Curious about the design of the artificer?
Learn more today on Dragon+, where @bart_carroll and I will chat about the class and its newest subclasses, the Archivist and the Battle Smith.
Join us at 1:00 PM (PST) on https://t.co/DpIgaTGlXM! #DnD
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 29, 2019
Two entirely new subclasses, and still no option for an Artificier who doesn’t want to play a pet-based class? Talk about disappointing.
I really loved the old Gunsmith subclass in earlier UA, because it made it possible to fill a gameplay niche that no other class is truly suited to fill – a long range magical sharpshooter who sacrifices rate of fire to deliver powerful single blows.
There’s nothing wrong with playing a Fighter built for launching four (or more!) deadly arrows or crossbow bolt in a single turn; nor with playing a Rogue built for ranged sneak attacks (although the 30 foot range is a bummer); but those are both normally mundane classes, and they’re all but required to use bows and crossbows rather than magical firearms.
In short, they don’t deliver on the proper player fantasy.
I want to be the adventurer running around with a big ol’ honking Thundercannon, worrying about careful positioning and clear sightlines so I can maximize chance to hit with my single shot per turn, and being rewarded for good tactical and strategic sense by dealing hefty single-target burst damage on hit, accompanied by the satisfying crack of the gun and a whiff of magical smoke and cinders.
I don’t want to summon up some spider-bot turret to shoot things FOR me. I don’t want to snap my fingers and have something else fight on my behalf. I want to take my magic, use it to make a really cool weapon that can’t be replicated by mundane means, and then use my own skill with that weapon and my own ability to make tactical decisions to find success.
Artifice is first and foremost about creation – not about animation. Not every finely made magical sword needs to be able to fly around and swing itself. By all mean, make that an option! Give people the choice to pick a sub-class that let’s them craft a magical pet! But don’t make it manditory for every single Artificer, because that feels awful.
Imagine if every Ranger had to have a pet! Or if every spellcaster capable of summoning was required to take summoning spells in lieu of other options! It’s absurd to pigeonhole every single subclass into the same playstyle, with a substantial portion of their power budget sunk into a feature not everyone wants!