I am looking for input on a character build I am putting together. My goal is to be a tank for the party with a smattering of support casting. Here is the setup to the party situation:
Currently playing in Wildemount
No dedicated "healers", but almost everyone has some healing capability. We have a Bard who can cast Cure Wounds, a Celestial Warlock who has his healing in case stuff hits the fan, an Oath of Vengeance Paladin, and a Drunken Master Monk. And me, a Warforged Artillerist Artificer. Currently all Level 3.
I rolled my stats with an amazing STR 17, DEX 17, CON 17, INT 20, WIS 14, CHA 11 (after racial benefits using Tasha's Origin customization for +2 INT and +1 CON)
My DM and I also defined a system for magic item creation since this character is originally from House Cannith (background shenanigans since Warforged aren't native to Exandria). Still need money to make the items, but there is a level of accessibility for custom items in the future. I also don't foresee this group going to L20, so I don't feel compelled to stay pure for the capstone. Honestly, I suspect we will break up long before L13, but here is to hoping.
So, since I want to be a tank, I figure that will entail 3 main things: (1) high AC, (2) damage mitigate, and (3) attention grabbing. I was inspired by Yurei's old Atlas build, so I am making something similar.
My idea:
Artificer (Artillerist) to L3
Take Cleric 1 (Twilight) for the Martial Weapon Proficiency, Heavy Armor Proficiency, 300ft Infravision, Advantage on Initiative, +3 Cantrips, and more spells due to it being a Spellcaster class
Artificer to 12
Artificer L4 feat: Heavy Armor Master (non-magical Slashing, Piercing, Bludgeon damage by 3) (+1 STR to round out to STR 18)
Artificer L8 feat: Aberrant Dragonmark (Chill Touch, Shield) (+1 CON to round out to CON 18)
Artificer L12 feat: War Caster (Advantage on Concentration? Cast a spell on AoO? Yes please!)
I figure Heavy Armor is better than Medium Armor because (a) Plate gives that sweet +1 AC over Half-Plate +Dex2, (b) there are more special magical Heavy Armor than Medium Armor, and (c) it is a gateway to Heavy Armor Mastery. I could take Fighter for the Defensive Fighting Style, but that would be no different than the Cleric route from an AC perspective since multi-classing into Fighter doesn't grant Heavy Armor, and I would get a lot more as a Cleric.
Cantrips
Booming Blade (Artificer 1) (to hold the enemy still)
Green Flame Blade (Artificer 1) (when fighting multiple enemies)
Guidance (Cleric 1) (Because it is great)
Mending (Cleric 1) (for healing Eldritch Cannon between encounters)
Spare the Dying (Cleric 1) (to keep companions from dying when otherwise out of spells)
Chill Touch (Aberrant Dragonmark) (to prevent the enemy from healing. Also, ranged.)
Shocking Grasp (Artificer 10) (Remove Reaction)
The idea is:
Starting at CL5 (Artificer 4 / Cleric 1)
Advantage on Initiative to be more likely to have a high initiative
Use a melee weapon for Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade; the Booming Blade will help keep foes on me.
Get myself some Splint Mail (AC17), improve it with Enhanced Defense Infusion (+1AC), with a Shield (+2AC), and Warforged Integrated Protection (+1AC), and cast Shield of Faith (+2AC), for [17+1+2+1+2] = 23AC. Cast Shield if needed for another +5AC
Heavy Armor Mastery damage reduction, in conjunction with the Eldritch Cannon (Protector) will help keep me (and allies) up with Temp HP (maybe this is overkill in damage mitigation? Maybe get War Caster instead and something else at L12?)
Maybe start casting Blur instead of Shield of Faith
Infusions:
Enhanced Defense (Armor)
Enhanced Arcane Focus (Rod)
At CL 7 (Artificer 6 / Cleric 1)
New infusion for Repulsion Shield
And so on. At CL11, make a Homunculus, pickup Shocking Grasp. At CL 12, get a Wand of the Warmage + Wand Sheathe and imbue that as an Arcane Firearm and SSI; probably go back to using a melee weapon of some sort like maybe the Radiant Weapon if I haven't made another magic weapon by then (like a Flame Tongue). Probably upgraded to magical plate sometime along the way.
Critiques? I thought about trying to fit in Crossbow Expert or Gunner (probably Gunner for the +1 DEX) somewhere to remove the "Disadvantage on Ranged Attacks when within 5ft of a hostile", but there didn't seem like a good place for it. If I were to incorporate Gunner I would likely forgo the "Rod as a Club" idea and use Fire Bolt with a Wand/Wand Sheathe while holding a Rapier for BB AoO w/War Caster. Alternatively, in lieu of Heavy Armor Mastery I could get "Crusher" for +1 STR and use Booming Blade with the "Rod as a Club" to move people around the battlefield. That sounds fun.
