I am trying to make a warforged circle of the moon druid frontline tank. I want to focus on wild shaping because I want to try and be an intimidating metal/wood monster: kind of like the Horizon Zero Dawn creatures.
I could use some help in making it more tanky?
I thought about dipping into artificer artillerist for 3 lvls to get the cannon and attach it to my back for some ranged dps while in wild shape for a bonus action. This also fits the idea of some of the ranged attack abilities of the larger metal beasts like the ravager. imagine a giant eagle flying around shooting a cannon doing 2d8 force dmg from 120 ft away.
I know of taking 3 lvls in beast totem barbarian but is there a better option?
I have heard of dipping into warlock, but is that worth it?
What do you mean by more tanky? Because it sounds like you are looking at higher DPR vs. higher AC.
If you want higher AC while in Beast form, you could dip a level or two in Monk to get the Unarmored Defense that will scale off of your Wis and Dex. Barbarian will get you Unarmored Defense too, but that scales off of your Dex and Con. So you should make this decision on which is higher: Wis or Con.
Barbarian will allow you to rage while in Beast form, Monk will let you Flurry of Blows with your bonus action (Beasts don't typically get bonus actions) as long as you don't use Multi-attack. As a Monk, you can also Dodge as a bonus action, which makes every attack against you have disadvantage. You will also have +10 movement speed as a Monk.
If you are willing to commit to a three level dip, nothing is really quite as good as a Bear Totem Barbarian for tanking. But if you only want a two level dip, I think Monk fits the bill. PLUS: you need 13 Str for the Barb, so if your Str is low, you can't even do it. You need 13 Wis and 13 Dex for a Monk, but your Wis should be your highest, and Dex should be your 2nd or 3rd. Druids don't get much from Str.
I am trying to make a warforged circle of the moon druid frontline tank. I want to focus on wild shaping because I want to try and be an intimidating metal/wood monster: kind of like the Horizon Zero Dawn creatures.
I could use some help in making it more tanky?
I thought about dipping into artificer artillerist for 3 lvls to get the cannon and attach it to my back for some ranged dps while in wild shape for a bonus action. This also fits the idea of some of the ranged attack abilities of the larger metal beasts like the ravager. imagine a giant eagle flying around shooting a cannon doing 2d8 force dmg from 120 ft away.
I know of taking 3 lvls in beast totem barbarian but is there a better option?
I have heard of dipping into warlock, but is that worth it?
Barbarian dips are good to make you better offensively, by using Reckless Attack (most wild shapes have genuinely atrocious accuracy). A small number of Barbarian levels won't give you enough rages to do a lot with. If you want to be better defensively, Monk and Bladesinger are both excellent options. You could absolutely tack on Artillerist, but you'd probably want the THP cannon.
If you want higher AC while in Beast form, you could dip a level or two in Monk to get the Unarmored Defense that will scale off of your Wis and Dex. Barbarian will get you Unarmored Defense too, but that scales off of your Dex and Con. So you should make this decision on which is higher: Wis or Con.
Barbarian will allow you to rage while in Beast form, Monk will let you Flurry of Blows with your bonus action (Beasts don't typically get bonus actions) as long as you don't use Multi-attack. As a Monk, you can also Dodge as a bonus action, which makes every attack against you have disadvantage. You will also have +10 movement speed as a Monk.
I didn't even think of going monk, that actually does look like a good idea.
If you want to be better defensively, Monk and Bladesinger are both excellent options. You could absolutely tack on Artillerist, but you'd probably want the THP cannon.
I will look into bladesinger, but I don't want to dip to much because then my wildshape becomes weaker.
What do you mean by the THP cannon?
I was thinking of taking the force ballista for decent ranged wpn that would allow me to move and attack with a bonus action.
The only things that a dip in Warlock would get you would be medium armor, which is useless in Beast form, and the Mage Armor invocation. But you would have to get to level 2 for that, and I think most Beasts will get that level of AC anyway. You would get more spell slots, which are not that useful for a Moon Druid, and you would be more MAD, needing Wis, Con, Dex, andCha.
The only things that a dip in Warlock would get you would be medium armor, which is useless in Beast form, and the Mage Armor invocation. But you would have to get to level 2 for that, and I think most Beasts will get that level of AC anyway. You would get more spell slots, which are not that useful for a Moon Druid, and you would be more MAD, needing Wis, Con, Dex, andCha.
the two invocations I was thinking was darkvision and the mage armor. Does mage armor not add on to the AC of your wildshape? Also the armor of Agathys spell I read was also good addition to the wildshape.
Is there a way to get higher CR wildshapes, or are you stuck at the max CR lvl of 6 if I go straight druid?
If not, then I think I will dip in artillerist for 3 lvls, and monk for 2-3 and the rest moon druid.
The only things that a dip in Warlock would get you would be medium armor, which is useless in Beast form, and the Mage Armor invocation. But you would have to get to level 2 for that, and I think most Beasts will get that level of AC anyway. You would get more spell slots, which are not that useful for a Moon Druid, and you would be more MAD, needing Wis, Con, Dex, andCha.
the two invocations I was thinking was darkvision and the mage armor. Does mage armor not add on to the AC of your wildshape? Also the armor of Agathys spell I read was also good addition to the wildshape.
