Great video. Personally, I think Battle Smiths can be amazing front liners if you build them right. If you take the right infusions you can get an AC in the mid 20s, which combined with your steel defender makes you really hard to hit. You do only have a d8 hit die, but you can easily compensate with a decent con score (or you could just wait til 14th level and craft an amulet of health)
Custom lineage with a feat. Fey touched with misty step and gift of alacrity for 1d8 added to initiative for 8 hours. All without using any spell slots. And a plus 1 to int.
I made a fairy artificer. She’s limited to light armor, will be more range-focused, and not optimized very much. But it’s for a more RP-focused family game. My son’s first official D&D game! I’m so glad 5e got simplified because I spent years when he was younger trying to figure out how we would ever be able to teach him all the rules and nuances of 3.5/PF. 5e seems much more friendly for beginners, and players like me who needed notebooks for each character to be able to keep all their abilities and the rules for their classes, straight. Every video I watch on the Artificer basically tells me I’m doing it wrong. Lol
My DM allowed me to make up a Small-sized Warforged. At lvl 5 I ride him around (his name is Harley) and I use either a lance (from the Arm Blade) for a reach attack that does a whopping D12. Our party has lots of melee characters so I've started to transition to a light crossbow with the Repeating Shot Infusion. Between the weapon, some +1 ammo that I made for the party, and my own modifiers I have +9 to hit and 1D8+6 damage. Not bad for the guy riding around the perimeter sniping down bad guys. Harley has also been the MVP in a couple of battles where I stood back to shoot and he went and stood next to the party leader to give an opponent Disadvantage to hit her. It's a great class and players are just getting started on how to use it!
As someone that plays on a WestMarch server as an Artificer (Artillerist), I need to point out something regarding the constructs Steel Defender and the Artillerist Force Ballista/Flamethower/Protector. They go down fast. The Steel Defender's AC is pants. !5, really? Should be at least 18, as the Artillerist's trifecta are at least. And it should scale with your level, which would make more sense. The amount of hp is also a bit on the low side IMHO. Perhaps 10 base (instead of 2) + 2x your INT modifier added to HP instead of just 1x. That probably wouldn't matter even. What I'm getting at is that when you start facing spell casters (or heaven forbid multiples) that are doing massive AOO attacks, that construct will last 2 rounds at most, and you can't heal it fast enough to keep it up. And it just gets worse as you get higher level. They don't last one meteor swarm or dragon breath, period. Had I to do it over, I'd choose an Armorer. Heavy armor + 2x attacks at level 5. Go-Go Gadget armor accessories galore. Armorer is probably the most durable build for Arti.
Had great success with my warforged artificer so far! Combining a hand crossbow with a shield, taking crossbow expert and sharpshooter and combining this with as many AC boosts as possible means the guy is an absolute tank with excellent action economy (several options for action, bonus action and reaction), decent damage and good utility. He is currently level 8, so the next few levels will be big! The DM hates him, the rest of the party loves their walking cover XD
I’m really surprised Half-Orc wasn’t recommended. It’s a bit of a general option for melee, but it fits for most of the reasons that it fits for Paladin. And with Tasha’s, one of the racial bonuses (likely STR) can be changed to INT. Btw, I know my comment seems negative, but I *really* like this video. Thank you so much for the advice!
Don’t worry, it’s not negative at all. If you take into consideration the racial bonus changes then half orc is a great option. I just wanted to cover some of the races in the PHB without needing Tasha’s rules for the players with just ebberon and PHB.
I just made a goblin Battlesmith named Maeve. I'm designing her steel defender to move like a big cat (panther, mountain lion, leopard-esque), but have a metal exoskeleton inspired by various kinds of beetles that I think look cool. It's going to be a pain to draw, but I'm also super excited to try and mesh big cats and beetles into a fantasy defense robot!
Goblins are classed as small bipeds and the steel defender is a medium quadruped so *technically* you could use it as a mount. If your using a beetle aesthetic then you could flavour a giant stag beetle horn as the bite action.
I'm making a lvl 1 Goblin Artificer as well, that will eventually be a battle Smith. I'm planning to make the defender a goblinoid android. The defender doesn't have to be quadripedal, it can be bipedal. I'm taking a lot of inspiration from the warcraft Goblin shredders, but I plan to make the defender with smoother and less threatening aesthetic.
