Artificer playtest any good?

[Starbuck_II]

So in general, what are some good ranged weapons for Artificers?

Something with a +3 proficiency bonus and a decent range is nice, but you need to have an implement in hand, so crossbow?

Man, now I'm missing 3.5's orc shotput or annulut.

You could always not choose implement powers? I mean, similar to Paladins who have high Cha; don't take many Str powers.
Sometimes it is good to specialize (harder in playtest I guess).

 

[Dodavehu]

My first character in 4e so far is a 7th lev Artificer and I'm having a great time so far. Our party consists of a Dragonborn fighter, a Human ranger, an Eladrin monk (basically a rogue with a couple ranger and fighter powers I think), and an NPC Human wizard a couple levs lower.

Pretty much, an artificer excels at buffing/healing the party with a bit of controller thrown in. Just about every single one of their powers has the word "ally" in it.

You basically hit the nail on the head here. Never let your artificer get out of range of your allies. One of your at-wills requires an ally to target and most of your other abilities require or greatly benefit a nearby friend. The powers also fall into one of two conflicting camps: they are either great if a bunch of your enemies are adjacent to each other or are great if a bunch of your allies are adjacent to an enemy.

You're going to spend most of the battle shifting away from the battle and either buffing the defender or healing yourself or other characters.

Tight spaces are your worst nightmare.

The artificer also has some great energy protection powers, but I haven't been able to use any of them so far (all the enemies we've faced so far have used psychic and/or necrotic damage).

Also, I don't see any reason that I would ever use Arcane Tinker (touch an object to allow it to regain hp equal to your healing surge value if it has more than 0 hp).

I use a cross bow, and that works decently. With a striker and a half, we aren't really lacking in the damage department. My DM also let me create a device (I call it a snap-pulley )that let me drop my rod as a free action and have it snap back at my side so that I can use my powers each round without worrying about movement economies (with the combination of Quick Draw of course).

As it stands, just about exactly 50% of my powers require a ranged weapon while the other 50% require an implement. I'm sure this will get fixed when the class is complete and you can specialize a bit better.
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[Grabuto138]

Also, I don't see any reason that I would ever use Arcane Tinker (touch an object to allow it to regain hp equal to your healing surge value if it has more than 0 hp). --

Can the Arcane Tinker ability be used to heal a Warforged? If so this would capture the synergy of the 3.5 Artificer-Warforged relationship nicely. If not it is arguably a dubious ability.

So you suppose that in the final version the Tinker powers will work like cantrips?

 

[1of3]

Can the Arcane Tinker ability be used to heal a Warforged? If so this would capture the synergy of the 3.5 Artificer-Warforged relationship nicely. If not it is arguably a dubious ability.

It probably doesn't. A warforged is a creature, not an object.
But there is really no need to, either. Artificers get Healing Word by any other name.


Also I guess repairing objects might come in handy from time to time.

 

[Dodavehu]

Wow, I actually used Arcane Tinker last game. We failed a skill challenge to disarm a trap that sprung from a baddie's body which ended up frying her magic gear. I was able to repair the bag of holding she was carrying.
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[Whimsical]

So, we may have encountered a bug in this class. Another player is playing it, so I am not familiar with the Artificer's details.

But, he has the ability to reset the daily power of a magic item so it can be used again. But, a character is still limited to using one item daily power per day (per tier).

Bug, feature, or misunderstanding?

 

[tanj]

SBut, a character is still limited to using one item daily power per day (per tier).

You gain an extra use each milestone.

 

[WhatGravitas]

But, a character is still limited to using one item daily power per day (per tier).

Bug, feature, or misunderstanding?

Don't forget milestones!

Cheers, LT.

 

[1of3]

So, we may have encountered a bug in this class. Another player is playing it, so I am not familiar with the Artificer's details.

You're certainly correct. That's how it works.

It also seems quite in line with most a general tendency in 4e: Certain effects may give you greater variety of powers, but you never get more.

The artificer's ability allows to recharge an aberration-slaying sword in a dungeon full of aberrations, for example.

Don't forget milestones!

The artificer's ability resets as well every milestone .

 

[Keenath]

The artificer's ability resets as well every milestone .

Exactly. This ability allows one character to spend every one of his daily item uses on a single item, or you can spread it around to let everyone use their favorite daily item more often.

Also, I don't see any reason that I would ever use Arcane Tinker (touch an object to allow it to regain hp equal to your healing surge value if it has more than 0 hp).

It's there so you can repair your artifices. That ability is the only way to remove damage that's been dealt to them.