Introduction

DnD’s Artificer is the master of magic items with the unique ability to create temporary copies of powerful magic items. Coupled with their spellcasting and a diverse array of subclasses, the Artificer is an exciting and versatile class capable of supporting numerous party roles and play styles.

The Artificer is, at its core, a Utility class. With tool proficiencies, guaranteed access to magic items, and spellcasting, the Artificer can handle a huge number of challenges. However, your specific roles in your party will be defined in large part by your subclass and by the items and spells which you choose to use. For example: the Armorer can be a great Defender, while the Alchemist and the Cartographer are more effective as Support characters.

After reading this handbook, you might enjoy our other supporting content for the Artificer:

This article is for the 2024 DnD 5e rules. For the 2014 rules, see our 2014 DnD 5e Artificer Class Guide.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks, which is simple to understand and easy to read at a glance.

  • Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
  • Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
  • Green: Good options. Useful often.
  • Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.

We will not include 3rd-party content, including content from DMs Guild, in handbooks for official content because we can’t assume that your game will allow 3rd-party content or homebrew. We also won’t cover Unearthed Arcana content because it’s not finalized, and we can’t guarantee that it will be available to you in your games.

The advice offered below is based on the current State of the 2024 DnD Character Optimization Meta as of when the article was last updated. Keep in mind that the state of the meta periodically changes as new source materials are released, and the article will be updated accordingly as time allows. Also be sure to check for errata periodically.

Artificer Class Features

Optional Class Features are detailed below under Optional Class Features.

Hit Points: With d8 hit points and medium armor, the artificer is not a tank by any means. You’ll probably want to remain at range, but, if you find yourself in melee a lot, be sure to pad your hit points with False Life, plenty of Constitution, and as many AC boosts as you can manage.

Saves: Constitution is great, especially since many artificers fight on the front lines, where you’ll be repeatedly making saves to maintain Concentration. Intelligence saves are exceptionally rare.

Proficiencies: Medium armor and shields will keep you alive in melee, but with only simple weapons, your best Finesse option is a dagger. That’s fine for most Artificers since fighting with ranged spells is your best option, but the Battle Smith will eventually take up martial weapons and use Intelligence for their attacks and damage. The Artificer’s skills are mostly Intelligence and Wisdom-based, and most are knowledge skills, but Sleight of Hand is an option. You also get three tool proficiencies, which gives you room to tailor your character to the theme you’re going for. Your Artificer Specialist (your subclass) will grant you proficiency in an additional set of tools relevant to the subclass at 3rd level.

1. Spellcasting: Artificers are a half caster that prepares and casts spells like a Cleric (prepare daily from the full class list). The Artificer’s spell list is a combination of options from the Cleric and Wizard spell lists, allowing the Artificer to serve as a Blaster, a Healer, and a Support caster.

The Artificer’s spellcasting foci are also unique. Rather than a wand or something, you use Thieves’ Tools or a set of Artisan’s Tools. You can wave a set of lockpicks around to cast fireball, which I think will inevitably lead to some laughs at the table and countless goofy characters using weird tools to perform magic.

You can also use any wand or weapon which you have replicated, so you can easily have a focus in hand without dropping your weapon or shield to pull out a wand or something. Note that the Artificer must always use a focus when casting spells.

Thanks to the core rules for spell components, this means that you can always use the hand holding your focus to perform somatic components. That makes the Artificer the only spellcaster who can perform every one of their spells with items in both of their hands. (Typically, you can’t perform somatic components with a focus in your hand unless the spell also requires an inexpensive material component. I complain about this rule frequently.)

1. Tinker’s Magic: Convenient access to many of the miscelaneous items in the Player’s Handbook, but the cost of those items becomes trivial beyond low levels.

2. Replicate Magic Item: The Artificer’s signature feature, Replicate Magic Item allows you to create temporary copies of magic items based on plans that you know. At level 2 you can create just two items at a time, but that scales to 6 at high levels.

3. Subclass: Artificer subclasses are briefly summarised below. See our Artificer Subclasses Breakdown for help selecting your subclass.

  • Alchemist: Mix alchemical concoctions to buff yourself and your allies.
  • Armorer: Suit up in one of three armor models with differing martial playstyles.
  • Artillerist: It’s a pet class, but your pet is a cannon.
  • Battle Smith: It’s a pet class, but your cannon is a pet robot.
  • Catographer: Support abilities and teleportation.

6. Magic Item Tinker: Three excellent ways to interact with oyur replicated items.

Charge Magic Item allows you to convert spell slots into charges for your replicated items, while Drain Magic Item lets you destroy your replicated item to regain a spell slot (level 1 or 2 based on the item’s rarity) once per Long Rest. Finally, you can use Transmute Magic Item to turn one replicated item into another for which you know the plan once per Long Rest.

Charge Magic Item is especially nice because you can turn level 1 spell slots into charges on items which can cast much higher-level spells. Example: a level 14 Artificer can replicate a Helm of Teleportation, which has 3 charges to cast Teleport.

Drain Magic Item is great for dismantling charged items which have run through their charges for the day, such as wands and many Wondrous Items that cast spells like a Cube of Force. Most single-use items are destroyed when they’re used (potions, etc.), but there are also items like the Brazier of Summoning Fire Elementals which function once per day, then stick around. These are also great options for Drain Magic Item once they’re used.

Transmute Magic Item allows you to access your one or two (depending on level) extra magic item plans at a moment’s notice rather than waiting for a Long Rest. This makes it easier to justify learning plans for situationally-useful items and keep them in reserve.

RAW (Rules as Written), Transmute Magic also bypasses the text of Replicate Magic Item which prevents you from making duplicate items, but that seems against RAI (Rules as Intended), so talk to your DM before you try it. That said, you could use Drain Magic Item or consume a single-use item like a potion, then use Transmute Magic to get a second copy in the same adventuring day without ever having two of the same item replicated. It’s unclear what the designers intended here, but RAW it’s absolutely allowed.

