Three level dip?

[Floridaman]

I am going to be playing an artificer for a campaign I am joining and I want to take a three level dip into fighter. just want to know wich subclass i should choose.

[stoutstien]

I am going to be playing an artificer for a campaign I am joining and I want to take a three level dip into fighter. just want to know wich subclass i should choose.

Eh. If your going to dip out of artificer you better have a good reason for it. Saying that most fighters are pretty front loaded so it doesn't matter which one you pick.

I'm guessing you are going battlesmith or armorer?

[RogueJK]

What specifically are you after? Because, to be honest, an Artificer doesn't really benefit from 3 levels of Fighter. They really do need more Artificer levels to keep their Artificer spells and abilities scaling up.

I maybe could see dipping 2 levels of Fighter to get Action Surge, but even that's less attractive on a half-caster like an Artificer, compared to a full caster.

And there's no Fighter subclass whose 3rd level abilities would entice me to be a third level behind in Artificer.


If you want to multiclass, have you thought about something like 2 levels of War Wizard instead? That'll keep your spell slots scaling so you can at least access those for upcasting, as well as let you grab some useful INT-based cantrips and 1st level spells (including all the 1st level Wizard rituals), plus a very solid defensive Reaction, and INT to Initiative.

But even then, I wouldn't dip into War Wizard until after Artificer 5 at least. And even that's not a slam-dunk must-have, because you'll still be 2 levels behind in your higher level Artificer spells and abilities.

[Skrum]

Yeah can we get more about your idea? Artificer is quite good, and their abilities keep scaling in a very strong and satisfying way. For instance, if your game is going to 10, I would be very hesitant to delay Artificer 10. And if you're going higher, Spell Storing items at level 11 is extremely good. There isn't a great peel off point.

If you're only going to 7 or 8, I could see doing a 5/2 or 6/2 war wizard split - but even then, you'll be missing out on Flash of Genius and an ASI. Tough call.

If you have a very specific character concept that needs 3 levels of fighter, well that's one thing, but mechanically speaking, I can't possibly imagine that being a good trade. Fighter 1, maybe, if you want to grab archery fighting style. But even that's pretty questionable.

[Slipjig]

From a power standpoint, the answer to "which subclass" is almost certainly "none of the above". What is it you are hoping to get out of being a Fighter?
If this an RP thing, what's the concept you are going for?

[Floridaman]

Eh. If your going to dip out of artificer you better have a good reason for it. Saying that most fighters are pretty front loaded so it doesn't matter which one you pick.

I'm guessing you are going battlesmith or armorer?

yeah i am going armorer.

[RogueJK]

Then I wouldn't bother.

Mechanically, armorers get good things every single level, and there's nothing to be gained from Fighter that's worth delaying your Artificer stuff.

Thematically, if you're wanting to take Fighter levels because your character is a "skilled fighter", you can achieve that through background and roleplaying. The Armorer is already the most fighter-ish of the Artificer subclasses.

[Sigreid]

As much as I wouldn't recomend multiclass. The best answer for you would be EK to get a level of spellcasting back.

[Leon]

What do you envision the character to be like, what is its theme.
Figure that out and then pick a subclass that is a close enough match to that, doesn't have to be a prefect match just enough that it does what YOU want from the character.

[Arkhios]

Eldritch Knight. If for no other reason then at least for the spellcasting progression (+1 level, effectively), though Weapon Bond could be beneficial for the whole.

Artificer 17 = effectively 8 levels by multiclassing, unless I forgot something.

That way you'd at least get access to a 5th level spell slot, even if not 5th level spells.

[Witty Username]

Well,
If you are wanting to lean into magic, EK or Arcane Archer are good choices.
Otherwise, battlemaster is always good, Rune Knight could fit the equipment aspect.
Samurai and Cavalier could carry some flavor stuff you may like.

[tieren]

I agree with the above regarding optimization.

However, for cool factor, I would go with Psi warrior from Tasha's. You could reskin the psionic powers as abilities of your power armor.

Protective field - force field/shield (uses Int mod)
Psionic Strike - weapon overcharge/ power boost (uses Int mod)
Telekinetic movement - tractor beam/repulsor