Introduction
2024 DnD’s Artificer subclasses do a lot to determine your character’s play style and your role in the party, allowing you to play as a Blaster (Artillerist), a Defender and/or Striker (Armorer, Battle Smith), a Scout (Armorer with the Infiltrator model), or a Support (Alchemist, Cartographer). While any Artificer can fill any of those roles to some degree by changing their spells and their replicated items, your subclass really emphasizes a specific role and offers the tools to thrive in it.
For legacy subclasses, see our 2014 Artificer Subclasses 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.
- : Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
- : OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
- : Good options. Useful often.
- : 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 Subclasses
(EFotA)
The Alchemist is a back-row support caster, bringing the ability to pass out magical elixirs and the ability to craft potions faster than anyone else. In combat, they depend on a tiny handful of spells (mostly Cantrips) to deal direct damage. The play style is simple and supportive, but certainly not flashy.
The Alchemist faces three major problems: resource management, and the small number of items and spells relevant to the Alchemist. There are very few Artificer spells which deal instantaneous acid/fire/poison damage, and two of them come from the Alchemist’s own spell list. There are also very few alchemical items in 5e, and they’re both expensive and only situationally useful. Finally, the Alchemist’s crafting feature allows them to craft potions, but there aren’t many published potions, and most of the Common/Uncommon ones are underwhelming. This is made even worse by their capstone granting access to Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron, which is wholly dependent on the tiny roster of Common/Uncommon potions. This may improve over time, but there are no promises. 10+ years into DnD 5e, we’ve seen almost no new potions outside of the DMG.
- Tools of the Trade:
- : This will allow you craft alchemical items like Antitoxins as well as Potions of Healing. Combined with Potion Crafting, which allows you to craft potions in half the time and at half the price, you can generate Potions of Healing quickly and at little cost.
- : DnD 5e’s crafting rules aren’t great, but being able to craft potions at half price makes doing so much more appealing.
- :
- : Healing Word is among the most essential spells in the game. Ray of Sickness is a decent single-target debuff.
- : Decent offensive options, but nothing spectacular.
- : Both options are useful in extremely common situations.
- : A fantastic defensive buff and a disappointing replacement for Fireball.
- : Raise Dead is situational, and by this level, other spellcasters have much better ways to raise the dead. Cloudkill is decent damage, but only if you can find a way to hold enemies in the area.
- : This is intentionally
hard to predict, which makes it hard to rely upon. When you get multiple
elixirs, you’ll have several chances to get effects you care about, but the
free elixirs are still random. Since you roll the effects of the elixirs
when they’re created, you at least know what their effects will be before they’re used, so
you’re not passing out random mystery cocktails to your party.
You can also spend a spell slot to create an additional elixir, which means that these are something like level 1 spells. Think of the free elixirs like a surprise that might be exactly what you need, but don’t count on them. Instead, expect to spend spell slots for elixirs.
Consuming or administering elixirs is a Bonus Action, making them easy to use in combat. This means that you (or even a pet like a homunculus or a familiar) can quickly use or administer elixirs in combat, making it easy to fit them into your action economy.
- : Basically a Potion of
Healing.
This provides as much healing as casting Cure Wounds as a level 1 spell
initially, then adds extra dice over time, but you also have the option
of giving the elixir to an ally so that they could use it themselves in
an emergency. This is certainly better then spending a spell slot on Cure
Wounds, and it’s marginally better than Healing Word unless you need Healing Word’s range.
Handing one of these to pet in the party like a homunculus or a familiar will allow them to provide emergency healing without cutting into the action economy of the more important player characters. An owl could use flyby to fly in, administer an elixir (if you don’t question the lack of fingers too much), use an Action to Help, and hopefully still have enough speed to get out of reach all without any of the players spending any sort of action.
- : Essentially the same as Longstrider, though this effect scales at levels 9 and 15. This isn’t a must-have, but putting this on melee allies can help them get around in melee better. Since this may not be impactful in every fight, it’s a great candidate to pass out to melee allies and have them save it for when it will be impactful.
