Just reviewed Treantmonk's video on this. Here is a summary of the issues he sees with the class. I should first mention overall he likes the direction they're going with the class, he just sees some problems:
1) Material Components: Every Artificer spell requires a material component of a tool. You cannot therefore use a weapon and shield, and cast a spell, without stowing/drawing shenanigans. This seems an oversight.
2) Level 6 Uncommon Armor, Wand or Weapon Item plans: This is too broad because of Enspelled items. This is a LOT of spells you suddenly get every day at this level. And the spell DOES NOT NEED TO BE ON YOUR SPELL LIST according to Crawford in the video, which means some spells which are otherwise siloed from classes like Bards are not siloed from this class. This isn't a huge problem at level 6 since it's cantrips and first level spells (though it can be in theory). But later when you get 3rd level spells it can be a problem.
3) Level 11: Spell Storing Item. This is his 2nd biggest issue with this playtest version. This is TEN extra 3rd level spells per day. 11th level Battlesmith has their pet fire 10 Conjure Barrage every day. Artillerists' fire 10 Fireballs per day. Armorer can do 10 Hypnotic Patterns or Lighting Bolts. Alchemists can do 10 hastes or dispel magic.
4) Level 14: Magic Item Savant. This is his 1st biggest issue with this playtest version. You now have TWO MORE Enspelled items each of which holds six 3rd level spells, from any spell list! And why not add a third rare item of something like Wand of Fireballs which holds 7 fireballs for your Artillerist? By his count, including your normal three spell slots, you could have 32 fireballs per day (or any other 3rd level spell, including a 3rd level Paladin or Ranger spell)! Now normally there would be no need for 32 fireballs per day because you won't have that many rounds of combat usually. Unless your near-infinite Homunculi cast those fireballs from the enspelled items, as below.
5) Endless Homunculus Exploit: There is a rules exploit. You create an enspelled weapon that has your Homunculus Servant spell enspelled into the weapon (6 used a day). You hand the weapon to your Homunculus. They attune to it then cast the spell, and they have another Homunculus servant. And they hand the weapon on, until you have 6 Homunculus servants. And then you do it again the next day. And so on, until you have as many Homunculus servants as you want. And they can all Force Strike a foe all on the same turn, because they all go in succession after your PC goes on their initiative. But it would be better if they just cast fireballs from your enspelled item, and hand it on down the line, to nuke a room.
6) Now you might say hey, I wouldn't allow that exploit. Yeah, me neither, though they should close that endless loop in the rules. But you're likely going to have a single Homunculus with maybe an enspelled weapon, and a single Familiar which has an enspelled item, and both can use them to cast additional spells each round without an exploit. If you're a Battlesmith you might have another creature under your control with Steel Defender which can use an item. So now you can cast four third level spells every round without an exploit. Those could be four different concentration spells even. Four Hypnotic Patterns? Yup, you could in theory do that.
7) The lower level item you can create includes a bag of holding. At high levels (I think 14th) you can make a portable hole. So you can have your homunculus fly to a foe, dump the bag of holding in the portable hole (or vice versa? whichever one causes the implosion) and boom, big bad sucked into the resulting implosion at the cost of a spell slot and two of your daily magic item creations.
Those are the major issues he sees, at least some of which should be addressed in the revision after the playtest feedback.
