Hiya i wanted to ask if it possible to make a Battlesmith similar to a Hexblade build? I know a lot of Battlesmith builds tends to go on the range or as a mounted combat for small characters. I wanted to try to build a Melee Battlesmith
Let say Level 10 since most campaign ends around that level range, Is Artificer 7 and Fighter 3 dip is alright or should i go straight progression to Artificer and how should i proceed this and what infusion i should get? Thanks a lot for reading
if you're going melee, starting with a level in fighter is a great idea. you'll get a fighting style, heavy armor, and martial weapons prof right off the bat instead of having to wait till artificer 3. Whereas if you went straight artificer with the intent to melee battlesmith, levels 1-3 are gonna be real rough.
I played this combo to level 17 with fighter2/art15 and man was action surging on bosses fun. If i could have gotten to fighter 3, my plan was to take champion and just be a critting maniac, stacking weapon + arcane jolt dice to the sky.
As far as infusions go, i would recommend being greedy lol. enhanced weapon + defense are a must, then i suggest whatever you fancy from cloak of protection, bag of holding, winged boots, ect. Haste yourself and become an outright beast with 20+ AC and 4 attacks, arcane jolt on crits and watch BBEGs crumble.
if you're going melee, starting with a level in fighter is a great idea. you'll get a fighting style, heavy armor, and martial weapons prof right off the bat instead of having to wait till artificer 3. Whereas if you went straight artificer with the intent to melee battlesmith, levels 1-3 are gonna be real rough.
I played this combo to level 17 with fighter2/art15 and man was action surging on bosses fun. If i could have gotten to fighter 3, my plan was to take champion and just be a critting maniac, stacking weapon + arcane jolt dice to the sky.
As far as infusions go, i would recommend being greedy lol. enhanced weapon + defense are a must, then i suggest whatever you fancy from cloak of protection, bag of holding, winged boots, ect. Haste yourself and become an outright beast with 20+ AC and 4 attacks, arcane jolt on crits and watch BBEGs crumble.
I see the build seems fun enough and I'm not sure if i'm able to play a higher level campaign but will give a shot, so battlesmith are recommend to be selfish with their infusions compared to the rest of the subclass.
Hiya i wanted to ask if it possible to make a Battlesmith similar to a Hexblade build? I know a lot of Battlesmith builds tends to go on the range or as a mounted combat for small characters. I wanted to try to build a Melee Battlesmith
Let say Level 10 since most campaign ends around that level range, Is Artificer 7 and Fighter 3 dip is alright or should i go straight progression to Artificer and how should i proceed this and what infusion i should get? Thanks a lot for reading
Guess it depends on what you mean by hexblade like. As far as substantial damage goes the straight battlesmith will do just fine. Nothing wronged with the fighter dip but the return isn't that high IMO. You're most likely wanting to stay mostly SaD so medium armor is cheaper ASI wise and from lv 2-3 the damage difference between using a simple weapon and a martial weapon is a wash thanks to your infusions and if you have the funds could even grab the homunculus for a constant ba attack.
*For comparison a lv 2 fighter with 16 dex using duelist and a rapier targeting AC 15 will deal 5.45 damage per attack and the artificer with a returning dagger will deal 3.7 and their homunculus will deal 2.6. so even before lv 3 you can wield weapons just fine *
Once you hit level 3 and beyond you can adapt to any of the standard martial weapon using tactics. You can combine pole arm Master with great weapon fighting and so on. It's a little bit higher of an opportunity cost because the class has a built-in bonus action option so it *costs* more but nothing stopping you.
The battle Smith is like the hexblade in a lot of ways where you have a lot of built-in ways to generate advantage you just have to shop around to find them. You're never deal as much damage as a hex blade that went all in but you also have a little bit more adaptive defense and utility because you only realistically have to spend half your infusion budget to keep up where a melee hex blade is blowing most of their invocations to do so.
