I read the Keith Baker piece. While I appreciate his thoughts on the subject, I'm afraid it just doesn't sell it for me, especially when it comes to the Alchemist. While I can see the rest of the base class and the Artillarist subclass needing only a little tweaking, with the Alchemist subclass all I can do is look at it and think "Thanks...I hate it."
I'm trying to compile my thoughts on a separate document so I can look at them to see which ones are fair criticisms and which ones are just me griping, but I will be giving my thoughts out on the survey, and this will be the first time I've been actively looking to see when the survey comes out.
Personally I think it is "okay" to not like particular subclasses or classes. It is all preferences, really. I am not a fan of the monk class, at all, and really don't see myself ever playing one.
As far as the alchemist class is concerned, I feel as though they changed themes between the 2017 and 2019 version. With the 2017 version being a more traditional brewing chemicals alchemist and the 2019 being almost a Fullmetal alchemist dabbling in life magic theme.
I'd probably play the alchemist as a mad scientist more than a careful chemist, but perhaps there will be a chemist subclass that is inspired by the 2017 alchemist?
I really like the new Artificer. If it wasn't so bonus action heavy I would have my Blood Hunter multiclass into it. But I already have a bit of a bonus action bottle neck without new stuff haha.
I to be honest found the old Artificer a bit boring. I have seen people play Gunsmith but there wasn't much variety in the playstyle. Also I felt with gunsmith it made things awkward if a DM didn't have guns in their world. The new version gets rid of that problem as the turrets can just be "magic" :P. Also it just oozes RP potential. Lots of fun things and ideas you could do.
I expect some changes and I would like to see more archetypes. But I think this is a really strong basis to start with compared to the old version. This Artificer feels properly like a new class while dealing with a lot of the issues of the old version. I am looking forward to seeing where it goes and I hope I get a chance to play it soon :)
So depending on a GM's interpretation of "tapped by a creature", Magical Tinkering can be used to create a magical piece of ammunition that, when it "taps" the creature you shoot it triggers a recorded message that says "You've been shot by {So-and-So}, prepare to die!"
My GM has approved it because "Rule of Cool", granted you can't make too much ammunition like that (since the Magical Tinkering can only affect a number of items equal to your intelligence modifier), but I could see an Artificer create one ammunition for a particular villain of significance.
In fact that portion of Magical Tinkering feels like a sort "Magic Mouth Lite".
I read the Keith Baker piece. While I appreciate his thoughts on the subject, I'm afraid it just doesn't sell it for me, especially when it comes to the Alchemist. While I can see the rest of the base class and the Artillarist subclass needing only a little tweaking, with the Alchemist subclass all I can do is look at it and think "Thanks...I hate it."
I'm trying to compile my thoughts on a separate document so I can look at them to see which ones are fair criticisms and which ones are just me griping, but I will be giving my thoughts out on the survey, and this will be the first time I've been actively looking to see when the survey comes out.
Personally I think it is "okay" to not like particular subclasses or classes. It is all preferences, really. I am not a fan of the monk class, at all, and really don't see myself ever playing one.
As far as the alchemist class is concerned, I feel as though they changed themes between the 2017 and 2019 version. With the 2017 version being a more traditional brewing chemicals alchemist and the 2019 being almost a Fullmetal alchemist dabbling in life magic theme.
I'd probably play the alchemist as a mad scientist more than a careful chemist, but perhaps there will be a chemist subclass that is inspired by the 2017 alchemist?
I am not much into monks myself with one exception; a wood elf speedster monk barbarian with the Mobile & Magical initiate (Longstrider) feats. I've had a lot of fun with this character.
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Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I don't think Artificer should be a class at all. Its too closely related to wizards. I'm currently reading the Dreaming Dark and the artificer described there simply sounds like a wizard that can put magic into objects to delay/trigger the casting time. I think it should be a feat or background instead.
The whole cannon or homonculus thing is on track for the same issues the original ranger's beastmaster has.
