I'm giving my Wizard an Artificer dip, looking for a little advice.

[Necromas]

In my current campaign I'm playing a level 5 School of Invention Wizard. I've loved playing him as a tinker, having crafted his own arcanomechanical armor and trying to make use of his tool proficiencies when possible. I'm thinking giving them a dip in artificer would be a great way to expand the inventor fluff and to give the character a bit more mechanical versatility.

On the mechanical side, at the cost of delaying wizard spells known and class features by just one level, having the artificer level gives me:


Medium armor and shields
2 extra cantrips, inc. options not available to wizards
5 extra 1st level spells known (char has 20 int), inc. options not available to wizards
Magical Tinkering
Thieve's Tools
Con save proficiency if dip taken at level 1 (my char already has it through the resilient feat)


I think this is definitely a good idea from an optimization standpoint as it seems like quite a large increase in defense and versatility, without a very large cost in raw power. I could even use reckless casting to use my 4th+ level spell slots before I catch up with wizard spells known. It seems very similar to dipping cleric but with the upside that the spells you gain can actually be cast using your int modifier.

There are a couple of things worth noting though that throw a bit of a wrench in this multiclass. Casting artificer spells will require using tools as a spellcasting focus, and if you wear medium armor you can't use alchemical casting as that requires wearing your arcanomechanical armor. Fortunately my DM already handwaves the item interaction rules so sheathing/stowing an item and drawing a second can be done in the same item interaction. And I'm being allowed to use a breastplate as a base for a new set of arcanomechanical armor (and even then a shield + studded leather is still a decent ac for a wizard).

I'm currently set on picking guidance and thorn whip as my Artificer cantrips, flavoring them as a grappling hook built into the armor and giving the target of guidance a gadget that aids in their ability check. But I'm not sure which first level spells to prepare other than cure wounds (using a healer's kit) and faerie fire (maybe throw an alchemical bomb that covers the targets in a mysterious substance).

I've also been thinking of eventually taking the dip to artificer level 3 and going into artillerist. This would increase the cost of the dip to one level of spell slots and 3 levels of spells known/features but it would give me:


The right tool for the job and woodcarver's tools proficiency
Eldritch Cannon
2 Infused Items


This time though it doesn't really look like the benefits are worth it. The infused items options don't seem super useful for a level 8+ character when they won't scale. I'll already have several tool proficiencies and don't forsee often losing access to the tools I carry. The eldritch cannon seems like the biggest draw as wizards don't get a ton of bonus actions and 2d8 damage is always better than 0, not to mention the usefulness of temp hp. You technically get more 1st level spells prepared too but that's offset by having less wizard spells prepared. Then again expanding on the fluff can be worth losing a little bit of optimization.

I have a couple of questions then for you guys to help me build the character going forward. Assuming I go with the 1 level dip what first level artificer spells would you recommend taking that would stay useful to have prepared on a higher level character, and how could I flavor them as features built into my arcanomechanical armor? Would you be willing to take more artificer levels even though you start falling back in spell power? Do you have any comments in general on multiclassing Wizard/Artificer?

[JNAProductions]

If you're gonna hit 20, I wouldn't put more than two levels into Artificer. Two at-will spells is hella good. (And honestly, the second level probably ain't worth it either, so a one-level dip is all.)

But! Are you going to hit 20?

[Necromas]

If you're gonna hit 20, I wouldn't put more than two levels into Artificer. Two at-will spells is hella good. (And honestly, the second level probably ain't worth it either, so a one-level dip is all.)

But! Are you going to hit 20?

Probably not with this character. But if I ever do a level 20 one shot or something like that maybe I'd bring this one back.

[JNAProductions]

Probably not with this character. But if I ever do a level 20 one shot or something like that maybe I'd bring this one back.

Then a third level is actually pretty good. +2 to AC (from a Shield and Armor being infused to +1), and the Eldritch Cannon are pretty hype.

[Sigreid]

I'll just point out that Artificer specifies that you round up when calculating their spell slots, unique among classes. This means that if you do 1 level, you break even on slots. If you do 2, you lose one level. If you do 3 you lose one level. And you gain access to all of the spells you would have slots for off the artificer list. So at level 3 that's all level 1 and 3 artificer spells. And you can take an infusion to mark a wand and use it as a focus for your artificer spells. You can already use a wand as a focus for your wizard spells.

[Ason]

A one-level dip in artificer won't delay your spells per day at all, while you can make up for the one-level delay in spells known via upcasting lower level spells or scribing those higher spells into your book. I would not go further than one level, however (two at the very most), as that'd delay your spellcasting far too much. As for your first level spells, the two you named (cure wounds and faerie fire) are the two best ones that aren't on the wizard spell list already. Purify Food & Drink and Sanctuary are the other two non-wizard first level spells artificers get, but I don't think they're worth it. So I'd instead make your final three first level spells ones you always want prepared on your wizard anyways, so that your artificer slots free up some space for your wizard spell preparations. To me, those final three spells would be: absorb elements, feather fall, and detect magic. They're not the most exciting things ever, but they are all spells I've found myself mid-dungeon crawl wishing I had prepared instead, which is why I suggest them.