Artificer is Broken | Dungeons and Dragons 5e Guide

[@TheRobversion1]

artificers are indeed broken but you just shutdown what makes them broken (bag of holding combo). haha. anyway yes a future video on infusions would be great. however, to set you apart from what's already out there, i'd rather you focus on the items from replicate magical item. no, not the ones on the table as that's been overdone already but the common magical items you can create of which we have a lot to choose from from the different sourcebooks. here's some of my favorites: 1. clockwork amulet-ensures an important attack hits. 2. ruby of the war mage-allows the artificer to go weapon and shield while casting spells without needing to have tools on hand or have the warcaster feat. 3. pot of awakening-who wouldn't want their own baby groot? combine with the artificer's magic stone and you have a decent sustained dmg option that consumes your bonus action once every 3 rounds. 4. spellwrought tattoo-an artificer's poor man's magical secrets giving them access to all 1st level spells and cantrips in the game for a limited times per day. great picks just for infusions known are the long duration ones that you can use and swap out before a long rest like goodberry and find familiar. also great for niche use spells like ceremony.

[@ConstructedChaos]

These are excellent suggestions!! Thank you so much for taking the time to articulate all of this! Good feedback can be hard to find on the internet!

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ConstructedChaos your welcome. one last quip about the vid: you harp on the power and brokenness of spell-storing item but fail to mention it's partner among the 3rd level spells that makes it broken: tiny servant. have 10 tiny servants out. standing orders to pass around the spell storing item and cast it at a target you point at. 10 shatters to nuke a battlefield? yes please. 10 flaming spheres for an alchemist for a sustained nuke for the bbeg? take my money. of course this is just the burst option. if you want something sustainable for multiple combats, you can just have 3 tiny servants and command them to cast levitate, web, heat metal, etc subsequently at different targets. the good thing with this combo is it doesn't consume your or your party's action economy or concentration slots.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@TheRobversion1 I love this idea but tiny servant is 3rd level and spell storing item only works with 1st or 2nd level spells. Unless I’m missing something?

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ConstructedChaos yup. so start of the day after a long rest cast multiple tiny servants using your spell slots. lets say 3 for a 4th level slot. then create your spell storing item lets say with 10 instances of flaming sphere. you arent putting tiny servant into the spell storing item. then before you adventure give your tiny servants standing orders to cast flaming sphere from the spell storing item at a location you point at and to pass the spell storing item to the next tiny servant who hasn't done so after they are done casting. on your 1st round of combat, take your normal set of actions. your tiny servants lets say come out of your backpack then cast flaming sphere at the target you pointed at once their initiative comes up then passes the spell storing item to the next tiny servant to take their turn. on your 2nd round, use your bonus action to command the tiny servants to use their bonus action to ram the flaming sphere at the target you're pointing at and to take the hide action afterwards inside your backpack to maintain concentration easily.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@TheRobversion1 Ahhhhh I see what you're getting at now! That's incredible! Just goes to show how broken Artificer can be! Very very creative use of those two features!

[@alphared920]

What I love about Artificer is how customizable it is. My Artificer is an assassin who turned his body into a living Swiss Army Knife. I basically took any spells and recontextualized as weapons. Long range spells=guns, healing spells=potions, AOE=makeshift grenades, etc.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I too love bending the flavor of the artificer in non-conventional directions! The class really leaves a lot of room for you to take those creative liberties!

[@emrys347]

I personally don't understand why most people feel like Artificers need to have a steampunk aesthetic (or why that's the default at least). In reading the class, there is no mention of tech-based inventions but there is mention of how they use magic and infuse magic into items etc. For me, they are clearly the blacksmiths and magic item makers of the world and don't need to be making robots or mechanisms (you determine how your steel defender or eldritch cannons look. They could just as well be rune-covered rocks). All in all awesome video! I look forward to possible future videos on magic item crafting and maybe infusion options

[@ConstructedChaos]

For sure! That’s why I mentioned that it’s easy enough to flavor them differently. I just wanted to give that disclaimer because it’s important to make sure your DM is cool with it first. Most of the time it’s not an issue but I think people feel that way because we got artificers from the eberron setting.

[@stevelycan2962]

I believe the magi-tek and steam punk themes are from the Ebberon setting where I believe they originated.

[@patrickhogue1906]

As one of my characters would say. I know a compliment sandwich when I see one. I've taken them off the menus of more than a few palaces.

[@kedolan4992]

It's probably because of this line, in their "spellcasting" feature. You have studied the workings of magic and how to channel it through objects. As a result, you have gained the ability to cast spells. To observers, you don’t appear to be casting spells in a conventional way; you look as if you’re producing wonders using mundane items or outlandish inventions. To me, and I imagine a lot of people, that combined with the fact that your tools are a spellcasting focus, puts the imagine in our heads of a tinker "making" spell effects, rather than casting them. For instance, instead of shooting a fireball, you might instead rig some kind of improvised explosive that you then hurl at the enemy, which explodes (with the same effect as a fireball, naturally). That's not the ONLY way to interpret it, obviously, but since they come from Eberron, which has a lot of magitek looking stuff in it already, makes it the kind of "default" look.

[@marlettohemmingsen2828]

My current artificer affects the worldby effectively casting lower-level versions of glyph of warding - etching or otherwise creating script on various items to cast spells, like she's programming, and the world is her computer.

[@XanderMander006]

I wish that Artificer (especially the Alchemist) had access to the Dragon's Breath spell. Just imagine a character downing a glowing potion, and then gaining the ability to produce a breath weapon like a dragon. That would be awesome!

[@ConstructedChaos]

I do also feel like artificer could have gotten a more than the one spell they got from fizban’s. Could always homebrew it 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@johnl340]

Why couldn't you just take the new race of dragonborn who have a dragon breath ability?

[@XanderMander006]

@@johnl340 It's just doesn't have the same flavor.

[@johnl340]

@@XanderMander006 sounds like something you should discuss the DM it didn't sound too outlandish

[@johndavis6280]

My Dm let me play up the alchemy roll, so dragons breath potions were available for crafting at a moderate price. He kept things toned down, but allowed me a lot of crafting freedom.

[@dmdave2512]

Confirmed use of magical tinkering in combat. I infused a coin with the sound of a trex we ran into and in a later encounter tossed the coin into a group of enemies. The DM being a good DM recognized the morale implication of a group of people suddenly hearing a trex roar directly behind them and made them roll to see if they would break and run, which they did. Granted this does require a DM that isn't just interested in making their encounters go the way they want. That type of DM would just ignore it and move on saying they were mildly startled but immediately went back to the fight or something.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I think you’re right! You’ve got a great DM there that understands “rule of cool” is totally a thing!

[@toxicalyss]

The coin is only 10ft many players and DM fails to take account the range of the abilities. They are fairly useless.

[@KevinMCable]

Randomly made a character in a party of 8 players 5 minutes before we started. Chose Kobold Artificer because I've never played either of those things. I've only played a small character once. Became the party leader by the end of the session somehow. I'm kind of obsessed with learning how this class works, because at first glance it looks like its not great at anything, but as you go down the rabbit hole you see parallels to ranger, arcane trickster, paladin, and 4•ele•monk. By 7th level you're already starting to figure out neat tricks to do a ton of damage, massively turn the tides of battle with support, or completely peel a single mob while wittling it down with ranged attacks with your magic pistols. I chose a build for flavor, and it turned out to be a bit of a power build, and I love finding new and ridiculous ways to make this class shine. If you are the type who loves to tinker and experiment with mechanics, this class can be immensely fun.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Nice!! I'm stoked that you're enjoying your foray into the class (and with a super cool little kobold, no less!)

[@MrSpeakerCone]

I guess my problem with Artificer is that unlike other classes, artificer requires active conversations with the DM to accomplish some of what should be basic written functions in the class. Wizards don't need to do anything extra to learn fireball, so why does the artificer need the DM's permission, 200 days, and 60,000gp to craft a necklace of fireballs?

[@ConstructedChaos]

I think that’s a good point and it’s why I wish crafting magic items was a more integral part of the game. Someone did suggest a book on it in a comment on here so I’ve picked that up and can’t wait to flip through it-after which I plan to release a follow up video to this guide that covers the topic in exhaustive detail!

[@macpurdy]

I would recommend looking into Numenera and Invisible Sun TTRPGs by Monte Cook Games if you want a game with a fully functioning and completely optional crafting system including Classes that specialize in crafting, clear rules on what resources you need to craft an item, and how to acquire them as well as a sliding scale of how long and how difficult it will be to complete the item based on the power of the item, the type of the item, your characters skill in crafting and the tools you have available.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@macpurdy thanks for the suggestion!! I’m actually brainstorming a video on crafting systems like this and having some more reading material can’t hurt!

