D&D Artificer 5e Guide
Published on September 27, 2021, Last modified on December 12th, 2024
In this post, we will be examining the artificer’s class features and how you can optimize your artificer through choosing your race, background, ability scores, subclass, feats, and spells.
Zack Stella - Wizards of the Coast - Maverick Thopterist
Artificer 5e Guide Rating Scheme
This guide is meant as a deep dive into the DnD 5e artificer. For a quick overview of other 5e classes, check out our Guide to DnD 5e Classes.
The color code below has been implemented to help you identify, at a glance, how good that option will be for your artificer. This color coding isn’t a hard and fast rule; there are plenty of sub-optimized options out there that will be viable to your party and will be fun to play.
- Red : Isn’t going to contribute to the effectiveness of your character build at all
- Orange : Situationally good, but a below-average option otherwise
- Green : A good option
- Blue : A great option, you should strongly consider this option for your character
- Sky Blue: An amazing option. If you do not take this option your character would not be optimized
D&D 5e Artificer Overview
| Level | Prof. Bonus | Features | Infusions Known | Infused Items | Spell Slots per Spell Level | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cantrips Known | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |||||
| 1st | +2 | Magical Tinkering, Spellcasting | – | – | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 2nd | +2 | Infuse Item | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 3rd | +2 | Artificer Specialist, The Right Tool for the Job | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| 5th | +3 | Artificer Specialist feature | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 6th | +3 | Tool Expertise | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 7th | +3 | Flash of Genius | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – |
| 9th | +4 | Artificer Specialist feature | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – |
| 10th | +4 | Magic Item Adept | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – |
| 11th | +4 | Spell-Storing Item | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| 13th | +5 | – | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 14th | +5 | Magic Item Savant | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 15th | +5 | Artificer Specialist feature | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – |
| 17th | +6 | – | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | Magic Item Master | 12 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 12 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | +6 | Soul of Artifice | 12 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Playstyle
The Artificer is the first full-fledged class to be added to D&D 5e outside of the Player’s Handbook. Artificers were first introduced in the sourcebook Eberron: Rising from the Last War and were reprinted in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. The Artificer is an extremely unique class because it is the only class to have a large focus on items.
The Artificer’s class features revolve around Magical Tinkering and Infuse Items, both of which are able to give mundane items extra abilities or effects. Even their subclasses are primarily focused on items, whether it is crafting potions, animating a suit of armor to fight for you, turning your wand into a firearm, or crafting yourself a friend to defend you in combat.
Strengths
The Artificer is a support/utility class through and through. Being able to craft items and have a wide variety of utility spells allows Artificers to have a way to gain a leg up in combat and adventuring situations. The biggest advantage they can offer their party is through the Artificer Infusions. These Infusions can create powerful magical items that, in a system like 5e, provide a huge advantage to your party by boosting their power beyond their current level.
Weaknesses
The Artificer’s uniqueness tends to get in the way of its actual effectiveness. One of the main issues with the Artificer is how few spell slots they are given. For a class that has INT as its primary stat, they don’t get a whole lot of use out of it until 7th level when they get Flash of Genius.
Some Artificer builds can end up being underwhelming in combat. For the subclasses that are primarily spellcasting, they have very few actual damage, buff, or control spells due to the fact that their spells are mainly meant for utility. For the subclasses that will be wading into combat, they will quickly find their d8 hit dice can let them down. The Artificer’s main strength comes outside of combat, where they are able to tinker with items and provide lasting buffs to their party members.
Best Races for Artificers
Selecting a race that complements the Artificer’s inventive and versatile abilities can help you craft a truly unique character. If you’re seeking guidance on which race best suits your Artificer, dive into our Guide to Artificer Races.
For those sticking to the Basic Rules or Player’s Handbook, the Rock Gnome is a standout choice. With a +2 bonus to Intelligence and a knack for tinkering through their Artificer’s Lore and Tinker traits, Rock Gnomes align perfectly with the Artificer’s Intelligence-based spellcasting and creative ingenuity. These traits add flavor and functionality to your Artificer’s toolkit, making them a top pick for this inventive class.
Best Backgrounds for Artificers
Acolyte: Religion and Insight are already available to artificers but you do get two languages, and gaining shelter in certain places of worship can be handy.
Sage: Two INT skills and two languages.
Ability Scores
Ability Score Increases (ASI) at4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level.
Artificers value INT above all else, followed by CON/DEX. DEX shouldn’t be ignored if you are using it for AC.
STR: Artificers aren’t brawlers, they don’t need STR.
DEX: Good DEX means a higher AC and helps with ranged attacks.
CON: Artificers are hoping to not get hit a lot with a d8 hit dice. If they do get hit, they’ll want to invest in CON.
