well sadly beth forget how good these things were back in morrowind.
anyone remember the place where the dragonbone cuirass (artifact) back then was hidden? NO hints on it. NO quest for it. hidden at the EDGE of the world basicly and underwater dungeon.
or boethias shrine which was completly underwater and cracked up. you really had to dive deep to find things like this. gosh i loved that. but we will never see something like this ever again outside of mods... since beth loves thier new (since oblivion) random level based loot chest and itemsystem.... they actually think its good system while it svckS badly...
Well, both systems have pros and cons.
Hand-Placed Powerful Artifacts:
- Every Level 1 Character could simply go there pick it and use it form the begin to the end of the game (Con)
- It made exploration (at least the first time) rewarding (Pro)
- Some Artifacts had unique effects (Pro)
- Some Artifacts didn't had any quests, some of them even had books about them (Pro)
Random-Generated Average Item:
- It's leveled, meaning that at a Boss' Chest you will find something good for your level 1 character, but not always in the same place so you can just pick it up every time. (Pro)
- It made exploration (for the sake of collecting) unrewarding (Con)
- The Items have Generic Enchanted Effects. (Con)
- Almost all Artifacts have quests around them so you don't miss it. (Con)