Some tactical suggestions with a melee battle Smith:
The radiant weapon infusion is a great defensive buff that hammers in punishing attacking the user and it has no range limit. If you get a ranged weapon user in the party it's a great infusion to give them because they most likely don't have a constant use of the reaction and it helps channel the attacks towards the hardier members . Additionally you can take the sentinel feat yourself and hammer them for attacking them so they could end up blind and getting stabbed just for not targeting you which is also a bad idea if you have your SD buddy nearby.
Speaking about the steel defender don't overlook using that bonus action to perform some other actions other than damage. Shove/grappling, help, and item interaction. Before level five this is actually a great way for you to generate your own advantage just ready in action for something like booming blade have your still defender help you and then attack with that being the trigger.
You're fairly Hardy even with a d8 hit die so don't worry about taking the occasional focus. You can actually go full tank if you want to and be just fine.
If you do decide to dipt fighter I would suggest waiting till at least level 9. Action surge is more effective if you have extra attack which means at least level five and level 678 and 9 in artifil are really good.
That hexblade thing is a joke, since it is OP when it first came out, so i can play a battlesmith out using the pet? I always thought a d8 hp is very bad for a frontliner mostly recommend a d10 which all material class is at. What weapons do you recommend is good for a battlesmith
AE- absorb elements. One of the best reaction spells on the game because of its flexibility and the shear amount of HP lose it can prevent.
HP sink- any HP that is easy come easy go. Due to the cheap way that the steel defender can be healed and brought back of dies attacks directed towards it are a net gain for the party. Between all the different ways it can be healed it's like having an extra body just soaking up damage whole dealing a little in return. Other examples are raging barbarians, summons, and THP (temporary hit point) spam.
EHP- effective health points. So it's the rough value each point of ho has after you factor in AC and other mitigation factors. Having a good pool is important but having a pool that last longer is more relevant to most areas of play. Think of it like the opposite of your attack and damage. All the damage in the world is worthless if you can't hit.
SSI- the spell storing item. Or as I like to call it shenanigans the class featuring.
Artificer are less Jack of all trades as masters of making masters out of the party. There's a slight nuance of difference between the two so if you compare some like bards who will have a fairly high floor of multiple areas at the same time the artificer can single out specific things and enhance them regardless on where that item falls in the party. If you look at their infusions as practically permanent buffs you can kind of get this picture forming. Depending on the level of play your table is at you can go as far as giving out familiars to the entire party and churn out low level spell scrolls and potions that make low level spell slot economy obsolete.
I don't have that much experience using the character building option on this site but I think it looks fine other than low Wis saves but depending on type of game that might be ok.
Thank you for the helpful tips you have given me on the melee battlesmith, i have a better grasped on the concept. also it possible to play a battlesmith without it's steel defender do i likely handicap myself my doing so. can they survive without any magical items just using their regular items
If you want to be overall in someone's face, but not specifically doing actual melee attacks, just speak with your DM to allow you the firearm prof and get a pistol at some point. Pistol + Gunner Perk, allows you to be in melee range and have no disadvantage. Put the repeating shot on it, and you now have a +1, infinite ammo, doesn't need to be reloaded (redundant due to Gunner) one handed weapon and you slap a shield in the other hand. So before any other infusions, you are already sitting at 18AC, which is pretty sturdy in general and you are able to shoot that up to 21AC.
Basically, you are Captain America in WWII.
As for the Steel Defender, I and I know others agree, feel the Steel Defender is something that falls short of where it could have been. Is it required for the Battlesmith? No. Matter of fact, you could basically ignore that entire portion of your subclass and be fine. It does provide you added attack action, meatshield, deflecting attacks and so forth, so it is worth having, but it is not required. What makes it fall short is, you have no means of upgrading the Steel Defender. Which makes absolutely no sense for an Artificer class as a whole. Your whole schtick is you want to know how things work and how you can make it better. Yet, this thing you pull straight out of your butt, you can't make better by any means and that is just stupid really. If you are lucky to get a DM to work with you in allowing upgrades, there are homebrew stuff out there.