- : A good buff for your party’s melee characters, especially if they’re working with relatively poor AC (Barbarians, two-handed weapon users, etc.). The initial 10-minute duration is fine for a level 1 spell, especially since it’s a Bonus Action to consume an elixir, but extending it to 1 hour at level 9 and then to an incredible 8 hours at level 15 makes this absolutely fantastic. Strongly consider giving these out to everyone in the party once you have spell slots to throw around.
- : Similar to Bless for a single target, and it notably stacks with Bless. With a 1-minute duration, you’ll want to administer this during combat. Fortunately, the duration scales over time, making it possible to stretch a single elixir through multiple encounters.
- : The ability to fly, even at such low speed, can solve a ton of problems. But you can also replicate a Broom of Flying, so there’s not much consistent value here.
- : Basically a Potion of
Healing.
This provides as much healing as casting Cure Wounds as a level 1 spell
initially, then adds extra dice over time, but you also have the option
of giving the elixir to an ally so that they could use it themselves in
an emergency. This is certainly better then spending a spell slot on Cure
Wounds, and it’s marginally better than Healing Word unless you need Healing Word’s range.
- : : Add your Intelligence
modifier to things like Healing Word, but also to things like Acid Splash,
Fire Bolt, and Poison Spray. This makes Acid Splash a very exciting cantrip
because applying that damage to multiple targets is very effective, but you
probably still want Fire Bolt or Poison Spray as your go-to damage option
for single targets.
This does also apply to leveled spells, but you don’t have many leveled spells which deal qualifying damage types, and almost none which hit multiple targets. Ray of Sickness is on the Alchemist’s spell list, and Tasha’s Caustic Brew is a personal favorite, but you don’t get Fireball.
- : Useful, and it reduces the resource tax to prepare and cast Lesser Restoration, which is crucial for removing common status conditions.
- Chemical Mastery:
- : This stacks with Alchemical Savant, so your acid/fire/poison spells are now dramatically more effective. Unfortunately, you still suffer from a lac of good qualifying spells, and the damage only applies when you cast the spell, so options like Elemental Weapon don’t benefit. Vitriolic Sphere will work, but it’s just not a great spell.
- : Two damage resistances and immunity to Poisoned.
- : Tasha’s Bubbling
Cauldron is versatile, and it improves every time a new potion is
published. Remember that the potions are permanent until you cast the
spell again, so you can cast it before you go adventuring, wait until
the potions have been used, then cast it again to get more potions and
use them in the same day.
As of this writing, there aren’t a huge number of potions to choose from. Potion of Growth, Potion of Resistance, and Potion of Healing (Greater) are your best choices. Potion of Giant Strength may also work, but by this level your party’s Strength-based characters likely already have 20 Strength.
(EFotA)
The Armorer is all about their suit of magic armor, which they customize to suit their role within the party. A Dreadnaught or Guardian is a front-line melee Defender, while an Infiltrator is a Scout built to fight at range. With the Artificer’s ability to complement their other capabilities with Replicate Magic item, an Armorer can be incredibly durable, versatile, and dangerous.
If you’re building an Armorer, especially for melee, the hardest part is surviving levels 1 and 2. You can play an armorer with 8 Strength and 8 Dexterity, but that means that your AC is dangerously low until you can get to 3rd level. Be cautious. Hide behind stuff. Fight at range as much as possible, and do everything you can to not be in places and situations where something will feel the need to cause you bodily harm.
- Tools of the Trade:
- : Heavy armor is a big upgrade from medium armor since Arcane Armor removes the Strength requirement. You can comforably dump both Strength and Dexterity unless you’re building around the Infiltrator model.
- : Fine, but not likely to have a long-term impact on the game, especially once you have your armor of choice from Replicate Magic Item.
- : Useful, but 5e’s crafting rules aren’t great.
- : Starts off slow, but
finishes strong. Mostly offensive damage spells, but at high levels you get
more diverse and useful options.
- : Two offensive options. Thunderwave is situational, but sometimes pushing enemies is helpful. Magic Missile is nice and reliable, but without a boost to your spell damage and with only 2/3 spellcasting progression, offensive spells are typically a terrible way to spend your spell slots. Even so, Magic Missile is a great way to break Concentration since it forces a save for each missile.
- : Mirror image is a good defensive buff, though it will wear off quickly for anyone trying to use it in melee. Shatter is passable AOE damage.
- : AOE save or suck and lightning bolt, which fits the theme much better but is much less useful.