An example of what a very busy artificer might do with Magic Item Tinker: Sam the Artificer brought a Wand of Missiles today. They use all of the charges in turn 1 of the first fight of the day to shoot a bunch of missiles, which is super cool and exciting, but leaves them without a wand. On their next turn, they use Charge Magic Item to turn a level 1 spell slot into another charge for the wand, then uses the wand again. After combat, they use Transmute Magic Item to turn their Wand of Missiles into a Wand of Secrets. They use the charges to search for a secret door nearby, again quickly burning through the charges because Sam is not good at resource management. Sam, now holding yet another useless stick, uses Drain Magic Item to regain a level 2 spell slot because a Wand of Secrets is an Uncommon item.

7. Flash of Genious: A bonus of up to +5 on a save can easily turn a failed save or check into a successful one, and using this up to 5 times a day means that it’s a powerful and reliable part of your skillset.

10. Magic Item Adept: You gain the ability to attune to 4 items at the same level that you gain the ablity to replicate 4 items at once.

11. Spell-Storing Item: Store spells of up to level 3. You likely have 20 Intelligence by now (or you will when you hit level 12), so you can expect to use this 10 times per day, but you might manage to get your Intelligence up to 30 if you keep playing at level 20, so you can use this item as many as 20 times in a single day.

Remember that any creature can use this, so consider passing this off to an ally (the Homunculus Servant and the Battle Smith’s Steel Defender could both suffice if you need more precise control than letting another player use it) if the spell you choose makes more sense coming from someone else, if the spell targets the caster, or if you chose a spell which requires Concentration and someone in your party is a non-spellcaster so their Concentration isn’t being utilized.

The activation of the Spell-Storing Item is incredibly generous: “a creature can take a Magic action to produce the spell’s effect from it.” You can use spells silently, without moving, and without providing material components (including expensive ones!), so you can get away with all kinds of trickery.

14. Advanced Artifice: One more Attuned item, and you can use Flash of Genius slightly more often.

18. Magic Item Master: Yet another Attuned item.

20. Soul of Artifice:

  • Cheat Death: Avoid dropping to 0 hp up to 6 times per day. Do not sacrifice more than one item at a time.
  • Magical Guidance: Even more Flash of Genius. At this point you can likely use it on every save in a typical day.

Artificer Changers from the 2014 DnD 5e Rules

  • 1. Artificers no longer get proficiency in firearms by default
  • 1. Tinker’s Magic replaces magical Tinkering
  • 2. Replicate Magic Item replaces Infusions
  • 6. Tool Expertise Removed
  • 7. Flash of Genius is now used after seeing the results of the roll
  • 10. Magic Item Adept no longer improves the speed and cost to craft magic items
  • 11. Spell-storing Item now allows spells up to level 3 instead of level 2
  • 14. Magic Item Savant renamed to Advanced Artifice. It no longer allows you to attune to any item regardless of requirements, but you now regain one use of Flash of Genius on a Short Rest
  • 20. Soul of Artificer no longer provides a constant bonus to saves. Cheat Death now sets you to considerably more hit points. You now regain all uses of Flash of Genius when you complete a Short Rest

Artificer Backgrounds

The Artificer desperately needs an Intelligence increase. Constitution is also useful for Concentration and for hit points. Infiltrator Armorer Artificers may want Dexterity to support Stealth.

For information and advice regarding Origin Feats, including those granted by your Background, see the Artificer Feats section, below.

  • Acolyte (PHB): You get the crucial Intelligence increase, and Magic Initiate (Cleric) offers access to great options like Guidance and Healing Word. Guide provides similar benefits with better Ability Score Increases.
  • Archaeologist (EFotA): Fantastic for Infiltrator Armorer builds. Dexterity, Intelligence, Skilled, and one good skill give you enough to cover essentials skill for a Scout so that you can easily fill in for a Rogue in the party.
  • Artisan (PHB): I want so badly for this to work, but Crafter is an awful feat.
  • Carouser (ABoH): The Ability Scores and the feat work great, but the skills are wasted on the Artificer.
  • Charlatan (PHB): No Intelligence increase. Archaologist or Scribe will also get you skilled, but the Ability options work better for the Artificer.
  • Chondathan Freeboter (FRHoF): No Intelligence increase. Archaologist or Scribe will also get you skilled, but the Ability options work better for the Artificer.
  • Criminal (PHB): Perfect ability scores, decent skills, and an easy go-to feat. Proficiency in Thieves’ Tools is redundant, unfortunately. This is an easy go-to choice if you don’t know what to pick on any Artificer build.
  • Dead Magic Dweller (FRHoF): Bad Ability Scores, and you don’t need Healer.
  • Dragon Cultist (FRHoF): The Ablity Scores are great for the Artificer, but the feat relies on Wisdom, and the skills aren’t great, so this is a hard choice.
  • Emerald Enclave Caretaker (FRHoF): Good Ablity Scores, but the feat is terrible and the skills aren’t great.
  • Entertainer (PHB): No Intelligence increase and terrible skills.
  • Farmer (PHB): No Intelligence increase and middling skills. A melee build will benefit a lot from Tough, and increase both Constitution and Wisdom are great defensively, but lacking an Intelligenc increase is really hard on the Artificer.
  • Flaming Fist Mercenary (FRHoF): Basically the same as Farmer, but slightly different Ability Scores and skills.
  • Genie Touched (FRHoF): If you want Magic Initiate (Wizard), take Sage.
  • Guard (PHB): Not terrible, but you can get better Ability Score Increases and still get the Alert feat from Criminal.
  • Guide (PHB): Perfect Ability Scores, and Magic Initate can get you great options like Guidance and Healing Word. The sklls are decent, too.
  • Harper (FRHoF): The Ability Scores ae fine, but Harper Agent will be borderline useless.
  • Hermit (PHB): Bad Ability Scores, bad skills, and you don’t need Healer.
  • House Agent (FRHoF): You can get an Intelligence increase, Lucky is always nice, and you get Investigation. Unfortunately, a lot of this background is wasted on the Artificer.
  • Ice Fisher (FRHoF): Bad Ability Scores, terrible skills.
  • Inquisitive (EFotA): Good Ability Scores, Alert is an easy feat choice, and the skills are decent. Proficiency in Thieves’ Tools is redundant, but this is still a great choice that will work on any Artificer build.
  • Knight of the Gauntlet (FRHoF): The feat isn’t great, and the skills are attrocious. You can get an Intelligence increase, but that is not enough to carry everything else.
  • Lords’ Alliance Vassal (FRHoF): Bad feat, middling skills. You do get an Intelligence increase, though.
  • Lorwyn Expert (LFL): Bad Ability Scores, bad feat, bad skills.
  • Merchant (PHB): Good Ability scores and a good feat, but the proficiencies are useless. Mulhorandi Tomb Rader is a much better fit.
  • Moonwell Pilgrim (FRHoF): Take Sage instead.
  • Mulhorandi Tomb Raider (FRHoF): Perfact ability scores, an easy, go-to Origin Feat, and two Intelligence-based skills. Basically perfect.
  • Mythalkeeper (FRHoF): Crafter is an awful feat.
  • Noble (PHB): You can get an Intelligence increase, Skilled, and one Intelligence-based skill. Not bad, but Archaeologist and Scribe are much better choices with the same feat.
  • Purple Dragon Squire (FRHoF): Bad Bad Ability Scores, bad feat, bad skills.
  • Rashemi Wanderer (FRHoF): Bad Bad Ability Scores, bad skills. Take Farmer instead if you need Tough.
  • Sage (PHB): Good Ability Scores, perfect skills, and Magic Initiate (Wizard) will expand your spellcasting options. The only drawback is that the Artificer and the Wizard share most of their spell list, so you’re basically only getting more of what you already have.
  • Sailor (PHB): Bad Ability Scores, bad feat, bad skills.
  • Scribe (PHB): Good Ability Scores, Skilled is an easy Origin Feat coice, and decent skills.
  • Shadowmasters Exile (FRHoF): Good Ability Scores and decent skills for an Infiltrator Armorer build. Savage Attacker is fine.
  • Shadowmoor Expert (LFL): Good Ability Scores and a decent feat, but the skills are useless.
  • Soldier (PHB): Shadowmasters Exile provides better Ability Scores if you want Savage Attacker.
  • Spellfire Initiate (FRHoF): Good Ability Scores, Spellfire Spark is a decent feat, and the skills are pretty good. However, Spellfire Spark’s reliance on your Bonus Action will be a problem for manny Artificer Builds.
  • Vampire Devotee (ABoH): Bad Ability Scores and bad skills for most Artificers. The feat is good, but not good enough to carry the rest.
  • Vampire Survivor (ABoH): Bad Ablity Scores, bad feat, mediocre skills.
  • Wayfarer (PHB): Bad Ability Scores. If you want Lucky, House Agent and Merchant are better choices.
  • Zhentarim Mercenary (FRHoF): Zhentarim Ruffian is a great feat, especially for melee builds, but the Ability Scores and the skills are a bad fit.

