Artifacts are set to return with the release of Shadowkeep after being initially dropped from the equipment-pool roster by Bungie post-Rise of Iron.

In the original Destiny the item add-ons boosted perks and powers, and in the Destiny 2 expansion they altered the game around them if Guardians took full advantage of their strengths.

Now Bungie general manager Mark Noseworthy and franchise director Luke Smith have unpacked how the power gear will be returning to Destiny 2 when Guardians first touch down on the Moon for the first time in this game's lifetime.

"The Artifact is one part of this philosophy around making sure that in Destiny going forward, our seasonal content feels like it’s got a sense of momentum," Smith told Polygon earlier this week.

"We kind of have this overall vision for what we’re trying to do with the Destiny RPG game, which is really enabled and empower build crafting,” said Smith. “The Artifact is one of the tools that we’re experimenting with, alongside the Armor 2.0 system, which is modding your character and modding — in some cases — your abilities, to become more powerful."

According to the commanding duo from Bungie, players will forgo keeping their artifacts around each season. Instead, you'll dump your old ones and grab new ones as each new expansion and season release rolls around on the calendar.

Each season, players will set aside their old Artifact and pick up a new one. For the game’s fiction, it’s to help players feel like there’s a through-line in the Destiny experience.

First up: the Eye of the Gatelord.

This Artifact was revealed in the Out of the Shadows ViDoc and looks like it correlates to the Vex, the main enemies Guardians will face in the Black Garden raid attached to Shadowkeep.

Smith also revealed players will slot mods into their new Artifact each season, some of which could seriously impact player powers or abilities. At the end of the season, players will replace their Artifact with something completely new, with new mods and abilities.

“We think of every season having some kind of flavour,” Noseworthy said to expand on Smith's explanation. The duo hopes these new artifacts, as well as the armour 2.0 system, will "push characters in completely new directions or builds each season".

I guess we'll have to wait and see if that's true. Shadowkeep drops on Tuesday, September 17.