So currently my Armorer Artificer is level 5, and was looking ahead to clear things with the DM about planning ahead for Armor Modifications and what infusions I'll be putting on and whatnot (Benevolent DM, he is pretty chill if you provide solid reasoning about stuff) But I don't see a way to apply "Power Armor" to a specific piece of equipment, which of course I assume is just something that hasn't been implemented yet due to Armorer being UA. Not to mention I was testing around with just a "Plate" armor piece to see if I could apply multiple infusions to it to allow for that "Armor Modification" feat to go in effect, which it doesn't seem to be allowing.
So my question is, am I doing something wrong in trying to apply the "Armor Modification" class feat, or is it just something that players will need to keep track of outside of DnDBeyond? Will there be implementations for Power Armor to be applied to specific pieces of equipment?
Now here's some things I've thought about in terms of suggestions for the Artificer class. Firstly: The Level 11 Artificer ability, while makes sense is a very underwhelming class feature. I'm sure neat tricks could be performed, but a better option I feel is available. Make the level 11 artificer ability to allow the Artificer to add infusions onto magical items. Here's my reasoning for this suggested change: Almost every class has a fairly balanced beginning (Maybe except paladin, but paladink is love) and scaling towards the end-game (1-20) To where their natural class and subclass features scale and allow for the flavor of the class and subclass to really show. While Artificer on the other hand, their flavor is a bit 'less' aside from getting more attunement slots and varying different perks from their subclass. While certainly fun and unique to play, it's for sure my favorite class even if it's not what could be considered most "optimal". BUT The thing I notice whenever I look at the future class features is: "6 Magic atunement slots? I got an idea what I want them to be, but what am I gonna spend my infusions on?" For example with the Armorer Subclass: If you make them into a melee / tank based artificer (Like my current artificer is) Then obviously the 'ideal' would be enchanted armor, enchanted shield, enchanted weapons, and various other bits like say a Belt of Giant's Strength or Ogre Gauntlets or other things that you'd typically seen worn by say a fighter. Or with the Artillerist, they'd want an enchanted crossbow, or gun, or bow, or anything else you'd see likely a ranger wearing.
So my concern is that the higher levels of artificer begin to make the beginning level class features null by the rule of disallowing 'magical' objects to be infused, which is part of the Artificer's kit. The other thing I've noticed and wanted to point out, then in the case of the Armorer Subclass, technically the 'Power Armor' could not be infused, since the moment the Artificer makes a Heavy Armor into the Power Armor, the Power Armor becomes "a conduit for your artificer magic." Which I'm interpreting as making it a "magical item" of sorts.
So continuing with my concern between the disparities between beginning levels and higher levels, this one change would allow the Artificer to scale better alongside of the rest of the classes instead of having to make a choice between: "Do I keep mundane items from level 1-20, or do I just try to find and take magical items and use less 'useful' infusions which are either going to double up with magical items you will likely already have, or just be something typically used for a bit of roleplay.
I understand Artificer is new and will likely have some changes, and that Armorer is Still UA, but I feel these changes would create a better dynamic for both DM's and Players.
As it's still in UA, some things aren't particularly well implemented and required some hackery. The easiest way is to create infusion on a new item that suits, and use customise to rename it to the correct item type (e.g. a helm instead of a cloak), along with adjusting the weight. To infuse the weapon, I customised the stock attack to add the bonuses, and created a customised laser rifle I didn't equip to keep track of the weapon infusion.
I couldn't disagree more about Spell Storing item. Up to 10 charges of L2 Cure Wounds on tap, which you can dispense via your homunculus servant? Give your NPC companion 10 charges of Shatter, making them the artillery? 10 charges of Web? L2 Catapult? Invisibility? Disguise Self? Aid? Enhance Ability? And you can change it every day to suit the mission? And you don't have to wield it but it gets your spellcasting modifier? And you don't need to have that spell prepared?
It's an amazingly versatile ability.
My 12th level Armourer is in a relatively high magic setting, he has loads of Uncommon items, and his infusions still have a place.
I misread the level 11 ability, I'll admit that. I didn't see the part of the "twice the intelligence modifier." But I still stand by my point that higher levels need to allow infusions on magic items.
I misread the level 11 ability, I'll admit that. I didn't see the part of the "twice the intelligence modifier." But I still stand by my point that higher levels need to allow infusions on magic items.
Allowing Artificers to get benefits out of magical items others can't seems apt, but that ship has sailed, I think. It would have potentially unbalancing combinations, too.
Better, more in-depth crafting rules would be a good alternative, this time written with artificers in mind (DMG and XGTE crafting rules are pre-Artificer).
The trick with Armorer is to make yourself an annoying briar, you won't put out much damage but you will warp combat around yourself in a way that will frustrate your DM so make sure you talk with them before you look too far forward.