[@Koranthus]

They don't need DM permission for those things, the Artificer's biggest obstacle is time, the old crafting rules are shit and require an entire year to make a suit of platemail, its a supreme mis-understanding of how forging works and for some reason the only modifier the Magical Inventor Class gets is "quarter the time and half the cost" and not until level 10 and it only applies to common and uncommon magic items. That feature should be like level 5 at latest and affect common magic items and non-magic items and scale like Infusions do where replicate magic item scales into uncommon and rare magic items.

[@Milenos]

Aside from the ''bag of holding trick'' nothing is particulary broken in Artifcer. They are versatile, as they are good support, ok tank and can deal ok damage.

[@nathansmith9597]

Indeed - and any DM worth their salt won't allow bag of holding abuse. I think the title is just click-baity (which is fine, hate the game not the player, etc.) There are some shenanigans you can pull with spell-storing item and (e.g.) familiars, but that's only at higher levels and shouldn't break the campaign. Some of the infusions are really good. Guaranteed access to +1 weapons and armor is great. But unless it is a very low-magic campaign that has basically no magic items (in which case the DM would most likely disallow the class anyway), then it is a far cry from broken. Alchemists are really weak at levels 5+. Protector Cannon from Artillerist is extremely strong at low levels, arguably it is too much. It doesn't scale, though, and things will even out as the average damage of your enemies goes up. Aside from those caveats, Artificers are pretty well balanced.

[@Milenos]

@@nathansmith9597 I usually go to a stable low 10 max lvl to qualify something as Broken, because above that level anything can break anything anyway. Yes early Protector is strong especially vs AoE heavy, but its not Peace cleric broken.

[@justben7564]

all of this guy's class videos call that class broken

[@Milenos]

@@justben7564 He kept using that word, but I don't think it know what he think that mean.

[@nathansmith9597]

@@Milenos Agreed. Features can be really strong past level ~9 or 10 without being broken, if anything the bigger problem is that a lot of high level abilities are really underwhelming, with the major exception being spellcasting (for full casters in particular), since that scales fantastically well. As I said, overall I don't think Artificers are broken. As a DM I would much rather deal with balancing encounters for a high level party that has infusions and familiars using spell-storing items over a party with spells like Simulacrum, Forecage, Magic Jar, etc. at their disposal.

[@Soriosh]

Playing an Artificer/Wizard now who already had proficiency in most tools. Basically a time tinkering mechanic. My DM recently gave me a magical "Universal Multitool" in the form of a screwdriver that can work with my ability to make any magical tool by becoming any tool I want on the spot. It also gives auto proficiency with whatever tool it becomes, and +1. Cool lil tinkering knicknack for on the spot creations inspiration.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Sonic screwdriver from Dr. Who?! I almost referenced it in this video haha!

[@naughtius_maximus8243]

@@ConstructedChaos All Purpose Tool

[@generalrendar7290]

Artificers can EASILY fit into fantasy settings where wizards are. How? Alchemist is the easiest; potion master/crafter, magical chef, poison assassin, medicine man/shaman. Armorer is next, magical blacksmith, enchanter wizard specialty. Battle smith; magical blacksmith, golem magic specialist. Artillerist; wand maker, magic item crafter, and toy maker. Flavor is free!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Yessir!! My homebrew world is fairly low magic medieval but I’ve still always allowed my players to be warforged and artificers. They fit just fine with the right flavor! 😊

[@cdezelah2958]

Cleric of gond

[@sdbegotist]

Running an Alchemist who was reflavored to make baked goods. Ray of Sickness is a crushed bundle of Cinnamon

[@Miguel-bk3yo]

I've run them as the precursors to wizards. Their magic is an older artform than wizarding. They bound energies to artifice, infusing the magic withing and sealing it with runes.

[@hanbeihood3202]

I just want to say that while I fulled respect the way you pronounce Artificer, it did nearly turn on my fight-or-flight response XD great video though; you brought up really nice points all around

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahahaha yeaaaaah, I think I’m going back to my old way of saying it. That’s probably what I get for trying too hard 😂😂😂

[@paulsavas2394]

The way you are saying it SHOULD be the right way! It sounds better…and rolls off the tongue better! Great vid. #subscribed

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@paulsavas2394 hahaha thank you for the support there! And welcome to the chaos!

[@garyco766]

@@paulsavas2394 Um.... no. Say the word "artifice" and it should give you a good guide on how it should be, and in fact is, pronounced. I cringed every time he said it (no offense!).

[@Fire_Dawg]

Lol I swear I had a physical tick every time you said it wrong. I am hard to trigger but this had me on edge lol. For all of you thinking this is how it should be pronounced...... you people are monsters 😜 its like listening to Stewie say COOWHIP It's ART-if-ICE-r.

[@CyclopsWasRight]

Using a Warforged Artificer to create MegaMan was the highlight of my d&d experience. I chose Armorer and stayed primarily in infiltrator mode. Amazingly fun!

[@toxin8571]

Super Fighting Robot. MEGAMAN

[@mr3ysa]

I must say, the production on this channel is phenomenal. Truly in a CLASS of its own.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thank you so much!! This one in particular took a while to get edited. The render alone took like 18 hours 😂 It’s almost time for a new computer.

[@1rotzy]

What I love about the Artificer is the versatility of the class, they really are like Iron Man. Given enough time you could probably create an item to help against a specific enemy, create or infuse items to help make up anything the party maybe lacking. Hell, even having more bodies on the board can be useful in that case of the artillerist, or the Battle Smith. Personal favorite is probably to no one’s surprise, the Armorer. A combination of high AC, a great spell list, and the sheer versatility of its armors makes it useful in any number of ways.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Yea, even the less “effective” builds shine in ways other than DPR in combat. I think a lot of people overlook how useful some of their stuff can be in a group setting!

[@albino478gaming5]

I will make modifications and weird, unsettling but effective tools to help the party

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@albino478gaming5 Haha Sounds like a fun time! Got any examples for us?

[@Tydorstus]

So yea currently playing a level 2 artificer where everyone starts out as a variaent human. So i was like so yea googles of the night is a must. But a well played artificer can be game changing if they have enough prep time. So pretty much either batman or ironman lol.

[@1rotzy]

@@Tydorstus every time. I wish that Artificer had more subclasses. I’m happy with what we got, but more is always better.

[@speeddevil4040]

My Favorite 1 Level Dip for Artificers is Genie Warlock. The flavor of a Warlock Artificer is really nice, and the vessel makes for an excellent workshop for your level 10 Artificer feature; it lets you craft on the go, maybe take the adventuring day off, let your steel defender fight in your sted, give all of your infusions to the defender so that it can be the partyficer for the day while you work.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha mechanically sound and full of flavor! I'm all about it!

[@chrismedcalf5607]

I can’t listen to him say “ar-tif-i-cers “ long enough to finish the video

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hehehe sorry about that! I’ve adjusted my pronunciation in future videos!

[@TheBeastANW]

@@ConstructedChaos Do you have an updated video? I made it halfway, but could not withstand the mispronunciation.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@TheBeastANW​​⁠haha sorry about that! Sadly, I’m too busy with the new content to make an updated guide for artificer but I’m sure I’ll get to circle back around to it when they inevitably re-release the class.

[@TheBeastANW]

@@ConstructedChaos Cool, and thanks for the reply! It really is an interesting and informative video so I’ll definitely check out your content on the new stuff!

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@TheBeastANWthank you for understanding and happy adventuring!

[@theFunkyThumb]

In the campaign im currently in i play an artificer artillerist. To keep the steampunk vibes away from the high fantasy world its in i made him a pirate that manned the cannons and loves explosions, found a strange book he cant read, but found out writing the stuff on other things makes cool stuff happens. And more explosions

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hehehehe black powder go boom!!! I love it! 😊

[@luispmoraes2772]

Currently playing a Armorer right now as a brawler/offtank, really enjoying it so far :D Cheers from Brazil, let's keep the dice rolling!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Armorer is crazy!! I do think artillerist is still my favorite but I can’t believe what’s possible with armorer! Such a cool concept too!

[@Teraclon]

I'm kinda doing the same. Took dual wielder in 4th lvl, so that I can punch more with the gauntlets from defender-armor

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ConstructedChaos battlesmith is mine and the only artificer subclass i've played to date. still haven't come up with and playtested optimized builds with the other 3. there's definitely tools on the artillerist though for a couple of builds such as the force ballista, thorn whip then multiclassing to get cloud of daggers/spike growth or a quarterstaff arcane firearm booming blader with a protector cannon.

