D&D 5e Artificer Subclasses (2014): All Four Specialists Ranked

Introduction

The Artificer prepares fewer spells than any other prepared caster in the game.

The formula is Intelligence modifier plus half your Artificer level, rounded down. At 5th level with Intelligence 18 that is four spells. A Cleric of the same level prepares nine. A Wizard prepares nine and keeps a spellbook besides.

So the first thing every specialist does is hand you ten spells back. All four grant two always-prepared spells at 3rd, 5th, 9th, 13th and 17th level, and none of them count against your prepared total. At low levels the specialist list is not a bonus on top of your spells. It is most of your spells.

The second thing the specialist does is decide what kind of character you are, and it does this more bluntly than any other subclass choice in the 2014 rules:

• Battle Smith and Armorer grant Extra Attack at 5th level, and both give you a weapon that runs on Intelligence instead of Strength or Dexterity. You are a martial character who casts.
• Alchemist and Artillerist never gain Extra Attack at any level, and neither grants an Intelligence-keyed weapon. You are a caster who builds things.

No other class in the book splits its subclasses that cleanly down the middle. A Cleric is a Cleric whichever domain it picks. An Artificer who chose Alchemist and an Artificer who chose Battle Smith are playing different games by 5th level.

The Four Specialists at a Glance

Rating key: ● fantastic, ● good, ● situational, ● bad.

All four are playable. The two green ratings are not warnings; they reflect that Artillerist and Alchemist are narrower, not weaker, and Alchemist is the best pick outright in a party with no healer.

What Separates Them

Extra Attack, first and last. It arrives at 5th level or never. Two specialists double your weapon damage for the rest of your career and two do not. If you want to fight with a weapon, the choice is already made for you and it is between Battle Smith and Armorer.

Where the durability lives. Battle Smith puts a second body on the board that soaks attacks and can be repaired. Armorer puts the durability on your own character through heavy armor and, for Guardian, renewable temporary hit points. Artillerist puts it in a cannon the enemy may shoot instead of you. Alchemist gives it to whoever drinks the elixir.

What the bonus spells are for. Artillerist's list is the standout and is worth reading before you dismiss the specialist: Shield at 3rd level and Fireball at 9th, free, always prepared, on a class whose own list has neither. Battle Smith's leans defensive and supportive, Armorer's leans toward direct combat, and Alchemist's is the only one with real healing.

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Hot Take: Extra Attack is the real dividing line between these four, not the flavor. Battle Smith and Armorer both get it at 5th and the other two never do, so if you intend to swing a weapon as an Artificer you have exactly two choices - and if you don't, the Artillerist's free Shield and Fireball do more for you than any elixir table.

Battle Smith

Source: Eberron: Rising from the Last War. The companion specialist, and the most complete package in the class.

Battle Smith Tool Proficiency ●

Level 3. Proficiency with smith's tools, or another artisan's tool if you already have it.

Minor, with one thing worth knowing: smith's tools are what you use to revive a destroyed Steel Defender, so this is not a proficiency you should trade away casually if your background already granted it.

Battle Smith Spells ●

Level 3. Always prepared, never counting against your prepared total.

Shield is the headline and it arrives at 3rd level. A reaction that adds 5 to your AC against the attack that just targeted you is worth more to a Battle Smith than to almost anyone, because a Battle Smith is standing in melee. Warding Bond fits the specialist's protector identity exactly, halving damage to an ally by taking half of it yourself, which is a trade a character with this much durability can afford.

Aura of Vitality at 9th level is the quiet standout: cast it once, then spend a bonus action every turn for a minute healing 2d6 at 30 feet. On a class with few spell slots, one slot producing ten rounds of healing is exceptional value, and it arrives the same level as Arcane Jolt's healing option.

Battle Ready ●

Level 3. You gain proficiency with martial weapons. When you attack with a magic weapon, you can use your Intelligence modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity for the attack and damage rolls.

This is the feature that makes an Artificer a melee character, and the magic weapon clause is the part that catches people out. A plain steel longsword does not qualify. You need an actual magic weapon, which in practice means infusing Enhanced Weapon into your own weapon at 2nd level and never removing it. Enhanced Weapon also happens to grant +1 to attack and damage rising to +2 at 10th, so the requirement costs you nothing you would not have wanted anyway, but you must plan for it.

