BubbleThief
2021-04-30, 09:09 AM
Intro
I put way too much work into this since I’m bored during quarantine. Here are my thoughts on my current character: the Armorer Artificer. I have seen a couple references online to the Guardian Model Armorer being a good tank, but I haven’t seen anyone go into detail.
The basic idea of the build is to have battlefield control from being a ½ caster with access to Web, Hypnotic Pattern, and other AoE controls spells. Whatever enemies slip through our initial battlefield control, we tank with our excellent durability and Thunder Gauntlets debuff imposing disadvantage on all other targets.
This build does assume your DM allows you to cast Booming Blade with your Thunder Gauntlets. I cannot find an official ruling on whether your gauntlets cost more than 1sp.
Build
Armorer Artificer 18/Chronurgy Wizard 2
Levels 1-5 Artificer 1-5
Level 6 Wizard 1
Level 7-13 Artificer 6-12
Level 14 Chronurgy Wizard 2
Level 15-20 Artificer 13-18
If Chronurgy Wizard is not allowed at our table, we skip the 2nd Wizard level for 1 more Artificer Level. Or, we could take Divination or War Wizard if we really wanted to.
Stats
STR 8 INT 15
DEX 14 WIS 10
CON 15 CHA 8
10 Dexterity and 14 Wisdom, or 12 Dexterity and 12 Wisdom with 1 extra point put wherever are also fine.
I think Dexterity for the initiative, save, AC at levels 1 and 2, and early game Acrobatics skill to escape grapples is better than Wisdom for only the save.
Race
We go Warforged and use Tasha’s optional race rules for +2 INT and +1 CON. The +1 AC is the strongest racial bonus for us at low and middle levels. The poison resistance, disease immunity, and sleep immunity are great additional perks to increase our durability. The extra skill and tool proficiency are fitting for an Artificer.
Equipment
Best heavy armor we can afford (plate ASAP), shield in 1 hand, Thunder Gauntlet in the other.
ASI’s
Level 4: Fey-touched, +1 INT (18 total)
Level 9: Warcaster
Level 13: +2 INT (20 total)
Level 18: Tough/Resilient (Wisdom)?
Fey Touched
Gift of Alacrity: Arguably the best choice for levels 4-9, and definitively the best choice for levels 10+. Take this if your DM allows it.
Hex and Bless are not as good as they normally are for most characters. We already have Faerie Fire as a good use of concentration, although Hex and Bless are typically better. We get Hex or Bless at level 4 instead of level 1, and we want to use our concentration for Web at level 5. Both are still great for level 4, and they are good options for levels 5-9 for fights where the AoE control of Web is not needed.
Hex: Take this if your party greatly benefits from the disadvantage on ability checks debuff, or if neither of the conditions of Bless are met.
Bless: Take this if your DM frequently gives you a chance to precast buffs before fights, or you have multiple GWM and SS party members.
How to Play
Levels 5-10
We want to be in front of the party, blocking enemies. Typically on the 1st or 2nd round, we throw down a battlefield control spell. For example, we cast Web in front of us on a chokepoint or on a large group of enemies, or Hypnotic Pattern on a large group of enemies. For difficult fights, we layer Pipes of Haunting on top of our concentration spell for even more AoE battlefield control.
On subsequent rounds, depending on the state of the battlefield, we can move to melee enemies who have gotten through our battlefield control spell, or we can Ray of Frost enemies stuck in Web or out of melee range.
Enemies we melee have disadvantage on all other targets and will provoke an opportunity attack if they leave melee. At level 9+, if enemies move away from us, they will take considerable damage from our Booming Blade opportunity attack.
These layers of battlefield control, our potential damage, and our exceptional durability make it extremely difficult for enemies to take effective action against our party.
Levels 1-4
Level 1 Artificer is honestly pretty bad. We just stand back and throw Magic Stones or shoot Firebolts, and we cast a couple Catapults or Faerie Fires. Hopefully, we can afford a Homunculus Servant at level 2 to boost our DPR to respectable levels.