Dragonmark Backgrounds

These backgrounds provide a Dragonmark feat insteat of an Origin Feat. Because Dragonmarks are exclusive to Eberron, don’t assume that they’re available in your game. If you want to play a character with a Dragonmark outside of Eberron, discuss it with your table before making assumptions.

  • Aberrant Heir (EFotA): Bad ability scores and skills. Aberrant Dragonmark is good, and proficiency in History works well for the Artificer, but it’s still not an easy fit.
  • House Cannith Heir (EFotA): Decent Ability Scores, good skills, but Mark of Making isn’t especially useful for the Artificer.
  • House Deneith Heir (EFotA): A great feat and decent skills, but no option for an Intelligence increase.
  • House Ghallanda Heir (EFotA): Bad Ability Scores, bad skills. The feat is good, but enough to carry the rest.
  • House Jorasco Heir (EFotA): The Ability Scores are as good as they can be without offering an Intelligense increase. Medicine is alrgely useless, but Stealth is good. The feat is good, too. I would consider this if you are your party’s primary healer.
  • House Kundarak Heir (EFotA): Good Ability Scores and skills, but Mark of Warding isn’t useful in most campaigns since players are rarely defending a home where they’ve spent time laying traps and magic defendes.
  • House Lyrandar Heir (EFotA): Bad Ability Scores, bad feat, bad skills.
  • House Medani Heir (EFotA): Good, but nothing here is especially powerful.
  • House Orien Heir (EFotA): Good Ablity Scores, good feat, terrible skills.
  • House Phiarlan Heir (EFotA): I would consider this on an Infiltrator Armorer build, but the lack of an Intelligence increase is hard despite how good the feat is. House Thuranni is a much better fit.
  • House Sivis Heir (EFotA): Decent Ability Scores, one good skill, but the feat is bad.
  • House Tharashk Heir (EFotA): Decent Ability Scores, bad feat, bad skills.
  • House Thuranni Heir (EFotA): Great Ability Scores for an Infiltrator Armorer build, Mark of Shadow is great, and you get proficiency in Stealth.
  • House Vadalis Heir (EFotA): Bad Ability Scores, bad feat, bad skills.

