I am playing a level 7 Armorer artificer dwarf originally intended as the team's tank with sentinel at lvl4, plate armor + shield practically always in guardian mode. Team was me, a BM fighter, Assassin rogue, Evo wizard, and hexblade warlock healer spec by dm.
We were all given artifacts level 1, mine being for tanking (temp hp mostly and now at level 7 can once per day dispel magic) while the others got magic weapons eg 2d6+2d6 lightning longsword for the fighter.
The wizard player left. my damage always feels crappy compared to rogue or the fighter unless I get high rolls with both the attacks and they miss all of theirs (sad).
Will be changing to the new version but it feels like the whole class and the subclass are not really improved even dreadnaught they kept the too little too late damage bumps at 15 from UA)
Was thinking to stick to armorer till level 9 for the +1 attack/damage they now have or lvl 11 for spell storing but maybe multiclass would help make the character feel like a threat the enemies would focus (so i can tank logically not because the DM may focus me as i am intended to be the tank) and because the higher level and capstone dont feel good.
What would be good options? Thinking one of the rogue/fighter/wizard. Perhaps at level 9 so i can get my int to 20 on level 8.
Stats are
STR 17 (but got also gauntlets of ogre power so 19) , DEX 13 +1 (sentinel), CON 20, INT 18, WIS 14, CHA 12 (rolled method. DM told me to put 17 in STR over DEX as dwarfs arent nimble but bulky - even he has forgotten about that now)
First, I just want to call out that damage per round is not the only way to be insanely valuable in a fight. Artificer is a force multiplier rather than a damage machine, though it can do plenty of damage. Your rogue especially is grateful for every hit you absorb while tanking.
What spells do you have prepared? Which infusions are you using? These are a big part of your tactics and power budget. If you don't have a homunculus up, you might consider it - it can do some damage but the flanking can also be super valuable to give your other party members advantage. Your rogue in particular can benefit from a mobile friend distracting your enemy, giving them sneak attack on every hit. Set it to dodge and you don't have to keep commanding it - either your enemy wastes an attack on it instead of the rogue or it won't be attacked.
Your thunder gauntlets (if you're a Guardian) focus attacks on you, giving your other party members more leeway to do their damage. And Extra Attack is pretty great. The armorer in my party paired them with the Booming Blade cantrip.
You have Shatter which is a pretty good AOE damage spell. Thunderwave isn't bad either. Check out the other 2nd level spells especially - heat metal and vortex warp are two that are fun in some combats. Kinetic Jaunt lets you go anywhere on the battlefield without attacks of opportunity, which is actually much more fun and interesting than you might expect. Aid can be used as a remote heal to get your comrades up and running. Invisibility can get you out of a fight altogether.
I'm not sure why you're buffing Strength on this character - your attack modifier is Int.
All your armorer weapons use INT for attack/damage.
My arcane armor is +1 plate. I usually go with infiltrator. At level 5, you get extra attack. And once per turn, one attack does an extra d8. Its not a lot, but every bit helps.
My homunculus gives me another attack and a bit more damage. Its range is a bit short. I am tempted to use one infusion for a wand of magic missiles to give it some longer range options.
Having a str 18 has the benefit that you have plenty of carry capacity while wearing plate. I dumped str, so i have to use an infusion to have a bag of holding. I have so much gear i wouldnt be able to carry it.
Im holding out for the spell storing item for some of the crazy things you can do with it. Cast Fly or Invibility 10 times? Each member of party takes ssi and concentrates on their spell. Whole party can fly or be invisible? Not doing damage, but really cool.
As for multiclassing, ive been looking and there not really anything the combines well with artificer. If you use your armorer weapons for attack, the Action Surge would give you a damage bump. Lightning launcher could do 4 attacks in an important round. Action surge works on everything but magic action, but armorer weapons count as simple weapons using the attack action. So you could use them with action surge.
I was looking at maybe wizard for more/better spells. I dont have a good aoe attack. So fireball would be handy some wizard subclasses have some cool non-damaging features too. Diviner's portent feature can sometimes really save the day.
If you bump your CHA by 1, you could multiclass into paladin and start smiting. It should combo with an armorer built in melee weapon.
2 levels of paladin (and +1 your cha to qualify) gives you smite
3 levels of wizard gives you portent and 2 more levels gives you fireball.
Rogue gives you sneak attack, but its 1d6 per round for first 2 levels. If you go for 5 levels of rogue, its 3d6 per round, so that might be something. You would just have to do something to get advantage on your attacks to qualify for sneak. If your battle master fighter is within 5 feet of an enemy most of the time, then youre all set.
If your dm usually throws one or two encounters at you per long rest, then paladin probably gets you more damage faster and you recharge your slots before running out. If your dm usually throws three or more encounters at you per long rest, then rogue sneak attack doesnt have to worry about running out of slots.
The other question is, what sounds fun to you. At some point, divination wizard portent just sounds fun to me cause you get to force a couple of rolls onto the enemy. Its not strictly damage, but if you can force the bbeg to fail a saving throw, you might double the damage they takez or they get banished, etc.