For example by level 12 as a Guardian Armorer you should have a static AC of 23 (Plate Mail, Shield, Enhance Armor, Repulsion Shield) or an effective 28 once Shield is cast. At this same level you should have Winged Boots and Gauntlets of Ogre Power which make combat maneuvers to neutralize you less effective. Add in a little thematic Vine Whip and you're a nightmare for DMs in any tactical situation.
So look for things that can narrow or slow down the bad guys getting past you, a Web Spell on your Spell Storing Item is a great idea. Then give it to the Rogue, because what else are they going to need to concentrate on? If you don't need your ASI for Int at level 12 consider picking up Magic Initiate (Wizard) to get Booming Blade which will help prevent bad guys from getting past you.
Lastly consider that you'll probably need to start making a BUNCH of Dex, Wis, and Cha saves since those are the ways your DM will want to challenge you.
As for the D&D Beyond toolset it is poorly optimized for Artificers in general, much less UA content like Armorer. The only item that really creates a barrier though is Helm of Awareness which you cannot get the toolset to infuse right now.
Up to 10 charges of L2 Cure Wounds on tap, which you can dispense via your homunculus servant? ........ L2 Catapult?
I don't believe we can put upcasted versions of spells into the SSI. 2 reasons:
Any spell that has the 'At Higher Levels...' ability uses the wording 'When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher...' (or similar) in order to access the higher level versions of the spell. No spell slots are expended when putting a spell into the SSI, so we can't use the upcasting feature of the spell.
The wording on the feature itself is '...choosing a 1st or 2nd level spell from the artificer spell list'. On the class' spell list, Cure Wounds, Catapult etc. are 1st level spells only, there aren't further entries for 2nd, 3rd, ... 9th level versions.
I misread the level 11 ability, I'll admit that. I didn't see the part of the "twice the intelligence modifier." But I still stand by my point that higher levels need to allow infusions on magic items.
Allowing Artificers to get benefits out of magical items others can't seems apt,
But Artificers can give their infusions to other players. So if you got a spare infusion, you could easily just give repeating shot to the hungry crossbow ranger / rogue or the Bad News wielding gunslinger who wants to do all the deeps, or giving the barbarian returning weapon on their favorite javelin, etc. Being able to infuse magical items not only helps just the artificer, but other players in the game. Granted sure, Armorer isn't a massive damage dealer but I think it's a bit redundant for a class that literally gives you more attunement slots to magical items to not allow you to enhance them. (Granted I'm sure not every artificer would be so kind to help their party, but the thought and ability is there) On the other hand, I've learned a fair amount from this thread, I appreciate all the responses.
Almost every class has a fairly balanced beginning (Maybe except paladin, but paladink is love) and scaling towards the end-game (1-20) To where their natural class and subclass features scale and allow for the flavor of the class and subclass to really show.
That is not true. The classes (and sub- classes) are nowhere near fairly balanced 1-20. Any reasonable examination will show that many are front loaded and others are back loaded. Most Sorcerers have a much harder time of it than other classes until level 6.
Most of the subclasses can easily be distinguished between those with great low level abilitlies and those with great high level abilities. Wizards for example have War Mage, a front loaded, and Illusionist, a back loaded.
So currently my Armorer Artificer is level 5, and was looking ahead to clear things with the DM about planning ahead for Armor Modifications and what infusions I'll be putting on and whatnot (Benevolent DM, he is pretty chill if you provide solid reasoning about stuff) But I don't see a way to apply "Power Armor" to a specific piece of equipment, which of course I assume is just something that hasn't been implemented yet due to Armorer being UA. Not to mention I was testing around with just a "Plate" armor piece to see if I could apply multiple infusions to it to allow for that "Armor Modification" feat to go in effect, which it doesn't seem to be allowing.
So my question is, am I doing something wrong in trying to apply the "Armor Modification" class feat, or is it just something that players will need to keep track of outside of DnDBeyond?
Will there be implementations for Power Armor to be applied to specific pieces of equipment?
Now here's some things I've thought about in terms of suggestions for the Artificer class.
Firstly: The Level 11 Artificer ability, while makes sense is a very underwhelming class feature. I'm sure neat tricks could be performed, but a better option I feel is available. Make the level 11 artificer ability to allow the Artificer to add infusions onto magical items.
Here's my reasoning for this suggested change: Almost every class has a fairly balanced beginning (Maybe except paladin, but paladink is love) and scaling towards the end-game (1-20) To where their natural class and subclass features scale and allow for the flavor of the class and subclass to really show. While Artificer on the other hand, their flavor is a bit 'less' aside from getting more attunement slots and varying different perks from their subclass. While certainly fun and unique to play, it's for sure my favorite class even if it's not what could be considered most "optimal".
BUT The thing I notice whenever I look at the future class features is: "6 Magic atunement slots? I got an idea what I want them to be, but what am I gonna spend my infusions on?"
