Wayfinder
What it is
Wayfinder is a stat-category artifact that grants a permanent maximum-speed boost at the start of every run. It procs exactly once per run, on the run-start signal, and applies a percentage multiplier to the ship’s maximum-speed stat that lasts for the entire run. It is the mobility pillar of the run-start triple: a utility starter, an offense starter, and Wayfinder (mobility) together give a player rolling all three a comfortable foundation across movement, collection, and damage from level one.
Identity
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Display name | Wayfinder |
| Category | stat |
| Damage tag | none |
| Trigger | signal: run start |
| Trigger conditions | none |
| Passive flat-bonus stat | maximum speed (flat additive points) |
The run-start trigger has no threshold or filter — the effect fires once when the run begins, before any combat takes place.
Per-tier values
The triggered effect carries one named magnitude (the maximum-speed percentage granted) plus the per-tier flat passive maximum-speed bonus. Tier 1 shares the same triggered-effect value as tier 2; the difference between the two tiers is only in the flat passive bonus.
| Tier | Run-start max speed | Flat max-speed bonus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (common) | +10% | +10 |
| 2 (uncommon) | +10% | +20 |
| 3 (rare) | +15% | +30 |
| 4 (epic) | +22% | +40 |
| 5 (legendary) | +30% | +50 |
The flat passive bonus follows the global per-tier ramp shared by every artifact (10/20/30/40/50). Wayfinder’s passive stat is maximum speed, matching its triggered stat — so both the run-start grant and the passive contribute to the same ship stat. Unlike its two run-start siblings, Wayfinder’s triggered grant is a percentage multiplier on the maximum-speed stat rather than a flat additive points value.
Effect
When the run-start signal fires, the artifact runs the following action:
- Apply a percentage multiplier to the ship’s maximum-speed stat for the rest of the run. The bonus uses the source tag
artifact:wayfinderand is keyed with duration zero, which the modifier system treats as permanent (no auto-expire timer).
The bonus persists until the run ends. It is not refreshed, re-applied, or scaled by any later event — Wayfinder’s triggered effect is a one-shot run-start grant.
Stacking rules
- The triggered modifier uses the default independent stacking mode with no maximum-stacks cap, but because the trigger fires only once per run, exactly one instance of the modifier is ever live for a given artifact tier.
- The flat passive bonus and the triggered run-start grant both target the same maximum-speed stat, but the two values are applied with different modes. The passive is flat-additive points; the triggered grant is a percentage multiplier. They compose through the standard modifier stack — the percentage scales the base-plus-flat result, rather than summing directly with the flat bonus.
- Tier upgrades replace the per-tier values record wholesale. Mid-run tier changes do not apply — tier is set at run start by meta-progression and does not increase during a run.
- Wayfinder can be equipped alongside the other two run-start artifacts (the utility starter and the offense starter). All three procs fire independently on the same run-start signal with no shared cooldown or priority.
EXTRACT-CANDIDATE flags
- “Run-start signal trigger” with no conditions and no threshold is shared by at least the three members of the run-start triple. Candidate concept page:
concepts/run-start-trigger.md. - “Duration zero equals permanent (run-long) modifier” is the engine convention for run-start grants. Candidate concept page:
concepts/modifier-duration-conventions.md. - The runtime tier-1-shares-tier-2 values rule plus the linear flat-bonus ramp (10/20/30/40/50) are documented on the artifacts roll-up but could move to a dedicated
concepts/artifact-tier-mapping.mdfor cross-linking from every per-entity page. - “Percent-mode versus flat-mode modify_stat on the same ship stat” is a stacking-composition detail unique within the run-start triple — Wayfinder is the only member whose triggered grant is a percentage multiplier while its passive is flat-additive on the same stat. Candidate concept page:
concepts/modifier-mode-composition.md(how percent and flat modifiers compose into a single stat). - “Run-start triple” framing (mobility + utility + offense starter trio covering the three core build dimensions from level one) is a design pattern worth its own concept or design-notes page.
- “Public ship-stat palette versus private engine stats” — Wayfinder, Adept, and Stockpile are the first artifacts whose run-start grants touch the six public stats (weaponDamagePct, fireRatePct, magnetRange, luck, damageReduction, maxSpeed) rather than projectile/summon/knockback systems. Candidate concept page:
concepts/ship-stat-palette.md.