And yes, at level 10, you can become a power plant of creating potions and scrolls at 1/4 the price and time and if your DM allows it, even though it is 100% legal, some do not still, you can take a replicant item that allows you to imprint spells through tattoos. Allowing one use spell on anyone.
As a note: The Steel Defender can also attune to magic items. It indirectly gives the Battle Smith another three attunements, and can indirectly be "upgrades" to the Steel Defender.
The steel defender is a pretty large portion of the subclass but if you really don't like it you could forgo it. The only magic item the need is a weapon so they can use intelligence for attack/damage.
I'd Suggest taken a look at the forge adept in exploring eberron which is a melee focused artificer with no pet. It's slightly under tuned so most DMs wouldn't mind it.
I've taken a look at it and I wish there a way for them to implant this book into DDB since that book belongs to DMGuild and I mostly used DDB
If you want to be overall in someone's face, but not specifically doing actual melee attacks, just speak with your DM to allow you the firearm prof and get a pistol at some point. Pistol + Gunner Perk, allows you to be in melee range and have no disadvantage. Put the repeating shot on it, and you now have a +1, infinite ammo, doesn't need to be reloaded (redundant due to Gunner) one handed weapon and you slap a shield in the other hand. So before any other infusions, you are already sitting at 18AC, which is pretty sturdy in general and you are able to shoot that up to 21AC.
Basically, you are Captain America in WWII.
As for the Steel Defender, I and I know others agree, feel the Steel Defender is something that falls short of where it could have been. Is it required for the Battlesmith? No. Matter of fact, you could basically ignore that entire portion of your subclass and be fine. It does provide you added attack action, meatshield, deflecting attacks and so forth, so it is worth having, but it is not required. What makes it fall short is, you have no means of upgrading the Steel Defender. Which makes absolutely no sense for an Artificer class as a whole. Your whole schtick is you want to know how things work and how you can make it better. Yet, this thing you pull straight out of your butt, you can't make better by any means and that is just stupid really. If you are lucky to get a DM to work with you in allowing upgrades, there are homebrew stuff out there.
And yes, at level 10, you can become a power plant of creating potions and scrolls at 1/4 the price and time and if your DM allows it, even though it is 100% legal, some do not still, you can take a replicant item that allows you to imprint spells through tattoos. Allowing one use spell on anyone.
Wait you can actually use a gun right at their faces? POGS i wanted to be shotgun ape, didn't know is possible.
and regarding to the steel defender, how would i keep track of the items that is attune to my steel defender?, is it RAW since I don't see much play of a pet class having magical items on them
and regarding to the steel defender, how would i keep track of the items that is attune to my steel defender?, is it RAW since I don't see much play of a pet class having magical items on them
The Steel Defender is a creature (construct is a creature type). Per the Magic Item rules, any creature can attune to 3 items and there are no rules excluding pets from those rules. Excluding pets would be a DM homebrew rule.
For my Homunculus I plan on just noting it on my character sheet in the Notes section what Magic Items are attuned.
If you want to be overall in someone's face, but not specifically doing actual melee attacks, just speak with your DM to allow you the firearm prof and get a pistol at some point. Pistol + Gunner Perk, allows you to be in melee range and have no disadvantage. Put the repeating shot on it, and you now have a +1, infinite ammo, doesn't need to be reloaded (redundant due to Gunner) one handed weapon and you slap a shield in the other hand. So before any other infusions, you are already sitting at 18AC, which is pretty sturdy in general and you are able to shoot that up to 21AC.
Basically, you are Captain America in WWII.
