Build: The Lightning Sniper, a Nova Specialist

[Silpharon]

Here's a build concept centered around the Infiltrator Armorer. The thought is to build a lightning sniper that can dish out high nova damage when necessary. Any thoughts are welcome.

The Lightning Sniper

Race
Elf: Mark of Shadow (Customized Origin for Int+2, Dex+1)
Point Buy Starting Stats: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 13

Progression
Level 5: Armorer Artificer 5 (Feat: Elven Accuracy +1 Int)
Level 10: Armorer Artificer 5 / Fighter 1 / Assassin Rogue 3 / Divine Soul Sorcerer 1
Level 15: Armorer Artificer 5 / Fighter 2 / Assassin Rogue 3 / Divine Soul Sorcerer 4 / Wizard 1 (Feat: Sharpshooter)
Level 20: Armorer Artificer 5 / Fighter 2 / Assassin Rogue 3 / Divine Soul Sorcerer 5 / War Wizard 5 (ASI: +2 Int)

Spell Selection
Artificer: Cure Wounds, Pass without Trace (from Mark of Shadow), Aid, Rope Trick, Sanctuary, Web, See Invisibility
Wizard: Find Familiar, Absorb Elements, Feather Fall, Fog Cloud, Disguise Self, Scorching Ray, Haste, Spirit Shroud, Counterspell, Bestow Curse
Sorcerer: Healing Word, Shield, Knock, Silence, Misty Step, Revivify
Armorer Subclass: Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Mirror Image, Shatter
Divine Soul Subclass: Bless
Mark of Shadow Race: Invisibility

Class Options
Metamagics: Subtle and Quicken
Fighting Style: Archery
Infusions: Enhanced Weapon (active), Homunculus Servant (active), Mind Sharpener (standby), Armor of Magical Strength (standby). If your DM allows Gift of Alacrity, you may be able to replicate a Spellwrought Tattoo with this spell. Highly recommended instead of Armor of Magical Strength

Armor Class (with stealth advantage from Infiltrator Armorer)
Breastplate + Shield + Arcane Deflection yields 20 AC
Add a casting of Haste for 22 AC
Shield spell reaction to boost to 25 AC as necessary (instead of Arcane Deflection)
Mithril Plate (or +2 Breastplate) and +2 Shield should be sought after magic items to increase this further.

Concept
Use stealth expertise, pass without trace, infiltrator armor advantage, cunning intuition (Elf Mark of Shadow) and magical guidance to get strong stealth checks. This should be +24+1d4 at advantage (with reroll from magical guidance as necessary) at level 20.

Silence+knock, both cast subtly can get you past any door without a sound:
https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?651041-Divine-Soul-Sorcerer-is-an-Infiltrator!

Use Tactical Wit (War Wizard) to get +7 initiative total (or +7+1d8 with Gift of Alacrity in a replicated Spellwrought Tattoo). Try to find a way to get advantage on initiative (e.g. have a Twilight Cleric in your party). Alternatively, you can try to find a Sentinel Shield to get initiative advantage, it doesn't even require attunement - thanks to Khrysaes for the suggestion.

Your lightning launcher has 300 ft range with sharpshooter. With steady aim and elven accuracy, that's at triple advantage. With these benefits, it should be possible to get off surprise attacks regularly, especially at long range. A subtle bless casting would add 1d4 to attack rolls to further guarantee hits, bringing the attack modifier to +14+1d4 and Favored By The Gods +2d4 to hit once per short rest. Subtle Haste could also be used to increase number of attacks. If you had a Ring of Spell Storing, you could charge it up with Bless for your homunculus servant or familiar to use (while you keep concentration on Haste). Otherwise choose which is best for the situation.

As an artificer, you may happen upon an All-Purpose Tool (with +1/2/3 spell attack bonus), providing access to Eldritch Blast with an Int modifier. This will come into play below. Also, at level 20 multiclassing rules puts this build at 13th spellcaster level, which gives a 7th level spell slot.

300 ft sniper
Subtle Haste, then a long range surprise attack from the lightning launcher would do: 8d6+10+6 (1st attack) + 2*(2d6+10+6) (2nd and 3rd attacks) = ~90 average damage if all three attacks land (with automatic triple advantage). This can be increased further by action surge to get two more attacks taking the total to ~136 average damage. That's pretty good... but we can do better closer...

120 ft sniper
Same thing as above, but add quickened Eldritch Blast for 8d10 = 44 more damage. Now we're at ~180 average damage. If we are willing to burn spell slots, Scorching Ray could work too. At 7th level that's 32d6 = 112 fire damage, taking the total to ~248 average damage. That's a potent attack from such long range! You could replace Scorching Ray with Chromatic Orb or Witch Bolt for other damage types at shorter ranges (and less damage).

10 ft "sniper"
Consider the scene: your character sneaks up near a room with a BBEG inside. You send in a familiar to scout, an unassuming spider perhaps. When the spider gets close, you cast 5th level subtle Bestow Curse (which requires no concentration), using your spider's reaction to cast the touch spell. Let's assume the wisdom saving throw fails, and you get 1d8 necrotic damage added to attacks. You then get in position, then subtle cast Spirit Shroud @ 7th level. You then run in, get to 10 ft of the BBEG, and throw out two castings of Eldritch Blast (1 action and 1 from action surge) then a 6th level quickened Scorching Ray. That's 16d10 force + 28d6 fire + 90d8 radiant + 30d8 necrotic = 88 force + 98 fire + 405 radiant + 135 necrotic = ~726 average damage if all attacks hit. I picture this as an overdrive mode on the lightning launcher.

