Sandustry Artifacts Guide
Artifacts take Sandustry beyond the factory: explore ancient rooms, read their puzzle rules, and use later Research to find hidden alien artifacts without relying on outdated Demo routes.
What Are Artifacts in Sandustry?
Artifacts are one of Sandustry’s main exploration and progression systems. While mining terrain, processing materials, building production chains, and unlocking Research occupy most of the game, artifacts take you into ancient structures hidden around the world. The Ancient Technology Steam achievement confirms that players can recover an alien artifact from the Dunes, while the official Beginner's Guide describes artifact hunting as a distinct progression path that lets players spend resources to gain access to powerful benefits.
Artifacts are usually found inside ancient rooms or puzzle areas rather than lying openly in ordinary terrain. These rooms can have special environmental rules: circuits, coloured tiles, Water-routing challenges, restricted building zones, or obstacles that require a particular tool. An artifact room does not always behave like the rest of the map. The developer has confirmed that building can be disabled in artifact rooms to stop players bypassing puzzles, while other rooms allow building only on designated tiles.
If you enter a puzzle and cannot place a Foundation everywhere, that does not automatically mean the game is broken. Some artifact puzzles require tools or mechanics that you may not have unlocked yet. The official guide explicitly advises players to leave an ancient puzzle and return later if it seems to require a tool or resource they do not currently possess. It also notes that different obstacles respond better to different weapons and tools.
Progression toward artifact areas can involve harder excavation tools. Older Demo players searching for the “second relic” became stuck behind a Crackstone barrier, then researched the Rocket Launcher to destroy it. The current Early Access Research tree still places the Rocket Launcher in Tier 4, so the general principle remains useful: if a route looks physically inaccessible, inspect Research before assuming that you missed a hidden entrance. For current Crackstone tool limits and access advice, see the Crackstone guide.
Artifact hunting becomes more systematic later in the game. Tier 5 Research includes the Locator, a dedicated tool designed to scan for hidden alien artifacts. Artifacts are more than collectibles: they connect exploration, puzzle-solving, artifact recovery, upgrades, and further progression. If you only build factories and ignore ancient structures, you leave a significant part of Sandustry’s progression untouched.
All Sandustry Artifacts and How to Solve Them
Sandustry entered Early Access on August 13, 2026, and the official wiki does not yet provide a complete named list of every artifact or every artifact puzzle. The table below uses descriptive community names where an official artifact name has not been published. Do not treat labels such as “Water Circuit Artifact” as official item names: they identify currently documented puzzle types.
| Artifact / Puzzle | Where or When Found | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Dunes Alien Artifact | Dunes / early artifact progression | Explore the ancient structure in the Dunes and complete its associated access or puzzle sequence. Recovering an alien artifact from the Dunes unlocks the Ancient Technology Steam achievement. The exact current Early Access room solution is still being documented. |
| Water Circuit Artifact | Ancient puzzle room with yellow building squares, green targets, and Water | Build Foundations or allowed blocks on yellow squares to redirect falling Water. Route it into the required green collectors and avoid reset areas. Once the required collectors and signals are active, the artifact door opens. |
| Three-Collector Water Puzzle | Puzzle room with three green boxes connected to cables | Press the Water button, then rearrange Foundations on yellow squares so falling Water reaches all three green boxes. Community reports indicate they do not need to activate simultaneously. When all three cable signals are active, the gate opens. |
| Logic / AND-Gate Water Puzzle | Circuit-based room with green and blue targets | Route Water to the correct green collectors so both electrical signals feeding the AND gate become positive. Avoid incorrect blue or reset paths. The gate opens when both required inputs are active. |
| Fire / Rocket Puzzle | Artifact room with a Rocket Launcher clue and orange combustible material | Use heat from a Rocket Launcher explosion to ignite the relevant material. Community reports say a normal rocket can create enough fire, while an incendiary Rocket Launcher upgrade makes the intended interaction clearer. |
| Moonhop Circuit Puzzle | Circuit puzzle involving Moonhop and electrical triggers | Free or move the Moonhop needed to activate the circuit components. Players have reported a circuit failing to trigger, so a universally reliable current walkthrough still needs confirmation. |
| Second Relic / Second Artifact Route | Historical Demo route behind Crackstone | Research the Rocket Launcher and destroy the Crackstone barrier to reach an additional ancient area. The full Early Access version differs from the old Demo, so the fixed location is not a guaranteed current artifact route. |
The Water Circuit Artifact is one of the best-documented Early Access puzzle types because several players have independently described the same mechanics. You can place blocks only on yellow squares. Water falls from above after pressing the button, and your job is to manipulate gravity so the Water reaches the correct green receivers.
One version requires activating three green boxes. Community players report that you can reposition Foundations between attempts and do not need to fill every target with one single drop. Once all three connected cables turn green, the artifact door opens. Blue areas appear to reset or interfere with the Water route, so simply directing Water toward every coloured square is not the goal.
A related circuit room uses an AND-gate concept. Players can assume that every coloured square must be touched, but the actual objective is to make the electrical inputs leading to the gate positive by feeding the correct green Water collectors. That distinction explains why players can apparently hit every square without seeing anything happen. For a focused explanation of documented rooms, use the Artifact Puzzles guide.
The Fire / Rocket Puzzle creates another common source of confusion. The room gives a Rocket Launcher clue, but the important property is heat. Community testing indicates that a rocket explosion can create enough fire to ignite the orange material involved in the puzzle. An artifact-related incendiary Rocket Launcher upgrade can make this interaction clearer, but players have also reported completing the puzzle without that upgrade.
