Updates have stalled for Godzilla: Defense Force, meaning the state of the current game will likely reflect the final state of the title. As a result, we are ready to present our last tier list for the mobile game, a much delayed Godzilla: Defense Force artifact tier list.

This is arguably the most important tier list. While all artifacts are beneficial, as they all boost attack by +25% and have an added effect, the game is setup so that players won’t get them all. This is because of the scaling costs, which make it harder and harder to get the next artifact. Consequently, players should expect to get 18-20 artifacts out of a total of 23. This means players need to prioritize their artifacts, deciding which ones to keep and which ones to invest in through upgrading. The sooner the player makes this decision the better, as investing in artifacts makes them more expensive to deconstruct to try and get a new one. This can be unfairly punishing as for example it can cost 5,000 X-nium to deconstruct a level 25 artifact.

Below is a tier list to help make these decisions. The higher on the tier list, the better the artifact and the more recommended it is to invest in it. In addition, the S-B tiers are “must haves” and should be prioritized for investments. Please note, though, that I don’t have all the artifacts. In particular, I never acquired the Oxygen Destroyer. As a result, its placement is estimated based on perceived value and might be adjusted at a later date.

Space Crystal

Time Shards +2% for each level

The end, end game is essentially boiled down to:

• trying to progress further
• speeding up runs before time travel
• acquiring more Time Shards to upgrade artifacts

The Space Crystal is in its own tier because it’s the only artifact that boosts Time Shards. You’ll also get “more bang for your buck” for just increasing the amount of shards earned versus the huge investments required toward boosting your attack in a meaningful way at the end of the game. Consequently, this is the most important artifact in Godzilla: Defense Force. It’s a must for all players and is the best investment in terms of leveling up their artifacts.

Laser Guided Missile

 Attack +25% for each level

The type specific artifacts are very powerful. Their boost appears to be separate from other modifiers, such as boosts from cards or the flat attack boost from all artifacts, so multiply to great effect. Not only that but their boost, +25% attack for each level, is very generous compared to other artifacts. We put this to the test, having a level 21 type artifact versus without, and the difference was a staggering -82% difference in damage for that unit type when it was gone. Now the most powerful unit in every location, from Tokyo to the Moon, is a turret based unit. As a result, the Laser Guided Missile is one of the best artifacts in the game. The progression potential offered by leveling it up is hard to match, while it also visibly boosts DPS that helps fuel other benefits such as ally abilities or money earned from tasks/idle currency/Moonstone packs.

Cell of SpaceGodzilla

Production Speed +2% for each level

Production speed is crucial in the game. The faster that units are produced, the more damage that is dealt to the opponent. Not only that but it has a visible boost on DPS, which noted above can be quite important. Now the Cell of SpaceGodzilla looks like it gives a fairly low lift to production speed, but the impact is actually large. We’ve done tests that show it below the type specific artifacts or the location based artifacts in terms of DPS… however, this artifact is great because it helps with everything. It helps against monster waves, it helps against kaiju, it helps against Godzillas, it helps in all locations and with all units. Most artifacts have a specific function or scenario that their boost shines. The Cell of SpaceGodzilla is universally great.

Godzilla Bones

Kaiju Damage +4% for each level

Monster waves can be a pain, but they will never block your progression in the game thanks to the % damage Mysterian and Shobijin ’64 allies. They can take down any monster wave with enough time. The blockers to progression will always be kaiju and Godzillas due to their timers. Of these two, kaiju are much more important to focus on. The reason? While Godzillas are harder opponents you’ll only face one for every four kaiju. Not only that but, probably by mistake, the Godzillas on the Moon actually count as kaiju. This can be seen in the achievements and tasks, which unlike the Earth locations count Godzillas beaten as kaiju. Due to this likely oversight, the Godzilla Bones are key for a much larger percentage of your tough battles and help with progression and faster runs.

DNA Computer

Card Duration +2% for each level

Some artifacts in the game feel like luxuries. These are artifacts that help the player out, but don’t actually contribute in terms of furthering progression or speeding up runs. Now the DNA Computer might feel like just a luxury, since all it does is boost how long a card is active for and as noted on the Card Tier List you can use the card stacking trick to just keep playing more cards. However, it actually helps with progression. The reason is that it boosts card duration but the “cool down period” is fixed. So Destoroyah (Perfect Form), one of the best cards in the game, initially lasts for 20 seconds and has a 20 second cool down period until you can play it again. With the DNA Computer at level 25, though, it now lasts for 30 seconds, an entire match against a kaiju. The cool down period, though, is still just 20 seconds. This means after 20 seconds, you can play the card again and stack the boosts. So if you time it right, at level 25, you can get 10 seconds of +4000% critical damage x2. This stacked boost can be the key to winning a match. An ideal strategy can be to play both Destoroyah (Perfect Form) and Godzilla ’01 first so that when their cool downs finish you can play them again, reaping the 10 seconds of stacked boosts. …Not only that but it’s also just nice to boost your card duration to such huge levels that you can wipe out multiple kaiju on the Moon with the same card combo.

