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Hunched over your desk, toiling away in a room lit by candlelight, you tinker, invent, and push the boundaries of the scientific and the arcane. You can craft almost anything. With features like Magical Tinkering and artificer infusions, how could you ever want for more magical items? As it stands, even artificers can be left wanting more.
In this article, we’ll discuss the best magical items for artificers that can’t be directly replicated or have their effects mimicked by your versatile Infuse Item ability.
- All-purpose tool
- Blast scepter
- Animated shield
- Belt of dwarvenkind
- Dragon vessel
- Eyes of minute seeing
- Serpent scale armor
- Staff of defense
- Staff of fate
- Wands with damaging spells
Dungeon Masters’ Discretion
Remember that your DM will decide what magic items are available for purchase in your game, as well as the items you find in treasure chests or dragon hoards. One of the artificer’s most powerful class features is their ability to attune to more than three items, but it will be harder to take full advantage of this feature if gold or loot are inaccessible. Work cooperatively with your DM to ensure that your character can enjoy their class features within the confines of the setting.
Artificers and Magic Items
Artificers are intertwined with magic items. Most of their class features revolve around the creation or use of some magic item, and thanks to the fact that they can easily craft and duplicate magic items, they’ll be using a lot of them. Artificers are also unique in that they are the only class to receive extra attunement slots, so they’ll be able to make good use of all the items they’ll be whipping up.
We have intentionally left out items from this list that can easily be recreated by the artificer’s Replicate Magic Item feature. This intended to help you explore more options for magic items. That said, any uncommon item on this list is easily craftable once your artificer reaches 10th level and gains access to the Magic Item Adept feature.
Top 10 Magic Items for Artificers
1. All-Purpose Tool
Wondrous item, varies (requires attunement by an artificer)
Starting the list off strong, the all-purpose tool may quickly become your artificer’s favorite. You should have proficiency in several artisan tools, but unfortunately, you don’t get many sets of tools with your starting equipment.
Though you can create your own tools once you reach 3rd level, this takes 1 hour of uninterrupted work—not exactly handy in a pinch. Carrying an all-purpose tool with you allows your artificer to switch from one set of artisan’s tools to another using only your action, an invaluable ability during a heist or mystery adventure. Further speaking to the tool’s versatility, you can take an action to think of any cantrip you don’t know (from any class list!), and the tool will allow you to cast it from this item as an artificer spell for the next 8 hours.
Lastly, the item is a potent catalyst for your artificer magic: While holding it, the all-purpose tool grants you a bonus to your spell attack rolls and spell save DC.
2. Blast Scepter
Rod, very rare (requires attunement)
Resistance against a damage type is undoubtedly not avant-garde; plenty of items can bestow this magical protection. However, the potions last an hour, the rings don’t do anything else, and the armor prevents you from acquiring armor made of adamantine, mithral, or armor with AC bonuses. The blast scepter defends against two damage types while presenting none of these drawbacks. And that isn’t all.
As an action, a character wielding the blast scepter can use their action to cast thunderwave at 4th level without expending a spell slot. To contextualize that ability, remember that the artificer class does not even gain access to 4th-level spell slots until 13th level.
3. Animated Shield
Armor (shield), very rare (requires attunement)
When juggling weapons, spell components, shields, and tinkering tools, you’ll wish you had an animated shield on hand. In most cases, any need for material components for spells can be met using an infused item as a spellcasting focus. But, if you plan on wielding a weapon and a shield, you’ll need to free up a hand to cast spells that require costly material components, like greater restoration, or to use one of your vast array of magic items.
With the animated shield, you can speak a command word and have your shield float around and protect you without the need for you to hold it. Talk about efficiency!
4. Belt of Dwarvenkind
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
Artificers have a lot to worry about with their Ability Score Improvements. They’ll likely want to max out their Intelligence for spellcasting and class features, put a little into Dexterity for AC and the all-important Stealth and saving throws, and then, finally, boost their Constitution for hit points. Unfortunately, this doesn’t leave much room for Ability Score Improvements to be spent on fun feats that can help customize your build.