Be careful about introducing unrelated substances into these rooms. One player accidentally introduced Snow and later Lava while experimenting with the Fire / Rocket Puzzle. The materials combined into Scoria in an area where normal mining was disabled, effectively creating a softlock. The Moonhop Circuit Puzzle is less well documented: it is real, but a player reported that one circuit could fail to trigger after interacting with the Moonhop. The Relic guide explains why historical “second relic” routes should not be used as fixed Early Access coordinates, while the Pyramid guide covers the separate Dunes structure that is not yet a confirmed solvable artifact puzzle.
Artifact Locator
The Locator is the most important tool for players who want to actively hunt Sandustry artifacts rather than simply discover them while digging. According to the current official Research tree, the Locator becomes available in Tier 5. Its entry says: “Unlocks the Locator. Fill it with Voidjuice to scan for hidden alien artifacts.” The Research currently costs 3,000 Gold.
That description gives three important clues about the artifact system. First, hidden alien artifacts exist beyond the obvious ancient rooms you encounter during normal exploration. Second, the Locator is not a free radar: it must be supplied with Voidjuice, connecting artifact hunting to the Void production branch. Third, it belongs to later progression. If you are still in early factory tiers, do not stall an entire run because every possible artifact has not been found yet.
- Build early Gold production and complete the first factory tiers. Kinetic Press output guide
- Unlock better excavation and exploration tools.
- Reach Tier 5 Research and research the Locator for 3,000 Gold. processing plant setup guide
- Produce or obtain Voidjuice, then fill the Locator.
- Use the Locator while exploring, then prepare to solve the puzzle or access requirement protecting the result.
The official wiki does not yet document the Locator’s exact scan radius, Voidjuice consumption per scan, or whether every artifact exists at a fixed position. Avoid advice claiming an exact number of tiles or a guaranteed scan count until those values are confirmed. The Locator does not make puzzle-solving obsolete: finding a room and opening it are separate problems. You may still need specific Research, excavation tools, resources, or circuit knowledge after the Locator points you in the right direction.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Do not assume every artifact puzzle can be solved immediately
Sandustry deliberately gates some ancient puzzles behind later tools and resources. If nothing reacts to your Gun, Shovel, Foundations, fire, Water, or other equipment, inspect your Research tree before spending an hour on increasingly strange experiments. Returning later can be the intended solution.
Pay attention to coloured building tiles
A common Water-puzzle mistake is assuming that the entire room is non-buildable. In several documented rooms, yellow squares specifically mark where you are allowed to build. Use Foundations or permitted structures on those tiles to shape the path of falling materials.
Understand the circuit before chasing coloured squares
Green and blue tiles are not simply a checklist of places Water must touch. Green collectors can change connected electrical signals from red to green, while the actual objective is to satisfy the circuit logic and open the door. In one room that means activating every receiver; in another it means feeding the correct inputs into an AND gate. Watch the wires, not just the Water.
Do not contaminate artifact rooms with random materials
Sandustry encourages experimentation, but puzzle rooms may restrict your ability to clean up mistakes. Players have reported Water stuck in inaccessible positions, inappropriate machinery in puzzle areas, and materials generated where they could no longer be mined. Before adding Snow, Lava, Thermal Buffers, or other materials, make sure they are genuinely part of the intended puzzle.
A puzzle that will not reset may genuinely be bugged
Early Access artifact puzzles have already generated reports of Water remaining suspended over collectors, new Water failing to spawn, and circuit components refusing to trigger after the apparent condition is met. Try the puzzle button again, remove and replace permitted Foundations where possible, and reload the game. If you become physically trapped, use the Unstuck command from the pause menu.
Do not rely too heavily on old Demo artifact locations
Older Steam threads refer to a first and second Relic, including a Crackstone route. They remain useful design history, but the released Early Access version has a larger map, expanded Research tree, and more content than the Demo. Use old Relic guides as historical clues, not as exact maps. Artifacts still matter beyond completing a room: developer comments and current player reports connect artifact milestones with unique mechanics and upgrade choices, although the complete current reward list is not yet documented.
FAQ
How do you find artifacts in Sandustry?
Early artifacts can be found by exploring ancient structures and the Dunes. The Ancient Technology Steam achievement specifically requires recovering an alien artifact from the Dunes. Later, Tier 5 Research unlocks the Locator, which can be filled with Voidjuice to scan for hidden alien artifacts. Investigate unusual ancient rooms, circuit structures, and routes behind harder terrain, while remembering that some paths require later excavation tools.
How do you solve the Sandustry Water artifact puzzle?
Look for yellow squares where building is permitted, then place Foundations or allowed blocks to redirect falling Water. The goal is usually to send Water into green collectors connected to a circuit. Watch the cables: when the required receivers activate, their signals turn green. In the documented three-collector puzzle, every receiver must eventually activate, but you can rearrange Foundations between Water drops. Avoid blue or reset areas unless the room specifically requires them.
What do artifacts do in Sandustry?
Artifacts are part of Sandustry’s ancient-technology progression rather than ordinary factory materials. They are earned through exploration and puzzle-solving and contribute to special benefits and upgrades. The official Beginner’s Guide describes artifact hunting as a way to spend resources for their benefits, while the developer previously confirmed that artifacts unlock unique mechanics. Players have reported milestone upgrade choices, but the full current reward list is still being documented.