As for the Steel Defender, I and I know others agree, feel the Steel Defender is something that falls short of where it could have been. Is it required for the Battlesmith? No. Matter of fact, you could basically ignore that entire portion of your subclass and be fine. It does provide you added attack action, meatshield, deflecting attacks and so forth, so it is worth having, but it is not required. What makes it fall short is, you have no means of upgrading the Steel Defender. Which makes absolutely no sense for an Artificer class as a whole. Your whole schtick is you want to know how things work and how you can make it better. Yet, this thing you pull straight out of your butt, you can't make better by any means and that is just stupid really. If you are lucky to get a DM to work with you in allowing upgrades, there are homebrew stuff out there.
And yes, at level 10, you can become a power plant of creating potions and scrolls at 1/4 the price and time and if your DM allows it, even though it is 100% legal, some do not still, you can take a replicant item that allows you to imprint spells through tattoos. Allowing one use spell on anyone.
Wait you can actually use a gun right at their faces? POGS i wanted to be shotgun ape, didn't know is possible.
and regarding to the steel defender, how would i keep track of the items that is attune to my steel defender?, is it RAW since I don't see much play of a pet class having magical items on them
Anything two handed removes the shield, losing you +2/3AC. With a Capt. America build, you get the build of a tank, a small range 0 - 30ft/90ft doing magical +1 1D10, 2 times each turn. With your bonus given to your Steel Defender to attack again. Once you hit lv 9(?), you can Arcane Jolt, which allows you to increase your damage or heal people.
People may suggest multi-classing into Fighter, to get action surge for more attacks. Personally, I think that giving up the Lv 20 ability is a pretty big lost, as it turns you into a cat with 7 lives. ALSO, with a massive increase in saves as well, possibly +6, just makes you a very unlikely person to cripple in the end.
You could have them attune to things, but remember, if they fall, you may not be able to re-collect the items. Also, the Steel Defender does not have Prof in anything. So sure, you could give it a shield, it gets +2 AC, but gets disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can't cast spells. Weapons is less of a penalty, you just don't get your prof with your weapon strikes. So unless the weapon makes up for the missing damage or has a cool ability, why give it to the Steel Defender? Overall, if you found any magical items you can attune to, why wouldn't your team or even you not want the item?
I can give you a longer answer tomorrow, but in general it's better to stick with Artificer all the way rather than multiclassing. Artificer has too much good stuff on every level.
If you really want to be a Melee-focused Artificer but don't want the Steel Defender, I would recommend just going Armorer instead. It also allows you attack from INT, and eventually grants you additional infusions per-day that you can only use on yourself, freeing you up to still distribute magic items to your party members... or even just buff yourself further. I wouldn't recommend bothering with Multiclassing into fighter for this build, since it gives you Heavy Armor already and you don't gain as much from the things Fighter gives you.
That said, I think there's some potential with starting as a Fighter to get the proficiencies if you're combining with Battlesmith... both classes give proficiency with CON saving throws, but Fighter also grants STR instead of INT, and STR saving throws are more common than INT saving throws. You also get Heavy Armor right out the gate and proficiency with all weapons, so you're not waiting three levels to get access to better weaponry. You also get a Fighting Style, and I don't know how truly useful this is compared to the other options, but something about taking the Protection fighting style is hilarious to me, since your Steel Defender has basically the same ability... it'd be pretty funny to rush down on an opponent and no matter which of you gets targeted for an attack the other can impose Disadvantage on it. As for which Fighter subclass to take... Battle Master is kind of the obvious answer. It's the most versatile Fighter subclass, but you have to be careful, since the Saving Throw for many of its abilities keys off of STR or DEX, and I'm assuming you're going Battlesmith to prioritize INT over the traditional Martial skills. Another class I would recommend is Eldritch Knight... it gives you two more Cantrips, and as an Artificer one of your biggest weaknesses is a lack of cantrips. Plus it keys off of INT for spells and such, giving you access to a few wizard spells you don't get as an Artificer. As well, for a Battlesmith you can only attack with INT using a magic weapon, which can really hamper you if you don't have access to your infused weapon for whatever reason. However, Eldritch Knights gain a Weapon Bond, making it impossible to be disarmed and allowing you to summon your weapon to your hand as a bonus action in case you deliberately left it somewhere else (such as, if you're ambushed at some kind of event hwere you're not allowed to bring weaponry inside).