INT: INT is the be all end all for Artificers. It is extremely important for pretty much all of their class features.
WIS: WIS saves and Perception checks happen a lot.
CHA: CHA helps with social skills.
Artificer Class Progression
1st Level
Hit Points: Artificers have a d8 hit dice. Pretty standard for casters.
Saves: CON saves will be awesome to help maintain concentration, and INT saves do happen now and again.
Weapon/Armor Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, and shields are more than most casters get.
Skills: Only two skills from a small list, and not a lot of these come up a bunch.
- Arcana: INT-based skill checks are far and few between but this will be part of your role in the party.
- History: See above for INT-based skills.
- Investigation: The most useful INT-based skill by far.
- Medicine: See above for INT-based skills.
- Nature: See above for INT-based skills.
- Perception: Perception checks are called for a lot. If you take a proficiency here, you won’t have to worry too much about your lacking WIS modifier.
- Sleight of Hand: A semi-important stealthy skill.
2nd Level
Artificer Infusions: There are some really solid choices here and the sheer versatility offered by being able to swap out these choices over the campaign is certainly something to take into consideration.
- Enhanced Arcane Focus: A +1 wand is a great pickup at 2nd level. Boosting to +2 at 10th level helps keep it relevant.
- Enhanced Defense: +1 AC at <10th level and +2 AC at >10th level is nice.
- Enhanced Weapon: Infused melee weapons are a lot more likely to be outclassed by magical weapons found while adventuring than armor or arcane focuses. Still, this is a solid ability and will likely see use, even in the higher levels of campaigns.
- Homunculus Servant: The Homunculus certainly isn’t a star in combat does have some uses. With only 1 + INT mod + Artificer level HP and an AC of 13, they are quite squishy (though admittedly less so than Familiars). The 1d4 + Prof. Mod bonus action damage isn’t really great, but it’s a good use of your bonus action if you don’t have one. Like familiars, they can deliver touch spells, and provide the help action in combat to up their utility. The HS has some advantages over Find Familiar, like the level of autonomy they are granted by having an INT of 10, as well as the ability to carry things and use the Artificer’s Spell-Storing Item.
- Repeating Shot: Much like the other “enhanced” infusions, this is a solid pickup. Unfortunately, this doesn’t scale past 10th level so you will find yourself dropping this around then. The other benefit it adds to being able to shoot “loaded” weapons without having to actually load them. Good for duel wielding crossbows without the Crossbow Expert feat.
- Replicate Magic Item: This ability is insanely powerful and, because you can swap out the replicated item upon leveling up, it will allow you to usually have the best item for the current arc you are running. This is a no brainer and will likely be taken multiple times.
- Returning Weapon: A +1 weapon that returns after it is thrown is nice for flavor purposes if you, or anyone in your party, wants to roleplay as Thor.
3rd Level
Artificer Specialist: The Artificer’s Specialist is the heart of their craft, allowing you specialize into the magical artifice that drives their creations.
For a detailed look at the abilities and strategies available through each Artificer Specialist, check out our Guide to Artificer 5e Specialists.
- Alchemist: The alchemist adds some nice healing benefits to the artificer. While you definitely can’t keep up with a cleric or Circle of the Dreams druid, your party will certainly appreciate the support.
- Armorer: The armorer focuses on buffing a set of magical armor to help you out in battle. This is certainly the tankiest option for the Artificer.
- Artillerist: The Artillerist has the ability to summon a magical cannon that helps control the battlefield.
- Battle Smith: Their spell list is mainly lackluster with some real core melee caster spells sprinkled in. The highlight of this subclass is definitely their ability to attack using their INT modifier, in addition to their trusty Steel Defender which can soak damage as well as it can deal it.
6th Level
Artificer Infusions: Unfortunately, the options you get access to at 6th level are a lot less stellar than 2nd level.
- Boots of the Winding Path: Teleporting as a bonus action would be considered amazing. However, the caveat of having to have occupied the space you are teleporting to at some point during the current turn makes this a much worse option.
- Radiant Weapon: This is a great ability that grants a bonus to hit and damage and some utility in being able to blind attackers. It is a toss-up as to whether this is better than the Enhanced Weapon at level 10.
- Repulsion Shield: A +1 shield is fine but the ability to push attackers 15ft away isn’t that strong unless you are standing on a cliff. This is, however, a great combination with the Enhanced Defense to get an outstanding +3 AC.
- Resistant Armor: Resistance to damage is very strong, but the only being resistant to acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, radiant, or thunder is too narrow compared to the other options here.
