Artficer Archetype - the Forgewarden

[droid327]

This is not based on any specific PnP sourcebook material like archetypes usually are...but that's more of a guideline than a rule


The Forgewarden eschews the intricacies of electrical studies for the power of fire and creation

Loses: Arcanotechnician tree, Electrical spells
Gains: Fire spells, Turret spells, Forgewarden tree

The idea is that Forgewarden is a "turret style" summoner, combining fire casting and weapon damage with short-duration, non-mobile turrets that benefit from your Summons bonuses.

Lightning Sphere -> Burning Hands
Blast Rod -> Scorch
Lightning Bolt -> Fireball
Lightning Motes -> (nothing)
Chain Lightning -> Firestorm

Turret spells function as Flame Turret (ie they are attackable and killable and will pull aggro when summoned), but inherit your INT score as their CON and INT, your Fire and Force spellpower/crit, and your PRR/MRR/AC. Turret cooldowns reduced to 10 secs, but still limited to 1 at a time. (actual damage numbers can be balanced later)

T4 - Grenade Turret: Duration 12 secs, fires a Fireball-type explosion at a nearby enemy every 2 seconds
T5 - Incendiary Turret: Duration 12 secs, nearby enemies are inflicted with a strong fire DOT that lingers with reduced effect after they leave the area
T6 - Repulsor Turret: Duration 12 secs, fires a beam of Force damage at a single nearby enemy, doing damage every second

Forgewarden Tree:

Standard-style Force/Fire crit line
Summons bonuses
SLAs: T1 Burning Hands/T3 Scorch/T4 Fireball/T5 Tac Det (cd 20 secs)
T5: Your Iron Defender now inherits your INT as its STR and CON, and inherits your PRR/MRR/AC. You may now summon a second Turret.
Cores: Fire/Force sp, Turret Auras - these are stances, mutually exclusive, that give your Turrets a secondary aura effect: C3 Slow mob attack/movement rate, C4 pos/repair healing bursts, C5 PRR/MRR reduction
Capstone: usual caster capstone stuff like INT, plus Summon Warforged Titan (lasts 30 secs, cd 5 mins), constructs a kick-butt but still killable Titan, which doesnt count against your summoned creature limit, but benefits from your Summons bonuses.

Note: BE tree imbue changes to Fire

 

[Smokewolf]

@droid327

My problem with Artificer is that many of the abilities don't scale well (or at all) past Heroics. Case in point, when's the last time you've seen someone use the Flame turret in an Epic quest? If the current Artificer trees are any indication, the Flamewarden would be similarly gimped. Everything from 12-20 max caster-level, to turrets that can't handle a single hit from Epic trash-mobs (non-reaper).

Those concerns aside, I did like your proposal.

Side note: Would be interesting for a Flamewarden to have a fire elemental, instead of the useless mutt.

-Smoke

 

[droid327]

@droid327

My problem with Artificer is that many of the abilities don't scale well (or at all) past Heroics. Case in point, when's the last time you've seen someone use the Flame turret in an Epic quest? If the current Artificer trees are any indication, the Flamewarden would be similarly gimped. Everything from 12-20 max caster-level, to turrets that can't handle a single hit from Epic trash-mobs (non-reaper).

Those concerns aside, I did like your proposal.

Side note: Would be interesting for a Flamewarden to have a fire elemental, instead of the useless mutt.

-Smoke

Well thats what I was addressing by having your turrets inherit your INT/CON/PRR/MRR/AC/Spellpower/Crit. That should make them scale far better into Epics. Same for the iron defender, with the T5 enhancement.

 

[Onyxia2016]

That sounds like a pretty good suggestion. I used the turrets in heroic with some success and fun. Having them viable in epics would be pretty nice.

As @Smokewolf suggested, instead of a mutt have a fire elemental. I say a fire elemental mutt.

 

[Smokewolf]

That sounds like a pretty good suggestion. I used the turrets in heroic with some success and fun. Having them viable in epics would be pretty nice.

As @Smokewolf suggested, instead of a mutt have a fire elemental. I say a fire elemental mutt.

Fire Elementals throw fireballs from a distance. Which is much more useful / survivable than a mutt that constantly one-shotted in melee range.

 

[Smokewolf]

Well thats what I was addressing by having your turrets inherit your INT/CON/PRR/MRR/AC/Spellpower/Crit. That should make them scale far better into Epics. Same for the iron defender, with the T5 enhancement.

Mob immunities are still an issue with fire as the only source of DPS. Maybe adding Force as an alternative would be a good counter to such encounters?

 

[droid327]

Fire Elementals throw fireballs from a distance. Which is much more useful / survivable than a mutt that constantly one-shotted in melee range.

I'm good with a thematic alternate pet for the archetype, but I don't think it makes sense for it to be an elemental. You wouldn't gear them with a docent and collar... And you'd summon them, you wouldn't construct one

Maybe an iron salamander or an iron phoenix. Or choose one, with one being a melee and one being ranged fire caster, to complement whatever playstyle you preferred.

 

[droid327]

Mob immunities are still an issue with only fire as the only source of DPS. Maybe adding Force as an alternative would be a good counter to such encounters?

There's a force turret. You also have your weapon damage and pet physical damage. And tac det is half force (spell and sla), arcane tempest is all force. If you wanted to play pure caster you probably will go tief, and you have scorch spell and sla to break immunes.

I wanted to add in one more force spell at T5, but a good one doesn't exist right now. A new one could be created like they did for BC, but that's outside the scope of this suggestion. Maybe a force lightning bolt, or a force Hammer spell a la the Machro hammers

I was hesitant to include a fire version of the immunity breaker from AT - I feel they're too cheap right now - but that's an option in T5 too.

 

[Onyxia2016]

I'm good with a thematic alternate pet for the archetype, but I don't think it makes sense for it to be an elemental. You wouldn't gear them with a docent and collar... And you'd summon them, you wouldn't construct one

Maybe an iron salamander or an iron phoenix. Or choose one, with one being a melee and one being ranged fire caster, to complement whatever playstyle you preferred.

Oh I know. How about the pseudo dragon thing from the coffer buddle as an iron defender alternative.