The artifact is a mysterious item in Sons of the Forest that you find one piece at a time. Now that the game is out of early access, and version 1.0 has released, we finally know where to find all seven pieces. It is safe to assume that the devs intended for players to collect these pieces as they organically play through the game, because most of the pieces are hidden in caves that you need to visit to finish the game.
If you just want a tip on finding the pieces yourself, then here it is: always be vigilant for wooden crosses in caves.
As you find these pieces, you’ll notice they are simply named “???”. This has made it difficult for the community to decide on common names for individual pieces. For this guide, we will go through them in the order that most players will probably find them as they play (and in order of cave difficulty). Also, we will number them 1-7, instead of designating them with a letter — as others have done — to avoid confusion.
Another important note before we get started is that this order of the pieces is not the fastest way to collect them, in case you are loading an end-game save. If you are prepared to handle any cave, and you’re just collecting the pieces, then look at the maps of each section and chart a course that won’t have you crisscrossing the whole island.
Note that all of these locations are dangerous; it is always good practice to save your game with a tent at the entrance to any cave.
Artifact Piece #1
Players can find this artifact piece in the Rebreather Cave, which is along the northwest coast (see image 1 below). Enter the cave, then follow the watery path past (or through) the mutants. Eventually, you’ll come to a fork where you can follow the water left to the Rebreather, or you can go right at a lit passage towards the Stun Gun (see image 2 below). Take the passage to the right, and follow it to the next fork.
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The next fork is sort of hard to see in the dark cave, but you’re looking for a passage to the left that is marked with a wooden cross (see image 1 below). In this direction, there is a boarded up passage you’ll have to chop open, and a rope leading down. There are no enemies in this area, so don’t worry. Follow the wooden crosses to another boarded up area; open it, and you’ll find the first artifact sitting on a metal surface (see image 2 below).
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Artifact Piece #2
The second artifact piece is in the same cave as the Rope Gun (see image 1 below). This artifact is at the very start of the cave, so it is much easier to obtain. You will have needed to grab the Rebreather from the last cave to acquire this piece, however — hence it coming second on the list. Enter the cave and, after the first room, hug the right wall down a slope. You’ll now be in a big room with enemies, but if you keep along the right, you’ll find a rope heading down over a ledge next to a waterfall (see image 2 below). Climb down the rope.
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At the bottom of the rope is a rock shelf, then a pool below you. From here, there’s only one way to go and no enemies; jump into the pool and look for a hole to swim through towards your right. There you’ll find a room with wooden crosses, and another pool that you can dive into with the Rebreather. Swim through the underwater passage, then surface and cut down the boards blocking you. The artifact piece is in this last room.
Artifact Piece #3
These next two pieces are fairly close to each other, as they’re both in the northeast quadrant of the island. You probably won’t want to head this way until you’ve finished the areas on the west side of the island, like the Shovel Cave and Entertainment Bunker. This particular artifact piece is in the Grind Trap Cave, close to the coast (see image 1 below). The entrance to the cave is hidden in a cabin; you’ll find boarded-up stairs in the northernmost cabin (see image 2 below).
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This might be the easiest artifact to grab because we didn’t find any enemies in the cave and there’s only one way to go through the cave. You’ll chop through some boarded up doors, and climb down some ropes, then at the end you will find the artifact surrounded by golden skeletons.
Artifact Piece #4
Just southwest of the previous cave, players can find the fourth artifact in the Pickaxe Cave (see image 1 below). The entrance isn’t quite as obvious as the others because it’s a small hole in the ground that you can climb down into (see image 2 below). Once again, we didn’t find any enemies along this cave’s route to the artifact.
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In the cave, you’ll find a flow of water that goes down some small waterfalls; follow the water until it ends at a small pool. Dive into the pool and use the Rebreather to swim through the underwater passage until you resurface. Leaving this cave room that you surfaced in, you’ll see a boarded up passage to your left (see image 1 below). This is the way to the artifact. There’s only one path to continue on from here and no enemies; follow the wooden crosses and climb down some ropes until you find the artifact (see image 2 below).