Once that is in place, one ability score drives your spell save DC, your spell attacks, your prepared spell count, your weapon attacks and your weapon damage. No other martial character in the game is that concentrated.

Steel Defender ●

Level 3. A construct companion that obeys you and shares your initiative, acting immediately after you.

The actual numbers, since they are what decide whether it survives:

• Medium construct, AC 15, hit points equal to 2 + your Intelligence modifier + five times your Artificer level. At 5th level with Intelligence 18 that is 31 hit points, and at 15th it is 81.
• Speed 40 feet. Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 4, Wis 10, Cha 6.
• Its saves and skills scale with your proficiency bonus, and Perception is doubled, so it never falls behind.
• Immune to poison damage, and to being charmed, exhausted or poisoned.
• Vigilant: it cannot be surprised. Not resistance, not advantage. It simply cannot be.
• Force-Empowered Rend: a melee attack using your spell attack modifier, reach 5 feet, dealing 1d8 + proficiency bonus force damage.
• Repair, three times per day: restores 2d8 + proficiency bonus hit points to itself or a construct or object within 5 feet.
• Deflect Attack (reaction): imposes disadvantage on one attack roll made by a creature within 5 feet of it, provided the attack is against someone other than the defender.

On its turn it Dodges by default. Spending your bonus action commands it to attack or take another basic action, and it can always move and use its reaction without your input. That default matters: even on turns when you need your bonus action for something else, the Defender is still Dodging and still protecting an ally with Deflect Attack.

If it drops to 0 hit points you can revive it with smith's tools and a 1st-level slot within an hour, and you can build a fresh one after any long rest, which destroys the old one.

Battle Smith Extra Attack ●

Level 5. You attack twice whenever you take the Attack action.

Doubling your weapon damage at the same level a Fighter gets it, using Intelligence, on top of a companion who is also attacking. This is the level where a Battle Smith stops reading as a caster who can defend itself and starts reading as a martial character.

Arcane Jolt ●

Level 9. When you hit with a magic weapon attack or your Steel Defender hits, you can deal an extra 2d6 force damage, or restore 2d6 hit points to a creature or object within 30 feet of the target. Intelligence modifier uses per long rest, at most once per turn.

The dual trigger is the good part. Because the Defender's hit also arms it, you can be nowhere near the healing target: the Defender lands a blow on the front line while you heal the Wizard 30 feet behind it. Deciding damage or healing in the moment, after seeing how the round went, is what makes this feature read as flexible rather than merely additive.

With Intelligence 18 to 20 that is four or five uses a day. Spend them where the outcome is in doubt.

Improved Defender ●

Level 15. Arcane Jolt rises to 4d6 for both damage and healing, the Steel Defender gains +2 AC, and Deflect Attack now also deals 1d4 + your Intelligence modifier force damage to the attacker.

A capstone with no decisions in it, which is fine: it scales the three things the specialist has been doing since 3rd level. The AC bump keeps the Defender relevant against high-level attack bonuses, and turning Deflect Attack from a pure debuff into a punish makes the reaction worth using even when the disadvantage might not have mattered.

Battle Smith in play

Infuse Enhanced Weapon at 2nd level and treat it as permanent equipment, because Battle Ready does nothing without it. Command the Defender to attack when you have the bonus action spare and let it Dodge when you do not. Hold Arcane Jolt uses for the turn where 2d6 of healing or damage decides something.

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Armorer

Source: Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. The specialist that puts the power in your own body rather than a companion, a cannon or a bottle.

Tools of the Trade ●

Level 3. Proficiency with heavy armor, plus smith's tools or another artisan's tool if you already have them.

Heavy armor is unique to this specialist among the four, and it is what lets an Armorer reach a high AC without Dexterity investment. Paired with Arcane Armor removing the Strength requirement, it means you can wear plate with Strength 8.

Armorer Spells ●

Level 3. Always prepared, never counting against your prepared total.

The most combat-forward of the four lists. Mirror Image is excellent on a melee character, and Greater Invisibility at 13th is one of the best things a weapon user can be holding: advantage on every attack you make and disadvantage on every attack against you, for a minute. Wall of Force at 17th is the best wall in the game and this is one of only two specialists that hands it over free.

