WorldShards is a fantasy sandbox MMORPG set in Murrlandia, a world dominated by cats. The game features a level-less progression system and an open-ended experience where players can explore, craft, and engage in a dynamic in-game economy. The economic structure is designed to allow players to trade, craft, and create meaningful value within the game while ensuring fairness and transparency. This is the third article in a series of four deep dives looking at the unique WorldShards economy, so much sure to keep your eyes out for the remaining ones!

WorldShards Economy Deep Dive Series:

Part 1: Overview of the MMORPG

Part 2: Collectible Items Explained

Part 3: Comprehensive Guide to Artifacts

Part 4: Tokenomics and $SHARD Token 

WorldShards Economy: A Comprehensive Guide to Artifacts

About WorldShards

Players enter the world of Murrlandia after picking up a fragment of a Mana Stone, which transports them from their modern world. Once in the game, they can explore various regions filled with hidden secrets, gather resources for crafting and construction, battle enemies, hunt wild animals, and solve intricate puzzles.

Players also have the opportunity to build and customize their home islands, develop a production base, refine resources, and craft equipment for personal use or trade. As they progress, players can specialize in crafting, resource gathering, or other economic activities, reinforcing their role in the in-game market. An auction system will be launched in Q2 2025 to further facilitate trade, allowing players to buy and sell resources and crafted items as they refine their economic strategies.

Introduction to Artifacts

Artifacts play an essential role in WorldShards. These specialized building objects act as extensions to workbenches, enabling enhanced crafting capabilities and determining item rarity. There are three types of Artifacts, each corresponding to a specific workbench: weapon, armor, and tool. To unlock additional crafting functionalities, players must connect the appropriate Artifact to the corresponding workbench.

Functions of Artifacts

When properly linked to a workbench, Artifacts enhance the crafting process in multiple ways. They enable players to increase the rarity of crafted items, which is determined by the rarity level of the connected Artifact. Furthermore, they enhance the Luck parameter of collectible items, a crucial factor for farming efficiency. Additional functionalities include charging collectible items and recycling shards, making Artifacts a central element in item crafting and resource management. Artifacts come in different rarities, each influencing the maximum rarity of items that can be upgraded. 

As personal assets, they can be withdrawn from the game and traded on Open Loot, and other marketplaces. Players can obtain Artifacts through multiple channels. They can purchase them during official sales on the Open Loot marketplace, acquire them from lootboxes sale events, or buy them from other players through the marketplace. The first set of Artifacts was introduced in June, but their full range of functionalities will be unlocked soon, allowing players to maximize their crafting potential.

In-Game Screenshot

Artifact Rarity and Upgrades

To use an Artifact, players must place it on an island that has an available Artifact slot. There are no additional resource requirements for placement, but the Artifact must be positioned near the workbench it influences to establish a functional link. Each island has a limited number of slots, which means players must strategically plan their Artifact placements based on the island’s rarity and available space.

The rarity of an Artifact determines the maximum rarity level of items it can craft or charge. However, islands also have rarity restrictions that limit the highest rarity of Artifacts that can be placed there. Artifacts will be introduced in phases, with an initial set available first and an additional set released later to expand the total supply.

During special in-game events, players can upgrade their Artifacts by interacting with Jane the Artifacts Merchant on their Home Island. To increase the rarity of an Artifact, players must combine two Artifacts of the same rarity to create a single Artifact of the next rarity tier. The process requires time to complete. Players should note that rented Artifacts cannot be upgraded and only one upgrade process can be active at any given time.

Artifact Rarities Explained 

Island Attributes and Functionality

Players begin the game with a Main Island, which does not have any Artifact slots. To access Artifact slots, they must acquire a Founder’s Island or additional islands. Additional Islands can be placed within a player’s Home Archipelago to expand available space. The rarity of an island determines the maximum rarity of Artifacts that can be placed on it. Higher rarity islands offer increased capacity, more Artifact slots, and greater flexibility in construction. 

The capacity of an island dictates how many buildings, workbenches, and other elements can be placed. Comfort is another important factor, as it affects the number of refineries and workbenches that can be installed. By default, comfort starts at zero and can be increased by adding decorative items, which do not consume island capacity but are essential for optimizing construction and crafting operations. Like Artifacts, islands are player-owned assets that can be withdrawn from the game and traded on Open Loot and other marketplaces.

Additional Islands Explained 

Glyph of Chance and the Luck Parameter

An important aspect of the WorldShards economy is the ability to farm tokens, which is influenced by an item’s Luck parameter. The Luck parameter is determined by Glyphs of Chance, special entities that can be inserted into collectible items to enhance their farming efficiency. Glyphs of Chance are exclusively found in collectible items and play a crucial role in determining their effectiveness in acquiring tokens. Future updates will introduce the ability to remove and transfer glyphs between different items, adding a strategic component to crafting and customization.

Currently, crafted collectible items come with a built-in Glyph of Chance. However, upcoming changes will allow players to craft items without pre-installed glyphs. This update will enable independent glyph creation and trading, adding another dimension to the game’s crafting system. Since glyphs are NFTs with limited issuance, they can only be crafted if the issuance cap has not been reached or acquired through Open Loot.

Runic Axe

Decorative Items and Crafting Stations

Players can customize their islands with collectible decorative items, which provide visual enhancements and increase Comfort without consuming island capacity. These items contribute to the optimization of crafting stations by providing the necessary Comfort levels required for installation and upgrades. Collectible decorative items can be obtained as blueprints through in-game giveaways, purchases on Open Loot, or as rare in-game drops. Once obtained, the blueprint appears in the player’s inventory and becomes available in the building menu. 

If a player removes a decorative collectible item from their island, the blueprint is returned to their inventory, allowing for repositioning. Decorative items will be introduced in a seasonal rotation, providing players with new options to enhance their islands over time. Higher rarity decorative items offer greater Comfort boosts, making them valuable for improving crafting efficiency and expansion.

Crafting stations play a fundamental role in item production and resource refinement. There are two main types: refining stations, which process raw materials, and crafting stations, which create new items. As these stations increase in level, they require greater island capacity and Comfort, making it necessary for players to strategically manage their resources and island upgrades.

Decorative Items Explained

Final Thoughts

Artifacts in WorldShards are an essential component of the game’s player-driven economy, influencing crafting, item rarity, and overall gameplay progression. As the game evolves, players will have more opportunities to strategically acquire, upgrade, and trade these valuable assets, ensuring a dynamic and engaging experience in the WorldShards universe. Make sure to keep your eyes out for the rest of the articles in this deep dive series.