[@caiovcf]

Greetings from Brazil! Artifecers are simply overpowered! Excellent video!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Greetings!!! Thanks for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed it! 😊

[@GrrumpyPants]

Winged Boots should definitely be a notable mention for infusions.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Oh for sure!! I promise I didn’t forget them but there were just so many and I wanted to at least throw out a few that weren’t raw copies of existing magic items.

[@victorcast2467]

On the idea of a reflavored artificer, mY first one we were playing SKT and I was a half-elf raised by a dwarf who was a magic item smugler, grew up with the criminal background and the constant contact with magical artifacts, aligned with the natural inclination for magic made it one of my favorite characters to role play, having a cowboy han solo vibe. And it was VERY broken!

[@ConstructedChaos]

I love this flavor! The "han solo" cowboy smuggler is an extremely fun archetype to play into!

[@ErikRedin]

I'm in a campaign where the party has two artificers and Flash of Genius is the bane of our DMs existence. Also, I play as an artillerist and the protector cannon that can give out Temporary HP every turn is amazing, especially given it can walk around to help the most vulnerable party members.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I love the artillerist for that specific reason! I actually have a build for it that I’m waiting to do a video on once I have some commissioned art back for it!

[@trikk9964]

... absolutely great-video. Incredible quality.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Marvin-jk9jx]

Subclasses: 8:44 Alchemist 10:49 Artillerist 9:35 Armorer 11:55 Battle Smith

[@ConstructedChaos]

I might add some chapters to these older guides someday haha

[@redfinale]

Armorer using infiltrator model and the winged boots replicate magic item infusion (lvl 10). Your lightning launcher that comes with the armor is only 1d6 lightning damage and once per turn, if you hit something with it, you can add an extra 1d6. That on its own isn't super special, but when you combine the fact that the lightning launcher has a normal range of 90 ft, and a long range of 300 ft, and you double up with taking to the air with winged boots (flight speed equal to your walk speed, which you also get an extra 5 ft of for infiltrator armor), in just a couple of rounds, you're in a position where only sharpshooters, spell snipers, and general long range spells (ie magic missile and its 120 ft) can touch you. On top of that, infiltrator's perfected armor feat makes it so that targets hit by your launcher have disadvantage if they attack you, glow low light for 5 ft, the next attack against them is at advantage (basically guiding bolt for free), and if that attack lands, it does an extra 1d6

[@ConstructedChaos]

That’s an interesting point! I feel as though most people would play armorer quite a bit closer to the enemy but this employs one of my favorite defense tactics mentioned on the channel a la Mr. Miyagi: “No be there”

[@Queen_of_Coffee]

We only played the campaign with my artificer up to lvl. 8, but I did something rather similar with staying mostly out of range and blasting enemies with my lightning launchers, as well using control spells like web and such to inconvenience them.

[@TheOnlyTisha]

This is my favourite class to play and usually play a more Gidget from Chip and Dale type artificer. I love this class as you get to create how your magic looks. My girl Kyrie uses her hammer and wrench to cast her spells as she learned blacksmithing from the dwarves.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Yes!! Artificer took a little while for me to get into but has definitely become one of my favorites in the last year or so!

[@patrickb.8485]

Love this class, particularly the Battle Smith build. Armorer is also super fun. Made a stout halfling battle smith, just a tough little dude who keeps the party going and can actually put out decent sustained and reliable damage to boot. Such a fun class. Flash of genius is indeed clutch, whether to make a save or to pick a lock. You can usually make something good happen if you really need to.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I'm playing a battle smith in a campaign currently (although, they're only level 2 right now so they're not technically a battle smith yet haha). Haven't dipped my toes in the armorer subclass since it came out, however. Maybe that'll be my next one!

[@TheRobversion1]

battlesmith is my fave artificer subclass as well though i'm indifferent towards the class. if you're looking for a battesmith build ideas, i shared a unique one somewhere in the comments of Chaos's artillerist build vid. the steel defender is the star of the build and is a tank/controller/support hybrid. agreed on flash of genius as that's a core piece of my own battlesmith.

[@GrrumpyPants]

Battlesmith can make for a fantastic tanky character. Step 1. Be a small race like a gnome or halfling Step 2. Get the mounted combatant feat. Step 3. Reach Level 11 and use your spell storing item for Warding Bond Step 4. Have your Steel defender use the spell storing item to create the effects of warding bond, targeting you. Step 5. Mount your Steel Defender. Step 6. Cast Heroism on yourself and the Steel Defender You now share damage with your steel defender, meaning the 5thp from heroism will feel more like 10thp, since damage is split between you and the defender. You also can redirect all attacks to yourself, so that enemies wont attack it directly. The defender can also impose disadvantage on one of those attacks per turn. Taking you down now also requires chewing through both your HP and your defenders HP (who can heal during combat) You can also use a lance, and if it bears your infusion (such as making it a +2 weapon), you use your INT modifier for it. If you can get proficiency somehow, you can also wear heavy armor and just ignore the movement penalty due to always being mounted. I also see no reason why you can't give some winged boots to your defender.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Now that’s a cool build!!!

[@TheRobversion1]

sounds good but it also sounds like a PC that a dM/enemy will ignore. i think it still needs a couple of more tools via multiclassing and feats. sentinel will help it fulfill its tank role. picking a class that has threat redirection like the cavalier or battlemaster will help as well in ensuring your dm won't go after your party members.

[@-Xabash-]

I have to agree with the majority of comments regarding production value and video titles. Production value all around is fantastic. Great pace, presentation, and visual aid use. "Barbarian spell casting hacks." is the next title I anticipate. Which is a shame given the quality of each video. Literal or figurative intent of titles aside, it's a common complaint because we all know what the titles imply. Keep up the good videos, but with honest titles. The subscribers, likes, and shares will follow.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I love an appreciate this input and the kindness with which you've given it! You'd be interested to know that MOST of my videos actually have the kind of titles that you're looking for. Though, my first video that really garnered attention for the channel had this style of title. This was, of course, a happy accident and I had intended (and still do intend) to create the series with a noble goal in mind--that goal being to bring players of all kinds together with a common love for the game regardless of what classes have more DPR or better abilities. The idea for the series actually came from one I'd seen on a smash bros. youtube channel (Little Z) where he'd gone through each character on the roster and made a video called "**** is OP." The series was very well-received and touted as a great illustration for how balanced the game actually was even in the midst of so many contrary opinions on the internet. From that point, I created many many videos with better production quality, honest titles, and what I felt was some of the best advice I have for players. But nobody saw them. It's a sad symptom of youtube and the culture that's developed over time on the platform. Make no mistake, I don't like it. I've continued the series alongside most of my other content with much the same result along the way simply because I still have that same goal in mind for my class guides. I mean absolutely no offense by any of this, of course. And, I hope my transparency as a creator sheds some light on the issue as well as my good intentions behind making videos to help the community and give back to the hobby that has already given me so much. But, if people want to see a certain type of content on KZbin, they need to click on those kinds of videos.

[@ninjamimealt]

@@ConstructedChaos and classy to boot! Thanks for taking the time to explain, as I have had exactly that experience. The warlock is broken was my first Constructed Chaos video thanks to the alogorithm and I'm slowly exploring from there. The videos having a themed title is a fun thing too, like JoCat's crap guides to - videos :)

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@ninjamimealt Thank you much! And I'm glad you're enjoying the content!! I'll probably be moving away from this naming convention once the series is done with but it's a fun little inside joke at this point!

[@yourconscious]

I'm currently playing a 28 yo Aarakocra artificer who left his shop to go out an adventure one last time. Aarakocra only live to around 30, so my character is trying to fight in his old age, but using the Propulsion Armor infusion, he's able to keep up with the rest of the party. It's really entertaining to have this little old bird man have to be carried around by his steel defender off the battlefield only to turn around kick ass on it.

[@ConstructedChaos]

That's such a cool flavor idea! A bird's diminishing flight being augmented by magical machinery!

[@gaelofariandel6747]

I always want to run either a big/bulky race as an armorer so his armor makes him even bigger or a small race that the DM allows to fit inside a medium sized suit of Arcane Armor to show that they're insecure about their size.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I've seen people do steel defender builds that their characters ride in too!

