Artifacts in Teamfight Tactics can make a huge difference in your games. They give your champions unique bonuses and effects that, when used correctly, can completely turn a fight in your favor.
This guide goes through every Artifact in Set 16, explaining what they do and which champions get the most out of them. Whether you’re running a tanky frontline, a hard hitting carry, or a versatile bruiser, knowing where to put each artifact can be a game changer.
You can see how well these Artifacts are performing over on our Item tier list page.
Artifacts
Aegis of Dawn
Effect: Every 2.5 seconds, steal 5 armour from enemies within 1-hex and heal 15% of the holder's armour.
Tips: This item is best on your main tank, as it provides a massive amount of stats. Aegis of Dawn is especially strong in lobbies with many AD-heavy compositions, allowing your tank to steal a significant amount of Armour making them extremely tanky.
Aegis of Dusk
Effect: Every 2.5 seconds, steal 5 Magic Resist from enemies within 1 hex and deal 15% of the holder's Magic resist as magic damage.
Tips: Similar to Aegis of Dawn, instead of stealing armour, this item steals Magic Resist from the enemies. You'll want this item on your main tank and look to choose it if the majority of the lobby is playing AP.
Blighting Jewel
Effect: Dealing magic damage reduces the target's Magic Resist by 2. If their Magic Resist is 0, grant the holder 2 Mana instead.
Tips: This item is ideal for magic damage champions who cast frequently and deal AoE damage, allowing you to reduce the Magic Resist of multiple enemies at once.
Cappa Juice
Effect: The holder gains a Hat on each takedown. The holder gains 1% Attack Damage and Ability Power per Hat. On death lose 20% of all Hats.
Tips: This item is best used on your backline carries. It is strongly advised to only use this item if you have a strong opener or your board strength is extremely high, as you need to win rounds to stack hats. If you keep losing, you won’t be able to accumulate stacks.
Dawncore
Effect: Reduce the holder's max Mana by 10. Subsequent spell casts reduce max Mana by 10%, to a minimum of 10.
Tips: This item is perfect for backline carries that you want casting frequently. Pair it with a mana generating item so you can lower their maximum Mana even faster.
Death's Defiance
Effect: 50% of the damage the holder receives is instead dealt over 4 seconds as non-lethal damage.
Tips: Death's Defiance is best for your frontline AD carries who use items such as Bloodthirster, Sterak's Gage, or Titan's Resolve. For Viego, it is one of his best Artifacts, just make sure you have his hero augment, The Ruined King.
Eternal Pact
Effect: Combat start: Form a pact with the highest Health allied champion, if they die, gain 10 Mana regen and 40% Ability Power.
Tips: Ideally, you want this item on a Magic Damage champion who can clean up team fights once your main tank falls. Champions with low max mana work especially well, as once their mana regeneration kicks in, they’ll be casting non-stop.
Fishbones
Effect: The holder's attacks target random enemies.
Tips: Fishbones grants a large amount of Attack Damage and Attack Speed, making it ideal for a high-cost AD carry in the backline. If you’re playing a reroll comp, you can also place it on your 3-star AD backline carry, such as Vayne or Jinx.
Flickerblades
Effect: Attacks grant 6% stacking Attack Speed. Every 5 attacks also grant 2% Attack Damage and 2% Ability Power.
Tips: This item is best on units that already have high Attack Speed, allowing them to stack it quickly and continuously gain additional AD and AP. Its good to also build Attack Speed items like Rage Blade so you can stack it even faster.
Gambler's Blade
Effect: This item grants the holder 1% bonus Attack Speed per gold in your bank, up to 30 gold. It also has a 6% chance to drop 1 gold on each attack.
Tips: You ideally want this item during the early stages of the game, when gold is more valuable. Pair it with a Rageblade and place it on a unit with built-in Attack Speed so you can farm a significant amount of gold.
Gold Collector
Effect: Attacks and Abilities execute enemies below 12% of their maximum Health. Executions have a 33% chance to drop 1 gold.
Tips: This item grants a large amount of Attack Damage and Critical Strike Chance, so you’ll want to pair it with backline units that can make good use of items like Infinity Edge. It’s also stronger when obtained early, as the bonus gold helps you reach 50 gold even faster.
Hellfire Hatchet
Effect: Attacks deal 2% of the holder's max Health as bonus physical damage. For every 1% missing Health, gain 1% Attack Speed.
Tips: This item is excellent on big, durable units such as Volibear and Shyvana, as it provides a ton of stats. You can also place it on Ornn as a tank item, since he gains bonus Health from each item or an early Sion as he stacks HP throughout the game.
Horizon Focus
Effect: Stunning an enemy causes lightning to strike them, dealing 30% of their max Health as magic damage.
Tips: You ideally only use this item on units that have stuns. Units that stun multiple units at once are better so your Horizon Focus does even more damage.
Hullcrusher
Effect: Combat Start: If there are no adjacent allies, gain 400 Health, 10% Attack Damage, and 10% Ability Power.
Tips: This is a solid item for units that can benefit from the bonus Health as well as the added AD and AP. Just make sure the unit has no adjacent allies, Azir’s Soldiers or the Freljord Statue do not count as adjacent allies.
Tips: Infinity Force is best used on damage frontline units, as they can take advantage of the bonus Health and resistances while also benefiting from the offensive stats.
Lich Bane
Effect: The holder's first attack after each Ability cast deals bonus magic damage.
Tips: Lightshield Crest is ideal on your main tank, as they typically have high resistances to provide larger shields and they will stay alive the longest. It’s also strong in compositions that boost your units’ Armour and Magic Resist through traits, such as Demacia.
Luden's Tempest
Effect:100% of overkill damage plus 100 is dealt as magic damage to the three enemies nearest the target.
Tips:You want Luden's Tempest on units that have high single target damage or a high damage ability so you can burst enemies and have the overkill damage spread. Look to build full offensive items with this item for extra damage. When playing it on Lissandra, you can make her focus on single targets so you get more overkill damage spreading.
Mittens
Effect: Shrinks the holder, granting them increased movement speed and immunity to Chill, Burn, and Wound.
Tips: Mittens is great on champions that benefit from attack speed, as the item itself gives an insane amount. It’s also very strong on frontline units to help them close the distance, since the extra movement speed allows them to keep attacking nonstop. It’s especially powerful on AD fighters.
Mogul's Mail
Effect: Grants 1 Armor, 1 Magic Resist, and 5 Health when taking damage, stacking up to 35 times.
Tips: You ideally want this item during the early stages of the game, when gold is more valuable. If you happen to get it, focus on building tank items first, as you want this unit to stay alive for as long as possible to generate even more gold. Mogul’s Mail gives a ton of Armor and Magic Resist, so prioritize building a health item like Spirit Visage or Warmog’s.
Prowler's Claw
Effect: After killing a target, shed negative effects and dash to the farthest target within 4 hexes. The next 2 critical attacks deal 50% bonus Critical Strike Damage.
Tips: You want Prowler’s Claw on a frontline AD champion with high attack damage, as the goal is to cut through enemies quickly and dash to the farthest target, often the backline. The item already provides a large amount of Critical Strike Chance, so items like Hand of Justice or Infinity Edge are ideal to help reach 100% crit. Alternatively, you can opt for sustain focused items like Bloodthirster or Titan’s Resolve.
Rapid Firecannon
Effect: Gain +1 Attack Range, increased by 1 whenever the holder kills an enemy.
Tips: Rapid Firecannon grants an insane amount of Attack Speed, making it great on backline units like Kindred. It can also be extremely strong on frontline units that benefit from Attack Speed, as it keeps them at range and reduces the chances of them getting crowd controlled during teamfights.
Seeker's Armguard
Effect: Takedowns increase the holder's Armor, Magic Resist, and Ability Power by 20.
Tips: Seeker’s Armguard grants resistances along with Ability Power and Omnivamp, so you want it on a frontline unit that can fully utilize those stats. It’s especially strong on champions that can build additional sustain items, as each takedown grants a significant stat boost, allowing them to become a monster later in teamfights.
Silvermere Dawn
Effect:Grants immunity to Stuns and the holder's attacks Stun the target for 0.8 seconds.
Tips: Silvermere Dawn is best on frontline AD damage dealers, as it grants stun immunity and provides extremely strong stats. Because the item already gives 140 AD, along with 80 Armor and 80 Magic Resist, you can focus on building full offensive items to maximize damage output. It can also be placed on Ornn, as the massive resistances make him incredibly difficult to take down epically with his extra Health from Artifacts.
Sniper's Focus
Effect: Gain 40% Damage Amp against targets 4 or more hexes away.
Tips: Sniper's Focus is most effective on backline carries with abilities that can reach across the map. The item grants bonus damage when enemies are four or more hexes away, making long-range units deadly. To maximize its potential, prioritize mana items so your Sniper can cast their ability multiple times during teamfights.
Statikk Shiv
Effect: Every 3rd attack deals 30 + 40% of the holder's Ability Power as additional magic damage to 4 enemies.
Tips: Statikk Shiv is most effective on champions with high attack speed, as it allows them to proc the third attack more frequently. While Kindred can benefit from it purely from the high attack speed, the item is generally best on AP carries because its bonus damage scales with the holder's ability power. To maximize its effectiveness, pair Statikk Shiv with other attack speed items, such as Guinsoo's Rageblade, ensuring it triggers as often as possible for consistent burst damage in fights.
Talisman Of Ascension
Effect: After 22 seconds gain 100% max Health and 120% Damage Amp for the rest of combat.
Tips: You want this item on units that are going to stay alive for 22 seconds, which is why your main tank usually works best, since they tend to survive the longest. You can also put it on a damage dealer, but make sure your frontline is extremely strong. Sett is especially good with this item, as he will go off to do push-ups and often be one of the last units alive. You can always trap units in the backline if you really want this Item to proc.
The Darkin Aegis
Effect: The holder gains the Darkin trait. Every second, deal 1% of the holder's max Health as magic damage to enemies within 2 hexes. When units die in the area, heal for 2% max Health.
Tips: The Darkin Aegis is a great item for your main tank, especially those with higher Health, as it will deal more magic damage and provide more healing. Sion is extremely strong if you can get him early and start stacking Health. If you’re playing Tahm Kench, you can feed him tank units to increase his Health even further to make this item even stronger for him.
The Darkin Bow
Effect: The holder gains the Darkin trait. Every 10 attacks, fire an arrow that passes through the current target, dealing 500% Basic Attack Damage as physical damage, reduced by 33% per enemy hit.
Tips: You want to pair the Darkin Bow with even more Attack Speed, since every 10 attacks it fires an arrow that deals a high amount of Attack Damage so look to build Guinsoo’s Rageblade to trigger the effect more often. Bel'Veth is one of the best holders for this item because she has so much built-in Attack Speed in her kit.
The Darkin Scythe
Effect: The holder gains the Darkin trait. Every 4 seconds, slash adjacent enemies for 200% Basic Attack Damage as physical damage. On takedown or when the holder dashes, slash again. Dash Cooldown: 1.5 second.
Tips: Dark Scythe is best on your melee AD units that deal tons of damage. It grants a large amount of Attack Damage, so it’s best paired with Infinity Edge. The Darkin Scythe fits well in many reroll comps, such as Yasuo, Viego, and Tryndamere.
The Darkin Staff
Effect: The holder gains the Darkin trait. For every 20 Mana spent, launch a tendril at enemies near the current target, dealing 50 magic damage. Damage increases based on Stage
Tips: You want to pair the Darkin Staff with a mana item, since every 20 mana spent launches a tendril that deals magic damage. This item also activates the Darkin trait, so if it is added to a frontline unit, they will gain extra omnivamp.
The Indomitable
Effect: The holder's Move Speed is drastically reduced. Gain 15% max Health, stun immunity, and pull the current target into melee range.
Tips: You want to build The Indomitable on your main tank, as the stats and passive will make them even tankier and more durable in team fights. You can position your tank on the same side as the enemy’s main backline unit, setting up an opportunity to eventually pull them into melee range.
Titanic Hydra
Effect: Attacks deal 3% of the holder's max Health plus 8% of their Attack Damage as bonus physical damage to the target and adjacent enemies.
Tips: You ideally want this item on your AD fighter, as they benefit from all the stats and typically have more health than backline units. For champions like Sion, it’s especially effective if you get him early, since he scales throughout the game by gaining health with each takedown thanks to his passive.
Void Gauntlet
Effect: Combat start: Store 30% max Health and 2.5% more every second. On death, unleash the stored Health as magic damage split between enemies within 4-hexes.
Tips: You'll want your Void Gauntlet on your main tank giving them even more Health. Pair this item with more Health items so the magic damage on death deals even more damage. If you do have it on Tahm Kench focus on feeding Tank units to give him even more Health.
Wit's End
Effect: Attacks deal bonus magic damage. Heals the holder for 30% of all magic damage dealt.
Tips: Wit's End is most effective on units with high attack speed to maximize the bonus magic damage. It’s also great on champions who can sustain through the healing it provides while dealing tons of magic damage, enhancing both their survivability and damage output.
Zhonya's Paradox
Effect: Once per combat at 40% Health, become invulnerable and untargetable for 3 seconds.
Tips: Zhonya's Paradox is best on AP frontliners or can be used as an alternative to Edge of Night. It’s ideal on champions who can benefit from all its stats and want to stall time or de-aggro, allowing them to either sustain themselves or cast another ability. For Viego make sure you have his Hero Augment, The Ruined King.
That's all the Artifacts in Set 16!
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