Anyway - just a build I'm kicking around. Let me know if you see anything I could improve!

===VARIANTS===========================

Double-down on the Lightning Launcher Suggested by Sillybird99

Point Buy Starting Stats: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 13, Cha 10 (just swapping Wisdom and Charisma)
Final Build: Armorer Artificer 5 / Fighter 2 / Assassin Rogue 3 / War Wizard 5 / Gloom Stalker Ranger 4 / Twilight Cleric 1
Same Feats: Elven Accuracy Int+1, Sharpshooter, Int+2

Concept
Use Gloom Stalker Ranger's Dread Ambush feature to get another attack per attack action on the first turn (with an additional d8 on that attack). Use Twilight Cleric's Vigilant Blessing to get advantage on initiative rolls (increasing assassinate likelihood), and Eyes of Night to get 300ft darkvision (the long range of your weapon). This effectively gives more sustainable damage output at the cost of nova capability. Really great alternative!

Note: If there's already a Twilight Cleric on your team, you don't need the level here. Instead put it in rogue for another feat. My recommendation: Alert!

300 ft sniper
Zephyr Strike bonus action (has verbal component, so this shouldn't be pre-cast to remain stealthy), then action surge with two attack actions. This would produce 6 attacks total (4 from extra attack, 2 from Dread Ambusher). The first attack (with Zephyr Strike, Sneak Attack, and Lightning Launcher "extra d6" damage) is 8d6+2d8+10+6 (1st attack) + 3*(2d6+10+6) (2nd, 4th, and 5th attacks) + 2*(2d6+2d8+10+6) (3rd and 6th Gloom Stalker attacks) = ~186 average damage if all six attacks land (with automatic triple advantage).

90 ft sniper
Same as above, but with Hunter's Mark (90ft range) instead of Zephyr Strike. With auto-crits, this provides 12d6 across the 6 attacks instead of Zephyr Strike's flat 2d8. The total then jumps to ~219 average damage (assuming all on one target, which may be unlikely). This one is nice thematically. You sneak to within 90ft of the BBEG, then shout "I've got my mark on ya lad!" and kablammo! You can also reuse Hunter's Mark on the next fight (assuming you haven't lost concentration).

10 ft "sniper"
Unfortunately the close range combos are stunted in this build without quicken or subtle metamagic. If you can get off a 5th level Spirit Shroud pre-cast (which will be hard with verbal and somatic components), you could action surge two Scorching Rays (6th level and 5th level). This would produce 13 attacks for 52d6 fire + 52d8 radiant = ~416 average damage if all attacks hit. I expect the DM would have you roll initiative though on the non-subtle Spirit Shroud cast.

--------

The Lightning Ghost (the one I'm actually going to play)

Point Buy Starting Stats: Str 8, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 13, Cha 13
Final Build: Armorer Artificer 5 / Assassin Rogue 3 / War Wizard 2 / Divine Soul Sorcerer 5 / Gloom Stalker Ranger 4 / Forge Cleric 1
Same Feats: Elven Accuracy Int+1, Sharpshooter, Int+2

Concept
This build is effectively a middle-ground between the previous two builds. It keeps the 7th spell slot and Quicken metamagic for Spirit Shroud burst damage, but also adds significant utility for infiltration and resource free/cheap assassinate options.

Some pros:

• Fun 300ft combo, does great damage and lets you run 150 ft movement after the attack.
• Does not rely on short rest for Action Surge recharge between combats. 90ft damage is repeatable with Hunter's Mark use instead of Haste every turn.
• Use Gloom Stalker's Dread Ambush feature to get another attack per attack action on the first turn (with an additional d8 on that attack).
• Use Forge Cleric's Blessings of the Forge to maintain +1 attack/dmg on the lightning launcher. This frees up the two active infusions for Homunculus Servant (free bonus attack damage) and Gift of Alacrity Spellwrought Tattoo (+1d8 to initiative for 8 hours)
• Use the Cleric cantrips to hold Guidance, Mending, and Thaumaturgy. The latter being useful for diversions. This frees up the Sorcerer to take the Control Flames cantrip - useful to snuff out lights in combination with Gloom Stalker's Umbral Sight to stay invisible.
• Goodberry, Hunter's Mark, and Zephyr Strike make great spell additions. Use sorcery points and Font of Magic to turn a level 4 spell slot into two casts of Goodberry at the end of the day.
• Having 90ft of darkvision is better than the standard 60ft. This raises the distance you can attack in the dark to the Hunter's Mark range.

Some cons:

• Burst potential is a little lower on average without Action Surge, but this has better sustainable damage.
• Scorching Ray must be taken as a Sorcerer spells at a lower ability attack/DC modifier. I'd recommend searching for a +1/2/3 Bloodwell Vial to counteract this, plus it provides 5 sorcery points during a short rest, which is exactly how many you can hold.
• Lose out on the other level 2/3 wizard spells. This is unfortunate, but they didn't really add to the sniper/infiltrator vibe.