Levels 3-4 is when we actually start playing like a tank. We follow the same plan from levels 5-10, except we do not start off casting a battlefield control spell. Instead, we cast Thunder Wave for AoE Damage, Magic Missile for guaranteed range damage, and Faerie Fire to boost party damage.
Levels 11-16
We follow the same plan from levels 5-10, except we rarely take the attack action anymore.
We cast Booming Blade as it has scaled better than our attack action.
Sometimes, we cast Green-Flame Blade if we think the enemy will not move on its turn, and there is another enemy adjacent to it.
Rarely, we attack if we really need to apply Thunder Gauntlets debuff to 2 different enemies, or if we are positive the enemy we are attacking will not move and there is no enemy adjacent to them.
At level 12+, we use our bonus action to cast Magic stone, and our 4th level spell slots to upcast Tiny Servant. Magic Stone creates 3 projectiles as a bonus action and a 4th level Tiny Servant creates 3 constructs which can throw all 3 projectiles on their turns. This massively increases our DPR.
Levels 17-20
I have never played in this level range and am not sure what is best. I have thought about multiclassing to Psi Warrior, switching to Infiltrator Mode Armorer Artificer to make use of the amazing buff it gets at Artificer level 15, or taking the Belt of Hill Giant Strength infusion and switching to grappling. I am curious to hear what people who have played in that level range think.
Spells
Cantrips
Note that Artificers can change 1 cantrip every level, so we have a lot of flexibility.
Magic Stone: The best damage from level 1 until we get enough money for the Homunculus Servant Infusion that requires our bonus action. Also, used at level 12+ with Tiny Servant.
Firebolt: The best ranged option from when we replace magic stone until level 5.
Ray of Frost: Our main ranged option from level 5 onward. It synergizes with Web, our main 2nd level spell and concentration use.
Booming Blade: Once we get Warcaster, this greatly improves our opportunity attacks. It is better than our attack action at levels 1-4, and 11-20.
Green-Flame Blade: Depending on enemy positioning, this can be better than our attack action at levels 1-4 and 11-20.
We have 5 cantrips at level 6, and get up to 7 at level 16. Take whatever other out of combat utility cantrips you want. Guidance is always great.
1st
Absorb Elements
Faerie Fire
Thunder Wave*
Magic Missile*
Find Familiar**
Shield**
Gift of Alacrity***
*Armorer known spell
**Wizard spell taken at level 6
***Fey Touched Spell
At low levels, we cast Faerie Fire, Thunder Wave, and Magic Missile. At higher levels, we mostly cast Shield, Absorb Elements, and Gift of Alacrity.
From our Wizard dip, we have all the 1st level spells we could ever want. Feather Fall, Sanctuary, and Detect Magic are some good additional spell options.
2nd
Web
Aid
Mirror Image*
Shatter*
Misty Step***
At low levels, we use almost all of our spell slots for Web. If necessary, we use Misty Step to get up or down a cliff, out of a very dangerous grapple, get over lava, etc. When we have more spell slots, we can precast Mirror Image before a difficult fight or cast/upcast Aid on the party.
3rd
Haste: This goes on a melee ally who actually has a good attack action, not on ourself!
Hypnotic Pattern*
Lightning Bolt*
Most spell slots go to Web and Hypnotic Pattern depending on the Enemy’s Saves (WIS or DEX). We cast Haste for fights where AoE control is not needed, like a boss fight against 1 enemy with legendary actions and resistances.
Dispel Magic and Revivify are situational, but potential very good additional spell options.
4th
Tiny Servant: This is a 3rd level spell, but we want to upcast it to 4th to use with Magic Stone.
Otiluke's Resilient Sphere
Fire Shield*
Greater Invisibility*: This spell is amazing for full casters, but we do not get it until 15th level. Many enemies have True Sight, Tremor Sense, or some similar ability at this point.
Most spell slots go to Tiny Servant. The other 3 options are situationally good. Arcane Eye can also be useful to pick up.
