D&D 5E Does the Artificer Suck?

[DEFCON 1]

I do know that KibbleTasty's Artificer class with its seven(?) subclasses most certainly does not suck.

 

[Asisreo]

Something "sucking" is subjective. If you think it sucks, then it sucks to you (it also sucks to me too, but that doesn't prove anything).

If you can't get into the flow of a class, you'll start seeing how a player that's bad at playing the class or the game in general will suffer hard with it, which is why I think getting into the thought process of the class helps tremendously.

Paladins suck for certain players. The players who wonder "How come I'm always the one getting attacked?" Or "Why do my spells all seem lackluster or mostly the same?"

Clerics suck for certain players. The players who wonder "Why are their so many spells to prepare?" Or "Why does the DM always end my concentration when I'm using Spirit Guardians?"

What sucks for you is what sucks for you. Artificers have a place in the party and they do it well enough to justify playing it if your character vision aligns with the class features.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I actually find Artificers, like much of the later material WotC is adding, OP and unbalanced to earlier material.

We don't allow them in our games anymore.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I have an artificer in my game I run. It's a Battle Smith currently level 6. I've seen it played since level 1.

Anyway it's not really impressing me. It's a half caster that's a bit meh at dealing damage compared with Paladins and Rangers.

It looks like it may get better latter around level 10 or so but that's to late imho.

And the other subclasses look worse than the battlesmith.

Rangers copped a lot if flak for sucking but this class seems worse.

Thoughts?

What sort of facets of the game do you think it lacks at?
Damage dealing is always going to be a given, it being a support class rather than Paladin or Ranger -type combatant.

What sort of game do you run? Combat heavy? Mix of all three pillars?
What are your adventuring days like? Full 8-encounters between long rests, or a bit more truncated usually?
What other characters do you have in the party, and where do you think they are outshining the artificer? Is there anything that the Artificer is the best at, or is everything that they do already covered by another class?

 

[Weiley31]

I kinda view the Battle Smith artificer as a Combatish Medic. But the Artificer is a supporter that crafts things and helps in its own way. It's not meant to cleave thru smucks like the Barbarian, Paladin, or the Fighter.

 

[tetrasodium]

I kinda view the Battle Smith artificer as a Combatish Medic. But the Artificer is a supporter that crafts things and helps in its own way. It's not meant to cleave thru smucks like the Barbarian, Paladin, or the Fighter.

That could be the case, but with the half caster artificer's number of infused items growing even slower than full caster warlock's invocations it really draws attention to the overly conservative pace of what magic items you are getting access to & when you are gaining access to them. It doesn't matter that they get +2 infusions known every 4 levels after 2 because they only have +1 infused item every 4 levels from 2nd on. If having an artificer meant everyone in the party was certain to look like a christmas tree with every slot filled by some kind of magic item but instead it means a couple extra minor magic items in the party & those minor magic items still require attunement. Even though they do get the ability to create nifty magic items like gauntlets of ogre power & belt of hill giant strength they don't get those till 10th & 14th when anyone who really benefits from them probably no longer needs them because they already have equal or better attribs or the game ended long ago How many level 14 characters are going to get excited about a cloak of the bat or ring of the ram?

 

[Zardnaar]

What sort of facets of the game do you think it lacks at?
Damage dealing is always going to be a given, it being a support class rather than Paladin or Ranger -type combatant.

What sort of game do you run? Combat heavy? Mix of all three pillars?
What are your adventuring days like? Full 8-encounters between long rests, or a bit more truncated usually?
What other characters do you have in the party, and where do you think they are outshining the artificer? Is there anything that the Artificer is the best at, or is everything that they do already covered by another class?

Number of fights vary large amount is 6/long rest, sometimes 1/long rest.

 

[Zardnaar]

What sort of facets of the game do you think it lacks at?
Damage dealing is always going to be a given, it being a support class rather than Paladin or Ranger -type combatant.

What sort of game do you run? Combat heavy? Mix of all three pillars?
What are your adventuring days like? Full 8-encounters between long rests, or a bit more truncated usually?
What other characters do you have in the party, and where do you think they are outshining the artificer? Is there anything that the Artificer is the best at, or is everything that they do already covered by another class?

If your playing support there's better classes eg various bards and clerics and they seem better at damage as well.

 

[ccs]

If your playing support there's better classes eg various bards and clerics and they seem better at damage as well.

That might seem true, but does making a bard or cleric - vs an artificer- fit how the player envisions thier character?

 

[tetrasodium]

That might seem true, but does making a bard or cleric - vs an artificer- fit how the player envisions thier character?

all the more reason why the artificer so obviously missing the mark in so many areas it focuses on. If it were a case of them just being bad at some secondary or tertiary aspect it would be one thing, but when their bread & butter areas wind up feeling hamstrung in too many ways lest they possibly inch within sight of a horizon where linear fighter quadratic wizard exists it just draws attention to the inversion.