Hi fellow Artificers! Me again, back for your theorycrafting advice. For the first time, I've made my way from 1st level all the way to Tier 4 (my artificer alchemist even started as version one of the Unearthed Arcana way back when, yep we've been playing for a while)!!! So we're a fair way into level 18 and any session now our DM is going to milestone us to level 19, the LAST ASI. Naturally, Im stuck on what to do. Im pretty happy with my stats so Im not that into an actual ASI, but with what feat to take, Im not sure and I just wanna get it right.

Hit the green name in my signature to see the character sheet, Hjalmar Gunderson.

I'm the party's healer, as well as their skill monkey, utility supplier and one of two smarty pants (there's an Int20 Evo Wizard too). The character's trait are reluctantly heroic, battlefield nervous and courageous because necessity. In initiative, he spends most of the time on the fringes of the skirmish, only dashing in to heal or resuscitate a team member with a now character iconic knee slide. He runs around the battlefield, running distraction (using the Sanctuary spell and the Help action), the whole time panicking and staring under his breath from fear. In roleplay, he's quiet and makes sure everyone else is as buffed as they can be with his various trinkets and spells. Other than one or two of his infusions, everyone else gets them.

So. Im leaning towards the Skilled feat, for +1 Wisdom, proficiency and expertise in Perception. Im also "maybe'-ing towards Chef, for +1 Wis and even more helpful hand outs for the party. Elemental Adept: Acid has crossed my mind, but Im not much of a damage dealer at all really. Do you have any ideas in any other direction I've missed?

Notion for you: Martial Adept, with Commander's Strike and Bait and Switch as the selected maneuvers.

It's not gonna round out that Wisdom score, but it would give Hjlamar's signature knee slide the ability to nudge an ally out of danger and take their place - bravery honed over years of adventuring allowing Hjalmar to protect his downed allies with his own armor and shield.  Commander's Strike, meanwhile, lets Hjalmar trade one of his own low-value attacks at need for letting a dingdong or rogue gain an additional, much higher-value attack - a trick a cleric in one of my own games has shown can sometimes be all you need.  And Hjalmar being able to call out openings and direct his companions to strike in his stead could fit the whole notion of him on overwatch at the edges of battle, responding to needs as they arise.

It's not a huge power booster, but I kinda vibe on the idea of this guy knowing Bait and Switch and being able to knock his own allies aside to (relative) safety.  Seems like his sort of thing, potentially.

Quote from Yurei1453 >>

Notion for you: Martial Adept, with Commander's Strike and Bait and Switch as the selected maneuvers.

It's not gonna round out that Wisdom score, but it would give Hjlamar's signature knee slide the ability to nudge an ally out of danger and take their place - bravery honed over years of adventuring allowing Hjalmar to protect his downed allies with his own armor and shield.  Commander's Strike, meanwhile, lets Hjalmar trade one of his own low-value attacks at need for letting a dingdong or rogue gain an additional, much higher-value attack - a trick a cleric in one of my own games has shown can sometimes be all you need.  And Hjalmar being able to call out openings and direct his companions to strike in his stead could fit the whole notion of him on overwatch at the edges of battle, responding to needs as they arise.

It's not a huge power booster, but I kinda vibe on the idea of this guy knowing Bait and Switch and being able to knock his own allies aside to (relative) safety.  Seems like his sort of thing, potentially.

Holy dooly, that is brilliant and exactly the kinda thing Hjalmar would do! I’m pretty sold on this choice so far. Outside the box thinking*, exactly the sorta thing I like doing with my dudes (and I’m actually pretty dirty at myself I didn’t think of it)! This is a clear winner! Thank you Yurei! 

*Out of the box because this guy is not a dmg or dps guy at all so Martial Adept was never even on the periphery for a non melee, non combatant. 

Hah, happy to help Spikepit.  It took our cleric pulling a few eyebrow-raisers for me to really turn on to how well Martial Adept can mesh with a midline support guy if you choose the right maneuvers.  It really pops with some of the extra maneuvers in Tasha's that are more about gaining a broad edge than about hammering home an attack, stuff like Bait and Switch, Commanding Presence/Tactical Assessment, or Ambush.  You still only ever get one per short rest and that sucks, but man - a clutch Bait and Switch at the right moment to get a badly wounded enemy out of the way of an AoO only needs to happen once for the feat to feel worth it, ne?

I might  need to do that for my artificer(with healer feat) who likes sanctuary as well. Yurei again shows a indepth knowledge of playing an artificer well.