So I've been staring at the Artificer for a while, but I end up with reservations that usually fall around their spell casting progression.
Specifically, the Style of Artificer I'm most interested in is the Artillerist, making a sort of Wand Slinger or spell sniper. But whenever I look at it, that spell progression makes me feel like Something is off and it's not going to do what I want it to do.
So I figure I'd come here and ask to see what I'm missing? Perhaps there's an interplay or interaction to the artillerist that I'm just not seeing on paper.
the artillerist plays more like a warlock than a traditional full caster in regards to how they focus on spells.
Gods, I can't believe I didn't put that together. I think that was a big key in what I was missing from this. Especially that Scorching Ray SSI (I suppose Catapult would work as well for high AC targets)
I play a battlesmith rather than an artillerist (though in hindsight, honestly the artillerist might've fit the character better. Heh, oh well), but I can indeed confirm that you don't fight like a typical spellcaster on this class. Spell slots are precious and conserved for when they'll turn a fight around, much like warlocks. Whatever your on-demand, at-will damage is, that's your go-to. Artillerists are generally always going to be slinging Fire Bolt, using their cannon in hairier fights. The fact that you can easily match most heavy-armor characters in AC during the early game (Enhanced Defense really is da bomb) while still fighting from a distance gives you a lot of leeway. If you're a warforged who can create or obtain a wand sheath, or if your DM allows artificers with prosthetic arms to mount warforged-only stuff to those arms, it's a huge benefit. Not to mention just a cool aesthetic. Arm Cannon it up.
I prefer Ray of Frost to Fire Bolt when they’re in range for it. The debuff outweighs the slightly better damage if they are already that close. Just my 2cp
im in the camp that acid splash is under valued as the go-to pick for artillerist though ray of frost and the cannon knock back can be a fun combo for some lite CC which should never be overlooked.
* a very niche but fun build is the artillerist sling build. magic stone+ repeating shot infusion + enhanced arcane focus+ arcane forearm is a gimmick and a half but a fun one.*
The problem with Acid Splash is that I don't think that the extra damage artillerists get applies to it. I really like it though, and it is very satisfying to hit two creatures with one cantrip.
...okay. I can't follow the Magic Sling thing. Somebody break that one down for me, because I have no idea what they're going on about.
I think they are trying to say that you put Repeating Shot on the sling, which is also somehow an advanced focus, and then you use it to chuck Magic Stone (s).
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
...okay. I can't follow the Magic Sling thing. Somebody break that one down for me, because I have no idea what they're going on about.
I think they are trying to say that you put Repeating Shot on the sling, which is also somehow an advanced focus, and then you use it to chuck Magic Stone (s).
Except Repeating shot doesn’t work with Magic Stone, and you cannot infuse a Sling with Enhanced Focus, and you cannot infuse anything twice.
...okay. I can't follow the Magic Sling thing. Somebody break that one down for me, because I have no idea what they're going on about.
I think they are trying to say that you put Repeating Shot on the sling, which is also somehow an advanced focus, and then you use it to chuck Magic Stone (s).
Except Repeating shot doesn’t work with Magic Stone, and you cannot infuse a Sling with Enhanced Focus, and you cannot infuse anything twice.
All true. That is why I was confused about this as well, I was just trying to show what I thought they were trying to say.
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Hobgoblin Artillerist has turned out to be the Party Healer.
He just doesn't want until after anyone gets hurt, to do his healing. Seriously, the Protector version of the Eldritch Cannon is just silly-good. It's almost OP, in my opinion. 1d8+3 (with his 17 Intelligence) temporary hitpoints, every round, for up to an hour? YES, PLEASE. (Before you say it - I know they don't stack. But, if you only get hit once per round, odds are you won't lose more than 1 or 2 actual hitpoints ... and then the TempHP get filled right back up.)
We haven't needed healing magics for ourselves, nor any short rests to spend HD, for a couple levels, now. :)
I prefer Ray of Frost to Fire Bolt when they’re in range for it. The debuff outweighs the slightly better damage if they are already that close. Just my 2cp
This works especially well when paired with the Arcane Firearm which adds a d8 to the cantrip's damage anyway.
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Bark side up, bark side down, it really, truly does not matter.
...okay. I can't follow the Magic Sling thing. Somebody break that one down for me, because I have no idea what they're going on about.
I know it's been a year, but here is the interaction.
Infuse an enhanced focus and make it your arcane firearm. Infuse your sling with repeating shot.
Enhanced Focus(EF): Holding it offers +1 (+2 at lvl 10) to spell attack rolls.
Arcane Firearm(AF): Adds a d8 to one of a spells damage rolls.
Repeating Shot(RS): Grants +1 to attack and damage when it's used to make a ranged attack.
Use AF/EF to cast Magic Stone. Load stone into RS sling and fire away. Because you are holding the focus, you get +1(2) to attack and because you fired it from the sling you get +1 to attack for a total of +2(3) to attack and +1 to damage. Then when you roll damage on the first hit, add the d8 as extra damage.
So while checking out the forums I happened to see that this thread was still floating around!
