artificer build optimization

[Amdy_vill]

This is the build i have made, along with things i will make as i level. I would like some advice on how optimized it is. My plane in the game we are using it in is to make and sell magic good. My DM does not allow dragon magazine material.

Race: human
Feats
Human bonus feat:Mercantile Background
2 flaws: legendary artisans, extraordinary artisans
lv1:Craft Alchemical Item
Artificer lv 1: scribe scrolls
lv 1: make identify scrolls form money
Artificer lv 2: brew potion
Artificer lv 3: craft wondrous item
Lv3:Armor Proficiency (heavy) magical artisan(gold craft wondrous item)
Artificer lv 4: craft portal
Artificer lv 5: craft magic arms and armor
Artificer lv 6: craft wands
Lv6: craft constructed
Lv6: make a Dedicated Wright
Artificer lv 8: craft moving portal
Artificer lv 9: craft rod
Lv9: Leadership
Artificer lv 12: craft staff and magical artisan(gold craft staff)
LV12: extra followers
Artificer lv 14: forge ring
Lv15: attuned magic weapon
Artificer lv 16: extra rings
Lv18: Tattoo Magic
Lv 18: regenerating xp http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=1000.0
Artificer lv 20: improved homunculus

[weckar]

So is this Artificer 20 all the way?

[Amdy_vill]

yes but i am willing to change some levels if it will let me make more/better/cheaper magic items

[weckar]

And are you trying to be powerful at every level, or just at the end of it?

(Early note: the Heavy Armor Proficiency is probably better gotten through a martial dip. I find Marshall synergizes well with the high Cha most artificers have)

[Amdy_vill]

I would like to be well off at as many levels as possible

[Eldariel]

Heavy Armor Proficiency stands out as a really uninspiring feat. How about Magical Artisan [Player's Guide to Faerun] instead? Also, metamagic feats can be really good with your Metamagic Spell Trigger ability and Metamagic Item Infusion.

For the former, if you want to blow people to smithereens, Twin Spell, Energy Admixture, Split Ray, Quicken Spell and Empower Spell are great.

For the latter, particularly Persistent Spell, Chain Spell and Ocular/Reach Spell are quite useful for efficiently buffing yourself and your teammates while minimizing resource expediture. Persistent Spell + Metamagic Item in particular is amazing for allday buffs.


Other than that, it mostly comes down to what you use and whether you focus more on consumables or permanent items, and how you juggle the bonuses.

[weckar]

Finding a way to access a plane where time flows faster should be a priority for any Artificer. It is by far the easiest way to mitigate crafting times.

[Amdy_vill]

I have mades so edits. I am trying to focus on permanent items supplemented by consumibles

[tokyooo23]

I'm partial to the apprentice(craftsman) feat myself.

[Amdy_vill]

what does that feat do

[tokyooo23]

DMG2, Pg 176

[arkangel111]

well... you could waste all of those feats OR you could go...

Artificer 7 / rogue 1 / Chameleon 2 / Rogue +2 / swashbuckler 8

1. Able Learner
any feat after lvl 11 grab daring outlaw.

grace + 2
BAB 16 / SA +6d6 hitting touch
use metamagic spell trigger and perhaps some wand grips and dual wield wand chamber spellblades. You don't even have to take the twf penalties when dual wielding if you aren't using it to attack, you are just giving yourself 2 readied spells to cast on a moments notice. I prefer 1 BFC spell and 1 ranged touch to apply sneak attack.

have 2 of your constructs also holding at least 1 spellblade apiece and bounce some spells around.

when wanting to craft use your floating feat from chameleon for whichever one you need. XP is a river and you can eventually have infinite XP for crafting purposes, so the extra xp from the class is pointless. you can craft your own wands so you might as well enjoy part of your class power and utilize them.

with 2 levels of chameleon you are essentially eliminating 11 dead levels from your build. Infusions are not what make an artificer tier 0 so there is no real loss there. UMD is no longer really needed since every spell is on your list now. we're also freeing up 2 feats for your build. honestly, I wouldn't even worry about the money saving feats, you will be swimming in dough after just a couple levels if your DM is already willing to let you sell items.

*Also Check out Czar Hail in my signature for some insight on tactics and how to play an artificer.

