The Armorer subclass for the Artificer, first given to us in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, is the power-armor fantasy subclass. With an excellent set of subclass spells and the ability to use heavy armor with no need for high strength, the Armorer should be fairly good as a front-line combatant.
I wanted to do a build here: note that I'm no min-maxxing optimizer, so this isn't going to be the be-all and end-all of Armorer builds. This is more like, the version of this I'd want to play.
I want to do this as a full 1-20 build, but that would be a very long post, so we're going to start off with just tier 1 and do another post for each tier. While the level 20 capstone is not as enormously good as it was in the 2019 version, and therefore there's more of an incentive to consider multiclassing, I generally prefer a single-class build, so I'll be sticking with it for all 20 levels.
My intent here is also to build an Armorer who can easily swap between the three armor models and the roles that they play. While the needs of your group are probably going to push you toward one of the three more than the other two generally, I think the versatility of the subclass is part of its fun.
Level 1, of course, includes a lot of big decisions. Let's get into them!
Species:
For the most part, Species is a flavor choice, but I do think that there's some incentive here to go with Human. The reason is the extra origin feat. Because we want to be mixing it up on the front lines while only have a d8 hit die, I really want to get the Tough origin feat, regardless of which background I choose. This will effectively give us Barbarian-level HP (slightly less because we only start with 10+Con at level 1). While we will still lack the damage-reduction of Rage or Deflect Attacks, we can more or less stand with Fighters and Paladins in terms of survivability. This will also give us a bonus skill. Perception or Arcana are both good ones - the former because basically everyone makes perception checks all the time, and the latter because it's flavorful and because it lets us make permanent magic items if the DM gives us the downtime and materials to do so.
Background:
My biggest issue with the 2024 rules is the way that backgrounds force certain ability score bonuses and origin feats. If you can take an older background, I'd go for that, but the Sage is a very good option here, as we can boost both Intelligence and Con (two stats we'll want to have be, you know, good). Magic Initiate: Wizard is also a strong option for us because it lets us get the Shield spell - while Artillerists and Battle Smiths get this, we don't with our subclass, and this will let us push our AC to true extremes (which could make up for the lack of damage-reduction features). While you could also get this spell from the Mark of the Sentinel from the House Deneith Heir if you're playing in Eberron, that background doesn't boost Intelligence, which is kind of a no-go for us. Likewise, Genie-Touched from the Forgotten Realms (though boy does that feel setting-agnostic) will get us the feat but not the Intelligence. So, of the 2024 backgrounds, Sage really fits us best.
Ability Score Spread:
Naturally, push Intelligence as high as it can go. If using Point Buy, I think a 15 in Intelligence is obvious. Now, there's the question of Dexterity. Prior to getting your subclass, you'll be quite vulnerable (you only start with Studded Leather). If you are starting your campaign at 3, though, you can afford to dump Dexterity, at least a bit. Still, Dex is pretty good for everyone. It might be good to get a +3 to Con (giving yourself 15 in it as well and using your +1 bonus from Sage to get it to 16,) but it'll feel a little tough to dump any stat other than Charisma. Wisdom is always good for anyone, and while we don't need very much Strength, remember that even if you get to ignore the requirement for your heavy armor, you still need to be able to carry it (I sort of wish you could ignore the weight of your Arcane Armor, as it feels like it should be carrying its own weight). As with any 2024 class, I'd try to push your key stat (Int) to 17 at level 1 so that you can make it 18 by level 4 with a General Feat. Then, either push Con to 16 or let it sit lower in order to get a somewhat better Initiative/Dex save modifier.
If you are going to have to level up through 1 and 2, though, having a 14 in Dex is not a terrible idea. At level 1 your AC is still going to be hot garbage (only 14) but once you get Replicate Magic Item, you can make yourself a +1 Shield and a set of Half-Plate to boost that to 19 immediately. (We'll talk about how you get that armor when we get to level 2).
Spells:
If we do have Magic Initiate: Wizard, we're going to have a fair number of cantrips. We're automatically getting Mending from the class itself. While a weapon-based caster who is prioritizing their spellcasting stat would normally want to consider True Strike, I actually think it might not be terribly optimal for us. We already get to attack with Intelligence (once we have our subclass,) so True Strike's biggest appeal is somewhat redundant. But I also think we might skip Green-Flame Blade and Booming Blade as well, because we'll have Extra Attack (and while these might still out-scale our attacks at very high levels, it'll only be by a small amount, I think). I think the only reason we'll want a damage cantrip is to shore up our ability to fight either in melee (if we're in Infiltrator mode) or at range (if in Guardian or Dreadnaught mode). Thus, I think I'd probably go for Acid Splash here, as it's a saving throw cantrip (meaning it works equally well in melee and at range) and it's also one of the few true AoE cantrips now.