Artificer Species

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  • Aasimar (PHB): Two damage resistances, a Cantrip, a tiny bit of healing, Celestial Revelation. For a subclass which doesn’t lean on their Bonus Action heavily (Armorer, Cartographer, possibly Alchemist), this could be very effective.
  • Changeling (EFotA): Changelings are all about Charisma, and the Artificer very much is not.
  • Dhampir (ABoH): Darkvision, Spider Climb, and a damage resistance. The bite won’t be especialy powerful, unfortunately, but it may be useful to boost important Ability Checks.
  • Dragonborn (PHB): Armorers and Battle Smiths may find the Dragonborn effective. Damage resistance and a breath weapon can be very useful in melee, and Draconic Flight will let you fly (albeit briefly) without relying on replicated magic items.
  • Dwarf (PHB): Poison resistance and extra HP are great, especially if you’re building for melee.
  • Elf (PHB): Darkvision, a skill, and some Innate Spellcasting. None of the spellcasting is amazing for the Artificer, but none of it awful, and extra Prepared Spells are always nice.
  • Gnome (PHB): Gnome Cunning paired with Flash of Genius and the ability to stack defensive items can make you basically impervious to spells. Either variety of Gnome provides some useful spellcasting, too.
  • Goliath (PHB): Almost any variety of Goliath is a good fit for a weapon-using Artificer. Large Size is especially useful for Juggernaut Armorer builds, giving you an extra way to become Large so that you cna use your armor weapon to push/pull creatures. Unfortunately, the size increases aren’t additive, but this should still let you go a little further on long adventuring days.
  • Halfling (PHB): Nothing specifically useful for the Artificer.
  • Human (PHB): Always an easy choice, especially with the growing number of Origin Feat options.
  • Kalashtar (EFotA): Most of the traits are too situational to justify. Dual Mind is cool, but Gnome Cunning is outright better.
  • Khoravar (EFotA): Effective and versatile. Fey Gift and Skill Versatility get you a Cantrip and a skill or tool proficiency, each of which you can change on a Long Rest, allowing you to adapt your capabilities to upcoming challenges. High Elf will provide similar benefits, but trades the Khoravar’s versatilty for the additional spells.
  • Orc (PHB): Relentless Endurance is great insurance. Adrenaline Rush is useful for Armorer Artificers to rush into melee, the Temporary Hit Points will help compensate for the Artificer’s d8 hit dice.
  • Shifter (EFotA): The skill options are bad, so you’re heref or Darkvision and Shifting. Shifting is only useful if you’re not leaning heavily on your Bonus Action, which just leaves Alchemist, Armorer (excluding Juggernaut), and Cartographer. Beasthide will be useful for Defender Armorer builds, while Swiftstride will be useful for Infiltrator Armorers and Cartographers.
  • Tiefling (PHB): Darkvision, a damage resistance, and some innate spellcasting. The Infernal option is the most consistently useful.
  • Warforged (EFotA): An excellent complement to the Artificer’s existing ability to stack AC bonuses and other protections.

Lorwyn Species

Most Lorwyn species use the stats of species in the Player’s Handbook. Other species from Lorwyn: First Light may not be available in your game. Consult your DM before assuming that these options are available.

  • Lorwyn Changeling (EFotA): If you want the Darkvision, Dwarf or Drow Elf can get it. Nothing else here is especially good.
  • Rimekin (EFotA): Cold Resistance, Darkvision, and you learn Ray of Frost. Not terrible, but not especially exciting. The other spells you get are terrible.

Artificer Ability Scores

The majority of Artificers will be built around Intelligence and Constitution.

Str: Dump.

Dex: 14 for AC if you’re using medium armor. If you’re building for heavy armor, you may be able to dump this, especially if you start at level 3 and don’t need to survive two levels in medium armor.

Con: As much as you can get.

Int: Your primary ability score.

Wis: USeful for saves.

Cha: Dump.

Point BuyAdjustedStandard ArrayAdjusted
Str8888
Dex14141314
Con15161414
Int15171517
Wis10101212
Cha881010

Artificer Skills

  • Acrobatics (Dex): Too situational
  • Animal Handling (Wis): Too situational
  • Arcana (Int): A useful knowledge skill.
  • Athletics (Str): Completely useless in the 2024 rules.
  • Deception (Cha): Charisma is a dump stat.
  • History (Int): A useful knowledge skill.
  • Insight (Wis): Useful, but not worth a lot of effort to get.
  • Intimidation (Cha): Charisma is a dump stat.
  • Investigation (Int): Not as broadly useful as Perception, but you’re much better at Investigation since it’s Intelligence-based.
  • Medicine (Wis): This skill is useless. Medicine is best done magically.
  • Nature (Int): A useful knowledge skill.
  • Perception (Wis): Always useful, but ideally you should have someone in the party with better Wisdom handle this.
  • Performance (Cha): Bad.
  • Persuasion (Cha): Charisma is a dump stat.
  • Religion (Int): A useful knowledge skill.
  • Sleight of Hand (Dex): You can easily replace a Rogue. Remember that proficiency in Thieves’ Tools (which you get) and in Sleight of Hand will get you Advantage on checks where both apply, such as opening locks and disarming traps.
  • Stealth (Dex): I would only both if you’re building for Infiltrator Armorer.
  • Survival (Wis): Bad.

Artificer Feats

This section does not address every published feat, as doing so would result in an ever-growing list of options which don’t cater to the class. Instead, this section will cover feats which we think work especially well for the class or which might be tempting but poor choices. For more specific advice on individual feats, see our 2024 DnD Feat Guides.

Origin Feats

These feats typically come from your Background, but you can also select an Origin Feat any time that you could select a General Feat, and you may get more from sources like the Human’s species traits.

  • Alert (PHB): Good on literally any character.
  • Child of the Sun (LFL): Faerie Fire is already on your spell list. If you really like Faerie Fire enough to take this, play a Cartographer.
  • Crafter (PHB): Tinker’s Magic makes this pointless, and it was already a bad feat.
  • Cult of the Dragon Initiate (FRHoF): You don’t have the Wisdom to make the save DC reliable.
  • Emerald Enclave Fledgling (FRHoF): Bad. Take Ritual Caster if you want to talk to animals.
  • Harper Agent (FRHoF): The Help Action isn’t useful enough to justify this unless you’re a Hobgoblin.
  • Healer (PHB): Cast Cure Wounds.
  • Lords’ Alliance Agent (FRHoF): Reassert Honor may be good, but you won’t crit often enough to make Inspiring Strike appealing.
  • Lucky (PHB): An easy choice on any character. It won’t directly impact your build, but it’s a great default if you don’t need anything else.
  • Magic Initiate (PHB): A great way to get some extra spellcaster, especially from other classes. Druid or Cleric to get Guidance, Healing Word, and an offensive cantrip like Word of Radiance can be very impactful.
  • Musician (PHB): A great way to contribute to any party.
  • Purple Dragon Rook (FRHoF): Rallying Cry is great, but the skills aren’t good fits. Go for Musician instead.
  • Savage Attacker (PHB): Mathematically, this won’t significantly improve your damage, but it’s helpful if you tend to roll poorly.
  • Shadowmoor Hexer (LFL): Hex can be a useful damage boost for Artificers who rely on weapons. The retaliatory damage is useful if you’re built for melee.
  • Skilled (PHB): An easy way to expand your skill options, but you probably only need this in a small party.
  • Spellfire Spark (FRHoF): A little bit of defense against magic, plus an offensive use for your Bonus Action. It’s decent, but the Artificer has a ton of Bonus Action options already. Most Artificer subclasses lean on your Bonus Action, plus the Homunculus Servant spell lets you get a combat pet that you command as a Bonus Action. This feat isn’t bad, it’s just hard to fit it alongside the Artificer’s existing options.
  • Tavern Brawler (PHB): You have no reason to use Unarmed Strikes.
  • Tireless Reveler (ABoH): Heroic Inspiration is really good. If your party has ways to consistently generate Heroic Inspiration, this can be very impactful.
  • Tough (PHB): Great
  • Tyro of the Gauntlet (FRHoF): Only situationally useful.
  • Vampire Hunter (ABoH): Too situational, and too ineffective when it does matter.
  • Vampire’s Plaything (ABoH): Timely Retreat is really good.
  • Zhentarim Ruffian (FRHoF): A decent choice for melee builds, but you need to find other ways to capitalize on Opportunity Attacks (Sentinel, Zhentarim Tactics) to capitalize on it.