Tracer Bullet

Critical Attack +50% for each level

We covered it on the Card Tier List: critical damage is the end game. While critical attacks might feel lame at first, as cards are maxed out they start to really shine and completely overshadow the skill attack cards (hologram cards). As a result, the Tracer Bullet is very beneficial to dishing out a lot of damage as it directly boosts the effectiveness of critical attacks. In fact, some might argue it’s too low on this list after seeing the mammoth +50% it gives. However, while it is one of the best artifacts, this boost is diluted a little. The reason is how it works when combo’ed with the Godzilla ’01 card. Now this game is all about multipliers. Attack boosts x attack boosts x attack boosts. This is why Godzilla ’67 and Keizer Ghidorah are the best two cards in the game, as their boosts multiply together rather than add the way Godzilla ’67 and Godzilla ’02 do. Unfortunately, possibly by mistake, the Tracer Bullet boost is counted as the same as the boost from the Godzilla ’01 card that also raises critical attack. Rather than the boosts multiplying together, they add. So while it does help with damage, it might not be the night and day boost it appears. This is especially true as the Godzilla ’01 at max level, which is very easy to achieve, raises critical damage by +4000%. In contrast this artifact at max level, which is largely unachievable with scaling costs, raises critical damage by +2500%.

Saegusa’s Earrings

G-Cell Regeneration Speed +2% for each level

We’ve reached the middle of the road artifacts. These are good, but not crucial. So when does a luxury artifact elevate beyond that label? When the benefit greatly speeds up runs. The boost to G-cell regeneration saves time. It won’t help you win any matches, but in many scenarios the boost here will have a greater impact on time to complete a run versus improving your attack power.

FM Missile

Critical Rate +1% for each level

Critical damage is key late game… what holds this artifact back, though, is that the Godzilla ’00 card is so amazing. It boosts the critical rate +96%, so with just that card alone only 4% of the player’s hits won’t be critical. Pair that card with the FM Missile and the player can achieve that nice 100% rate, where every single hit is critical. However, the FM Missile is contributing very little in that scenario. As a result, investing after level 4 is mostly just for speeding up runs when the player isn’t throwing down card combos. That said, if someone is opposed to using the card stacking trick, this card jumps to A tier and becomes a must invest as it’s required to unlock the potential of a limited three card combo of Godzilla ’67 + Keizer Ghidorah + Destoroyah (Perfect Form).

Seatopia Stone

Coin Production +4% for each level

This is a luxury artifact since players can just keep replaying a level to acquire more money. The boost here is also small enough that it’s not going to push a player to new heights. That said, it’s a good artifact to boost the speed that the player progresses through the Moon. That’s not only important for making the player’s overall run time less but it also impacts the more painful part of the game, since the Moon’s all kaiju format isn’t Xilien UFO friendly.

New York Badge

New York Attack +4% for each level

Leading the pack is the New York Badge, which also is a step above the other location artifacts. Now all location artifacts boost visible DPS and the impact is superior to the Cell of SpaceGodzilla but below the unit type badges. What holds them back, naturally, is that they are only good in one location. The reason that the New York Badge is higher is because it’s the city before the Moon. As a result, through leveraging the Shobijin ’66 ally’s money producing ability based on DPS, players can generate a lot of cash. This can put them in the position where they can afford higher grade units the minute they get to the Moon, speeding up arguably the more painful aspect of a run. The goal is to reach at New York 81.84 00 to afford the Railgun Tower on the Moon.

Heat-Seeking Missile

 Attack +25% for each level

As noted, the most powerful unit in every location is a turret. However, the second or third most powerful unit in every location is aerial based. Consequently, this artifact shines even in the late game as it’s common to have the strongest unit on the Moon be either a turret or aerial unit. Furthermore, until the player reaches the xx range of money the most powerful unit in New York will also be aerial based. As a result, this can aid in boosting damage there before that happens.

Tokyo/London/Sydney/Arizona Badge

The remaining location badges are all clumped together. They are decent artifacts, but they are limited in their benefit. Each helps speed up a run or aids in pushing a little bit further but only in one specific city.