I don't think Artificer should be a class at all. Its too closely related to wizards. I'm currently reading the Dreaming Dark and the artificer described there simply sounds like a wizard that can put magic into objects to delay/trigger the casting time. I think it should be a feat or background instead.
The whole cannon or homonculus thing is on track for the same issues the original ranger's beastmaster has.
I think it is way too expansive to merely be wizard subclass augmented by feats.
And I'm not sure the turret and homonculus falls into the same beastmaster trap. Excluding the psychological impact many players have with putting actual animals at risk, the biggest problem is the crippling action economy that forces the usage of the character's Action to allow the companion to do anything. The homonculus and turret circumvent this completely by utilizing the bonus action, instead. This considerably frees up the Artificer's action for spells or attacks.
Circling back to the psychological impact, the "cost" of the homonculus / turret being destroyed is not nearly as devastating as an animal companion. I know several of my players get severely uncomfortable when animals are at risk in game. With the homonculus and turret it is merely wait a long rest and / or expend another spell slot.
This artificer doesn't stop you from making a wizard guild artisan, but there arw some major hisyorical trappings of the artificer that are incompatible with a wizard build.
This is a support class that filla a role more similar to that of a cleric than a wizard. Since shoving this into cleric would be super awkward, it demands its its class.
They might have been able to squeeze it into rogue (and I'd love to see a tinker rogue) but it would still fall short of what the class name promises.
This new release is the first I've seen that really shows proper respect for it's heritage instead of trying to create something different with the same name.
The class definitely improved a lot compared to the last version we had. This one definitely plays more like a real inventor and enchanter. I really like the infusions ans i like it being a half caster that prepares spells. Fits really well with inventing.
To be honest... I see the subclasses as schools much like the wizard. So this class is a good mix of wizard and warlock. And this is what an artificer should be.
I had played gunsmith and really disliked it. It was nothing more then a rogue with a companion. And alchemist felt like it was just a bag of limited tricks with not much utility. This time it feels good and actually can help a group. It does feel support as it was back in 3rd, but it also can be a dps and thats what 5e is all about. Versatility... And this fits the bill !!!
Cant wait to try it out in my campaign as an npc.
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DM of two gaming groups. Likes to create stuff. Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games --> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
This artificer doesn't stop you from making a wizard guild artisan, but there arw some major hisyorical trappings of the artificer that are incompatible with a wizard build.
This is a support class that filla a role more similar to that of a cleric than a wizard. Since shoving this into cleric would be super awkward, it demands its its class.
They might have been able to squeeze it into rogue (and I'd love to see a tinker rogue) but it would still fall short of what the class name promises.
This new release is the first I've seen that really shows proper respect for it's heritage instead of trying to create something different with the same name.
Reading Lei behaves in the Dreaming Dark makes the artificer sound like a wizard that can delay a spell into an item. (I'm only 50% through book one so my impressions fall short.) Unfortunately, when reading about the Ebberon Artificer Lore in Wayfinder's, the artificer is missing a lot of details -Its either tied to House Cannith or briefly mentioned in Dakahnni, the Goblin Kingdom.
"Their Weapons are superior even to the artificers of House Cannith." - Other Races
"Now three barons jockey to fill the leadership vacuum: the alchemist Jorlanna of Fairhaven, weaponsmith Zorlan of Korth, and warforged innovator Merrix of Sharn. " - House Cannith
This artificer doesn't stop you from making a wizard guild artisan, but there arw some major hisyorical trappings of the artificer that are incompatible with a wizard build.
This is a support class that filla a role more similar to that of a cleric than a wizard. Since shoving this into cleric would be super awkward, it demands its its class.
They might have been able to squeeze it into rogue (and I'd love to see a tinker rogue) but it would still fall short of what the class name promises.
This new release is the first I've seen that really shows proper respect for it's heritage instead of trying to create something different with the same name.