Dragonmark Feats

Dragonmark Feats aren’t Origin Feats, but they also don’t come with an
Ability Score Increase like a General Feat does, and they’re available from
Backgrounds. But they’re not Origin Feats, so you can’t get them from
things like the Human’s additional Origin Feat.

Within DnD canon, Dragonmarks only exist in Eberron. They’re very much a
setting-specific thing. Dragonmarks also disproportionately favor
spellcasters, which can create disparities within your party. Unless you’re
playing in an Eberron game, don’t assume that Dragonmarks are available. You
could come up with any number of other fantastic reasons to replicate the
effects of a Dragonmark in another setting, but we still recommend discussing
it with your DM before you assume that dragonmarks are available.

  • Aberrant Dragonmark (EFotA): A little bit of extra spellcasting, and you can turn a Hit Point Die into Temporary Hit Points or damage. The spellcasting comes from the Sorcerer, and you already share most of the Sorcerer’s spells, so it’s best to use this for a reliable level 1 spell like Absorb Elements or Shield which you’re nearly certain to use in combat. Aberrant Fortitude might rescue a failed Constitution save, but you only get to use it once per Long Rest, so don’t take Aberrant Dragonmark just for that. The spellcasting is the draw here.

    If you just want the spellcasting, compare this to Magic Initiate. Magic Initiate is much more flexible, and gets you a second Cantrip, so you’re trading the second Cantrip for Aberrant Fortitude (+1d4 on a failed Con save) and Aberrant Surge (roll a Hit Point Die to deal damage or gain Temp HP). If you don’t need the second Cantrip, and/or if you want Greater Aberrant Mark, Aberrant Dragonmark is a good choice.

  • Mark of Detection (EFotA): Access to some very useful Divination spells, most of which aren’t on the Artificer’s spell list. Detect Magic and See Invisibility are both staples in any adventuring party, and you get both prepared for free, plus free castings of each. The spell list gets you access to great spells like Clairvoyance and Arcane Eye, though many of the spells on the spell list are bad. The situational options are helpful to have available since the Artificer can change their prepared spells daily.
  • Mark of Finding (EFotA): The skills and spells aren’t great for the Artificer. They’re not unusable, but they’re not going to make your build significantly better.
  • Mark of Handling (EFotA): The ability to deal with Beasts and low-Intelligence Monstrosities may be useful at low levels, but will diminish in effectiveness between levels 5 and 10. The spell list is overly focused on Beasts, but does include some great options like Command and Find Familiar.
  • Mark of Healing (EFotA): This significantly expands your healing spell options, but you don’t strictly need it to cover your party’s needs. Artificers already get Cure Wounds and Lesser Restoration, but getting them prepared or free is helpful, and access to Healing Word and Prayer of Healing are both excellent.
  • Mark of Hospitality (EFotA): A lot of the spells are great, but they’re also already on the Artificer’s spell list. If you’re going to use these spells a lot, consider Potent Dragonmark to save yourself some prepared spells.
  • Mark of Making (EFotA): Thematically, this is a perfect fit for the Artificer. But the spell list overlaps significantly with the Artificer’s spell list, so this doesn’t add much to what you can already do. If you plan to take Potent Dragonmark, this may be worthwhile for the additional prepared spells, but be certain that you’re going to use enough spells from the spell list to justify two feats.
  • Mark of Passage (EFotA): Misty Step for free, plus a ton of other great spells like Pass Without Trace and Find Steed. The skills are awful, and the higher-level spells are only situationally useful, but the low-level spells are good enough that this will always feel impactful.
  • Mark of Scribing (EFotA): The skills are bad, and most of the spells are bad. You get a few useful utilities like Comprehend Languages and Tongues, but you’ll skip over so many of the spells that it’s difficult to justify this.
  • Mark of Sentinel (EFotA): Good skills, Shield prepared for free, and access to great options like Compelled Duel and Death Ward. Many of the best spells accessible through Mark of the Sentinel are already on the Artificer’s spell list, but taking Potent Dragonmark will get you all of those spells prepared so that you can use your normal pool of prepared spells for other things. This is a fantastic choice for any melee Artificer build.
  • Mark of Shadow (EFotA): An easy choice for Infiltrator Armorer builds who are leaning into stealth, but the spell list is great in general, providing access to illusions and stealth options which generally aren’t available to the Artificer.
  • Mark of Storm (EFotA): The spells aren’t great, but it does get you a permanent damage resistance, and a couple of the spells like Feather Fall and Conjure Minor Elementals are great.
  • Mark of Warding (EFotA): Other than Armor of Agathys, the spells provided by Mark of Warding are all extremely situational utilities that are only likely to see use if you have a permanent base to defend.