Since I've been playing my gnomish Artillerist for a while, I figure I'd add some notes about things I found.
1. Get/Craft a wand of magic missile as soon as possible. As an artillerist you want to sling spells but you don't have the spell progression or resources to really do it effectively. The Wand of Magic Missiles lets you spell blast like a full caster, giving you essentially access to 3rd level spell casting (or higher depending on your DM) at about the same time when they are required with the obvious limitation of it being only on MM. Wand of Fireball also works at higher levels, but due to the attunement restriction it can be a bit hard to balance.
2. Pay attention to your spell components (Verbal/Somatic/Material), your physical shield, and the Arcane Firearm. There's a lot more juggling here than at first glance. The Arcane Firearm essentially adds a "Material" component to any damaging spell that didn't already have one, and in exchange adds d8 damage to the spell. Not a terrible deal in most cases, but if you have a shield equipped and the spell has a Somatic Component you may find your self with not enough hands to cast the Somatic component and hold the arcane firearm to actually fire the spell through. Though even if you drop the shield. you're still a ranged character with 16 ac and Shield as a reaction. So I wouldnt worry about it too much or bother getting War caster.
3. Though it may be obvious to anyone who actually reads their abilities, I spent many months not realizing that my Eldritch Cannon had a duration of one hour. Once I started using it properly it certainly added an extra crimp of not necessarily starting out with my bonus action force balista up and running.
4. Now this one, take it or leave it, but my artillerist is far more of a Rogue-replacement than I originally expected. The combination of infusions that help with Stealth + gloves of thievery + expertise with thieves tools + high intelligence for Investigation checks and a respectable dexterity due to medium armor made me quite capable of filling out that role. I found my self playing the character is much the same fashion I would an Arcane Trickster, where as with the Trickster I was a rogue adding some spell casting, in this case I was a spell caster adding in some sneakiness. The end result worked basically the same and I found myself casting spells like Invisibility or Spider Climb far more often than I originally intended. Especially since I found my offense to mostly come from the Wand of Magic Missiles or Cantrip slinging.
Currently, I'm level 10, which means I am on the cusp of getting to Spell Storing Item Shenanigans. So I'll be looking forward to that in the near future.
Overall, The Artillerist as a sort of 'wand-slinger' seems to be working out well for me thus far, he's pretty versatile and I can generally have some trick up my sleeve since most of my offensive capabilities are covered by my 'always known' spells and additional offensive items.
Somatic components can be performed with the same hand with your spell focus/ arcane firearm/ what ever infusion you have in hand.
No reason to drop your shield unless you need hand for tools for cannon making.
I just did a bit of research and it seems you are correct. I am having a massive brain fart in my capacity to visualize this process of doing complicated somatic gestures while holding an object, but that doesn't change the rulings.
What about the all-purpose tool? Anyway to square that and the arcane firearm without one in each hand? Maybe I missed something there too.
Somatic components can be performed with the same hand with your spell focus/ arcane firearm/ what ever infusion you have in hand.
No reason to drop your shield unless you need hand for tools for cannon making.
I just did a bit of research and it seems you are correct. I am having a massive brain fart in my capacity to visualize this process of doing complicated somatic gestures while holding an object, but that doesn't change the rulings.
What about the all-purpose tool? Anyway to square that and the arcane firearm without one in each hand? Maybe I missed something there too.
Some have wondered the same thing..... one solution is at lvl 14, you could create a wand sheath and have the APT take the shape of a wand? You would probably need to get DM approval on this though...
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So I've been staring at the Artificer for a while, but I end up with reservations that usually fall around their spell casting progression.
Specifically, the Style of Artificer I'm most interested in is the Artillerist, making a sort of Wand Slinger or spell sniper. But whenever I look at it, that spell progression makes me feel like Something is off and it's not going to do what I want it to do.
So I figure I'd come here and ask to see what I'm missing? Perhaps there's an interplay or interaction to the artillerist that I'm just not seeing on paper.
Thanks in advance.
Gods, I can't believe I didn't put that together. I think that was a big key in what I was missing from this. Especially that Scorching Ray SSI (I suppose Catapult would work as well for high AC targets)
Thank you very much!
I play a battlesmith rather than an artillerist (though in hindsight, honestly the artillerist might've fit the character better. Heh, oh well), but I can indeed confirm that you don't fight like a typical spellcaster on this class. Spell slots are precious and conserved for when they'll turn a fight around, much like warlocks. Whatever your on-demand, at-will damage is, that's your go-to. Artillerists are generally always going to be slinging Fire Bolt, using their cannon in hairier fights. The fact that you can easily match most heavy-armor characters in AC during the early game (Enhanced Defense really is da bomb) while still fighting from a distance gives you a lot of leeway. If you're a warforged who can create or obtain a wand sheath, or if your DM allows artificers with prosthetic arms to mount warforged-only stuff to those arms, it's a huge benefit. Not to mention just a cool aesthetic. Arm Cannon it up.
Please do not contact or message me.
I prefer Ray of Frost to Fire Bolt when they’re in range for it. The debuff outweighs the slightly better damage if they are already that close. Just my 2cp
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The problem with Acid Splash is that I don't think that the extra damage artillerists get applies to it. I really like it though, and it is very satisfying to hit two creatures with one cantrip.
