How to buff a steel defender

[Syjyl4488]

I am currently a tier 3 battlesmith artificer, and my sd is always dying after taking one or two hits/aoe’s…I gave him a ring of spell storing with bless, shield, and absorb elements, and plan to equip him with the SSI (cure wounds)…any other ways to make him useful or increase his survivability in combat?

[Dork_Forge]

I am currently a tier 3 battlesmith artificer, and my sd is always dying after taking one or two hits/aoe’s…I gave him a ring of spell storing with bless, shield, and absorb elements, and plan to equip him with the SSI (cure wounds)…any other ways to make him useful or increase his survivability in combat?

If you're looking to specifically make him survive longer:

-What's your Int?

-Do you make sure they're 100% HP before entering a fight?

Suggestions:

-Give him Heroism, or cast it yourself if you don't want to concentrate on anything else, +5 temp hp a round can really go far

- Include him in a casting of Aid

- If he's really damaged, just use the Repair action, he'll still be a target and can still use Defensive Pounce

- Cast Warding Bond on him

For this to be happening so regularly seems a bit odd, does your table use fewer encounters that are more deadly as a result?

[stoutstien]

I am currently a tier 3 battlesmith artificer, and my sd is always dying after taking one or two hits/aoe’s…I gave him a ring of spell storing with bless, shield, and absorb elements, and plan to equip him with the SSI (cure wounds)…any other ways to make him useful or increase his survivability in combat?
In what fashion are you using the SD? Is it attacking or dodging? Is it providing cover therefore eating damage? Does your DM treat the SD as a factor when calculating Encounter designs so the extra damage is just a by product of that?

*Seeing how to have a spell storing ring to spare the game is probably pretty high tuned so keep a look out for the lyre of building. Mending spamming as an action would help you out. Don't forget arcane jolt can target the SD for doubling down with repair.

[Second Wind]

If your steel defender is drawing aggro, it's doing its job. You can repair it quickly and cheaply as soon as the fight ends.

[BigRedJedi]

Mending spamming as an action would help you out.

As I recently had to eat a whole plate of crow on this one, did you know that Mending has a ONE MINUTE casting time? Yeah, me neither...

[werescythe]

I might be wrong, but I believe the Inspiring Leader feat would help as it would allow you to give your allies (including your Steel Defender) some temporary hit points.

[stoutstien]

As I recently had to eat a whole plate of crow on this one, did you know that Mending has a ONE MINUTE casting time? Yeah, me neither...
Not with the lyre of buildings.

Which reminds me, does your DM give your SD death saves? RaW they should.

[kore]

The question has been asked though not answered yet so I'm also going to ask, how are you using the SD in combat?

At tier 3 I recommend putting Warding Bond on your SSI and giving it to your SD. Have your SD then cast Warding Bond on you so that you get all the buffs and it takes the half damage. You now have an HP battery; my DM allowed me to Infuse my SD's armor with Enhanced Defense which I then made into my SSI. Next either have it Dodge (requiring no action on your part) or have it use Help. Either way, don't use it to attack and throw Sanctuary on it. I prefer keeping it close for its reaction but you could also put somewhere safe in the back line.

Now get your AC and saves up (Cloak of Protection, Ring of Protection, shield, half-plate, Warding Bond) and with resistance you are a tank with a wireless HP sink. Use its self-repair ability if necessary or Mending between battles; 1 minute cast as mention in this thread already. Also, don't forget that your Arcane Jolt heals, this is tremendous action economy value.

[Khrysaes]

I don't know if has been mentioned but your Defender can attune to magic items.

So, you can increase its survivability with things like a cloak of protection, ring of protection, amulet of health (for saves, wont affect HP), boots of flying, etc.

These are just infusions. It can attune to non infusion items too.

Also, if you are small sized you can ride it with the mounted combatant feat.

And, as mentioned before, sanctuary, warding bond, etc.

[AttilatheYeon]

I find using liberal amounts of wax and small circles works well for me. 😂

[Syjyl4488]

To answer some of the suggestions…I have been told that we can equip the steel defender with attunement items but that it uses our own attunement slots…I typically use those for my own items. I had to give him humanoid form to use the ssi and spell storing item, so I’m gonna keep cw in the ssi and have him act as a combat medic, using his speed to dart in, heal, and dart back out. I did ask about using the defense infusion but was told that since he doesn’t technically wear armor it’s invalid. On the plus side, I can give him bracers of defense when I get my 6th slot, so his AC will be base 19 plus the shield spell from the ring.

[Khrysaes]

To answer some of the suggestions…I have been told that we can equip the steel defender with attunement items but that it uses our own attunement slots…I typically use those for my own items. I had to give him humanoid form to use the ssi and spell storing item, so I’m gonna keep cw in the ssi and have him act as a combat medic, using his speed to dart in, heal, and dart back out. I did ask about using the defense infusion but was told that since he doesn’t technically wear armor it’s invalid. On the plus side, I can give him bracers of defense when I get my 6th slot, so his AC will be base 19 plus the shield spell from the ring.