For example with the Armorer Subclass: If you make them into a melee / tank based artificer (Like my current artificer is) Then obviously the 'ideal' would be enchanted armor, enchanted shield, enchanted weapons, and various other bits like say a Belt of Giant's Strength or Ogre Gauntlets or other things that you'd typically seen worn by say a fighter. Or with the Artillerist, they'd want an enchanted crossbow, or gun, or bow, or anything else you'd see likely a ranger wearing.
So my concern is that the higher levels of artificer begin to make the beginning level class features null by the rule of disallowing 'magical' objects to be infused, which is part of the Artificer's kit.
The other thing I've noticed and wanted to point out, then in the case of the Armorer Subclass, technically the 'Power Armor' could not be infused, since the moment the Artificer makes a Heavy Armor into the Power Armor, the Power Armor becomes "a conduit for your artificer magic." Which I'm interpreting as making it a "magical item" of sorts.
So continuing with my concern between the disparities between beginning levels and higher levels, this one change would allow the Artificer to scale better alongside of the rest of the classes instead of having to make a choice between: "Do I keep mundane items from level 1-20, or do I just try to find and take magical items and use less 'useful' infusions which are either going to double up with magical items you will likely already have, or just be something typically used for a bit of roleplay.
I understand Artificer is new and will likely have some changes, and that Armorer is Still UA, but I feel these changes would create a better dynamic for both DM's and Players.
As it's still in UA, some things aren't particularly well implemented and required some hackery. The easiest way is to create infusion on a new item that suits, and use customise to rename it to the correct item type (e.g. a helm instead of a cloak), along with adjusting the weight. To infuse the weapon, I customised the stock attack to add the bonuses, and created a customised laser rifle I didn't equip to keep track of the weapon infusion.
I couldn't disagree more about Spell Storing item. Up to 10 charges of L2 Cure Wounds on tap, which you can dispense via your homunculus servant? Give your NPC companion 10 charges of Shatter, making them the artillery? 10 charges of Web? L2 Catapult? Invisibility? Disguise Self? Aid? Enhance Ability? And you can change it every day to suit the mission? And you don't have to wield it but it gets your spellcasting modifier? And you don't need to have that spell prepared?
It's an amazingly versatile ability.
My 12th level Armourer is in a relatively high magic setting, he has loads of Uncommon items, and his infusions still have a place.
I misread the level 11 ability, I'll admit that. I didn't see the part of the "twice the intelligence modifier." But I still stand by my point that higher levels need to allow infusions on magic items.
Allowing Artificers to get benefits out of magical items others can't seems apt, but that ship has sailed, I think. It would have potentially unbalancing combinations, too.
Better, more in-depth crafting rules would be a good alternative, this time written with artificers in mind (DMG and XGTE crafting rules are pre-Artificer).
The trick with Armorer is to make yourself an annoying briar, you won't put out much damage but you will warp combat around yourself in a way that will frustrate your DM so make sure you talk with them before you look too far forward.
For example by level 12 as a Guardian Armorer you should have a static AC of 23 (Plate Mail, Shield, Enhance Armor, Repulsion Shield) or an effective 28 once Shield is cast. At this same level you should have Winged Boots and Gauntlets of Ogre Power which make combat maneuvers to neutralize you less effective. Add in a little thematic Vine Whip and you're a nightmare for DMs in any tactical situation.
So look for things that can narrow or slow down the bad guys getting past you, a Web Spell on your Spell Storing Item is a great idea. Then give it to the Rogue, because what else are they going to need to concentrate on? If you don't need your ASI for Int at level 12 consider picking up Magic Initiate (Wizard) to get Booming Blade which will help prevent bad guys from getting past you.
Lastly consider that you'll probably need to start making a BUNCH of Dex, Wis, and Cha saves since those are the ways your DM will want to challenge you.
As for the D&D Beyond toolset it is poorly optimized for Artificers in general, much less UA content like Armorer. The only item that really creates a barrier though is Helm of Awareness which you cannot get the toolset to infuse right now.
I don't believe we can put upcasted versions of spells into the SSI. 2 reasons:
But Artificers can give their infusions to other players. So if you got a spare infusion, you could easily just give repeating shot to the hungry crossbow ranger / rogue or the Bad News wielding gunslinger who wants to do all the deeps, or giving the barbarian returning weapon on their favorite javelin, etc. Being able to infuse magical items not only helps just the artificer, but other players in the game. Granted sure, Armorer isn't a massive damage dealer but I think it's a bit redundant for a class that literally gives you more attunement slots to magical items to not allow you to enhance them. (Granted I'm sure not every artificer would be so kind to help their party, but the thought and ability is there) On the other hand, I've learned a fair amount from this thread, I appreciate all the responses.
That is not true. The classes (and sub- classes) are nowhere near fairly balanced 1-20. Any reasonable examination will show that many are front loaded and others are back loaded. Most Sorcerers have a much harder time of it than other classes until level 6.
Most of the subclasses can easily be distinguished between those with great low level abilitlies and those with great high level abilities. Wizards for example have War Mage, a front loaded, and Illusionist, a back loaded.