Unearthed Arcana: Artificer

[awaken_D_M_golem]

<snip>

Why? to what end, I don't see what the benefits are, I think I may have lost something in translation, or it's not spelt out clearly enough for me. Sorry.

Your trick is most likely the best trick. +1 on that.
7h39's trick is over in the juggling Hand X-bows neighborhood (I still like it).
I don't see how the Arty+Arty wink wink Cantrips trick is too much.
It's a frontliner not stabbing something, to pseudo-cast a cantrip.
FiEK 11 laughs at this.

The rest of the combos do something but not Something.
Arty 5 / Wiz? 3 / Arty +X ... could use the Robe trick to slowly fill up
a sub-spellbook with all those level 3 scrolls.


TenJ points out lots of spots for improvement. +1 on that.
Could go to full list available like Paladin and
"spell" points like Elements Monk ki ~casting.

Regardless, any play testing should make obvious
to any of the non-c.o. crowd, this class doesn't have
all that much oomph, as it's currently written.

[MrWolfe]

Not sure about Gunslinger, but Alchemist definitely needs something to be viable at later levels. A handfull of super-cantrips does not make for a balanced class.

Maybe add a some spells to their list and re-fluff them as limited use alchemical concoctions/devices?

[TenaciousJ]

Gunsmith has the same problem.  Both archetypes mostly fill the same role, and the utility of the class is too limited by being a 1/3 caster with no cantrips.

[MrWolfe]

Well, the Alchemist's formulae basically are buffed-up cantrips. They're at will, and eyeballing it they seem about halfway between a cantrip and a first level spell, power wise.

Gunslinger's not bad, a bit of a one trick pony but it keeps up better as far as damage is concerned. Being able to effectively cast [Thundering] Hands, Lightning Bolt, and and Fireball at will sorta makes up for the lack of variety, though they do get them pretty late in the progression and they're significantly weaker than the spells they emulate. Alchemists never get beyond a 30ft range or a 5ft radius, which just sucks.

The overall design decision here seems to have been: "Give them at will spells, but nerf the hell out of them to make up for it." Which doesn't really work. It's like the Warlock in 3.5: Even if you can keep casting all day, you're still going to end up taking a break when the rest of the party runs out. That's even more true in 5e with the way healing works. All at-will abilities really do is get you stuck with first watch. 

[sambojin]

Really dumb stuff for the gunsmith:

It's never explicitly mentioned just what *your* gun requires to keep working. But the arcane magazine weighs nothing and happily holds all the tools required while still weighing nothing. So try and sneak a few extra things in there, like an anvil, a mini-forge, a sledgehammer, a crowbar, a grappling hook, some thieves tools, 400' of rope, etc. It's a *very* complicated weapon, and it *needs* all these tools to keep functioning properly. You're just using them for other stuff in the meantime. They all fit in the pouch too.

Speaking of weight, bullets weigh nothing. They might be made of lead, but it's "magic" lead. This means they have an incredibly low density. So they float. In fact, they don't only float on water, they float in the air too. The gun and the ammo pouch float too, so be sure to tie them to a rock or something if you have to lay them aside. Bonus points if you manage to construct an entire airship from lead bullets (it may take a while).