Woah those stats. I'm sweatin. Atlas is indeed a great build, and with those stats you're set up for success.
While I like this twilight cleric dip, I don't think it's adding more than it is taking away. Getting to level 5 for second levels spells and Arcane Firearm is super important. Melee Weapons don't mean anything because your hands should be occupied by Arcane Firearm + Shield. Heavy Armor is nice, but this build can achieve ludicrous standing AC levels without it. The darkvision, initiative boost and spells are all quite good however. Eh. I don't know. I'd still rather play a single classed artillerist that doesn't delay levels.
With that 17 strength I think Crusher is very appealing indeed. Your rod or staff Arcane Firearm becomes the perfect booming blade weapon.
Is it too late to swap stats around? You really don't need more than a 14 dexterity. Putting that 17 into wisdom would make Resilient (wisdom) an insane pick up. Every tank needs to have some kind of mental protection. 18 wisdom and proficiency is rock solid. Even if you can't swap stats, I think resilient (wisdom) should be high on your priority list.
Personally I think "Heavy Armor Mastery" drops off real fast after level 5. Even before then bigger monsters can shrug off that dmg mitigation and bring you to the brink. The crazy AC you will get is more than enough and after awhile you will just start getting diminishing returns.
Improving your saving throws can be really helpful if you are tanking. So I also agree getting Resilience (Wisdom) would help you a lot against getting feared or other crowd control. Probably too late but yeah if you could swap your dex and wisdom scores this would help toward that as well mainly because I think surviving Wisdom saving throws takes priority over Dexterity saving throws because of how severe the effects could be. Also with your team having so much healing you probably could afford the HP loss from failing Dex Saves.
Aberrant Dragonmark and Warcaster are def pretty cool. I'd personally put priority over Warcaster than Dragonmark because being able to use Booming Blade to prevent/punish anybody who wants to head toward your backline is what you want to do as a tank. Moreover being an Artillerist you'd at best be able to affect 1 target per round. At least with Warcaster you'd get the chance to affect 2 targets per round.
All in all I think you'd be happy with what you want to do. Really cool idea.
The biggest value of Heavy Armor proficiency I saw was the various magical plate armor options. I mean, on this type of character the Scorpion Plate just sounds so awesome. And the benefit of Martial Weapon proficiency would be to get something like a Flame Tongue or other melee item that does more damage than what the Arcane Firearm bonus provides for bigger Booming Blade / GFB, then I would make a Wand of the Warmage the Arcane Firearm and put it into a Wand Sheathe.
But, the other benefits of the Cleric can essentially be achieved with Magic Items, like Goggles of Night for infravision, and the Helm of Awareness (attunement) infusion (at L10) for the Advantage on Initiative. Extra spells would have been nice, but the drawback is delaying the Artificer abilities like you both pointed out.
What if the character stayed single class, getting War Caster at L4, Aberrant Dragonmark at L8, and either Crusher or Resilience (Wisdom) at L12?
If a flametongue wielding warforged that pops out his wand firearm from his forearm sheath is a visual that is driving this character, then by all means go for martial weapon and heavy armor proficiencies. It would be crazy fun. Twilight cleric is broken levels of good and the dip is working on a lot of different angles for you. Nothing wrong with it, I just hate to delay levels of artillerist.
To play devil's advocate: if you have a homebrew creation system in place, then you can work with your DM on Scorpion Half-Plate. Or a staff that acts like a wand of the warmage when casting spells and a flametongue when used as a weapon.
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Hi folks!
I am looking for input on a character build I am putting together. My goal is to be a tank for the party with a smattering of support casting. Here is the setup to the party situation:
My DM and I also defined a system for magic item creation since this character is originally from House Cannith (background shenanigans since Warforged aren't native to Exandria). Still need money to make the items, but there is a level of accessibility for custom items in the future. I also don't foresee this group going to L20, so I don't feel compelled to stay pure for the capstone. Honestly, I suspect we will break up long before L13, but here is to hoping.
So, since I want to be a tank, I figure that will entail 3 main things: (1) high AC, (2) damage mitigate, and (3) attention grabbing. I was inspired by Yurei's old Atlas build, so I am making something similar.
My idea:
I figure Heavy Armor is better than Medium Armor because (a) Plate gives that sweet +1 AC over Half-Plate +Dex2, (b) there are more special magical Heavy Armor than Medium Armor, and (c) it is a gateway to Heavy Armor Mastery. I could take Fighter for the Defensive Fighting Style, but that would be no different than the Cleric route from an AC perspective since multi-classing into Fighter doesn't grant Heavy Armor, and I would get a lot more as a Cleric.
