I have recently been made aware of Arcane Deflection (I thought War Magic only got Tactical Wit, so I overlooked the subclass as a whole).
Having an unlimited use 1/round +2 AC/+4 Save at the cost of not being able to cast leveled spells next turn sounds really good on a martial. What multiclass (Wizard 2 or 3/Other Class X) would best be able to make use of this substantial boost to defenses?
I see no reason to go Sorcerer over pure Wizard, but some other caster subclasses might be able to benefit from this, so I'm keeping them in the poll. A lot of Martials/Half-Casters don't use leveled spells often in the first place, and would be taking attacks often. They also would probably like the utility of rituals, a familiar, and some cantrips. What classes work best with a few levels of War Wizard?
I think that the may problem with most of the classes that would really like to go with that dip is that not many of them want more than 10 intelligence. The fact that Arcane Deflection only affects the attack or spell that triggers it is also a limiting factor. An EK may make use of it if it is leaning into tanking and wanting something to bump it's spell slot progression and give them something to use when Shield is impractical or not available.
Anything weak on mental saves like a barbarian could use it to great effect, particularly if they aren't PAM/Sentinel oriented or have a great use for their reaction aside from OAs. To get a 13 intelligence to multi into wizard and barbarian while also getting strength, dexterity, and constitution to acceptable levels (even without going unarmored defense) and keeping wisdom out of the gutter just isn't practical without rolling stats.
Any class that has a great use for their reaction, or any marital with a strong attack and a DM that provokes OAs on the regular, or any character that gains a great reaction through a feat will likely avoid the option.
I play a Gnome War Wizard with an Artificer Dip for the low level utility and support spells. I actually don't think I've ever used Arcane Deflection. Maybe because my character is small and tends to snipe things at long range, but I don't get to get targeted by enemies.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
My thought process goes immediately to Eldritch Knight fighter. EK gets a lot of benefits from even a single level dip into Wizard... for one, they get access to both a spellbook and ritual casting. There are a LOT of first level utility ritual spells, and an EK gets relatively few spell slots. Getting the option to scribe spells opens them up a lot for utility that EK doesn't normally allow. You also get 3 additional Wizard Cantrips which, again, really compensates for the features the class is lacking in.
Unless they get a weapon or shield that allows them to use it as an Arcane Focus, an EK basically can't use a shield, since they need to have a hand free for Somatic and Material spellcasting. So Arcane Deflection allows an EK to temporarily boost their defense to the equivalent of carrying a shield... although in that sense it's not nearly as good as just casting the Shield Spell, but then again... Shield costs a spell slot. What's potentially more useful is that it's a nice +4 to keep in your back pocket for saving throws, especially the CON saving throws you might have to make to keep up concentration. Tactical Wit, to give you an INT boost in your initiative, is just a nice cherry on top.
A lot of these same pieces of advice also apply to Arcane Trickster rogue. An AT, in theory, will probably be avoiding the front line as much as possible and is likely to not get as much use out of Arcane Deflection as an EK, but maybe it is ultimately more valuable as an emergency rescue button for a class that isn't right up in the front lines than as something for a front line fighter to rely on regularly.
I think it feel weird to pull off, but arcane deflection could great on a paladin. The aura of protection at 6th level giving charisma to all saves could stack with arcane deflection on some nasty saving throws. Especially since it’s an increase by a static number vs advantage, since advantage doesn’t actually raise your minimum or maximum roll potential.
a paladin wouldn’t be quite as hindered by the spellcasting restriction since they could divine smite with extra attack if necessary.
the wizard dip gives access to some nice ritual casting, arcane recovery for a smite or bless, and two primary caster levels for a slightly more slots.
Seems like it would possibly be a useful dip for a class that is primarily spamming Cantrip spells already, such as a Warlock. Maybe a dip into Sorcerer for Quicken Spell as well. There are probably ways to just maximize spamming Eldritch Blast or Booming Blade and have the option of some leveled buff spells pre combat. *shrug*
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I have recently been made aware of Arcane Deflection (I thought War Magic only got Tactical Wit, so I overlooked the subclass as a whole).
