In PvP battles, Artifacts could have a x% chance of breaking rather than being collected by a the winner.
This could potentially be cumulative with each battle it's in where it loses.
Once broken, it returns to the pool of unclaimed items.
If it doesn't break, the winner receives the artifact, and the player has the chance (before or immediately after the fight) to place a homing beacon on the enemy ship which would allow the player to track them and fight them later to regain their items.
In PvP battles, Artifacts could have a x% chance of breaking rather than being collected by a the winner.
This could potentially be cumulative with each battle it's in where it loses.
Once broken, it returns to the pool of unclaimed items.
If it doesn't break, the winner receives the artifact, and the player has the chance (before or immediately after the fight) to place a homing beacon on the enemy ship which would allow the player to track them and fight them later to regain their items.