we need to talk about the new Artificer

[@DnDShorts]

Grab incredible TTRPG maps from CzePeku! Get the entire 4000+ maps back catalogue when you join! www.patreon.com/czepeku/posts

[@InvictusIIKhan]

That sounds so cool!

[@DarthKilaj85]

I don't know why DND refuses to just make a proper Alchemist and make it like the Pathfinder one but still different so it's not a full copy

[@LucanVaris]

Major nerf that I really hate is the fact that you _have_ to use tools, in order to cast spells. This is a *_MAJOR_* nerf to Battle Smiths specifically, as no other subclass really cares about what they're holding in their hands as much, beyond tools. Hopefully they either revert the change, or just let Battle Smiths use Magic Weapons as their Spellcasting Focus. Just let me cast spells with an enchanted sword or whatever, and I'm good. I don't want to have to juggle a sword, shield, and a pair of pliers, just so I can take advantage of both my class and subclass.

[@Sifter352]

It says on the UA for the spell section list that it doesn't include spells from Tasha's Cauldron but it does state that you can feel free to include them as part of their spell list. It's just the list of spells from the 2024 phb.

[@DnDShorts]

that makes sense!

[@boniakarlo]

Fact is, 2024 is still 5e. So EVERYTHING for 5e that isnt retconned or changed or explicitely removed, is still officially released for 5e.

[@duckymclain927co05]

For now... mwahahahaha!

[@themonkeys96]

The key thing with the magical item disintegration: Magic items without charges are still magic items. Burn the charge on your spell storing ring to get a spell slot back. Its now worthless until the next day where you can just auto create it again. So may as well vanish it into a free additional slot.

[@lucasramey6427]

Real

[@GrubbySnotflinger]

as written, the spell storing ring wasn't created using replicate magic item, so wouldn't be an option for this. but, yeah, something that you did create with that feature that had charges would work.

[@richryanjames]

They made the spell storing ring a magic item in the UA, so you could create it with replicate magic item

[@johncox7169]

What I find really amusing is that they made the Mind Sharpener have 4 charges when created, but only gets back 1d4 charges per day. So just eat your ring after it is out of charges to get back a spell slot, then remake it the next day with a full 4 charges, no roll required. (I guess they made it random charges per day in case a DM wants to actually give someone the item, or if someone wants to actually craft it.)

[@drongodyle3156]

​@@GrubbySnotflingeryou can make a spell storing ring with replicate magic item. I think you're mistaking the spell storing ring with the spell storing item class feature.

[@Czarro672]

So Wizards DID only keep Artificer out of the 2024 PHB so they could put it in another 60 dollar book!

[@chickennuggets-g4z]

60 dollar book doubt it like 20 or 30 probably

[@laughingpanda4395]

Oathbreaker has joined the chat...

[@cphtfluke7565]

A new 60 dollar book? Where? WHERE?!

[@Subject_Keter]

Get a pencil and copy it into your $5 notes for F R E E

[@whitestoneandy797]

Absolutely yes 💯

[@madhattom891]

You no longer get to use one of your infused items as a spellcasting focus. In groups that are strict about item interactions in a turn this could be a real pain for some builds, especially the battle smith.

[@Micolino9878]

Bards: *Trying to hold a weapon and any of the two-handed instruments the game lists* "YOU THINK YOU KNOW PAIN!?"

[@OMAGAICE122]

Considering this is the test version, we might get that back, if not there is a common wonderous item that converts your simple or martial weapon into a focus that you can craft. Ruby of the war mage.

[@madhattom891]

@@OMAGAICE122 I do hope so. Having to use up a magic item and attunement slot on the ruby sounds like quite a tax. Fortunately, my group is pretty lenient on this sorta thing as long as we don't try to juggle TOO much.

[@bray2964]

I can no longer pull spells from my Bag of Holding? This day extracts a heavy toll

[@BrunoFernandes-ty7mf]

This, together with the +1 to savings in lvl 20, were the two things that made me most sad. The subclasses ended up making me happy again. But this one specially is really a bummer. The lvl 20 one will be seen less in game anyways for most people.

[@DnDShorts]

Dreadnought Armorer marks the 4th or 5th subclass that is just "me get big and hit hard" and I'm not even remotely tired of it. Keep my chonkers coming baby!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Edit: Alchemist get Greater Restoration and Heal, not Harm and Heal! But still, way better than Bubbling Cauldron imho!

[@AtelierGod]

5th, it’s the 5th subclass of artificer.

[@sspectre8217]

@@AtelierGodit’s not a different subclass

[@sspectre8217]

Imo I think they are overcorrecting while trying to future proof the artificer. Sure plans are slightly easier to track but now they’ll get access to some former infusions much later because they’re no longer exclusive to the class. They could have done it through the Replicate Magic Item infusion and keep the cool exclusive features. The capstone nerf was unnecessary and lame. The alchemist just feels very unfocused. It feels like the experimental elixir is supposed to be the core feature but nothing really builds on that feature after you get it. The other subclasses are good, the dreadnaugh is awesome (guardian could have its dmg buffed a little tho). Artillerist is great, same as Battle smith though I think they should get access to weapon masteries. Overall, apart from the alchemist, I think they have the right ideas but are not ambitious enough. They really need to rework the alchemist. Either take out the randomness or fully commit to it. I’d give them multiple thematic random tables to choose from and allow the experimental elixir to properly scale. This way you might not always get the perfect or expected solution for a situation but you’ll get a solution.

[@jakobchaney6819]

People tend to forget that some alchemist elixirs can stack (love that it is now a bonus action to drink, although i wish that it could be an action OR a bonus action)

[@jakobchaney6819]

@sspectre8217 I'd love to see more elixir options to choose from as well as some scaling, maybe some damage dealing ones that can be thrown or something

[@JoshGreenSEO]

The level 9 feature of armorer is a nerf in a big way. It’s not a good trade. Being able to attune to two more items as long as they are part of your armor is huge. Limiting it to an armor feature and only 1 is a massive nerf.

[@GangurEXE]

Not to mention that RAW armorer can't make their inmate weapons magical since the infusion system no longer works on existing objects, instead it makes up new ones and you can't make thunder gountlets or the lightning luncher as a separate magic item. I'd never play that subclass in the state that it is in the UA.

[@googloocraft12]

Guardien temp hp is so little and even worst the Artilleris protector canon is 10 times better at it. Armorer level 9 feature is a joke. Oh wow I get a rare armor, also rare amor : +1 AC... Find a better armor in the wild, guess what you now have a usless level 9 feature. Also they can no longer infuse their weapon so that's a other big nerf

[@krumpits]

The capstone putting you a 20hp instead of 1hp is *barely* a buff. At level 20 creatures sneeze for more than 20dmg

[@asilva4956]

At least it doesn't cost a reaction anymore, so you can keep up as long as you have items

[@derekstein6193]

Also, less likely to die outright from a single big hit.

[@X3n0nLP]

Memento mori

[@googloocraft12]

@@asilva4956yes but we lost a +6 to all saving throw for a 1d6 to skill check (guidance at level 20 WTF WOTC)

[@malmasterson3890]

It's still an incredible capstone regardless.

[@SilverFoxR]

So, Alchemist cannot choose their elixir, but the Artilerist can choose their canons every turn now. Seriously, does WotC know how to balance... anything? They seem to have this habit of buffing already strong options, while neglecting (or nerfing) the weaker ones. Here's a thought - give Alchemists their own cantrip that allows them to toss elemental bombs. They do a decent damage, but have a splash effect that forces enemies adjacent to the target to make a save or take half the damage done to the target creature as they're caught in the bomb's effect. Even let the Alchemist choose the damage type. Essentially give the potion guy the ability to make wacky offensive AND defensive potions. Also, let those elixirs scale up.

[@ShinGallon]

Our GM worked with a player in our group to homebrew something exactly like that and the artificer eventually created basically a magic grenade launcher that the tired-of-only-being-effective-at-melee-range paladin could wield.