TBH I don't like Armourer, flavour, mechanics and that other stuff is nice! it's doesn't really click me hard enough. (If only I can play the other eberron subclass but it's locks to dmguild and homebrewing it is hard enough)
So have you done the Protection fighting style and Steel Defender shenanigans in a game before? never seen anyone mention this combo and dose it make the DM angry due to it's unique interactions. Battlemaster is the most obvious duh of course and popular among optimisers, i pick the the maneuvers that don't require saving throws or the one that boost my skill checks.
I've never played someone with a Protection fighting style paired with a Steel Defender myself, so I don't know how actually useful it is or how annoying it is for a DM to deal with, I just thought it was funny that it comboes so much with the Steel Defender's ability. I don't know for sure how it stacks up against Insterception, but if you have a particular weapon or other fighting style in mind don't worry about these suggestions too much.
I took a level of Cleric (Twilight Domain) on my melee Warforged Artillerist Artificer (I realistically don't expect the campaign to last to L20). Between the Heavy Armor, Shield, Integrated Protection, Adv. Initiative, extra spells, Green Flame Blade / Booming Blade using a Rod (Arcane Firearm) as a Club (imbued with Shillelagh obtained from All-Purpose Tool), the Protection Eldritch Cannon mounted to a Homunculus, the character practically cannot die. High AC combined with constantly refreshing temp HP and the ability to heal themselves when needed is ridiculous; add Blur for greater personal survivability; with decent CON saves and Warcaster, concentration rarely drops. Not to mention the temp HP also applies to nearby allies, helping keep them up and fighting as well, so the character is not only a champ, but also a great team mate.
Artillerist is a solid option for a melee Artificer, in my opinion. Battle Smith is as well, in my opinion, as is an Artificer with a level of Fighter. I just wanted to emphasize the Artillerist option.
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Hiya i wanted to ask if it possible to make a Battlesmith similar to a Hexblade build? I know a lot of Battlesmith builds tends to go on the range or as a mounted combat for small characters. I wanted to try to build a Melee Battlesmith
Let say Level 10 since most campaign ends around that level range, Is Artificer 7 and Fighter 3 dip is alright or should i go straight progression to Artificer and how should i proceed this and what infusion i should get? Thanks a lot for reading
if you're going melee, starting with a level in fighter is a great idea. you'll get a fighting style, heavy armor, and martial weapons prof right off the bat instead of having to wait till artificer 3. Whereas if you went straight artificer with the intent to melee battlesmith, levels 1-3 are gonna be real rough.
I played this combo to level 17 with fighter2/art15 and man was action surging on bosses fun. If i could have gotten to fighter 3, my plan was to take champion and just be a critting maniac, stacking weapon + arcane jolt dice to the sky.
As far as infusions go, i would recommend being greedy lol. enhanced weapon + defense are a must, then i suggest whatever you fancy from cloak of protection, bag of holding, winged boots, ect. Haste yourself and become an outright beast with 20+ AC and 4 attacks, arcane jolt on crits and watch BBEGs crumble.
I see the build seems fun enough and I'm not sure if i'm able to play a higher level campaign but will give a shot, so battlesmith are recommend to be selfish with their infusions compared to the rest of the subclass.
That hexblade thing is a joke, since it is OP when it first came out, so i can play a battlesmith out using the pet? I always thought a d8 hp is very bad for a frontliner mostly recommend a d10 which all material class is at. What weapons do you recommend is good for a battlesmith
Sorry ehh can you explain what is the short form of what your saying AE, HP sink, EHP, SSI
so battlesmith is like a jack of all trades class? filling whatever role what the party needs and enhances the group power level.
here is the link of the character https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/Wasabii/characters/64854921 (ignore the party since I'm using a shared campaign where we are allowed to play with the character creator)
i choose shifter:Swiftstride because of aesthetic/story reasons and yes i use tasha's origin to switch the stats.
