Unstable Artifacts

It’s Squirrel hunting time!

Introduction to Unstable Artifacts

Unstable Artifacts can only be picked up during Unstable Artifact zone events. These special zone events occur in the Mathosian and Storm Legion zones. Each event lasts for 30 minutes, they are generally the most common types of events in these zones due to the low population requirement to spawn them. You can easily track when these events are happening by using a zone event tracker such as YARET.

During an Unstable event, Unstable Artifacts will spawn throughout the zone, there are two ways to collect them;
1. You can pick them up off the ground, they will look like normal sparkling artifacts except with a blue colour.
2. You can catch Unstable Artifact Thief’s, these are squirrels which run around the zone carrying ‘stolen’ artifacts.

Picking up unstable artifacts off the ground is great if you are just trying to tag the zone event for a zone event completion credit (such as when hunting for the sparkle caches or for a battle pass quest) but if you are trying to actually complete the Unstable Artifact sets then you will want to learn how and where to catch squirrels.

How to Catch Squirrels

Squirrels are caught with nets!
There are 4 kinds of squirrels, Common (white), Uncommon (green), Rare (Blue) and Epic (Purple). Each squirrel type has a matching net to catch it. Nets can catch their specific squirrel rarity plus any below it, for instance a rare net can catch a rare, uncommon and common squirrel but not an epic squirrel. Be careful to use the correct net!

Nets are crafted by Dreamweavers. You could train the Dreamweaving profession on an alt and send all your spare artifacts to that alt to break and craft nets. Or add Dreamweaving as an extra profession on your main using a craft skill extension.

You will need a decent supply of ribbons to craft all the nets you will need for the many many squirrels you will need to catch. Ribbons are created when dreamweavers ‘break down’ an artifact so you will need a lot of spare artifacts to break. You can break any of the duplicate white/green/blue artifacts that you get from the squirrels and sell duplicate purples on the auction house. This will still very much leave you using many more ribbons than you can create from hunting squirrels alone, you will need to subsidise your squirrel hunting adventures with ribbons from other sources, either from hunting other kinds of artifacts and creating extra ribbons or by buying the ribbons from friends/auction.

Net Recipes are looted at random from completion of Unstable events, so you will need to tag your first few events by picking up artifacts off the ground until you have the net recipes. The recipes are tradeable, you may find them in the Auction House.

Crafting Recipe	Level	Ribbons
Common Artifact Thief Catcher	1	5
Uncommon Artifact Thief Catcher	100	25
Rare Artifact Thief Catcher	200	75
Epic Artifact Thief Catcher	300	150

Historic Nets
When Unstable events were first released you had to catch the squirrels using a ground target aoe net (much like catching fire squirrels in freemarch) it was super hard to catch them and was changed within a few months to the spell cast net we have today.

Using Nets

First place the nets in your bags, it helps to have multiples of each type of net as you will likely catch a lot of squirrels during each event.
Drag the nets from your bags onto an action bar, so you have a quick shortcut for using each of them.

Now we need to find some squirrels! Go to an unstable event and run around the zone, paying special attention to the areas marked in the maps below and spamming a targeting macro..

target unstable artifact thief

When you have found a squirrel, walk close to it (within 10 metres) and, with the squirrel selected, click the net on your action bar.
A cast will begin that takes around 5 seconds to finish and catch the squirrel, the squirrel will continue to run around, don’t worry it cant go out of range once you have started the catch. You do need to stay still though, moving will interrupt the cast, though taking damage will not interrupt the cast, so don’t worry too much about any mobs nearby.
You do not need to mentor down.

General Hints and Tips

Squirrels spawn 3 minutes into an Unstable event, when the timer hits 27mins left exactly.
Use insoles and riding chaps to speed up your hunting route
Unstable artifacts on the ground can be seen on the mini-map using Unstable artifact Tracking vials and Patrons Artifact Tracking vial.
Every location can spawn every type of squirrel.
If there are 2 Unstable events on the same zone on different shards be sure to switch to check each location on both shards.

