Artificer becomes a construct wrangler

Fair enough - whenever you remove the guard rails from a class it risks making it OP.

I don't intend to pass around the SSI (nor do I plan to pass around a Spell Storing Ring - although I would like to exchange spells in the party via a Spell Storing Ring - like to give someone with the greatest number of attacks Conjure Minor Elementals).

Going back to the original thread topic - it is disappointing that the best way to optimize ALL the artificer subclasses is to summon/craft as many constructs as you can while outfitting them with as many damage dealing or utility magic items as you can.

Add to this using RMIs to create multiple high impact summoning items and this just outperforms any other build (and makes optimizing the actual artificer subclass a bit of a drop in the bucket / a moot point).

I think making an individual Subclass unique (and still optimized) may require multi-classing. And even then, it is difficult to compete with a build (any subclass) with several constructs outfitted with Necklace of Fireballs, Wand of Magic Missile, SSI, etc... in combination with multiple Elemental Gems (different colors) and a Cube of Summoning.

Quote from StonyMac >>

Fair enough - whenever you remove the guard rails from a class it risks making it OP.

I don't intend to pass around the SSI (nor do I plan to pass around a Spell Storing Ring - although I would like to exchange spells in the party via a Spell Storing Ring - like to give someone with the greatest number of attacks Conjure Minor Elementals).

CME is another very powerful spell...

I guess I’m okay with that? Crafting items and spreading the damage between extensions of one’s self is kinda the Artificer’s jam. The way you move through a scenario, using those extensions in different patterns, varying the spells you use and the order in which they occur, what you prepare for at the beginning of the day, and the way you work in concert with the other players, is the core of what you are. 

As an artificer you’re a multi-limbed marvel, each limb weak on its own, but together a formidable and unpredictable force. 

Quote from StonyMac >>

Going back to the original thread topic - it is disappointing that the best way to optimize ALL the artificer subclasses is to summon/craft as many constructs as you can while outfitting them with as many damage dealing or utility magic items as you can. Add to this using RMIs to create multiple high impact summoning items and this just outperforms any other build (and makes optimizing the actual artificer subclass a bit of a drop in the bucket / a moot point). 

The problem is basically the items you can make with Replicate Magic Item advance slower than standard magic item award rates.  By the time i can make the really cool magic item i would share with the party, the party already found the item in a dungeon or found enough gold to just buy the item. 

And all the cool items require attunement, so i cant give a cloak of elven kind to anyone cause they already have 3 attunement slots used up.

A possible home brew fix would be to go through the RMI list of items and remove attunement requirements from items that arent too powerful (probably the ones that dont do damage). So the clanky tank in plate already has 3 full attunement slots, but i could make a cloak of elvenkind for them and they dont have to attune to use it.

Artificers are severely limited in how many plans they can make so i dont think it would get too crazy.  

Maybe only drop attunement requirement if the artificer gives the item to a party memebr, as long as its not another artiticer. But if the artificer wants to wear it themselves, they require attunement. 

Otherwise rmi is severely limited to nonattunemtn items only, and that basically means summon stuff and give them wand of magic missile or something.

By the way, this is why I say the meta is around summons and crafting magic items for constructs to use.

At Level 13 an artificer can do close to 400 DPR (2,350+ damage over several rounds of combat -  as long as 1 hour) with RMI items + normal summons without even being in the room. Optimizing the Artificers actual DPR winds up with something MUCH lower. Notice also how much more DPR Fireball casting items do than summons.

Quote from MongooseGef >>

I guess I’m okay with that? Crafting items and spreading the damage between extensions of one’s self is kinda the Artificer’s jam. The way you move through a scenario, using those extensions in different patterns, varying the spells you use and the order in which they occur, what you prepare for at the beginning of the day, and the way you work in concert with the other players, is the core of what you are. 

As an artificer you’re a multi-limbed marvel, each limb weak on its own, but together a formidable and unpredictable force. 

Each limb is very weak. I probably lose my homunculus every other session. The party gets hit with some big aoe that the party can hamdle, but my homunculus has 20hp so he gets incinerated by the big fireball in round 1, if big fireball is what we"re having for dinner.

I havent gotten to level 13 yet, so i cant verify your numbers. Id probably require you to use RMI for your wand of magic missiles, cause its going to get damaged, dropped, and possibly picked up or stepped on by an enemy.

Im also playign an armorer, not an artillerist, so i have some rmi's going into my armor so i can tank better. I suppose i could dedicate all my rmis to summons and such, but i purchased a stone of elemental summoning, which lasts one hour, and when that hour is over, combat for the rest of the day gets a LOT harder.

You might be able to do some crazy nova damage on the first combat, but could you even do anything if you have 2 or 3 more combats in the same day?

The Brazier and Cube don't become available until Level 14 as they are rare items.  But the Elemental Gem is absolutely available at level 10. I see the idea here and its interesting.