Edit: Never mind, the extra damage does work.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
...okay. I can't follow the Magic Sling thing. Somebody break that one down for me, because I have no idea what they're going on about.
Please do not contact or message me.
I think they are trying to say that you put Repeating Shot on the sling, which is also somehow an advanced focus, and then you use it to chuck Magic Stone (s).
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
Except Repeating shot doesn’t work with Magic Stone, and you cannot infuse a Sling with Enhanced Focus, and you cannot infuse anything twice.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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Content Troubleshooting
All true. That is why I was confused about this as well, I was just trying to show what I thought they were trying to say.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
My Hobgoblin Artillerist has turned out to be the Party Healer.
He just doesn't want until after anyone gets hurt, to do his healing. Seriously, the Protector version of the Eldritch Cannon is just silly-good. It's almost OP, in my opinion. 1d8+3 (with his 17 Intelligence) temporary hitpoints, every round, for up to an hour? YES, PLEASE. (Before you say it - I know they don't stack. But, if you only get hit once per round, odds are you won't lose more than 1 or 2 actual hitpoints ... and then the TempHP get filled right back up.)
We haven't needed healing magics for ourselves, nor any short rests to spend HD, for a couple levels, now. :)
This works especially well when paired with the Arcane Firearm which adds a d8 to the cantrip's damage anyway.
Bark side up, bark side down, it really, truly does not matter.
I know it's been a year, but here is the interaction.
Infuse an enhanced focus and make it your arcane firearm. Infuse your sling with repeating shot.
Enhanced Focus(EF): Holding it offers +1 (+2 at lvl 10) to spell attack rolls.
Arcane Firearm(AF): Adds a d8 to one of a spells damage rolls.
Repeating Shot(RS): Grants +1 to attack and damage when it's used to make a ranged attack.
Use AF/EF to cast Magic Stone. Load stone into RS sling and fire away. Because you are holding the focus, you get +1(2) to attack and because you fired it from the sling you get +1 to attack for a total of +2(3) to attack and +1 to damage. Then when you roll damage on the first hit, add the d8 as extra damage.
So while checking out the forums I happened to see that this thread was still floating around!
Since I've been playing my gnomish Artillerist for a while, I figure I'd add some notes about things I found.
1. Get/Craft a wand of magic missile as soon as possible. As an artillerist you want to sling spells but you don't have the spell progression or resources to really do it effectively. The Wand of Magic Missiles lets you spell blast like a full caster, giving you essentially access to 3rd level spell casting (or higher depending on your DM) at about the same time when they are required with the obvious limitation of it being only on MM. Wand of Fireball also works at higher levels, but due to the attunement restriction it can be a bit hard to balance.
2. Pay attention to your spell components (Verbal/Somatic/Material), your physical shield, and the Arcane Firearm. There's a lot more juggling here than at first glance. The Arcane Firearm essentially adds a "Material" component to any damaging spell that didn't already have one, and in exchange adds d8 damage to the spell. Not a terrible deal in most cases, but if you have a shield equipped and the spell has a Somatic Component you may find your self with not enough hands to cast the Somatic component and hold the arcane firearm to actually fire the spell through. Though even if you drop the shield. you're still a ranged character with 16 ac and Shield as a reaction. So I wouldnt worry about it too much or bother getting War caster.3. Though it may be obvious to anyone who actually reads their abilities, I spent many months not realizing that my Eldritch Cannon had a duration of one hour. Once I started using it properly it certainly added an extra crimp of not necessarily starting out with my bonus action force balista up and running.
4. Now this one, take it or leave it, but my artillerist is far more of a Rogue-replacement than I originally expected. The combination of infusions that help with Stealth + gloves of thievery + expertise with thieves tools + high intelligence for Investigation checks and a respectable dexterity due to medium armor made me quite capable of filling out that role. I found my self playing the character is much the same fashion I would an Arcane Trickster, where as with the Trickster I was a rogue adding some spell casting, in this case I was a spell caster adding in some sneakiness. The end result worked basically the same and I found myself casting spells like Invisibility or Spider Climb far more often than I originally intended. Especially since I found my offense to mostly come from the Wand of Magic Missiles or Cantrip slinging.
Currently, I'm level 10, which means I am on the cusp of getting to Spell Storing Item Shenanigans. So I'll be looking forward to that in the near future.
Overall, The Artillerist as a sort of 'wand-slinger' seems to be working out well for me thus far, he's pretty versatile and I can generally have some trick up my sleeve since most of my offensive capabilities are covered by my 'always known' spells and additional offensive items.
I just did a bit of research and it seems you are correct. I am having a massive brain fart in my capacity to visualize this process of doing complicated somatic gestures while holding an object, but that doesn't change the rulings.
What about the all-purpose tool? Anyway to square that and the arcane firearm without one in each hand? Maybe I missed something there too.
Some have wondered the same thing..... one solution is at lvl 14, you could create a wand sheath and have the APT take the shape of a wand? You would probably need to get DM approval on this though...