[@GeorgeCowsert]

My favorite part about Artificers is that they can easily become the DM's best friend in terms of introducing custom magic items to the party. Do you want your campaign to stretch out a bit longer? Have the Artificer make a bunch of magic crystals called "Shards of Knowledge" that store a player's levels, abilities, and current subclass and multi class into it. The gimmick is that you can then shift your playstyle to explore other options without losing your progress. It also opens up options for dilemmas involving stolen Shards or taking multiple Shards at the same time. It's a purely homebrewed idea, but because the Artificer can just make any random bullshit it'll rarely feel out of place so long as it's kept consistent. Another neat item I've seen an Artificer make is a Runic Infusion Chisel. The RIC became a staple tool of the entire party, as the artificer simply has to inscribe a spell or enchantment onto a rune that attached to the RIC, and you'd be able to make a temporary magic item or infuse an item with a spell. So, instead of lugging around twenty swords with different enchantments for niche situations, the party kept a few runes in their pockets to enchant their non magic items on the fly. Pair this with a few more unique runes, like the one that let you create a door into a cottage anywhere you struck the RIC, and the group wound up missing it when we moved on to a new session. The DM had to introduce a rusty RIC with limited uses to get us to shut up about their absence, and later reintroduced proper RICs in a shop for the absurd price of 2k Gold each, plus the cost of the runes.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I love all of these ideas!! Thank you for sharing them! The runic chisel idea in particular definitely simplifies the magic item rewarding process in a way that I think most players would really enjoy!

[@oKingLexx]

The best bar. "Flavor is free..." By free, we mean free action.

[@howiecatslab4684]

This is so amazing. I wanted to have an artificer as my very first D&D character. As a dwarf as well :)

[@ConstructedChaos]

Awesome!! I'm so glad this video has proved helpful to ya!

[@araceli1750]

That's the route I want to take on too! I'm so nervous but I really like the idea of the armorer or battlesmith. Have you embarked on this journey yet? Just curious

[@dadbear5316]

Everybody gangsta 'till you pop out the bag of thousands of sentient ball bearings that are also on fire

[@ConstructedChaos]

All that is required of an invention is that it becomes more than the sum of its parts.... I'd say this qualifies!

[@Mariwend]

The thing is that artificers are basically just wizards who use energy alongside matter. Instead of a combustion engine they would have a rune that creates a blast of force regularly, and a platform. To cast animate dead one might have a double hourglass filled with sand connected to the negative and positive energy planes. To cast fireball they might use a small pistol that builds and releases magical fire. Arguably you could change the mechanics of certain spells by altering the item you use for them over a couple hours at the expense of being able to lose the item. Or using magically powerful items as ammo to negate spell slot usage. Point is artificers can be given many interesting qualities based on the nature of their magic. And they can fit in almost any setting, because they meet basic science and magic at the middle-ground. Though you can choose to focus more on the magical side of which case you could just choose slightly physical forms of magic like runecraft, or alchemy, but that's boring. Wizards do those things all the time.

[@The_Gnome_Chomskee]

Kudos for pronouncing the name of the class correctly!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahaha you might be the first person to think so! 😂😂😂

[@The_Gnome_Chomskee]

@@ConstructedChaos I get grief for it, myself. Oh well.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@The_Gnome_Chomskee Haha you'll never get that grief from me, friend!

[@sporksabre]

My DM has been extremely helpful when dealing with Tool Expertise. A bag of powered magical stone ground up in a mortar and pestel (sp) before hand give me expertise in investigation checks, a small spring powered grappling hook made with tinkers tools could be used to help with acrobatics or strength checks to make it up/down a wall. Oils from alchemist tools used to silence gear for stealth checks... the list goes on. Basically, if I can think up a way to have my tools help me on a check before or during a check he alows it. (Within reason of course)

[@ConstructedChaos]

You know, suddenly that feature seems a bit more useful to me haha!

[@RashadBrown-jk3kr]

Bardify is used everywhere, i sincerely hope more people give credit to them! Bardify music is amazing!

[@ConstructedChaos]

I have heard of bardify and I think it's a nice product but I didn't use it in this video haha

[@KalinaHitanaVTuber]

As someone who has played an Armorer Artificer up to level 12, I can attest that she was indeed damn powerful and came in clutch a number of times during the campaign she was in. It would've been nice to continue playing, but there was a player with "Main Character Syndrome" and I ended up leaving because of them

[@ConstructedChaos]

I’m sorry to hear about your party woes!! Hopefully you find a place for her to continue adventuring soon!! Sounds like you had a lot of fun at least!

[@KalinaHitanaVTuber]

@@ConstructedChaos oh yeah, I really did ^^ My top moment with her was when I got a Nat 20 on Athletics (boosted to 35 with Armor of Magical Strength, +5 in Athletics and Flash of Genius) to throw an Arch-Lich's phylactery into my Rope Trick dimension (said phylactery was a black stone obelisk with a skull in it, dimensions 10x10x10 ft) so we could sever the lich's connection to it without being interrupted. The DM allowed this to happen, so I had a really good game going

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@KalinaHitanaVTuber THAT is such a cool moment!! Thank you for sharing that with me! Here’s to many many more adventures and cool moments like that in the future!

[@mikederp9612]

I love my artificer. Hes the engineer and alchemist of the ship. Alchemist is a bit weak, we did homebrew with some online influence to make it more even. I am doing quite well on the ship promoted from being a deckhand and got the ship moving building oars when the water and winds stopped (story). I also built a harpoon gun for a kraken and smoke grenades to obfuscate our escape. This got me my own forge and room now.

[@ConstructedChaos]

What home-brew did you end up using? I haven't personally found artificer to be weak but I'd love to know what changes you made to the class!

[@vTricky0]

I have an Armorer Artificer in my game with the mobile feat that uses booming blade and expeditious retreat. So depending on turn order and enemies. It's permanent disadvantage as the Artificer hits the target and can move 40-80 ft with bonus action. However the more the enemies or enemy casters the worse the combo

[@TheRobversion1]

i'd take this further by freeing up your bonus action and replacing mobile with this feat: ritual caster. pick up phantom steed. now you can freely disengage and move 100 ft without using your bonus action. the bonus action can then be spent doing something else such as casting a spell, attacking with a homunculus, etc.

[@celem1000]

My first 5e character was a Ranger with Artificer dip. The DM was hesitant as we were playing a wilderness campaign. The resolution was that all of his constructs were fashioned from plant matter, working wood and leaf into trinkets. Worked extremely well, once I retired him at L15 I gifted him to the DM who ran him as NPC in a subsequent campaign. Session 0 for the win, work together to define how an artificer functions in your setting. Its a magical class, nobody says you need clockwork or steam

[@ConstructedChaos]

Nice!! I absolutely agree with this approach and kudos to both you and your DM for collaborating and compromising!

[@eduard927]

Right tools for the job don't make you proficient

[@ConstructedChaos]

Awww shoot, why did I think that? Silly error on my part! Thanks for catching that!

[@scientistsupreme5211]

Yeah but if you are.Then you are HIM 😈😈😈😈

[@bryanlee5293]

★Flash of Genuis and Intelegants Gain a -5 of intelligence and reach level 7 giving you the Flash of Genuis Feature, You now can Subtract 5 from your allies rolls. This is entirely stupid because the ability can only be used once and you lose many useful abilities. So if you regret your decision you can always take the headband of intelligence.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I've had this exact thought before but I've never actually done in in a build haha. Seems like the right amount of goofy fun, though.

[@enriquepx1698]

Maybe it's not an optimal build by default, but I had this idea of playing (or using as a NPC if I ever get the guts to DM something) a character that's, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, a white rabbit Harengon Artificer and/or clockwork soul sorcerer with a magic pocket watch that they use for spell casting and that is bigger than it seems , so it can like unfold into a bigger mechanism for other artificer weapons or and flavour for spells or have little compartments for different kinds of tools that just pop out. (If someone is reading this and you are DMing a campaign, feel free to take that idea and turn them into a Feywild merchant or something around those lines for example. If you do it I'd love to know how it went ) Also great video, it's really well organized and it's super informative ☺️

[@ConstructedChaos]

I absolutely LOVE that idea! I’ve never thought to tie harengon into the steampunk flavor of artificer and/or clockwork soul!! You should go for it!

[@enriquepx1698]

@@ConstructedChaos it's an idea I had since the Harengon race was announced, but I don't have a campaign to play it in , since the Curse of Strahd campaign I'm playing in is taking all my dnd time and I'm playing a divine soul sorcerer Aasimar there so ... No room for that white rabbit

[@michaelnagel2205]

I am currently playing a 6th level (Lvl2 Chronurgist/Lvl4 Battlesmith) Harengon(small) Named Niven. Top Hat is his Bag of Holding Clockwork Amulet (Pocket Watch) Steel Defender (skinned as a clockwork unicorn) He high strung and a bit jump (Poor WIS and startles easily).