Having an unlimited use 1/round +2 AC/+4 Save at the cost of not being able to cast leveled spells next turn sounds really good on a martial. What multiclass (Wizard 2 or 3/Other Class X) would best be able to make use of this substantial boost to defenses?
I see no reason to go Sorcerer over pure Wizard, but some other caster subclasses might be able to benefit from this, so I'm keeping them in the poll. A lot of Martials/Half-Casters don't use leveled spells often in the first place, and would be taking attacks often. They also would probably like the utility of rituals, a familiar, and some cantrips. What classes work best with a few levels of War Wizard?
I think that the may problem with most of the classes that would really like to go with that dip is that not many of them want more than 10 intelligence. The fact that Arcane Deflection only affects the attack or spell that triggers it is also a limiting factor. An EK may make use of it if it is leaning into tanking and wanting something to bump it's spell slot progression and give them something to use when Shield is impractical or not available.
Anything weak on mental saves like a barbarian could use it to great effect, particularly if they aren't PAM/Sentinel oriented or have a great use for their reaction aside from OAs. To get a 13 intelligence to multi into wizard and barbarian while also getting strength, dexterity, and constitution to acceptable levels (even without going unarmored defense) and keeping wisdom out of the gutter just isn't practical without rolling stats.
Any class that has a great use for their reaction, or any marital with a strong attack and a DM that provokes OAs on the regular, or any character that gains a great reaction through a feat will likely avoid the option.
I play a Gnome War Wizard with an Artificer Dip for the low level utility and support spells. I actually don't think I've ever used Arcane Deflection. Maybe because my character is small and tends to snipe things at long range, but I don't get to get targeted by enemies.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
My thought process goes immediately to Eldritch Knight fighter. EK gets a lot of benefits from even a single level dip into Wizard... for one, they get access to both a spellbook and ritual casting. There are a LOT of first level utility ritual spells, and an EK gets relatively few spell slots. Getting the option to scribe spells opens them up a lot for utility that EK doesn't normally allow. You also get 3 additional Wizard Cantrips which, again, really compensates for the features the class is lacking in.
Unless they get a weapon or shield that allows them to use it as an Arcane Focus, an EK basically can't use a shield, since they need to have a hand free for Somatic and Material spellcasting. So Arcane Deflection allows an EK to temporarily boost their defense to the equivalent of carrying a shield... although in that sense it's not nearly as good as just casting the Shield Spell, but then again... Shield costs a spell slot. What's potentially more useful is that it's a nice +4 to keep in your back pocket for saving throws, especially the CON saving throws you might have to make to keep up concentration. Tactical Wit, to give you an INT boost in your initiative, is just a nice cherry on top.
A lot of these same pieces of advice also apply to Arcane Trickster rogue. An AT, in theory, will probably be avoiding the front line as much as possible and is likely to not get as much use out of Arcane Deflection as an EK, but maybe it is ultimately more valuable as an emergency rescue button for a class that isn't right up in the front lines than as something for a front line fighter to rely on regularly.
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I think it feel weird to pull off, but arcane deflection could great on a paladin. The aura of protection at 6th level giving charisma to all saves could stack with arcane deflection on some nasty saving throws. Especially since it’s an increase by a static number vs advantage, since advantage doesn’t actually raise your minimum or maximum roll potential.
a paladin wouldn’t be quite as hindered by the spellcasting restriction since they could divine smite with extra attack if necessary.
the wizard dip gives access to some nice ritual casting, arcane recovery for a smite or bless, and two primary caster levels for a slightly more slots.
Seems like it would possibly be a useful dip for a class that is primarily spamming Cantrip spells already, such as a Warlock.
Maybe a dip into Sorcerer for Quicken Spell as well.
There are probably ways to just maximize spamming Eldritch Blast or Booming Blade and have the option of some leveled buff spells pre combat.
*shrug*