Artificer Update UA

 Holy crap, it has been a while, hasn't it?

Yes, today we've got a new Unearthed Arcana, and it's one that is all about my beloved Artificer, the sole non-core, WotC-published full class for 5th Edition.

I've said many a time that I was a bit sad to see the Artificer left out of the new Player's Handbook, fearing it means that it'll always be harder to update with new subclasses and other options. Well, that issue might remain, but it does not appear that the folks at Wizards of the Coast have forgotten the class exists, because our first UA following the release of (two out of three of) the new core rulebooks is all about the Artificer.

Essentially, what we have is a big proposed update for the class as it appeared in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, including tweaks to all four subclasses.

On a fundamental level, the class looks similar - they are the master craftsmen, using tools and invention as their strengths.

Let's start with the base class:

The absolute biggest transformation for the class is that Artificer Infusions have been redesigned to become Replicate Magic Item. Rather than finding mundane items to then infuse with magical power, you'll simply create those items whole-cloth. Also, every infusion is now simply a standard magic item. The Artificer-specific infusions, such as the Mind Sharpener or the Repulsion Shield, are all, with one exception, now magic items in their own right that a DM could have players find in their world - the Artificer can simply choose these as possibilities for their core feature like any other.

The exception here is the Homunculus Servant, which is now the very first Artificer-exclusive spell. It's a 2nd level spell and has a stat block that now scales with the level at which you cast it. Notably, the Homunculus is also no longer really bound by action economy, simply acting after you and following your commands, similar to the various Summon spells. It does consume the 100g gem that used to be the target of the infusion, so if you have a mean DM you might find it expensive to maintain one, but it should now work pretty well even for bonus-action-dependent subclasses.

Your options for Replicate Magic Item are quite broad - in addition to a curated list, each level (level 2, 6, 10, and 14) that you expand the list also has an option that gives you any item of a given rarity and of a given set of item types (for example, at 6th level you can make uncommon Armors, Wands, and Weapons, but need to wait until 10 to make uncommon Rings and Wondrous Items).

Another change, going back to level 1, is that Magical Tinkering works totally differently now - the old version was kind of a poor man's Prestidigitation, which Artificers already get access to (not sure if they always did...) and so the new version just allows you to create, whole-cloth with Tinker's Tools, a common object like a Rope, Net, Pole, etc. Like before, you can have a limited number of such items at a time, but it's really cementing the Artificer as the class who has the right tool for the job.

A new feature is Magic Item Tinker, which, beyond expanding your potential infusion plans, allows you to consume magic items created with your Replicate Magic Item feature to regain spell slots, gaining higher-level spell slots for rarer items.

Actually, there's a nerf here: the Tools Expertise appears to be gone, and the ability to craft Common and Uncommon magical items in half the time for half the cost is gone (though each subclass appears to get something akin to this for appropriate items).

There is one nice buff, though: Spell-Storing Items can now have a 3rd level spell in them. Hey, do you want to be able to cast Fireball ten times a day without expending a spell slot as an Artillerist?

Flash of Genius has gotten the Bardic Inspiration treatment, allowing you to wait and see if the d20 test failed before you use it (something I'm sure the Artificer in my campaign would be very happy about).

Soul of Artifice gets one major nerf: it no longer increases your saving throw bonuses. That hurts a lot, though as a DM in a campaign where the Artificer now has a special blessing to attune to a seventh magic item, I've been terrified of reaching level 20. Still, it hurts. Additionally, this no longer requires a reaction to use its "Cheat Death" feature, which also now restores you to 20, rather than 1, HP. This is amazing given that, technically, it was ambiguous whether you would even have your reaction to use this feature in the old version (though if your DM argued you couldn't use it, stop playing with them). It also now includes Magical Guidance, which lets you add a d6 to one ability check per turn as long as you're attuned to a magic item (so yes). Once a turn basically means always outside of combat. 

A few spells were also added to the Artificer spell list. One of these I'm very excited to see: True Strike, maybe the biggest glow-up spell from 2014 to 2024, and one that feels very right for an Artificer. My only gripe here is that the two subclasses likely to use it, the Alchemist and the Artillerist, technically can't use their 5th level features with it. I'd really hoped that they would allow Pistols and Muskets as potential Arcane Firearms, and if I was your DM, I'd 100% allow that. (Hey, this is UA, maybe we can get them to change it!)

Other additions to the list: Elementalism, Arcane Vigor, Homunculus Servant (as mentioned above) and Circle of Power.