[@enriquepx1698]

@@michaelnagel2205 that's a really cool way to twist the concept too (I didn't have Chronurgists in mind because I'm not as familiar with CR specific classes and sub classes but it sounds like a fun character to play for sure )

[@Rankadankalous1]

Take the Mastermaker subclass ( i know its not official) and the duel wielding feat and strength becomes a pretty important stat. I use this build to play my artificer dwarf who just loves hammers

[@ConstructedChaos]

I've never played or DM'd for that subclass but it sounds fun!

[@andrewfornes5320]

I made the argument for having an artificer in the game I play, my DM told me it better be good. Ended up playing a Triton who used underwater shipwrecks to create his armorer suit. He also uses shells, ropes, coral and many other underwater items for his pseudo-mech suit. He has a ships cannon mounted on his back for when he cast big spells we flavor it as the cannon being enchanted.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Nice flavor!! I'm glad your DM let you try it out!

[@atinygoose6199]

Was looking forward to playing one. Showed this vid to my DM. He heard the word broken 3 times in the first 5 mins and banned it.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahaha while I appreciate your DMs willingness to listen, you should let him know that this video is part of a series of guides wherein I touch on each class’s most broken features. He should not be banning the artificer 😅

[@atinygoose6199]

@@ConstructedChaos All good, I'll just let him know I'll play something fair. Twilight cleric here I come.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@atinygoose6199 Oh you and your DM will LOVE the class guide I'm putting out tomorrow lol

[@chaserdoom2546]

I will have to try out artificer it seems like a fun class to play

[@phersong]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@BogOwl]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@ConstructedChaos]

To echo the interesting response that has already come from two others, Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! But seriously, it's one of my favorites! You're going to have a blast!

[@syvajarvi2289]

I’m a year late, but I like to take a dip in Artificer for several different multiclass options. A 3 level dip goes a long way for any class…. There is a synergy between battle smith and any ranger sub class as well as battle master fighter/battle smith combo. Alchemist and bard is another favorite of mine…. It’s mostly flavor but it’s fun flavor. One of the things I have allowed at my table is utilizing an artificer dip as a day job depending on the dip. Alchemist can make common potions…. Armorers are smiths…. Things like that.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Flavor motivation, in my opinion, is the best kind of motivation! Cool ideas here!

[@ultraninja5783]

Man, i made such a broken ass artificer once. the build basically consisted off warforged, armour and then just stacking AC, Saves and resistances using infusions. at lvl 9, 80 hp(+3 con), 9x4 temp hp or a effective health of 115, AC of 24 or 26 by lvl 10 and 30 if it was a melee attack (18 plate mail, 2 shield, 2 haste, 1 cloak of protection infusion, 1 or 2 at lvl 10 enhance defence on the shield, 1 warforged, 4 defensive duelist although melee only) Thats just the base, we also have resistance to almost every damage type thanks to absorb elements which cover fire, cold, acid, thunder and lighting. We also gain resistance to poison from warforged, psychic from the intellect fortress spell, force from a brooch of protection infusion (level 10), and then a necrotic or radiant resistance from resistant armour infusion. the only damage type you're not resistant to was necrotic or radiant depending on which one you didn't choose. Now, saving throws, he had proficiency in con and int, they have advantage on dex from haste, advantage on int, wis and cha from intellect fortress, +5 on str saves from armour of magical strength as a free reaction and then +5 to any save from flash of genius. and oh he, auto passed concentration checks from mind sharpener so he never dropped concentration (he had a +7 to the save to begin with) and he could also fly from winged boots ( at lvl 10) Safe to say he didn't die, like, period. If I tried to min max even harder, probably could get this str or con higher. I played him as a kind of grappler/wrestler because of thunder gauntlets that just supported the party as tank, so I gave him tavern brawler for character reasons and then defensive duelist as it fit his fighting style but if I wanted to be more effective, I could of chosen something like sentinel, maybe with pole-arm master or great weapon master. Defence wise, there was no easy way though. Massive AC, high spell saves and even if damage got though, it had resistance with a temp hp pool. Even offensively, he had 3*(1d8+2) damage using haste, or at later levels when he got a 7th infuson slot to get 3*(1d8+5) which is pretty solid. it wasn't like a paladin smite or wizard fireball, but it was enough to hold his own at 1v1.Theres the one and single weakness in that they doesn't have counter spell, so any dispel magic could stop the haste or fortress but i had party members who did which covered it.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha sounds like a good time!!

[@TheRobversion1]

yeah for a tank role, you definitely should've taken sentinel.

[@ultraninja5783]

@@TheRobversion1 I thought about it, but decided against it as I was already using my reaction basically every turn already. thunder gauntlets gave enough of a taunt anyway

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ultraninja5783 fair enough. if you're grappling anyway, that achieves what sentinel does.

[@beninglintang4895]

I just tried the class in my first ongoing campaign!! 😂 Truly loves the explosions!!!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Explosions, Implosions.... All the plosions.

[@dannyleo5787]

Few years ago, we had a campaign that was actually one of my favorite journeys, I was a grung in red named pepper, and my wife to be was a warforged artificer. We crossed the lands in chase of a vile cult of tiamat worshippers that was gather ancient dragon blood and had lost two of our friends to their leader who killed them. It was simply the two of us facing the many but thanks to her character we used our thoughts and talents to create a brand new oil based on my red grunge. With it we created a first aoe pepper spray valley that killed many of the cult.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Nice rule of cool from your DM! I love the ingenuity from you and your wife here too!

[@dannyleo5787]

@@ConstructedChaos we had to improvise since we Did loss half our party early in the campaign, plus be in character since I was a toad and communication was hilariously misinterpreted a lot…. Had to see it honestly on how much I croaked and she took it as inspiration to devise extracting peppers secretions for the spray 🤣 Dm was also loving the torture to so it didn’t help that he also had a damn heavy armored Minotaur chasing after us throughout the year long campaign to add incentive. So we used our heads, made the minataur get snared in my oil drenched rope filled with fiery oil to make it blindly berserk before she blew it up as well the BBeg hideout, causing mass blindness because hey red grunges are spicy for a reason and then it was simply use casting fireballs to engulf them all for not just damage over time but a free cremation service to avenge our friends. Oh and um… we also ended up using the riches we gained to the villages we um… used to slow down that Minotaur. Dm said we we’re definitely banned 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@drkrasyyt8051]

nice vid man

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@BogOwl]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@phersong]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@squatchsage775]

I love playing Artificer. My party encounter a chain of 12 rooms all rigged with traps to kingdom come. Popped out the Protector eldritch cannon and we literally just walked through all of them because the temp hp just kept eating all of the damage and regenerated every turn.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha fantastic use of the protector cannon! I love the artillerist!

[@powerofjakerock7239]

Great video, but you say artificer like an AI lol

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha thank you! I have since adjusted my pronunciation but I think this video is here to stay. I'm kindof annoyed that WOTC isn't reprinting the artificer in the new core book.

[@cory849]

I really like your presentation and think you're really charismatic. I skipped a lot of this video ultimately though because I don't really need somebody to read me the book.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thanks for the feedback!! Sounds like you’re pretty well-acquainted with the game and I value your input! My hope is to lay a solid foundation for new players as I also produce some more advanced content that’s more geared towards viewers like yourself!

[@RSVSREV3RSE]

gotta say im playing an alchemist and and lemme tell you what... its underwhelming as hell.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I’m sorry to hear that!! It’s definitely the least potent of the artificer subclasses but my wife plays one in one of our groups and loves it! How far along are you?

[@RSVSREV3RSE]

@@ConstructedChaos I guess its kinda my fault i just habnt really enjoyed the random potion so i just havnt used it.. We just hit level 7 last session. But I just have a lot of issues looking at all the stuff the other subclasses can do and we have a transmutation wizard in the party and it feels like he just does everything better.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@RSVSREV3RSE that’s an interesting observation since transmutation school is one of the worst wizard subclasses too. Still, we’re currently 9th level in the campaign I was referring to so maybe things will start to get better soon! Don’t forget that you can craft a specific elixir with a spell slot. Our alchemist functions very much like a support build to give healing and other effects when we need it.

[@Oddthebard]

I agree the alchemist needs some kind of boon. I would like see not only a potion you can drink with random effect but also a potion you can throw with a random effect.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@Oddthebard coincidentally, this is the DM of that campaign 😂 ^^^ We’re we 8th or 9th level? I actually feel like I may be misremembering now.