300 ft sniper
Subtle Zephyr Strike before engaging. Attack, but inject Quicken Haste bonus action after the first hit. This would produce 4 attacks total (2 from extra attack, 1 from Dread Ambusher, 1 from Haste). The first attack (with Zephyr Strike, Sneak Attack, and Lightning Launcher "extra d6" damage) is 8d6+2d8+10+6 (1st attack) + 2*(2d6+10+6) (2nd and Haste attack) + (2d6+2d8+10+6) (3rd Gloom Stalker attack) = ~131 average damage if all four attacks land (with automatic triple advantage). BTW, your speed now is 30 base + 5 infiltrator mode + 10 dread ambusher + 30 zephyr strike = 75 *2 hasted = 150 movement. You can fly towards/away remaining enemies, and next round are hasted for 3 attacks and extra AC.

90 ft sniper
This is your bread and butter dungeon clearing mode. Subtle Hunter's Mark (90ft range) ahead of time instead of Zephyr Strike. With auto-crits, this provides 6d6 across the 3 attacks instead of Zephyr Strike's flat 2d8. The total for three attacks is then ~120 average damage (assuming all on one target, which may be unlikely). But now you can add in a quickened Fire Bolt or Eldritch Blast (44 dmg) getting the total to ~164 average damage. You could go higher with a Chromatic Orb or Scorching Ray up-cast. You could also just add 8.5 average damage from a Homunculus Servant attack. Not bad considering I don't need a short rest to recharge Action Surge. The nice thing here is that you may have used a 1st level spell slot (if it wasn't already on concentration) and may decide to spend sorcery points or spell slots to increase damage, but otherwise it's resourceless damage.

Aside: if you roll stats and we're lucky enough to roll high enough to start with 18 int, replace "int+2" at ASI with Fey Touched int+1. This allows Hex over Hunter's Mark, and adds ~28 damage to the above combo when using Eldritch Blast on quicken cast.

10 ft "sniper"
Subtle cast Spirit Shroud @ 7th level. Run in, get to 10 ft of the BBEG, attack then throw a 6th level quickened Scorching Ray. That's 12d6+2d8+48 lightning + 28d6 fire + 60d8 radiant = 99 lightning + 98 fire + 270 radiant = ~467 average damage if all attacks hit. Subsequent rounds do 2x Eldritch Blasts for 44 force + 108 radiant = 152 damage. Not too shabby even without the crits.

[Khrysaes]

Why divine soul sorcerer 5?
You can go down to 4 to keep the ASI and get Twilight cleric 1.

If the answer is "revivify," I would say that it is optional, and twilight cleric 1 would fit the goal of nova bursting more.

[Amnestic]

Why divine soul sorcerer 5?
You can go down to 4 to keep the ASI and get Twilight cleric 1.

If the answer is "revivify," I would say that it is optional, and twilight cleric 1 would fit the goal of nova bursting more.

They can't take Twilight Cleric, their Wisdom isn't high enough.

[Khrysaes]

They can't take Twilight Cleric, their Wisdom isn't high enough.

I mean, just change the stats....

8 str, 13 dex, 12 con, 17 int, 13 wis, 13 cha

You can up the dex +1 with one of your ASI. I would get rid of sharpshooter personally for something else.

[Sillybird99]

If you replace sorcerer levels for twilight cleric 1/ Gloomstalker 4, you initiative will go way up, and you have 300ft darkvision and an extra attack on rd 1 to use with assassin feature. I don't think magical guidance and favor of the gods are much to the build anyway. the to-hit bonus is pretty overkill

[Khrysaes]

If you replace sorcerer levels for twilight cleric 1/ Gloomstalker 4, you initiative will go way up, and you have 300ft darkvision and an extra attack on rd 1 to use with assassin feature. I don't think magical guidance and favor of the gods are much to the build anyway. the to-hit bonus is pretty overkill

I believe the sorcerer levels are mostly for the metamagic, specifically quicken, such that you can quicken eldritch blast, eldritch blast, action surge eldritch blast, with the intelligence based EB you get from being an artificer with All purpose tools

To my understanding, Divine soul is for the healing spells/bless

[Silpharon]

I mean, just change the stats....

8 str, 13 dex, 12 con, 17 int, 13 wis, 13 cha

You can up the dex +1 with one of your ASI. I would get rid of sharpshooter personally for something else.

That's reasonable if you're swapping out sharpshooter. I liked sharpshooter to get the 300ft lightning launcher range (with advantage with assassin). It also boosts DPS significantly for all the times you can't use assassinate. As for other feats, Alert would be up there at the top of the list. You asked about Sorc 5 versus 4, it's more for magical guidance to help with stealth checks. Another option is to put that last level in Rogue to get another ASI (like Alert).