General Feats

  • Actor (PHB): All about Charisma.
  • Athlete (PHB): All about Strength.
  • Bloodlust (AboH): Possibly useful for high-level melee builds that have already reached 20 Inteligence.
  • Bomber (AboH): Terrible.
  • Charger (PHB): Bad Ability Scores, and the other features are too limited to justify this.
  • Chef (PHB): If you want an easy source of Temporary Hit Points, play an Artillerist.
  • Cloying Mists (AboH): Artificers have several options to replicate items which grant Blindsight, allowing you and your allies to function (mostly) normally in the area of Fog Cloud, while your enemies are slowed and effectively blind.
  • Cold Caster (FRHoF): Fantastic, but limiting this to attacks that deal cold damage can become a point of frustration. Ray of Frost is an obvious answer, but that’s only useul for Artillerists and Cartographers because other subclasses will prefer to use weapons. Your best bet is to use Elemental Weapon to add Cold damage to whatever you’re weilding for an hour at a time. But Elemental Weapon is a level 3 spell, so you won’t have access to it until mid levels.
  • Crossbow Expert (PHB): Repeating Shot will let you ignore the Loading property, and you have much better uses for your Bonus Action than another attack with a hand crossbwo.
  • Crusher (PHB): Bad ability scores, and too few Artificers rely on Bludgeoning damage to justify this.
  • Defensive Duelist (PHB): Cast Shield.
  • Delicious Pain (AboH): If you’re worried about incoming weapon damage types, stack your AC higher and cast Shield.
  • Dragonscarred (FRHoF): Cast Absorb Elements.
  • Dual Wielder (PHB): You have better uses for your Bonus Action than weapon attacks.
  • Durable (PHB): Not a good feat.
  • Elemental Adept (PHB): Choosing Acid or Fire may be helpful for Alchemists.
  • Enclave Magic (FRHoF): Terrible.
  • Fairy Trickster (FRHoF): Without an Intelligence increase, this is already a hard choice. You’re unlike to Disengage often enough for that to matter, so you’re only here for Flustering Strike, which isn’t usable enough to justify the feat on its own.
  • Fey Touched (PHB): Misty step is fantastic on any character, and the Artificer gets alarmingly few Divination spell options. Fey Touched provides some easy access to some great spells like Bless and Compelled Duel. Back-row artificers will find that Bless is a powerful buff at any level, while front-row Artificers will find that Compelled Duel makes them an exceptionally effective Defender.
  • Genie Magic (FRHoF): I love the idea of this feat, but you share enough of the Sorcerer’s spell list that there’s really no reason to take this.
  • Grappler (PHB): All about Strength.
  • Great Weapon Master (PHB): Artillerists and Battle Smiths can technically use weapons which would qualify for Great Weapon Master, but Artillerists should be using True Strike, and Battle Smiths will frequently cut into their own attacks to give their Steel Defender a second attack.
  • Harper Teamwork (FRHoF): The Harper Agent feat is too heavy a text to justify this.
  • Heavily Armored (PHB): The +1 AC compared to medium armor is not worth needing to get to 15 Strength to avoid the speed penalty.
  • Heavy Armor Master (PHB): Only the Armorer gets proficiency in heavy armor. By the time you’ve hit 20 Intelligence and can justify this, you’re probably stacking AC bonuses, so the odds of you getting hit shrink, which makes this less impactful.
  • Inspiring Leader (PHB): If you want to provide Temporary Hit Points, play an Artillerist. This might be useful for melee builds (so not Artillerist), but go for Tough instead and get THP from spells.
  • Keen Mind (PHB): Easy to fit on an Intelligence-based character like the Artificer, but the usefulness of this feat depends heavily on how much your DM can make the Study Action matter in combat.
  • Light Bringer (ABoH): Too situational. This is only really useful in a campaign that heavily features vampires or that spends a lot of time in the Underdark.
  • Lightly Armored (PHB): A 1-level class dip into Fighter is almost always a better idea unless you’re expecting to reach 20th level.
  • Lordly Resolve (FRHoF): Bad prerequisite and bad Ability Scores for the Artificer.
  • Love Bites (ABoH): Not useful often enough to justify.
  • Mage Slayer (PHB): Bad Ability Scores, and the features are only situationally useful.
  • Martial Weapon Training (PHB): A 1-level class dip into Fighter is almost always a better idea unless you’re expecting to reach 20th level.
  • Medium Armor Master (PHB): Borderline worthless. Put +2 into Dexterity and wear light armor.
  • Moderately Armored (PHB): A 1-level class dip into Fighter is almost always a better idea unless you’re expecting to reach 20th level.
  • Mounted Combatant (PHB): With no way to get a special mount of any kind, there’s no reliable way to make this work.
  • Mythal Touched (FRHoF): Unpredictable, dangerous, and self-destructive.
  • Observant (PHB): Useful if you can use this to get Expertise, but using Search as a Bonus Action is only useful if your DM frequently uses hiding or invisible enemies in combat.
  • Order’s Resilience (FRHoF): Bad prerequisite and bad Ability Scores for the Artificer.
  • Piercer (PHB): Few Artificers rely on weapon damage types, but this might be useful if you’re relying heavily on a firearm.
  • Poisoner (PHB): Potentially useful for the Alchemist when combined with their level 5 damage boost, but there just aren’t enough spellst that deal Poison damage for this to be consistently useful. If your allies get a lot of use out of the brewed poison, this might be worth the feat, but wait until you have a lot of gold to spend on materials.
  • Polearm Master (PHB): The only Artificer that could reasonably use a polearm is the Battle Smith, and your Bonus Action is dedicated to your Steel Defender, so you lose most of Polearm Master’s value.
  • Purple Dragon Commandant (FRHoF): Bad prerequisite and bad Ability Scores for the Artificer.
  • Putrefy (ABoH): Not useful often enough to justify.
  • Rebuke (ABoH): Auto-prone once per Short Rest. If you need an easy source of Radiant damage, use True Strike.
  • Resilient (PHB): Never a bad idea. Proficiency in either Dexterity or Wisdom saves could be very useful. But remember that you can also replicate items which provide save bonuses and that you have Flash of Genius. Be careful about over-investing in saves when those resources could go elsewhere.
  • Ritual Caster (PHB): Not a good feat. You don’t get enough rituals, and they can only be level 1.
  • Sentinel (PHB): This is great for melee Battle Smiths and potentially for Defender/Juggernaut Armorers if you have other allies that like to fight in melee. However, it doesn’t have an Intelligence increase, so you may prefer to save this until you hit 20 Intelligence unless you’re certain that you’ll get enough value to justify the setback.
  • Shadow-Touched (PHB): This is a good feat, but there are few spell options that appeal to the Artificer.
  • Sharpshooter (PHB): Artillerists, Infiltrator Armorers, and ranged Battle Smiths may find this helpful. Other Artificers will get more value from Spell Sniper. In any case, Wand of the Warmage may be sufficient.
  • Shield Master (PHB): Too dependent on Strength. Unfortunately, attacking with Intelligence doesn’t change the save DC for the Shield Bash.
  • Skill Expert (PHB): Easy access to Expertise.
  • Skulker (PHB): Without Cunning Action to allow you to Hide as a Bonus Action, you lose much of the benefit.
  • Slasher (PHB): You’re not likely to rely on slashing damage, but a Battle Smith might get some use here. Unfortunately,
  • Speedy (PHB): Bad Ability Scores. If you want mobility, use spells or magic items.
  • Spell Sniper (PHB): A nice boost to your Cantrips, but not totally necessary. Use True Strike with a crossbow.
  • Spellfire Adept (FRHoF): The Artificer has very few spell options which deal Radiant damage. True Strike is your best bet, and this isn’t good enough to take for once Cantrip.
  • Street Justice (FRHoF): Artificers are not built for grappling.
  • Telekinetic (PHB): An easy addition to the Artificer. You won’t need Telekinetic Shove every round, so it won’t constantly compete for space with your other Bonus Action options.
  • Telepathic (PHB): Situationally useful.
  • Treacherous Allure (ABoH): Too situational.
  • Vampire Touched (ABoH): An easy way to expand your spellcasting similar to Fey Touched and Shadow Touched, but you get to pick the level 1 spells from two schools instead of just one.
  • War Caster (PHB): An easy choice on any Artificer, but especially useful on melee builds. Even with proficiency in Constitution saves, Advantage is still a huge benefit when you’re concnetrating on something important.
  • Weapon Master (PHB): A 1-level class dip into Fighter is almost always a better idea unless you’re expecting to reach 20th level.
  • Zhentarim Tactics (FRHoF): Good for melee builds, provided that you’re not stacking AC bonuses. If your AC is high, you’ll get less value from Retaliate.

