I really, really, really don't like that they're trying to fit mechanical engineering into a spellcasting chassis. The whole "The Magic of Artifice" text-box makes my skin crawl:
"As an artificer, you use tools when you cast your spells. When describing your spellcasting, think about how you’re using a tool to perform the spell effect. If you cast cure wounds using alchemist’s supplies, you could be quickly producing a salve. If you cast it using tinker’s tools, you might have a miniature mechanical spider that binds wounds."
It gets worse as it goes on, and the whole time I'm wondering... why? Why not just give the Artificer their own unique abilities that allow them to manufacture mechanical spiders that bind wounds or produce healing salves? Why make these abilities "spells" and dump all the responsibility of making them cool and flavorful onto the players themselves? Also, what happens when the Artificer enters an anti-magic zone? Do the clockwork spiders suddenly stop working? Or the healing salves? Meh...
I wish they'd just make an all-out engineer class (with gunpowder and clockwork inventions a la World of Warcraft) or an all-out magic-item-creation class. Instead, they're trying to kill two birds with one stone and fit both archetypes into a single class. It just doesn't work.
A good post. I agree they should stick with magic and make Tinker/Engineer something else like The Critical Role gunslinger. By the title of Artificer, they should be about infusing objects into magic items.
What like, I REALLY like, its the
Crafting bonus,
Infuse Item,
Spells storing(though at level 18 its so late they are denying a strong heart of the class like giving moon druids shape change at level 18), and Soul of Artifice (which is good but I liked Superior Attunement at level 5 easing you into it). I even like it as a half caster class with cantrips that they change as they level (its shifting low level magic which I can except with class that studies the workings and manipulation of magic for the purpose of infusing it into items) and 1st level spells at level 1 with ritual casting. To me this makes them Wizards who decided to specialize in crafting items then at level 3 they specialize into a specific type of items. I love this feel and it makes since as studied practitioners of magic learning to infuse that magic into items should require some of the same base fundamentals.
What I don't like is the
support constructs (make Golemancy / Forge a subclass give them a "Warforged light assistant"),
Arcane Armament (they are a caster class dedication way to much time to magic and construction to be picking up "Extra attack", its the same problem with magic and engineering. A little is fine. They have armor, shield, simple weapons, crossbow proficiencies and give them Green Flame Blade/Booming Blade a magic solution to melee but not extra attack a melee staple ability), and
The right cantrip for the job (This is something wizards can't do and should be better at)
My Suggested fixes: switch Arcane Armament at level 5 for a "Superior Attunement/Spells storing" hybrid, The +1 attunement item is very artificer like but not useful until you get a magic item and scaling it up to level 15 is good but not useful at lower levels. Spell storing is key ability of awesomeness which becomes wasted at level 18 but perhaps too powerful at lower levels, so you need to cap it at lower levels then open it up at higher levels.
Magic Item connections
At 5th level, your superior understanding of magic items allows you to use them to a greater degree. You can now attune to up to four, rather than three, magic items at a time. You also learn to store spells in none magical items. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch one simple or martial weapon or an item that you can use as a spellcasting focus and store a spell in it, choosing one 1st level spell from the artificer spell list that requires 1 action to cast (you don’t need to have the spell prepared). With the object in hand, a creature can take an action to produce the spell’s effect from it, using your spellcasting ability modifier but their on concentration if required. Once used the item is once again mundane. You can have this ability active on a number of items equal to your intelligence modifier. If you cast it on an additional item after that the oldest active items magic dissipates and becomes mundane.
Superior Magic Storage
At 10th level, You also learn to store larger spells in none magical items. You can now store spells of level 2 and level 3.
Master Infusion
At 18th level, your superior understanding of magic items has expanded again. You may now attune to five items, rather than four. You also lean to use duplicate infusions letting you put the same infusion in multiple objects at a time but your total number of infusions still can not exceed your intellect modifier (minimum of one).
(AKA, voids: "You must touch each of the objects, and each of your infusions can be in only one object at a time.")