7th Level
10th Level
11th Level
Spell-Storing Item: This can allow you, or any creature holding the item, to cast a 1st or 2nd level spell up to 10 times per day. Most people who want to play an Artificer look at this ability and just start drooling over the sheer shenanigan potential. At the very least, this item can contain 10 Cure Wounds spells which would equate to 10d8+50 hit points of out-of-combat healing.
14th Level
Magic Item Savant: More attunement slots to keep Infusions viable. It is rare that you will come across a magical item outside of your class, race, spell, and level requirements to use with this feature.
Artificer Infusions: Only one infusion is opened up at 14th level, and it’s quite a good one.
- Arcane Propulsion Armor: The extra speed is solid, and the force dealing versatile gauntlets will always be a nice trick up the sleeve (heh). Alchemist, Artillerist, and Battle Smith subclasses will benefit the most from this infusion. While it still offers some utility to the Armorer subclass, most of the effects are already part of their Arcane Armor feature, which seems to be a bit of an oversight on its design. The gauntlet weapons, unfortunately, uses STR for attacks, but force damage is a very good damage type to be dishing out.
18th Level
Magic Item Master: More attunement slots to keep Infusions viable.
20th Level
Soul of Artifice: A very, very good capstone ability. Any good Artificer will be fully stocked up with 6 attuned items. This means you can add +6 to all saving throws and can drop to 1hp instead of getting knocked unconscious 6 times.
Best Feats for Artificers
Check out our Guide to Artificer Feats.
Best Spells for Artificers
Check out our Guide to Artificer Spells.
Best Multiclass Options for Artificers
Multiclassing is always an opportunity cost, you have to determine if taking a level of another class is worth what you will lose from the original class. Many factors come into this decision, with the main factor being how long your campaign will run and, ultimately, what level you will be playing until.
Another thing to keep in mind is that it is difficult (and usually not worth it) to multiclass two casters with different casting stats. The Artificer is therefore limited in its choices because there is only one other INT caster in the Wizard.
Rogue
A one-level dip into Rogue gets you Expertise and Sneak Attack, both very worthwhile features. A second level will get you Cunning Action which is extremely useful for any build, but especially so for melee builds that will be navigating the battlefield. One could even consider a three-level dip to secure a Roguish Archetype, the best of which being the Arcane Trickster for a buffed mage hand and some extra spells, the Swashbuckler for melee builds that want to up their damage and mobility, and the Thief for the ability to use an item as a bonus action.
Fighter
A two-level dip into Fighter will get Artificers heavy armor and a fighting style. This really only makes sense for melee Battle Smith builds who will be wading into battle and making the most out of the higher AC. The Armorer subclass already gets access to heavy armor proficiency and a two-level dip is a lot for +1 AC.
Wizard
Wizard/Artificer builds are better when Wizards are dipping into the Artificer class rather than the other way around. Two levels into the Artificer class will next Wizards medium armor/shields proficiency, Magical Tinkering, and Infuse Items without limiting spell slots too much. All great tools for tinkering Wizards.
Sources Used in This Guide
- 2024 PHB: 2024 Player's Handbook
- BR: Basic Rules
- GotG: Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
- SotDQ: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
- ERLW: Eberron: Rising from the Last War
- EEPC: Elemental Evil Player’s Companion
- EGtW: Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount
- FToD: Fizban's Treasury of Dragon
- GGtR: Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica
- MotM: Monsters of the Multiverse
- MToF: Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
- MOoT: Mythic Odyessys of Theros
- PAitM: Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
- PHB: Player's Handbook
- SAiS: Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
- SCoC: Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
- SCAG: Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
- TCoE: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
- TTP: The Tortle Package
- WBtW: The Wild Beyond The Witchlight
- VRGtR: Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
- VGtM: Volo's Guide to Monsters
- XGtE: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
Other Artificer Guides
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Hey Nathan! We only talk about the spells we think are worth mentioning, namely the best, the worst, and the interesting ones. This is so that our guides aren’t too overwhelming with information and are easy to navigate. Are there any particular spells that you would like to see discussed?
Thornwhip and Bonfire and amazing cantrips that were added to the artificer spell list. Bonfire can be some amazing battlefield control, especially at early levels, and Thornwhip can save people from grapples.
I’ve added ratings for both of these spells into the article. Thanks for commenting!
Well at least you could mention Mending cantrip since it helps a Battlesmith to repair his Defender :).
Also I don’t think a Battle Smith is the worst choice to pick. I would rate it better than an Armorer. It has Shield spell which is probably they best spell there is compared to lvl, especially for a melee character. And steel defender is really great. It is like having 3 attacks per round at lvl 5. It can protect you or an ally, and what is important it is a target. Many GMs can opt to target it is things go rough, and even if not it can get attacked if positioned well. If you are early on initiative defender can go to an enemy and attack it. When it is enemy’s turn they can either attack it or move away from it when it can use reaction to attack.