Reading Lei behaves in the Dreaming Dark makes the artificer sound like a wizard that can delay a spell into an item. (I'm only 50% through book one so my impressions fall short.) Unfortunately, when reading about the Ebberon Artificer Lore in Wayfinder's, the artificer is missing a lot of details -Its either tied to House Cannith or briefly mentioned in Dakahnni, the Goblin Kingdom.
"Their Weapons are superior even to the artificers of House Cannith." - Other Races
"Now three barons jockey to fill the leadership vacuum: the alchemist Jorlanna of Fairhaven, weaponsmith Zorlan of Korth, and warforged innovator Merrix of Sharn. " - House Cannith
To understand the legacy and weight of the class (and really, why this process took so long) you need to dig into the 3.5 and 4e artificers. Neither perfectly fits in 5e, but this new one does a good job of modernizing an old classic.
This artificer doesn't stop you from making a wizard guild artisan, but there arw some major hisyorical trappings of the artificer that are incompatible with a wizard build.
This is a support class that filla a role more similar to that of a cleric than a wizard. Since shoving this into cleric would be super awkward, it demands its its class.
They might have been able to squeeze it into rogue (and I'd love to see a tinker rogue) but it would still fall short of what the class name promises.
This new release is the first I've seen that really shows proper respect for it's heritage instead of trying to create something different with the same name.
Reading Lei behaves in the Dreaming Dark makes the artificer sound like a wizard that can delay a spell into an item. (I'm only 50% through book one so my impressions fall short.) Unfortunately, when reading about the Ebberon Artificer Lore in Wayfinder's, the artificer is missing a lot of details -Its either tied to House Cannith or briefly mentioned in Dakahnni, the Goblin Kingdom.
"Their Weapons are superior even to the artificers of House Cannith." - Other Races
"Now three barons jockey to fill the leadership vacuum: the alchemist Jorlanna of Fairhaven, weaponsmith Zorlan of Korth, and warforged innovator Merrix of Sharn. " - House Cannith
To understand the legacy and weight of the class (and really, why this process took so long) you need to dig into the 3.5 and 4e artificers. Neither perfectly fits in 5e, but this new one does a good job of modernizing an old classic.
Basically the Artificer in 3.5 - where this all came from was a "wizard" with pally spell progression, armor and weapon abilities, and tons o crafting feats. tons of crafting feats. they were the magic item forges. The idea of "finally a class that can make magic items for our party without being de-leveled". Yea it had some spunk and some cool lore, but, really... thats all the base class was lol It wasn't until the Wand Adept came out you kinda had an option for "oh look, I don't have to be just be the party crafting mule".
The subclasses in this version really spice it up. Really pulling that "crafting hands" into things vs the broken damage of the previous one and the mundane of it all. And the "Infusions" really kinda play up the magic item aspect - considering how 5e treats magic items as optional (where the 3.5 cr maths required character wealth and assumed on the big 6 with that maths).
I can see where people might not like it.. but .. the artificer in play in the 3.5 era was pretty much was just a magic item farmer, lots of gripes on various sites about it being basically boring to play.. but tis what rose colored glasses do.. forget that aspect lol..
Clearly, you've missed the previous Artificer UA's, the companion you got from those wasn't making any beast master jealous. I might also suggest taking a look at the Lore Wizard UA for a perspective on what "unbalanced" is.
It's got a lot to work with thematically. If you're finding it's uninspired then in my opinion that's a lack of inspiration on the user's end. I'm very excited to get a character built, I've got a handful of ideas for one already in the works.
Just waiting for that handy DND Beyond integration so that I can cut the bookkeeping down to a minimum.
I think between 2017 and 2019 the core artificer lost its core concept, where before it had
Infusions for the selfless passing out magic items like a support bard
Superior attunement for the selfish and so Wonderous Invention is less constraining
Wonderous Invention for the artificer feel (very badly delivered)
Pets ... (No one liked)
Poor Subclass options (felt very rushed just push lots of numbers that scale every 2nd level)
Now the core artificer only kept
Cantrips
Infuse Item (which is a direct improvement on Wonderous Invention that is commended everywhere on the internet)
High level features no one cares about???