[@crapshot321]

Funny enough, that is somewhat similar to what Pathfinder has. All this time and DnD still cannot make a decent alchemist. Sad.

[@deKahedron]

The cantrip you describe is basically a buffed Acid Splash. Which I think would be a good addition to the Alchemist. We've seen subclasses get access to bossted cantrips before, like Arcane Trickster with Mage Hand.

[@armorclasshero2103]

They always go hard on power creep. They've always been this way, every edition. Because it drives sales.

[@daltoncook209]

Reminds me of Storm Herald, I'd love to change the weather type.

[@rangerecho]

people, I am begging you, FILL THE SURVEYS ABOUT THE UA WHEN THEY COME OUT. All of this needs to be heard by the Beach Witches (WotC) and leaving it in comments, while good for the community, is not enough for them to fix the classes.

[@johnrogers1752]

What he's not mentioning is that Artificers lost the ability to use their infusions as Spell Focus items. This nerfs the many Battlesmiths that use shield and 1H weapon and try to cast spells like the smite spells. They would now require a feat or common attuned item to do this. Steel Defender also lost Expertise in Perception, but gained prof in all saves and skills. Artificers also lost the ability to ignore attunement requirements.

[@marvelgeek93]

I agree I don't like that they got rid of ignoring attunement requirements 😢

[@Scoundrel_at_Heart]

Yeah the attunement requirement is a huge thing

[@adriannelson4214]

Not to mention Tool Expertise. That shit was my jam

[@Scoundrel_at_Heart]

@@adriannelson4214 my artificier was the groups swiss army knife with the tool expertise when it came to "we need a thing to solve the puzzle/follow the bbeg/save valuable time traversing the ruins."

[@unironicallylikesranger7122]

Armorers can no longer get +1 to their subclass weapons. ~that’s stupid~

[@RealLifeIronMan]

To any DM that says Artificer doesn't fit the setting (presumably Forgotten Realms), remember Mechanus exists. A realm of modrons, robots, and technology everywhere.

[@EpicRandomness555]

@@RealLifeIronMan Also if magic items fit, people who make them fit.

[@besteger]

@@EpicRandomness555 Agreed. I envision Artificers as etching runes & inlaying crystals, rather than steampunk gunslingers.

[@tomraineofmagigor3499]

​@@bestegeryeah how they look depends on the setting.... just like every other class

[@sansprobus7209]

I mean Mechanus doesn't really feel like it fits the setting either?

[@tomraineofmagigor3499]

@@sansprobus7209 the setting doesn't fit the setting.....? Maybe you don't understand the setting. To be fair Wizards has been taking a dump on the lore for a while

[@Anthius0]

As someone who's been running an Artificer for the past year+ I am a little disappointed to see how little has changed. With all of the mixing up of the other classes, this feels like an afterthought.

[@egg_l0rd13]

That’s probably because it is 😔 I feel like if it wasn’t an afterthought, they would’ve included it in the PHB like a lot of the other Tasha’s stuff (Yes I know Artificer isn’t originally from Tasha’s, but that’s where it became “official” imo)

[@graethynne]

The UA has sparked me to rebuild Artificer largely from scratch. I have a new class feature to help lock in the core identity of base class, which each subclass will be able to exploit appropriately. I am actually really excited to work on it since, yeah, this UA isn't doing it for me.

[@egg_l0rd13]

@@graethynne Yes! That’s awesome! Take the creative power into your own hands lol. A friend and I did the same thing for the Ranger because I hated how the 2024 PHB “revised” it. Gave it an actual class mechanic and gameplay loop and gave the subclasses ways to interact with it. Sometimes it’s more fun to see what you can come up with than just uselessly moan about design changes you dislike, y’know?

[@SerifSansSerif]

Yeah. That was my impression from the official video. They started off saying how they were bringing up the power level and that they were revamping it from level 1..... Only to have the same thing as before. I'm not an artificer player, so take it for what you will, but the artificer feels very underwhelming for what it is compared to what it COULD be if they ditched the current mechanics and included an actual functioning crafting system. It's what always holds me back from playing it.

[@graethynne]

@@egg_l0rd13 Thanks mate! I think I have a good hook.

[@TheBeomoose]

I still miss the Infiltrator feature from the OG UA where the armor could be hidden beneath your character's clothing. Loved that, and most of the time it's just fluff so I would rather they had tinkered with that rather than removing it entirely.

[@Fennwitty]

You can still turn off the armor and turn it back on with an action. Not ideal but better than don/doff rules.

[@derekstein6193]

You can do a TON with ball bearings: 1) Make an area a tripping hazard; I suggest stairs. 2) Use as ammunition for a sling. Should work the same as a sling bullet. 3) Have a familiar drop one into an enemy's armor immediately after casting Heat Metal on it. Can't Dispel Magic and item you can't see. 4) Have your owl familiar fly high above opponents and tear open the bag above them with its talons. Unavoidable AOE damage (save for half) in a sizable area, that is now also a tripping hazzard (assuming the area is level ground). Best at night. 5) Use it to weigh down small items you wish to hide for later in the murky waters of a river. 6) Pile them up in the middle of a corridor and cast Thunderwave on them in the direction of approaching enemies. 7) Roll them to set off motion-sensitive traps from a distance. 8) Place one on the floor to see if the ground/floor is level. Might lead to covered sewer grates or vertical cave openings. 9) Use to defraud canny merchants by lining the sides and top of the inside of coin pouches with genuine coin, but fill the center with ball bearings. The weight won't be far off, and they are unlikely to dump them out when looking inside and only seeing gold coins. Could save you up to ~40% on such deals. Just be sure you don't care about burning metaphorical bridges. 10) Use a bag of them Indiana Jones' style as a replacement on a clearly weight-trapped pedestal holding the McGuffin. 11) Use bags of them to displace dangerous liquid in a shallow basin so you can reach the item at the bottom without touching the liquid. They are sturdy enough that they won't perish immediately landing in most acids, and items are immune to poison. 12) Use the Catapult spell on a loosely-opened bag of ball bearings. 13) Use a combination of the bag's drawstrings and a candle to create a delayed-action distraction. Ball bearings falling 10 or more feet onto flagstones can make quite a racket. 14) Assuming the lock is sturdy enough and the keyhole wide enough, put a ball bearing into the keyhole and hit the lock with Firebolt several times. This should fuse the bearing with the opening, preventing key access or lockpicking. 15) Use as a replacement pouch in pickpocketing. Hopefully the mark won't notice a weight difference. 16) Shiny bribery items for ravens, crows, and magpies. Use in conjunction with Speak With Animals spell for maximum cooperation. 17) If you are good enough, use as a fake bribe on the sly to local law enforcement by handing it carefully in a closed money pouch. Bonus: if they discover the ruse just after handoff, they may be unlikely to confront you over it in a crowded place as they risk outing themselves for accepting bribes (assuming that bribery is actually illegal in that area). 18) Cast light on a bearing and drop, throw, or skip it anywhere you need it to provide illumination at a distance. 19) Use the bearings to make a conspicuous trail (like a line of Reese's Pieces) that leads into a trap for idiots. 20) Throw small handfuls on the ground near a pack of rust monsters so you can keep them away from your paladin's plate armor long enough for your party to pass by them and escape.

[@Giosuke_Giogashikata]

Holy crap, this is amazing

[@Reepicheep-1]

21) Cast Darkness on one & throw or roll at enemy, or do the same drop-into-armor trick.

[@jeffreygray7024]

You can also cast animate objects on a bag of ball bearings for a bunch of tiny objects; solid AC and great bonus action damage

[@brianparsons6129]

The lvl 9 armorer feature is worse. You used to be able to apply infusions to each armor piece and got 2 extra infusions to apply to the armor. Now it's just 1 extra and only 1 effect to the entire suite?

[@starwhale3070]

Yeah i just read that and i had to reread that multiple times to make sure i was reading that right

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

You can also no longer get the special weapons if wording does not change. If you are already wearing magic armor, you can only make armors for the rest of the party. Enspelled armor is also much weaker than enspelled weapon, because it only gets two schools (at least transmutation should be in there).