Now, let's get into subclasses:

Alchemists:

I'll be honest, this is the subclass that I've seen a couple players choose and I while, flavorfully, I think it's very cool (the protagonist of the novel I'm writing began his life as an elaborate character backstory for a Dhampir Alchemist Artificer, and then I realized I'd rather just write a book,) I've always found it the least appealing in terms of mechanics (though I've found that the Experimental Elixir might actually be pretty good when you use it with spell slots and get to choose the option). The update, frankly, feels like more of a nerf than a buff, which is surprising given that this always felt like the subclass that needed to be buffed.

That said, one nice change is that Blight has been replaced on their spell list with Vitriolic Sphere, which I think is a far better spell (really Blight probably needed a big damage buff - if you're casting a spell that is higher-level than a Fireball and it only hits one target, it needs to be doing, like, at least twice Fireball's average damage - probably should use the Finger of Death/Disintegrate model of a massive static amount in addition to the dice rolls).

Alchemists, in addition to getting their proficiency with Alchemy Supplies, can now craft potions in half the time (which I think is already halved from normal magic item crafting given that they're consumables).

Experimental Elixir now has six potential results, but the sixth is "your choice," so I think the chance of getting the specific one you want is 2/6 rather than 1/4, meaning it's slightly more likely to get what you want! The Elixir, like all potions now, can be consumed with a bonus action, which is great. Also, the healing option is buffed, restoring 2d8+your Int with it, which is actually a pretty good heal (it's basically the new version of a Cure Wounds spell).

Restorative Reagents has changed so that the Temp HP you get from an Experimental Elixir is now your Intelligence plus your Artificer level - so a pretty hefty chunk at higher levels.

Chemical Mastery has had a redesign. First, it allows you to deal an extra 2d8 damage to a target when you cast a spell that deals Acid, Fire, Necrotic, or Poison damage (the specificity of "to a target" makes me feel like this might not work with AoE spells? But at the very least, at this level an Acid Splash is doing like 3d6+2d8+probably 5 damage - 24.5 damage average, I think?) You also gain resistance to Acid and Poison (which I think was the case before?)

However, what feels like it could be a nerf is that, rather than getting to cast Greater Restoration and Heal, you can instead cast Tasha's Bubbling Cauldron once a day for free. Losing Heal feels really tough, but let's remind ourselves how this new spell works:

Like Heal, it's a 6th level spell (normally outside the range of Artificer spellcasting - you won't even have 5th levels when you get this feature) and is cast as an action. The cauldron is filled with a Common or Uncommon potion of your choice, which friends can scoop out as a bonus action. The Cauldron has a number of doses equal to your spellcasting ability (so probably 5 at this point) and disappears when the last is consumed.

So, this is for certain very flavorful for an Alchemist - it'd be a real shame if the subclass most about brewing potions didn't get access to it (though in my research for my book, going down the rabbit-hole of esoteric alchemy, "brewing potions" is like the barest tip of the iceberg when it comes to what the Alchemists were trying to achieve, and it was really more of a mystical practice that sought to work miracles and find enlightenment). But is it worth losing Greater Restoration and Heal once a day? 

Among the Uncommon magic items, Potion of Resistance might be decent, especially given that you can pop this out in a single turn (though the wording seems to suggest that everyone will need a bonus action to take the potion from the cauldron and another to drink it, I think). The most obvious analogue would be Greater Potions of Healing, so 5 doses of 4d4+4 healing (14 a pop, so about 70 HP total - which is actually right there with Heal, though far more action economy investment).

Basically, I love Tasha's Bubbling Cauldron, but it feels like the Alchemist is really losing a lot of its healing capability to get it.

Armorer:

Ah, my beloved that I never really got to play for real. The Armorer was the new subclass that hadn't been in the Eberron book.

One thing I think we really need to address here is that the change from Artificer Infusions to Replicate Magic Items actually grants a huge bonus to low-level Armorers. A set of plate armor costs 1500 gold, which most characters can't really afford until around level 8 (I think our party with two heavy-armor wearers, the Paladins, in Wildemount has them both still in Splint - the Fighter is a Medium Armor Master). And +1 Armor is in our level 6 list. Ok, that's a bit annoying as we had Enhanced Defense from the get-go at level 2 in the previous version. But you know what? Rather than putting a +1 on that Chain Mail that you could barely afford at level 2, how about just making some Plate Armor of Gleaming? That'll be better than your +1 Chain Mail and on top of that, you'll look spiffy. Oh, and +1 Shields are on the level 2 list as well, so you could, with just your two replicated magic items, have an AC of 21 by the time you can wear heavy armor at level 3.

