distance and deals splash damage to enemies around you.
Regarding items, this build is all about area of effect (AOE) damage. Prioritize whites like Gasoline and Cautious Slug, Personal Shield Generator, Energy Drink, and Backup Magazine. For greens, opt for Willow o’ the Wisp and Ukulele, Runald’s and Kjaro’s Bands, Rose Buckler, and Wax Quail. As for the reds, go for Brainstalks and Brilliant Behemoth, and don’t forget to use the Transcendence, which is also quite effective.
This build uses the given abilities, utility, and special items:
| Primary Ability | Flame Bolt |
| Secondary Ability | Cast Nano-Spear |
| Utility | Snapfreeze |
| Special Items | Ion Surge |
Artificer Build 3: Rotational
If you’re going for a rotation build, here is what you must do when dealing with a large group of enemies: use Nano-spear to get as many as you can or use Snapfreeze and immediately use Flame Bolt. If any trash bombs remain, use a Flamethrower to clear them out. But remember not to sprint while using the flamethrower, as it’ll get canceled. Keep distance between yourself and larger enemies, especially the Imp Overlord, as they can deal much damage.
As for the bosses, use Snapfreeze under them and spam them with Flame Bolts, followed by a Nano Spear and Flamethrower. This technique recharges the Flame Bolt and Nano spears to repeat the same attack sequence until the enemy is down. The main idea of the rotation build is to use your high cool-down skills first and then low cool-down skills so you can have them all up by the time you rotate around.
Mobility items are key for this Artificer build in Risk of Rain 2, with the Wax Quail being the best option. The Artificer is a well-rounded survivor with something for every situation, but she lacks mobility, which can be a weakness in the game’s later stages. Using Backup Magazine will allow you to have multiple Nano Spears and increased damage output, Paul’s Goat Hoof will ensure mobility around the battlefield without sprinting, Harvester’s Scythe to deal with extra damage and execute enemies, Ukulele to increase critical hit chance, and lastly Alien Head to reduce cooldown.
This build uses the given abilities, utility, and special items:
| Primary Ability | Flame Bolt |
| Secondary Ability | Cast Nano-Spear |
| Utility | Snapfreeze |
| Special Items | Flamethrower |
Artificer Build 4: Monsoon Difficulty
If you’re thinking of switching to monsoon difficulty in Risk of Rain 2 but have failed the first boss fight, this section will show you how to tweak your character and make your Artificer the ultimate hero.
You can use bombs with Ion Surge to initiate a loop of damaging attacks. You can use Nano-Spear with Ion Surge if you want an easy fight. Regarding the items, you can go for Paul’s Goat Hoof for increased speed, Backup Magazines, Crowbars, Monster Teeth, Cautious Slug, and Bundle of Fireworks. If you’ve chosen the Ion Surge, keep Runald’s and Kjaro’s Bands, Ukelele, and Red Whip to increase the damage bonus.
This build uses the given abilities, utility, and special items:
| Primary Ability | Plasma Bolt |
| Secondary Ability | Cast Nano-Spear |
| Utility | Snapfreeze |
| Special Items | Ion Surge |
Artificer Build 5: Slow-Death
Let’s talk about the ultimate slow-death build that uses abilities and items that give the enemies freeze, stun, and burn effects. While choosing the abilities, we have kept a balance between the damage given.
You can choose items like a Tri-Tip dagger to inflict bleed damage, a Stun Grenade to stun during the attack, and Gasoline to complement Ion Surge. You can also choose various items that focus on inflicting status effects and dealing damage over time.
This build uses the given abilities, utility, and special items:
| Primary Ability | Flame Bolt |
| Secondary Ability | Cast Nano-Spear |
| Utility | Snapfreeze |
| Special Items | Ion Surge/Flamethrower |
