D&D Artificer (2024) 5e Guide

The Artificer is Back!

As one of the most creative and customizable classes in Dungeons & Dragons, the Artificer has always been a favorite for players who love mixing magic with machinery. While it wasn’t part of the original 2014 Player’s Handbook, the Artificer made its official debut in 2019 in the Eberron: Rising from the Last War supplement. It was also made available in 2020’s Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.

Since the release of the 2024 Player’s Handbook, in September, Artificer fans have been wondering when we’d see a revised version of the Artificer, and that day has come! Wizards of the Coast has released an Unearthed Arcana on D&D Beyond that features the first iteration of the revised Artificer, which has been updated for the 2024 rules.

So, while the Artificer is still very much in development, let’s break down the changes from the first playtest!

2024 Artificer: What’s Changed

Key Feature Updates

Below, we’ll overview the Artificer features that have changed the most from their 2014 version to the revised 2024 version. We skip over features that haven’t changed, like Ability Score Improvement, Flash of Genius, and Spell-Storing Item.

Level 1

Magical Tinkering: Instead of four infusing a Tiny object with four medicore properties, you can create a variety of mundane items that vanish after 1 hour. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier and gain all uses after a Long Rest. The items are as follows:

• Ball Bearings
• Basket
• Bedroll
• Bell
• Blanket
• Block and Tackle
• Bucket
• Caltrops
• Candle
• Crowbar
• Flask
• Jug
• Lamp
• Net
• Oil
• Paper
• Parchment
• Pole
• Pouch
• Rope
• Sack
• Shovel
• String
• Tinderbox
• Torch
• Vial

This is a solid upgrade to what felt like a very “cantripy” property. Being able to magically conjure oil or ball bearings is a great way to set traps for enemies, and you can never have too much rope!

This is further upgraded by the fact that every mundane item in the 2024 Player’s Handbook has a mechanical ability tied to it, which makes DMs have to improvise less, and players have a better understanding of what they can be used for.

Spellcasting: There are a couple changes to spells in this U. First, Homunculus Servant is now a level 2 Conjuration spell instead of an Artificer Infusion, which has also been reworked (more on that below).

Next, the Artificer has added these spells to their spell list:

• Cantrips: Elementalism, True Strike
• Level 2: Arcane Vigor, Dragon’s Breath, Homunculus Servant
• Level 5: Circle of Power

Level 2

Replicate Magic Item: This isn’t actually that big of a change to how Artificer Infusions worked in the previous iteration of the Artificer. You can magically create 4 of the items listed below (the same number of Infusions you’d get previously), and many of these items have similar effects. For example, the Alchemy Jug could be created with the previous Replicate Magic Item Artificer Infusion, and the +1 Weapon, Wand, or Shield are the same as their Enhanced versions from Infusions.

• Alchemy Jug
• Bag of Holding
• Cap of Water Breathing
• Common magic item that isn’t a Potion, a Scroll, or cursed
• Goggles of Night
• Rope of Climbing
• Sending Stones
• Shield +1
• Wand of Magic Detection
• Wand of Secrets
• Wand of the War Mage +1
• Weapon +1

Probably the biggest letdown is you can’t create +1 armor with this new ability (until level 6, that is).

Level 3

Artificer Subclass: See Below

Right Tools for the Job: You can now create Artisan’s Tools more quickly, but they vanish after 1 hour because they’re created as part of Magical Tinkering. Unfortunately, this means they’re likely useless for taking advantage of the 2024 rules’ new crafting mechanics.

Level 6

Magic Item Tinker: You can drain an item created using Replicate Magic Item to gain a level 1 or level 2 spell slot. Seeing as you can re-conjure all of your created magic items after a Long Rest, this is a decent way to create more resources if you’re running low. That said, it’s definitely a short-term plan, as you don’t want to trade a +1 Shield to cast a single level 2 spell if you won’t be taking a Long Rest sometime real soon.

You also get access to further more options for your Replicate Magic Item:

• Armor +1
• Boots of Elvenkind
• Cloak of Elvenkind
• Cloak of the Manta Ray
• Eyes of Charming
• Gloves of Thievery
• Lantern of Revealing
• Pipes of Haunting
• Uncommon Armor, Wand, or Weapon

The biggest upside here is you can recreate any Uncommon Armor, Wand, or Weapon that isn’t cursed. This offers a frankly insane amount of possibilities if you’re pulling from all the sources at your disposal.

If you’re a 2024 rules purist, the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide doesn’t have that many exciting options but does include things like Mithral Armor or the Javelin of Lightning.

Also, if you’re missing any of your favorite Artificer Infusions, worry not! They’ve been included in this UA as Uncommon items that can be created using Replicate Magic Item. So if you wanted to suit your Artificer up with a Repulsion Shield or Boots of Winding Path, you’ll still be able to.

