While the play style of most classes inDungeons & Dragonscan be assumed by just their names, the Artificer stands as one that doesn’t exactly wear its abilities on its sleave. Unlike thespell mastering Wizardor the dexterous Rogue, the Artificer is a strange combination of technology and magic that makes for a unique experience that can’t be replaced with other classes.
As unique as the Artificer is, there is always room for improvement asdevelopment forDungeons & Dragons 6Econtinuesand looks to usher in a new era for the tabletop classic. This could be accomplished through directly tweaking the Artificer class itself, as well as some hopeful new features that the next Edition could establish into the core gameplay.
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Artificer Infusions in 6E
The ability to infuse items in is easily the most impressive ability that Artificers have, acting as the defining aspect of the class when compared to others inDungeons & Dragons. In general, these have the ability to imbue slight enchantments onto regular items, including weapons, clothes, and armor. This can make a high level Artificer an impressive addition to any party, as they are able to maintain certain buffs on themselves and other members of their adventuring group. That’s without getting too far into the ability to fully replicate magical items.
Among the various Artificer Infusions that can grant the powers of flight, strength, or defense, the ability to replicate magical items is easily the most impressive of these options. Being able to create items like a Belt of Giant Strength, a Bag of Holding, or the Quiver of Ehlonna almost becomes a necessary choice for any Artificer looking for the most utility out of the class. However, that does reveal an issue of balance when there is an infusion that is so powerful that it becomes the “correct” choice among the otherpowerfulD&Denchantmentsavailable.
A simple fix for this issue could be to include certain magic item recipes in one of the Artificer subclasses to make the choice less obvious. Additionally, an expansion on these infusions could also allow for players to have better access to some magical gear without having to depend on the grace of aDM’s rulingon its availability. Of course, there would still have to be some heavy balance on the required items needed to make some of these enchanted magical pieces, but being able to become the magic suppliers for an adventuring party could add much needed depth to the class.
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Firearms in Dungeons & Dragons 6E
With the Artificer class being a newer addition to the current run ofD&D, this is one of few classes to have an affinity for the firearms that have since been added to the game. At the moment, however, firearms are almost on the same level asplayer-createdD&DHomebrew, essentially being up to DM discretion for whether these weapons will even be available in any given campaign. In this case, the move from 5th Edition to 6th might have the opportunity to better advance this specific type of weaponry, possibly even expanding the Artificer class along with them.
By implementing firearms into the core weapons ofD&D 6E’s development, the Artificer could become one of few classes proficient with this type of technology. The Artificer’s Artillerist subclass even has a blueprint for different tiers of firearm, with a basis for how to summon cannons and create “firearms” out of arcane focuses. Implementing some of this framework from the Artificer class with the already existing pistol and musket could be the groundwork to both improve firearms in 6E, but also give the class a better reason to be proficient with these weapons.
Beyond the Artificer class, changes to firearms could reinvent other classes that excel at ranged combat likeD&D’s Ranger. This could also make way for entirely new classes and subclasses that make explicit use of firearms beyond the more simple way that current Artificers have an optional proficiency for the weapons. It’s one of many weapon updates that could bring some impressive improvements toD&Dby better defining different classes of weapon and how they behave in the hands of specific character classes like the Artificer.
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