Paul Farquhar
Legend
No. I guess it is loosely incorporated into PSHE/morning assembly requirements (which are often ignored/forgotten about, even though it's a legal obligation).
D&D 5E (2014) Does the Artificer Suck?
- Thread starter Zardnaar
- Start date
Wow...
Mod Note:
If you have that little respect for the folks you are talking to, it is time to stop talking.
I'll help you with that - you are done in this thread. Go find a discussion that doesn't bring out insults, please.
Last edited:
DukeCityCowboy
Villager
Let me start by saying this is a rant. It's a giant rat-king nest of run on sentences but the content is solid and worth considering when weighing in on the power level of Artificers if your group isn't going to casually look the other way to make the Artificer payable/fun. Having played an Artificer in a long term Eberron campaign in 5e through every iteration of the class since it was pitched as a wizard subclass, and having been asked to adapt my pcs mechanics through its various incarnations through the grueling slog of character progression as an artificer, I have a pretty in depth answer. Before I go into it I just want to give a disclaimer that the artificer class, in concept, has been my favorite character class since 3.5e and I have had fun playing one in 5e... Solely by the generous permission of the GM to allow it to make and innovate using the item creation system available to any class. In 5e the Artificer ends up falling short of its potential due to clunky oversights in game design that ultimately make for a class that, on paper, is capable of bringing a wide array of fun archetypes but in practice makes for the least cohesive class to play. For every inovative mechanic the class brings to the table to make its subclasses attractive, there seems to be an oversight in its implementation and those mechanics sieze up when forced to take into account the same core 5e mechanics that all other classes are bound to . The class ends up being the perpetual brides maid, never the bride when compared to other classes ( and I mean -all- other classes that are designed to fill that party niche). It is true that the scope of roles available to the artificer are impressive, but its range becomes meaningless when the reality sets in that the Artificer class too is locked to the far narrower strengths of the subclass you choose at 3rd level; any subclass of which is handily outclassed by all but the worst subclasses available to the core classes designed to fullfill its same niche. The most unexpected issue is that the artificer ends up being more multiple attribute dependent than anticipated, even for the subclasses that allow for substituting intelligence in their attack roles because that substitution is either limited to attacks made with magical weapons in the case of the Battlesmith or with armor specific weapons in the case of the Armorer. lets take a closer look at the mess that is Battlesmith under the microscope and you will see what I'm complaining about. As an Battlesmith Artificer your support role limited to the spells you know and using your pet's reaction wisely to impose disadvantage on enemy attacks. Compared to the other half casters you lose a fighting style in favor of an admittedly great set of cantrips, but will rarely if ever make use of them in combat due to the clunky requirement of weilding a set of tools or an infusion imbued item to cast those cantrips. Easy enough yeah? This means you have to have a dedicated hand to weilding either tools, or a nonmagical version of an item you have to soup up to end up on a net disadvantage (not -that "disadvantage"-) compared to the items other classes are getting for free as part of their loot from adventuring because your infusions (and primary weapon/item buffing spells) can only be used on non magical targets so if you plan on casting spells all the way through 20th level, you are still stuck holding tools, a mundane shield, or a mundane weapon. But the artificer has firearms proficiency and in theory the battlesmith is the subclass best equipped to make use of them right? Well you are going to take a hit to your ac because you wont be able to weild a shield because your nifty repeating shot infusion may create ammo for your gun but does nothing to get rid of the reload property guns have (which is different from the -loading- property crossbows have) so your second attack is as good as gone if you even pick up a firearm. You still lag behind the guys with archery fighting style and their likely +1 ranged weapon, sharpshooter etc. Oh and to rub in more salt in the wound, you likely wont ever have the feats to get xbow expert, no less sharpshooter so have fun being at a constant disadvantage in melee. Oh and here's another kicker ; your tailored bonus smite spells are all incompatible with ranged attacks so your special bonus spelllist is useless of you go that route. More salt in your wound, you dont get to add your intelligence to your armor class in lieu of dexterity and are still bound to its strength requirements so you may as well do away with that major benefit since dexterity is now nearly as valuable as if you were attacking with it anyway. Your steel guardian is cool but any of the other artificers can make use of the almost equivalent iron guardian. While the artillerist can issue commands to both his turrets, if you decide to get an iron defender too, you wont ever get to do the same for multiple homonculi so thats a useless infusion. The arcane zap that your