Subclass pets???
Better subclasses (but fail to refine the feeling of the Artificer with only 3 features one of which is a pet and one is a cantrip mod)
This leads me to champion the return of Infuse Magic and Superior Attunement as I think those along with Wonderous invention define being an Artificer.
I think I have an interesting way to reintroduce Infuse Magic that could open new build strategies that would compete with the Replicate Magic Item.
At the end of a Long Rest you can choose to sacrifice one of your Spell Slots to infuse it into an item. The item then inherits a Spell Slot of one higher than the sacrificed, and you choose a Spell from the Artificer Spell list of that level, which does not have to be on your prepared list. You can choose to give this item to one of your allies in which case it uses your Spell casting modifier but their concentration if required. This spell slot is lost at the end of your next Long Rest unless you again sacrifice a spell slot to recharge it.
If the Artificer chooses to act Selfish then he can keep these for himself and compete with Full casters for lower levels, at 5th level you could get 3rd level spell slots like other spell casters but at the cost of your 2nd level slots. (technically at 2nd level you could get 2nd level spell slots so maybe need a 3rd level minimum)
Otherwise you can choose to play the bard like role of passing out your Concentration spells to the Barbarians, building up the group rather than yourself. I think we need more roles with this kind of support flexibility besides focusing on Healing. (without that being the expected behavior with no selfish paths for those that prefer that way)
Personally, I feel that the designers did a good job. This class is a good mix of old and new. I think the Alchemist's homunculus is underrated. It's essentially a sturdier familiar, it doesn't have the benefit of giving free advantage on attacks but you have a greater amount of control over it and you can still use a bonus action for it to grant advantage with the help action. In my opinion the acid spittle is mostly flavor and has some niche uses, but the real charm of it is the 3/day abilities. They are very good and give you options to be "selfish" or helpful.
Expertise in all tools is pretty nifty, and the prepared spells they get offer a good deal of versatility.
They are using this version as Playtest material and I encourage those who doubt to give both subclasses a thorough unbiased try. They have given us some pretty good tools in the base chassis and both a supporting and offensive option that works surprisingly well. The turrets may need a bit of work to feel less vidya gamey but this is a solid update and really gets my imagination going.
I'd lke to see: Arcane Armament Starting at 5th level, you can attack twice, rather than once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn, but one of the attacks must be made with a magic weapon, the magic of which you use to propel the attack.
replaced with something like the Eldritch Knight's 7th level ability:
War Magic Beginning at 7th level, when you use your action to cast a cantrip, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.
Leave the name as Arcane Armaments but make it as follows:
Arcane Armaments Beginning at 5th level, when you use your action to either cast a cantrip or use a device created with one of the Artificer's abilities (not a weapon), you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.
I'd also like to see the 10th level ability
The Right Cantrip for the Job At 10th level, you gain the ability to make sure you have the right magical tool for a job. Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can replace one of the artificer cantrips you know with another cantrip from the artificer spell list.
changed to something like the following:
Master of Artifice At 10th level, you gain the ability to make sure you have the right magical tool for a job. Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can replace one of the artificer cantrips you know with another cantrip from the artificer spell list. In addition, you can now attune to up to a number of magic items equal to you Proficiency modifier at once. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to all saving throws per magic item you are currently attuned to.
Of course this would mean creating a new 20th level ability. Matbe the ability to create an artificial body, like a warforged or homunculus that you could transfer you essence (soul?) into. There are many possibilities, this was just off the top of my head.
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Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I'd lke to see: Leave the name as Arcane Armaments but make it as follows:
Arcane Armaments Beginning at 5th level, when you use your action to either cast a cantrip or use a device created with one of the Artificer's abilities (not a weapon), you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.
