I, too, think Artificer deserves more love.
In fact, she deserves better. She deserves to heal. To hope. A fresh start. A light at the end of the bloodstained tunnel. Something to resonate with her broken heart. Someone who will care about her, be patient with her, see past her traumas and crimes, and reach the terribly lonely slugcat beneath all the wrath and tears and resistance. Arti needs the most hugs, no matter how much soot and blood it might cover you in. She needs a shoulder to cry on. She mustn't drown in her hate. /ref (I want to put a song link but I don't know if it's allowed)
Artificer is not evil. I refuse to believe it. She does not want to kill all the scavengers. She's simply so crushed by despair and apathy that she doesn't know what else to do, and vindictiveness has become so ingrained, such a knee-jerk reaction, that she doesn't know how to stop. She doesn't consider stopping a valid option, and yet she certainly doesn't forgive herself for not taking it. Spilling blood and self-isolation are just about the only things that get her mind off of the situation, even though those are exactly what perpetuate it. A vicious cycle, how fitting.
It's a good thing the Great Cycle causes mass murder to carry less weight. Bad actions don't necessarily make a bad person, especially if they can be atoned for. I doubt most of those scavs stayed dead. After the dust settles, for them, it's all just a bad dream... but it's one that Arti can't wake up from.
Who is she, really, under all that pain? Who was she before? Who can she grow to become? I'd love to find out.
(Just goes to show how much you can interpret with these characters, huh? Not putting down anyone else's ideas; this is just my take. Disturb the comfortable, and comfort the disturbed!)