[@JoshGreenSEO]

Yeah, not sure why he thinks this is the same thing. It’s really not, at all.

[@lolsuperpoop]

Actually its worse than you think. The armorer's special weapons could be enchanted in the Tasha's version. Now because you straight up create a new magic item instead of infusing magic into an item the Armorer weapons can never get any upgrades. So no +2 flail dreadnoughts. There was also tech with the bonus action take of helmet thing allowing you to turn on and off a certain helmet infusion too that is now gone.

[@GrubbySnotflinger]

Unless I'm missing something, the armorer subclass is getting hosed here, as you can't infuse your built in armor weapons anymore. You don't "infuse" current items, you actually create magic items, so you can create a +1 weapon, etc. I have to imagine that most tables are going to ignore this and allow it to work as before, but it just seems like something that could have been addressed easily.

[@adriannelson4214]

Same with them taking away Tool Expertise, I'm just gonna take the new bits I like and slap them on top of the old stuff that was good and fine already, kinda like the Optional Class Features from Tasha's Cauldron.

[@oicmorez4129]

@@adriannelson4214 Well, they took away tool expertise because tool expertise doesn't exist anymore. they took it away from rogues too

[@BrickDaddy420]

It's not great, but on the plus side you can turn the armor weapon into a spell-storing item. Can't remember if that was always the case

[@googloocraft12]

Guardien temp hp is so little and even worst the Artilleris protector canon is 10 times better at it. Armorer level 9 feature is a joke. Oh wow I get a rare armor, also rare amor : +1 AC... Find a better armor in the wild, guess what you now have a usless level 9 feature.

[@The_Fallen_1]

The artificer UA really feels like they want to play it safe and get it out quickly. A bit of a rebalance and a few changes to smooth certain things out and see what people say so they can make a few more changes before they start printing it.

[@googloocraft12]

This needs a LOT OF CHABGES because right now it sucks

[@The_Fallen_1]

@googloocraft12 It doesn't suck, but it's certainly not high tier. Thankfully the feedback opens up next week so we can at least point out the problems in hopes they are addressed.

[@malmasterson3890]

​@The_Fallen_1 As of now, it hasn't fixed the biggest problem with the artificer. Ironically it's basically the opposite of the martials where it sucks early on, but becomes insane at high levels with Attunement slots and their subclass capstone being cracked in some cases.

[@5AMACE]

Main problem is, it's really bad. They really said "Hey, ever wanted to play an npc the players get help from? Now you can!" Most of your main class features is crafting items when other players can already do that or just buy them easily and they have a whole class to themselves. I mean come on, at level 10 you're still making uncommon items and at level 14 when your party probably starts having legendaries is when you can start crafting 2 rare items because of how the plan system works, this is horrible, you'll be level 18 by the time you can replace all your uncommon items with rare. I don't know who WOTC hates more, ranger or artificer.

[@kingbaby210]

They definitely should’ve kept the infusions as they were. A lotta dms I’ve seen online/reddit tend to not allow much crafting if any at all, or are very strict about it. Especially considering time to craft. Now you have to wait quite a few levels to be able to make something like a repeating shot, which is now an uncommon magic item. I’m also very disappointed that alchemist is basically the same as before and still a very weak subclass, and didn’t do anything to actually make me feel like its an alchemist subclass. They just make a couple preset potions. 10 ft flying speed? Seriously? And no progression? Terrible. They should scale. You should get new and better options. You should have access to making different potions of different rarity and much easier than normal. You should be able to be an alchemist. I do like the changes to artillerist’s eldritch cannon tho. I’m glad it’s only a play test because I really think they can do better all around. It feels very lazily done and that things that didn’t need changing were changed, and things that did weren’t. I do love that it specifies you can make magic items of specific types and rarities now. You’re not limited to a specific list and that’s all.

[@voodoophil]

3 quick notes: 😊 1. Homunculus can now activate magic items on its own. "Have a Fireball dagger. Go nuts" 2. Enspelled armor and weapons. No need for spellwrought tattoos. Fx for Battlesmith this means 6 extra castings of Shield. 3. Each subclass gets to reduce the time of crafting magic items by 50% in their specialty (ex. battlesmith does weapons faster).

[@voodoophil]

More notes. 4. Using potions is a bonus action, instant Alchemist buff. Combined with tool proficiency and quick crafting, you can have a lot, a lot of potions.

[@Akant0r9]

For number 2, you say extra casting of shield. I thought Armorer doesn’t get the shield spell.

[@voodoophil]

​@@Akant0r9 Good catch, corrected to Battlesmith 😊 thx

[@Akant0r9]

@@voodoophilBeen planning on playing an armorer myself. Kinda bummed that the tank class doesn’t have it but at least there are workarounds.

[@pindagreat]

I watched the video on the official dnd youtube channel, and they say you don't need to be able to cast a spell to replicate a magic item that has that spell, so you can get enspelled armor with shield as soon as level 6

[@clarkside4493]

Why does it seem like everyone bashes _Tasha's Bubbling Cauldron_ ? _Potions of Hill Giant Strength, Potions of Resistance_ and _Potion of Fire Breath_ are all stellar options to just have in your back pocket. Especially the _Potions of Resistance._ On hand, non-Concentration damage resistance to any singular non-Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing damage type? That's huge!

[@EpicRandomness555]

@@clarkside4493 Potion of Pugilism for Monks!

[@jordanholt9170]

Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron seems like such a versatile spell, and with a creative player you can easily find some interesting exploits

[@shadow-faye]

Really curious how you think you can exploit this spell, seems pretty exploitproof to me ​@@jordanholt9170

[@neoman4426]

Plus if you have a Monk they'll really appreciate a steady source of Potions of Pugilism

[@clarkside4493]

@@neoman4426 exactly!

[@Brogie_21]

I love how you can craft a bedroll that disappears after an hour. Unless you’re incredibly creative, that’s almost entirely useless

[@danwebber9494]

Prank your friends. “Hey everybody, I already set up camp. Time for bed!

[@Brogie_21]

@ you’re the only one with a real bedroll lol

[@derekstein6193]

Good for a Short Rest, at least.

[@Earendilgrey]

When your bard has to seduce the BBEG, but they refuse without a bed.

[@Brogie_21]

@ but are you required to use a bedroll for a short rest? Because I’ve never been required to. And if you need one for a short rest, wouldn’t you already have one for a long rest? Unless you always sleep at an inn, which would make travel difficult

[@codymonsue4181]

I’ve been playing an Armorer Artificer for a bit now, also the 1st time playing the class itself, and it is so fun. I get more use out of the Guardian Armor and though not much combat has occurred it has been a godsend. Plus our DM lets me modify it outside of infusions which is a plus so I can actually make the modifications from scratch and within reason.

[@crapshot321]

"What kind of self-respecting drug dealer doesn't understand what drugs they are making?" Walter White would not be impressed. /s 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

The humunculus servant now doesn’t left the gem when it dies. And the spell consumes it. Now is not that expendable as before

[@Mirie-Maribael]

Lmao, that sucks really bad ngl

[@oldmanfranks8191]

Worst parts of this "update" is the infusion to replicated item changes. 1. Armorer can't enhance their weapons anymore 2. enhanced weapon and defense used to scale to +2 at level 10, now you gotta wait til 14 to replicate +2 weapons/armor 3. Plans known heavily nerfed compared to infusions known on 2014, and no scaling means you have to swap them over several levels.

[@googloocraft12]

Guardien temp hp is so little and even worst the Artilleris protector canon is 10 times better at it. Armorer level 9 feature is a joke. Oh wow I get a rare armor, also rare amor : +1 AC... Find a better armor in the wild, guess what you now have a usless level 9 feature.

[@LordOz3]

You didn't mention the nerfs to spells prepared and infusions/plans at mid and high levels. My artificer player read this and his reaction was "I'll play it if I have to."

[@speeddevil4040]

please respond to the survey to voice your complaints. They won't listen otherwise.

[@Mirie-Maribael]

​@speeddevil4040 where can I find the survey?