I'd also like to see the 10th level ability
Master of Artifice At 10th level, you gain the ability to make sure you have the right magical tool for a job. Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can replace one of the artificer cantrips you know with another cantrip from the artificer spell list. In addition, you can now attune to up to a number of magic items equal to you Proficiency modifier at once. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to all saving throws per magic item you are currently attuned to.
Hey, completely agree these two are up for change and rather out of place at the moment.
Only thing to point out is "Extra Attack" is quite different from "You can make a BA Attack", especially when Artillerist is such a BA dependent subclass, so may need to consider how to reword. (Also as other people point out better not to step on other classes toes) So I prefer the suggestion of subclasses deciding if to give Extra Attack or +Int to Cantrips (or maybe here the Alchemist could get Cantrip+BA Attack)
I also agree 10 level is the place for "You can now attune to more items" feature as 10 now seems weak (overloading flexibility of cantrips) however the saving throw bonus is not needed at this point, it makes for a nice capstone if separated but just seems tacked on if as above.
"The ability to create an artificial body" is already a good hook for a subclass no need to waste it on a non flexible core feature.
( Still keeping track for good ideas until the survey is up 0.o )
In the mean time, I've been working on adding the new Artificer to the HeroLab 5E Community Pacl (Unearthed Arcana at this time). I've been working on the Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron forever but have fallen way behind due to medical issues.
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Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I am enjoying the new playtest class. Perhaps additional subclasses would be nice. Either way how long should it be before we see it on the DnD Beyond for use.
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Personally I think it is "okay" to not like particular subclasses or classes. It is all preferences, really. I am not a fan of the monk class, at all, and really don't see myself ever playing one.
As far as the alchemist class is concerned, I feel as though they changed themes between the 2017 and 2019 version. With the 2017 version being a more traditional brewing chemicals alchemist and the 2019 being almost a Fullmetal alchemist dabbling in life magic theme.
I'd probably play the alchemist as a mad scientist more than a careful chemist, but perhaps there will be a chemist subclass that is inspired by the 2017 alchemist?
I really like the new Artificer. If it wasn't so bonus action heavy I would have my Blood Hunter multiclass into it. But I already have a bit of a bonus action bottle neck without new stuff haha.
I to be honest found the old Artificer a bit boring. I have seen people play Gunsmith but there wasn't much variety in the playstyle. Also I felt with gunsmith it made things awkward if a DM didn't have guns in their world. The new version gets rid of that problem as the turrets can just be "magic" :P. Also it just oozes RP potential. Lots of fun things and ideas you could do.
I expect some changes and I would like to see more archetypes. But I think this is a really strong basis to start with compared to the old version. This Artificer feels properly like a new class while dealing with a lot of the issues of the old version. I am looking forward to seeing where it goes and I hope I get a chance to play it soon :)
"Toss a coin to your [Insert class here]"
So depending on a GM's interpretation of "tapped by a creature", Magical Tinkering can be used to create a magical piece of ammunition that, when it "taps" the creature you shoot it triggers a recorded message that says "You've been shot by {So-and-So}, prepare to die!"
My GM has approved it because "Rule of Cool", granted you can't make too much ammunition like that (since the Magical Tinkering can only affect a number of items equal to your intelligence modifier), but I could see an Artificer create one ammunition for a particular villain of significance.
In fact that portion of Magical Tinkering feels like a sort "Magic Mouth Lite".
I am not much into monks myself with one exception; a wood elf speedster monk barbarian with the Mobile & Magical initiate (Longstrider) feats. I've had a lot of fun with this character.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I don't think Artificer should be a class at all. Its too closely related to wizards. I'm currently reading the Dreaming Dark and the artificer described there simply sounds like a wizard that can put magic into objects to delay/trigger the casting time. I think it should be a feat or background instead.
The whole cannon or homonculus thing is on track for the same issues the original ranger's beastmaster has.
I think it is way too expansive to merely be wizard subclass augmented by feats.