Arcane Armor ●

Level 3. As an action with smith's tools, turn armor you are wearing into Arcane Armor. It ignores any Strength requirement, works as your spellcasting focus, attaches to you and cannot be removed against your will, covers your whole body with a helmet you can retract as a bonus action, and replaces any missing limbs, functioning identically to the limb it replaces. You can don or doff it as an action, and it stays Arcane Armor until you wear different armor or die.

Three things matter here. The Strength waiver unlocks plate on an Intelligence build. The focus clause solves a real nuisance, since every other Artificer must keep a tool in hand to cast. And the limb replacement is a thoughtful piece of design with no equivalent anywhere else in the class.

Armor Model ●

Level 3. Choose Guardian or Infiltrator. Each includes a weapon that uses Intelligence instead of Strength or Dexterity for attack and damage. You can switch models on any short or long rest with smith's tools in hand.

Guardian:

• Thunder Gauntlets. Each gauntlet is a simple melee weapon dealing 1d8 thunder. A creature you hit has disadvantage on attack rolls against anyone but you until the start of your next turn. That is a built-in taunt with no save, attached to an attack you were making anyway, and it is the best tanking tool in the class.
• Defensive Field. As a bonus action, gain temporary hit points equal to your Artificer level, replacing any you had. Proficiency bonus uses per long rest.

Infiltrator:

• Lightning Launcher. A simple ranged weapon, 90/300 feet, dealing 1d6 lightning, plus an extra 1d6 once per turn on a hit.
• Powered Steps. Walking speed +5 feet.
• Dampening Field. Advantage on Stealth checks, and if the armor would normally impose disadvantage on those checks, the advantage and disadvantage cancel as normal - which is the printed text, not an inference. In effect, heavy armor stops costing an Infiltrator its Stealth.

Guardian tanks, Infiltrator skirmishes at range. Because you can swap on a short rest, neither choice is permanent, which is unusual and worth exploiting rather than forgetting.

Armorer Extra Attack ●

Level 5. You attack twice whenever you take the Attack action.

The same timing as the Battle Smith, and it converts the Armor Model weapon from a backup option into your main turn. Two Thunder Gauntlet hits means two taunts, which in practice means two enemies with disadvantage against everyone but you.

Armor Modifications ●

Level 9. Your Arcane Armor counts as four separate items for Infuse Item: the chest piece, boots, helmet and the armor's weapon. Each can carry one infusion, infusions carry over when you change Armor Model, and your maximum infused items increases by 2 - though the extra two must be part of the armor.

Four dedicated slots on gear that is permanently attached to you. The ceiling is what limits it: the value depends on how many infusions actually fit armor, boots, a helmet and a weapon, which is a narrower pool than the full infusion list. Compared to Arcane Jolt arriving at the same level for a Battle Smith, this is the weaker 9th-level feature.

Perfected Armor ●

Level 15. Your armor gains a benefit based on its model.

Guardian. When a Huge or smaller creature you can see ends its turn within 30 feet, use your reaction to force a Strength save against your spell save DC, pulling it toward you into an unoccupied space. If it ends up within 5 feet, you can make a melee weapon attack against it as part of the same reaction. Proficiency bonus uses per long rest.

One caveat worth stating rather than papering over: published sources disagree on the pull distance, giving either 25 or 30 feet, and D&D Beyond has a logged conflict report about exactly this. Check your own printing. Nothing else about the feature changes either way.

Infiltrator. A creature that takes damage from your Lightning Launcher glimmers until the start of your next turn, shedding dim light in a 5-foot radius and taking disadvantage on attacks against you. The next attack against it has advantage, and on a hit deals an extra 1d6 lightning.

Both are real capstones. Guardian's is a drag-and-punish that doubles as control, pulling a caster out of position and hitting it in one reaction. Infiltrator's turns a single hit into a target everyone else benefits from attacking.

Armorer in play

Pick Guardian if nobody else in the party is tanking, and remember you can switch on a short rest if that changes. Attack with both gauntlets to spread the taunt across two enemies. Take heavy armor immediately; the Strength waiver means there is no reason not to.