I believe RAW it should have its own attunement slots. I may be wrong.

If it is humanoid, can it equip a shield? a shield with defense infusion would be +3 AC.

Aid is a spell that could help it survive longer.

As would any affect that grants temp hp.

[Psyren]

If your steel defender is drawing aggro, it's doing its job. You can repair it quickly and cheaply as soon as the fight ends.

This; you can heal the darn thing with a cantrip. If enemies are focusing it its doing its job, don't worry so much about your DPR.

[Quietus]

I believe RAW it should have its own attunement slots. I may be wrong.

If it is humanoid, can it equip a shield? a shield with defense infusion would be +3 AC.

Aid is a spell that could help it survive longer.

As would any affect that grants temp hp.

In Adventurer's League, there is a rule that any companion creatures you have can attune to items, but they take up your own attunement slots. That may be what's happening here.

[Khrysaes]

In Adventurer's League, there is a rule that any companion creatures you have can attune to items, but they take up your own attunement slots. That may be what's happening here.

Makes sense.

[EggKookoo]

Which reminds me, does your DM give your SD death saves? RaW they should.

As a DM with a battle smith in my party, I say the following with all sincerity...

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/932/537/71b.jpg

[stoutstien]

As a DM with a battle smith in my party, I say the following with all sincerity...

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/932/537/71b.jpg

Of course by the strictest reading it the most DM fiat of DM fiat rules with the text in both the PHB and DMG but generally yea it's a secondary PC more than a NPC.

[EggKookoo]

Of course by the strictest reading it the most DM fiat of DM fiat rules with the text in both the PHB and DMG but generally yea it's a secondary PC more than a NPC.

We also have a chainlock with Investment of the Chain Master and a pseudo-dragon she likes to use. We always played it such that if the familiar hit 0 HP, it puffed out of existence without worrying about death saves. I think we just kept the same mindset with the steel defender. Now I'm wondering if I should have both pets make death saves...

[stoutstien]

We also have a chainlock with Investment of the Chain Master and a pseudo-dragon she likes to use. We always played it such that if the familiar hit 0 HP, it puffed out of existence without worrying about death saves. I think we just kept the same mindset with the steel defender. Now I'm wondering if I should have both pets make death saves...

Familiars have specific rules when so they just *poof* at 0 HP. Though it's a good idea for a homebrew invocation.

[Damon_Tor]

In theory an artificer/wizard can be both a battlesmith and a bladesinger, which means he can bypass mending"s casting time as a part of his attack action to heal his defender. Of course you would also lose out on the extra hit points the defender gets from missing 7 artificer levels, so the trick almost certainly isn't worth it.

[Khrysaes]

In theory an artificer/wizard can be both a battlesmith and a bladesinger, which means he can bypass mending"s casting time as a part of his attack action to heal his defender. Of course you would also lose out on the extra hit points the defender gets from missing 7 artificer levels, so the trick almost certainly isn't worth it.
6 levels, but sill impactful. At least it is enough to get the highest level infusions.

That said i hadnt noticed that the bladesinger doesnt specify a casting time. So yeah, completely removes that 1 minute cooldown

[MrCharlie]

I am currently a tier 3 battlesmith artificer, and my sd is always dying after taking one or two hits/aoe’s…I gave him a ring of spell storing with bless, shield, and absorb elements, and plan to equip him with the SSI (cure wounds)…any other ways to make him useful or increase his survivability in combat?
If the SD is dying, it's doing its job. Unless its getting hit by AOE. It should have ~57+ HP, so a casual fireball won't do it-and if you're having issues with it dying from more serious AOE, you can always have them split up and not stand with the party. That way they're still doing their job, either by splitting the AOE or not dying. It might take a couple rounds to reach melee, but if they would have died at no cost to the enemies otherwise...

The SD has pretty good saves though, so this is pretty damn perplexing. DEX and CON saves cover most AOE, and almost all AOE damage. A +5 or +6 is good enough to give them a shot at making those saves, and with a bless spell it has a good chance of making it.

The best thing you can do for it to increase its usefulness is to increase its strength, via either gauntlets of ogre strength or a belt of hill giant strength.

What I can say is that using it for cure wounds is basically completely worthless, because it can do that with arcane jolt while attacking. This is, legitimately, the worst possible use of the SD, and the worst possible use of the SSI. Load the SSI with concentration spells and pass it around to the entire party, not nonsense like cure wounds. The SD's job is to run into combat, hit things and bring up downed party members, then die horribly. Then you spend a first level spell to revive him and he does it the next combat. Then the next combat. If the SD is being killed by enemy attacks, he's doing his job right.