Artifact relic

For the old relic gear slot, see Relic.

Artifact relics are a type of item that can be slotted into artifact weapons. Artifact relics are obtained by completing quest lines, dungeons and raids in the Broken Isles, Argus, or other Legion-related content. They have a major impact on the overall power of an artifact, increasing its item level and, by extension, its damage and stats. The artifact relic system acts as a substitute for the upgrading of weapons seen in other expansions; rather than switching to a new and more powerful weapon, the player slots a new and more powerful relic into their artifact.

Each artifact has three relic slots, and each slot is a specific type. A relic can only be inserted into a slot that matches its type. As a result, different specializations are able to use different types of relics.

During Legion, a relic would also increase the rank of a minor artifact trait when slotted. This gave artifacts a small amount of customizability, and made different relics desirable for different playstyles or goals. Since artifact traits no longer function, there are now no differences among relics aside from their type and how much they increase the artifact's item level.

Types

There are ten relic types:

Arcane
Blood
Fel
Fire
Frost
Holy
Iron
Life
Shadow
Storm

Relic slots per Artifact

Item		Relic type
Item
	: [Maw of the Damned]
	: [Frostreaper]
	: [Apocalypse]
	: [Verus]
	: [Aldrachi Warblades]
	: [Scythe of Elune]
	: [Fangs of Ashamane]
	: [Claws of Ursoc]
	: [G'Hanir, the Mother Tree]
	: [Titanstrike]
	: [Thas'dorah, Legacy of the Windrunners]
	: [Talonclaw]
	: [Aluneth]
	: [Felo'melorn]
	: [Ebonchill]
	: [Fu Zan, the Wanderer's Companion]
	: [Sheilun, Staff of the Mists]
	: [Al'burq]
	: [The Silver Hand]
	: [Truthguard]
	: [Ashbringer]
	: [Light's Wrath]
	: [T'uure, Beacon of the Naaru]
	: [Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire]
	: [Anguish]
	: [Fate]
	: [Gorefang]
	: [The Fist of Ra-den]
	: [Doomhammer]
	: [Sharas'dal, Scepter of Tides]
	: [Ulthalesh, the Deadwind Harvester]
	: [Skull of the Man'ari]
	: [Scepter of Sargeras]
	: [Strom'kar, the Warbreaker]
	: [Odyn's Fury]
	: [Scale of the Earth-Warder]
Total		9	12	8	10	10	9	13	12	13	12

Trivia

During development, storm relics were originally called wind relics.
- An eleventh type also existed: Water relics. They could be used by Restoration druids, Frost mages, Mistweaver monks, and Restoration shaman. Water relics were removed before launch, and any water relic slots on artifacts were changed to different types.

Patch changes

Patch 8.0.1 (2018-07-17): Artifact relics no longer provide rank bonuses to minor artifact traits.
Patch 7.3.0 (2017-08-29): The third slot is automatically unlocked with the Class Campaign requirement removed.
Patch 7.0.3 (2016-07-19): Added.