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Artillerist

Source: Eberron: Rising from the Last War. The ranged damage specialist, built around a turret and the best bonus spell list of the four.

Artillerist Tool Proficiency ●

Level 3. Proficiency with woodcarver's tools, or another artisan's tool if you already have them.

Less incidental than it looks: woodcarver's tools are what create the Eldritch Cannon and carve the Arcane Firearm sigils, so this proficiency underpins two of your three real features. Smith's tools also work for the cannon.

Artillerist Spells ●

Level 3. Always prepared, never counting against your prepared total.

This is the strongest bonus list in the class and it is the reason to take the specialist even if the cannon did not exist. The base Artificer spell list has no Fireball, no Scorching Ray, no Cone of Cold. It barely has offense at all. The Artillerist is handed the standard blaster progression for free, permanently prepared, on a class that prepares four spells at 5th level.

Shield at 3rd level is the same excellent reaction the Battle Smith gets. The walls at the top end pair naturally with a stationary cannon holding a chokepoint.

Eldritch Cannon ●

Level 3. As an action with woodcarver's or smith's tools, create a Small or Tiny cannon in an unoccupied space within 5 feet. You cannot make another until a long rest unless you expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher, and you can only have one at a time until 15th level.

• AC 18, hit points equal to five times your Artificer level, immune to poison and psychic damage and to all conditions. All its ability scores count as 10. Mending restores 2d6. It vanishes at 0 hit points or after 1 hour.
• Activating it is a bonus action while you are within 60 feet, and the same bonus action can walk or climb it up to 15 feet if you gave it legs.

The action economy is the whole point. Creating it costs one action, once per fight. After that it attacks every round on your bonus action while your action stays free for a spell. You have added a second attacker for a one-time cost.

The three cannon types, chosen fresh each time you create one:

Force Ballista is the correct default because it needs no setup and makes an attack roll rather than allowing a save.

Arcane Firearm ●

Level 5. After a long rest, carve sigils into a wand, staff or rod with woodcarver's tools. It becomes a spellcasting focus, and when you cast an artificer spell through it you roll a d8 and add it to one of the spell's damage rolls.

Pure upside after a one-time setup. Every damaging spell for the rest of your career gets a free d8, with no resource cost and no action cost. On Scorching Ray or Fireball from your own bonus list, it compounds with spells that were already the best things you cast.

Explosive Cannon ●

Level 9. Two changes. Every cannon's damage rolls increase by 1d8, so Force Ballista and Flamethrower both go to 3d8 permanently. And as an action within 60 feet you can detonate it, destroying the cannon and forcing every creature within 20 feet to make a Dexterity save for 3d8 force damage, half on a success.

The permanent damage bump is the half that matters and the half most summaries omit. The detonation costs your action and your cannon, so treat it as a closing move against a cluster, not an opener.

Fortified Position ●

Level 15. You and your allies have half cover within 10 feet of your cannon, and you can maintain two cannons at once, creating both with one action and activating both with a single bonus action.

A strong capstone on two axes. Half cover is +2 AC and +2 to Dexterity saves for the whole party standing near it, which turns the cannon into mobile terrain. And two cannons on one bonus action doubles your recurring damage for no extra cost in the economy you were already spending.

Artillerist in play

Take Force Ballista unless the enemies are genuinely bunched. Create the cannon on round one and then never spend an action on it again. Carve the Arcane Firearm the first long rest after 5th level and forget about it. Save detonation for the end of a fight.

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Alchemist

Source: Eberron: Rising from the Last War. The support specialist. The weakest in a vacuum and the strongest in a party with nobody else to do the healing.

Alchemist Tool Proficiency ●

Level 3. Proficiency with alchemist's supplies, or another artisan's tool if you already have it.

Every Artificer can already take alchemist's supplies at character creation, so in practice this is usually a free extra tool proficiency.

Alchemist Spells ●

Level 3. Always prepared, never counting against your prepared total.

The only specialist list with real healing on it. Healing Word at 3rd level is a bonus-action heal at 60 feet, which is exactly what a class short on bonus-action options wants, and it is the reason an Alchemist can pick a downed ally up without giving up their turn.