[@speeddevil4040]

@@Mirie-Maribael usually they come out after a couple of weeks after the UA releasses. Be on the lookout

[@tuseroni6085]

you missed an important aspect of flash of genius in the new AU: it can only be used when someone near you FAILS a skill check or saving throw. you can't fail an initiative check, so it can no longer be applied to initiative. also arguably any check that doesn't have a DC can't use this either (like if the DM is asking for a check to see how WELL you do it, rather than just if you succeed.)

[@jacobleach7408]

Yeah that's massive for checks that have degrees of success (often lore for me)

[@stefanorizzo7260]

Initiative is not a skill check, so it would not apply anyway. In fact the new bard's factotum doesn't apply to initiative anymore

[@tuseroni6085]

@@stefanorizzo7260 initiative is a dex skill check, at least in 2014 rules, idk if they changed that, but this has been confirmed by Jeremy Crawford.

[@stefanorizzo7260]

@@tuseroni6085 It is a dex check, but it's not a skill. The old factotum worked with every check you weren't proficient with (initiative too, since you can't have proficiency), now it's specifically only with skill checks

[@tuseroni6085]

@@stefanorizzo7260 skill check is player shorthand, the term the book uses is "ability check" and initiative is an ability check.

[@randomguyvariety5148]

They can do caltrops which is much better than ball bearings. But if they didn't change the grappling this dreadnought couldve been a very intelligent grappler which is a funny idea

[@EpicRandomness555]

Caltrops and ball bearings together is even better lol

[@MeatbagSlayer]

We could've have our Artificer's doing Pot Buster's bro 😭😭😭😭😭

[@DerrickBarrows]

Amen 🙏​@@MeatbagSlayer

[@jonathanstern5537]

I built my own Artificer subclass which I'd like to playtest/see playtested. Artificer: Grenadier Sub-Class description needed* At 3rd level you gain Tool Proficiency: When you adopt this specialization at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with alchemist's supplies. If you already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan's tools of your choice. At 3rd level Grenadier Spells Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Alchemist Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare. Artificer Level Grenadier Spells 3rd Hunter’s Mark, Ice Knife 5th Cloud of Daggers, Wrist Pocket 9th Conjure Barage, Melf's Minute Meteors 13th Elemental Bane, Raulothim's Psychic Lance 17th Conjure Volley, Telekinesis At 3rd level you gain Grenade Manufacturing: You can now create specialized grenades. The number of grenades crafted per long rest is equal to your intelligence plus your proficiency bonus plus the number of infusions you can make. The damage and healing for the grenades that deal damage increases by 1 die at level 5, 9, and 15. 3rd Level Grenades: Acid Grenade: When it hits the target takes 2d6 Acid damage and another 2d4 acid damage on all subsequent turns unless the target spend an action removing it. Darkness Grenade: When it hits the target takes 2d6 Necrotic damage and is engulfed in magical darkness until the end of your next turn. Freeze Grenade: When it hits the target must make a CON save equal to your spell DC. On a failure the target takes 2d6 cold damage and is paralyzed. On a success the target takes half damage and its movement speed is reduced by 10ft. Flame Grenade: When it hits the target they take 2d12 fire damage. Flash Bang Grenade: All Creatures within 10 feet of the grenade must make a constitution saving throw or be blinded and deafened for the next 1d6 rounds. Force Grenade: When it hits, the target takes 2d8 force damage and is pushed 10 feet. Gas Grenade: When it hits the target take 2d8 poison damage and is poisoned until the end of your next turn. Glue Grenade: When it hits the target is restrained and remains that way unless they take an STR (Athletics) check DC equal to your spell-save and an action to get out of it. Healer’s Grenades: All creatures of your choosing within a 10 foot radius heal 2d10 points of damage. Light Grenade: When it hits the target takes 2d6 radiant damage and you can heal 1 ally within 30ft (including themselves) for 1d6. Mind Killer Grenade: When it hits the target takes 2d8 psychic damage and is confused until the end of your next turn. Nail Grenade: When it hits, the target takes 2d8 piercing, and every creature within 10 feet takes 1d8 piercing damage. If it misses everyone within the targeted area takes 1d8 piercing damage. Sleep Grenade: When it hits, if the target has lower hit points than your maximum the artificer’s maximum hit points, it is rendered unconscious until the end of your next turn. Slick Grenade: All creatures within a 5 foot radius of the grenade must made a dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone. The area is treated as difficult terrain for the next minute, and any creature that moves at least 5 feet within the area must make a dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone. At 5th level you gain Thrower: You are proficient with all thrown weapons and items. When using these, you use your intelligence modifier for attack and damage. You add your intelligence to all damage, even with thrown items that don’t normally deal damage. All thrown weapons and items count as magic for damage resistance purposes. The range of your throwing weapons is equal to 10 times your intelligence modifier for a short range and 30 times your intelligence modifier at disadvantage. At 5th level you gain Auto-Return: You can add the Returning Weapon Infusion to a single weapon without needing to use an attunement slot or an Infusion slot. At 9th level you gain Explosive Throws: Up to your proficiency bonus times per long rest, you can cause a thrown item to deal extra force damage equal to double your artificer level and proficiency bonus combined. At 15th level you gain Targeted Throws: As a full round action you can upgrade your attacks with thrown weapons and items. You can turn a miss into a hit, a hit into a critical hit, and a critical hit deals maximum damage. This must be declared before the attack is made.

[@dextreme7186]

yoink. Thanks for the idea.

[@Subject_Keter]

Needs some spacing but Nice! Would throw more grenades.

[@tuseroni6085]

something that could help the alchemist: magical tinkering expanded to include acid flasks and alchemist's fire give some mechanic for brewing a custom potion. maybe you roll two d20s, one is a positive effect the other a negative effect maybe replace experimental elixir with that.

[@goshi013]

And eventually at higher levels, you can roll 2 dice and take the one you like the most, like they did with wild magic sorcerer

[@EpicRandomness555]

10:01 Tell that to the Monks with their cans of spinach

[@MrFinalMax]

A few things I want to point out about the playtest Artificer. Lack of Tool Expertise could be due to some of the new things we can use tools for, but it still sucks. Firearm proficiency seems to only be the domain of the Battle Smith. And some folks wish that weapons could be spell foci for Battle Smiths. I do admit that the Experimental Elixir table is silly. I think the spell slot burn to make more needs to scale a bit, similar to the extra ones you get per long rest. The fact that the subclasses give a time reduction to specific crafting options is huge. Alchemists just get to be the ultimate potion makers in the party. Battle Smiths make your weapons faster. Armorers make all the armor ever. And Artillerists can ... whittle a magic wand faster? Well, you can make magic wands faster at least.

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

Subclasses get an easier time making their thing, but this was wider before, at 10th. 1/3 of the infusions known are gone. Ignoring item restrictions is gone.

[@nathans9764]

It looks like they got rid of tool proficiency for everyone, rogues can't get it for Thieves' tools anymore either. I think it's because they are pairing tool usage with a skill check, and if you are proficient in both you get advantage. I'm not sure I get it, to be honest. Apart from Thieves' tools and sleight of hand, I can't think of a skill/tool check combo offhand. Maybe arcana couples with Smith's tools for making a magic sword? I don't know, I think they could have outlined it better.

[@averyroff-nichols4358]

If I'm reading the UA correctly, Artificers can no longer use their infusions as a casting focus and armorers can no longer enhance their built in weapon as it's part of their armour and not a separate magic item. Not to mention that Alchemists are still tied to using alchemist supplies as their casting focus and it's unclear if the all purpose tool is getting reprinted, meaning it's entirely likely that they won't get a bonus to their spell hit/save DC. Additionally, they've removed the ability for higher level Artificers to attune to any magic item and while theres a feature that says each subclass can create certain magic items more quickly artificers still need to use one of their two skill proficiencies to do it which is weird since that's part of the core class fantasy.

[@Quintingent]

One big issue you missed with the new Armorer is that because Infusions have been replaced with creating magic items, there's no way to do the equivalent of Enhanced Weapon for the Arcane Armors weapons. Sure, they get a bit more damage at higher levels, but it doesn't make up for the lost damage, let alone the lost hit rate.