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Artifact Pieces #5 and #6
If you thought the last few were too easy to grab up until now, then just wait. These two artifact pieces are in the same cave — the Golden Armor Cave (see image below). You’ll probably want to do this cave after you’ve completed the Residential Bunker. Also, you want to be generally well-prepared for this cave because you’ll be fighting both mutants and demons.
Go into the cave and go through its passages. It’s all fairly linear, but we’ll guide you through it to let you know that you’re on the right track and where the enemies are. Here’s how to get the last two artifacts:
First you’ll find a cave drawing illuminated by a light. Head past it to the right, then take a left (see image 1 below).
Then you’ll find yourself in a long cavern, and you’ll be able to see some metal glowing at the end. Hug the right wall leading to the metal to avoid the enemies (see image 2 below). Go through the metal passage.
This passage leads up to a pool of water and underwater passage; use the Rebreather to swim through it.
When you surface from the water, there will be a mutant in front of you; run past it along the planks, then in the next section make an immediate left and go towards the light that is illuminating golden metal. Note that if you run into skull lanterns, you’ve gone too far and it’s a dead end. You’ll find a rope you can climb by said light (see image 3 below). At the top of the rope is a “Legsy” mutant, be careful.
There’s a straightforward passage with mutants here, then a crack blocked with wooden boards. Chop open the passageway and continue; your character will slide down a long slope.
You’ll land in some water that opens up to a big cavern. Keep to the left and either fight or run past another “Legsy”. You’ll find a boarded up passage past a bunch of golden metal.
There’s only one way to continue — down some ropes and through an underwater passage — and at the end you will find a big spoiler. Click on the drop-down for explicit spoiler instructions, but you should be able to find the fifth artifact piece and Ancient Armor on your own inside the [spoilers] — click the Spoiler below for the last bit of instructions for piece #5.
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Go to the back of the spaceship being struck by lightning. Chop open the boards and go to the front. In the cockpit, you will find the Golden Armor and the fifth artifact piece.
Now that you have the fifth piece, you can continue deeper into the cave and grab the sixth. Exit the [spoilers], and follow the switchback up to the right, towards the origin of the bursts of lightning (see image below). At the top of the ledge is a rope you can climb; at the top, you will have to immediately climb another rope. Follow the cave — it will have you climb some more ropes — until you come to an underwater passage.
Save here before using the Rebreather to swim through. On the other side, you will have to fight, or run past, two demons, then climb another rope. Follow the cave until you slide down another slope and into some water. When you swim out, there will be four more demons in this section of cave.
After fighting or running past them, you will have to cut past some boarded up corridors, then you’ll be in a watery cavern with an elevated metal platform in the middle (see image 1 below). Move around it to the right, and you will find a some rocks forming a ramp to get on top of the metal pillar where the sixth artifact is (see image 2 below).
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Artifact Piece #7
The seventh artifact piece, and its acquisition, is completely full of spoilers. Suffice it to say that it is tied in with the alternate ending for the game, and you will see an opportunity at the very end to follow the pieces you’ve collected to the seventh piece.
If you don’t mind the spoilers, then go ahead and click on the drop-down:
After you have killed the final boss on the beach with Timmy, the artifact pieces in your backpack will charge up and hover away from the fleeing helicopters. If you follow them, then the aircraft will leave without you, and you’ll be stuck on the island.
You will also see lights coming from the mountain on the island. Follow them to their origin, and you’ll be in a cave that has a spire of light shooting out of it. There are no enemies, and at the bottom of the cave is the last piece of the artifact. You can combine the pieces in your inventory to complete the artifact.
How many artifacts were you able to find? Are you surprised the devs put this hidden artifact in the game? Tell us about it in a comment!
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Kelson H.
Kelson is a spud head from out west. He is most happy when holding a milky tea with too much honey and playing a sprawling role playing game or reading a fantasy novel. His video game tastes vary but his main genres are looter shooters, RPGs, and real time strategy games.