Note how the damage entries line up: Ray of Sickness, Melf's Acid Arrow, Blight and Cloudkill all deal acid, necrotic or poison damage, which is precisely the list Alchemical Savant boosts. The spell list and the 5th-level feature were designed as one thing. Raise Dead at 17th is a genuine resurrection on a class that otherwise has none.

Experimental Elixir ●

Level 3. After a long rest, produce an elixir in an empty flask you touch, rolling on the table below for its effect. Two elixirs at 6th level, three at 15th. You can also create one at any time by expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher, and when you do, you choose the effect instead of rolling. Drinking or administering one is an action, and an elixir lasts until drunk or until the end of your next long rest.

The free daily elixirs are random, which sets the feature's floor and its reputation. But the spell-slot clause is the one to build around: spending a slot lets you pick, which turns Experimental Elixir from a lottery into an on-demand buff. Boldness before a boss fight is a d4 on every attack and every save for a minute, which is Bless without concentration.

Alchemical Savant ●

Level 3 spells, level 5 feature. When you cast a spell using alchemist's supplies as your focus, add your Intelligence modifier (minimum +1) to one roll of that spell, provided the roll restores hit points or deals acid, fire, necrotic or poison damage.

Free, permanent, and it applies to any qualifying spell rather than only the specialist list, so Cure Wounds and any infusion-granted healing benefit too. At Intelligence 18 to 20 that is +4 or +5 on one roll of every qualifying spell, forever.

The catch is the focus requirement. You must be casting through alchemist's supplies, not a tool you happen to be holding for another reason. Keep them in hand from 5th level on.

Restorative Reagents ●

Level 9. Anyone who drinks your Experimental Elixir also gains 2d6 + your Intelligence modifier temporary hit points. And you can cast Lesser Restoration without a spell slot and without preparing it, using alchemist's supplies, Intelligence modifier times per long rest.

This is where the specialist's support role becomes a party asset rather than a flavor note. Every free morning elixir is now also a chunk of temporary hit points, and four or five free Lesser Restorations a day clears blindness, deafness, paralysis, poison, disease or a level of exhaustion without touching your tiny prepared list.

Chemical Mastery ●

Level 15. Resistance to acid and poison damage and immunity to the poisoned condition. You can cast Greater Restoration and Heal without a slot, without preparing them and without material components, once each per long rest, through alchemist's supplies.

Greater Restoration normally costs 100 gp of diamond dust every cast; removing that alone changes how freely a party uses it. Heal restores 70 hit points and ends blindness, deafness and most diseases in one action. Two free high-level casts a day is a real capstone, not a token.

Alchemist in play

Spend spell slots on elixirs when you want a specific effect and take the free random ones as a bonus. Keep alchemist's supplies in hand permanently from 5th level so Alchemical Savant never switches off. Pick this specialist when the party has no healer, and be honest that you will never get Extra Attack.

Ability Scores

Intelligence, then Constitution, then Dexterity. That order holds for Battle Smith and Armorer, the two specialists that expect to be in melee. An Artillerist or Alchemist never plans to be there, so Dexterity can reasonably run level with Constitution on those two, for armor class and initiative at range - though Constitution still matters, because both of them hold concentration spells.

Intelligence is the spell save DC, the spell attack bonus, the number of spells you prepare, the Alchemical Savant bonus, the uses of Arcane Jolt and Restorative Reagents, the Steel Defender's hit points, and on Battle Smith and Armorer it is your weapon attack and damage as well. Take it to 20 first.

Constitution matters more here than on most casters, because two specialists expect you to stand in melee and the class has a d8 hit die. Fourteen is the floor.

Dexterity is for armor class and initiative only, and an Armorer can largely ignore it, since heavy armor does not add a Dexterity bonus and Arcane Armor waives the Strength requirement. That makes the Armorer unusually cheap to build: Intelligence, Constitution, and nothing else.

No specialist needs Strength or Dexterity for its weapon. Battle Ready and both Armor Models key attack and damage to Intelligence, so a weapon-using Artificer never funds a second offensive score.

Races

Gnome (Rock) ● - +2 Intelligence and Gnome Cunning, which is advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma saves against magic. That covers exactly the saves the class leaves exposed, since Artificers are proficient in Constitution and Intelligence only.