[@googloocraft12]

Like Guardien temp hp is so little and even worst the Artilleris protector canon is 10 times better at it. Armorer level 9 feature is a joke. Oh wow I get a rare armor, also rare amor : +1 AC... Find a better armor in the wild, guess what you now have a usless level 9 feature. Also they can no longer infuse their weapon so that's a other big nerf

[@templetonf]

Regarding the steel defender: yes, it gets fewer hit points, but also no longer gets the bonuses to saves, skill checks, and passive perception that it had before. A pretty big nerf...

[@Malacar99]

It seems that Alchemists could be fixed by either applying Artificer spell slots, so level 1, up to uncommon, level 2 up to rare, level 3 up to very rare, etc. Beyond that, I would break potions into 'types', so Healing, Buffing, Damage, etc or some other better way of sorting them, just spit balling off the top of my head. So what makes it experimental is you can choose, either you create a potion that is available to you, so if you use a level 2 spell slot, you can make a Potion of Gaseous Form and thus you can roll a 1d3 and the potion will have 1-3 uses, OR you can choose to use a skill check to try to create a potion from a chosen category (like healing) and you can get 1 potion of a level above what would normally be available, and the 'randomness' would still be within a scope of value. So it might not gain you hit points but it might remove status effects, but at least it isn't so random that you now have dragons breath or something. Then by the nature of the spell slots the class scales better as well, access to more interesting and powerful potions. I mean considering how common the potions end up on the loot charts in the DMG, you would think that a class designated as an Alchemist would have proper access to these limited use items.

[@tableslam]

I have a player who is interested in playing this new UA Artificer and they want to try Alchemist because of the flavor and RP potential. They also were lukewarm about the randomly rolled daily Experimental Elixir, so I told them that as they level up it will go from a d6 to a d8 to a d10 to eventually a d12 and a 6 or higher will always mean they can choose. So as they go up in level they aren't guaranteed to be able to choose their daily elixir, but their chances of rolling to choose will increase as they gain levels. I was considering just ignoring it entirely and always letting them choose, but the player seemed to think my suggestion was a fair enough compromise for now. We'll play it by ear

[@jamieflynn8853]

Overall decent, sometimes good, but some bad elements (artificer main for years): - The level 14 feature (Magic Item Savant), which previously removed level, class, and race restrictions on item use and attunement no longer does so. This is devastating, as it was singularly one of the most interesting class features in the game. When I saw the announcement, the first thing I thought was "I hope they didn't give the entire Artificer class the thief-rogue-subclass-treatment." I was so disappointed I put my phone down. - Losing the ability to use infusions as spell focus items is horrible for battlesmith and alchemist. Battlesmith can't cast the spells on its own spell list (think shield) unless it's holding a spell focus (which it basically shouldn't be holding), and forcing attunement to a Ruby of the War Mage is a crazy ask. Alchemists having to keep tools in hand is pretty awful for a subclass who regularly rely on wands and staffs. - New capstone is so bad compared to the old one. I thought the old capstone was one of the best implementations of a lvl 20 feature in the game. It REALLY felt like a capstone, which is something they claimed they wanted every class to experience... So why remove it in favour of this silly ability? A chaff enemy in any lvl 20 encounter does 20 damage by merely looking at you. Please bring back the save bonus. - Why does the artillerist's cannon have a 1 hour duration and you only get to make em once per long rest. Idk about the rest of you but artillerist is genuinely the least viable for day-long periods of play. You're good for the first difficult encounter, and then you have nothing for the rest of them. I hope lots of people send feedback.

[@deKahedron]

Draining magic items for spell slots is a good thing to do with an item that has used all its charges for the day

[@mrdarque]

There is a little with how they changed infusions 🙁 Right now we have this for example: Enhanced Arcane Focus Item: A rod, staff, or wand (requires attunement) While holding this item, a creature gains a +1 bonus to spell attack rolls. In addition, the creature ignores half cover when making a spell attack. The bonus increases to +2 when you reach 10th level in this class. Under the new rules we can (and I believe they expect us to) make a Wand of the War Mage +1 at level 2 that would replace this. Issue is we can't make the +2 Rare version until level 14 Similar thing with Enhanced Defense. Hopefully that gets looked at.

[@aaronsalinas3854]

The utility of artificer has saved most campaigns. I love it but it doesn't do the striker damage or anything but I did the armor, gunner and the good boii one lol all very fun.

[@EpicRandomness555]

Important to remember as always, this is just the first playtest. Is it great? No. Could it work? Absolutely. The ability to magically make mundane items, very cool, needs to last longer. The ability to just make any magic item of a certain rarity? Freaking awesome. Now they can keep making new books with items and now Artificers can make them. Some of the other features aren’t quite as fun. Alchemist could still be better, it needs more reliability and a touch more power. Armorer gaining a new armor type I feel immediately makes it better but it could use some tweaks. Artillerist is pretty darn good, especially with being able to cycle through the turret types easily. Battle Smith also isn’t bad. Every subclass could use tweaks but the main class needs a little umph.

[@The_Fallen_1]

The main problem with the battle smith is that it really should have gotten one or two weapon masteries to keep it in line with the other martials.

[@EpicRandomness555]

@ But I don’t think any subclass got access to Weapon Mastery right? Not War Cleric or Valor Bard. So I don’t expect any subclass to include Weapon Masteries.

[@The_Fallen_1]

@@EpicRandomness555 That's fair. We'll see what happens.

[@Venjax420]

Armorer should have Shield or Shield of Faith.

[@Venjax420]

And Guardian Armorers should be able to bonus action punch.... They're wearing gauntlets on each hand.

[@zachmcmullen2741]

Starting an artificer sub class bingo card. 1 - the Architect Gather up all the spells that make tiny living spaces, and make your own dungeons.

[@shfhthgh]

A suggestion I’ve seen for elixirs is to have them able to choose from the ones currently available or roll on a wild magic style table with more powerful effects. You could increase the number of options you can choose from as you level up to show gradual proficiency with the elixirs

[@Subject_Keter]

"Warlocks of the Sea want me to give them Money!" "Did you try using a paper and pencil? 😂"

[@HorrorMetalDnD]

What if Alchemists could choose either to safely craft those mundane options listed OR roll on an Experimental Elixir Table akin to a Wild Magic Surge Table, with more powerful effects? Basically, low risk / low reward vs. high risk / high reward. Maybe even let them craft either two simple elixirs each with one effect or one complex elixir with two effects.

[@SergeantSup]

I love the visual of a small race like a kobold or a goblin using the dreadnought ability

[@Darkpyrodragoon]

Man its part of my Goblinardo's backstory that he figured out how to ritual cast Catapult then made his 'gun'.

[@nickdejager8873]

I would like to see a longer Elixir list for the Alchemist sub class). And rather than have them scale, as you level up you get to roll multiple times for multiple effects, which would stack if you roll the same value (or roll the choose value and pick the same one). Also, to make it interesting, you could let the Alchemist choose an Elixir for a weaker effect, or roll for a stronger one. But I do like the core idea. It is an Experimental Elixir. You are throwing in whatever you have on hand, in variable quantities, to see what you get.

[@scotttaylor1479]

I do feel like this was a missed opportunity. I just feel like the Artificer still doesn’t carve out a good enough niche on its own. Like creating magic items is cool but I’d love to see how you, the Artificer, can use them in much cooler ways

[@samuelhawkins3820]

Give the spell storing item to the thief rogue, and they can activate it twice on each of their turns.

[@anthonyatanasoff3703]

Tasha's Alchemist cannot cast harm It's *greater restoration* and heal, not harm and heal

[@DnDShorts]

my god sometimes I don't know where I think I read this stuff, I was certain of that when I was recording (so certain I didn't think to look it up 🙄🙄) You're right, my bad, thanks for the correction!