guardian can do is nice to provide some extra damage or healing but the damage is lackluster compared to the steady flow from features like hex, giantslayer, or Hunter's mark. They took away your equivalent spell, arcane weapon even though it too could only be cast on a nonmagical weapon and thus was incompatible with your infusions, not because it was too powerful for you but because it could possibly be cherry picked and stacked by other classes and instead of giving you Hunter's mark or hex to fill that gap or making it a class feature that isn't easily dipped into they just left the void cementing the regret of not having played a ranger or hexblade crossbow warlock. That and a human hireling with a healing Kit easily outclasses your healing abilities in 5e. Oh and don't bother with two handed weapons because of that earlier mentioned need to have a tool in hand or a mundane weapon infused up because there are no infusions like repeating shot or "fancy shield" to support two weapons and their feat support is still riddled with dexterity and or strength based dependencies and you don't have those due to the big benefit you enjoy of using your int, which also happens to remain the weakest stat in 5e. On the plus side you do get to be proficient in con saves so on the off chance you get to use one of the concentration support spells that the full casters got access to 7-10 levels ago and are able to upcast several times better might actually be a detriment compared to the cantrips you are giving up most of your subclass benefits every time you cast one.
Each of the Artificers subclasses have awful issues just like this wether it's its the artillerist being outclassed, outgunned, and outsupported by the (anything that can cast fireball 4 levels earlier), the glaring issue of the Armorers weapons being about as effective as simple weapons unlike mundane simple weapons can be targetted by your infusions and spells, but at least you didnt have to worry about stength! (Except when grappling, jumping, climbing or being feeble and unable to use magic weapons the DM hands out and your AC being outclassed most other defender types, if not other Artificers. Or the bonuses the alchemist gets to key spell types which feature prominently on their spelllist.?. Nope! All this on top of the fact the Artificers big benefit, infusions, are essentially the equivalent of warlock infusions... er invocations except they eat up attunement slots and make you equip mundane items to gain their benefits, or the percent decrease to the cost of item creation despite no magic item having a price in 5e and the mechanics for making them left purposefully vaugue and unsupported as an optional system the DM has no obligation to include in their game. Imagine if the rogue and fighter instead of getting additional ability score improvements explicitly got feats and you are sol if the GM didn't want to include feats, but worse since at least then you get something. So many of the Artificers class features are item creation features DMs are incentivized to not include by the decision not to publish gold values for magic items. The biggest problem I see with the Artificer was making it's signature ability to use any magic item freely and use them as it's spellcasting niche to 14th level... A level which in a canon eberron game you have would count yourself among the rarest of individuals, the setting Elminsters and Mordenkainens, to have obtained so good luck ever making it there. Tldr: if I had more time I would have written a shorter post.
Each of the Artificers subclasses have awful issues just like this wether it's its the artillerist being outclassed, outgunned, and outsupported by the (anything that can cast fireball 4 levels earlier), the glaring issue of the Armorers weapons being about as effective as simple weapons unlike mundane simple weapons can be targetted by your infusions and spells, but at least you didnt have to worry about stength! (Except when grappling, jumping, climbing or being feeble and unable to use magic weapons the DM hands out and your AC being outclassed most other defender types, if not other Artificers. Or the bonuses the alchemist gets to key spell types which feature prominently on their spelllist.?. Nope! All this on top of the fact the Artificers big benefit, infusions, are essentially the equivalent of warlock infusions... er invocations except they eat up attunement slots and make you equip mundane items to gain their benefits, or the percent decrease to the cost of item creation despite no magic item having a price in 5e and the mechanics for making them left purposefully vaugue and unsupported as an optional system the DM has no obligation to include in their game. Imagine if the rogue and fighter instead of getting additional ability score improvements explicitly got feats and you are sol if the GM didn't want to include feats, but worse since at least then you get something. So many of the Artificers class features are item creation features DMs are incentivized to not include by the decision not to publish gold values for magic items. The biggest problem I see with the Artificer was making it's signature ability to use any magic item freely and use them as it's spellcasting niche to 14th level... A level which in a canon eberron game you have would count yourself among the rarest of individuals, the setting Elminsters and Mordenkainens, to have obtained so good luck ever making it there. Tldr: if I had more time I would have written a shorter post.