Level 10

Magic Item Adept: A small tweak to the previous iteration of this feature. Now it simply gives you access to more Replicate Magic Item options. This is actually a downgrade from the 2014 version, as they unlocked more Infusion options alongside this ability, which also allowed them to reduce the required time and gold for crafting.

The crafting resource reduction is likely removed because that has been moved to the Artificer’s subclass, depending on their specialty.

Anyways, the list of expanded Replicate Magic Item options is a single option, but it’s a doozy:

• Uncommon Ring or Wondrous Item that isn’t cursed

This includes close to 80 items from the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide alone, which means you’ll be spending a lot of time flipping through those pages, scanning for the perfect magic item.

Level 11

Spell-Storing Item: This ability gets a huge buff by upping the max level of the spells you can store within the item to level 3. Remember, you can cast the spell stored in the item a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier, so once your Artillerists pops Fireball in there, you can pretty much spam it for the rest of the encounter.

Level 14

Magic Item Savant: This is where things start to get nuts. Your Replicate Magic Item ability now allows you to replicate any Rare Armor, Ring, Want, Weapon, or Wondrous Armor that isn’t cursed.

From the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide alone, this is close to 100 items, which is an insane step up from the 12 potential options in the 2014 Artificer’ Replicate Magic Items list.

Hook your Barbarian up with a Flame Tongue Greatsword? Sure! Pop on a Helm of Teleporation and blip across the continent? Why not! Give your Fighter a +2 Shield you can hide behind? Bam!

At this point, you have plans 7 magic items at your disposal, but remember, you can only learn new plans and exchange plans when you gain levels, so you’ll have access to 2 Rare items at level 14.

Level 19

Epic Boon: Like every other class in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, the Artificer gains an Epic Boon (or any other feat they qualify for) at level 19.

Level 20

Soul of Artifice: This looks pretty similar to the capstone of the 2014 Artificer. When you’re knocked to 0 Hit Points, you can consume an Uncommon or Rare magic item you’ve created with your Replicate Magic Item feature to go to 20 Hit Points instead.

You can also add 1d6 to an ability check once per turn while you’re attuned to a magic item.

The Cheat Death ability has certainly got an upgrade, because you pop up to 20 Hit Points rather than 1 from the previous iteration. Unfortunately, Magical Guidance has been debuffed pretty hard.

This used to give you +1 to all saving throws for each item you have attuned (probably at least 6), which the measly average 3.5 to ability scores gained by the new ability pales in comparison to.

Subclass Highlights

The biggest changes come from updated subclass features:

• Alchemist: The Alchemist Spells list now includes Vitriolic Sphere instead of Blight and Tool Proficiency lets Alchemists craft potions in half the time. Experimental Elixir gets a huge buff, healing options are improved, they only take a Bonus Action to drink, and you make more elixirs as you level up. Restorative Reagents now scale Temporary Hit Points with your level, which is worse at lower levels but much better at higher levels. Lastly, Chemical Mastery has been redesigned to provide extra damage, and you can cast the Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron spell without using a spell slot.
• Armorer: Tools of the Trade now speeds up mundane and magical Armor crafting, while the Armor Model feature introduces a new size-changing Dreadnought option alongside the revamped Guardian model, where Defensive Field is now based on the new Bloodied status instead of limited uses. Armor Replication replaces Armor Modifications, adding to armor you can create using Magic Item Replication. Perfected Armor boosts the damage of your Thunder Gauntlets and Lightning Launchers, making them even more devastating in combat. These changes significantly improve the Armorer’s versatility and combat prowess, solidifying their role as a powerhouse on the battlefield.
• Artillerist: Tool Proficiency now enables Artificers to craft magic Wands faster. Eldritch Cannon allows for all three cannon options: Flamethrower, Force Ballista, and Protector. The Explosive Cannon now detonates as a Reaction instead of an action, with increased damage.
• Battle Smith: Tool Proficiency now allows Battle Smiths to craft ordinary and magical weapons faster. The Steel Defender’s Force-Empowered Rend now deals 2 + your Intelligence modifier + 1d8 damage.

Go Tinker With the New Artificer

The Artificer has always been a class with nigh-limitless potential bounded only by your creativity, and the 2024 definitely take this to new heights.

The new Replicate Magic Item features means you now have almost infinite options for creating powerful magical items, which are bound to upgrade both your Artificer and the rest of your party. The updated subclasses also shore up some weaknesses from their previous iterations, meaning the Artificer is now a very good-looking pick for inventive players.

Want to learn more? Check out this video featuring D&D Design Lead Jeremy Crawford discussing the 2024 Artificer.