Rewards

The main rewards for the Unstable artifacts are the 6 Planar Squirrel Mounts.
Every unstable artifact set that you hand in will grant you a ‘Planar Nut’, this is a type of currency that goes in your bags, not on your currencies page, so be careful to keep them in a very safe spot in your bags!
When you have 23 Planar Nuts you will be able to buy a mount from the artifact vendor in Tempest Bay at /setwaypoint 12974 11524. Each time you buy a mount you will get a cheevo for buying it, and this works towards a meta cheevo that completes once you have bought all the mounts.

Each of the zones also has an artifact set that will grant you a small fluff item, these are detailed in the individual zone sections below.

H > Character

Planar Squirrel Rancher

H > Character

Buying all 6 mounts and completing the ‘Planar Squirrel Rancher’ cheevo will award you with the ‘Planar Squirrel Feeder’. This is an item that you use on yourself or on another player that will spawn 6 small planar squirrels that will follow you/them around for a short time.

Lost Rewards or Wanting Duplicates

If you lose any of the dimension item rewards or simply want duplicates then you can buy them for lucky coins from the rift store > dimension items > trophies
Or you can visit the artifact vendor in Tempest Bay at /setwaypoint 12974 11524 to buy most of the fluff items with lucky coins.
You need to complete and hand in the artifact set before the item is unlocked for purchase.

Unstable Books

You will also get ‘Unstable Books’ from some of the artifact sets. You wont be able to read these books unless you are in the right spot at the right time! Reading them will credit the Avid Reader cheevo.

The Stabilizer

H > Zones
Awarded for collecting every Unstable Artifact.

Maps for Hunting

Cheevos found in each zone section under H > Zones

Below you will find a map of each zone where Unstable Zone events happen. On the maps are areas of red that show where you will be most likely to find a squirrel running around. Some maps have a lot of red areas, I recommend you pick your own route to move from one spot to the next while spamming your target macro, you will soon get used to where the squirrels are!

It is important that you catch EVERY squirrel that you find.
Each zone has a set number of squirrel spawn locations and only a certain amount of locations can be ‘active’ at one time. When you catch a squirrel, a few minutes later a new one will appear, maybe in the same location but more likely somewhere else on the map. By catching every squirrel that is up, you will be increasing the number of squirrels that spawn overall, thus increasing the amount of epic squirrels that spawn.

Squirrels run around a lot. From a single spawn location a squirrel will run off in random directions, some stay quite close to the spawn area, others do not! The red areas on the map cover where I have personally found squirrels while hunting. They are not an exact science and you may find squirrels just outside the red or waaaay outside the red. Just keep spamming that macro between red spots and change up your route every so often so you are checking new areas.

Unstable Freemarch

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Captured Flames of Smith’s Haven
2. Unstable: Crumbling Fragments of the Undead ~ Reward
3. Unstable: Ephemeral Lakeside Wisps
4. Unstable: Temporal Rill Fish
5. Unstable: Temporary Meridian Edicts
6. Unstable: Unstable Freemarch

Rewards from these sets:
From set 2: Fly Meat is a usable item or a dimension item, it makes flies appear around your character or in a small area in your dimension. Note: this is a very subtle effect!

Unstable Silverwood

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Decaying Treants
2. Unstable: Fleeting Flora and Fauna of Silverwood ~ Reward
3. Unstable: Helpful Faerie Maps
4. Unstable: Technology of Sanctum
5. Unstable: Volatile College Concoctions
6. Unstable: Unstable Silverwood

Rewards from these sets:
From set 2: Dragonfly Lilies is a usable item or a dimension item, it makes Dragonflies appear around your character or in a small area in your dimension.

Unstable Stonefield

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Granite Falls Remedies
2. Unstable: Harrow Tome ~ Reward
3. Unstable: Stonefield Microbes
4. Unstable: Treasures of the Ancients
5. Unstable: Unstable Rocks
6. Unstable: Unstable Stonefield

Rewards from these sets:
From set 2: Unstable Harrow Tomb Book – A book that you need to find a way to read to credit the Avid Reader cheevo.

Unstable Gloamwood

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Brief Protection from Curses
2. Unstable: Cleanwood ~ Reward
3. Unstable: Spider Silk Pictures
4. Unstable: The Collection of Count Cyrus
5. Unstable: Werewolf Parts
6. Unstable: Unstable Gloamwood

Rewards from these sets:
From set 2: Butterfly Flowers is a usable item or a dimension item, it makes Butterflies appear around your character or in a small area in your dimension.

