D&D 5E How is Artificer Balanced?

[TaranTheWanderer]

In our game, we are 4th level. We have a rogue/wizard, barbarian, artificer and cleric.

This is what we've noticed about the artificer - specifically the Artillerist turret:

Spoiler: turret

The cannon is a magical object. Regardless of size, the cannon has an AC of 18 and a number of hit points equal to five times your artificer level. It is immune to poison damage, psychic damage, and all conditions. If it is forced to make an ability check or saving throw, treat all it's ability scores as 10 (+0). If the Mending spell is cast on it, it regains 2d6 hit points. It disappears if it is reduced to 0 hit points or after 1 hour. You can dismiss it early as an action.

Casts burning hands better than the wizard: While the PC does his main action, his turret that has movement can cast burning hands every round, without using spells slots as a bonus action.

Casts Healing Word better than a cleric: Every round, it can give ALL ALLIES withing a radius 1d8+INT temporary hit points as a bonus action. Every round. The synergy with the barbarian rage is obvious. He can just constantly top us off.

It can eldritch blast every round as a bonus action: 2d8 Force damage, every round.


It isn't concentration. It can't be counter-spelled or dispelled. You can try to kill it but it has 5 hit points/level of artificer. If I took average hit points as a rogue or cleric, I'd have the same number of hit points as the turret. It has an AC of 18 which is higher than most PCs at low levels and roughly as good as the cleric or fighter. You can heal it better than you can heal a PC with a cantrip- so no spell slots to cast - just your action.

At 4th, the player took Magic initiate with the plan of summoning a familiar and having the bird fly the turret around the battlefield. Since it's hand-sized and has no weight, it should work, right?

My question: What other aspects of the Artificer make it balanced with the rest of the classes - IE: What are the Cons to playing an artificer?

 

[NotAYakk]

First, it is doing one of those.

Second, on a class without extra attack.

By level 5, the Artificer with a firebolt cantrip is doing 2 attacks, one for 2d8(9) and another for 2d10+1d8(15.5).

The warlock is doing 2d10+8(19), only slightly less; in she also uses Hex it is 26, exceeding Artillerist single target damage.

And the warlock has 3rd level spells, while the artificer is stuck on 2nd until much later.

Artificers sacrifice full casting for higher at-will damage than most full casters and some fun utility.

Their level 3 feature is strong, so they have a power spike.

 

[Vael]

All those abilities function off of the same Eldritch Cannon, the Artificer cannot do all three. Second, the Cannon only lasts 1 hour, and only gets one free use per day, so if you have more than one combat, the Artificer has to burn a very precious spell slot.

Artificers are half casters, they still only have 1st level spells while your full casters have twice the spell slots at this level.

The Cannon is a spike in the Artificer's power set, but it's like the Moon Druid, very noticeable now, will get in line pretty quickly.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

First, it is doing one of those.

Second, on a class without extra attack.

By level 5, the Artificer with a firebolt cantrip is doing 2 attacks, one for 2d8(9) and another for 2d10+1d8(15.5).

The warlock is doing 2d10+8(19), only slightly less; in she also uses Hex it is 26, exceeding Artillerist single target damage.

And the warlock has 3rd level spells, while the artificer is stuck on 2nd until much later.

Artificers sacrifice full casting for higher at-will damage than most full casters and some fun utility.

Their level 3 feature is strong, so they have a power spike.

Ok, thanks. We were wondering if it was just a low level spike in power that would even out over time.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Others have covered the main points about the power of the Artificer, but it looks like there might be a couple of rules mistakes you're using that make it seem a bit more powerful than it actually is.

You can heal it better than you can heal a PC with a cantrip- so no spell slots to cast - just your action.

Mending takes an entire minute to cast - not an action.
So after a fight you can top it off, but not during a fight. If you have another fight before it ends.

At 4th, the player took Magic initiate with the plan of summoning a familiar and having the bird fly the turret around the battlefield. Since it's hand-sized and has no weight, it should work, right?

It does not "have no weight". It just doesn't list a weight for it in the same way as a cat has no listed weight. It is still a metal or similar object that is the same size as a familiar. Letting a familiar be able to carry it, and particularly fly with it would be very much a DM call.

My question: What other aspects of the Artificer make it balanced with the rest of the classes - IE: What are the Cons to playing an artificer?

Artificers have fairly good consistent damage, but lose out on being able to nova when they need to like a full caster. They are really good support characters - perhaps as good as bards - but a bard is always going to have more powerful spells.

At your current level, the artificer is pretty good, but they are probably having to spend all their spell slots on their turret. Next level, the martials get a whole extra attack, the spellcasters get access to the much more powerful 3rd level spells. The artillerist will get an at-will damage bump a bit higher than the spellcasters, bit is only then hitting 2nd level spells.

 

[Teemu]

Healing Word is in many ways better than the cannon’s temp hp. Healing Word brings back PCs from unconsciousness, which is arguably its best use. If you’re at 0 hp, temp hp won’t make you conscious. You need at least 1 hit point for that, and temp hp don’t do that.

 

[NaturalZero]

I'd rather take the battlesmith for sustained dps anyway. 1d10+1d8+5 at 3rd level isn't bad but it jumps to 2d10+1d8+11 at level 5 and scales better than artillerist. You also get your iron defender all day with disadvantage debuff every round while the artillerist has to burn spell slots and whole actions to get the turret going. The turret sounds dope but the defender is better in too many ways.

EDIT again: Forgot that Arcane Weapon didn't get an official publication. That was a nice buff for battlesmith.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Artificers are balanced by having the casting ability of a paladin or ranger.

Also, a familiar turret wouldn't last to the end of the first round of combat, and that's 10gp every time it dies.

 

[Weiley31]

They get an Eldritch Boom stick. What's not to love?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

They get an Eldritch Boom stick. What's not to love?

I wish that all their widgets could be the same object. Let me make my crossbow both my Eldritch canon and my arcane firearm. It’s weird as hell to be constantly swapping them around.