Retain Essence or Weapon Familiar?

[Cieyrin]

I was reading Races of Eberron recently in my research for The Warforged Suckerpunch and I came upon the Warforged Artificer substitution levels. The first two look pretty good (Higher CL? Better return on xp for weapons, armor and constructs? Sign me up!) It's the last one that gives me pause, as while I find the idea of a sentient Battlefist giving me advice amusing, it comes at the cost of being able to drain undesired items to make new toys that I want. Is this worthwhile? I mean, free Alertness and 2 Familiar bonuses (one for size, one for damage type) seems nice, though the rest isn't terribly useful on a non-mobile device. So, thoughts?

[panaikhan]

When I played my Warforged Artificer / Juggernaut, I had a weapon familiar.
My GM allowed me to construct a unique 'Tail' familiar (basically it gave me a secondary 'slam' attack).
This was all in my plan to perfect my own Mecha-Godzilla character - I already had heat-beam eyes (from an elemental graft) and the Jaws of Death...

[CockroachTeaParty]

I'd say it depends on the type of game you're in. If it's a more adventure-focused, mobile, pulpy style of campaign, you might not necessarily have the time to drain every last item to make new ones. In that case, you might be better served by the bonuses from the substitution level, since the craft reserve will probably be enough to meet your needs.

However, if the game will have long 'break' periods, perhaps in a more episodic format, the extra XP raked in from retain essence might be the better option, to maximize your magic item output.