Unstable Scarlet Gorge

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Anomalous Water Samples
2. Unstable: Captured Sunbeams
3. Unstable: Planetouched Pebbles
4. Unstable: Spectral Detritus
5. Unstable: Unbalanced Crystals
6. Unstable: Unstable Scarlet Gorge ~ Reward

Rewards from these sets:
From set 6: A companion pet named Cugly

Unstable Scarwood Reach

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Drowned Halls Leakage
2. Unstable: Dweedle’s Items Not for Sale
3. Unstable: Impermanent Effects of the Life Bomb
4. Unstable: Sagespire Spells Volume II ~ Reward
5. Unstable: The Pit and the Hold
6. Unstable: Unstable Scarwood Reach

Rewards from these sets:
From set 4: Unstable Sagespire Spells Volume II Book – A book that you need to find a way to read to credit the Avid Reader cheevo.

Unstable Moonshade Highlands

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Abyssal Dream Catchers
2. Unstable: Faerie Gardening Tools ~ Reward
3. Unstable: Faering Flora
4. Unstable: From the Depths of Kelpmere
5. Unstable: Haunted Buttons
6. Unstable: Unstable Moonshade Highlands

Rewards from these sets:
From set 2: Bee Blossoms is a usable item or a dimension item, it makes Bees appear around your character or in a small area in your dimension.

Unstable Droughtlands

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Centaur jewelry
2. Unstable: Desert Snow and Ice
3. Unstable: Maelign Secretions
4. Unstable: Striking Crystals of the Droughtlands
5. Unstable: Underworld Communications ~ Reward
6. Unstable: Unstable Droughtlands

Rewards from these sets:
From set 5: Unstable Underworld Communications Book – A book that you need to find a way to read to credit the Avid Reader cheevo.

Unstable Iron Pine Peak

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Failed Cloudbourne Talismans
2. Unstable: Iceworks Experiments
3. Unstable: Rules of the Icewatch ~ Reward
4. Unstable: Snow Demons
5. Unstable: Yeti Children’s Toys
6. Unstable: Unstable Iron Pine Peak

Rewards from these sets:
From set 3: Unstable Rules of the Icewatch Book – A book that you need to find a way to read to credit the Avid Reader cheevo.

Unstable Shimmersand

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Captured Mirages
2. Unstable: Feathers of the Dragonwatch Griffons
3. Unstable: Fragments of Planar Beings
4. Unstable: Shady Dealer Wares ~ Reward
5. Unstable: Shimmersand Fulgurites
6. Unstable: Unstable Shimmersand

Rewards from these sets:
From set 4: Racing Halfwits – A fun interactive Dimension Item that allows you to race bunnies!

Unstable Stillmoor

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Fragments from the Eye
2. Unstable: In the Ashes of Kingsgate
3. Unstable: Life and Death
4. Unstable: Moor Bits of the Dead ~ Reward
5. Unstable: Up the Proverbial River
6. Unstable: Unstable Stillmoor

Rewards from these sets:
From set 4: Haunted Bell – An interactive dimension item that releases a flurry of bats when you click to ring the bell.

Unstable Ember Isle

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Ethereal Gems From The Searing Brink
2. Unstable: Gifts from the Spirits ~ Reward
3. Unstable: Kelari and Farclan
4. Unstable: Sourcewell Ejecta
5. Unstable: Spirit Plants of Ember Isle
6. Unstable: Unstable Ember Isle

Rewards from these sets:
From set 2: Transnogsrifier – A reusable item that turns you into a cute animal!

Unstable Cape Jule

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Found and Lost
2. Unstable: Hiberna’s Mobile Plant Life
3. Unstable: Prior Versions of Auram
4. Unstable: Relics of the Flamesired
5. Unstable: Things You Saw After Licking a Frog ~ Reward
6. Unstable: Unstable Cape Jule

Rewards from these sets:
From set 5: Froggy Caller – Summons frogs on a friendly player, or on yourself!

