| “ | A fierce combatant, master of pyrotechnics and explosives. Keen to move up the foodchain, your journey is sure to be one lined with constant bloodshed and warfare. | „ |
| ~ The Artificer's description. |
| “ | You are stuck in an endless cycle of wrath and destruction, simple being. Gripped by raw emotions whose chains bind you, destined to this land. Shortcomings of the past haunt one and all like whispering phantoms. Listen. Let this be a warning for you... An unrewarding battle awaits, culminating in a path of no return. A perpetuity of struggles begetting more the same. Find a way out, if you still can. | „ |
| ~ Twelve Beads among Burning Skies warning the Artificer of the path she's taking. |
The Artificer is a major villainous protagonist in the 2017 survival game Rain World, introduced in the 2023 Downpour update. A parent who lost her Slugpups in a fight against the Scavengers, the Artificer is hellbent on killing all of them in a misguided attempt at vengeance.
Contents
- 1 Appearance
- 2 Biography
- 2.1 Past
- 2.2 Gameplay
- 2.3 The Chieftain
- 2.4 Ascension
- 3 Gallery
- 4 Trivia
- 5 External Links
Appearance[]
The Artificer is a maroon Slugcat with white facial features. She has a scar on her left eye, with her skin having a darker patch around the wound.
Biography[]
Past[]
The Artificer was once a mother of two Slugpups, who used to live peacefully until one of them accidentally took a Pearl of a Scavenger Toll. Enraged, the Scavengers inside slaughtered both of the pups. The Artificer, saddened by the loss of her children, vowed revenge on the Scavengers, hunting each and every one of them down.
Before the game begins, the Artificer had fought many Scavengers in the past, having been scarred in her eye in a fight. By the time the game begins, the Artificer had become so infamous that her reputation with them is permanently locked at its lowest, and all Scavengers will attempt to kill her on sight.
Gameplay[]
The Artificer, unlike other Slugcats, cannot gain karma naturally due to her actions prior to the game, instead relying on finding Echos in order to slightly increase it. Additionally, due to her karma preventing her from going into most places, Scavengers have been given karma values in her campaign only. The Artificer can use the corpses of Scavengers in order to bypass any karma gates she comes across.
The Artificer also requires six food pips in order to survive each day, and can uniquely eat nearly anything.
The Artificer starts out in an abandoned stronghold, having slaughtered the inhabitants of it. While eating a dead Scavenger, the Artificer comes across a citizen ID drone named Sofanthiel. The drone activates and decides to follow the Artificer.
The Chieftain[]
During the course of her campaign, the Artificer comes across Five Pebbles, an Iterator meant to help living beings ascend from the cycle of reincarnation. While he is unable to help, he does task the Slugcat with eliminating the Scavenger tribe that has taken residence in Metropolis, a region stationed just above his structure. With the drone still following her around, the Artificer is granted access to the city.
Making her way to the heart of the city, she finds the Chieftain Scavenger, who warns for the Slugcat to leave. When the vengeful Slugcat refuses to back down, the Chieftain attacks, but is unsuccessful in stopping the Artificer's rampage and dies for it. The Artificer shows the corpse of the Chieftain to a collection of Scavengers before killing them all. Now seemingly content with her revenge, she takes the Chieftain's mask as her own as her karma becomes locked at one, stuck in an endless cycle of death.
Of the two endings, the Artificer's normal ending is all but stated to be canon, as Five Pebbles does not seem to have any issues with Scavengers in any of the later campaigns.
Ascension[]
While ascension is nearly impossible for the Artificer due to her being karmically-imbalanced, the Artificer can get past the Guardians and enter the Void Sea by using the corpse of a Scavenger.
Upon entering the Void Sea, the Artificer tries swimming deep into the bottom of the sea before coming in contact with her kids for one last time. Surprised, the Artificer hugs her kids for one last time before her spirit dissipates, no longer stuck in the cycle but unable to ascend, and dies for good.
Gallery[]
The Artificer's portrait in Expedition mode.
The Artificer's menu screen after clearing her campaign.
The Artificer in her ending, killing the Scavengers.
Trivia[]
- Like the rest of the Slugcats introduced in Downpour (barring Enot), the Artificer was originally a part of the More Slugcats mod before being brought into the main game.
- The Artificer is the only Slugcat with a known gender, being consistently referred to as female in the dating sim ending of the game.
- Notably, in the original version of the ending in the More Slugcats mod, the Artificer, alongside the rest of the Slugcats in the dating sim, were referred to as male.
- If the Artificer dies by drowning or electricity, she will explode.
- The Artificer has been linked to the first karma symbol due to her karma being locked at the lowest level for most of the game. It has been theorized that this symbol represents wrath or violence.
External Links[]
- The Artificer on the Rain World Wiki