A weird feat you didn’t mention is magic initiate. In this context, it’s weird because I also recommend taking the Shillelagh cantrip. The weird thing about Battlesmiths is that they can use intelligence as long as the weapon is magical. Shillelagh’s effect targets a quarterstaff or club and makes it so that the weapon always does d8 damage and magical, but is uses the spell cast modifier. Normally, this would mean that only bards and tome warlocks could use charisma if they take this cantrip. However, because you turn this weapon magical, Battlesmith could use their feature to fight with intelligence and overide the wiisdom requirement. Makes it really useful, especially if you acquire staffs late game and you can use Shillelagh on them so you could have a free hand without dropping the d8 dpr. I know it sounds niche when you’re an artificer, but Shillelagh effectively frees up an infusion for you to use on other equipment as well as have an on-the-fly magic weapon if your DM is stingy with magic weapons or don’t have any next to you, but it just so happens there’s a tree branch nearby and the DM allows improvised clubs. Aside from above for Shillelagh, you can use this feat to grab the Mending cantrip without any consequences as well as any other spell. (I suggest Goodberry since it’s a good out of combat healing spell, ignores the consequences of needing food/water, and if you do require material components, it uses mistletoe like Shillelagh.)
since you are taking it from druid, it would still be a druid cantrip so you would be made to use wisdom, not intelligence the reason tomelocks can use shillelagh is that it becomes a warlock spell for them so it will use cha, not wis
All the other Artificer Subclass Guides Playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLcJxbxz7P6i3HYeUp9oJw6u3BPi1KddUh Still not sure what subclass to take at level 3? Check out all the other subclass guides in this playlist. ruclips.net/p/PLcJxbxz7P6i3HYeUp9oJw6u3BPi1KddUh
Attacking over your steel defender with bugger may not be a good idea. Your enemy would have +2 to their ac due to your steel defender being in the way.
I feel like you have a definite melee bias. I looked at the same features and spells and said, "Cool Archer subclass". Let me explain. Battle smith's combat skills do not require melee just a magic (probably infused) weapon. Second the smite spells included in the subclass are *weapon* focused not melee focused like divine smite or other paladin smite spells. And conjure barrage is more of a ranged attack spell (although there are thrown weapons) Then there is Arcane Jolt. This extra damage has no range limit. The healing does, but not when you use it for a "magical weapon" attack. You get access to all martial weapons but not heavy armor. So longbows, hand crossbows, and heavy crossbows are on the table. The repeating shot infusion turns those weapons into blasters. (It gets rid of both the reloading and ammunition features by making magical ammo if none are loaded) I'm not saying that battle smith is supposed to be one or the other, the designers clearly included the flexibility to do either. And that's awesome. What happened to the video about the battle smith spells and feats? I only see the artillerist one. (Well, it was 2 years ago) You mentioned in your video that the shield spell, while nice, is not an every round option due to the limited amount of spell slots. Staying out of melee is a great way to save those spell slots. (Which help to revive your metallic friend if he goes down) Your steel defender can still engage in melee, if you like but 1 attack at 1d8+ PB isn't worth it, unless you have it use the help action to give you advantage on your next attack. Personally I prefer to use it like a hireling. (Or an unseen servant) carry your stuff, open doors, carry a torch/lantern, lift or move stuff. An extra set of hands is always useful. (And no morale checks! ) He could grab the frontline character and drag them back to you to administer triage. Or run a healing potion up to the downed fighter. Why not use healing word? Limited spell slots. And cure wounds is just better IMO. The only real problem with the steel defender is the lack of autonomy. You can't have a conversation, it doesn't talk, it doesn't snuggle like a beast companion, it's a tool. Like a wrench or a hammer, it's useful and you can grow attached to them, but it's not a living thing. Without your magic, it's just a pile of metal.
Gnomes are excellent for Artificers also…+2 Int, +1 Con (Rock)/+1 Dex (Forest)…Also, they’re small and can ride their steel defender as a Mount.
Gnomes and halflings riding big dogs as a mount is always great to see. I once DMed a party with a deep gnome battlesmith riding a mechanical spider!
LOL, that's great until the enemy wizard casts an upleveled Heat Metal on your creation and gives you a hot seat.