DukeCityCowboy
Villager
Let me start by saying this is a rant. It's a giant rat-king nest of run on sentences but the content is solid and worth considering when weighing in on the power level of Artificers if your group isn't going to casually look the other way to make the Artificer payable/fun. Having played an Artificer in a long term Eberron campaign in 5e through every iteration of the class since it was pitched as a wizard subclass, and having been asked to adapt my pcs mechanics through its various incarnations through the grueling slog of character progression as an artificer, I have a pretty in depth answer. Before I go into it I just want to give a disclaimer that the artificer class, in concept, has been my favorite character class since 3.5e and I have had fun playing one in 5e... Solely by the generous permission of the GM to allow it to make and innovate using the item creation system available to any class. In 5e the Artificer ends up falling short of its potential due to clunky oversights in game design that ultimately make for a class that, on paper, is capable of bringing a wide array of fun archetypes but in practice makes for the least cohesive class to play. For every inovative mechanic the class brings to the table to make its subclasses attractive, there seems to be an oversight in its implementation and those mechanics sieze up when forced to take into account the same core 5e mechanics that all other classes are bound to . The class ends up being the perpetual brides maid, never the bride when compared to other classes ( and I mean -all- other classes that are designed to fill that party niche). It is true that the scope of roles available to the artificer are impressive, but its range becomes meaningless when the reality sets in that the Artificer class too is locked to the far narrower strengths of the subclass you choose at 3rd level; any subclass of which is handily outclassed by all but the worst subclasses available to the core classes designed to fullfill its same niche. The most unexpected issue is that the artificer ends up being more multiple attribute dependent than anticipated, even for the subclasses that allow for substituting intelligence in their attack roles because that substitution is either limited to attacks made with magical weapons in the case of the Battlesmith or with armor specific weapons in the case of the Armorer. lets take a closer look at the mess that is Battlesmith under the microscope and you will see what I'm complaining about. As an Battlesmith Artificer your support role limited to the spells you know and using your pet's reaction wisely to impose disadvantage on enemy attacks. Compared to the other half casters you lose a fighting style in favor of an admittedly great set of cantrips, but will rarely if ever make use of them in combat due to the clunky requirement of weilding a set of tools or an infusion imbued item to cast those cantrips. Easy enough yeah? This means you have to have a dedicated hand to weilding either tools, or a nonmagical version of an item you have to soup up to end up on a net disadvantage (not -that "disadvantage"-) compared to the items other classes are getting for free as part of their loot from adventuring because your infusions (and primary weapon/item buffing spells) can only be used on non magical targets so if you plan on casting spells all the way through 20th level, you are still stuck holding tools, a mundane shield, or a mundane weapon. But the artificer has firearms proficiency and in theory the battlesmith is the subclass best equipped to make use of them right? Well you are going to take a hit to your ac because you wont be able to weild a shield because your nifty repeating shot infusion may create ammo for your gun but does nothing to get rid of the reload property guns have (which is different from the -loading- property crossbows have) so your second attack is as good as gone if you even pick up a firearm. You still lag behind the guys with archery fighting style and their likely +1 ranged weapon, sharpshooter etc. Oh and to rub in more salt in the wound, you likely wont ever have the feats to get xbow expert, no less sharpshooter so have fun being at a constant disadvantage in melee. Oh and here's another kicker ; your tailored bonus smite spells are all incompatible with ranged attacks so your special bonus spelllist is useless of you go that route. More salt in your wound, you dont get to add your intelligence to your armor class in lieu of dexterity and are still bound to its strength requirements so you may as well do away with that major benefit since dexterity is now nearly as valuable as if you were attacking with it anyway. Your steel guardian is cool but any of the other artificers can make use of the almost equivalent iron guardian. While the artillerist can issue commands to both his turrets, if you decide to get an iron defender too, you wont ever get to do the same for multiple homonculi so thats a useless infusion. The arcane zap that your guardian can do is nice to provide some extra damage or healing but the damage is lackluster compared to the steady flow from features like hex, giantslayer, or Hunter's mark. They took away your equivalent spell, arcane weapon even though it too could