5th
Animate Objects
Transmute Rock
Passwall*
Wall of Force*
Three amazing spells for our final level. Animate Objects is great damage against enemies without nonmagical bludgeoning resistance or immunity. Unfortunately, at level 19, many enemies have resistance. Transmute Rock is Web (our favorite battlefield control spell) on steroids. Unfortunately, many enemies have flight, teleportation, or something similar at this point limiting its effect. Wall of Force is as game breaking as usual.
Infusions
For infusions, we know twice as many infusions as you can have active at a time. You can switch between known infusions on a long rest. With this in mind, we want a couple generically strong infusions to be active almost all the time, and a couple situational infusions that we can switch to over long rests. These situational infusions need to be for challenges where we can reasonably long rest before tackling them.
I only cover the active infusions. The other known, but typically inactive infusions, can be whatever you want.
2nd Level
1. Homunculus Servant: It provides all the utility of Find Familiar, and its bonus action attack greatly improves our DPR.
2. Enhanced Defense: +1 AC on our shield helps us fill our tank role.
6th Level
1. Pipes of Haunting: A 30ft. radius AoE fear that lasts 1 whole minute, and is concentrationless! It can stack with Web or any other concentration spell for crazy amounts of battlefield control.
2. Enhanced Defense
3. Homunculus Servant: We want to replace this at some point. It dies too easily at higher levels and only comes back on a long rest. We also have Find Familiar now to fill part of its role. When exactly you drop it depends on your DM and their tactics for targeting the Homunculus Servant.
If we replace Homunculus Servant, we take Radiant Weapon by default or Enhanced Weapon if we do not have enough attunement slots.
9th Level
At this point, it becomes difficult to recommend infusions. So much depends on your party members and what magic items you all have. Hopefully, most marital party members have their own magic weapon by now, and do not need our infusions.
1. Pipes of Haunting
2. Enhanced Defense: On our armor now
3. Enhanced Weapon
4. Repulsion Shield: Pick another of the options below if you already have a magic shield.
5. Pick 1 depending on your party...
a. Radiant Weapon: Great for a frontliner who gets hit often, like a Barbarian.
b. Repeating Shot: Good for an archer.
c. Spell Refueling Ring: Great for a paladin. 3rd level spells are their highest spell slot and they want all the spell slots they can get for Divine Smite. This is not great for us as we are still happy casting web for multiple fights and do not desperately need more 3rd level spells.
d. Mind Sharpener: Good for a full caster at this level, and just gets better.
10th Level
Enhanced Weapon and Enhanced Defense are now +2
1. Enhanced Defense
2. Enhanced Weapon
3. Pipes of Haunting
4. Cloak of Protection
5. Repulsion Shield
6. Pick 1 of the infusions mentioned at 9th level or...
a. Helm of Awareness
b. Winged Boots
c. Bracers of Archery
14th Level
1. Enhanced Defense
2. Enhanced Weapon
3. Cloak of Protection
4. Ring of Protection
5. Mind Sharpener
6. Pick 2 of the infusions mentioned at 9th or 10th level...
a. Pipes of Haunting: The DC15 Wisdom Save is finally outdated.
b. Repulsion Shield: +1 AC is not worth an attunement slot and infusion anymore.
c. Spell Refueling Ring: 1 more 3rd level slot is not worth an infusion anymore.
Spell Storing Item
Mirror Image: Everyone touches the spell storing item and casts this on themselves before a tough fight. For a standard party of ~5, this can happen twice per long rest. This is a massive increase in durability that no other option comes close to. If your DM rarely gives you a chance to prep before fights, or you reach super high levels where many enemies have true sight or something similar to negate mirror image this is not as good.
Other options are more party dependent. Here are some good ones.
Cure Wounds: All the out of combat healing your party will ever need.
Magic Missile/Shatter: For a Tiny Servant or party follower NPC to cast every turn.
Blur: For a martial party member to concentrate on every fight.
Enlarge/Reduce: For a grappling party member to concentrate on every fight.
I played this build in a 1 shot with only 1 other player and it felt terrible. But in my regular campaign, where I am tanking for and protecting multiple allies and high damage dealers it feels great!
