Frankly, of all the Artificer subclasses, the Alchemist is probably the one that best fits into the classic medieval fantasy archetype. I know there are some purists who don't love that the Artificer even exists as a D&D class (I vehemently disagree, but then, my tastes are basically anti-purism,) but this is often because the Artificer is generally viewed as the "steampunk class," with an aesthetic most people assume has a bunch of machinery. Yet, the Alchemist can easily fit within a pre-industrial aesthetic given that their creations are not mechanical, but generally more chemical in nature - the stereotypical alchemist is mixing vials of different-colored fluids, and, in the context of being a D&D class, maybe mixing two together and throwing them at a monster so that they'll explode in some kind of noxious color of flame or acid.
I recently filled out the Unearthed Arcana survey, and when it came to the Alchemist, I clicked the "red" option, meaning I didn't like the subclass. I actually think this was in error, because I 100% believe the Alchemist should remain one of the Artificer's subclasses. My issues with the subclass are entirely mechanical.
Fundamental to what I see as the Alchemist's problems is that I don't think it has a clear role.
The other three Artificers do what they do at least pretty well. Armorers can swap between the role of a group tank or ranged damage-dealer (and the new Dreadnaught option will give them a battlefield-controller role). The Battle Smith is a versatile martial damage-dealer and front-liner (having Shield on top of all that enhanced armor is nice, a bit like an Eldritch Knight). And the Artillerist is a highly effective ranged damage dealer, somewhat akin to an Eldritch Blast-focused Warlock.
The Alchemist, I think, is straddling two roles: a group healer and a ranged damage dealer, and it doesn't really wind up doing either all that well.
Now, given some of the research I've been doing for a novel I'm writing, I've gotten into the weeds about how Alchemy, as a practice, goes far beyond a simple proto-chemistry - Alchemists thought that their physical experimentation would ultimately lead to spiritual developments, with the "Magnum Opus" of turning "lead into gold" being partially a metaphor for elevating themselves or humanity and unlocking the secrets of divinity - it was an esoteric, mystical practice that just so happened to lead us toward genuine, rationalist science.
That being said, on a practical level, we can kind of assume that, D&D being a fantasy game, it's easy enough to imagine all of this taking place within a mystical context. Thus, the mechanical focus on just mixing together weird fluids works pretty well.
But, I think that the issue is that the Alchemist tries to split the difference between two mechanical roles: Are they tossing caustic or flammable fluids on their foes to burn them? Or are they the producers of healing tinctures and elixirs?
To be sure, "healers" in D&D are always somewhat hybrid characters, because the resource system of spell slots isn't balanced around the idea that a character will cast healing spells every round of combat. A Life Cleric will still spend some turns casting Sacred Flame or bonking someone with a Warhammer, because sometimes a healing spell is just not called for, and often the healer really needs to conserve their resources and rely on the HP pools of their allies to absorb the damage they take before the next rest.
D&D tends ot have characters that can be true healers and others that can be kind of back-up healers. I'd argue that a Paladin, even with their Lay on Hands feature, is never going to be quite the "heal the party up from a disaster" the way that a Cleric or Druid can. (Frankly, even here, it's not really until tiers 3 or 4 that a healer can really pull some miraculous things - healing is much more about triage in D&D).
As a half-caster, the Alchemist is left in a place where they're probably not really going to be able to heal much more effectively than a Paladin. Do we want the Alchemist to be the half-caster who can keep up in heals with the full casters?
If so, they need some subclass system that helps with this. We have some examples, like the Celestial Warlock's healing dice. (Frankly, I think the Celestial Warlock's biggest benefit is being able to cast a bunch of cure wounds spells right before a short rest).
The current, rather than the Unearthed Arcana version, of the Alchemist, does get some fun things: their level 15 feature allows them to cast Greater Restoration and Heal once a day, each. Both are spells they wouldn't be able to cast yet as half-casters, and in fact Heal is a spell at a level they'll never be able to get.
Heal's a good spell. And let's also remember that basic healing spells are all better than they used to be - a 3rd level Cure Wounds cast by an Alchemist using their signature tools could be doing 6d8+10, or 37 on average, which is pretty substantial at level 9, when they'd be able to do this. So, in that sense, their healing capabilities (especially given their reliance on lower-level healing spells) might be buffed simply as a matter of course.
However, at least in the new UA, both Greater Restoration and Heal are replaced with Tasha's Bubbling Cauldron. Make no mistake, TBC is a fun as hell spell, and one that I think the Alchemist 100% should have access to. But losing Heal and Greater Restoration feel like real nasty nerfs.
Now, let's talk their potential as damage dealers.