Vedalken ● - +2 Intelligence, and Vedalken Dispassion grants advantage on Wisdom and Charisma saves with no magic qualifier, which is broader than Gnome Cunning. Tireless Precision adds a d4 to a tool or skill check, which lands directly on the class's identity.

Warforged ● - +2 Constitution, +1 to any score, Integrated Protection for +1 AC, and Constructed Resilience for poison advantage and resistance plus no need to eat, sleep or breathe. The flexible +1 goes into Intelligence, so it never fights the class's priorities, and it is the best fit for Armorer and Battle Smith.

Variant Human ● - +1 to two scores and a feat at 1st level. War Caster or Resilient (Wisdom) from the start closes the class's real defensive gap years early.

Mountain Dwarf ● - No Intelligence bonus at all, but +2 Constitution and Dwarven Resilience build an unusually durable chassis. Best on an Armorer, where the armor proficiency it grants is already redundant but the toughness is not.

Kalashtar ● - The wrong ability scores for the class, but advantage on all Wisdom saves and psychic resistance is a strong defensive floor. Worth it only if you accept a lower Intelligence.

Feats

War Caster ● - Advantage on concentration saves and the option to cast a spell as an opportunity attack. Strongest on Battle Smith and Armorer, who hold concentration spells while standing in melee.

Resilient (Wisdom) ● - The class is proficient in Constitution and Intelligence saves, leaving Wisdom and Charisma completely exposed - and Wisdom is the save that charm, fear and domination target. This is the most underrated feat for the class and it should be on most builds that did not take a Gnome or Vedalken.

Alert ● - +5 initiative and no surprise. Matters for a class that wants its cannon or Defender online before the enemy acts.

Fey Touched ● - +1 Intelligence, plus Misty Step and a 1st-level divination or enchantment spell, both castable free once per long rest. The half-feat Intelligence bump is what sells it.

Heavily Armored ● - Redundant on an Armorer, who already has heavy armor proficiency. Only worth considering on a Battle Smith who wants plate and does not mind spending a feat to get there.

Multiclassing

The Artificer is a half-caster for multiclass spell slot purposes: add half your Artificer levels, rounded up, to the calculation. Multiclassing in requires Intelligence 13, and a single level grants light and medium armor, shields, thieves' tools and tinker's tools.

Fighter 1 to 2 ● - A Fighting Style, Second Wind, and Action Surge at Fighter 2, which on a Battle Smith or Armorer means four weapon attacks in a turn. The cheapest meaningful dip in the class.

Wizard 1 to 2 ● - Shares Intelligence, so it never splits your scores, and Arcane Recovery returns spell slots on a short rest to a class that has very few. Best taken early or not at all.

Rogue 1 to 2 ● - Expertise stacks conceptually with Tool Expertise and Cunning Action gives a squishy Alchemist or Artillerist a way to disengage. Costs you specialist feature timing.

Cleric or Druid ● - Wisdom-based, so it fights your entire ability score plan. Only sensible on a Kalashtar build already carrying Wisdom for other reasons.

Choosing by Party

• Nobody is tanking: Armorer, Guardian model. Thunder Gauntlets is a no-save taunt attached to an attack you were making anyway.
• Nobody is healing: Alchemist, without hesitation. It is the only specialist with Healing Word, Mass Healing Word, free Lesser Restoration and a free Heal.
• You want to fight but also want a companion: Battle Smith. Extra Attack, Intelligence weapons and a construct that scales itself.
• You want to deal ranged damage: Artillerist. Free Shield and Fireball, plus a cannon that attacks on your bonus action.
• Your first Artificer, no other information: Battle Smith. The Steel Defender absorbs mistakes and gives you a second body while you learn the infusion system.
• You want the fewest moving parts: Armorer. No companion to track, no cannon to place, no elixir table to roll on.

Related Guides

• D&D 5e Artificer Guide - the class itself: Infuse Item, the full infusion list, Replicable Items and level 1 to 20 progression.
• Best Artificer Spells - which spells to prepare on a very short list.
• Best Feats for Artificer - the full feat priority list by level.
• D&D 5e 2014 Class Guides - every class in the system.

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