I put way too much work into this since I’m bored during quarantine. Here are my thoughts on my current character: the Armorer Artificer. I have seen a couple references online to the Guardian Model Armorer being a good tank, but I haven’t seen anyone go into detail.
The basic idea of the build is to have battlefield control from being a ½ caster with access to Web, Hypnotic Pattern, and other AoE controls spells. Whatever enemies slip through our initial battlefield control, we tank with our excellent durability and Thunder Gauntlets debuff imposing disadvantage on all other targets.
This build does assume your DM allows you to cast Booming Blade with your Thunder Gauntlets. I cannot find an official ruling on whether your gauntlets cost more than 1sp.
Build
Armorer Artificer 18/Chronurgy Wizard 2
Levels 1-5 Artificer 1-5
Level 6 Wizard 1
Level 7-13 Artificer 6-12
Level 14 Chronurgy Wizard 2
Level 15-20 Artificer 13-18
If Chronurgy Wizard is not allowed at our table, we skip the 2nd Wizard level for 1 more Artificer Level. Or, we could take Divination or War Wizard if we really wanted to.
Stats
STR 8 INT 15
DEX 14 WIS 10
CON 15 CHA 8
10 Dexterity and 14 Wisdom, or 12 Dexterity and 12 Wisdom with 1 extra point put wherever are also fine.
I think Dexterity for the initiative, save, AC at levels 1 and 2, and early game Acrobatics skill to escape grapples is better than Wisdom for only the save.
Race
We go Warforged and use Tasha’s optional race rules for +2 INT and +1 CON. The +1 AC is the strongest racial bonus for us at low and middle levels. The poison resistance, disease immunity, and sleep immunity are great additional perks to increase our durability. The extra skill and tool proficiency are fitting for an Artificer.
Equipment
Best heavy armor we can afford (plate ASAP), shield in 1 hand, Thunder Gauntlet in the other.
ASI’s
Level 4: Fey-touched, +1 INT (18 total)
Level 9: Warcaster
Level 13: +2 INT (20 total)
Level 18: Tough/Resilient (Wisdom)?
Fey Touched
Gift of Alacrity: Arguably the best choice for levels 4-9, and definitively the best choice for levels 10+. Take this if your DM allows it.
Hex and Bless are not as good as they normally are for most characters. We already have Faerie Fire as a good use of concentration, although Hex and Bless are typically better. We get Hex or Bless at level 4 instead of level 1, and we want to use our concentration for Web at level 5. Both are still great for level 4, and they are good options for levels 5-9 for fights where the AoE control of Web is not needed.
Hex: Take this if your party greatly benefits from the disadvantage on ability checks debuff, or if neither of the conditions of Bless are met.
Bless: Take this if your DM frequently gives you a chance to precast buffs before fights, or you have multiple GWM and SS party members.
How to Play
Levels 5-10
We want to be in front of the party, blocking enemies. Typically on the 1st or 2nd round, we throw down a battlefield control spell. For example, we cast Web in front of us on a chokepoint or on a large group of enemies, or Hypnotic Pattern on a large group of enemies. For difficult fights, we layer Pipes of Haunting on top of our concentration spell for even more AoE battlefield control.
On subsequent rounds, depending on the state of the battlefield, we can move to melee enemies who have gotten through our battlefield control spell, or we can Ray of Frost enemies stuck in Web or out of melee range.
Enemies we melee have disadvantage on all other targets and will provoke an opportunity attack if they leave melee. At level 9+, if enemies move away from us, they will take considerable damage from our Booming Blade opportunity attack.
These layers of battlefield control, our potential damage, and our exceptional durability make it extremely difficult for enemies to take effective action against our party.
Levels 1-4
Level 1 Artificer is honestly pretty bad. We just stand back and throw Magic Stones or shoot Firebolts, and we cast a couple Catapults or Faerie Fires. Hopefully, we can afford a Homunculus Servant at level 2 to boost our DPR to respectable levels.
