⚙ Ancient structures
⚠ Spoiler: this opens in chapter 4.
From chapter 4 surviving structures of the ancients can be seen on the island — a portal with columns and a burning core in the doorway. They are guarded by mechanisms: bronze and stone guardians powered by arcane cores. Inside are the island’s best finds: high-level items, more often rare and legendary, shard dust, arcane cores, blueprints.
| Structure | What’s inside |
|---|---|
| Sanctum of the ancients | Inside — more shard dust and arcane cores. |
| Storehouse of the ancients | Inside — the most items of the ancients. |
| Workshop of the ancients | Inside — a blueprint and ingots. |
- The structures stand far from the landing site: two on a normal island, more on large and huge ones. The farther from the landing, the higher the level (1–3): more guardians, stronger ones, and richer finds.
- Guardians: 3 at a level 1 structure, 4 at level 2, 5 at level 3. The weakest comes out first.
Assault
- The “⚔ Assault” order in the structure’s window: the guard (the “Guard” job) goes there and fights the guardians one on one — like with bandits.
- A fight’s chance is the guard’s strength (the “Combat” skill, weapon, master or elder, illness) against the guardian’s. Without a weapon and skill there is little chance against level 2–3 guardians.
- A defeated guardian doesn’t get up, even if the assault is called off. A guard who loses gets bruised and doesn’t join the assault until they recover.
- Once the last guardian falls, the structure is opened, and the loot goes to whoever opened it.
Put the mechanisms to sleep
- The 🔬 Rune reading research is needed. The price is arcane cores (by the structure’s level) and shard dust (by the number of remaining guardians): the more guardians are broken by assault, the cheaper.
- The “Sorties” job at the structure, faster with the “Lore” skill. The mechanisms fall asleep — the structure opens without a fight.
- If the structure has already been opened by force, choose “Put the control core to sleep” there. This counts for chapter 5 but gives no second loot; the dust cost uses the original number of guardians.
- It doesn’t always work: the chance is from 40% to 95% — higher with the “Lore” skill, lower for high-level structures. If it fails, the guardians wake up, the one putting them to sleep gets hurt, and the work starts over (the price isn’t charged again).
- Cancelling returns the cores and dust.
This guide is built from the data of the game “Oskolki” — a browser colony simulator on a floating shard among the ruins of the ancients. Play for free in the browser.