Dragonmark General Feats

  • Greater Aberrant Mark (EFotA): A dramatic improvement over Abberant Dragonmark. This is a great choice for melee builds.
  • Greater Mark of Detection (EFotA): If you need your allies to see invisible foes, cast Faerie Fire.
  • Greater Mark of Finding (EFotA): The improvements to Hunter’s Mark are too situational, and almost no Artificers will benefit from them.
  • Greater Mark of Handling (EFotA): Artificers aren’t built for mounted combat, but Mark of Handling lets you cast Find Steed, which is enough to change that. An Armorer Artificer might work very well as a mounted combtant, but other Artificers won’t get much benefit here.
  • Greater Mark of Healing (EFotA): The extra healing is neat, but casting level 1 Cure Wounds a few extra times will quickly be too little healing to justify in combat, and outside combat you have options like Prayer of Healing. The rerolls on Cure Wounds dice are nice, but increase the average healing very little.
  • Greater Mark of Hospitality (EFotA): The temporary hit points are cool, but Inspiring Leader is a much better option for this. Of course, Inspiring Leader requires either Wisdom or Charisma, and you might not have enough of either to qualify.
  • Greater Mark of Making (EFotA): Terrible. Potent Dragonmark gets you a scaling spell slot which will match the improved free casting of Magic Weapon starting at level 5, then outpace it as you gain levels.
  • Greater Mark of Passage (EFotA): The improvement to Misty Step is great, but it’s probably not good enough to be once per day. There’s a similar spell called Scatter which does this, but it’s a level 6 spell. Even so, I’m not convinced that this worth the feat.
  • Greater Mark of Scribing (EFotA): This is interesting, but sharing a level 1 Ritual spell is not good enough for a feat. The Telepathy is also interesting, but you should look for Rary’s Telepathic Bond or a species with Telepathy if you want Telepathy within the party.
  • Greater Mark of Sentinel (EFotA): Improved Sentinel is great. If you’re built to be effective with weapons and can tank hits for your allies, this could be great. Battle Smiths and Armorers are obvious choices here.
  • Greater Mark of Shadow (EFotA): Terrible. Potent Dragonmark gets you a scaling spell slot which will match the improved free casting of Magic Weapon starting at level 5, then outpace it as you gain levels.
  • Greater Mark of Storm (EFotA): 1 minute of flight per day is not worth a feat.
  • Greater Mark of Warding (EFotA): Improved Warding is fantastic, but not so effective that it justifies Mark of Warding unless it’s already a good fit for your build.
  • Potent Dragonmark (EFotA): If you take a Dragonmark feat, Potent Dragonmark can dramatically increases its effectiveness. Of course, this assumes that the dragonmark’s spells are useful enough to justify this.

