Starfield: What to do inside Artifact Temples

Starfield Artifact Temple.
Starfield Artifact Temples defy gravity. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Once you unlock the Into the Unknown quest line in Starfield, you'll be able to go searching distant planets for more strange Artifacts. It turns out that acquiring more of these objects requires using a scanner and entering a mysterious temple of unknown origin. If you don't know what exactly to do, you might find the whole process a little confusing. No worries! I'm here to help. 

I'll start by going over how to use your scanner to detect Artifact anomalies on planets, and then will explain what exactly you need to do when in an Artifact Temple. After that, you'll unlock something that helps make Starfield one of the best Xbox games and best PC games out there.

How to use the scanner to check for anomolies

The scanner in Starfield distorts when it detects an anomaly. (Image credit: Windows Central)

After you grav jump to a planet that has an Artifact reading coming from it, you'll need to land and get out of your ship. Then press the LB button on your Xbox controller to bring up your scanner. Use your joystick to point the radial in various directions until you see the outer circle of the scanner distorting (as pictured in the image above). 

Starfield Artifact Temple door. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Then follow in the direction of the distortion until you find a pointed building with strange gravitational anomalies. There are always two doors into these temples, always at the base of the building and surrounded by towering walls. Choose either door to enter.

What to do in Artifact Temples

Starfield Artifact Temple and glittering lights. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Upon walking into an Artifact Temple, you'll find that gravity isn't working normally. You'll notice some swirling bits of light appearing here, disappearing, and then reappearing elsewhere. This is called a Distortion. Use your joysticks to head toward the Distortions as they appear and get to them before they disappear. You can press in LS to give yourself a quick boost in the air to reach them faster. 

Each time you successfully touch one of these lights you'll hear music swelling and the rings in the center of the room will gather more glittering light to them. Touch several of these Distortions in succession until the rings power up. 

Starfield Artifact Temple rings. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Next, head toward the center of the ring and press A. You'll see a very brief cutscene that's similar in many ways to the one you saw when you first touched an Artifact in the mine. However, this time the vision and music will show you a symbol at the end. This symbol is a new Starborn Power that you unlock.

Starborn Powers

Starfield Starborn Powers chart. (Image credit: Windows Central)

There are a total of 24 Starborn Powers waiting to be discovered on various planets. By taking on more missions to locate the anomalies coming from Artifact Temples, you'll unlock more abilities that you can utilize in battle. So take on more of these missions each chance you get.

You can only have one Starborn Power active at once. To change it, open the menu, hold up on the right joystick to highlight Powers and then press A to enter the Starborn Powers menu. From here, you can select any of the Powers you've unlocked so far, as well as get a run-down on what abilities they give you when active. We're working on compiling a list of all Starborn Powers and will have it go live it as soon as possible. 

The best advice in regard to Starborn Power is to change it frequently according to whatever it is you're currently doing in the game. Each power can be useful, but you'll find that they each work better in specific scenarios. To unlock additional powers, talk to Vladimir Sall on The Eye, and he can point you toward additional anomalies coming from distant planets.

That's all there is to it

Knowing how to use the scanner to locate anomalies and then knowing what to do in an Artifact Temple isn't entirely straightforward. However, once you know what to look for, the process of unlocking additional Starborn Powers becomes very easy to do. Just continue to ask Vlad on The Eye for more Artifact signals and then grav jump after them. 

Pay attention to the different Starborn Powers you unlock and equip the one that you feel will be the most beneficial in any specific mission you are currently on. You'll find it can really give you an edge if used correctly. 

Rebecca Spear
Editor and Reviewer

Self-professed gaming geek, Rebecca Spear, is one of Windows Central's editors and reviewers with a focus on gaming handhelds, PC gaming, and laptops. When she isn't checking out the latest games on Xbox Game Pass, PC, ROG Ally, or Steam Deck; she can be found digital drawing with a Wacom tablet. She's written thousands of articles with everything from editorials, reviews, previews, features, previews, and hardware reviews over the last few years. If you need information about anything gaming-related, her articles can help you out. She also loves testing game accessories and any new tech on the market. You can follow her @rrspear on X (formerly Twitter).