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Best Ability Scores For An Armorer Artificer
How To Fight As An Armorer Artificer
Best Infusions For An Armorer Artificer
How To Roleplay An Armorer Artificer
Armorer Artificers are a fun class to play, with a lot of options to choose from. Artificers give you access to spellcasting and infusions, which let you tailor your playstyle more than most classes in . The armorer augments this further by letting them fight in melee and take large amounts of punishment.
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The way they strain the genre lines of traditional fantasy settings means armorers don't fit into all settings, so it is important to discuss your choice of class in a session zero. There may also be ways to change the presentation while keeping the class features the same.
Best Ability Scores For An Armorer Artificer
More so than almost any other class, armorer artificer can get by with focusing on only one ability score. Other users of heavy armour need strength, but you can ignore that due to your class features. Most users of ranged weapons need dexterity, but your lightning launcher is powered by intelligence.
Ability Score | Priority | Applications |
|---|---|---|
Intelligence | First | This is just about the only ability score with no wriggle room. Intelligence scales your spellcasting, weapons and almost all of your class features. Your Flash Of Genius ability means that you can augment any saving throw you make with your intelligence as well. |
Constitution | Second | Life should be cherished, and your own life doubly so. A high score in constitution keeps you from losing it. Armorers do have class features that provide temporary hitpoints, so if there is another ability you want to prioritise for roleplaying reasons this is the best place to trim fat from. |
Wisdom | Third | While it doesn't build into any of your class features, wisdom is always useful for two broad reasons: Perception checks to spot traps and saving throws against the majority of mind-altering maladies. There's a special type of enjoyment from being mind controlled and having the excuse to pummel your own team, but not everyone will appreciate this equally. |
Dexterity | Fourth | A dexterity below ten will penalise your armour class, but above ten will grant you no benefit due to your heavy armour. If for character building reasons you want to use firearms (who doesn't?), then you will want to raise this to be your second priority. |
Charisma | Fifth | Being good at fast talk is a useful skill for most characters, letting you circumvent combat encounters with a combination of intimidation and diplomacy but only when your party doesn't already have a paladin, warlock or bard handling those situations. Having the stage presence implied by a higher charisma can also make you a more effective taunt in melee fights, depending on how you and your GM roleplay in combat. |
Strength | Sixth | The infusion Armor of Magical Strength allows you to substitute your intelligence to strength checks and saves at the cost of an attunement slot. If your group plays with carry weight limits you may want more strength. |
How To Fight As An Armorer Artificer
Armor Model, your level three feature, lets you swap between two main configurations with different ability sets as part of a short rest. Guardian mode is the stronger for general use, giving defensive abilities and a taunting melee weapon while the infiltrator adds extra utility by allowing you to move stealthily and giving a ranged weapon.
Fighting As A Guardian Armorer
The core of a Guardian playstyle is the thunder gauntlet. This weapon has a taunt-like effect when it hits an enemy: They will gain disadvantage if attacking anyone other than you. Paired with the high AC provided by heavy armour and a shield in your off-hand, most enemies will struggle to land attacks. You gain the extra attack feature at fifth level, giving you the option to direct each attack at a different enemy and taunt both of them.
Artificers also have access to the cantrips Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade, which can be channeled through a weapon and allow you to apply both their spell effect and the weapons effect on the same attack. Booming Blade especially is useful because it deals damage if they try to move, preventing them from fleeing.
It can be incredibly satisfying to shout the names of your attacks as an armorer artificer. The Radiant Booming Thunder Gauntlet is audible at 300 feet already, so you lose nothing in terms of stealth.
Fighting As An Infiltrator Armorer
The main feature the infiltrator brings to the table is the Dampening Field ability. This gives advantage on stealth checks, negating the penalty from wearing heavy armour. The lightning launcher is a ranged weapon the infiltrator gains that deals more damage than the thunder gauntlet, but less than most cantrips once you've reached level five.
The Powered Steps ability raises your move speed by five feet, which isn't much but can make a difference if your base speed is below 30. In a straight fight an infiltrator can use powered steps to just barely outpace a slower enemy while whittling them down with ranged attacks, or utilise spells such as spider climb to gain access to positions and vantage points that other heavy armour users will struggle to reach.
The infiltrator is a good choice for an emergency healer as their heavy armour means they can get into healing range without risking their own life. They do not gain access to the spell healing word that other classes can use to heal at a distance.
Best Infusions For An Armorer Artificer
Infusions are the unique mechanic for artificers, and armorers gain more than usual. At level nine you gain the ability Armor Modifications which lets you apply four different infusions to your armor. Here is a sample loadout of how you can spread those four infusions for a good balance of utility and power:
- Radiant Weapon (thunder gauntlet or lightning launcher): Gaining +1 to your main weapon, alongside the ability to blind attackers as a reaction to being hit.
- Armor Of Magical Strength: This allows you to use your intelligence on strength checks, and lets you resist effects that would push you prone.
- Enhanced Defence: This straightforward infusion buffs your AC by one point, increased to two points when you reach level ten.
- Resistant Armor: This infusion halves the damage you take from one element, and you can change the element as part of a long rest by renewing the infusion. You can apply this to an element that is likely to appear in the campaign you are playing (psychic if fighting illithids, fire if hunting a red dragon, and so on).
How To Roleplay An Armorer Artificer
There are no wrong ways to approach roleplay, but some people will find it easier working from an existing prompt. The backgrounds offered in fifth edition are a good starting point for deciding how your character might navigate different situations and how they came to be where they are currently.
Background | Features | Roleplaying tips |
|---|---|---|
Rune Carver |
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Criminal |
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Celebrity Adventurer's Scion / Inheritor |
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