- : Two excellent buffs, though ironically Fire Shield may not be especially effective since the Artificer’s AC is notoriously high so enemies may have trouble hitting you enough that it will deliver consistent damage output.
- : A decent utility option and an excellent area control option.
- : No Strength requirement is
huge if you’re wearing heavy armor. Note that you can change model on a
Short Rest, allowing you (at least partially) change your armor to fit the
needs of a situation. However, an optimized build will nearly always require
focusing on one armor model and picking feats, spells, and items to support
that model. Changing armor models will mean dramatically reduced benefits
from your other build choices.
Arcane Armor must be used on existing armor which you are wearing, so you’ll likely create armor for yourself using Replicate Magic Item. If you need to change into stealth-friendly armor, you may be able to use Magic Item Tinker to turn your current armor into a spell slot, then turn another replicated itme into a different set of armor.
Unfortunately, the special armor weapons don’t have GP cost, which means that they don’t qualify to be used with spells like True Strike or Booming Blade. You’ll be almost entirely dependent on the weapons as they’re written, though Fighting Style feats can provide a boost.
- : The new kid on the
block, the Dreadnaught model was introduced in the 2024 rules update to
the Armorer. The Dreadnaught’s weapon allows the Artificer to push or
pull smaller creatures, giving them some useful battlefield control.
With the Reach property and the ability to become larger and further expand your reach, you can benefit
from options like Sentinel and Polearm Master to make opportunity
attacks more often and to control enemies’ ability to move around.
However, the dependence on size differences presents a massive limitation here. Giant Stature lets you become Large a few time sper day (Huge at level 15), but once you’re out of uses, you’re in trouble. Most enemies you’ll face are Medum or larger, and enemies smaller than that all but disappear once you’re no longer facing CR 0 and CR 1/8 animals in combat. If you’re fighting enemies bigger than you, you’re totally out of luck. I hope you like your 1d10 damage weapon and Reach.
You could switch armor models mid-day, of course, but building to make Dreadnaught effective means that your other armor models will be less effective because options which complement one armor model don’t necessarily complement the other models.
You can also rely on Enlarge/Reduce to make yourself larger, and it even stacks with Giant Stature, allowing you to become Huge (Gargantuan at level 15). However, Enlarge/Reduce only lasts 1 minute, and it requires Concentration. Also, spending both your Bonus Action and your Action means that you’re spending an entire turn just to turn on your subclass. This gets easier when you get Spell-Storing Item, fortunately.
The best comparison we can make is to the Barbarian’s Rage feature. Both Rage and Giant Stature are activated as a Bonus Action, and they’re primarily combat buffs. However, the Barbarian is still effective in combat even without Rage, and the game designers still gave Rage a 10-minute duration in the 2024 rules, allowing you to stretch it between multiple fights. Giant Stature gives you 1 minute.
If you want to forcibly move creatures, use Weapon Mastery (Push) or grapple them. If you’re fine without the Push/Pull options, you’re just here for Reach, which just isn’t enough.
- : The go-to for melee builds, Defender’s special weapon has a built-in taunt mechanic, and the Defensive Field feature lets you give yourself a pile of Temporary Hit Points as a Bonus Action as often as you want while you’re bloodied. Leaning into options which work while you’re bloodied will work great here. For example: Purple Dragon Commandant gives you Advantage on all attacks while Bloodied.
- : +5 ft. speed, Advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks, and a ranged weapon which deals Lightning damage. This can make you a great Scout. If you’re leaning into stealth, go for Breastplate armor. It’s the best AC you can get without Disadvantage.
- : The new kid on the
block, the Dreadnaught model was introduced in the 2024 rules update to
the Armorer. The Dreadnaught’s weapon allows the Artificer to push or
pull smaller creatures, giving them some useful battlefield control.
With the Reach property and the ability to become larger and further expand your reach, you can benefit
from options like Sentinel and Polearm Master to make opportunity
attacks more often and to control enemies’ ability to move around.
- : Armorers are expected to rely primarily on their special armor weapon in combat, so Extra Attack is a huge damage boost.
- Improved Armorer:
- : An extra Replicate Magic Item slot is always welcome, and you were almost certainly replicating your armor already.
