Fixing the Artificer

[Warrior147]

I bought the Eberron Player's Guide, and I have a few changes for the artificer here.

1. Artificers can wield orbs as implements.

2. Healing Infusion is too complicated. I would replace it with this power.

Healing Infusion
You infuse an ally with arcane energy, healing his wounds.
Encounter (Special); Arcane, Healing
Minor Action Ranged 10
Target: One ally
Effect: The target regains hit points equal to your healing surge value.
Special: You can use this power 3 times per encounter, but only once per round.

3. Artificers have eight healing surges rather than five.

4. Replace arcane empowerment with the following.

Arcane Empowerment
You can spend two healing surges to recharge a magic item's daily power. You can only do this once per day for one magic item.

 

[EsperDerek]

I bought the Eberron Player's Guide, and I have a few changes for the artificer here.

Okay, I'll bite:

1. Artificers can wield orbs as implements.

What's the point? Artificers already have a wide array of implements that they can use-the largest, in fact, excluding the Wizard. Plus, orbs at the moment seem to be 'wizard-exclusive'.

2. Healing Infusion is too complicated. I would replace it with this power.

Healing Infusion
You infuse an ally with arcane energy, healing his wounds.
Encounter (Special); Arcane, Healing
Minor Action Ranged 10
Target: One ally
Effect: The target regains hit points equal to your healing surge value.
Special: You can use this power 3 times per encounter, but only once per round.

Healing Infusion isn't that complicated. The first option is essentially just like 'Healing/Inspiring/Majestic Word', and the second option is just '+1 to AC, can gain temp HP on a free action'. The recharging is simple, too, and it makes it probably the most versatile healing abilities in the game. Yours not only loses that, most of it's flavor, and also makes it the _worst_ healing in the game.

Unless the target doesn't spend a healing surge at all, and you don't do the infusion recharge thing, then it's just broken.

3. Artificers have eight healing surges rather than five.

Whoa, whoa. First, Artificers have six healing surges, not five. Also, their high CON focus means that they'll probably have between 8-10 surges all told at level 1, which is a high amount for a non-defender. If you give them eight, which is even higher than all the other leaders, you're going to have Artificers running 10-12 surges at level 1. That'll be more than anything short of a CONlock, or a high-CON Barbarian, Warden or Fighter, and your Non-AC Defenses in general will be higher than those in general. It's pretty much unnecessary, Artificers have more than enough already.

4. Replace arcane empowerment with the following.

Arcane Empowerment
You can spend two healing surges to recharge a magic item's daily power. You can only do this once per day for one magic item.

Unless you do something like this, I suppose. You're making sure that no one on the face of ever will actually use this ability-healing surges are worth far more than daily magic item uses, and you're asking the artificer to give up two of them? As is, Arcane Empowerment is a nice little tidbit that shows that the artificer knows how to tinker with items-you get one, and one per milestone, and you can only recharge an item once per day anyways. Plus, no Augment Energy?

Really, I'm interested in knowing why you feel these changes are necessary?

 

[Flipguarder]

Me too, I love the artificer class and feel both its flavor and feel these changes are unnecessary and lead to less fun overall.