The New Artificer

 Here we have it - a little over a year after the 2024 rules revamp for 5E, we've got a revised version of the edition's only existing (officially-published) non-PHB subclass.

The Artificer, of course, is the master crafter and technician class, using tools and creating magic items to survive their adventures.

While I, naturally, feel a strong urge to write this all up as a big comparison to the original version of the class published in 2019 (it was slightly tweaked when reprinted in Tasha's, but other than adding the Armorer subclass, the changes were fairly minor,) I think it's best instead to approach this with as fresh eyes as I can.

So, let us begin:

Level 1:

Spellcasting:

Artificers are half-casters like Paladins and Rangers. They use Intelligence for their spellcasting ability, and unlike the others, also get access to cantrips. The primary wrinkle for Artificers is that they must use some form of Artisan's Tools as a spellcasting focus, even for spells that don't have a Material component by default.

Artificers are also a little more flexible with their spells - they can change out all of their prepared spells on a long rest, and also replace one cantrip on a long rest, giving them Wizard-like adaptability, though of course a more limited spell list.

Artificer spells are a mix of damage, healing, and utility. One notable addition here is the redesigned True Strike, which I suspect will become a popular option especially for Artillerists (we'll get into that in a later post).

    I think there are some solid options in the spell list, but as a half-caster, you'll of course need to use more sustainable options for much of your adventuring career. Personally, I'd have made it so that Artificers only need the Material component/tool, given that the idea is that they've got some kind of device that accomplishes the spell, which could also be a fun little edge-case thing where something like Silence won't affect them.

Tinker's Magic:

All Artificers get the Mending cantrip.

    This is a cantrip that I feel like any Artificer should take, so I'm happy to see it there by default (and freeing up other cantrips!)

Additionally, as an action using Tinker's Tools, an Artificer can create an item from a pretty extensive list of adventuring gear, from Lanterns and Oil to Ladders and Ropes, and so on. The items are temporary, disappearing after a long rest, and you can use the feature Int times per day (minimum 1).

    So, this is interesting: I think a player will need to be clever to make use of this, and you'll also need to have situations that require some kind of mechanical problem-solving.

Level 2:

Replicate Magic Item:

You learn four plans from the Replicate Magic Items tables. When you finish a long rest, you can use a set of artisan's tools to create up to two magic items from your known plans. As you gain more Artificer levels, you can learn more plans, make more items, and learn plans that require higher levels.

You can replace one of your learned plans when you gain an Artificer level.

An item created with this feature will last until 1d4 days after you die, or if you replicate an item beyond your limit of replicated items, the oldest one will vanish. It'll also vanish if you replace the plan for it on leveling up.

Wands and Weapons made with this feature can also be used as spellcasting foci in place of Artisan's tools.

There are multiple lists of Plans, which come at levels 2, 6, 10, and 14. While each has a curated list (+1 weapons and such are available as early as level 2) they also have an open-ended option in each list, such as, at level 2, any Common magic item that isn't a potion, scroll, or cursed (a "plan" that can be learned multiple times as long as it's a different item).

    This, of course, is pretty core to the Artificer. It's notable (especially in comparison to the old version) that you can create an item on a long rest, no matter how expensive the mundane equivalent is. While Artificers start with only Studded Leather armor, you will be able to very easily and quickly create, say, Smoldering Half Plate (or Plate, if you pick Armorer at level 3) and skip past a lot of really expensive gold thresholds at levels when you'd probably have not nearly enough to pay for such things.

Level 3:

Subclass:

The Alchemist, Armorer, Artillerist, Battle Smith, and Cartographer are detailed in the chapter, and I'll cover them in separate posts. (Hilarious to me that the 5th in alphabetical order starts with a C.)

Subclass features come at levels 3, 5, 9, and 15.

Level 4:

Ability Score Improvement:

You get a general feat, like everyone does.

Level 6:

Magic Item Tinker:

You can do some special tricks with replicated magic items:

Charge Magic Item lets you use a bonus action to charge up an item created with Replicate Magic item using a spell slot if that item has charges (like a Wand of Lightning Bolts, for example). You expend a spell slot while touching it and the item gains charges equal to the spell slot expended.

    So, I think this is going to usually be a fairly 1-to-1 choice, as many items have you spend charges equal to the level of a spell. That said, plenty of items don't just replicate spells, and something like an Enspelled Staff simply has charges equal to the uses of a spell. While you'll be limited, I think, to lower-level Enspelled Staves/Weapons/etc. (and it has to be one of your replicated items,) this can potentially be an efficient way to cast the spell in the item.

Drain Magic Item lets you, as a bonus action, touch one of your replicated items and make it vanish to regain a spell slot. You can get a 1st level spell slot if the item is Common or a 2nd level one if it's Uncommon or Rare. You can do this once per long rest.