- : Unfortunately, you can’t apply any of your Replicate Magic Item options to your special weapon, but this makes it the equivalent of a +1 weapon without making it a magic weapon, which means that you can also cast Magic Weapon or Elemental Weapon on it to further improve it.
- Perfected Armor:
- : Upgrading from 1d10 to 2d6 damage is an average of +1.5 damage per hit, but you’re her for the size upgrade. The ability to become Huge means that you’ll be able to out-size most creatures in the game, but you’ll still need Enlarge/Reduce to handle other Huge enemies.
- : The extra damage is insignificant, but the ability pull enemies an incredible 30 feet as a Reacton and then immediately hit them is amazing. If possible, drag them through an ongoing area damage effect, though that can be very difficult to coordinate since you have no control over other creatures’ movement.
- : Fully double your special weapon’s damage dice, your targets have Disadvantage to attack you, and you can fly as a Bonus Action a few times per day. This is a massive improvement both offensively and defensively.
(EFotA)
Stunningly powerful and very easy to play, the Artillerist combines a pet, high damage output, and powerful support options. Cannons provide easy damage, an extra body on the field, and a bottomless supply of Temporary Hit Points for your whole party. The Artillerist’s spell list provide area damage and area control, including powerful options like Fireball and Wall of Force. This is arguably both the easiest Artificer to play and the most powerful.
- Tools of the Trade:
- : Better ranged weapon options are great. You’re likely to grab a pistol or musket and then literally never use another weapon.
- : Unlikely to have any effect on the game.
- : Useful, but 5e’s crafting rules aren’t great. If you can make this work, load up on as many wands as possible as fast as possible. A battery of Wands of Missiles is a powerful and reliable source of single-target damage which can easily out-damage any of your other single-target damage options even when you include Arcane Firearm in the damage calculation.
- : The Artillerist’s
spell list is primarily offensive with some area control effects thrown in.
None of the spells are on the Artificer spell list, which is strange
compared to similar class features on other classes which typically saddle
you with at least a few situational spells that are already on your class’s
spell list.
- : Shield is a great spell at any level, and since the Artificer’s spellcasting adds a Material component to all of your spells, you can cast it with your hands full (provided that you’re holding or wearing an item which qualifies as a Focus, such as a replicated weapon). Thunderwave isn’t a ton of damage, but it’s nice for pushing enemies away if you get stuck in melee.
- : Two good offensive spells, but remember that the Artificer is a half caster, so you’re getting Shatter at the same level that Wizards get Fireball. Arcane Firearm comes online at the same level and provides a damage boost, but it only applies to one damage roll, so AOE options like Shatter are more efficient against multiple targets than options like Scorching Ray.
- : Fireball is one of the best AOE damage spells in the game, especially for its level, and adding Arcane Firearm’s damage boost will close some of the gap between the Artificer and the Wizard. Wind Wall is fine, but it’s really situational so you may go your entire career without casting it.
- : Ice Storm isn’t a great spell, but Wall of Fire is an excellent area control option.
- : Cone of Cold’s AOE is great, but the damage isn’t significantly better than that of Fireball, and it’s a Constitution save instead of a much more reliable Dexterity save. Wall of Force is the real winner here. It’s a reliable, no-save way to shut off one or more enemies for the duration of the spell, and most enemies are totally powerless to escape or counter it.
- : The eldritch cannon is
basically a pet that can only perform one action. They’re severely limited
by their 15 ft. movement speed, so generally you’ll either create a Tiny
cannon and carry it around (or make someone else do it, such as a Homunculus
Servant) or you’ll create a Small cannon whenever you need a cannon that can
occupy a space. Creating a cannon takes an Action, so consider your choices
carefully; an Action early in combat is very important, so your best bet is
to create the cannon ahead of time and carry it into combat.
In addition to their active abilities, your cannon makes a decent tank. With an AC of 18 and a decent pool of hit points, they can take a lot of damage which would otherwise be dealt to your party members, and you can heal them between fights using a Cantrip (though the 1-minute casting time for Mending can add up quickly if you’re not careful). They’re also immune to things which only damage creatures, though they’re vulnerable to things that affect objects. For example: if your cannon is walking around on its own, Fireball would cause it to catch fire. Objects also don’t provoke Opportunity Attacks, so your cannon is free to wander around in combat without issue until something actively tries to attack it.