only be cast on a nonmagical weapon and thus was incompatible with your infusions, not because it was too powerful for you but because it could possibly be cherry picked and stacked by other classes and instead of giving you Hunter's mark or hex to fill that gap or making it a class feature that isn't easily dipped into they just left the void cementing the regret of not having played a ranger or hexblade crossbow warlock. That and a human hireling with a healing Kit easily outclasses your healing abilities in 5e. Oh and don't bother with two handed weapons because of that earlier mentioned need to have a tool in hand or a mundane weapon infused up because there are no infusions like repeating shot or "fancy shield" to support two weapons and their feat support is still riddled with dexterity and or strength based dependencies and you don't have those due to the big benefit you enjoy of using your int, which also happens to remain the weakest stat in 5e. On the plus side you do get to be proficient in con saves so on the off chance you get to use one of the concentration support spells that the full casters got access to 7-10 levels ago and are able to upcast several times better might actually be a detriment compared to the cantrips you are giving up most of your subclass benefits every time you cast one.
Each of the Artificers subclasses have awful issues just like this wether it's its the artillerist being outclassed, outgunned, and outsupported by the (anything that can cast fireball 4 levels earlier), the glaring issue of the Armorers weapons being about as effective as simple weapons unlike mundane simple weapons can be targetted by your infusions and spells, but at least you didnt have to worry about stength! (Except when grappling, jumping, climbing or being feeble and unable to use magic weapons the DM hands out and your AC being outclassed most other defender types, if not other Artificers. Or the bonuses the alchemist gets to key spell types which feature prominently on their spelllist.?. Nope! All this on top of the fact the Artificers big benefit, infusions, are essentially the equivalent of warlock infusions... er invocations except they eat up attunement slots and make you equip mundane items to gain their benefits, or the percent decrease to the cost of item creation despite no magic item having a price in 5e and the mechanics for making them left purposefully vaugue and unsupported as an optional system the DM has no obligation to include in their game. Imagine if the rogue and fighter instead of getting additional ability score improvements explicitly got feats and you are sol if the GM didn't want to include feats, but worse since at least then you get something. So many of the Artificers class features are item creation features DMs are incentivized to not include by the decision not to publish gold values for magic items. The biggest problem I see with the Artificer was making it's signature ability to use any magic item freely and use them as it's spellcasting niche to 14th level... A level which in a canon eberron game you have would count yourself among the rarest of individuals, the setting Elminsters and Mordenkainens, to have obtained so good luck ever making it there. Tldr: if I had more time I would have written a shorter post.
Each of the Artificers subclasses have awful issues just like this wether it's its the artillerist being outclassed, outgunned, and outsupported by the (anything that can cast fireball 4 levels earlier), the glaring issue of the Armorers weapons being about as effective as simple weapons unlike mundane simple weapons can be targetted by your infusions and spells, but at least you didnt have to worry about stength! (Except when grappling, jumping, climbing or being feeble and unable to use magic weapons the DM hands out and your AC being outclassed most other defender types, if not other Artificers. Or the bonuses the alchemist gets to key spell types which feature prominently on their spelllist.?. Nope! All this on top of the fact the Artificers big benefit, infusions, are essentially the equivalent of warlock infusions... er invocations except they eat up attunement slots and make you equip mundane items to gain their benefits, or the percent decrease to the cost of item creation despite no magic item having a price in 5e and the mechanics for making them left purposefully vaugue and unsupported as an optional system the DM has no obligation to include in their game. Imagine if the rogue and fighter instead of getting additional ability score improvements explicitly got feats and you are sol if the GM didn't want to include feats, but worse since at least then you get something. So many of the Artificers class features are item creation features DMs are incentivized to not include by the decision not to publish gold values for magic items. The biggest problem I see with the Artificer was making it's signature ability to use any magic item freely and use them as it's spellcasting niche to 14th level... A level which in a canon eberron game you have would count yourself among the rarest of individuals, the setting Elminsters and Mordenkainens, to have obtained so good luck ever making it there. Tldr: if I had more time I would have written a shorter post.