With the belt of dwarvenkind, you get a nice buff to your Constitution score, resistance to poison, darkvision, and the ability to grow a wicked beard. Now, you can fast-track your goal for that coveted 20 Intelligence score, and have plenty of resources left over to spend on feats!
5. Dragon Vessel
Wondrous item, varies (requires attunement)
When the dragon vessel is at its weakest, it can only conjure ale, olive oil, a potion of healing, or a potion of climbing. As the vessel increases in power, it adds many new drinks to its menu, including more potent healing potions, arguably better alcoholic beverages, and even a potion of dragon’s majesty.
The Alchemist artificer might have the most fun with this item. I recommend rolling on your Experimental Elixir table before deciding on the dragon vessel’s contents for the day.
6. Eyes of Minute Seeing
Wondrous item, uncommon
It’s become a familiar routine. The DM lists the loot you found in the dragon’s lair, describing glowing swords and multicolored potions, and the group looks to you, waiting. You’re the artificer! The smart one! Your party counts on you to identify unfamiliar items and reveal their hidden properties.
With the eyes of minute seeing, you have advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) checks that rely on sight in close range. This could also be useful when solving puzzles, checking small chests for traps, or picking locks, depending on the area involved. They don’t require attunement—just keep them in your pocket for those crucial moments.
7. Serpent Scale Armor
Armor (scale mail), uncommon
An artificer can craft much of their own equipment, but infusions will only take armor so far. If you’d like magic armor with more powerful or unique bonuses than you can provide, take a look at the serpent scale armor. It allows you to apply your full Dexterity modifier when determining your Armor Class (instead of the normal max of +2), and it does not impose disadvantage on Stealth checks like scale mail normally would.
Admittedly, this armor may not be best for your artificer if they didn’t invest in Dexterity. If your Dexterity is low but you’d still like magic armor that gives you abilities your Infusions can’t replicate, look to the molten bronze skin, half plate or armor, +3.
8. Staff of Defense
Staff, rare (requires attunement)
Armorer and Battle Smith artificers might benefit most from this item. Armorers can add many abilities (and infusions, by 9th level) to their armor, but none of these abilities can replicate the shield spell while providing an additional +1 to AC. Battle Smith artificers already get the shield spell, but having free castings of it allow them to use their spell slots for other purposes, like destroying their enemies.
9. Staff of Fate
Staff (quarterstaff), very rare (requires attunement)
Generally, bards or rogues are first mentioned when discussing skill-focused classes, but in my experience, the artificer can be just as skill and tool intensive. When I min-max my way into over half a dozen artisan’s tool proficiencies, I’m certainly going to find a way to use them. For those critically important checks, use the staff of fate to bend luck in your favor.
The staff of fate can add a d4 to an ability check of your choice, stacking with similar effects like guidance and Bardic Inspiration. Plenty of lockpicking or alchemy checks have explosive consequences, so a simple d4 can plausibly save your life if they fail. If that isn’t enough to entice you, the staff also works on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws.
10. Wands With Damaging Spells
Wand, varies
Wands that can act as damage-dealing supplements are extremely useful additions to the artificer’s arsenal. There are plenty of wands out there that can fit the bill, whether it’s something as simple as a wand of magic missiles or as devastatingly explosive as a wand of fireballs.
Artificers like these items for a couple of reasons. First, they have limited spell slots to cast leveled spells for damage purposes. Second, their spell list doesn’t necessarily contain some of the potent damage spells that are available in wand form, like magic missile, fireball, or lightning bolt (though, these can be obtained by choosing the proper subclass), and finally and most importantly, they can give these tools to their homunculus to create an effective offensive threat.
Can you imagine a little clockwork automaton running into a room full of baddies holding a wooden stick? They all look at it confused, then, BOOM, 9th-level fireball! I can, and it’s awesome.
Creating Your Artificer
You’ve infused some items, crafted others, and purchased a few more—now it’s time to build your artificer! Head on over to D&D Beyond’s character builder to get started.
Damen Cook (@damen_joseph) is a lifelong fantasy reader, writer, and gamer. If he woke up tomorrow in Faerun, he would bolt through the nearest fey crossing and drink from every stream and eat fruit from every tree in the Feywild until he found that sweet, sweet wild magic.
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