Balance problem: The Artificer

[Solow]

Hello,

After taking a closer look at the classes, I’ve noticed that some are weak while others are significantly more powerful, and I don’t understand why.

I’ll take the Artificer as an example because its overpowering nature immediately caught my attention.

First of all, something should immediately stand out to you—the sheer number of abilities and feats. It’s at least one per level.

Let’s compare it with a screenshot of the Cleric class. Sure, it's a spellcaster, but the difference in free abilities and free feats is striking.

I take a quick look at what the Artificer gets. Lots of useful stuff, including this available as a bonus gift (the Artificer has 4 bonus feat):
Experimental Mutagen: The artificer injects themselves with an experimental mutagen, granting them a +4 bonus to their strength, dexterity, constitution, or intelligence. Duration is 15 minutes per level. This ability may be used three times per day. Only one effect may be active at any given time.
4x1 for 15 minutes /level is absolutely massive better than the barbarian's rage. At best, Bull’s Strength with Maximized Spell can grant a single +4, and only for 10 minutes per level. To do that, you need the Maximized Spell feat, you can be dispelled, and you have to burn a 6th-level spell slot, which has a 12-minute cooldown. In other words, you have to wait 12 minutes before using another 6th-level spell.

Let’s break this down further. I tried comparing this class to the Barbarian and the Fighter, and it seems to me that the Artificer is an amazing, versatile class—capable of excelling in melee combat, with 6 skill points per level, the ability to heal, and an overwhelming number of abilities and feats that make it overpowered compared to many other classes.

This isn’t a precise or systematic comparison, but it gives an idea:

- The Artificer doesn’t start with proficiency in medium and heavy armor, but they gain them at level 3 and level 9. Since this class is clearly designed for single-class progression, this isn’t really a problem.
- The Artificer gets massive XP bonuses from crafting.

- Capacitor Weapon: The artificer can attach a capacitor to their melee weapon for 3 + INT modifier rounds. The capacitor deals 1d4 electrical damage at level 1. The damage increases to 1d8 at level 5, 1d12 at level 11 and 2d10 at level 15. When this effect ends, the capacitor overcharges and jolts the Artificer for 1d2 electrical damage. The amount of damage taken by the jolt increases to 1d4 at level 5, 1d8 at level 11, and 1d12 at level 15. This ability may be used once every 3 minutes.

+1d12 for at least 5 rounds. Unlimited use over a cooldown of 3 minutes.

- Artificer Bonus Feats:
Forgemaster’s Fury: The artificer becomes especially proficient with light hammers, warhammers, and mauls. While wielding one of these weapons, they gain an additional +3 to their attack rolls and +1 to their damage rolls. Requires level 10.
Healing Injector: The artificer gains the ability to use a special device that can heal themselves or an ally for 2d8 plus an additional 5 hit points x INT modifier. This ability may be used six times per day. Requires level 10.
Engineer’s Conditioning: The artificer permanently becomes resistant to fire and electricity damage, gaining fire 10/- and electrical 10/-.
Static Ward: The artificer attaches a capacitor to his shield, causing attackers to take 1d6 electricity damage each time they strike the artificer. This lasts for 1 + INT modifer rounds. When this effect ends, the capacitor overcharges and jolts the artificer for 1d4 electricity damage. This ability may be used once every 3 minutes.
Conductor Bolts: The artificer gains an ability that allows them to fire an extra bolt per round from a light or heavy crossbow. In addition, while this mode is active, any bolt the artificer fires has a 75% chance of additionally applying the effect of the Electric Jolt spell. This ability lasts for 1 + 2 x INT modifier rounds. This ability may be used once every 3 minutes.

The Artificer, if I’m not mistaken, can take 4 out of these 5 feats. Let’s say they choose Forgemastery. That grants them a permanent +3 Base Attack Bonus and +1 damage—no cooldown, no conditions. It’s essentially like having Weapon Focus (+3), which would normally require three feats, but for three different weapons.

Additionally, the Artificer can take Conductor Bolts and play with a crossbow. They can stack Rapid Reload with this feat, allowing them to fire three attacks per round with a crossbow—without any Base Attack penalty. Granted, Conductor Bolts has a cooldown, but still. It’s essentially like having a Haste spell (which normally lasts up to 3 rounds), except in this case, it lasts 5 rounds with 14 Intelligence. And it’s usable every 3 minutes.

On top of that, every crossbow bolt that hits deals an extra +1d3 electrical damage.

• Experimental Mutagen: The artificer injects themselves with an experimental mutagen, granting them a +4 bonus to their strength, dexterity, constitution, or intelligence. Duration is 15 minutes per level. This ability may be used three times per day. Only one effect may be active at any given time.

This is a very strong ability. A +4 bonus, lasting for a long duration, and usable three times per day.This means:

• +2 BA with close combat weapons.
• +2 more damage, or more with a two-handed weapons. More carrying capacity, better knockdown too.

Or

• +2 BA when using a crossbow or another distant weapon.

Or Longer duration on abilities due to the +4 Intelligence. All of this seems excessive. Not by itself, but if you compare the Artifcier's overall capabilities.