Small cannons are big enough to provide cover for small characters, and in tight quarters they might be able to completely prevent enemies from reaching you by interposing themselves. However, be cautious about sacrificing your cannon: you can only have one at a time and you only get to create one for free each day. After that, it will cost you a spell slot, but a level 1 spell slot is a negligible price to pay for how good the cannons are.
When you activate your cannon, you choose one of three optionsL
- : With 15 ft. speed and a 15 ft. AOE, it will be difficult to keep enemies in range of the flamethrower unless you’re in small areas like a cramped dungeon. If you find yourself unexpectedly in an encounter with close-packed enemies, it’s often more efficient to use the flamethrower than to attac individual enemies with Force Ballista. Even so, this option is only situationally useful
- : Your go-to damage option. It’s only slightly more interesting than a crossbow, especially since the Heavy Crossbow also has the Push Weapon Mastery. The damage is good and it uses your Intelligence for the attack, so this is a good choice if all you need is to kill one creature at a time. The push effect isn’t huge, but it’s enough to break grapples by forcing enemies out of reach of your allies, and you may be able to knock enemies into dangerous positions, such as by pushing them through a Wall of Fire.
- : False Life is a level 1 spell and provides largely the same benefit, but False Life doesn’t affect your whole party and you can’t spam it every round for free. Even if your cannon spends all of its time following your party’s tank around to replenish their Temporary Hit Points instead of attacking, the Protector cannon can go a long way to stretch your party’s limited daily resources. Between fights, activate the cannon repeatedly until you roll an 8 to ensure that you and your party members go into every fight with as many temporary hit points as possible.
- : This applies to all of
your Artificer spells which deal damage. Consider this on Shatter or
Fireball. The d8 isn’t as reliable as adding your Intelligence bonus, but
it’s 4.5 damage on average, so it’s roughly equivalent until you get into
Epic Boons.
Your choice of item to be your Arcane Firearm is important. There’s no reason to pick a rod, and you’ll only pick a staff if you’re fortunate enough to find a powerful staff since you can’t replicate them. Your best choices are a wand or a weapon. Your choices come down to a musket, a pistol, or a Wand of the War Mage.
A musket combined with True Strike is the simplest option, providing reliable and effective Cantrip damage without much hassle, but at the cost of consuming both of your hands. A pistol trades some of that damage for a free hand. Holding a Wand of the War Mage in your other hand will get you a bonus on Spell Attacks (remember that True Strike is a Weapon Attack), includng with your Force Ballista attacks. However, you’ll need to choose which focus to use when casting spells, so you’ll get either a bonus to Spell Attacks or the +1d8 damage, but not both. Choosing Wand of the War Mage as your Arcane Firearm gives you the best spellcasting, but you won’t get the damage bonus with True Strike, so you’ll want to pivot to a different attack Cantrip.
Note the wording of the feature: You don’t add 1d8 to the damage dice rolled; you roll 1d8 and add the result on the die to the damage. This means it is not multiplied by a critical hit.
- Explosive Cannon:
- : Intetnionally situational. This isn’t a go-to option, but it’s great when your cannon is going to be destroyed or when a large number of enemies are crowded around your cannon. 3d10 damage is more than any of the cannon’s attack options, so this may be worthwhile even if combat isn’t about to end. If your cannon is going to be destroyed anyway, there’s little reason to skip this unless you’ll hit allies. Otherwise, there’s no hard rule about when to use this, unfortunately, so you need to make a judgement call.
- : +1d8 damage from Flamethrower and Force Ballista and +1d8 THP fom Protector. This is a significant boost in power for your cannon. Protector can give everyone in your party 21 Temporary Hit Points (assuming that you have +5 Int), which is a massive increase in durability for your whole party.
- Fortified Position:
- : Double all of the best parts of the Artillerist.
- : +2 AC and +2 to Dexterity saves for everyone within 10 feet of your cannon. It’s good motivation to carry one of your cannons (or, again, have a Homunculus Servant do it for you) just to keep the protective area close to you.