[@kingofplasticine6217]

I'd say the sentiment is still the same though. Having at least 1 6th lv spell is better than not

[@Chris_Seccull]

Love what you do for the community. Hope to see much more from you in the New Year. Have a safe and Merry Christmas.

[@xadielplasencia3674]

There are A LOT of hidden nerfs in this UA, many because of the removal of infusions and some that they didnt mention but that you can find by comparing the text to 2014. Also, the artificer was already middle of the pack before and it needed way more options/buffs to keep up with power creep in 2024. Armorer seems ok and artillerist actually feels great. But alchemist sucks just as much as ever and Battelsmith with no weapon masteries is literal hearesy. They both need a lot of help mechanically in 5.5 (one more than the other) Previous infusions gated by level, no mention of mending for my companion, making the capstone trash, no infusion casting equivalent, no ignoring prerequisites for magic items, no expertise, and no extra infusions for armorer (locking them into +0 weapons as their mains). Finally the flavor seems lost, im not tinkering or crafting, stuff just appears for an hour and NOTHING is special, its just a normal magic item that anyone could stumble upon, except worse cuz it's not permanent. Really love the spell storing ring tho, great stuff there.

[@roguebarbarian9133]

I would say 2014 Artificer is in the same boat as creation bard and illusionist wizard: completely broken with a creative player and lenient DM, but kind of sucky if you're not willing to rack your brain and push the envelope.

[@krumpits]

armorer and artillerist got some good changes, but overall got pretty fucked

[@googloocraft12]

Guardien temp hp is so little and even worst the Artilleris protector canon is 10 times better at it. Armorer level 9 feature is a joke. Oh wow I get a rare armor, also rare amor : +1 AC... Find a better armor in the wild, guess what you now have a usless level 9 feature.

[@GeldarionTFS]

The new Battlesmith does give the Steel Defender your proficiency bonus to all of their saves, which is nice. Previously it was just Reflex and Constitution, iirc.

[@xadielplasencia3674]

But it no longer heals with mending, has no expertise, and is not inmune to surprise. Also you can't cast spells with your weapons anymore so the Battelsmith is more limited

[@joshuasmith9061]

@@xadielplasencia3674 I think the reason for the loss of mending heal is because cure wounds spell now works on constructs

[@crikeybaguette4564]

​@@xadielplasencia3674Pretty sure immunity to surprise isn't a thing anymore in general, so that part makes sense.

[@malmasterson3890]

​@@xadielplasencia3674Getting a massive boost to saves is a fair trade for that imo. Although the mending thing should be brought back.

[@digitaldude22]

as someone plays probably too much artificer. My response to this UA is "Try Harder", I was hoping they were cooking and maybe they still are but damn. this sucks. Every other class got stronger and this feels...like nothing.

[@shadow-faye]

They only just started cooking

[@speeddevil4040]

please respond to the survey to voice your complaints. They won't listen otherwise.

[@TheDeadmanstrolling]

Few things to note: 1. Dreadnaught can cast Booming Blade and reach attack a melee enemy up to 15 feet away and then push them an additional 10 feet away. 2. Battle Smith can no longer heal the Steel Defender with Mending.

[@fesdrengen]

Booming Blade only works on creatures within 5 feet of the caster.

[@TheDeadmanstrolling]

@fesdrengen I forgot about that since it's a lame fucking rule and no one should respect it

[@noahmehringer29]

I agree that the Alchemist should be able to choose their elixirs. It should only be random if the potions had some CRAZY power to them. Maybe the AC one should scale so its equal to half your proficiency rounded up. And Boldness should add an extra die of damage too. Fly should be equal to walking speed while the increase to walking speed should have the ability to disengage as a bonus action. Maybe the healing one also give you a minor regen ability like regain Prof bonus amount of hit point when your turn starts so all the potions have lasting effects. Also Calm is so cool, I've never heard of them but thank you for throwing your weight behind mental health. The end of this year has SUCKED and it's nice to see people are taking initiative to combat this stuff. Also the Future self Warlock is so cool! Really thematic for what is was sponsoring, and it's a nice good alternative from the Celestial. Really want to play a Bladelock with this one. using the 3rd level feature with Spiritual weapon and a melee weapon is so cool.

[@TerminalDevastation]

What I want from the Alchemist is a subclass feature that adds Alchemist's fire to the Magical Tinkering list. It's literally called Alchemist's fire, why doesn't the Alchemist have an easy supply of it. maybe if they do, they can have Alchemical Savant and Chemical mastery's bonus features apply to potions/alchemist's fire/acid/stuff normally made with an Alchemists' kit as well. Other than that, I'd be happy with magical elixir getting some scaling going.

[@anthonydaquet7934]

The new alchemist supplies list alchemist fire, acid and oil as items it can create

[@TerminalDevastation]

@@anthonydaquet7934 It is true that the alchemist's Supplies normal crafting rules does allow for one to make alchemist's fire (and acid). But normal crafting is 5 days and 50 GP. Throwing those two into magical tinkering gives enough free, quick access that you can incorporate it safely into the character's style of combat at lower levels.

[@dawall3732]

3:18 Does it have to be your magic item that you drain? Because in certain situations that can be used as an attack. A nearly indestructible philactry is a magic item. It can be drained and destroyed that way. "I have defeated you. I am the undead KING! Neil before me as I turn you into my minions. Wait, what is that? What are you doing? Get your hands off that! NNOOOO!"😂

[@zaelgreen1670]

Unfortunately, it has to be an item you created with the replicate magic item class feature.

[@corlahn1729]

I feel like a couple things are not getting mentioned bc he straight up skipped over them, so heres a couple. 1. Guardian armorer got a massive upgrade with a slight nerf. Defensive matrix (i cant remember what they changed the name to) is now no longer limited use, you just use it as a bonus action when below 1/2 hp. 2. This is a big one, the items artificers can make got a massive buff. He didnt mention that at level 14 you can make ANY rare magic item (no pots/scrolls), and he just glossed over the uncommons at 10. There are some absolutly busted things done here, the limits are what items you can come up with that are rare or lower. Some examples being staff of defense, or a staff of healing, or maybe any of the belts of strength 3. The drain magic item feature has some great use cases he kinda missed out on, alot of magic items (especially the wonderous) have limited use effects, and a decent one is the pearl of power, so even more spell slots 4. Alchemist did kinda get dealt dirty in this version. I personally like it still as its the support subclass, but i do agree that the potions need some level/spell slot scaling. Rules as written, tashas alchemist experimental elixers didnt go away on a rest, so hey look, 2 warlock levels and an elf just make 20 something elixirs in a day of prep time. 5. The force ballista part of the artillerist cannon got nerfed, used to deal 2d8+int damage, so the trade off was higher single target damage in exchange for not hitting multiple creatures (compared to flamethrower cannon). Also the gun works on cantrips, which includes booming blade (also alch damage boost works with firebolt) Apart from these, i cant find too much more he skipped over, however he WAY sold short the replicate magic item system, and the capstone was a pretty big nerf imo

[@googloocraft12]

The Armorer was really close to the alchemist in term of power. Like Guardien temp hp is so little and even worst the Artilleris protector canon is 10 times better at it. Armorer level 9 feature is a joke. Oh wow I get a rare armor, also rare amor : +1 AC... Find a better armor in the wild, guess what you now have a usless level 9 feature. Also they can no longer infuse their weapon so that's a other big nerf

[@hardshepard7715]

Alchimist Capstone Idea - 9:20 Quick Catalyst - At 15th level, gain the ability to create a potion instantly after buring a spell slot. The spell slot burned grants the following rarity 1st-level - Common 2nd-level - Uncommon 3rd-level - Rare 4th-level - Very rare 5th-level - Legendary These potions also follow the 3rd level ability with its boosts and effects of temporary hit points. Bonus action use and the other abilities of the alchimist with its bonus healing and damage if the potion creates such effects. Brewing Station - As an action, combine potions together, combining their quality up to very rare. If the potions are very different, then a DC roll must be made. A potion can only be combined once Examples - Common and common combine to uncommon Uncommon and a rare become very rare +3 to common potions being combined +6 to uncommon potions being combined +10 to rare potions being combined

[@InvictusIIKhan]

Your content is delightfully entertaining. Thank you so much!!