Unstable City Core

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Barrier Fragments
2. Unstable: Citizen’s Library Books ~ Reward
3. Unstable: Ghosts of City Core
4. Unstable: Planar Tainted Water
5. Unstable: The Raging Karthan Inn
6. Unstable: Unstable City Core

Rewards from these sets:
From set 2: Gorgeous Frog Carving – Turns your character into a frog.

Unstable Eastern Holdings

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Failed Bogling Wishes
2. Unstable: Fen Gorge Geology Volume II ~ Reward
3. Unstable: Nuetta’s New Nightmares
4. Unstable: Phantom Mushrooms
5. Unstable: Secret Communications of the Awakened
6. Unstable: Unstable Eastern Holdings

Rewards from these sets:
From set 2: Unstable Fen Gorge Geology Volume II Book – A book that you need to find a way to read to credit the Avid Reader cheevo.

Unstable Ardent Domain

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Carnos Medals
2. Unstable: Critter Ghosts
3. Unstable: Favorite Spells
4. Unstable: Spooky Book Missing Pages ~ Reward
5. Unstable: Wadu Wadu!
6. Unstable: Unstable Ardent Domain

Rewards from these sets:
From set 4: Unstable Spooky Book – A book that you need to find a way to read to credit the Avid Reader cheevo.

Unstable Kingsward

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Academy Handbook ~ Reward
2. Unstable: Architect Pheromone Jars
3. Unstable: Planar Plants of the Royal Gardens
4. Unstable: Shifted Parasites
5. Unstable: Volatile Golem Components
6. Unstable: Unstable Kingsward

Rewards from these sets:
From set 1: Unstable Academy Handbook – A book that you need to find a way to read to credit the Avid Reader cheevo.

Unstable Ashora

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Karthan Fibers
2. Unstable: Kr’chkk Hive Crystals
3. Unstable: Qaijiri Planar Totems ~ Reward
4. Unstable: Short Lived Mutants of the Biofoundary
5. Unstable: Temporary Rock Formations
6. Unstable: Unstable Ashora

Rewards from these sets:
From set 3: Ungie – A companion pet named Ungie

Unstable Dendrome

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Abandoned by the Abandoned
2. Unstable: Achyati Recipes
3. Unstable: Ever Evolving Wildfire
4. Unstable: More Motes
5. Unstable: Soil Samples from Simoom’s Edge
6. Unstable: Unstable Dendrome ~ Reward

Rewards from these sets:
From set 6: Hailol Jig Ball – A fun and interactive dance floor laser show for your dimension!

Unstable Pelladane

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Dolcega Pamphlets of Dissention
2. Unstable: History of the Sun Temple ~ Reward
3. Unstable: Solitons of Pelladane
4. Unstable: Storm Charged Gems
5. Unstable: Vampire Creatures of Tammark
6. Unstable: Unstable Pelladane

Rewards from these sets:
From set 2: Unstable History of the Sun Temple Book – A book that you need to find a way to read to credit the Avid Reader cheevo.

Unstable Seratos

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Death Plants
2. Unstable: Dreams of the Overseer
3. Unstable: Necropolis Wards
4. Unstable: Shaper Doodles ~ Reward
5. Unstable: Transient Pus Formations
6. Unstable: Unstable Seratos

Rewards from these sets:
From set 4: Spider Crate is a usable item or a dimension item, it makes Spiders appear around your character or in a small area in your dimension.

Unstable Morban

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Failed Stormgrafts
2. Unstable: Lesser Works of Lezul
3. Unstable: Senviva Family History ~ Reward
4. Unstable: Shaper Poetry
5. Unstable: Spectral Belongings
6. Unstable: Unstable Morban

Rewards from these sets:
From set 3: Unstable Senviva Family History Book – A book that you need to find a way to read to credit the Avid Reader cheevo.

Unstable Steppes of Infinity

Artifact sets in this zone:
1. Unstable: Airtouched Shards ~ Reward
2. Unstable: Architects of Infinity
3. Unstable: Infinity Fish
4. Unstable: Soggy Tomes
5. Unstable: Unearthed Curiosities
6. Unstable: Unstable Steppes of Infinity

Rewards from these sets:
From set 1: Lighting Rod – A dimension item that makes sparks of lightning appear when you interact with it.