And I'm not sure the turret and homonculus falls into the same beastmaster trap. Excluding the psychological impact many players have with putting actual animals at risk, the biggest problem is the crippling action economy that forces the usage of the character's Action to allow the companion to do anything. The homonculus and turret circumvent this completely by utilizing the bonus action, instead. This considerably frees up the Artificer's action for spells or attacks.
Circling back to the psychological impact, the "cost" of the homonculus / turret being destroyed is not nearly as devastating as an animal companion. I know several of my players get severely uncomfortable when animals are at risk in game. With the homonculus and turret it is merely wait a long rest and / or expend another spell slot.
This artificer doesn't stop you from making a wizard guild artisan, but there arw some major hisyorical trappings of the artificer that are incompatible with a wizard build.
This is a support class that filla a role more similar to that of a cleric than a wizard. Since shoving this into cleric would be super awkward, it demands its its class.
They might have been able to squeeze it into rogue (and I'd love to see a tinker rogue) but it would still fall short of what the class name promises.
This new release is the first I've seen that really shows proper respect for it's heritage instead of trying to create something different with the same name.
The class definitely improved a lot compared to the last version we had. This one definitely plays more like a real inventor and enchanter. I really like the infusions ans i like it being a half caster that prepares spells. Fits really well with inventing.
To be honest... I see the subclasses as schools much like the wizard. So this class is a good mix of wizard and warlock. And this is what an artificer should be.
I had played gunsmith and really disliked it. It was nothing more then a rogue with a companion. And alchemist felt like it was just a bag of limited tricks with not much utility. This time it feels good and actually can help a group. It does feel support as it was back in 3rd, but it also can be a dps and thats what 5e is all about. Versatility... And this fits the bill !!!
Cant wait to try it out in my campaign as an npc.
DM of two gaming groups.
Likes to create stuff.
Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses
If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games
--> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
Reading Lei behaves in the Dreaming Dark makes the artificer sound like a wizard that can delay a spell into an item. (I'm only 50% through book one so my impressions fall short.) Unfortunately, when reading about the Ebberon Artificer Lore in Wayfinder's, the artificer is missing a lot of details -Its either tied to House Cannith or briefly mentioned in Dakahnni, the Goblin Kingdom.
"Their Weapons are superior even to the artificers of House Cannith." - Other Races
"Now three barons jockey to fill the leadership vacuum: the alchemist Jorlanna of Fairhaven, weaponsmith Zorlan of Korth, and warforged innovator Merrix of Sharn. " - House Cannith
To understand the legacy and weight of the class (and really, why this process took so long) you need to dig into the 3.5 and 4e artificers. Neither perfectly fits in 5e, but this new one does a good job of modernizing an old classic.
Basically the Artificer in 3.5 - where this all came from was a "wizard" with pally spell progression, armor and weapon abilities, and tons o crafting feats. tons of crafting feats. they were the magic item forges. The idea of "finally a class that can make magic items for our party without being de-leveled". Yea it had some spunk and some cool lore, but, really... thats all the base class was lol It wasn't until the Wand Adept came out you kinda had an option for "oh look, I don't have to be just be the party crafting mule".
The subclasses in this version really spice it up. Really pulling that "crafting hands" into things vs the broken damage of the previous one and the mundane of it all. And the "Infusions" really kinda play up the magic item aspect - considering how 5e treats magic items as optional (where the 3.5 cr maths required character wealth and assumed on the big 6 with that maths).
I can see where people might not like it.. but .. the artificer in play in the 3.5 era was pretty much was just a magic item farmer, lots of gripes on various sites about it being basically boring to play.. but tis what rose colored glasses do.. forget that aspect lol..
I'm just going to say it: I think this is the most unbalanced, uninspired thing in 5e since the core beast master.
Clearly, you've missed the previous Artificer UA's, the companion you got from those wasn't making any beast master jealous. I might also suggest taking a look at the Lore Wizard UA for a perspective on what "unbalanced" is.
It's got a lot to work with thematically. If you're finding it's uninspired then in my opinion that's a lack of inspiration on the user's end. I'm very excited to get a character built, I've got a handful of ideas for one already in the works.