This is a pretty old thread but I agree with basically all of this, even more having played and seen a few artificer over campaigns than the short term artificer experience back when people were being told such complaints were wrong.
Artificer
Tools, not Words (Enhancement to Spellcasting)
Artificer spells use their Tool as a focus, and do not need V components unless the component is specifically mentioned in the spell description as part of the effect of the spell (like suggestion, message or sending).Tool Expertise (Enhancement)
In addition, your magic attack rolls for Artificer Spells and your save DCs with Artificer spells is increased by 2 if you use a tool you are proficient or an infused item as a focus.Spell-storing Item (Enhancement)
When the item is used, it uses “at higher level” effects as if it was cast with a 3rd level slot.Magic Item Adept (Enhancement)
When you reach 10th level, you achieve a profound understanding of how to use and make magic items:- You can attune to up to four magic items at once. You ignore all class and race restrictions on attuning or using a magic item if you can tinker with it (usually while attuning to it) over a short rest.
- If you craft a magic item with a rarity of common or uncommon, it takes you a quarter of the normal time, and it costs you half as much of the usual gold.
Genius Unleashed (Enhancement to Flash of Genius)
Starting at 13th level, you can use Flash of Genius an unlimited number of times on saving throws (but it still requires a reaction), and up to your int modifier number of times between short rests on ability checks.Magic Item Savant (Enhancement)
At 14th level, your skill with magic items deepens more:- You can attune to up to five magic items at once.
- Over a long rest, you can combine two magic items that require attunement, including infused items. You can attune to the item twice (using two attunement slots), gaining the benefit of both enchantments; other creatures can attune to it once, gaining only one of the effects. The combined enchantments must both be compatible with the same kind of item. You cannot use this feature on items that have already been combined.
The Quality of Quantity (Enhancement to spell-storing item)
At 17th level you can create two spell-storing items, and your spell-storing items now create the effect of the spell as if it was cast with a 5th level slot (but can still only be 1st or 2nd level spells).Alchemist
Experimental Elixir (enhancement)
You can have up to your Intelligence bonus (min 1) plus ½ of your Artificer levels total Elixirs levels active at any one time. The 6 random effects count as level 1 effects. When expending a spell slot to create an Elixir, you can either create one of the 6 effects, or you can imbue the Elixir with an Artificer spell of that level or lower; such spells must require 1 action or 1 bonus action to cast, require the full casting time to drink, and can be applied to the person with the Elixir or to an adjacent creature or object (which of these two is chosen when the Elixir is created), and is restricted to 1 target. Any concentration requirement is paid for by the user of the Elixir, the effective slot level and DCs are determined by the spell slot used to create the Elixir and the Artificer’s spellcasting DC. In addition, you can create 1 random experimental Elixir at the end of a short rest.For example, you can create an Elixir of Haste consuming 3 Elixir levels. The user can drink the Elixir as an action, gaining the effects of the Haste spell so long as they maintain concentration on it.