Also Warding Bond and Heroism is not a bad combo even though you are not a d10 class. Giving it to lets say a cleric can increase his ac and saves by 1 while halving any dmg. And if he stays alive he can heal you especially if he is a life cleric.
Hi Ivan! Thanks for writing in. The combo of Battle Ready and Steel Defender definitely carries a large part of this subclass’ efficiency, you make a good point about the extra attack + free reaction to impose disadvantage and how effective that is in combat. I mainly gave it a poor grade because its lackluster spell list, but I am rethinking things now. I have upped it’s grading because of the Steel Defender/Battle Ready combo 🙂
I casted continual flame in a ring with a hole and a cover, meaning i can enable/disable a torch that doesn’t need an hand every time i want. You just need to cast it a single time and have a pretty useful item
( made a CR 9(Cloaker) easy to fight for 2 lvl 7 )
Now that’s some Artificer-level thinking. Love the creativity!
A couple things here:
Homunculus is available as an infusion at level 2, and the ranged attack dealing 1d4+Prof (as a bonus action for the Artificer) is nothing to sneeze at. Couple this with a spell like Cure Wounds now able to be delivered at a distance and you have a solid option.
The other bit is that the Arcane Propulsion Armor infusion (available at level 14) isn’t mentioned or covered. Curious since all other infusions were noted.
Thanks for the comments! We’ve adjusted the rating of the Homunculus Servant as it looks to provide similar (if not more) value than a familiar. We have also added in the missing Arcane Propulsion Armor 🙂
Thanks, we got that fixed up!
A couple of things regarding the level 20 ability. First, while you can know 12 infusions, only 6 can be active (Infusions Known vs Infused Items). Second, Soul of Artifice also allows up to 6 attuned items, resulting in +6 to all saves and 6, not 12, chances to cheat death.
With Warcaster, I’m assuming it’s recommended because of the Attack of Opportunity chance and concentration advantage? It is indeed phenomenal casting a Booming Blade, as an Armorer is likely to have the highest AC in a party and won’t want an enemy to get away too easily ????
Good catch! I have made the adjustments to the Soul of Artifice description 🙂 You are dead on with why we recommend Warcaster!
Another good example for cantrips is Magic stones. It is a bonus action so you can use your action to throw it. if you throw it it will be a range 60 (so 12 squares on a map, which is a lot usually) or for further distance, you can use it in a sling. The damage is d6+int modifier, so in the case of INT 18 a d6+4, which is the same maximum damage as firebolt, but with the minimum damage of 5, which is way better than rolling a d10, which may turn 40% less than the minimum damage here. And later you just simply replace it, one firebolt gets 2d10. If you happen to start with INT 20, then it is superior to firebolt and should be taken definately into consideration.
Thanks for the heads up! I’ve added that in.
you can use the Crusher feat with magic stone spell!
What about a Magic Stone/Catapult spell combo?
From what I understand, Magic Stone doesn’t work with Catapult RAW. Taking from a Reddit comment that sums it up better than I can:
Catapult requires the target object weigh 1 to 5 pounds, which a pebble does not
Xanathars Guide lays out some good uses for tool proficiencies, with many of them providing usful tangible bonuses in a normal adventuring day. Each tool proficiency provides advantage on certain skill checks as well. I would agree that if you go off only the PHB + DMG tools are fairly boring and useless, but I feel it’s pretty lazy to write them all off without looking into Xanathars for what this tools can actually DO.
Artificer gets a ton of tool proficiencies so it’s pretty silly to not to look at Xanathars tool fixes. When considering playing one.
Very good point! I actually use these rules extensively in my campaigns. As with most things in D&D, tools will only be as good as the player is creative with them! While their baseline effectiveness is low if you incorporate your tools into your downtime or use them for creative solutions they can be very strong assets to your Artificer’s arsenal.
Magic Stone, Enlarge, Catapult. a bit lengthy but that would be a way to do it.
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. A very Artificer mindset!
Some ratings of the magic items might be nice. Some have level requirements, but for starting infusions, some of my favorites are spell wrought tattoo (common) with find familiar. And the alchemy jug is great too! Grab empty vials at a shop, fill two per day with acid from the jug, start building inventory and catapult the acid vials (Some DM discretion, but narrative sense the catapult “throws” the vial which breaks, spilling the contents and doing both the acid damage and the catapult damage. Further, lash together or put into a mesh bag up to 5 vials doing 3d8 bludgeoning and 10d6 acid damage.
Note on War Caster ratings.. artificers can also used Infused items as a focus. So a shield Infused with enhanced defense is now a focus and works better with war caster.
I did not know that! I’ve adjusted to incorporate this info 🙂