Just waiting for that handy DND Beyond integration so that I can cut the bookkeeping down to a minimum.
To recap as I posted earlier in this thread:
I think between 2017 and 2019 the core artificer lost its core concept, where before it had
Now the core artificer only kept
This leads me to champion the return of Infuse Magic and Superior Attunement as I think those along with Wonderous invention define being an Artificer.
I think I have an interesting way to reintroduce Infuse Magic that could open new build strategies that would compete with the Replicate Magic Item.
At the end of a Long Rest you can choose to sacrifice one of your Spell Slots to infuse it into an item. The item then inherits a Spell Slot of one higher than the sacrificed, and you choose a Spell from the Artificer Spell list of that level, which does not have to be on your prepared list. You can choose to give this item to one of your allies in which case it uses your Spell casting modifier but their concentration if required. This spell slot is lost at the end of your next Long Rest unless you again sacrifice a spell slot to recharge it.
If the Artificer chooses to act Selfish then he can keep these for himself and compete with Full casters for lower levels, at 5th level you could get 3rd level spell slots like other spell casters but at the cost of your 2nd level slots. (technically at 2nd level you could get 2nd level spell slots so maybe need a 3rd level minimum)
Otherwise you can choose to play the bard like role of passing out your Concentration spells to the Barbarians, building up the group rather than yourself. I think we need more roles with this kind of support flexibility besides focusing on Healing. (without that being the expected behavior with no selfish paths for those that prefer that way)
Personally, I feel that the designers did a good job. This class is a good mix of old and new. I think the Alchemist's homunculus is underrated. It's essentially a sturdier familiar, it doesn't have the benefit of giving free advantage on attacks but you have a greater amount of control over it and you can still use a bonus action for it to grant advantage with the help action. In my opinion the acid spittle is mostly flavor and has some niche uses, but the real charm of it is the 3/day abilities. They are very good and give you options to be "selfish" or helpful.
Expertise in all tools is pretty nifty, and the prepared spells they get offer a good deal of versatility.
They are using this version as Playtest material and I encourage those who doubt to give both subclasses a thorough unbiased try. They have given us some pretty good tools in the base chassis and both a supporting and offensive option that works surprisingly well. The turrets may need a bit of work to feel less vidya gamey but this is a solid update and really gets my imagination going.
replaced with something like the Eldritch Knight's 7th level ability:
Leave the name as Arcane Armaments but make it as follows:
I'd also like to see the 10th level ability
changed to something like the following:
Of course this would mean creating a new 20th level ability. Matbe the ability to create an artificial body, like a warforged or homunculus that you could transfer you essence (soul?) into. There are many possibilities, this was just off the top of my head.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
Hey, completely agree these two are up for change and rather out of place at the moment.
Only thing to point out is "Extra Attack" is quite different from "You can make a BA Attack", especially when Artillerist is such a BA dependent subclass, so may need to consider how to reword. (Also as other people point out better not to step on other classes toes) So I prefer the suggestion of subclasses deciding if to give Extra Attack or +Int to Cantrips (or maybe here the Alchemist could get Cantrip+BA Attack)
I also agree 10 level is the place for "You can now attune to more items" feature as 10 now seems weak (overloading flexibility of cantrips) however the saving throw bonus is not needed at this point, it makes for a nice capstone if separated but just seems tacked on if as above.
"The ability to create an artificial body" is already a good hook for a subclass no need to waste it on a non flexible core feature.
( Still keeping track for good ideas until the survey is up 0.o )
Also waiting for the Survey here.
In the mean time, I've been working on adding the new Artificer to the HeroLab 5E Community Pacl (Unearthed Arcana at this time). I've been working on the Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron forever but have fallen way behind due to medical issues.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
It is a work in progress :) Let them know your gripes and it may help shape a better class for full release.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I am enjoying the new playtest class. Perhaps additional subclasses would be nice. Either way how long should it be before we see it on the DnD Beyond for use.