Best Artificer

[Mr.Spastic]

Pretty simple question. What are the best options for the artificer? My DM wants us to all play something from the UA(except Mystics as we have already agreed on how broken they are) And I was thinking Artificer. I just want to know about the best options and what kinds of things I should avoid.

[Daghoulish]

Languid duck made a guide to the artificer quite recently so you should check that out. I might say Aarakocra for gunsmith just for having a flight speed and 200 feet range with the thunder cannon. Here's the guide, hope it helps you.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?572162-For-Science!-A-Guide-to-the-Artificer&p=23482532

[Grimmnist]

EDIT: My reading comprehension just kicked in and saw that you said UA not homebrew. Feel free to ignore me now.

I've always been a big fan of this (https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-LAEn6ZdC6lYUKhQ67Qk) one by Pastutopia, it has 7 subclasses so a lot of variety within the class.

[stoutstien]

EDIT: My reading comprehension just kicked in and saw that you said UA not homebrew. Feel free to ignore me now.

I've always been a big fan of this (https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-LAEn6ZdC6lYUKhQ67Qk) one by Pastutopia, it has 7 subclasses so a lot of variety within the class.

honestly it one of the best class write up out there and it actually better balanced than a lot of stuff WoC put out

[Vexacia]

Gonna assume you pick the Thunder Cannon path because the Alchemist is... not great.

You might consider a dip into Fighter 1 at some point for Archery fighting style - I haven't done the math on it, but I assume delaying Thunder Cannon damage progression by 1 level is outdone by granting your Thunder Cannon a +2 to hit, considering the Sneak Attack Dice style of damage progression. There's no real reason for you to start Fighter 1, so pick it up any time you like - your Mechanical Servant is the crutch that holds your entire class together and makes it not suck, so I would probably snag Fighter 1 at character level 7 or 8 so as to not delay the Mech. Doing it at level 7 delays 2nd level spells, but the Artificer's spell list kind of sucks so it's not as big of a deal as it seems.

You'll want to feat either Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate for Find Familiar. You only get ONE attack per turn, so making sure it hits is extremely important - a Familiar is the easiest way to get advantage on 1 attack/round. If you have strong reason to believe you'll consistently have advantage from party members for some reason, this becomes less valuable.

Sharpshooter's value will be greatly diminished because the AC threshold for using Sharpshooter on a Thunder Cannon shot is going to be beyond awful. Extended range and ignoring cover are still very nice, but the power attack portion is essentially not applicable to you.

[ImproperJustice]

Disagree about Alchemist:
Unlimited super cantrips that scale better than cantrips are awesome.

You heal more than Clerics of the same level, and inflict damage on the same scale as a Rogue, or do slightly less to hit a 5’ area.

Or a once per battle 20’ speed bost, or a non-dispelable obscure effect, or a ranged thunderwave.

Neither is better, their just different and you opinion will vary depending on your party set up.

[Aett_Thorn]

Disagree about Alchemist:
Unlimited super cantrips that scale better than cantrips are awesome.

You heal more than Clerics of the same level, and inflict damage on the same scale as a Rogue, or do slightly less to hit a 5’ area.

Or a once per battle 20’ speed bost, or a non-dispelable obscure effect, or a ranged thunderwave.

Neither is better, their just different and you opinion will vary depending on your party set up.

Alchemists are okay, but not great. Go up against anything with a decent Dex save, and you’re doing zero damage most rounds. Having both attack potions target the same stat was hopefully an oversight, but as written, that can be a big problem. Entangling bag (or whatever it’s called - AFUA right now) and Smoke Stick not scaling at all with level is also somewhat less than ideal.

The healing potion is indeed very potent and useful.

[ImproperJustice]

Alchemists are okay, but not great. Go up against anything with a decent Dex save, and you’re doing zero damage most rounds. Having both attack potions target the same stat was hopefully an oversight, but as written, that can be a big problem. Entangling bag (or whatever it’s called - AFUA right now) and Smoke Stick not scaling at all with level is also somewhat less than ideal.

The healing potion is indeed very potent and useful.

Very true.
In those instances it’s good to have fall back options. And the Dex save reliance can be an issue.

If you are allowed, an artificer can take advantage of attunement slots to pack some wand firepower, or hopefully the Alchemist grabbed Poison Kit as one of their tool proficiencies so you can use posioned crossbow bolts or daggers.

I will also acknowledge that my GM expressed frustration at rolling dex saves all the time and just changed the acid vial to a spell attack, and that was a welcome boost to the class.

I also forgot to mention the value of melting stuff at max damage for the alchemist.
Locks, hinges, traps, and at high levels even walls can be melted through at a frightening pace.

We did battle against a Green Dragon in it’s terrible hedge maze of doom, and my alchemist’s indistrial grade “weed killer” helped us cut through a number of barriers in short order.