Is there a way to get higher CR wildshapes, or are you stuck at the max CR lvl of 6 if I go straight druid?
If not, then I think I will dip in artillerist for 3 lvls, and monk for 2-3 and the rest moon druid.
Mage Armor does not necessarily increase your AC, it just makes it 13 + Dex. Which, upon investigating, is better than most CR 1 creatures. Armor of Agathys would also apply to your Beast form, but does not increase your AC, just gives you 5 temp HP and some bonus damage to melee attackers. It is nice that it is not a concentration spell, and lasts 1 hour, which would allow you to cast a concentration spell before Wild Shaping.
Your CR for Wild Shape caps out at 6, but at level 10 you can also take an elemental form (CR 5). If you are playing all the way to 20, the Archdruid capstone ability is top notch: you can Wild Shape an unlimited number of times and cast any spell (without a material cost) while in Wild Shape. With a Moon Druid, you can bonus action Wild Shape and then cast a spell, giving you a virtually unlimited pool of HP and making you the single tankiest caster in the whole D&D world!
I am trying to make a warforged circle of the moon druid frontline tank. I want to focus on wild shaping because I want to try and be an intimidating metal/wood monster: kind of like the Horizon Zero Dawn creatures.
I could use some help in making it more tanky?
I thought about dipping into artificer artillerist for 3 lvls to get the cannon and attach it to my back for some ranged dps while in wild shape for a bonus action. This also fits the idea of some of the ranged attack abilities of the larger metal beasts like the ravager. imagine a giant eagle flying around shooting a cannon doing 2d8 force dmg from 120 ft away.
I know of taking 3 lvls in beast totem barbarian but is there a better option?
I have heard of dipping into warlock, but is that worth it?
What do you mean by more tanky? Because it sounds like you are looking at higher DPR vs. higher AC.
If you want higher AC while in Beast form, you could dip a level or two in Monk to get the Unarmored Defense that will scale off of your Wis and Dex. Barbarian will get you Unarmored Defense too, but that scales off of your Dex and Con. So you should make this decision on which is higher: Wis or Con.
Barbarian will allow you to rage while in Beast form, Monk will let you Flurry of Blows with your bonus action (Beasts don't typically get bonus actions) as long as you don't use Multi-attack. As a Monk, you can also Dodge as a bonus action, which makes every attack against you have disadvantage. You will also have +10 movement speed as a Monk.
If you are willing to commit to a three level dip, nothing is really quite as good as a Bear Totem Barbarian for tanking. But if you only want a two level dip, I think Monk fits the bill. PLUS: you need 13 Str for the Barb, so if your Str is low, you can't even do it. You need 13 Wis and 13 Dex for a Monk, but your Wis should be your highest, and Dex should be your 2nd or 3rd. Druids don't get much from Str.
Barbarian dips are good to make you better offensively, by using Reckless Attack (most wild shapes have genuinely atrocious accuracy). A small number of Barbarian levels won't give you enough rages to do a lot with. If you want to be better defensively, Monk and Bladesinger are both excellent options. You could absolutely tack on Artillerist, but you'd probably want the THP cannon.
I wanted to be a heavy front liner that can take the hits. This will be for a small party of maybe 4 people.
I didn't even think of going monk, that actually does look like a good idea.
I will look into bladesinger, but I don't want to dip to much because then my wildshape becomes weaker.
What do you mean by the THP cannon?
I was thinking of taking the force ballista for decent ranged wpn that would allow me to move and attack with a bonus action.
Is a dip in warlock any good?
The only things that a dip in Warlock would get you would be medium armor, which is useless in Beast form, and the Mage Armor invocation. But you would have to get to level 2 for that, and I think most Beasts will get that level of AC anyway. You would get more spell slots, which are not that useful for a Moon Druid, and you would be more MAD, needing Wis, Con, Dex, and Cha.
the two invocations I was thinking was darkvision and the mage armor. Does mage armor not add on to the AC of your wildshape? Also the armor of Agathys spell I read was also good addition to the wildshape.
Is there a way to get higher CR wildshapes, or are you stuck at the max CR lvl of 6 if I go straight druid?
If not, then I think I will dip in artillerist for 3 lvls, and monk for 2-3 and the rest moon druid.
Mage Armor does not necessarily increase your AC, it just makes it 13 + Dex. Which, upon investigating, is better than most CR 1 creatures. Armor of Agathys would also apply to your Beast form, but does not increase your AC, just gives you 5 temp HP and some bonus damage to melee attackers. It is nice that it is not a concentration spell, and lasts 1 hour, which would allow you to cast a concentration spell before Wild Shaping.
Your CR for Wild Shape caps out at 6, but at level 10 you can also take an elemental form (CR 5). If you are playing all the way to 20, the Archdruid capstone ability is top notch: you can Wild Shape an unlimited number of times and cast any spell (without a material cost) while in Wild Shape. With a Moon Druid, you can bonus action Wild Shape and then cast a spell, giving you a virtually unlimited pool of HP and making you the single tankiest caster in the whole D&D world!
thankyou for the help.