If you replace sorcerer levels for twilight cleric 1/ Gloomstalker 4, you initiative will go way up, and you have 300ft darkvision and an extra attack on rd 1 to use with assassin feature. I don't think magical guidance and favor of the gods are much to the build anyway. the to-hit bonus is pretty overkill

Thanks for the suggestion, that is an option if you wanted to focus solely on the weapon attacks. You'd lose access to the 7th level spell slot, which is especially clutch for Spirit Shroud. You'd also lose access to quicken and subtle metamagic, which are used for nova damage from 120ft and closer. You could do 7 attacks at 300ft though (with Haste and Action Surge), and the 1d8 from Dread Ambusher would crit. This would give ~200 average damage at 300ft range. Pretty cool!

I believe the sorcerer levels are mostly for the metamagic, specifically quicken, such that you can quicken eldritch blast, eldritch blast, action surge eldritch blast, with the intelligence based EB you get from being an artificer with All purpose tools

To my understanding, Divine soul is for the healing spells/bless

Yes, though don't forget quicken Scorching Ray as well. Subtle is also used to get closer without giving away your position.

Divine seemed the best choice given Favored by the Gods, Bless, and Silence. The healing is just a nice addition to round out the spell selection (keeping in mind attack/saving throw spells with 13 cha will be lackluster). Admittedly, none of those are required, and you could go Shadow Sorcerer for the darkness advantage trick at close quarters.

[XmonkTad]

Love the concept, wouldn't change anything really. What is the custom race doing for you? Is it just a way of getting invisibility at level 1?

[Silpharon]

Love the concept, wouldn't change anything really. What is the custom race doing for you? Is it just a way of getting invisibility at level 1?

Thanks! It's not actually a custom race, it's just the Mark of Shadow Elf from ERLW. The Customized Origin just changes the +2 Dex/+1 Cha racial bonuses to +2 Int/+1 Dex. This is different than Custom Lineage (which is a custom race). Mark of Shadow provides three great things: an extra d4 on stealth checks, Pass Without Trace, and Invisibility casting (once without spell slot use).

[Khrysaes]

That's reasonable if you're swapping out sharpshooter. I liked sharpshooter to get the 300ft lightning launcher range (with advantage with assassin). It also boosts DPS significantly for all the times you can't use assassinate. As for other feats, Alert would be up there at the top of the list. You asked about Sorc 5 versus 4, it's more for magical guidance to help with stealth checks. Another option is to put that last level in Rogue to get another ASI (like Alert).

Yes, though don't forget quicken Scorching Ray as well. Subtle is also used to get closer without giving away your position.

Divine seemed the best choice given Favored by the Gods, Bless, and Silence. The healing is just a nice addition to round out the spell selection (keeping in mind attack/saving throw spells with 13 cha will be lackluster). Admittedly, none of those are required, and you could go Shadow Sorcerer for the darkness advantage trick at close quarters.

Ive been wracking my brain trying to figure this out. Only way i can see getting sharpshooter, 1 twilight cleric, and 14 dex is to either drop down to 4 wizard and take 4 rogue/4wiz/4sorc/5arti/2 fighter/1 cleric for an extra asi. Or lower con to 11 or 10 and try and get an amulet of health.

You can also lower intelligence instead and try for a headband pf intellect.

Dropping down to 4 wizard and 4 sorc means giving up 3rd level spells. Feasibly, you could drop to wizard entirely and go 5 sorc and 5 cleric or 5 cleric/4 sorc/ 4 rogue.

[jaappleton]

Can anyone break down for my stupid self as to why they're getting 90d8 radiant?

[Silpharon]

Ive been wracking my brain trying to figure this out. Only way i can see getting sharpshooter, 1 twilight cleric, and 14 dex is to either drop down to 4 wizard and take 4 rogue/4wiz/4sorc/5arti/2 fighter/1 cleric for an extra asi. Or lower con to 11 or 10 and try and get an amulet of health.

You can also lower intelligence instead and try for a headband pf intellect.

Dropping down to 4 wizard and 4 sorc means giving up 3rd level spells. Feasibly, you could drop to wizard entirely and go 5 sorc and 5 cleric or 5 cleric/4 sorc/ 4 rogue.

Dropping war wizard for twilight cleric would swap +5 initiative for advantage on initiative (a little less than +5 on average I think). If both wiz and sorc drop to level 4, we wouldn't have Spirit Shroud, which would drop the nova damage. It's hard to make everything work! :)

I don't think 14 dex is a must. It mostly helps with wearing a Breastplate until you can find Mithril Plate.

Can anyone break down for my stupid self as to why they're getting 90d8 radiant?

Sure. There are 15 separate attacks involved in the two Eldritch Blasts (4 per cast) and the 6th level Scorching Ray (7 per cast). A 7th level Spirit Shroud adds 3d8 radiant "extra damage" per attack. That's 45d8, but this will auto-crit through Assassin, doubling it to 90d8.

[Silpharon]

If you replace sorcerer levels for twilight cleric 1/ Gloomstalker 4, you initiative will go way up, and you have 300ft darkvision and an extra attack on rd 1 to use with assassin feature. I don't think magical guidance and favor of the gods are much to the build anyway. the to-hit bonus is pretty overkill

Added as a variant above - nice build for the lightning launcher purist!

[Damon_Tor]

Surprised at the lack of tempest cleric. Lightning launcher makes all your sneak attack dice into lightning damage, tempest cleric 2 means you can maximize that damage. Something like artificer 3, cleric 2, rogue 15.