Basically the only real buff they get to damage-dealing is from Alchemical Savant, which only adds at most 5 damage a turn.
The other two half-casters are weapon-based classes, and so they can rely on some of the powerful single-target damage feats like Great Weapon Master or Dual Wielder (ranged weapon users might be struggling slightly, though interestingly they could actually take GWM for use with Heavy Crossbows or Longbows). Artillerists are still relying on spellcasting as half-casters, but their Eldritch Cannon is adding 2d8, then 3d8, and then potentially 6d8 damage each turn. A Fire Bolting Artillerist by level 15 can put out 3d10+1d8 (21 average) plus two cannons hitting for 3d8 (13.5 apiece, or 27) for a total average damage (on hits) of 48 with pretty low spell slot investment.
Ultimately, I think leaning more into the healing identity makes sense - the Artillerist doesn't need the Alchemist competing with its niche.
Now, the central mechanic to the Alchemist is the Experimental Elixir. This elixir has a bunch of different potential uses, and none are bad per se, but I rarely see them actually used because... well, frankly a lot of players forget to actually roll for them. But I also think that the small bits of utility they grant can often be forgotten in the moment.
In fact, the alternate-use of Experimental Elixir, where you can spend a spell slot to generate another elixir and choose the type you get, is probably the best use of the feature. I think that perhaps emphasizing this could make it a better feature.
Let's imagine a different way for it to work:
What if you always choose what elixir you get? Instead of rolling at the end of a long rest, you just get your free elixir(s) each day, and when you run out of them, you can start spending spell slots for more.
Now, that does remove the "experimental" side of it, to be fair.
Still, while this alteration might make the feature more appealing, it doesn't really address our major concern, which is healing capability.
Again, my perspective is a little skewed as someone who has been running a long campaign in which we kind of skipped quickly ahead to tier 3, and it's here that a high level Cleric can toss out some enormous heals to lots of people.
The current version's once-a-day 6th level Heal spell, which comes online when they only have 4th and lower spell slots, is certainly nice. And even a full caster doesn't get more than one 6th level spell per day until tier 4, so it's fairly comparable (though a Cleric could do this at level 11, four levels before an Alchemist can).
But consider the following: from levels 1-4, an Alchemist will only have 3 spell slots total, while a Cleric will have 6 by level 3. Of course tier 1 casters need to be very conservative with spell slots regardless, but this slower progression is going to inherently limit a healer.
So, how could we supplement the Alchemist's healing? Well, we shouldn't ignore that an Alchemist's experimental elixir will grant Temp HP - 2d6 + Int (so about 12 on average with maxed out Intelligence). The Unearthed Arcana changes this to your Intelligence modifier plus your Artificer level, which could be 14 when you get this feature, and scales up, which is a good change.
But while Temp HP is a powerful tool if used proactively, the real emergency situation in D&D is when you have someone downed, and that's when you want a big, big heal to prevent the character from going down again.
Would it be better, then, if Artificers had some way to produce a significant number of potent healing potions?
One element we haven't really talked about here is Spell-Storing Item. Gained at level 11 (so again, not until tier 3) we can load in a 1st or 2nd level spell, getting twice our Int modifier uses per long rest, so very possibly 10 at this level (though thanks to 2024 general feats, I"m not as confident in everyone having their primary stat to 20 by this level). If we were to stick Cure Wound in that, that's a whole lot of healing to be had - but any individual heal is not going to be terribly large. In this sense, the Alchemist could be more like a "heal-bot," to borrow a term from MMOs, in which they might actually be able to afford just spending every turn healing.
This, though, comes pretty late (and is also something any Artificer could do). One of the proposed changes in the UA is to extend Spell-Storing Item to 3rd level spells, which would be pretty huge - two levels after even getting 3rd level spells you'd be able to cast something like Mass Healing Word 10 times without a spell slot, so while I still think that having something like Heal is important for a high-level Alchemist, I guess I'm more concerned with tiers 1 and 2.
And here, the primary challenge is just that, as a half-caster, they have fewer spell slots than a Cleric or Druid.
So, either they need some secondary healing feature like a Celestial Warlock, or they need to lean into a utility role. Artificers, of course, do fit quite well in this "general utility" role, and it's flavorfully appropriate. But to give Alchemists a real leg-up in this area, I think what they need is some boost to Experimental Elixir. Spending a 1st level spell slot to get the elixir you want is fairly expensive.
Anyway, this is a bunch of disorganized thoughts I've had over several days, and I don't know if there's much of a conclusion. It's just my mea culpa for using the wrong rating for it in the UA. Alchemists should 100% be an Artificer subclass. I just wish it were a better one.
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