Levels 3-4 is when we actually start playing like a tank. We follow the same plan from levels 5-10, except we do not start off casting a battlefield control spell. Instead, we cast Thunder Wave for AoE Damage, Magic Missile for guaranteed range damage, and Faerie Fire to boost party damage.
Levels 11-16
We follow the same plan from levels 5-10, except we rarely take the attack action anymore.
We cast Booming Blade as it has scaled better than our attack action.
Sometimes, we cast Green-Flame Blade if we think the enemy will not move on its turn, and there is another enemy adjacent to it.
Rarely, we attack if we really need to apply Thunder Gauntlets debuff to 2 different enemies, or if we are positive the enemy we are attacking will not move and there is no enemy adjacent to them.
At level 12+, we use our bonus action to cast Magic stone, and our 4th level spell slots to upcast Tiny Servant. Magic Stone creates 3 projectiles as a bonus action and a 4th level Tiny Servant creates 3 constructs which can throw all 3 projectiles on their turns. This massively increases our DPR.
Levels 17-20
I have never played in this level range and am not sure what is best. I have thought about multiclassing to Psi Warrior, switching to Infiltrator Mode Armorer Artificer to make use of the amazing buff it gets at Artificer level 15, or taking the Belt of Hill Giant Strength infusion and switching to grappling. I am curious to hear what people who have played in that level range think.
Spells
Cantrips
Note that Artificers can change 1 cantrip every level, so we have a lot of flexibility.
Magic Stone: The best damage from level 1 until we get enough money for the Homunculus Servant Infusion that requires our bonus action. Also, used at level 12+ with Tiny Servant.
Firebolt: The best ranged option from when we replace magic stone until level 5.
Ray of Frost: Our main ranged option from level 5 onward. It synergizes with Web, our main 2nd level spell and concentration use.
Booming Blade: Once we get Warcaster, this greatly improves our opportunity attacks. It is better than our attack action at levels 1-4, and 11-20.
Green-Flame Blade: Depending on enemy positioning, this can be better than our attack action at levels 1-4 and 11-20.
We have 5 cantrips at level 6, and get up to 7 at level 16. Take whatever other out of combat utility cantrips you want. Guidance is always great.
1st
Absorb Elements
Faerie Fire
Thunder Wave*
Magic Missile*
Find Familiar**
Shield**
Gift of Alacrity***
*Armorer known spell
**Wizard spell taken at level 6
***Fey Touched Spell
At low levels, we cast Faerie Fire, Thunder Wave, and Magic Missile. At higher levels, we mostly cast Shield, Absorb Elements, and Gift of Alacrity.
From our Wizard dip, we have all the 1st level spells we could ever want. Feather Fall, Sanctuary, and Detect Magic are some good additional spell options.
2nd
Web
Aid
Mirror Image*
Shatter*
Misty Step***
At low levels, we use almost all of our spell slots for Web. If necessary, we use Misty Step to get up or down a cliff, out of a very dangerous grapple, get over lava, etc. When we have more spell slots, we can precast Mirror Image before a difficult fight or cast/upcast Aid on the party.
3rd
Haste: This goes on a melee ally who actually has a good attack action, not on ourself!
Hypnotic Pattern*
Lightning Bolt*
Most spell slots go to Web and Hypnotic Pattern depending on the Enemy’s Saves (WIS or DEX). We cast Haste for fights where AoE control is not needed, like a boss fight against 1 enemy with legendary actions and resistances.
Dispel Magic and Revivify are situational, but potential very good additional spell options.
4th
Tiny Servant: This is a 3rd level spell, but we want to upcast it to 4th to use with Magic Stone.
Otiluke's Resilient Sphere
Fire Shield*
Greater Invisibility*: This spell is amazing for full casters, but we do not get it until 15th level. Many enemies have True Sight, Tremor Sense, or some similar ability at this point.
Most spell slots go to Tiny Servant. The other 3 options are situationally good. Arcane Eye can also be useful to pick up.