Epic Boons

  • Boon of Blazing Dawn (ABoH): Immunity to a damage type is great, especially since high level creatures frequently deal Necrotic, Psychic, or Radiant damage.
  • Boon of Bloodshed (FRHoF): The benefits are minor and inconsistent.
  • Boon of Bountiful Health (FRHoF): Artificers don’t have built-in options for generating Temporary Hit Points other than spells, so there isn’t a ton of value here. Boon of the Bright Sun offers a great option, but look at other Epic Boons first.
  • Boon of Combat Prowess (PHB): Useful for weapon-focus Artificers like the Armorer.
  • Boon of Communication (FRHoF): Leave this to someone with good Charisma.
  • Boon of Desperate Resilience (FRHoF): Appealing on melee builds. Even with stacked AC, you still have d8 hit dice, so resisting damage makes you considerably more resilient.
  • Boon of Dimensional Travel (PHB): Easy short-range teleportation.
  • Boon of Energy Resistance (PHB): A powerful defense on any character.
  • Boon of Exquisite Radiance (FRHoF): Too situational.
  • Boon of Fate (PHB): Excellent on literally anyone.
  • Boon of Fluid Forms (FRHoF): Without built-in options to Shapeshift, there’s very little value here.
  • Boon of Fortitude (PHB): Great for melee builds.
  • Boon of Fortune’s Favor (FRHoF): Excellent on literally anyone. Remember that you also have Flash of Genious, so you may be able to turn a near miss into a success rather than gambling on a reroll, but rerolling may also put you in range to use Flash of Genious.
  • Boon of Irresistible Offense (PHB): Artificers don’t rely heavily enough on B/P/S damage to justify this.
  • Boon of Looming Shadows (ABoH): Fantastic for melee Armorers.
  • Boon of Misty Escape (ABoH): Great insurance for any character. Compare this to Boon of Recovery.
  • Boon of Poison Mastery (FRHoF): Immunity to poison is great, but the Artificer doesn’t have greay sources fo poison damage other than Cantrips.
  • Boon of Recovery (PHB): Great insurance for any character. Compare this to Boon of Misty Escape.
  • Boon of Revelry (FRHoF): Tempting, but you only get to use it once since the Artificer’s highest-level spell slot is level 5.
  • Boon of Siberys (EFotA): One Sorcerer spell up to level 8, and you can cast it once per Short Rest. It’s tempting to pick a level 5 spell so that you can cast it again using spell slots, but a level 8 spell will be more impactful.
  • Boon of Skill (PHB): I would only consider this in a small party with poor sill coverage.
  • Boon of Speed (PHB): Great for melee builds, but ranged builds shouldn’t need this often enough to justify selecting it.
  • Boon of Spell Recall (PHB): Awful. The odds of rollig to retain a spell slot are too small to justify this.
  • Boon of Terror (FRHoF): Without built-in options to make creatures Frightened, the Artificer will get little value here.
  • Boon of the Bright Sun (FRHoF): Give yourself and your allies 10 Temporary Hit Points each turn. Boon of Bountiful Health is a a good complement to this, giving you extra THP whenever you gain any.
  • Boon of the Furious Storm (FRHoF): Two damage resistances that turn into immunities when you’re Bloodied. Disadvantage on saves against your Lighting/Thunder spells is neat, but Artificers have very few of them, so you’re mostly here for the resistances.
  • Boon of the Night Spirit (PHB): Great on anyone, but especially useful on Infiltrator Armorers since they’re already well-suited to stealth.
  • Boon of the Soul Drinker (FRHoF): The damage resistances are night, but the healing it paltry. Consider Boon of Energy Resistance first.
  • Boon of Truesight (PHB): Permanent Truesight is great, but remember that you can replicate a Gem of True Seeing.

Artificer Weapons

The Artificer is proficient in Simple Weapons. Artillerists add proficiency in Martial Ranged Weapons and Battle Smiths add proficiency in all Martial Weapons. Artificers don’t get access to Weapon Mastery, so your choice of weapons isn’t especially exciting.

  • Crossbow, Hand: Use with a shield. The Loading property doesn’t require a free hand.
  • Crossbow, Light: True Strike with a Light Crossbow is your best Cantrip damage until at least level 11 unless your subclass provides a damage boost like what the Alchemistg gets at level 5.
  • Dagger: Your go-to melee weapon (unless you’re a Battlesmith). It works in melee and at range, and since it’s a finesse weapon you can use it with Dexterity. The damage isn’t as good as a bow or crossbow, but you can’t make opportunity attacks with ranged weapons.
  • Musket: A great option for Artillerists and ranged Battle Smiths. The Artilleris never gets Extra Attack, so True Strike remains your go-to attack option and applies your Arcane Firearm damage boost. For the Battle Smith, the Loading property is less of an issue because your can donate one of your attacks to your Steel Defender once you have Extra Attack.

Artificer Armor

The Artificer is proficient in light armor, medium armor, and shields. Armorer Artificers add proficiency in Heavy Armor.

  • Studded Leather: You could build an Armorer with high enough Dexterity that light armor makes sense, but I don’t recommend it. You should be more focused on Intelligence.
  • Half Plate: Most Artificers will live in Half Plate. Armorers who take the Infiltrator armor model may prefer to drop down to Breastplate because it doesn’t impose Disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks, which is a good trade for an AC difference of just 1.
  • Full Plate: Defender and Juggernaut Armorers will almost certainly want Full Plate for the highest possible AC. Remember that your Arcane Armor removes the Strength requirement, so you and your 8 Strength don’t need to worry about a speed penalty.

Artificer Multiclassing

This section briefly details some obvious and enticing multiclass options, but doesn’t fully explore the broad range of multiclassing combinations. For more on multiclassing, see our Practical Guide to Multiclassing.

  • Barbarian: Rage and spellcasting don’t mix well, and Artificers have no need for Strength.
  • Bard: You’ll get more value out of other spellcasting classes.
  • Cleric: One level can get you heavy armor, martial weapons, powerful level 1 Cleric spells, and it advances your spellcasting.
  • Druid: Cleric is a better class dip.
  • Fighter: Starting with one level to get heavy armor proficiency, martial weapons, a Fighting Style, and Weapon Mastery are all hugely useful for the Artificer, especially for the Battle Smith or anyone relying on True Strike offensively.
  • Monk: Artificers don’t rely on Dexterity and/or Wisdom enough to make this worthwhile. The Armorer’s special weapons do count as Monk weapons, though, which is neat.
  • Paladin: As much fun as Divine Smite is, you won’t get much value here without a ton of investment and drawbacks.
  • Ranger: A compromise between the Fighter, the Rogue, and advancing your spellcasting. 13 Wisdom isn’t a terribly difficult requirement, either. Two levels will get you Expertise in one skill, Weapon Mastery, a Fighting Style, and Favored Foe.
  • Rogue: One level for Expertise or two for Cunning Action offer some very useful options. An Infiltrator Armorer with some Rogue levels is a profoundly effective Scout.
  • Sorcerer: Font of Magic is very tempting. The ability to rearrange your spell slots means that you can optimize using Magic Item Tinker to put charges into your replicated items, potentially allowing you to cast powerful high-level spells many extra times per day. Unfortunately, the ability scores are difficult, and you’ll get very little value before level 10.
  • Warlock: One level for an Invocation is nice, and you can use the Pact Magic slots with Magic Item Tinker to refuel your replicated items. Unfortunately, the ability scores are difficult.
  • Wizard: The Artificer and the Wizard share a lot, especially at low levels. 3 levels to get a subclass is possible, but few of the Wizard’s subclasses make that appealing/ Bladesinger is your best choice here, but I would only consider it on Armorer or Battle Smith.