Artifacts and Ruins Enhanced

Artifacts now arrive unidentified and become a research tree: identify them, generate serums, unlock alien technologies, and craft new gear at a research workbench. Ruins are reworked into indestructible, artifact-guaranteed, more dangerous dungeons.

Items / Art / Environment Research tech tree Semi-compatible with artifact mods

What it is: An artifact & ruin overhaul by _]|M|[_, using Ruins Enhanced modules (by hUbert 2) and a Devourer artifact (by Grass).
Load position: Enhanced Reactors → Artifacts & Ruins Enhanced → Robotrauma → Extract it! → other ruin-item mods. If you can't research artifacts, another mod is overriding the Research Station — move A&RE higher.
Compatibility: Semi-compatible with other artifact mods — their artifacts still spawn and work, but you can't research them and their names stay visible.

🔬The research workflow

Find an unidentified artifact

In ruins, on ice walls, or on the sea floor. Its name is hidden until you observe its effects or research it.

Identify it

Place it in a Research Station with Alien Circuitry. This reveals which artifact it is. Identified artifacts sell for far more — military & research merchants pay best.

Generate a serum

Research an already-identified artifact again → it produces an Unknown Serum.

Research the serum

Place the unknown serum in the Research Station with Stabilozine. It either unlocks a technology (a "Knowledge Serum") or gives a negative genetic effect. Identified serums can be sold.

Unlock & craft

Inject a Knowledge Serum to unlock its recipe, then craft items at the Research Workbench (built at a regular Fabricator and placed on your sub).

Bad-luck bypass

Researching serums also yields Research Data (stored in the added Clipboard item). With enough Research Data you can craft specific Knowledge Serums directly — so you can still get tech even if the right artifact never spawns.

Artifact Scanner (crafted at the Research Workbench): point at an unidentified artifact; fast/red beeping = dangerous, slow/green = harmless/helpful. Use it to decide whether you can transport/store an artifact without a Transport Case. A powered Research Station also suppresses artifact effects.

⚡Unlockable technologies

Technology	Unlocked by	What it gives you
Artifact Containment	Containment Knowledge Serum (now any artifact)	Artifact Containment Unit — safely store/transport artifacts (suppresses effects)
Gene Cleansing	From a Cleansing Artifact	Cleanse permanent negative serum/genetic effects via a powered ruin alien device + activated Cleansing Artifact
Living Metal	From a Living Metal Artifact	Self-repair emitter that heals the sub (~15 HP/sec) while powered; glow + sound, drains energy, fixed range
Stasis	From a Stasis Artifact	Stasis Rifle (freezes/stuns targets)
Teleportation	From a Teleportation Artifact	Teleportation Anchor + Recall Teleport Device — teleport a crewmate back to the anchor via the health interface (rescue downed crew); recharged with an Alien Power Cell; misuse risks Teleportation Sickness
Power Cell (bonus)	From a Faraday Artifact	Power Cell Recharger
Regenerative Energy (bonus)	From an Addictive Healing Artifact	Health Blaster — NT-compatible ranged healing (won't fix organs)

◈Artifact types & effects

Vanilla artifacts (now unidentified)

Artifact	Effect	Danger
Thermal	Periodically generates fire (~30s); harmless underwater	Red
Faraday	EMP blast (~8m) every 15s; out of water it shocks (stun + burn)	Red
Nasonov	Attracts creatures (~100m) and disrupts sonar	Red
Psychosis	+0.5% psychosis/sec while held (hallucinations)	Red
Skyholder ("Sky")	Siphons oxygen (and water) from the hull extremely fast	Red

Note: "Sufforin / Static / Pressure" artifact names from older guides don't match the current vanilla set (Thermal, Faraday, Nasonov, Psychosis, Skyholder) — they may be community shorthand or from other mods.

Added / mod-specific artifacts

Artifact	Effect	Notes
Living Metal	Repairs the sub (~15 HP/sec) while powered	Helpful; unlocks Living Metal tech
Stasis	Stasis (freeze/stun) in a range around it	Unlocks Stasis tech
Teleportation	Teleportation effect	Unlocks Teleportation tech
Infection	Alien infection in a range; can cause alien-infection coma	Cured by analarin
Muting	Damages vocal cords — "Muting Influence" (can't speak / give orders)	Cured by anarmu; outpost doctors can treat
Sacrificial	Harmful sacrificial affliction	Cured by ansain
Cleansing	When activated, powers the ruin alien device to cleanse negative effects	Helpful; unlocks Gene Cleansing
Addictive Healing	Heals you but is addictive	Unlocks Regenerative Energy → Health Blaster
Corrosion	Damages walls over time	Dangerous
Invulnerability	Temporary invulnerability, then internal damage	Mixed
Gill	Lets you breathe/dive in a ~10m range; pressure protection to ~6650m	Helpful (Abyss-suit depth)
Water-Draining	Rapidly drains water	Mixed
Devourer	Spawns/attracts a devourer threat	Currently disabled — broken by a game update; turns into a random artifact if present

⚕Antidotes

Antidotes have deliberately obscure names that all start with "an" — search an in the Medical Fabricator. Each is crafted from the matching artifact's researched serum. (A May 2026 update added readable descriptions, so item tooltips now tell you what each cures.)

Antidote	Cures
analarin	Alien-infection coma (Infection Artifact)
anarmu	Muting / vocal-cord damage (Muting Artifact) — restores speech
ansain	Sacrificial artifact affliction

Only these three names are confirmed; other harmful artifacts very likely have "an…" antidotes whose exact names aren't publicly catalogued. Unknown artifact afflictions can also be healed at outpost doctors for a hefty sum.

🏛Ruins changes

Indestructible and always contain at least one artifact.
Hold unidentified serums + alien circuitry as bonus loot; more danger, modules, and loot.
Doors no longer slam in your face unless a monster is actively fighting you.
Sonar markers appear on the main ruin entrance within ~40m (unmarked openings exist).
Vault rooms hold artifacts in Artifact Holders; alien terminals and security modules reworked.

⚠Compatibility notes

If you can't research artifacts/serums, a mod is overriding the Research Station — move A&RE higher.
Reported conflicts: Baroverhaul Research Station override, Neurotrauma sprite-path changes, and "Enhanced Medical Operation" (duplicate internal-bleeding affliction).
Affliction rule of thumb: if two mods override the same affliction, the higher one wins; if only one uses overrides, the override mod loads below.

▤Sources

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