Thank you for the helpful tips you have given me on the melee battlesmith, i have a better grasped on the concept. also it possible to play a battlesmith without it's steel defender do i likely handicap myself my doing so. can they survive without any magical items just using their regular items
If you want to be overall in someone's face, but not specifically doing actual melee attacks, just speak with your DM to allow you the firearm prof and get a pistol at some point. Pistol + Gunner Perk, allows you to be in melee range and have no disadvantage. Put the repeating shot on it, and you now have a +1, infinite ammo, doesn't need to be reloaded (redundant due to Gunner) one handed weapon and you slap a shield in the other hand. So before any other infusions, you are already sitting at 18AC, which is pretty sturdy in general and you are able to shoot that up to 21AC.
Basically, you are Captain America in WWII.
As for the Steel Defender, I and I know others agree, feel the Steel Defender is something that falls short of where it could have been. Is it required for the Battlesmith? No. Matter of fact, you could basically ignore that entire portion of your subclass and be fine. It does provide you added attack action, meatshield, deflecting attacks and so forth, so it is worth having, but it is not required. What makes it fall short is, you have no means of upgrading the Steel Defender. Which makes absolutely no sense for an Artificer class as a whole. Your whole schtick is you want to know how things work and how you can make it better. Yet, this thing you pull straight out of your butt, you can't make better by any means and that is just stupid really. If you are lucky to get a DM to work with you in allowing upgrades, there are homebrew stuff out there.
And yes, at level 10, you can become a power plant of creating potions and scrolls at 1/4 the price and time and if your DM allows it, even though it is 100% legal, some do not still, you can take a replicant item that allows you to imprint spells through tattoos. Allowing one use spell on anyone.
As a note: The Steel Defender can also attune to magic items. It indirectly gives the Battle Smith another three attunements, and can indirectly be "upgrades" to the Steel Defender.
I've taken a look at it and I wish there a way for them to implant this book into DDB since that book belongs to DMGuild and I mostly used DDB
Wait you can actually use a gun right at their faces? POGS i wanted to be shotgun ape, didn't know is possible.
and regarding to the steel defender, how would i keep track of the items that is attune to my steel defender?, is it RAW since I don't see much play of a pet class having magical items on them
The Steel Defender is a creature (construct is a creature type). Per the Magic Item rules, any creature can attune to 3 items and there are no rules excluding pets from those rules. Excluding pets would be a DM homebrew rule.
For my Homunculus I plan on just noting it on my character sheet in the Notes section what Magic Items are attuned.
Anything two handed removes the shield, losing you +2/3AC. With a Capt. America build, you get the build of a tank, a small range 0 - 30ft/90ft doing magical +1 1D10, 2 times each turn. With your bonus given to your Steel Defender to attack again. Once you hit lv 9(?), you can Arcane Jolt, which allows you to increase your damage or heal people.
People may suggest multi-classing into Fighter, to get action surge for more attacks. Personally, I think that giving up the Lv 20 ability is a pretty big lost, as it turns you into a cat with 7 lives. ALSO, with a massive increase in saves as well, possibly +6, just makes you a very unlikely person to cripple in the end.
You could have them attune to things, but remember, if they fall, you may not be able to re-collect the items. Also, the Steel Defender does not have Prof in anything. So sure, you could give it a shield, it gets +2 AC, but gets disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can't cast spells. Weapons is less of a penalty, you just don't get your prof with your weapon strikes. So unless the weapon makes up for the missing damage or has a cool ability, why give it to the Steel Defender? Overall, if you found any magical items you can attune to, why wouldn't your team or even you not want the item?
I can give you a longer answer tomorrow, but in general it's better to stick with Artificer all the way rather than multiclassing. Artificer has too much good stuff on every level.