Alchemical Savant (enhancement)
This bonus applies to any spell you cast, not just Alchemist spells, and applies to your Elixirs even if someone else uses them.Restorative Reagents (enhancement)
Whenever you cast Lesser Restoration, the creature is also healed 2d8+intelligence HP, and gains that number of temporary HP.Chemical Mastery (enhancement)
You can cast Greater Restoration or Heal again via this feature again after completing a short rest.Artillerist
Eldritch Cannon (enhancement)
If you do not give the cannon a new order as a bonus action, it continues to do the last action you told it to do in the same target or area, and does not move. It is considered proficient in all saves. Starting at 9th level, it gains an additional bonus to its saving throws equal to your intelligence modifier.Arcane Firearm (enhancement)
Arcane Firearm applies to all spells you cast. Its bonus damage increases to 2d8 at level 11. You can also add your sigils to an actual firearm. If you so so, when you take the attack action with that firearm, you both attack with the firearm and cast an Artificer cantrip without the bonus damage from this feature instead of attacking once. For the purpose of multiclassing, this is considered an extra attack(2) feature.Battle Smith
Battle Ready (rewrite)
At 3rd level, your combat training and experiments have paid off in two ways:- You add ½ of your intelligence bonus (round up) to the attack and damage rolls of magic weapons you are attuned to. If the item already has a magical attack bonus, use the greater of the two bonuses plus 1.
- You gain proficiency in martial weapons and firearms.
Steel Defender (enhancement)
It will continue to take the last action you told it to if you do not expend a bonus action to give it a new order, including attempting to move closer to a creature you told it to attack. If it cannot, it will take the dodge action. The Steel Defender’s AC is equal to 13+PB, and is also immune to psychic damage.Arcane Jolt (enhancement)
When you use this feature, you can do one or both effects. In addition, you regain all uses when you finish a short rest.Improved Defender (enhancement)
At 15th level, your Arcane Jolt and steel defender become more powerful:- The extra damage and the healing of your Arcane Jolt both increase to 4d6.
- Your steel defender’s AC becomes 15+PB.
- Whenever your steel defender uses its Deflect Attack, the attacker takes force damage equal to 3d6 + your Intelligence modifier.
- It adds its proficiency bonus to all saving throws, not just Str and Con.
- It is immune to one of fire, cold, necrotic, radiant, acid, lightning, force, or thunder damage. You can change which of these kinds of damage your steel defender is immune to over a short rest if you have smith’s tools.
Armorer
Armor Model (enhancement)
Guardian
Defensive Field
As a bonus action, you can gain temporary hit points equal to your level in this class, replacing any temporary hit points you already have. You lose these temporary hit points if you doff the armor. You can also choose to expend a spell slot; if you do so, you gain 5 additional temporary HP per spell slot level, and you gain a bonus to your AC equal to the level of the slot expended while you have these temporary HP (max +5 AC). You can use this bonus action without expending a spell slot a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.Power Armor
While wearing your armor, you are considered proficient in Strength saving throws, and can add your intelligence bonus to checks to resist being grabbed or escape from a grab.Cantrips
Select one wizard or artificier cantrip that involves a melee attack, and one that does not deal damage. While wearing your guardian armor, you can cast those cantrip as if it where an artificer cantrip.Thunder Guantlets
Unchanged.Infiltrator
Lightning Launcher
A gemlike node appears on one of your armored fists or on the chest (your choice). It counts as a simple ranged weapon, with a normal range of 90 feet and a long range of 300 feet, and it deals 1d6 lightning damage on a hit, and creatures hit by it cannot take reactions and have disadvantage on attacks against you until the end of your next turn. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with it, you can deal an extra 1d6 lightning damage to that target, andcan choose to expend a spell slot to deal an extra 1d6 lightning damage per spell slot level.
Powered Steps
UnchangedDampening Field
You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks unless your armor grants disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks, in which case the disadvantage is instead removed. As a bonus action you can extend the field, granting a bonus to Dexterity(Stealth) checks to yourself and all creatures of your choice within 30’ equal to your proficiency bonus plus the level of the slot expended for the next 10 minutes.Cantrips
Select two wizard or artificer cantrips that do not deal damage. While wearing your infiltrator armor, you can cast these cantrips as if they where artificer cantrips.Extra Attack (enhancement)
You can substitute one of your attacks for casting an Artificer cantrip.Armor Modifications (enhancement)
In addition, the first two attunements from infusions on your armor do not count against your maximum number of attunements.Perfected Armor (enhancement)
Creatures hit by your lightning damage have disadvantage on their next attack on anyone, instead of on you. When the creature takes an extra 1d6 damage from this feature, you can expend a spell slot and deal additional d6 equal to the level of the spell slot expended.
