War and Order Orange Artifacts: Stars, Ranks and Shard Costs
How War and Order Orange artifact stars and ranks work: 16 stages, level requirements and 1,700 shards, with a full worked example using Excalibur.
Updated: November 2, 2026
The short answer
An Orange artifact has 16 stages, made up of 6 stars and 10 ranks between them, and needs 1,700 shards from nothing to 6 stars. Stars also have level requirements: 10 for 2 stars, 20 for 3, 30 for 4, 40 for 5 and 50 for 6. Getting to level 50 takes 4,523,710 XP from level 1.
Blue and Purple are simpler. They have no ranks, with Blue reaching 4 stars for 540 shards at up to level 30, and Purple reaching 5 stars for 1,000 shards at up to level 40.
Stars, ranks and shards
Ranks sit between stars. A star with ranks has one fewer than its number: 2 stars has 1 rank, 3 stars has 2, 4 stars has 3 and 5 stars has 4. 1 star and 6 stars have none. A star's shard price is split evenly between the ranks of the previous star and the star itself. So the 280 shards for 4 stars become 93 for 3 stars Rank 1, 93 for Rank 2 and 94 for 4 stars, with the leftover going on the last step.
The star level limit is the only one we apply to ranks, and we assume they have no extra requirement. The XP column is the total from level 1 to the required level.
| Star | Artifact level needed | Ranks at this star | Shards for this star | Shards in total | XP from level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 20 | 0 |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | 80 | 100 | 7,680 |
| 3 | 20 | 2 | 160 | 260 | 187,150 |
| 4 | 30 | 3 | 280 | 540 | 877,740 |
| 5 | 40 | 4 | 460 | 1,000 | 2,260,330 |
| 6 | 50 | 0 | 700 | 1,700 | 4,523,710 |
Worked example: Excalibur
Excalibur is a Force artifact. Each stage adds a new stat or raises an existing one, so this table shows what you get for each batch of shards. Attack Boost is the main stat, and grows by 0.3 per artifact level instead of by stage, from 4.3% at level 1 to 19% at level 50.
| Stage | Star and rank | Level needed | Shards | Shards in total | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 star | 1 | 20 | 20 | Attack Boost starts at 4.3%, and grows with level |
| 2 | 2 stars | 10 | 80 | 100 | Cavalry Attack 7.5% (new) |
| 3 | 2 stars, Rank 1 | 10 | 80 | 180 | Cavalry Attack 7.5% to 9% |
| 4 | 3 stars | 20 | 80 | 260 | March Size Limit 6,500 (new) |
| 5 | 3 stars, Rank 1 | 20 | 93 | 353 | Cavalry Attack 9% to 10.5% |
| 6 | 3 stars, Rank 2 | 20 | 93 | 446 | March Size Limit 6,500 to 7,200 |
| 7 | 4 stars | 30 | 94 | 540 | Infantry Attack 14% (new) |
| 8 | 4 stars, Rank 1 | 30 | 115 | 655 | Cavalry Attack 10.5% to 12.5% |
| 9 | 4 stars, Rank 2 | 30 | 115 | 770 | March Size Limit 7,200 to 7,900 |
| 10 | 4 stars, Rank 3 | 30 | 115 | 885 | Infantry Attack 14% to 16% |
| 11 | 5 stars | 40 | 115 | 1,000 | March Speed 22% (new) |
| 12 | 5 stars, Rank 1 | 40 | 140 | 1,140 | Cavalry Attack 12.5% to 15% |
| 13 | 5 stars, Rank 2 | 40 | 140 | 1,280 | March Size Limit 7,900 to 8,700 |
| 14 | 5 stars, Rank 3 | 40 | 140 | 1,420 | Infantry Attack 16% to 18.5% |
| 15 | 5 stars, Rank 4 | 40 | 140 | 1,560 | March Speed 22% to 31% |
| 16 | 6 stars | 50 | 140 | 1,700 | Troops Damage 11% (new) |
What the example shows
Excalibur at max has 19% Attack Boost, 15% Cavalry Attack, 18.5% Infantry Attack, 31% March Speed, 11% Troops Damage and 8,700 March Size Limit. Cavalry Attack, for example, is added at 2 stars and raised at a rank of each star from 2 to 5.
The stages also make for natural stopping points, and the level requirement decides some of them for you. At level 40, you can go as far as 5 stars Rank 4, at 1,560 shards. The last stage, for 140 shards and 11% Troops Damage, then has to wait for level 50.
That final gap in XP is large. Level 40 takes 2,260,330 XP from level 1, and level 50 takes 4,523,710. So the last 10 levels cost about as much XP as the first 40 combined.
Where the shard numbers disagree
The Gold Artifacts Shards table on our Tables page lists the three steps to 4 stars as 93 each, which makes 279, and it totals 1,699 shards. The star's own price is 280, so the Artifacts tool makes the last step 94 and gets 1,700. That is why you may see both numbers.
Shard costs per stage are the same across Orange artifacts, but the stat at each stage is not, and the Artifacts tool lists every stage for each one. Three crowns, Radiant Scale, Evernight and Ice Crown, have no skill in our data, and their level 50 limit is an assumption.
Using the Artifacts tool
The Force Artifact and Crown Artifact sections each give you a five-slot lineup. Add an artifact, set its level and pick its star and rank. If you lower the level, the stage drops to the highest one allowed. The preview shows the XP and shards to the next stops.
Calculator handles the quick case: choose a quality, then a start and target level and stage, and it returns the XP and shards needed. It does not count what you own, so subtract your shards yourself. Your lineups save in the browser with no account, and a Share button copies a link with your lineup in it.