(EFotA)
The Battle Smith is built around the Steel Defender, turning the Artificer into a powerful 2-creature combat duo. While the Battle Smith isn’t as durable as the Armorer, the Steel Defender provides additional protection, which can close that gap while also providing decent damage output of its own. While the Battle Smith isn’t strictly locked into melee, the Steel Defender is at its best when it has an adjacent ally to protect in melee.
- Tools of the Trade:
- : Fine, but not likely to have a long-term impact on the game, especially once you have your armor of choice from Replicate Magic Item.
- : Useful, but 5e’s crafting rules aren’t great.
- : Most of the spells
are from the Paladin spell list, which is exciting for a subclass built to
be a martial-adjacent character similar to the Paladin. Many of the options
are excellent, and the smite spells from the Paladin’s spell list work on
melee weapons, including thrown melee weapons, so you’re not locked
into melee if that’s not where you want to be. However, those same Smite
spells eat your Bonus Action, which may conflict with commanding your Steel
Defender.
- : Spectacular defensive buffs. Shield easily makes up the durability gap between the Battle Smith and the Armorer in heavy armor, and Heroism is great to put on your Steel Defender if you’re worried about it being destroyed in combat. Of course, you can rebuild it for a single spell slot, so it’s probably better to just let it die and rebuild it later.
- : Both options are situational. Warding Bond is especially hard due to the Artificer’s d8 hit die. I think the intent is to use it to keep your Steel Defender alive, but remember that you can rebuild your defender for a single spell slot.
- : Conjure Barrage is a decent replacement for Fireball that trades much of Fireball’s damage and range for a better damage type and the ability to omit allies, making it easier to use without worrying about positioning. The damage may feel lackluster by this level compared to full casters, but it’s still good AOE damage. Aura of Life is slow healing, but it’s enough to revive dying allies, and it heals a ton of hp for one spell slot. Neither spell is amazing in a vaccuum, but both spells are fantastic when used with Spell-Storing Item. Conjure Barrange will let a party pet (homunculus servant or familiar) drop repeated AOE damage, while Aura of Healing will let you burden a pet with Concentration so that you can concentrate on something more interesting.
- : More great defensive buffs.
- : Both options are situational, but you don’t have another good way to deal with extraplanar creatures and your best group healing is Aura of Vitality, which can’t get a whole party back on their feat in one turn..
- Battle Ready
- : This removes the need to increase Strength or Dexterity. You still want 14 to fill out medium armor, but you don’t need any more than that.
- : Martial weapons offer some great options. A Whip or another Reach weapon will allow you to make melee attacks from behind your Steel Defender while still staying out of reach.
- : The Battle Smith’s
defining feature, the Steel Defender is a powerful combat pet similar to the
Beast Master Ranger. The Steel Defender is built for melee, and its Deflect
Attack feature allows it to protect adjacent allies from enemy attacks. The
defender is decently durable, making it a great addition on the front lines,
and the ability to rebuild it at the cost of a single spell slot means that
you can afford to let it take as much damage as your enemies can cause
without concern for the safety of other party members who are harder to
revive.
Commanding the Steel Defender consumes your Bonus Action at least until level 5 when you get Extra Attack, so options which also consume your Bonus Action like smite spells and Homunclus Servant may be difficult to fit into your action economy.
The Steel Defender adds your Proficiency Bonus to all of its saves and Ability Checks, making it better at many things that most characters in your party. However, its inability to speak and 3 Intelligence mean that your robot dog might now all about whatever monster you’re fighting and have absolutely no way to tell you about it. Fortunately, it’s not smart enough to have introspective thoughts about this cruel irony.
- : Two attacks is great, but
the real appeal here is that you can drop an attack to comand your Steel
Defender to attack. Unless you’ve built around making your weapon attacks
effective, your Steel Defender’s attack is likely to be more effective than
yours.
You likely can’t command your Steel Defender to attack twice in one turn, unfortunately. Both using your Bonus Action and trading one of your attacks command it to use its Action, but it still only gets one Action per turn. Instead, the intent appears to be to allow you some flexibility in your action economy so that you can use a Bonus Action and not limit your Steel Defender to the Dodge Action.
- Arcane Jolt: Both options share a resource pool.
- : 2d6 damage isn’t a lot, but it’s “extra damage”, which means that it’s multiplied on a crit. Reserve this for critical hits or when you have a good chance to drop your target to 0. Otherwise, it’s not impactful enough to race to use this.