[@gaelofariandel6747]

As far as justification, my Artificer (Alchemist) is a Reborn (Goblin) Wildspacer who had his crew drop him off in the material plane (Sword Coast) to go out on a journey of self discovery after he lost his memories & self identity in a monster attack on the ship following a botched resurrection. His random elixirs that he gets at the end of a long rest are actually pre-made vials that were coded & sorted in a manner he can no longer recall since his older self is "gone" & he only has enough time to work out one or two vials before the party goes out & about.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Love that flavor!! What a backstory!

[@oberongypsy]

Dude is a good presenter, and I love his videos, but I cannot with his pronunciation of the class.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Wait is there something wrong with the way I say it? Lol but seriously, you aren’t the first to correct me. Believe it or not, I tried to look up the “correct” pronunciation before recording so this wouldn’t happen and this is what I got for it. My original pronunciation with emphasis on “aar” and not on “tih” is apparently the one most people accept.

[@The_Gnome_Chomskee]

He pronounced it correctly

[@oberongypsy]

@@The_Gnome_Chomskee Negative Ghostrider. Artifice is the root of Artifact. Nobody pronounces Artifact as ar-TIF-fact, hence, the pronunciation is incorrect.

[@dragonriderabens9761]

Currently playing an artificer in a game with a modern setting. yes, it is as fun as it sounds, being able to be the gun/engineer class with modern tech but it's also a dichotomous campaign. which means I get to pick 2 subclasses and level them up simultaneously we just hit level 9 after the last session, so now I get 3rd level spells slots and new class abilities playing battlesmith as subclass 1, so I just got Arcane Jolt. the other subclass is a homebrew that I would advise others to look into called Mastermaker. these guys are masters of prosthetics. at level 3, as a (mostly) flavorful ability, you can infuse your power into a non magical object to turn it into a prosthetic limb (arm, leg, and, foot, etc) that functions exactly like the original while equipped. you can do this every time you take along rest. you also gain access to your Battlefist. this replaces an arm and functions identically to it. this acts as a simple melee weapon that deals 1d10 magical bludgeoning damage on a hit, and can use either your intelligence or your strength for attack/damage rolls. being a simple melee weapon, you are proficient with it as well. despite being magical, it can be infused as if it were nonmagical your battlefist can also be given one of the following properties every time you take a long rest: -finesse -thrown (20/60) -reach it can also act as your spellcasting focus. noteable expanded spells are -Thunderous smite -Restoration (lesser and greater) -haste -blinding smite -banishing smite they also get an extra attack at level 5 at level 9, your battlefist gets a big boost -deals 2d10+modifier on a hit -acts as a shield, upping your AC by 2. it can still act as a simple melee weapon while acting as a shield. you can also infuse it as if it were a simple melee weapon and a shield -you can have 1 additional infusion active, but that infusion must be on the battlefist at level 15, you can also choose to consider yourself a construct instead of your other creature types for how you are effected by spells and abilities this has paired shockingly well with a sinper battlesmith, as I can attack with intelligence both in melee and ranged, and without having to use my object interaction, as all I do is just punch them. I don't draw a new weapon at all thunderous smite lets me create some breathing room if an enemy gets into melee range at level 9, it can pair with Repulsion shield for the same purpose and the cantrip Booming Blade for even more breathing room. you can also cast thunderous smite and booming blade for the same attack. at level 15, I also get a free casting of Anti-Life Shell per long rest, adding even more breathing room for sniping if need be

[@ConstructedChaos]

Wow! What a cool build with that unique ruleset! Sounds like a great time!

[@dragonriderabens9761]

@@ConstructedChaos it is an amazing time the dichotomous leveling isn't all upsides though downsides are that it takes 2x as much xp to level up (not applicable when doing milestone leveling) and you can't multiclass there is an alternative to dichotomous leveling that has the same downsides, but instead of 2 subclasses, you get to level 2 classes simultaneously it's called Gestalt. if you want to power game, highly recommend it and honestly, I picked the subclasses for this character based on what would fit the character best. poor lad has been through a lot. He survived an orc raid, but it cost him an arm and a leg (literally) and the Steel Defender has come to double as an emotional support creature for him

[@nukeomatic]

aRtifiser not arTIFiser

[@ConstructedChaos]

I debated which pronunciation I would use for a while as both do exist and are used interchangeably. There’s actually even more than just two. Hopefully where I landed doesn’t bother you much. I knew someone would be bothered no matter how I chose to pronounce it 😂

[@GodwinXZ]

Something existing and something being correct can be two different things. Good video otherwise.👍

[@ikejohnson5494]

There a things called dialects Rustan.

[@ConstructedChaos]

This might be hard to fathom but ima actually from an area known for very very heavy accents (and not the good kind either.) I put a ton of thought into my pronunciations but if you don’t like them, that’s ok.

[@New2DM2]

One thing I will saw, as I play one in a West Marches campaign is don't make STR your dump stat, as there are some cool armorer abilities, but if you've got a bad STR score you can get easily encumbered.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Good advice here!! I’ve made the mistake in other videos stating what stat should be dumped and I’m always met with some exception. So I made sure to stress that it really depends on your build but most of the time your stats should fall as I mentioned. More of a beginner tip than anything!

[@New2DM2]

Absolutely. This is more if you're going for the "Armorer" type build, where heavy armor can work with your spellcasting. In this case Dex and Str may be swapped since heavy armor limits the ability to utilize your DEX to modify AC, but you need appropriate STR to wear and carry heavy Armor.

[@kunimitsune177]

The way he says 'artificer' though 🤢

[@ConstructedChaos]

hehehe sorry about that! I've changed my pronunciation since this video went up over a year ago!

[@thelivingbrick56]

Technically the correct way to say it though😅

[@edodejoode2197]

Bruh that's the way to pronounce it tf u sayin

[@jacobdavis6916]

My favorite Artificer combo for spell storing object (SSI). At 17th level, put the Artillerist's Scorching Ray in the SSI and then cast Animate Objects. Have 10 daggers all use the item and laugh maniacally as you wield a laser Gatling gun to murder almost anything down range with 30d6 (excluding misses, crits, and the artillerist's Arcane Firearm 1d8 extra damage) fire damage. Not big enough for you? Same principle but use Shatter (be sure to laugh really loud; your targets will be well and truly deaf if they survive).

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha can daggers use an item?

[@DeadpoolAli]

PSA: if you have proficiency in any wind instrument you can use the pipes of haunting replicate magic item infusion. 3 charges of 30' radius fear and frighten condition concentration free! Replenishes 1d3 a day.

[@ConstructedChaos]

You're absolutely right! I have a video that covers all the artificer infusions and I heard a lot of support for that one in the comments!

[@chaotic_stupid]

When i was reminded of the spell storing item feature, i remembered a joke between me and my friend about turning his rat tail into a +2 whip by infusing it with the enhanced weapon infusion and then casting enlarge/reduce. Now i can tack on spell storing item to cast shatter and let him make the loudest whip crack Faerun has ever heard.

[@ConstructedChaos]

HAHAHAHA I can hear the indiana jones music now! Sounds like a great time!

[@danilofrancopapais3473]

You can also have the spell-storing item be helmet or necklace for your homunculus, put either Grease in it for an extended difficult area, or have it be a spotter for your ranged attacks by casting Faerie Fire (if not, then there's always the option to a lot of cure wounds available).

[@ConstructedChaos]

For sure! Having your homunculus able to throw out great battlefield control spells is always a plus!

[@memepayne2540]

Man wish someone would make videos like this for pathfinder 2e

[@ConstructedChaos]

Help is on the way, deary! (I'm planning to cover those relatively soon after getting through the rest of the PF2e basic guides)

[@genrepunk]

This is the second video of yours I've run into saying something is broken that isn't. I was curious, and when it turned out to just be a summary of the clsss I was disappointed. Your class summaries are good. Your content is good. Just don't make promises with video titles you aren't prepared to keep.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I appreciate the insight here, Josh! As you can imagine, you aren’t the first person to bring this up to me! The intention of this series is to show that any class can be broken by highlighting the best parts of that class in the class guide (which is also in the title, btw). That said, most of my other content breaks this convention because I have realized that it creates an unwanted problem for viewers. However, I do still intend to finish this guide series as is since I feel it accomplishes the aforementioned goal more often than not. The series has over 90% like/dislike ratio-with 90% being the average across the whole of KZbin. So I do feel like most people get the gist. But, once again, I really value your honesty and input! Rest assured that it has not fallen on deaf ears or into comment limbo haha!