[Silpharon]

Surprised at the lack of tempest cleric. Lightning launcher makes all your sneak attack dice into lightning damage, tempest cleric 2 means you can maximize that damage. Something like artificer 3, cleric 2, rogue 15.

Yeah, that's a good option too for single attack damage. With the crit, that'd be 4d6 lightning launcher + 16d6 sneak attack + 10 + 6 = 86 average damage or 136 damage maximized through Destructive Wrath. It's fun, but keep in mind though that this isn't as sustainable on an adventuring day; the channel divinities refresh on long rest.

[Damon_Tor]

Yeah, that's a good option too for single attack damage. With the crit, that'd be 4d6 lightning launcher + 16d6 sneak attack + 10 + 6 = 136 damage maximized. It's fun, but keep in mind though that this isn't as sustainable on an adventuring day; the channel divinities refresh on long rest. Also, a better critical lightning shot would just be Witch Bolt level 9 maximized: 18d12 = 216 damage.

Channel Divinity is a short rest recharge.

[Silpharon]

Channel Divinity is a short rest recharge.

My apologies, that is true. I misremembered. Edited above.

[HPisBS]

If you really want to go hog on long-range sniping, why even bother with Artificer and weapon attacks at all when you could be Spell Sniping Eldritch Spears at 600 ft? It's not like Assassinate requires a weapon.

It only takes Warlock 2 to get you Eldritch Spear and Agonizing Blast, bumping the spell's featless range to 300 ft while also adding 5 damage to each hit (with 20 Cha instead of Int). 3 auto-crit 4d10+20 actions (normal, surge, and quicken) at 600 ft → 24d10+60 ≈ 192 dmg. (Genie patron to make it 198. Undead patron lvl 6 gets you "one additional damage die," so +2d10 for ~ 203.)

- Moreover, since you wouldn't be relying on Sharpshooter, your attack rolls wouldn't drop to +9s without Bless (which would prevent Haste) or other resource-based features, so more of your blasts would actually hit. You should probably edit that caveat into the OP.

- - Speaking of which, adding a 4th attack with Haste brings it to 32d10+80 ≈ 256 dmg. (262 Genie, or 267 Undead)


Also, this would leave you free to take Sorcerer all the way to 13 if you wanted to. That would not only let you Dimension Door, but outright Teleport away once you've finished your assassination. Not to mention everything else that 4th-7th lvl Sorcerer spells lets you do.


Edit:
If you're a Divine Soul Sorc, then you'd still get to Bestow Curse via your familiar if you take Fighter to 3 for Eldritch Knight. It'd cost you Teleport, but you'd keep your 7th lvl slot, so you'd still get your Spirit Shroud shenanigans on top of everything else.

Edit 2:
Whoops, I did 11x11 instead of 11x12, so I shortsold the slot-less damage output. Fixed.


TLDR:
Be a little more basic and go Warlock 2 / Eldritch Knight 3 / Assassin 3 / Divine Soul 12 to get the same or better damage than the 120 or 90 ft writeups in the OP - even at 600 ft range, and still keep the upcasted Scorching Ray and/or Spirit Shroud options. (And still Dimension Door away afterwards, if need be.)

[Kane0]

Okay the whole 10' "sniper" thing has me imagining one of those intentionally over-badass action scenes where the guy sprints out from behind cover and slides in to deliver a point blank double shotgun (or whatever equivalent) point blank into the target while theyre distracted.

So thats apretty dope mental image, especially since the same guy can be designated marksman.

[Khrysaes]

you could do 5 twilight cleric, 3 Sorcerer, 2 war wizard, instead of 5 sorc/5wizard
you unfortunately lose a feat and 2 sorcery points, so I think at that point 1 cleric/4 sorc/5 wizard is better.

The only other way(s) to get more feats is to be Vhuman or Custom Lineage, OR give up extra attack from 5 arti for 4 rogue.

[Khrysaes]

If you replace sorcerer levels for twilight cleric 1/ Gloomstalker 4, you initiative will go way up, and you have 300ft darkvision and an extra attack on rd 1 to use with assassin feature. I don't think magical guidance and favor of the gods are much to the build anyway. the to-hit bonus is pretty overkill

This, except replace the Wizard levels.

You can still get Spirit shroud through Divine Soul Sorcerer.

So advantage, +wis, 3 spell levels. So a 5 arti/5 sorcerer/1cleric/4 ranger would have 6th level spell slots. + the rest of the goodies for Gloomstalker.

You lose the wizard versatility, and the at will +2 AC reaction, but you can gain a second fighting style and expertise(with tasha's)

This isn't a straight improvement over 4 sorcerer/1 cleric/5 wizard, but it isn't a bad trade. It can probably increase first round nova damage, but wizard is probably better in a long run.

The 5 wizard/4 sorc/1 cleric/5 arti combination does get 7th level spell slots.

[Silpharon]

If you really want to go hog on long-range sniping, why even bother with Artificer and weapon attacks at all when you could be Spell Sniping Eldritch Spears at 600 ft? It's not like Assassinate requires a weapon.