Optical Reader

Weak Point Attack +2% for each level

Oddly, this was the artifact that I had the most difficulty ranking. It improves the damage from a Weak Point Attack, which usually does a flat 10%. Every five levels on this artifact adds an extra 1%, so at level 5 a weak point attack does 11% while at level 10 it does 12% and so on. This difference helps, but is unlikely to push a losing match to the win category often. However, it does also improve generating money in the late game when monster health greatly exceeds your listed DPS. In these scenarios flat % damage is the best way to generate cash. This is a bit of a luxury, though, as players can also just equip the % damage Mysterian and Shobijin ’64 allies who at max level do 10%. That said, the artifact does synergize really well with the Seatopia Stone.

Infant Stone

Unit Speed +2% for each level

This artifact boosts unit speed, increasing how quickly a unit attacks after being produced. That seems great on the surface, as in most games attack speed is one of the best aspects to raise. However, Godzilla: Defense Force differs from most games in this regard. Basically, all units have a fixed attack. For example, tanks fire just three times after being produced. Furthermore, kaiju can’t damage units. Instead they attack bases, which halts production if they successfully damage one. As a result, unit speed has very little influence on matches. After being produced, that tank will fire three times. It might take 2 seconds or 1.5 seconds, but the end result will always be the same. Consequently, the only real benefit of the Infant Stone is “last second damage”, so narrowly beating a kaiju/Godzilla.

Enhanced AP Shell

 Attack +25% for each level

While the tanks are overshadowed by the turrets and aerial units, there are points in the end game where your most powerful unit can be a tank. These will be reserved for the Moon, but can occur at breakpoints. These are reaching unit level 600, 800 or 1000. These upgrade points carry with them huge boosts in attack power that are x1,000, x10,000 and x100,000 respectively. This can cause a situation where a unit can leap ahead of others while the player is at a money sweet spot for these upgrades.

Oxygen Destroyer

Godzilla Damage +4% for each level

On the surface, it feels like this artifact is too low on the tier list. What works against it, though, is the fact that, as noted above, the Godzillas on the Moon are counted as kaiju. This is likely a mistake, but has a resounding influence on the value of this artifact. That means it only benefits the player while fighting Godzillas on Earth. Furthermore, with the way health scales, there is never a situation where a player is blocked by a Godzilla but could beat the next kaiju afterwards. That said, Godzillas are worth a ton of Time Shards when beaten, at least on Earth. So some investment to beat them can be useful if you find yourself stuck on an earth one, although generally it’s better to sink that investment into the appropriate location badge instead.

ANEB

 Attack +25% for each level

This is the “best of the worst”. It’s the only artifact in the F tier that actually helps in the end game… but in a really minor way. That way is when you first visit a location and its speed up getting to the next unit or if you happen to have a troop unit maxed at a location and nothing else. Sadly, troop units are lacking when it comes to damage. Furthermore, the Command Center costs scale in an odd way, making it more expensive than the tank unit on the Moon. This limits the troop unit to one gasp of glory: the Heavy Armor unit on the Moon. However, I have yet to hit a outcome where the Heavy Armor unit is the most powerful in a run. For most this is a “skip it” artifact.

D-03

Active Skill Attack +2% for each level

The end game is critical attack. The early game is skill attacks (the hologram cards that summon an attacker). There is a time where this artifact helps with progression, but it’s on borrowed time until the player levels up their critical chance/attack cards and never looks back. The boost from this artifact is also pathetically low at just +2% for each level for something tied to a card, although even if it was dramatically higher it would still be bottom tier unless it was so significant as to make skill attack cards a viable alternative to critical damage.

Space Titanium

Moonstone +2% for each level

This is the definition of a luxury artifact that is nothing more than that. What it does is boost Moonstone production. The problem is that Moonstones, compared to other currency, are limited in function and it’s not that hard to reach a level where acquiring more isn’t a concern. Once a player maxes the handful of important allies… that’s it. They have likely outgrown the benefit of opening the Moonstone card packs, since they can’t have the desired four of five star cards, and that renders Moonstones as not worthwhile along with this artifact. As a side note, version 2.2.3 changed the game to make Moonstones much easier to get as survivors wouldn’t reset with time travel. Version 2.3.2 made them even easier to get with a Kaiju Dungeon reward system that pays out Moonstones. Regardless, even before these changes this was a bottom tier artifact that was just made worse.

Statue of King Caesar

Idle Coin Production +4% for each level

Here it is: the worst artifact in the game. Never invest in the Statue of King Caesar. The problem with this artifact is that what it does is limited and the player quickly progresses past its usefulness. Essentially, idle coin production is influenced by “static” DPS. Early in the game, idle money is actually a good way to progress. However, as the player levels up their cards, “static” DPS is not representative of the player’s true attack power as cards will greatly boost the attack by multiplying together. As a result, in the end game players can expect to be stuck at a location where, for example, their idle money might be in the “tt” range… when what they actually need to progress is in the “vv” range, making it worthless.