[@genrepunk]

Thanks for being open to feedback! Seeing that it's a series it makes more sense. Encountering an individual video lands differently as you now know. Keep at it, you're doing great! There's bound to be stumbling blocks along the way but that just means your videos can keep getting better.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@genrepunk thank you so much for being so understanding. Fostering a community and channel requires me to take criticism to heart and that’s so much easier when it’s coming from someone who is as well-composed as yourself! I truly value feedback like this! ❤️

[@M0ntezuma300]

@@ConstructedChaosMaybe try "The Best Parts of..." or "How good a... can be" or something. Like he said, the title is very misleading. This is just an explanation of an artificer.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@M0ntezuma300 I'll definitely take that feedback under advisement! However, I've found that the majority of people that watching the video know exactly what it is when they click on it. The like/dislike ratio is something like 97% so I'm not sure it's as much a problem as you think.

[@AbyssalDragon42]

Rules as written infuse item is limited in how many you can include at a time at the end of a long rest by your number of infused items, but you can use all of your infusions known, and they don't end until you re-use that known infusion or use a different one on the same object.

[@BogOwl]

This is a real high quality video, using the chapters feature would be cool too, like being able to skip to certain parts in the video.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thanks so much!! I have the auto chapters feature turned on but it doesn’t seem like it does much for these haha. I’ll see if I can set aside time soon to add chapters to this and other videos on the channel!

[@quentinmcwhorter1997]

Don't forget that with artificers you can expend spell slots to create extra experimental elixirs that you can pick the effect of, from the list. If you have a martial class that wants to take a flavorful dip, gain some cool infusions, and have some incredibly powerful buffs on hand to every battle, sink some into int and take the multiclass to three. One of the elixirs can give you a plus 1d4 to every attack roll and saving throw for basically an entirety of most battles. That's like having a free continuous guidance.

[@ConstructedChaos]

True that!! I think a lot of people take issue with the alchemist since it’s an action to drink those elixirs in RAW. Personally, I run the bonus action potion rule at my table BUT potions and elixirs are super rare in my setting. This goes a long way in keeping players from abusing the potions they come across and it buffs the alchemist a bit!

[@TheRobversion1]

@@ConstructedChaos agreed. I wouldnt bother tbh with elixirs even if i was given by the party alchemist unless the enemies are out of range (and i typically like to play ranged martials or casters so thats rare). At the end of the day if your action isnt spend either controlling the enemy or killing the enemy, buffing an ally or debuffing an enemy, its wasted action economy..only a few exceptions to this like haste since you dont completely waste your action. The only elixir i'd really use is swiftness because thats 10 ft speed bonus that can be done outside of combat. 10 ft speed bonus is hardly a reason to burn 3 levels, especially if mounts are accessible in the game. I think the ideal fix to the artificer is to make the effects of all their elixirs last 1 hr. Then they become useful as you can just drink them while adventuring pre-combat.

[@quentinmcwhorter1997]

@@TheRobversion1 That was mostly my thought, trying to drink them pre-combat. If you are going somewhere with the intention of engaging in combat it can be really useful, and I think its reasonable to assume that if you plan on attacking someone you can drink a few potions right before, drinking three would only take 18 seconds.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@quentinmcwhorter1997 that's the thing, that's not reasonable at most tables so it really needs a fix. alot of the dms i've seen or played with generally don't allow pre-buffing or reactionary actions to start combat. you can see this in most dnd livestreams too. the most lenient i've seen would be those that allow 10m duration effects then they make sure to give you a combat within 10m. the most common though is 1 hr duration effects. personally i think that's the reasonable one where you can expect to encounter a combat within 1 hr of drinking and getting to a non-safe place.

[@quentinmcwhorter1997]

@@TheRobversion1 I’m playing my first campaign now, so that’s good to know! Very limited in experience and I was kinda throwing out ideas I had born of my own excitement lol.

[@sarawarlestedt7242]

All purpose tool with this is sick!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Oh, the all purpose tool is pretty much a must have if I'm playing an artificer. I ask for one loudly and often haha.

[@TheGoodCrusader]

Something along the line of the elders scrolls dwarfs would be a really fun playthrough. Bronze age armor technology at the level of the Dendra panoply. Ancient mycenaean armor, that consisted of hardened bronze plates over the whole torso and shoulder plates. A bronze helmet reinforced with boar tusks. A full body armor built 1500 years BC of bronze and bone.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Elder Scrolls has some of the most interesting lore when it comes to the dwarves! I absolutely love it!

[@deantitus9734]

Hey Alex, got a question about my brother's artillerist artificer. He bought 4 pairs of safety glasses because, evidently, four members of our party(including him) don't have darkvision. Subsequently, he wants to create Goggles of Night for all involved. Is he able to create multiples of one particular item, or how does that work?

[@ConstructedChaos]

I don't think it would be particularly gamebreaking for you to allow him to create all 4 sets of Goggles of Night under one infusion. However, the rules don't allow for it. It would be one item per one infusion, basically.

[@deantitus9734]

Cool, I wasn't sure. Thanks again.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@deantitus9734 Of course! I'm always happy to help!

[@vasudeanguy8523]

You can also be a nasty mounted combatant if you decide to pick a small race as a Battle Smith. Discovered this completely by accident when I made my Kobold Artificer(back when the only Kobold type available was the Volo's Guide, which I didn't really mind). He rarely got hit as I just had the beast take the Dodge action each turn and combined with my Homunculus Infusion, I still was able to keep my party up while proceeding to have my DM tear his hair out in frustration, up until I retired him at level 15. He was fun to play.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hell yeah!! That’s a great little setup I’ve seen a few people mention since posting this video! Thanks for the tip!

[@donnythedingo]

So you can be the Doctor and the Terminator rolled into one

[@ConstructedChaos]

The doctor, the terminator, the tinkerer, so many possibilities!

[@johnnyv9024]

Haste plus spell storing item is amazing! Because it's the item producing the effects, not you casting the spell, a hasted character can use the spell storing item twice per round

[@TheRobversion1]

good combo. you know what's better? using spell storing item 10x in 1 turn. :)

[@ConstructedChaos]

Go on…. 😈

[@masterspud583]

Unfortunately I don’t think that works as the spell storing item can only store spells level 1 or 2. Haste is a 3rd level spell.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@masterspud583 true that!

[@TheRobversion1]

@@masterspud583 i think you're misinterpreting him. what he meant was his character is hasted (perhaps by an ally). spell storing item allows you to cast a spell using the use an object action. by having haste, he can cast 2 spells in 1 turn. if he has action surge he can cast 3 spells in 1 turn. if he has warcaster he can cast 4. if he multiclassed thief 3, he can cast 5 spells in 1 turn. he's not meaning to cast haste from inside the spell storing item but instead cast something different let's say like scorching ray that's inside the item. haste gives you an extra use an object action along with other bonuses. here's a sample action sequence: action: use an object-scorching ray hasted action: use an object-scorching ray bonus action: use an object-scorching ray move within 5 ft of target action surge: dissonant whispers (provokes AOO) warcaster reaction: thunderwave

[@dm_dude]

I‘m really not into steampunk and because of that I ignored this class for a long time all together, not realizing the awesome potential it has. A battlesmith companion could just as well be a magical companion that just uses the stat block of the metal companion. The alchimist could easily be reflavored as a herbalist or even a crazy witch who brews magical potions at camp. And the armorer could be an artifact maker, who just infuses their fantasy armor with magical runes giving it special properties.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Yes indeed! Well said!

[@davidaward82]

so many people make this claim, but no, they aren't 'broken' ... though some GMs may want to limit or modify the contents of the replicate magic item list.

[@ConstructedChaos]

You're probably right and this is the reason I don't use the "broken" terminology like this anymore. This was originally part of a series dedicated to showcasing that any class can be broken!

[@cristiansantos6591]

I'd just like to mention that Eberron is not a steampunk futuristic world. It's a high magic setting. Eberron doesn't even have firearms in it. If a world has magical items, the world can fit artificers. Some DMs would be against it because the class was setting exclusive, like most DMs do with setting exclusive content. But since it went to tasha, Artificers aren't anything to be frowned upon at all.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Sure! Perhaps “steampunky” isn’t the right term exactly. But with things like lightning trains, robots, and other various mechanical contraptions, I find it gives off a very steampunk vibe (even if it isn’t technically steampunk). That said, I’ve never had a problem fitting artificers and even warforged into my fantasy games so I was just covering my bases for anyone else that did have that issue.

[@lemonicity4834]

Awesome vid! My friend is about to play an artificer soon, sent him this video

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thanks!! Glad you enjoyed it and I hope it helped!!

[@coreycoffell6219]

"Probably a military injury sustained against the Grung."-McGuffin

[@Oddthebard]

I am here for this!!!!!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahaha I knew you would be!