While this certainly helps low-level or low-funded Armorers, there's one major downside that might require a reasonable DM to make some allowances: because we're no longer infusing existing weapons but instead making magic weapons whole-cloth, can we actually make +X versions of our Armor Model weapons? The rules are a bit ambiguous: the weapons are described as Simple Weapons (thus we will have proficiency,) but are not a standard option for a weapon. Still, it feels very reasonable (and very flavorful) that an Artificer would be able to use this Replicate Magic Item feature to create the weapon module for their armor model. I'd certainly allow it as a DM. But I think it might be good to have some reminder text to ensure that this is a possibility. It also makes the process of changing your Armor Model a little more fraught - in the old version, swapping between Guardian and Infiltrator would, to my mind, also include swapping Enhanced Weapon from the Thunder Gauntlets to the Lightning Launcher.

The biggest change here, I think, is the introduction of the Dreadnaught, (I thought it was Dreadnought? Neither is getting spell-corrected, so maybe both are acceptable?) which is a third Armor Model you can choose in addition to Guardian and Infiltrator.

The Dreadnaught has a ball-and-chain weapon that deals 1d10 bludgeoning damage and has the Reach property. It can also use a bonus action to grow to Large size (if not already that big,) which further extends the reach by an additional 5 feet, which you can do Int mod per day. The "Armor Flail" weapon, when it hits a target that is at least one size smaller than you, can push it away from you or pull it toward you up to 10 feet.

It's interesting: if the Guardian is a tank that taunts targets to attack them, the Dreadnaught is not exactly a major damage-dealer, but is more of a battlefield-controller. I will say that I feel that between this and the Path of the Giant Barbarian, Rune Knights must be feeling like their signature thing is being stolen (in our Wildemount campaign, we have a Rune Knight named Cyp, and whenever he uses his Giant's Might, we all yell out "BIG CYP!")

Guardian got a slight nerf - they can now only activate their Defensive Field when Bloodied. It probably doesn't amount to much, but it means that you won't be able to cushion an attack that could do 50% or more of your HP. I don't know why this change was made. You also lose the Temp HP if you doff the armor, which is actually reasonable given that it's clearly meant to be built into the armor. OH! Hold up, this is not a nerf. Unlike the Dreadnaught's Giant Stature, the Defensive Field is now unlimited in uses. That... that is actually freaking awesome. That might be up there with Rage and Deflect Attacks as effective damage-reduction, to be honest. Still, you'll really want to push Con to ensure that your Bloodied level is as high as possible, and that when you are bloodied, you'll survive until your next turn to activate this.

Infiltrator appears to be unchanged in its base model.

Now, rather than Armor Model, you now have Armor Replication - which makes sense given that the way that Infusions have been replaced with Replicate Magic item. This simply adds one Plan ("infusions known") and allows you to replicate one additional item, as long as this bonus plan and bonus item are both Armor-type items, which... yeah, I mean, no fear there. It does nerf the old version slightly, but it's fairly elegant (and hopefully there will be an update on D&D Beyond to actually be able to use this without a bunch of kludges).

Perfected Armor has gotten some changes:

Dreadnaughts, of course, being brand-new, have all new... new features. The damage die for your Flail becomes 2d6 instead of 1d10 (about 1.5 more damage per hit). When you use Giant Stature, you can grow to Huge instead of Large if you have room, and your reach while enlarged extends an additional 5 feet (so 10 from Giant Stature, 5 from the reach property, and 5 from basic melee range, which means a 20-foot reach). Also, while enlarged, you can fly as well.

Guardians get a slight boost in that their Thunder Gauntlets now do a d10 of damage instead of a d8.

Infiltrators now do 2d6 with their Lightning Launcher's attack rather than 1d6, but while the Lightning Launcher does impose disadvantage on the target's attacks against you, it no longer gives you advantage on attacks against them. Damage-wise, let me figure this out: in the old version, you could hit them the first time on your turn for 2d6 (one for the base damage and one for the once-a-turn bonus d6) and then you'd get advantage on the next attack, which would also deal 2d6 because the advantage granted that d6 as well. Then, an ally would likely get another d6 thanks to their advantage, so a total of 5d6. Here, it's also 5d6 because your base damage is now 2d6, and you get that once-a-turn extra d6 you got at level 3. However, while far simpler to track, I think we have to call this a nerf because there's no advantage.