[weckar]

All good Arcangel, but you are TANKING your virtual caster level for item crafting :smallconfused:

[arkangel111]

forgot about that... but...

nightsticks +4 (possibly stacking)
Bead of Karma +4
orange prism Ioun stone +1
Craft magic tattoo spell +1
ring of arcane might +1
Domain Drought +1 (only certain schools though)

There are other ways too but all that I have mentioned are items or spells... guess who can make their own...

[Eldariel]

forgot about that... but...

nightsticks +4 (possibly stacking)
Bead of Karma +4
orange prism Ioun stone +1
Craft magic tattoo spell +1
ring of arcane might +1
Domain Drought +1 (only certain schools though)

There are other ways too but all that I have mentioned are items or spells... guess who can make their own...

I really don't see the advantage of wasting levels on classes like Rogue or SWASHBUCKLER for..what, Sneak Attack? Hunter's Eye (Eternal) Wand alone at max CL probably gives you more. To that end just more Artificer levels are just as good, and take less effort. And there are Infusions that are quite nice.

If you wanted to multiclass, something like Ardent, Factotum, Psion or Eternal Blade would offer something unique but frankly, Artificer 20 is already one of the strongest characters in the game and more than complex enough - if one isn't interested in primary Wand Blasting or Scrollificering, Cannith Wand Adept and Unbound Scroll aren't giving you enough making Artificer 20 perfectly reasonable.

[weckar]

Meh, I personally think artificer has some obvious drop-out points. 20 is nice, but dipping around just a little can be nicer -- especially dipping for spell access.

IMO, the best times to get out are:

5th (Retain essence is enough to carry a game that won't go beyond lv 10 or so, and makes for a decent entry into Battlesmith, if that's your jam [although bonus feat redundancy does hurt])
7th (blastificers)
14th (if you feel you need all the crafting feats, and all infusion levels)


This is for me based on the idea that lower-levelled magic items tend to stay relative quite long, although your mileage may vary depending on how much your DM likes to counterspell/suppress/ use SR.

[arkangel111]

I never said rogue and swashbuckler were necessary, in fact I actually said "you could go:" and then proceeded to list an alternate way to get everything he wanted, and then some. Blasting is NOT ideal but realistically, an artificer has 1 million things he already has set to go off in a round to nullify an enemy, why not drop a little more dmg.

you can still have wand of whatever at max CL with the build I gave and add sneak attack. I only chose rogue because Chameleon needs some skills the artificer doesn't have on its list. rog+swash gets it up to 16 BAB so you can use iteratives if you want to. he could just as easily taken several levels in samurai if that's what he wants. so long as he grabs 2 levels of chameleon he has lost absolutely nothing from artificer.

My whole point was really that the artificer can ONLY make use of those feats out of combat, and only one at a time. wasting 13 levels on feats you might get use out of once a month is an un-optimal choice. especially since even in long running campaigns it can take years to craft high level items.

amulet of mighty fists +5 = 150,000 gp (not even the most expensive item) = 1,500,000 sp
its an amulet so lets say a nice item DC 15 check
Artificer gets a 60 on his craft check (spitballing arbitrarily high, yes he can get higher but this is pretty reasonable)
15*60=900 * 3 (for a homunculi working round the clock) = 2700
2700/1,500,000 = 555.56 WEEKS to craft or ~10.7 years OR ~3900 days
so even on a plane that moves 40x as fast you are looking at ~97 days of work or just over 3 months to use 1 feat

chameleon gives that 1 feat on the day you need it and on the days you don't you grab toughness and it is still worth more than whatever feats you gained from 13 levels of artificer. Even if you are cycling through several factories of crafting you can visit a new factory each day with whatever feat you've chosen.

Don't get me wrong I am not saying artificer is bad, it's tier 0 for a reason, just that going art 20 is not worth it, when you can get the same abilities at art 7 / any 1 / chameleon 2.

[Forrestfire]

A fully-optimized artificer should probably rush Persistent Spell as soon as possible. Item crafting is their primary strength over time (stockpiling scrolls, outfitting the party, etc), but on a day to day basis, infusions and buff spells will be what carries you. If you click the link in my sig, I wrote a guide on just that. Skips crafting optimization, but it might help :smallsmile: