D&D 5E (2024) ReReview: Artificer

[UngeheuerLich]

So . . . What is your main job as an Armourer, particularly Dreadnaught and Infiltrator? Your features don't support much other than hitting things with your special weapon.

Tanking. Supporting. Creating magic items.
Opening locks. Solving problems.

You are a spellcaster. You have a lot of tools.
If you have 14 dexterity, you can sneak around very well too.

Don't be fooled by the weapons. It is just a neat side job. Similar to valor bards or war clerics.

Artificers have some buffing items, but with close to half of the spells of an actual caster, they generally have less versatility. You lose out on damage to most other classes along with Alchemists and Cartographers.

This really depends on the optimzation grade of your group. I can honestly say the artificer, at least in 5.0 was very much fun. Losing out on tool expertise is a bummer though. But still the artificer is solid B. Not A as the spellcaster classes you mentioned. But is a class I would be very clmfortable playing in a small party.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Generous or very Generous DM (read as tine and money) could drsg thst up.

I'd also say that a very stingy DM also makes an artificer A tier as its the only class that always has magical gear. A generous artificer in a low-item game can push into S-tier by boosting the rest of the party as a force multiplier.

 

[ECMO3]

For me the biggest thing the Artificer brings to the table is the Sanctuary spell on an Intelligence DC. This makes it ideal dip for Wizards.

 

[FrogReaver]

Magic Item Tinker.
Looks cute but it can be abused. Basically find an item with charges and transmute it into something else once it has 1 charge left. Or drain it for a spell slot.

Flash of Genius Level 7.
Great ability. Big buff to a saving throw as a reaction. Would be gold but Paladin auras exist. This is the next best option. Scores high on impact and you can use it more than once or twice per long rest. Stacks with other save bonuses.

Magic Item Adept
You can attune an extra item. Very nice but its not exactly MVP and its level 10. More is always better especially for this class.

Some of this is really hard to read on the dark theme.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

You can’t min-max a Swiss army knife.