- : This isn’t enough healing for anthing except emergencies, so reserve this for when allies fall to 0 hp. Think of it like Healing Word.
- Improved Defender:
- : Double the effectiveness of your Arcane Jolt options. It doesn’t change your tactics, but it’s great progression.
- : If you’re fighting in melee alongside your Steel Defender, you could easily use this every round, providing guaranteed force damage. The amount of damage isn’t huge, but it’s guaranteed Force damage which almost nothing can resist, and the retaliatory damage doesn’t have a range limit because Deflect Attack doesn’t care about how far away the attacker is.
(EFotA)
The Cartographer is a support build, providing some great passive benefits plus teleportation for the whole party. However, it has very few options to actively do anything in combat other than move, and the few options it offers depend heavily on level 1 spells.
- Tools of the Trade:
- : This will almost never do anything in a typical game.
- : Scrolls can be a great way to complement your limited spell slots and to guarantee that situational utilities are available without needing to prepare them.
- : Mostly situational
utilities.
- : Not only do you get three spells, but they’re all pretty good.
- : Two situational options.
- : Call Lightning is only useful when you have a ton of time before enemies can reach you. Claivoyance is useful for scouting, but it’s expensive on a half caster.
- : A great save-or-suck and a very situational utility.
- : Both options are great without question, but they’re also not spells that you need to prepare every day because casting them is expensive and usually requires a great deal of forethought.
- Adventurer’s Atlas:
- : A nice Initiative bonus for your party.
- : Incredibly powerful. Without any effort, this will let party members target each other through full cover to heal and buff. This also allows you to target invisible allies or allies concealed by fog, darkness, etc. You can replicat an Eversmoking Bottle to conceal the whole battlefield, then use this to let your party cooperate while enemies stumble around functionally blind.
- Mapping Magic:
- : Faerie Fire is an objectively great spell, but I don’t like how this and Guided Precision lock you into using it at all times.
- : Useful short-range
teleportation that cuts into your movement, but doesn’t consume an
action of any kind. It’s great for getting out of dangerous locations,
bypassing obstacles, and reaching allies. However, you can’t use it to
escape grapples because being Grappled reduces your speed to 0.
The wording of Portal Jump requires line of sight to the target space, not to the ally to whom you’re teleporting. Adventurer’s Atlas removes the need to see your ally, but not the space to which you’re teleporting.
- : This feature has two
parts, so I don’t know why it didn’t get sub-features like the rest of the
subclass. The first feature is a damage boost, and the wording is important:
The damage bonus applies when you cast a damaging spell from the
Cartographer’s spell list (Guiding Bolt, Mind Spike, Call Lightning) and the
damage bonus also applies when you hit a creature currently affected by your
Faerie Fire. The subclass spells do not require Faerie Fire (thanks
to the folks on the RPGBOT Discord for correcting me on that one). The
damage bonus is only once per turn, so you don’t get double from Guiding
Bolt.
The second portion of the feature makes it easier to maintain Concentration on Faerie Fire. If you’re going to use Faerie Fire constantly, at least it’s reliable.
Mind Spike and Call Lightning are both very situational, so to get the damage bonus you’re relying on either Guiding Bolt or Faerie Fire. While they’re both good spells, they’re still level 1 spells, and having huge potions of the subclass built around level 1 spells is extremely limiting.
- : Very useful, but you
have little control over when you use this since you can only use Flash of
Genius when you or a nearby ally fails a save. The effect is obviously
fantastic, and failed saves happen frequently, but it’s not something that
you can control without doing something silly like grappling an ally to
force a save, then having your ally choose to fail.
The wording of Ingenious Movement requires line of sight to your ally, but Adventure’s Atlas (Positioning) negates that requirement. I’m not sure why they added the requirement when they’re intentionally negating it.
- Superior Atlas:
- : A fantastic defense, Safe Haven allows an ally to teleport to safety across any distance, including across different planes of existence. This can target any map holder, so leaving a spare map with a friendly NPC can allow injured party members to teleport to safety rather than just teleporting across the room and remaining in the fight.
- : Even without the Material component, Find the Path is a terrible spell.