[@LoudAngryJerk]

it is WILD to me that they made a half caster that still doesn't get multiattack innately. That's dumb.

[@malmasterson3890]

My solution was to let them freecast subclass spells, as the artificer should be the more spell focused half-Caster, but they couldn't even manage that. They made some cool changes & some bad, but ultimately the artificer is mostly in the same place and the subclasses are on a more even playing field, but none of them have surpassed what the best had.😊

[@relaxedfantasyreview]

Anyone else COMPLETELY caught off guard by this UA release? 😮

[@williambradford6575]

@DndShorts The biggest nerf no one is talking about is not being able to use Item Infusions as a spell casting focus. Now you have to use Tools and that means a lot of juggling held items. You can't even use Wands you create to cast spells.

[@colinmorrison5119]

It's a big bonus to the Armourer over the others, as the Arcane Armour is the focus. Two free hands!

[@androlgenhald476]

They should let the Alchemist choose elixers they make, and make the random part be in how powerful the elix is. "Roll a d6 and see how many d4 the healing potion heals."

[@delphinpadilla2440]

I wish WOTC knew the difference between a ball bearing and a bearing ball.

[@mikemagnera3109]

Thanks!

[@DnDShorts]

Thanks so much!!

[@Still_Me]

The Steel Defender also can't be repaired with the Mending cantrip any more.

[@bryanthiga3198]

First off they need to explicitly state if a replicate magic item slot can be used to upgrade their armorer's weapon without removing the ability to enhance their armor. It was always a bit strange that everyone could wear armor and have an item for their head or their feet and no one batted an eye. But if you play an armorer, you can do that at level 9. The armorer still feel lacking in damage because their weapon is fully integrated to their subclass features, but it wouldn't take much to fix them. At level 9 they should gain some form of a fighting style specific to the armor, give the guardian the ability to dual wield their fists, give the infiltrator a bonus action hide and a lesser sneak attack, give the dreadnaught the benefits of great weapon fighting and the benefits of enlarge when they go big.

[@googloocraft12]

Guardien temp hp is so little and even worst the Artilleris protector canon is 10 times better at it. Armorer level 9 feature is a joke. Oh wow I get a rare armor, also rare amor : +1 AC... Find a better armor in the wild, guess what you now have a usless level 9 feature. Also they can no longer infuse their weapon so that's a other big nerf

[@abfallbube]

Love the artificer getting some attention! Edit: Whoopsie, this turned out way longer than I thought Here are my main thoughts (I play an armorer, so I'll probably focus on that): Spellcasting: The fixed progression in prepared spells harms artificers especially early on, while the max spells at level 20 stay the same Artificers feel pretty weak/useless before they get their subclass at lvl 3, I feel like this robs them of some versatility in terms of spells, especially in the early game Being able to switch out Cantrips is fantastic! No more ritual casting?!? Or did they forget to include the class feature (which they did specifically mention in tasha's), or why would they give the homunculus servant spell the ritual tag? Infusions/Create magic item: love the creation mechanism! But the little "recommended" addendum makes it look like you have to choose them for specific weapons/armor, so if your Bard friend finds a magic weapon and he doesn't need the +1 Scimitar you provided, you can't give your barbarian a +1 great sword until you reach the next level not to mention this drastically nerfs the armorer, since you cannot infuse your armor with multiple buffs at a time (e.g. no more armor of magical strength on your +1 Plate, so if you're grappled think will look tough, this makes frontlining ) Flash of Genius: being able to use it after you know the roll failed is neat, although my DM thus far ruled that you could use it after seeing the roll but before seeing if it fails instead of before the roll (as some tables play) Subclasses: Alchemist: Never played this guy but still seems pretty weak Armorer: Dreadnought sounds absolutely busted. The wording implies that you get the range increase even if you don't grow in size due to space restrictions, so somewhere out there will be an artificer gnome hiding in a little hole in the wall whacking people from across the room They broke the Guardian. You can't get your temp HP before the fight anymore, but once you're below half, it's basically infinite HP, because the is unlimited uses (could be used as free healing forever for your dhampir friend, for example) Infiltrator is pretty boring in comparison now. Artillerist: Flexibility is great, this is a major game changer I don't expect the protector healing to increase, in the published versions the gun damage already increases, but temp HP given do not One thing I still think needs fixing: mending takes a full minute, so unless you have 2 seperate encounters within 1 hour (the lifespan of the cannon), the "heal 2d6" is almost useless. why not allow for a shortened use of mending, taking 1 action and healing 1d6 or something? Battle Smith: Sure the extra damage is great, but why make the steel defender worse at defending (well not really, but less HP so you catch my drift), why not let you choose one of two models depending on your playstyle Spellstoring: Absolutely busted, if they want to include 3rd lvl spells, they could maybe adjust the usages, for example int mod * 3 for lvl 1 spells, *2 for lvl 2 and *3 for lvl 3 Soul of Artifice: This capstone was already great, staying alive with 1 HP is busted enough as is, but no reaction needed for zooming back up to 20 hp is crazy I do prefer the former implementation of magical guidance, because it implied that each of your items gave you some form of magical assistance, now it's just "roll a d6 if there's at least one", feels less in sync with the class, idk Closing thoughts: There's a lot here to like, but I feel that this greatly changes the spirit of the class, in my perception the Artificer is a class of versatility, offering decent, albeit not perfect, solutions to many problems your party may encounter. This UA version loses a lot of that versatility, especially in early levels where your party members are probably more dependent on your assistance P.S: new homunculus not needing your action to take orders is insane

[@nathans9764]

Steel defender actually got a defensive buff he didn't mention; proficiency in all saves. Not a bad trade for a couple HP.

[@abfallbube]

​@@nathans9764 oh true, I only skimmed it earlier, the loss in HP is only 2 at max level if I read it right (5 flat instead of 2+int mod as base value), the save profiencies are great other tiny details in the changes: early level buff: repair is now 2d8+ int mod instead of proficiency, great for survivability early on if you do something funky like play an autognome (if your dm lets you) significant downgrade: skill proficiencies were dropped, so no more 2xPB on perception, which was a huge benefit at all levels before

[@nathans9764]

@@abfallbube they also lost the vigilant "cannot be surprised" passive. It's a bit odd because with the change to surprise, it's not a super strong ability. Re: ritual casting, everyone gets that now, so it's not spelled out in individual classes anymore, except wizard, who can ritual cast unprepared spells.

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

I looked at armorer through infiltrator eyes, because I hardly use Guardian. Perhaps the other types compensate somewhat for the nerfs. I still want infiltrator to be viable though.

[@ynedd]

Love your collab with D4! Great content you two put out! My two favorite D&D youtubers! Exciting to see Artificer get a revamp right?

[@mr.braceni7084]

This is encompassed exactly how iv been been feeling about it. Especially in the video dnd released I just kept going that works the same as before.

[@TheCarlosLuna]

BattleSmith should have gotten the Bladesinger's extra attack, like the Eldritch Knight and valor bard got and a way to modify their Steel Defender. Alchemist's elixirs have no reason to be random and they should scale a whole lot better and get more options. Armorer and Artillerists are better now, but the main class needs some oomph, they even removed the using an infused item as a spellcasting focus. They should just keep infusions as they were and add more options, the Homunculus now costs 100g to cast EACH TIME. The crafting of items in less time is good, but shouldn't be tied to subclass. As a whole, I much prefer the 2014 version than this one, with the exception of some of its revamped subclasses.

[@googloocraft12]

Guardien temp hp is so little and even worst the Artilleris protector canon is 10 times better at it. Armorer level 9 feature is a joke. Oh wow I get a rare armor, also rare amor : +1 AC... Find a better armor in the wild, guess what you now have a usless level 9 feature. Also they can no longer infuse their weapon so that's a other big nerf

[@colinmorrison5119]

They didn't even give you an option to 'de-infuse' items to prevent the oldest one vanishing. It makes Bag of Holding an annoyance, and requires more bookkeeping. Just set a maximum number and let the player decide what stays or goes. Alchemical Savant is still a finicky ability with lots of requirements and a very limited set of spells it can be used on. Armourer, my favourite subclass, got even better (Edit: No, it didn't). Arcane Armour can now be magic already (if I read that right) and Dreadnought is just gravy. Spell Storing Item should come in much earlier and scale with levels/spell slots/etc.