It only takes Warlock 2 to get you Eldritch Spear and Agonizing Blast, bumping the spell's featless range to 300 ft while also adding 5 damage to each hit (with 20 Cha instead of Int). 3 auto-crit 4d10+20 actions (normal, surge, and quicken) at 600 ft → 24d10+60 ≈ 181 dmg. (Genie patron to make it 187. Undead patron lvl 6 gets you "one additional damage die," so +2d10 for ~ 192.)

- Moreover, since you wouldn't be relying on Sharpshooter, your attack rolls wouldn't drop to +9s without Bless (which would prevent Haste) or other resource-based features, so more of your blasts would actually hit. You should probably edit that caveat into the OP.

- - Speaking of which, adding a 4th attack with Haste brings it to 32d10+80 ≈ 256 dmg. (262 Genie, or 267 Undead)


Also, this would leave you free to take Sorcerer all the way to 13 if you wanted to. That would not only let you Dimension Door, but outright Teleport away once you've finished your assassination. Not to mention everything else that 4th-7th lvl Sorcerer spells lets you do.


Edit:
If you're a Divine Soul Sorc, then you'd still get to Bestow Curse via your familiar if you take Fighter to 3 for Eldritch Knight. It'd cost you Teleport, but you'd keep your 7th lvl slot, so you'd still get your Spirit Shroud shenanigans on top of everything else.


TLDR:
Be a little more basic and go Warlock 2 / Eldritch Knight 3 / Assassin 3 / Divine Soul 12 to get more damage than the 120 or 90 ft writeups in the OP - even at 600 ft range. (And still Dimension Door away afterwards, if need be.)

First off, I agree that charisma based divine soul sorcerer has the best nova potential (better than an armorer). Even a divine soul sorcerer 17/fighter 2/hexblade warlock 1 with the Eldritch Adept agonizing blast feat is spectacular, and you get those 9th level spells (and Spirit Shroud 9th level, and Hexblade Curse). Though for this thread I was trying to build around the lightning launcher specifically. Technically the build from Sillybird99 is more theme appropriate than my original build.

Your build does have great advantages, though it's all a trade... You lose out on permanent stealth advantage (potentially in heavy armor), the initiative boost from war wizard, and you can't get Bestow Curse as a divine soul sorcerer. The initiative boost can be regained with an Alert feat. Also remember that archery fighting style and enhanced weapon reduce the penalty of sharpshooter, though you could find a +3 wand perhaps. Clearly your build is awesome for a sniper!

BTW, how are you working in your 4th haste attack? That can't be another Eldritch Blast.

[HPisBS]

you can't get Bestow Curse as a divine soul sorcerer.

Sure you can. Divine Soul lets you learn any Cleric spell or cantrip in place of any Sorcerer spell or cantrip, and Bestow Curse is a Cleric spell.

Your build does have great advantages, though it's all a trade... You lose out on permanent stealth advantage (potentially in heavy armor)

There's not much point to wearing heavy armor if the whole build is predicated on sneaking in and out without ever getting within any enemies' range. To that end, +18 +14 stealth should be plenty. Adding advantage on top of that is honestly overkill. (Besides, you could always just Guidance yourself as a DS Sorc.)

Come to think of it, if you're willing to trade the familiar-delivered Bestow Curse option and focus entirely on sniping, Teleport can let you skip the stealth part entirely with a little planning / groundwork.

- Find out where the target will be, then visit your prospective sniping nest ahead of time while there is no security. Grab an "associated object" (maybe a leaf or blade of grass) while you're at it and you can instantly arrive there any time within the next 6 months. Then, after you've blasted your target to the nine hells, you'll still have plenty of slots to Dimension Door far away, leaving the enemy no chance to follow or track you.

(For that matter, Genie's Vessel can let you unobtrusively hang out in your sniper's nest for a while if the area would have a shorter window of inaccessibility. Alternatively, it'd be a good spot to hide out in - after some Dimension Doors - while you rest your Teleport slot back up.)

... That said, 600 ft range is probably enough distance to make stealth unnecessary in the first place, at least for most missions.

BTW, how are you working in your 4th haste attack? That can't be another Eldritch Blast.

Oops, you're right! Casting of any kind is invalid. I'll go back and fix.


Edit:
Whoops, I just realized that I did 11x11 instead of 11x12 for my first comment, so I shortsold the slot-less damage output. It should actually be 198 with Genie patron.

[Silpharon]

Sure you can. Divine Soul lets you learn any Cleric spell or cantrip in place of any Sorcerer spell or cantrip, and Bestow Curse is a Cleric spell.

Sigh... I even went and looked, and my brain read Bard, Warlock, Wizard... But no, you're right, it's Cleric not Warlock. I must not be sleeping well...

There's not much point to wearing heavy armor if the whole build is predicated on sneaking in and out without ever getting within any enemies' range. To that end, +18 stealth should be plenty. Adding advantage on top of that is honestly overkill. (Besides, you could always just Guidance yourself as a DS Sorc.)

How do you get +18? Wouldn't it be +6 proficiency +6 expert +2 dex? My +24 in the OP was from the same math +10 for pass without trace. And yeah, guidance is good in a pinch. As for AC, if you can get 14 con (which should be doable for your build), then yeah you're right. My artificer is a bit squishy on HP.