We could also get Thunderclap, though this is harder to avoid friendly fire with (and it doesn't solve our lack of ranged cantrips if we're in a melee armor model). Alternatively, given that we're getting two Wizard cantrips from Magic Initiate, we could also grab Toll the Dead.
Then, we have three slots for utility cantrips. I always love Mage Hand (and I think an Artificer could have a fun time with this, like a little drone they're piloting). Message can also be very good. And I love Prestidigitation as the general "I do some minor bit of magic" catch-all option.
In tier 1, we're only going to have 1st level spells, and only at most 3 spell slots (we double our total spell slots when we hit level 5). So, generally, we want to have efficient and/or vital spells. We start off with only two prepared, but get 5 prepared by level 4.
Cure Wounds is a strong choice - it's a much more powerful healing spell than it was in the 2014 rules, and scales up nicely as well. At level 1, there's a good chance you can heal someone who is fully knocked out all the way to full with one of these.
Grease is maybe not the most powerful option, but boy is it thematic (I hate that the new version explicitly says it's non-flammable. Pre-5E versions of the spell were explicitly flammable, and said how much damage it did when lit aflame. My policy as DM is to home-rule that it is flammable.
Feather Fall can be a lifesaver, and is often good to pack just in case (unless you're certain that you're adventuring across flat plains).
Jump is actually quite good now, and is effectively a movement bonus with verticality on top of it.
Faerie Fire is not always the most reliable, but getting sticky advantage (and anti-invisibility if that matters) on a group of foes is quite nice.
Level 2:
At level 2, we get what is probably the defining Artificer feature: Replicate Magic Item. This feature gives you an absurd number of options.
We're going to assume that we're being greedy and making items for ourselves.
We can learn four plans and make two of them at a time. Here's what I'm thinking:
First we fix our AC. We spent level 1 at only 14. So, we start by picking up the +1 Shield plan, adding 3 to our AC. While we won't be able to make +1 Armor until level 6, here's the dirty secret: at level 2, we can make any Common magic item that isn't a potion, scroll, or a cursed item. But there's plenty of common types of magic armor that don't give a real mechanical benefit. We can thus pick up the plan for either Armor of Gleaming, Cast-off Armor, or Smoldering Armor (I like the latter for our greasy, industrial vibes). If, as you do on D&D Beyond, you need to choose a specific armor type, go with Half-Plate for now and just swap it to Plate at next level. Now, with Half-Plate (and assuming we have a +2 to Dex) we're now getting 17 out of that, so our total AC is 20 right at level 2.
Note that none of our in-built weapons on our armor require two hands, so we'll always be able to use a shield for the AC boost. We'll also be able to use our armor itself as a spellcasting focus once we hit level 3, so for now we just keep a hand open to cast Acid Splash (well, holding our tools to do so) and use the shield in the off-hand.
This will use up our two replicated items, but we probably want some useful plans as well.
As a Human, we're going to be blind in the dark, so having the Goggles of Night plan available is useful (though we can also use Tinker's Magic to make lanterns).
The last option is kind of up to you - I like the Alchemy Jug, as it's one of those "there's not an obvious use for this, but there are plenty of ways to get creative with it" items. Likewise, a Bag of Holding can be good if you don't get one early on.
Level 3:
At this point, we get the Armorer subclass. Immediately, you'll want to swap your Smoldering Armor - Half Plate to Smoldering Armor - Plate if you need to (again, I'd rule that you have the plans to just "Smoldering Armor," but D&D Beyond seems to insist that these are different plans). Now, we'll have an AC of 21 wearing this plate with our +3 Shield, and thanks to the Shield spell we have from Magic Initiate, we can push to 26 if something hits us. Not bad at all at level 3 - you'll be nigh-unhittable.
We also now get Magic Missile and Thunderwave. The former is a very reliable spell, though I don't know how often you'll feel it's worth the spell slot if you can just hit the target with something free. Thunderwave is some nice close-range AoE (for years I thought that it emanated from you, but you're actually just on one edge of the cube, so you can blast foes in front of you without harming friends next to you).