If you really want to be a Melee-focused Artificer but don't want the Steel Defender, I would recommend just going Armorer instead. It also allows you attack from INT, and eventually grants you additional infusions per-day that you can only use on yourself, freeing you up to still distribute magic items to your party members... or even just buff yourself further. I wouldn't recommend bothering with Multiclassing into fighter for this build, since it gives you Heavy Armor already and you don't gain as much from the things Fighter gives you.
That said, I think there's some potential with starting as a Fighter to get the proficiencies if you're combining with Battlesmith... both classes give proficiency with CON saving throws, but Fighter also grants STR instead of INT, and STR saving throws are more common than INT saving throws. You also get Heavy Armor right out the gate and proficiency with all weapons, so you're not waiting three levels to get access to better weaponry. You also get a Fighting Style, and I don't know how truly useful this is compared to the other options, but something about taking the Protection fighting style is hilarious to me, since your Steel Defender has basically the same ability... it'd be pretty funny to rush down on an opponent and no matter which of you gets targeted for an attack the other can impose Disadvantage on it. As for which Fighter subclass to take... Battle Master is kind of the obvious answer. It's the most versatile Fighter subclass, but you have to be careful, since the Saving Throw for many of its abilities keys off of STR or DEX, and I'm assuming you're going Battlesmith to prioritize INT over the traditional Martial skills. Another class I would recommend is Eldritch Knight... it gives you two more Cantrips, and as an Artificer one of your biggest weaknesses is a lack of cantrips. Plus it keys off of INT for spells and such, giving you access to a few wizard spells you don't get as an Artificer. As well, for a Battlesmith you can only attack with INT using a magic weapon, which can really hamper you if you don't have access to your infused weapon for whatever reason. However, Eldritch Knights gain a Weapon Bond, making it impossible to be disarmed and allowing you to summon your weapon to your hand as a bonus action in case you deliberately left it somewhere else (such as, if you're ambushed at some kind of event hwere you're not allowed to bring weaponry inside).
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
(Lol i see your pretty popular xd)TBH I don't like Armourer, flavour, mechanics and that other stuff is nice! it's doesn't really click me hard enough.
(If only I can play the other eberron subclass but it's locks to dmguild and homebrewing it is hard enough)So have you done the Protection fighting style and Steel Defender shenanigans in a game before? never seen anyone mention this combo and dose it make the DM angry due to it's unique interactions. Battlemaster is the most obvious duh of course and popular among optimisers, i pick the the maneuvers that don't require saving throws or the one that boost my skill checks.
I've never played someone with a Protection fighting style paired with a Steel Defender myself, so I don't know how actually useful it is or how annoying it is for a DM to deal with, I just thought it was funny that it comboes so much with the Steel Defender's ability. I don't know for sure how it stacks up against Insterception, but if you have a particular weapon or other fighting style in mind don't worry about these suggestions too much.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
I took a level of Cleric (Twilight Domain) on my melee Warforged Artillerist Artificer (I realistically don't expect the campaign to last to L20). Between the Heavy Armor, Shield, Integrated Protection, Adv. Initiative, extra spells, Green Flame Blade / Booming Blade using a Rod (Arcane Firearm) as a Club (imbued with Shillelagh obtained from All-Purpose Tool), the Protection Eldritch Cannon mounted to a Homunculus, the character practically cannot die. High AC combined with constantly refreshing temp HP and the ability to heal themselves when needed is ridiculous; add Blur for greater personal survivability; with decent CON saves and Warcaster, concentration rarely drops. Not to mention the temp HP also applies to nearby allies, helping keep them up and fighting as well, so the character is not only a champ, but also a great team mate.
Artillerist is a solid option for a melee Artificer, in my opinion. Battle Smith is as well, in my opinion, as is an Artificer with a level of Fighter. I just wanted to emphasize the Artillerist option.