The idea is:
And so on. At CL11, make a Homunculus, pickup Shocking Grasp. At CL 12, get a Wand of the Warmage + Wand Sheathe and imbue that as an Arcane Firearm and SSI; probably go back to using a melee weapon of some sort like maybe the Radiant Weapon if I haven't made another magic weapon by then (like a Flame Tongue). Probably upgraded to magical plate sometime along the way.
Critiques? I thought about trying to fit in Crossbow Expert or Gunner (probably Gunner for the +1 DEX) somewhere to remove the "Disadvantage on Ranged Attacks when within 5ft of a hostile", but there didn't seem like a good place for it. If I were to incorporate Gunner I would likely forgo the "Rod as a Club" idea and use Fire Bolt with a Wand/Wand Sheathe while holding a Rapier for BB AoO w/War Caster. Alternatively, in lieu of Heavy Armor Mastery I could get "Crusher" for +1 STR and use Booming Blade with the "Rod as a Club" to move people around the battlefield. That sounds fun.
Woah those stats. I'm sweatin. Atlas is indeed a great build, and with those stats you're set up for success.
While I like this twilight cleric dip, I don't think it's adding more than it is taking away. Getting to level 5 for second levels spells and Arcane Firearm is super important. Melee Weapons don't mean anything because your hands should be occupied by Arcane Firearm + Shield. Heavy Armor is nice, but this build can achieve ludicrous standing AC levels without it. The darkvision, initiative boost and spells are all quite good however. Eh. I don't know. I'd still rather play a single classed artillerist that doesn't delay levels.
With that 17 strength I think Crusher is very appealing indeed. Your rod or staff Arcane Firearm becomes the perfect booming blade weapon.
Is it too late to swap stats around? You really don't need more than a 14 dexterity. Putting that 17 into wisdom would make Resilient (wisdom) an insane pick up. Every tank needs to have some kind of mental protection. 18 wisdom and proficiency is rock solid. Even if you can't swap stats, I think resilient (wisdom) should be high on your priority list.
I agree with a lot of HeironymusZot's points.
Personally I think "Heavy Armor Mastery" drops off real fast after level 5. Even before then bigger monsters can shrug off that dmg mitigation and bring you to the brink. The crazy AC you will get is more than enough and after awhile you will just start getting diminishing returns.
Improving your saving throws can be really helpful if you are tanking. So I also agree getting Resilience (Wisdom) would help you a lot against getting feared or other crowd control. Probably too late but yeah if you could swap your dex and wisdom scores this would help toward that as well mainly because I think surviving Wisdom saving throws takes priority over Dexterity saving throws because of how severe the effects could be. Also with your team having so much healing you probably could afford the HP loss from failing Dex Saves.
Aberrant Dragonmark and Warcaster are def pretty cool. I'd personally put priority over Warcaster than Dragonmark because being able to use Booming Blade to prevent/punish anybody who wants to head toward your backline is what you want to do as a tank. Moreover being an Artillerist you'd at best be able to affect 1 target per round. At least with Warcaster you'd get the chance to affect 2 targets per round.
All in all I think you'd be happy with what you want to do. Really cool idea.
Thanks for the input.
The biggest value of Heavy Armor proficiency I saw was the various magical plate armor options. I mean, on this type of character the Scorpion Plate just sounds so awesome. And the benefit of Martial Weapon proficiency would be to get something like a Flame Tongue or other melee item that does more damage than what the Arcane Firearm bonus provides for bigger Booming Blade / GFB, then I would make a Wand of the Warmage the Arcane Firearm and put it into a Wand Sheathe.
But, the other benefits of the Cleric can essentially be achieved with Magic Items, like Goggles of Night for infravision, and the Helm of Awareness (attunement) infusion (at L10) for the Advantage on Initiative. Extra spells would have been nice, but the drawback is delaying the Artificer abilities like you both pointed out.
What if the character stayed single class, getting War Caster at L4, Aberrant Dragonmark at L8, and either Crusher or Resilience (Wisdom) at L12?
Yeah I think this could work well. It'll definitely be fun =)
If a flametongue wielding warforged that pops out his wand firearm from his forearm sheath is a visual that is driving this character, then by all means go for martial weapon and heavy armor proficiencies. It would be crazy fun. Twilight cleric is broken levels of good and the dip is working on a lot of different angles for you. Nothing wrong with it, I just hate to delay levels of artillerist.
To play devil's advocate: if you have a homebrew creation system in place, then you can work with your DM on Scorpion Half-Plate. Or a staff that acts like a wand of the warmage when casting spells and a flametongue when used as a weapon.