Come to think of it, if you're willing to trade the familiar-delivered Bestow Curse option and focus entirely on sniping, Teleport can let you skip the stealth part entirely with a little planning / groundwork.

- Find out where the target will be, then visit your prospective sniping nest ahead of time while there is no security. Grab an "associated object" (maybe a leaf or blade of grass) while you're at it and you can instantly arrive there any time within the next 6 months. Then, after you've blasted your target to the nine hells, you'll still have plenty of slots to Dimension Door far away, leaving the enemy no chance to follow or track you.

(For that matter, Genie's Vessel can let you unobtrusively hang out in your sniper's nest for a while if the area would have a shorter window of inaccessibility. Alternatively, it'd be a good spot to hide out in - after some Dimension Doors - while you rest your Teleport slot back up.)

Super cool, thanks for sharing! For the campaign I'm doing now, we've got a Genie Warlock and a Twilight Cleric on the team, so there are some good options there. The whole crew can hang out in the vessel, let a familiar carry it into a room, then blamo!

BTW, I'm looking to use Atlas of Endless Horizons as a way to get those upper level Wizard conjuration spells. I've got the spell slots, so the book can magically "replace" my prepared wizard spells with things like Dimension Door. Teleport is also 7th level conjuration, so if I found a Wizard who could write it into the Atlas, I could use that too.

[HPisBS]

How do you get +18?

I... don't know. I probably just forgot about expertise. I wrote that pretty late last night lol

Super cool, thanks for sharing! For the campaign I'm doing now, we've got a Genie Warlock and a Twilight Cleric on the team, so there are some good options there. The whole crew can hang out in the vessel, let a familiar carry it into a room, then blamo!

I'm glad you like it. This whole concept is cool, but so many dips is kinda... totally ridiculous munchkiny bs lol

BTW, I'm looking to use Atlas of Endless Horizons as a way to get those upper level Wizard conjuration spells. I've got the spell slots, so the book can magically "replace" my prepared wizard spells with things like Dimension Door. Teleport is also 7th level conjuration, so if I found a Wizard who could write it into the Atlas, I could use that too.

It sounds like you're wanting to use the Atlas to cast spells that're beyond your Wizard level? While it's a good way to find the spells, it still doesn't get around the level requirements, afaict. Under the "Preparing and Casting Spells" section of the class description, it says that the spells you prepare "must be of a level for which y... wait....

[Silpharon]

It sounds like you're wanting to use the Atlas to cast spells that're beyond your Wizard level? While it's a good way to find the spells, it still doesn't get around the level requirements, afaict. Under the "Preparing and Casting Spells" section of the class description, it says that the spells you prepare "must be of a level for which y... wait....

Ha, sounds like you're starting to see what I saw. The magic item, added in Tasha's, allows a wizard to use a charge to replace a prepared spell with one from the book. Interestingly, you only have to study the book for 1 minute to do this, in contrast, typical preparation requires studying a spell for "at least 1 minute per spell level". To our table, this implies these special books present spells from their school in a way that requires less wizardry know-how, and instead uses magical charges to jolt the spell into the caster's mind. This is a specific item providing a magical means to do something a little out of the ordinary. You'd still have to have the right spell slots, but kinda fun, no?

[Silpharon]

This, except replace the Wizard levels.

You can still get Spirit shroud through Divine Soul Sorcerer.

So advantage, +wis, 3 spell levels. So a 5 arti/5 sorcerer/1cleric/4 ranger would have 6th level spell slots. + the rest of the goodies for Gloomstalker.

You lose the wizard versatility, and the at will +2 AC reaction, but you can gain a second fighting style and expertise(with tasha's)

This isn't a straight improvement over 4 sorcerer/1 cleric/5 wizard, but it isn't a bad trade. It can probably increase first round nova damage, but wizard is probably better in a long run.

The 5 wizard/4 sorc/1 cleric/5 arti combination does get 7th level spell slots.

Yeah, I'm starting to play around here too...

What do you think of this?
5 Divine Soul Sorcerer
5 Armorer
4 Gloom Stalker
3 Assassin
2 War Wizard
1 Twilight Cleric

If you already have a Twilight Cleric, you could do 5 wizard/3 sorc instead.

You lose action surge, but keep 7th level slots, and are no longer reliant on short rests for standard encounter burst with action surge. In fact, Hunter's Mark with auto-crit Dread Ambusher is only 2 damage off from the extra attack with Haste, and lasts way longer. This means your combo can come online much sooner. I'm seeing 120 average damage from this combo, that can be done multiple encounters with just 1 casting of Hunter's Mark. You can still quicken cast Eldritch Blast or Scorching Ray to amp the damage further if desired. The up close burst is a little less, but I'm digging it overall.

BTW, just remembered artificers can replicate common magic items now with Tasha's, so a DM may allow a Spellwrought Tattoo with Gift of Alacrity. That increases initiative by 1d8 for 8 hours. Nice infusion option over the homunculus servant or enhanced weapon.

BTW#2, if there is a warlock in the party and a spell storing ring, or you get Fey Touched somehow, you can use Hex instead of Hunter's Mark for more damage when you don't want to bust out Spirit Shroud. You could also get it from a Spellwrought Tattoo infusion, but probably not worth replacing the +1 enhanced weapon...