Great video. Personally, I think Battle Smiths can be amazing front liners if you build them right. If you take the right infusions you can get an AC in the mid 20s, which combined with your steel defender makes you really hard to hit. You do only have a d8 hit die, but you can easily compensate with a decent con score (or you could just wait til 14th level and craft an amulet of health)
Custom lineage with a feat.
Fey touched with misty step and gift of alacrity for 1d8 added to initiative for 8 hours. All without using any spell slots.
And a plus 1 to int.
other amazing options would be
charm person: just note this is not mine control
command: whoever this is mine control.
I made a fairy artificer. She’s limited to light armor, will be more range-focused, and not optimized very much. But it’s for a more RP-focused family game. My son’s first official D&D game! I’m so glad 5e got simplified because I spent years when he was younger trying to figure out how we would ever be able to teach him all the rules and nuances of 3.5/PF. 5e seems much more friendly for beginners, and players like me who needed notebooks for each character to be able to keep all their abilities and the rules for their classes, straight.
Every video I watch on the Artificer basically tells me I’m doing it wrong. Lol
My DM allowed me to make up a Small-sized Warforged. At lvl 5 I ride him around (his name is Harley) and I use either a lance (from the Arm Blade) for a reach attack that does a whopping D12. Our party has lots of melee characters so I've started to transition to a light crossbow with the Repeating Shot Infusion. Between the weapon, some +1 ammo that I made for the party, and my own modifiers I have +9 to hit and 1D8+6 damage. Not bad for the guy riding around the perimeter sniping down bad guys. Harley has also been the MVP in a couple of battles where I stood back to shoot and he went and stood next to the party leader to give an opponent Disadvantage to hit her.
It's a great class and players are just getting started on how to use it!
As someone that plays on a WestMarch server as an Artificer (Artillerist), I need to point out something regarding the constructs Steel Defender and the Artillerist Force Ballista/Flamethower/Protector. They go down fast. The Steel Defender's AC is pants. !5, really? Should be at least 18, as the Artillerist's trifecta are at least. And it should scale with your level, which would make more sense. The amount of hp is also a bit on the low side IMHO. Perhaps 10 base (instead of 2) + 2x your INT modifier added to HP instead of just 1x. That probably wouldn't matter even. What I'm getting at is that when you start facing spell casters (or heaven forbid multiples) that are doing massive AOO attacks, that construct will last 2 rounds at most, and you can't heal it fast enough to keep it up. And it just gets worse as you get higher level. They don't last one meteor swarm or dragon breath, period.
Had I to do it over, I'd choose an Armorer. Heavy armor + 2x attacks at level 5. Go-Go Gadget armor accessories galore. Armorer is probably the most durable build for Arti.
Had great success with my warforged artificer so far!
Combining a hand crossbow with a shield, taking crossbow expert and sharpshooter and combining this with as many AC boosts as possible means the guy is an absolute tank with excellent action economy (several options for action, bonus action and reaction), decent damage and good utility. He is currently level 8, so the next few levels will be big!
The DM hates him, the rest of the party loves their walking cover XD
Too bad the Artificer wasn’t published till after GG to Ravnica was published, cause it’s perfect for that setting.
I’m really surprised Half-Orc wasn’t recommended. It’s a bit of a general option for melee, but it fits for most of the reasons that it fits for Paladin. And with Tasha’s, one of the racial bonuses (likely STR) can be changed to INT.
Btw, I know my comment seems negative, but I *really* like this video. Thank you so much for the advice!
Don’t worry, it’s not negative at all. If you take into consideration the racial bonus changes then half orc is a great option. I just wanted to cover some of the races in the PHB without needing Tasha’s rules for the players with just ebberon and PHB.
I just made a goblin Battlesmith named Maeve. I'm designing her steel defender to move like a big cat (panther, mountain lion, leopard-esque), but have a metal exoskeleton inspired by various kinds of beetles that I think look cool. It's going to be a pain to draw, but I'm also super excited to try and mesh big cats and beetles into a fantasy defense robot!
Goblins are classed as small bipeds and the steel defender is a medium quadruped so *technically* you could use it as a mount. If your using a beetle aesthetic then you could flavour a giant stag beetle horn as the bite action.
@@RichMerry Ooh yes I love that! Stag beetles are super cool, thank u!