Additionally, I should point out that this powerful ability can be used anywhere since the Artificer isn’t a spellcaster. That’s a major RP advantage to consider. The Artificer has incredibly strong buffing capabilities, while spellcasting classes are much more restricted and closely monitored by the settings and the laws.

Turbomaul (Maul, +3 Enhancement, +1 Fire Damage, Cast Spell On Hit: Electric Jolt [2], Massive Criticals 1d6)
Turbohammer (Warhammer, +3 Enhancement, +1 Fire Damage, Cast Spell On Hit: Electric Jolt [2], Massive Criticals 1d6)

At the end, he obtains a weapon, such as the Turbomaul or Turbohammer. We know that +1 weapons will be accessible, +2 will be rare or very rare, and +3 will be rare if not impossible to find.


Isn't all this overpowered compared to other classes?

 

[Reikenbach]

You've never actually played an Artificer, have you? Nowhere do I see you even mention their 3/4 BAB.

All Forgemaster's Fury does is bring them up to AB parity with full BAB classes, because an armored frontliner just doesn't work without full BAB equivalency, particularly one who utilizes extremely limited damage windows like Artificer does. It's a slap-on fix to a problem inherent in the class design. Anyone who's played an Artificer can tell you that you are just flat-out missing the majority of the attacks you make while Conductive Weapon is active, because generally you will need to roll a 16+ to hit level-appropriate enemies - and that's including the flanking bonus.

Ranged Artificers are strictly inferior to ranged Fighters, Scouts, or Rangers. A level 8 Artificer is shooting at 6/6/1 while Conductor Bolts is active (25-30% uptime) and 6/1 while it isn't, while a Fighter/Scout/Ranger is shooting at 6/6/1 while Rapid Shot is active (100% uptime) and 8/3 if they ever choose to deactivate it. The 75% chance to proc Electric Jolt (average 2.6 damage per hit) does not come close to making up for the difference in uptime of an extra APR at maximum AB, or the fact that Fighters/Scouts/Rangers will end up with an additional APR over Artificers at level 11. Then there's the fact that you need to spend an extra feat (Rapid Reload) to even get a second APR as a crossbow user, while bows have no such requirement.

And you're saying they match up unfavorably to Clerics, who are one of the strongest classes, not to mention one of the biggest force multipliers in the game. You act as though the spells they get aren't worth considering in a balance discussion. "Sure, it's a spellcaster." It's a Cleric!

 

[Solow]

I believe you're lacking objectivity regarding the class you play. All the suggestions you make about the Artificer aim to significantly strengthen its ranged attack aspect. It feels like we've moved from the mindset of "something is unbalanced with this class" to "I want my class to be more powerful."

The Artificer already has a lot of tricks up its sleeve, it's one of the most versatile classes. There are two classes that are the best at ranged attacks: the Scout and the Ranger. These classes don't have the versatility of the Artificer, so it's normal that they can be stronger in their respective areas.

You may play your class in a specific way, and that's your choice, but the Artificer class as a whole is extremely versatile. Improving it would make it even stronger, a strength that doesn't need to come to light given what it already possesses.

 

[OccamsClub]

Strange, I looked at the Artificer and my conclusion was that it was an fairly weak class that functioned as a kind of pseudo-Commoner class, intended to focus on crafting and such, rather than to be amongst the powerful dungeoneer options. Most of its features serve to keep it barely viable, not make it exceptional.

A 3/4 BAB that requires a secondary stat is inherently comparing its features to access to full spellcasting. And Artificer comes up very short in this regard. Compare the damage output of a dedicated Artificer with, say, a Favoured Soul with a longbow speciality.

Then realise that the Favoured Soul has full spellcasting.

 

[Reikenbach]

The Ranger has an animal companion. The Ranger has (some) spells. The Ranger has Stealth as a class skill. The Ranger gets full BAB and free Two-Weapon Fighting/Ambidexterity to facilitate their encouraged weapon loadout, while the ranged Artificer has to spend one of their feats on Rapid Reload just to get their second APR. The Ranger doesn't have everything but they are highly competent in the areas where they're supposed to be competent - and they likewise get the versatility to either build ranged or melee, same as the Artificer.

Scout is just a better ranged Artificer, considering their unique implementation of Rapid Shot apparently works with crossbows. I wouldn't call them overpowered, just solid at their role.

If you look at the ranged Artificer as a combat class, they have 30% uptime on Rapid Shot but 100% uptime on Rapid Shot's AB penalty, and they need to pay a feat tax to access their second APR. If you look at them as a skill-oriented class, the only thing they bring to the group is Disable Trap and Search, because they do not have Open Lock, Stealth, or Perception like Rogue/Scout do. If you look at them as a Support class, the only thing they they bring is Healing Injectors, which is inaccessible until level 10 and doesn't make up for the death of other support options.

They compare unfavorably with Fighters, Rangers, and Scouts as a pure combat class. They compare unfavorably with Rangers, Rogues, and Scouts as a skill-oriented combat class. And they compare unfavorably with Bards, Clerics, and Wardens as a support class.