[@starwhale3070]

What dou mean by "arcane armor now be magic?" While i love the armorer subclass, i think it took 2 steps backwards one step forward kinda deal bc of the lvl 9 feature. Youre only limited to an "armor" plan. So at most you can give yourself a +2 armor at lvl 14, as opposed to old armorer, you could give yourself +2 to armor and weapon at lvl 10

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

Armorer got nerfed. Special weapons can't be infused, 9th is only one replicate and it must be armor.

[@colinmorrison5119]

Thanks for those snippets - I read the UA once but haven't read the 2024 rules. I need to look again.

[@notovny]

I know flavor is free, but I would have liked them to lean into "Use whatever tools your Artificer is proficient with to do your subclass stuff." instead of demanding specific types for those features. Build a "Steel Defender" with Mason's Tools, Weaver's Tools, or Cook's Utensils? Go for it! Create an Eldritch Cannon with Glassblowers' Tools, Painter's Supplies, or Brewers' Supplies? No Problem! Construct your Arcane Armor with Calligrapher's Supplies, Potter's Tools, or Cartographer's tools? Do what you want, it's magic!

[@Subject_Keter]

Idk why but i an picturing some low wisdom artificer enchanting his armor by creating magic papers snd sticking them on his armor with seals. Would be dumb but funny.

[@ThranduilBricks]

honestly i only watched this for the add, it's to funny!🤣

[@jessie-buns839]

Were it me I'd add a full 20 options to the Alchemist Elixir with both negative and beneficial results. When you make an elixir you can either pick your option or roll twice and gain both effects. I feel the Alchemist should be the "chaotic" option of the lot.

[@jacobdavis6916]

The most egregious sin is that the Artillerist's Eldritch Cannon is still once on a long rest with the life span of an hour. No other subclass in this class has to deal with that shit; the Armorer's Iron Man suit just doesn't stop working when it's shift is over and steel defender is eternal AND has the spell slot revive (if the DM somehow manages to kill it in the first place). At least make it up to PB or INT Mod/LR with the Spellslot to bring it back more. This has been my gripe since day one. Also, the Homunculus Servant (hereafter referred to as HS) spell is worse than the infusion in regards to one thing, recycling. If your old one died in battle, scoop up the 100gp diamond and make a new one tomorrow. Now, it consumes this 100gp gem, meaning that you can't salvage and reuse it anymore. It is now too prohibitively expensive. Make a tattoo of find familiar instead; that's free.

[@googloocraft12]

Guardien temp hp is so little and even worst the Artilleris protector canon is 10 times better at it. Armorer level 9 feature is a joke. Oh wow I get a rare armor, also rare amor : +1 AC... Find a better armor in the wild, guess what you now have a usless level 9 feature. Also they can no longer infuse their weapon so that's a other big nerf

[@jondawson7911]

Since it's UA I'm hoping any critique is actually taken and used to improve it. But this is WoTC we're talking about, who knows 😂

[@Venjax420]

They pulled through with the monk... So I give it a 50/50 chance.

[@Akkun-no-Baka]

I agree that the Alchemist suffers from underwhelming imagination. I was always a fan of the Artillerist, now I can have all 3 types of eldritch cannons at once is awesome!

[@Bryntwulf]

Where's my thunder cannon? I need that chunky ranged weapon now!

[@1.21jiggawatts2]

Drain Magic Item is actually really good because it gives a reason to make limited use items. Like the Spell Refueling Ring is an okay item, but now you can refuel one of the Wizard’s spell slots, and now that’s it’s out of uses, consume its magic to get a 2nd level spells slot for you.

[@DnDShorts]

very clever!! Yeah, that's a fantastic use of an item like that, or a clockwork amulet etc.

[@njfernandes87]

The inability to produce 2 of the same item is very questionable. The way I read it, u need to use a different plan for each item on the same day, so the next day u can create the same 2 items, otherwise in a week you are pretty much out of items to create. U'd only be able to create a single +1 weapon, one +1 shield, etc, makes no sense

[@Hk-ox4bb]

As an armorer main… I don’t like this, not being able to use infusions for spells stinks and they no longer scale with you either; it also feels like they just said “any uncommon” and then any “rare” magic item which not only feels kinda busted but also now requires the player to know the items and he is trusted to also not abuse them I like the new armorer model but the new lvl 9 feature is also a bit hard to understand for me (English isn’t my first language) and the fact that he doesn’t have more slots for infusions rubs me the wrong way The good news is that if I’m reading it correctly it means I can use my armor to get +1 and can make any crit count as a normal hit meaning that the few 20s that go through my armor will not deal massive damage

[@googloocraft12]

Guardien temp hp is so little and even worst the Artilleris protector canon is 10 times better at it. Armorer level 9 feature is a joke. Oh wow I get a rare armor, also rare amor : +1 AC... Find a better armor in the wild, guess what you now have a usless level 9 feature. Also they can no longer infuse their weapon so that's a other big nerf

[@FluffySkelly]

you already know it's going to be a good video if the title is in lowercase

[@senrith_]

The protector cannon is already incredibly strong and acts like a Twilight Sanctuary and we all know how overpowered that was. If the temp hp wants increasing at the most it should only go up in die type.

[@Jaberwalkie]

I love the artificer. I just want them to release it into the creative commons with the rest of the 2014 classes so that awesome third party creator can make it better.

[@Xynth25]

It's possible they can't as a result of the whole process of Keith Baker creating Eberron with WOTC. I honestly think there has to be a legalese reason they haven't already.

[@SelganorYoster]

The LevelUp/A5E Artificer is already available via OGL, ORC and CC. A fact that quite a few people used to create a total of 22 (1 not yet published but already named) archetypes/subclasses for it.

[@aaronginsberg4993]

I'm surprised the custom weapons didn't get masteries. Seems like a really simple way to buff them without going crazy

[@degreesCelsius]

A couple of stealth Artificer buffs that didnt seem to have been noticed: Alchemist elixirs can now be applied to allies (previously they could only be applied to yourself), which enables a supportive playstyle without consuming concentration. The Guardian armor defensive field has been buffed massively due to now having unlimited uses of temp HP. Thats 3-20 THP every round at the cost of your bonus action, not shabby.

[@mrinfinity5557]

9:00 notable thing: this ability actually applies to all spells. Including save spells like burning hands. This is a free +2 or 3 for free on every enemy you hit with said spells at minimum even when they save on those spells

[@ShinGallon]

My kobold artillerist might need to have a look at some of these changes. I like being able to choose what effect the cannon buddy gets every action, that could be very useful.

[@Duskbreaker1780]

6:52 loving the DC20 shoutout!

[@Tomha]

One bit I realized is Battlesmith gets a speed boost to make magic weapons, and Ammo count for it. I mentioned it in the Kobolds video how you could be a Battlesmith crafting Arrows of Slaying. Craft arrows made for specific targets and they'll take like 6d10 damage a shot. And I mentioned a Lich bbeg the group knew about as a scenario and arming the Fighter with the Arrows of Undead Slaying and let him rapid fire for massive damage that can crit. A Wand of Fireball is probably better, money wise, but having Martials armed with special ammunition sounds pretty awesome.

[@RWorkman-r3c]

Artificer creates bag of holding, doesn't realize the gm hates artificers, gulped by bagman...

[@chriswhittington5790]

Glad the artificer isn't getting left behind, i love the iron man class of DND. On the sponsor ad you have if i need a custom map i just use dungeon scrawl, it's free unless you want to save your maps online.

[@parkerlarson6692]

i think the best adjustment for spell storing ite is have the charges be less the higher th spell level 10 uses of haste a day per item is crazy