[@Monke007]

Using this build with BG3 modded, thank you!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Nice!! Let me know how it goes and I hope you enjoy the game--I still have yet to play it, sadly!

[@tomykong2915]

a dex focused artificer can definitely be a thing, i actually had one character i made ages ago for that, it was an armoror and focused on being an AC tank, used a shield, shield master and was a warforged, we also had a ton of homebrew rules that would help with this process, but i can definitely see ways it can happen

[@ConstructedChaos]

Sounds like an interesting build! I'd probably end up throwing some multiclassing in there to help make up for us missing out on the fullest extent of our intelligence-based stuff but it sounds like a fun challenge!

[@tomykong2915]

@@ConstructedChaos the campaign had some rediculous level homebrew rules and by the end ac didn't cut it, so i ended up changing the build later, but it definitely was setup in a way that it would work in any "normal" campaign and was fun while it lasted

[@aliksanon6491]

I literaly sat down and made a schematic for a TOW stile missle using just physics and basic rules of dnd. Exception is that real TOW missles have one payload usually, mine has a bag of holding and that basically makes it a TOW MIRV missle loaded with knives, rocks, potions and anything else i could cram in there

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahaha good lord!

[@CyberSpiderPrime]

The Spell-Storing Item comment: a single person can not render an entire party Invisible due to the (in my opinion horrible) 'can only concentrate on one spell at a time' Duration condition; this applies to any stored spell with Concentration -- you have to use that other option mentioned of passing the item off to another player (and they Concentration on their own resulting affect). Also, most magic items have the Concentration limitation anyway (most items 'cast' the spell vs gain the benefits of the spell). Examples are like 'cast the Fly spell' (requires Concentration) vs 'You gain a fly speed' (no Concentration). I believe that the limit should be your Proficiency Bonus, which would again allow for that good ole spying Flying Invisible wizard hovering over the enemy camp by casting alone (no items, potions, second caster, etc.; just a single caster). PB is not under the choice control of the player, only player total levels count - no way to increase but by gaining levels, not even officially with feats. Also, any spell that allows multiple saving throws (allowed each round, over a period of time, or condition - like abuse or attack) shouldn't have Concentration - the caster is dealing with double jeopardy here of itself taking damage or a save by the target bringing down the spell. Buffing the party members used to be one of the Artificer's (beginning in 2E Player's Options books, full caster, before Eberron 3E Setting), Bard's, Cleric's, Druid's, and Wizard's biggest aids; but now without any 'Mass [something]' or multiple target spells, they are mainly reduced to buffing one member per caster at a time with Concentration spells - this makes magic items even more necessary and important not less. Our DM had to reluctantly agree with my argument recently. The only caster left on the other side had to decide to keep holding our tank back or help his party - he held the tank, didn't go well for his party ... or himself or his extended party (the ones encamped elsewhere) (DM: "damn, I see your point now", another player: "that's what [me] has been telling you all this time"). If he could do both, one of them could have warned the others - all they needed was for any ally to have one free round to flee (use invisible ability and RUN!); second part of fight was way easier for us. And recently, as a player himself in another 5E game, the DM has seen the problem from the player's perspective as well.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Right--with regard to the spell-storing item bit--that's what I was saying.

[@Thepigofthesea]

I realy liked the unearthed arcana subclass of archivist, it was one I realy hoped would be added. A shame it never happened, one of my favourite potential subclasses that I've seen.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I’m with ya!! But, maybe your DM will allow you to play it anyway! I’m in a game that let me play a UA Stone Sorcerer and it’s been a blast!

[@Thepigofthesea]

@@ConstructedChaos here's hoping! (:

[@markcarpenter6020]

I was disappointed in the alchemist. When I first heard it I envisioned a potion maker rolling into battle throwing bottles of acid, napalm, and nitroglycerin. Instead o got a knock off healer.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Yeah I think a lot of people feel that way. It’s because they built the artificer on top of the spellcasting foundation instead of creating a totally new system. That said, flavor is always free. And, even though you use “spells” to create these effects, there’s no reason you can’t imagine it to be a different way-so long as the mechanics are consistent!

[@markcarpenter6020]

@@ConstructedChaos they also dropped the ball on the idea of a scroll maker artificer. The UA concept has potential but needed major rework to make it viable and a better ability than the AI thing they came up with

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@markcarpenter6020 yeaaaa they did a scribes wizard and I guess that was too similar.

[@markcarpenter6020]

@@ConstructedChaos i thought they did the scribe wizard because they couldn't get the artificer version to work the way they wanted.. honestly scribe and alchemist probably should have been a separate class from artificer neither one quite fits the artificer base class(or wizard class in the case of the scribe). But yeah with the scribe imagine an adventurer with a bandolier full of scrolls. I mean they could have even made it so only the scribe could use the scrolls and it would've been cool. Also I like how one novel I like does the difference between wizards and artifact makers. In it how powerful a wizard is spends on how much magic power they have but how powerful a artifact maker is depends on how well they manipulate magic power(having fine control of their magic is required for making artifacts)

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@markcarpenter6020 When I think of a scroll-based artificer I always imagine the "spell scroll gun" from that strixhaven art haha. But you're probably right about why the scribe wizard came into being. I couldn't remember which came first, that or the UA that you mentioned. I have a feeling a lot of these little inconsistencies will get addressed in one dnd as it's always easy to adjust after looking back rather than looking forward.

[@wolfschadow6399]

I like to flavour my artificers as etching miniature runes into items with attuned spikes, which looks like magical welding. The tools and items they create are 3d printed with the spikes.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Nice flavor!

[@yosoydave8521]

i love the battle smith, currently i play it as that meme "i am a healer however *pulls out a sniper rifle" the int instead of dex/str for attacks as long as the weapon is magical is brutal

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha nice! I love the flexibility the artificer brings! It gets a bad reputation for being purely support but it can really do a lot more too!

[@wazzledog1007]

I made a STR artillerist with mending and booming blade. Staff can cast booming blade with the arcane firearm buff. Protector cannon and buff spells carry early levels. Headband of intellect infusion opens up INT options at high levels.

[@TheRobversion1]

yeah a melee artillerist staff wielder can do decent dmg. this is how i'd build as well at least for earlier levels. i'd definitely add in crusher, polearm master (eventually warcaster as well) and add in some decision paralysis tactics via a level 3-4 sorc dip for quickened spell/seeking spell and cloud of daggers before returning to artillerist for more levels. with an action sequence like this: bonus action: quickened cloud of daggers behind the bbeg action: booming blade crusher the enemy into the COD. they will take entry dmg start of enemy's turn they take COD dmg. now the enemy has to make a decision which will suck if they don't have ranged/spell options. if they stay inside the COD they can't attack and will take COD dmg again at the start of their next turn. if they move towards to attack you they will take the BB rider dmg. moreover, once they enter your reach, you can can react with polearm master and crusher them back inside the COD to take entry dmg again. at higher levels, with warcaster this can be another BB so if they decide to move out again to reach you and attack you within the same turn they will take BB dmg again that turn. further turns are basically just activating the turret with bonus actions and attacking with booming blade repeating the same sequence above. should be online at level 9 if the race is custom lineage with artillerist 5, sorc 4.

[@m-zel6932]

With the spell storing, you can let the barbarian enlarge himself, and you reduce the dragon and grapple him. Am I not correct?

[@ConstructedChaos]

Seems to check out by the looks of it! 😊

[@m-zel6932]

@@ConstructedChaos nice

[@christopherdubus6769]

Barbarians can't concentrate while raging.

[@m-zel6932]

@christopherdubus6769 I didn't say he raged, but it was more like you got the idea about pinning down a dragon with the team.

[@carlb5396]

My next character is gonna me a Thri-kreen Artificer and this is gonna be a huge help!!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Ooh that sounds like a fun and flavorful choice! What tinkerer wouldn’t want more hands to work with?

[@carlb5396]

@@ConstructedChaos im thinking of flavouring my infusions as Bio-mechanicial enhancements

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@carlb5396 love it!! Thinking you might go armorer then??

[@accountcounter1895]

Once used magical tinkering to make a rock quack like a duck to draw some goblins into an ambush

[@ConstructedChaos]

Perfect tactical implementation with fantastic flavor to boot! Well done!

[@kimwerkhoven]

I am now playing a artificer who is a Fairy and its soo cool ❤

[@cyrusbrown2275]

My favorite subclass is Artillerist, I made one named "Mr. Demolition" who was an explosives experts but a big dork.

[@ConstructedChaos]

That's my favorite as well!! Although, the Battle Smith is steadily working its way up the ladder the more I play it.