    Notably, you can replicate a Very Rare item, as you can make +2 Armor eventually, but I guess they just assume you're not going to burn that for a spell slot. I think this is going to be a fairly desperate move for when you really need the spell slot.

Transmute Magic: As a magic action, you can touch one of your replicated magic items and transform it into another item whose plan you know. You can do this once per long rest.

    This is some nice flexibility. I could imagine picking up some resistant armor if, for example, you find yourself going into a dragon's lair or something.

Level 7:

Flash of Genius:

When you or an ally within 30 feet fails an ability check or saving throw, you can use a reaction to add your Intelligence modifier to the roll, potentially causing it to succeed. You can do this Int times per long rest.

    As a DM, I'd recommend that if you have an ability check with degrees of success, you should treat not getting the best result as a failure to let them use this. But there's no baiting out the use of this when the Artificer doesn't need to do it anymore. This is arguably the strongest feature the Artificer has.

Level 10:

Magic Item Adept:

You can now attune to four magic items at once.

    Fairly simple. Hey, you're the magic item class.

Level 11:

Spell-Storing Item

When you finish a long rest, you can touch a simple or martial weapon, or an item that you can use as a spellcasting focus and pick one 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level Artificer spell with a casting time of one action and that doesn't consume a material component (you don't need to have it prepared).

A creature holding the item can use a Magic Action to produce the spell's effect from it using your spellcasting ability modifier. The creature using it concentrates on the spell (if it requires concentration). Once the creature has used the item, the object can't be used again in this way until the start of that creature's next turn.

The spell stays in the object until it's been used a number of times equal to twice your intelligence modifier or until you use this feature again to imbue an object with a spell.

    At this level, 3rd level spells are your most powerful, so this is potentially a huge expansion of your spellcasting capabilities. The one-round "cooldown" makes it harder to just pass around amongst the party, but you can definitely get some useful effects out of this. While it might feel lame to put a 1st level spell in this, Cure Wounds is not a terrible choice, as 10 of those spells at this level could amount to effectively 20d8+50 healing (140 total). But this is also good for spells that would be good to split concentration on or more situational spells like Dispel Magic that are good to have in your back pocket.

Level 14:

Advanced Artifice:

You can now attune to up to five magic items at once.

Also, when you finish a short rest, you regain an expended use of Flash of Genius.

    Nothing super fancy. The Flash of Genius refresh is nice, though it's funny that one has to wait until level 14 to have a reason to like short rests beyond healing.

Level 18:

Magic Item Master:

You can now attune to up to six magic items at once.

    Again, fine and great.

Level 19:

Epic Boon:

You get an Epic Boon, like everyone does at this level.

Level 20:

Soul of Artifice:

You get two benefits:

Cheat Death: If you're reduced to 0 HP but not killed outright, you can disintegrate any number of Uncommon or Rare magic items created by your Replicate Magic Items feature. Your hit points instead change to a number equal to 20 times the number of items disintegrated.

    So, this is a risky feature: you are probably relying a lot on those items, and the amount of HP you get for each is... not nothing, but it's little enough that I think you'd probably want to lose at least two items to give you a chance to survive the next onslaught.

Magic Guidance: When you finish a short rest, your regain all uses of Flash of Genius if you're attuned to at least one magic item.

    You will be. So this lets you be way more liberal with this feature.

Overall Thoughts:

I'll concede that a broad overview like this misses some of the nuance: the Replicate Magic Items lists are really crucial to how good this is, but also, a campaign where DMs give lots of magic items does somewhat devalue this class, though it's always nice to have bespoke options.

While I've tried to avoid direct comparisons with the previous version of the class up until this point, I think here we should make those comparisons: Does this version "fix" the problems with the old version. My answer is... not really. I think if you presented this to me with no knowledge of the older version, I'd probably think it was fine. But it is a bit sad to lose features like Right Tool for the Job, Tool Expertise (one that I'm frankly shocked they cut out) and the old, really exciting version of Soul of Artifice, that gives you boosts to all saving throws based on your attuned magic items.

At the same time, I do think that there are some elements here that are better - Replicate Magic Item, for example, is easier to use, and arguably more powerful. I've talked about how the expense of the firearms added to the PHB makes them unlikely to actually see play. But if you can make a Repeating Musket for free, you not only solve the enormous cost, but also solve the fact that it has the Loading Property (you might still want to take Gunner from Tasha's, but only to deal with foes that are in melee range).

Perhaps more than any other class, your Artificer subclass really defines the kind of role you will play in your group, which means that what we're looking at here is a pretty broad chassis upon which the class is built, but not a complete picture.

I think this is largely a "sidegrade" of an update. It's definitely changed as a class - this isn't a "we changed the wording of one ability and made a whole new book about it" situation. And even if, power-level-wise, it might be roughly equivalent to the old version and even possibly an improvement (at least in some regards,) I don't know that there's enough of a change her to get players already familiar with the earlier version excited about it.