Oh, and like Alchemists with potions, you can now craft nonmagical armor in half the time. Granted, you probably won't be doing this for yourself, but with decent downtime, you could help out other armor-wearing members of your party.

Artillerists:

One again, there's a pretty big central change that doesn't really add anything, but makes you more flexible: You now get to choose what your Eldritch Cannon (or Cannons at high levels - the Artificer in my Ravnica campaign has names for both of theirs) does each time you fire them. Frankly, this is fantastic. The high-level Artillerist in the game I run almost exclusively uses the Force Ballista option, even when certain situations would perhaps be better for the other types, simply because a Force Ballista is never useless (except when they were fighting a Wasteland Dragon that was immune to Force damage).

Like all the subclasses, you become better at crafting something, in this case Wands, halving the time required to do so.

Detonating your cannons now deals a bit more damage (3d10 rather than, I believe, 3d8) but is also used now as a reaction when your cannon is reduced to zero hit points. I'll be frank, I think as DM I've maybe destroyed one of my Artificer's cannons like once, so this will probably feel more like a ribbon feature - in fact, I think this might be a nerf given that you can't just use this when you want to.

Battle Smith:

Again, like all subclasses, you can craft items faster - in this case, weapons - both mundane and magical. (Hey, how come Armorers can't craft magic armor faster? They're the only subclass limited to nonmagical items.)

The Steel Defender's HP is now 5+5 times your Artificer level, rather than 2 + your Int mod + 5x your Artificer level, which is likely a nerf, though by a pretty tiny amount (likely it's the same at level 1 and then winds up costing you, like 2 HP as you max out your Intelligence).

Its Force-Empowered Rend also deals slightly different damage - it now deals 2 + your Int mod + 1d8, rather than 1d8 + PB damage. This, conversely, is a buff, as the old version would have gone from 1d8+2 to 1d8+6 and the new version likely starts off as 1d8+4 and ends up at 1d8+7. Again, not huge, but nice.

But that's about it. So, let's gather some thoughts:

    I can't decide if this is a big change to the class or a minor tweak. The open-endedness of the Replicate Magic item tables, which have specific options in addition to broad categories, helps future-proof the class a little bit as new items are added to the game.

I will say that I always thought that Artillerists and Alchemists should use weapon attack instead of relying on damage cantrips, and that their level 5 features should have granted them unique weapons only their subclass could use. And I really feel like an Artillerist should be able to use a Pistol or Musket as their Arcane Firearm, which then, I think, would allow them to fire using True Strike - picture it, Repeating Shot on an Arcane Firearm Musket and using True Strike. At level 5, you'd be dealing 1d12+1d8+1d6+5 radiant damage.

I'll also say that the Armorer and Battle Smith feel like they should have gotten Weapon Mastery. Maybe the Armorer is ok, as their weapons are unique and have some mastery-adjacent properties (the Armor Flail gets Push if you are enlarged,) but the Battle Smith really feels like they should get Weapon Mastery, as they are using standard weapon types.

I do think that there's some streamlining here. I also haven't finished the interview with Jeremy Crawford on YouTube, which might have additional insights into the reasons for these changes. Hell, let me finish that before posting and I can see what I might not have noticed.

Ok, finished the video - not a ton of new thoughts from it, though there were some ideas I had independently that I added to the above paragraphs.

I'm very happy that the Artificer isn't just being left in the dust as we move into this "5.5E" era. Overall the changes here largely feel pretty minor. There are some positives: I think the Dreadnaught sounds fun, I love the change to Eldritch Cannons, where you get to choose its mode each time you use it. But there are some nerfs here that I don't think were deserved - particularly the Alchemist, who feels like it really needed some love (the 2d8 extra damage is nice, but I don't know that it really makes up for everything else).

Indeed, I think they really need to figure out what they want the Alchemist to do as a subclass: are they a healer? If so, they need access to Heal and other powerful healing and restorative capabilities to keep up with Clerics and Druids. Are they a damage-dealer? Then they probably need some kind of supplement to their damage output that equals the power of the Artillerist's Eldritch Cannons.

We don't even know what book this revised Artificer would appear in, so I think there will be plenty of time to iterate on it, but I hope that some of my concerns are shared by enough people that the designers take a look at them.