I'm making a lvl 1 Goblin Artificer as well, that will eventually be a battle Smith. I'm planning to make the defender a goblinoid android. The defender doesn't have to be quadripedal, it can be bipedal. I'm taking a lot of inspiration from the warcraft Goblin shredders, but I plan to make the defender with smoother and less threatening aesthetic.
@@ewokrover5823 That sounds super cool!
A weird feat you didn’t mention is magic initiate. In this context, it’s weird because I also recommend taking the Shillelagh cantrip. The weird thing about Battlesmiths is that they can use intelligence as long as the weapon is magical. Shillelagh’s effect targets a quarterstaff or club and makes it so that the weapon always does d8 damage and magical, but is uses the spell cast modifier. Normally, this would mean that only bards and tome warlocks could use charisma if they take this cantrip. However, because you turn this weapon magical, Battlesmith could use their feature to fight with intelligence and overide the wiisdom requirement. Makes it really useful, especially if you acquire staffs late game and you can use Shillelagh on them so you could have a free hand without dropping the d8 dpr.
I know it sounds niche when you’re an artificer, but Shillelagh effectively frees up an infusion for you to use on other equipment as well as have an on-the-fly magic weapon if your DM is stingy with magic weapons or don’t have any next to you, but it just so happens there’s a tree branch nearby and the DM allows improvised clubs.
Aside from above for Shillelagh, you can use this feat to grab the Mending cantrip without any consequences as well as any other spell. (I suggest Goodberry since it’s a good out of combat healing spell, ignores the consequences of needing food/water, and if you do require material components, it uses mistletoe like Shillelagh.)
since you are taking it from druid, it would still be a druid cantrip so you would be made to use wisdom, not intelligence
the reason tomelocks can use shillelagh is that it becomes a warlock spell for them so it will use cha, not wis
All the other Artificer Subclass Guides Playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLcJxbxz7P6i3HYeUp9oJw6u3BPi1KddUh
Still not sure what subclass to take at level 3? Check out all the other subclass guides in this playlist.
ruclips.net/p/PLcJxbxz7P6i3HYeUp9oJw6u3BPi1KddUh
Attacking over your steel defender with bugger may not be a good idea. Your enemy would have +2 to their ac due to your steel defender being in the way.
I feel like you have a definite melee bias. I looked at the same features and spells and said, "Cool Archer subclass". Let me explain. Battle smith's combat skills do not require melee just a magic (probably infused) weapon. Second the smite spells included in the subclass are *weapon* focused not melee focused like divine smite or other paladin smite spells. And conjure barrage is more of a ranged attack spell (although there are thrown weapons) Then there is Arcane Jolt. This extra damage has no range limit. The healing does, but not when you use it for a "magical weapon" attack. You get access to all martial weapons but not heavy armor. So longbows, hand crossbows, and heavy crossbows are on the table. The repeating shot infusion turns those weapons into blasters. (It gets rid of both the reloading and ammunition features by making magical ammo if none are loaded) I'm not saying that battle smith is supposed to be one or the other, the designers clearly included the flexibility to do either. And that's awesome. What happened to the video about the battle smith spells and feats? I only see the artillerist one. (Well, it was 2 years ago) You mentioned in your video that the shield spell, while nice, is not an every round option due to the limited amount of spell slots. Staying out of melee is a great way to save those spell slots. (Which help to revive your metallic friend if he goes down) Your steel defender can still engage in melee, if you like but 1 attack at 1d8+ PB isn't worth it, unless you have it use the help action to give you advantage on your next attack. Personally I prefer to use it like a hireling. (Or an unseen servant) carry your stuff, open doors, carry a torch/lantern, lift or move stuff. An extra set of hands is always useful. (And no morale checks! ) He could grab the frontline character and drag them back to you to administer triage. Or run a healing potion up to the downed fighter. Why not use healing word? Limited spell slots. And cure wounds is just better IMO. The only real problem with the steel defender is the lack of autonomy. You can't have a conversation, it doesn't talk, it doesn't snuggle like a beast companion, it's a tool. Like a wrench or a hammer, it's useful and you can grow attached to them, but it's not a living thing. Without your magic, it's just a pile of metal.
Why no rock gnome in the race?
Roleplay and theme works perfectly for Rock Gnome, but I think some of the early level abilities overlap with the racial abilities for the gnome.