5th
Animate Objects
Transmute Rock
Passwall*
Wall of Force*
Three amazing spells for our final level. Animate Objects is great damage against enemies without nonmagical bludgeoning resistance or immunity. Unfortunately, at level 19, many enemies have resistance. Transmute Rock is Web (our favorite battlefield control spell) on steroids. Unfortunately, many enemies have flight, teleportation, or something similar at this point limiting its effect. Wall of Force is as game breaking as usual.
Infusions
For infusions, we know twice as many infusions as you can have active at a time. You can switch between known infusions on a long rest. With this in mind, we want a couple generically strong infusions to be active almost all the time, and a couple situational infusions that we can switch to over long rests. These situational infusions need to be for challenges where we can reasonably long rest before tackling them.
I only cover the active infusions. The other known, but typically inactive infusions, can be whatever you want.
2nd Level
1. Homunculus Servant: It provides all the utility of Find Familiar, and its bonus action attack greatly improves our DPR.
2. Enhanced Defense: +1 AC on our shield helps us fill our tank role.
6th Level
1. Pipes of Haunting: A 30ft. radius AoE fear that lasts 1 whole minute, and is concentrationless! It can stack with Web or any other concentration spell for crazy amounts of battlefield control.
2. Enhanced Defense
3. Homunculus Servant: We want to replace this at some point. It dies too easily at higher levels and only comes back on a long rest. We also have Find Familiar now to fill part of its role. When exactly you drop it depends on your DM and their tactics for targeting the Homunculus Servant.
If we replace Homunculus Servant, we take Radiant Weapon by default or Enhanced Weapon if we do not have enough attunement slots.
9th Level
At this point, it becomes difficult to recommend infusions. So much depends on your party members and what magic items you all have. Hopefully, most marital party members have their own magic weapon by now, and do not need our infusions.
1. Pipes of Haunting
2. Enhanced Defense: On our armor now
3. Enhanced Weapon
4. Repulsion Shield: Pick another of the options below if you already have a magic shield.
5. Pick 1 depending on your party...
a. Radiant Weapon: Great for a frontliner who gets hit often, like a Barbarian.
b. Repeating Shot: Good for an archer.
c. Spell Refueling Ring: Great for a paladin. 3rd level spells are their highest spell slot and they want all the spell slots they can get for Divine Smite. This is not great for us as we are still happy casting web for multiple fights and do not desperately need more 3rd level spells.
d. Mind Sharpener: Good for a full caster at this level, and just gets better.
10th Level
Enhanced Weapon and Enhanced Defense are now +2
1. Enhanced Defense
2. Enhanced Weapon
3. Pipes of Haunting
4. Cloak of Protection
5. Repulsion Shield
6. Pick 1 of the infusions mentioned at 9th level or...
a. Helm of Awareness
b. Winged Boots
c. Bracers of Archery
14th Level
1. Enhanced Defense
2. Enhanced Weapon
3. Cloak of Protection
4. Ring of Protection
5. Mind Sharpener
6. Pick 2 of the infusions mentioned at 9th or 10th level...
a. Pipes of Haunting: The DC15 Wisdom Save is finally outdated.
b. Repulsion Shield: +1 AC is not worth an attunement slot and infusion anymore.
c. Spell Refueling Ring: 1 more 3rd level slot is not worth an infusion anymore.
Spell Storing Item
Mirror Image: Everyone touches the spell storing item and casts this on themselves before a tough fight. For a standard party of ~5, this can happen twice per long rest. This is a massive increase in durability that no other option comes close to. If your DM rarely gives you a chance to prep before fights, or you reach super high levels where many enemies have true sight or something similar to negate mirror image this is not as good.
Other options are more party dependent. Here are some good ones.
Cure Wounds: All the out of combat healing your party will ever need.
Magic Missile/Shatter: For a Tiny Servant or party follower NPC to cast every turn.
Blur: For a martial party member to concentrate on every fight.
Enlarge/Reduce: For a grappling party member to concentrate on every fight.
I played this build in a 1 shot with only 1 other player and it felt terrible. But in my regular campaign, where I am tanking for and protecting multiple allies and high damage dealers it feels great!