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Let me tell you something about gaming economies that most developers don't want you to hear - they're often deliberately designed to make certain items essentially useless for anything except selling. I've spent countless hours across various survival games, and the artifact system in this particular title perfectly illustrates this frustrating design choice. When I first encountered these mysterious glowing objects during my playthrough, I genuinely felt that thrill of discovery the tutorial promised. The game explicitly tells you to find a quiet spot to experiment with each artifact, suggesting they hold unique powers worth understanding. But here's the reality I discovered through about 80 hours of gameplay: they're functionally identical to what we've seen in previous installments of the series.

Their effects ultimately boil down to boring statistical buffs - typically increasing your resistance to radiation by around 15-20% or reducing bleeding effects by approximately 25%. These numbers might sound decent on paper, but in actual gameplay, they're barely noticeable. I tested this extensively across different difficulty settings, and the difference these artifacts make is so marginal that you're better off just carrying an extra medkit or two. What really gets me is how the game's tooltips initially make them sound so mysterious and powerful, only for the reality to be this underwhelming. I remember specifically finding the "Heart of the Oasis" artifact, which the description claimed could "change the very nature of survival," only to discover it provided a mere 18% radiation resistance - barely enough to matter in most contaminated zones.

Now, here's where the game's economy completely dictates your choices. The wear and tear system means your weapons constantly jam - I've experienced weapon malfunctions approximately every 45-60 shots with mid-tier firearms. Damaged armor provides significantly less protection, sometimes up to 60% reduced effectiveness when heavily worn. Meanwhile, repair costs are absolutely exorbitant - fixing a high-end assault rifle can cost between 7,000-12,000 credits, while premium ammunition runs about 350-500 credits per magazine. Weapon upgrades? Don't even get me started - I recently paid 45,000 credits just to add a basic scope and improved barrel to my primary weapon.

This is where artifacts become your financial lifeline. A single common artifact sells for about 8,000-15,000 credits, while rare ones can fetch upwards of 25,000 credits. When you do the math, it becomes painfully obvious that selling artifacts is essentially mandatory. I've calculated that keeping just one mid-tier artifact instead of selling it would require approximately 12-15 hours of additional grinding through other activities to make up for the lost revenue. The choice between using or selling becomes no choice at all when the economic pressure is this intense.

What frustrates me as a veteran player is the lost potential here. Imagine if artifacts provided truly unique benefits - temporary invisibility, enemy confusion effects, or environmental manipulation. I'd gladly keep them for such capabilities. But as it stands, I've developed a simple rule: unless an artifact provides at least 40% resistance boost (and none do), it immediately goes to the nearest trader. It's become an automated process in my gameplay loop - find artifact, check stats, sigh at the mediocre bonuses, and immediately sell. The system could have been so much more engaging, but the economic reality forces your hand every single time.

This creates what I call the "vendor trash paradox" - items that the game presents as valuable for gameplay but are actually only valuable for vending. Across my playthroughs, I've sold approximately 127 artifacts totaling nearly 1.8 million credits, which funded about 85% of my weapon maintenance and ammunition costs. The remaining 15% still required significant grinding through other activities. This economic imbalance isn't just a minor inconvenience - it fundamentally shapes how you interact with the game's core systems.

I've noticed this pattern across multiple survival games, but this particular title takes it to an extreme. The developers could rebalance this by either making artifact effects genuinely compelling or by reducing the ridiculous repair and ammunition costs. Personally, I'd prefer the former - I want to feel excited about keeping these mysterious items rather than viewing them as walking credit dispensers. Until then, my advice to new players is simple: treat every artifact as currency first, gameplay item second. It might break the immersion slightly, but it'll save you countless hours of unnecessary grinding. The zone's harsh economy leaves us no other choice, and that's perhaps the most realistic survival aspect of the entire game.