[Khrysaes]

Yeah, I'm starting to play around here too...

What do you think of this?
5 Divine Soul Sorcerer
5 Armorer
4 Gloom Stalker
3 Assassin
2 War Wizard
1 Twilight Cleric

If you already have a Twilight Cleric, you could do 5 wizard/3 sorc instead.

You lose action surge, but keep 7th level slots, and are no longer reliant on short rests for standard encounter burst with action surge. In fact, Hunter's Mark with auto-crit Dread Ambusher is only 2 damage off from the extra attack with Haste, and lasts way longer. This means your combo can come online much sooner. I'm seeing 120 average damage from this combo, that can be done multiple encounters with just 1 casting of Hunter's Mark. You can still quicken cast Eldritch Blast or Scorching Ray to amp the damage further if desired. The up close burst is a little less, but I'm digging it overall.

BTW, just remembered artificers can replicate common magic items now with Tasha's, so a DM may allow a Spellwrought Tattoo with Gift of Alacrity. That increases initiative by 1d8 for 8 hours. Nice infusion option over the homunculus servant or enhanced weapon.

BTW#2, if there is a warlock in the party and a spell storing ring, or you get Fey Touched somehow, you can use Hex instead of Hunter's Mark for more damage when you don't want to bust out Spirit Shroud. You could also get it from a Spellwrought Tattoo infusion, but probably not worth replacing the +1 enhanced weapon...

You lose the action surge of 2 fighter by keeping 2 wizard. So you have less nova.

EDITS

NOTE: I am bad at formatting my posts for readability.

Another way to get advantage on initiative, other than twilight cleric are Sentinel magic items.

More... iffy. but there is also the Revised Ranger. If that is paired with gloomstalker you can get both the Advantage and +wis to initiative AND the other ranger goodies.

Potential Builds mentioned so far
1:5 arti/5 Divine soul sorc/5 War Wizard/2fighter/3assassin (3 ASI, Original build, 7th level spells)
2:5 arti/5 Divine soul sorc/4 war wizard/2fighter/3assassin/1 Twilight cleric (3 ASI, 7th level spells)
3:5 arti/4 Divine soul sorc/5 war wizard/2fighter/3assassin/1 Twilight cleric (3 ASI, 7th level spells)
4:5 arti/5 Divine soul sorc/4 Gloomstalker/2fighter/3assassin/1 Twilight cleric (3 ASI, 6th level spells)
5:5 arti/4 Gloom Stalker/5 war wizard/2fighter/3assassin/1 Twilight cleric (3 ASI, 6th level spells)
The following presume some way other than twilight cleric for advantage on initiative
6: 5 arti/5 Divine soul sorc/3 Gloomstalker/2fighter/2 war wizard/3assassin (2 ASI, 6th level spells)
7: 5 arti/5 Divine soul sorc/3 Gloomstalker/2fighter/2 Paladin/3assassin (2 ASI, 6th level spells)
8: 5 arti/5 Divine soul sorc/4 War Wizard/2fighter/4assassin (4ASI) (Take Alert, 6th level spells)
9: 5 arti/4 Divine soul sorc/5 War Wizard/2fighter/4assassin (4ASI) (Take Alert, 6th level spells)
10:5 arti/5 Divine soul sorc/4 Gloomstalker/2fighter/4assassin (4 ASI)(Take Alert, 5th level spells)

Spoiler: TLDR thoughts

Show

I was thinking about it
The original post's build, 5 Arti/5 Sorc/5 Wizard/2 Fighter/3 Rogue
If you have a magic item to get advantage initiative, or maybe have your familiar ONLY helping you constantly such that you can get advantage on the initiative check or something,
As I mentioned before, Divine Soul Sorc can get spirit shroud, So can Wizard. So you can drop 1 sorc OR 1 wizard, to 4, and take 4 rogue for an extra ASI to pick up alert, which is better and less MAD than twilight cleric's advantage, OR gloomstalker's +wis. Spellwrouht tattoo for gift of alacrity. War wizard for + int.

It would lose out on the other bonuses a gloomstalker can give, so 5 arti/5 Divine soul sorc/3 Gloomstalker/2fighter/2 war wizard/3assassin does get 2 asi. I would think Dropping war wizard for 5 arti/5 Divine soul sorc/4 Gloomstalker/2fighter/3assassin/1 twilight cleric is better because of the extra ASI.
OR with an item to give advantage, 5 arti/5 Divine soul sorc/4 Gloomstalker/2fighter/4assassin for two extra asi.

[Khrysaes]

9: 5 arti/4 Divine soul sorc/5 War Wizard/2fighter/4assassin (4ASI) (Take Alert, 6th level spells)

I would probably do this one

[Silpharon]

I would probably do this one

Yeah it starts to boil down to personal preference for which nova or activity to optimize. Good idea on the sentinel shield BTW, I'll add that to the OP.

I think these build break down into three categories:
1) With fighter 2
2) With gloom stalker 3 or 4
3) Both of the above, at the cost of wizard or sorcerer

The first is best for nova with a 7th level spell slot, the second is best for sustainable (near resource-less) damage output while still keeping 7th level close up nova. The third is maximizing what's possible with the lightning launcher alone.