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I am playing a level 7 Armorer artificer dwarf originally intended as the team's tank with sentinel at lvl4, plate armor + shield practically always in guardian mode. Team was me, a BM fighter, Assassin rogue, Evo wizard, and hexblade warlock healer spec by dm.
We were all given artifacts level 1, mine being for tanking (temp hp mostly and now at level 7 can once per day dispel magic) while the others got magic weapons eg 2d6+2d6 lightning longsword for the fighter.
The wizard player left. my damage always feels crappy compared to rogue or the fighter unless I get high rolls with both the attacks and they miss all of theirs (sad).
Will be changing to the new version but it feels like the whole class and the subclass are not really improved even dreadnaught they kept the too little too late damage bumps at 15 from UA)
Was thinking to stick to armorer till level 9 for the +1 attack/damage they now have or lvl 11 for spell storing but maybe multiclass would help make the character feel like a threat the enemies would focus (so i can tank logically not because the DM may focus me as i am intended to be the tank) and because the higher level and capstone dont feel good.
What would be good options? Thinking one of the rogue/fighter/wizard. Perhaps at level 9 so i can get my int to 20 on level 8.
Stats are
STR 17 (but got also gauntlets of ogre power so 19) , DEX 13 +1 (sentinel), CON 20, INT 18, WIS 14, CHA 12 (rolled method. DM told me to put 17 in STR over DEX as dwarfs arent nimble but bulky - even he has forgotten about that now)
First, I just want to call out that damage per round is not the only way to be insanely valuable in a fight. Artificer is a force multiplier rather than a damage machine, though it can do plenty of damage. Your rogue especially is grateful for every hit you absorb while tanking.
What spells do you have prepared? Which infusions are you using? These are a big part of your tactics and power budget. If you don't have a homunculus up, you might consider it - it can do some damage but the flanking can also be super valuable to give your other party members advantage. Your rogue in particular can benefit from a mobile friend distracting your enemy, giving them sneak attack on every hit. Set it to dodge and you don't have to keep commanding it - either your enemy wastes an attack on it instead of the rogue or it won't be attacked.
Your thunder gauntlets (if you're a Guardian) focus attacks on you, giving your other party members more leeway to do their damage. And Extra Attack is pretty great. The armorer in my party paired them with the Booming Blade cantrip.
You have Shatter which is a pretty good AOE damage spell. Thunderwave isn't bad either. Check out the other 2nd level spells especially - heat metal and vortex warp are two that are fun in some combats. Kinetic Jaunt lets you go anywhere on the battlefield without attacks of opportunity, which is actually much more fun and interesting than you might expect. Aid can be used as a remote heal to get your comrades up and running. Invisibility can get you out of a fight altogether.
I'm not sure why you're buffing Strength on this character - your attack modifier is Int.
As I said I wanted to put it to dex but wasnt allowed. spells I primarily used thunderwave and shatter.
Infusions Enh Def on armor + repulsion shield , Homonculus, or Enh Def on shield + Resistant armor
All your armorer weapons use INT for attack/damage.
My arcane armor is +1 plate. I usually go with infiltrator. At level 5, you get extra attack. And once per turn, one attack does an extra d8. Its not a lot, but every bit helps.
My homunculus gives me another attack and a bit more damage. Its range is a bit short. I am tempted to use one infusion for a wand of magic missiles to give it some longer range options.
Having a str 18 has the benefit that you have plenty of carry capacity while wearing plate. I dumped str, so i have to use an infusion to have a bag of holding. I have so much gear i wouldnt be able to carry it.
Im holding out for the spell storing item for some of the crazy things you can do with it. Cast Fly or Invibility 10 times? Each member of party takes ssi and concentrates on their spell. Whole party can fly or be invisible? Not doing damage, but really cool.
As for multiclassing, ive been looking and there not really anything the combines well with artificer. If you use your armorer weapons for attack, the Action Surge would give you a damage bump. Lightning launcher could do 4 attacks in an important round. Action surge works on everything but magic action, but armorer weapons count as simple weapons using the attack action. So you could use them with action surge.
I was looking at maybe wizard for more/better spells. I dont have a good aoe attack. So fireball would be handy some wizard subclasses have some cool non-damaging features too. Diviner's portent feature can sometimes really save the day.
If you bump your CHA by 1, you could multiclass into paladin and start smiting. It should combo with an armorer built in melee weapon.
2 levels of fighter gives you action surge
2 levels of paladin (and +1 your cha to qualify) gives you smite
3 levels of wizard gives you portent and 2 more levels gives you fireball.
Rogue gives you sneak attack, but its 1d6 per round for first 2 levels. If you go for 5 levels of rogue, its 3d6 per round, so that might be something. You would just have to do something to get advantage on your attacks to qualify for sneak. If your battle master fighter is within 5 feet of an enemy most of the time, then youre all set.
If your dm usually throws one or two encounters at you per long rest, then paladin probably gets you more damage faster and you recharge your slots before running out. If your dm usually throws three or more encounters at you per long rest, then rogue sneak attack doesnt have to worry about running out of slots.
The other question is, what sounds fun to you. At some point, divination wizard portent just sounds fun to me cause you get to force a couple of rolls onto the enemy. Its not strictly damage, but if you can force the bbeg to fail a saving throw, you might double the damage they takez or they get banished, etc.