Now, the big choice you'll make (which you can change on every short or long rest) is which armor model you want.
Each of these plays a distinct role, so it's largely a question of what your party needs.
Dreadnaught, the new model, is going to hit hardest (for now) and also has the most reliable damage type, dealing Force damage. It also has some decent battlefield control, but note that you're probably not going to benefit from that control unless you use its Giant Stature feature. At this level, you can use this three times per day (it lasts a minute, so basically one fight per use). Note, though, that if you're fighting lots of bigger monsters, like Ogres or Ankhegs, you won't be able to push or pull them because you have to be larger than the target to do so. That being said, the Dreadnaught can also play a little safer, because you have Reach with your Force demolisher and even further reach when enlarged. If you are facing Medium or smaller foes, you can thus get close enough to hit them without actually getting all that close and then potentially push them too far away from you for them to reach you on their next turn. The pull function is also quite good, as you can pull them away from a fragile ally.
Guardian is going to be your true tank option. The Thunder Pulse's taunt effect is going to be nice, though it doesn't guarantee that things avoid attacking your allies (and if they have some other source of disadvantage, it doesn't really do anything). Defensive Field is going to be useful, but at these levels it really doesn't give you a ton of Temp HP, and you'll also probably have around 28-31 HP at this level, so you need to be down to 14/15 to use it. Adding 3 on top of that is fine, but if something is hitting really hard, it might not be quite enough to keep you up. Honestly, while the old Guardian mode was my go-to-default, I think the battlefield control and reach of Dreadnaught might win over it, at least for these early levels.
Infiltrator has you performing a very different role: you're ranged damage. Your high AC is all well and good, but mainly you're just trying to stay far away from foes. The damage here is actually quite good, and while there's a dip in scaling when we get Extra Attack, at these levels, we'll be doing 2d6+Int on every hit. Essentially, we're kind of like a Ranger with Hunter's Mark, almost, which is actually quite good at low levels.
Now: let's talk replicated magic items.
In the Tasha's version, I had always interpreted that you could give the "Enhanced Weapon" infusion to your built-in weapons, and so this would have been an obvious choice (we also couldn't create a set of plate whole-cloth, and Enhanced Defense could be applied to a shield, so I'd just have Defense on a shield and Weapon on our built-in weapon). I'm less inclined to believe that's what the rules intend now, in part because we get a +1 bonus to our weapons at level 9. If we can make our Force Demolisher/Thunder Pulse/Lightning Launcher as a +1 Weapon, for sure that's a good thing to take (though we won't be able to swap another plan if we had to swap Smoldering Half Plate out for Smoldering Plate). If you can't replicate +1 versions of these weapons, though, well, we'll just stick with the plans and replicated magic items we already talked about.
Level 4:
We now get our first feat. And we got our Intelligence to 17 at level 1, so we can now pick an Int-based general feat, and obviously it's going to be War Caster. While we shouldn't need to worry that much about somatic components (the armor-based weapons don't actually require you to hold them in your hand,) this will at least make things like Shield (one of our few non-Artificer spells) simpler. But more importantly, this will make it easier for us to concentrate on our spells (which we're already pretty good at with Con save proficiency). We'll also be able to cast spells as opportunity attacks.
Now, I'll confess that our previous spell choices might make this hard, as they all need to target just one creature. If we took Toll the Dead rather than Acid Splash, that works. And I guess Magic Missile does too? We can also swap in some single-target spells once we get this (we can even trade out cantrips, like a Wizard, though not the ones from Magic Initiate).
So, at level 4, how are we looking?
In terms of Strengths, I think the biggest thing is that we are probably the hardest character to hit with an attack. With an AC of 21 that can be pushed up to 26 if need be, we're basically harder to hit than the Tarrasque.
In terms of damage output, we will have to concede some ground to martial classes that might have picked up powerful feats like Great Weapon Master or Dual Wielder, and we also don't have any spells right now that significantly boost the power of our attacks.
I do think we're going to have a lot of options to aid in mobility and general utility in combat. And we can be the general "magic spotter" with spells like Identify and Detect Magic.
I do lament the loss of Tool Expertise, though at least the new tool rules mean that if we can come up with clever ways to use our many tool proficiencies, we can get that advantage a lot.
Next time, we'll level up to tier 2, looking at how the build evolves from levels 5 to 10, which to most people is D&D's sweet spot.
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