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing (He/They)
I don't think the Artificer "sucks," in the sense that it's unbalanced, or that it's not fun to play, or that it doesn't belong in the game.
I'm just not interested in playing one, because they don't spark my imagination the way a sorcerer or wizard does. That's not a problem with the Artificer class, that's a problem with me and my personal preferences. (shrug) Maybe someday that'll change, but I'm having too much fun with my Abjurer wizard at the moment.
I'm just not interested in playing one, because they don't spark my imagination the way a sorcerer or wizard does. That's not a problem with the Artificer class, that's a problem with me and my personal preferences. (shrug) Maybe someday that'll change, but I'm having too much fun with my Abjurer wizard at the moment.
Argyle King
Legend
I'm currently playing an artificer (artillerist). I'm not great at dealing direct damage (though I can when I need to).
However, I built heavily toward buffing the party and debuffing the enemy. Sometimes I end up holding back because going complete cheese with some of what I can do (with some homunculus shenanigans and such) seems a little on the broken (but maybe not quite OP) side. I think some of the "problems" with the power of ranged attacks versus melee and other options in 5E comes to light more with a character who can stay toward the back and rain attacks and spell effects on the enemy. (I choose to hold back because the current group has a lot of players newer to D&D, and I don't want to discourage them from participating in encounters and/or promote the idea of there being one "correct" way of contributing to an encounter.)
When necessary, the amount of free healing* I can do (while also contributing damage) gives the party a pretty solid edge in most fights. In some ways, I think the 5E artificer is a bit like the 4E bard: perhaps not great in isolation but capable of amplifying what the rest of the party can do.
*It's Temp HP, but I can still push it out to the party every round, so it effectively acts as something between healing and giving damage reduction to the party.
From an imagination standpoint, there are times when it's tough to fluff things in a way which makes sense in the context of certain settings and situations. Figuring out that challenge can be fun at times. Other times -much like built in assumptions about a D&D monk- it can be a little tough to figure out how the artificer fits into a setting where the assumptions of the fictional world are different than what the class assumes is true. I've been working on a way to tweak what the artificer does into being something similar to 4E's Shaman and using spirits and such (rather than gadgets) to explain a lot of the class features because I have a player who much prefers that aesthetic (but isn't overly fond of currently available options). I haven't gotten very far into sketching it out yet.
However, I built heavily toward buffing the party and debuffing the enemy. Sometimes I end up holding back because going complete cheese with some of what I can do (with some homunculus shenanigans and such) seems a little on the broken (but maybe not quite OP) side. I think some of the "problems" with the power of ranged attacks versus melee and other options in 5E comes to light more with a character who can stay toward the back and rain attacks and spell effects on the enemy. (I choose to hold back because the current group has a lot of players newer to D&D, and I don't want to discourage them from participating in encounters and/or promote the idea of there being one "correct" way of contributing to an encounter.)
When necessary, the amount of free healing* I can do (while also contributing damage) gives the party a pretty solid edge in most fights. In some ways, I think the 5E artificer is a bit like the 4E bard: perhaps not great in isolation but capable of amplifying what the rest of the party can do.
*It's Temp HP, but I can still push it out to the party every round, so it effectively acts as something between healing and giving damage reduction to the party.
From an imagination standpoint, there are times when it's tough to fluff things in a way which makes sense in the context of certain settings and situations. Figuring out that challenge can be fun at times. Other times -much like built in assumptions about a D&D monk- it can be a little tough to figure out how the artificer fits into a setting where the assumptions of the fictional world are different than what the class assumes is true. I've been working on a way to tweak what the artificer does into being something similar to 4E's Shaman and using spirits and such (rather than gadgets) to explain a lot of the class features because I have a player who much prefers that aesthetic (but isn't overly fond of currently available options). I haven't gotten very far into sketching it out yet.
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Rulebook featuring "high magic" options, including a host of new spells.
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