[Top 10] D&D Best Artificer Feats That Are Excellent

Ever wanted to build your own Iron Man suit like Tony Stark, but in D&D? Do you find yourself wanting a robot butler to protect you, fight for you, and clean up your room while you're at it? Maybe you just want to play out your nerdy fantasies of playing a quirky inventor.

If you said yes to any of those questions, you might want to try out the Artificer class in your next D&D campaign. Artificers are adventurers by trade, inventors at heart. Depending on which subclass you take, you can be a trigger happy gunslinger, an alchemical mad scientist, a fantasy Iron Man, or be Tony Stark and have a walking, fighting JARVIS!

Here's the top ten list of excellent feats to transform your artificer from a DIY tinkering enthusiast to a literal tank in mortal form.

10. Durable (Players Handbook)

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Durable

Hardy and resilient, you gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• When you roll a Hit Die to regain hit points, the minimum number of hit points you regain from the roll equals twice your Constitution modifier (minimum of 2).

What's cooler than a human tank taking each and every blow and not breaking a sweat? Durable is for your build if you often end up having to stand in the line of fire to protect your squishier comrades. Whether or not you decide to fight mid range or from afar, more Hit Points equals a better chance at surviving any encounter. 

In a pinch, a short rest can help you regain hit points to survive another fight; with Durable, it guarantees less Hit Dice to roll to get back to full health. Crucial for longer adventures where a safe place to rest isn’t so easy to find.

As a bonus, Durable gives you +1 in Constitution; one of the two main stats for an Artificer. A higher Constitution is always good for Concentration spells, which Artificers get a lot of. Being able to tank a hit while concentrating is good, combat wise, and would be useful in managing an Artificer's spell slots.

Overall, Durable is a nice feat to get. Even more so for Artificers who want to get in on the melee action. This feat works particularly well if your Artificer takes the Armorer subclass. But in general, the Durable feat would not be a waste for any Artificer.

Why Durable is Great for Artificers:

• Constitution Based. An Artificer’s base stats are Intelligence & Constitution. Intelligence, you use for spellcasting. Constitution, you use for your Hit Points and for Concentration Spells. It’s always good to have high stats in both. Durable lets you have +1 Constitution and the extra healing each time you try to heal with your Hit Dice. The Hit Dice for Artificers are 1d8.
• Magical Tanks. A higher constitution gives you that extra guarantee that you’ll be more likely to survive an encounter compared to your squishy comrades despite being a spellcaster.
• On Concentration. A lot of spells available for Artificers require Concentration. While casting a Concentration spell, and you get damaged, there’s a chance that the spell would drop, a guaranteed bad time for you and your team. When damaged while Concentrating, you have to roll a Constitution Save against the damage you received. The DC for Concentration is either half the damage you received or 10, whichever is higher. A higher Constitution means you’re more durable, (pun fully intended), and a lower chance of dropping Concentration, meaning ending the spell.

9. Martial Adept (PHB)

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Martial Adept

You have martial training that allows you to perform special combat maneuvers. You gain the following benefits.

• You learn two maneuvers of your choice from among those available to the Battle Master archetype in the fighter class. If a maneuver you use requires your target to make a saving throw to resist the maneuver's effects, the saving throw DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice).
• You gain one superiority die, which is a d6 (this die is added to any superiority dice you have from another source). This die is used to fuel your maneuvers. A superiority die is expended when you use it. You regain your expended superiority dice when you finish a short or long rest.

The Artificer is an interesting class. Specifically made to be both a combatant and spellcaster, it allows any Artificer to fit into any Adventuring team. You only need to tweak your equipment and prep your spell list to fit the campaign scenario and it’s a guarantee you’ll have a fun time playing.

Martial Adept adds another layer to playing an Artificer. The feat gives you access to the Battle Master’s list of Maneuvers. Maneuvers can enhance your fighting style. Whether it’s close, mid, or long range combat, there’s a maneuver useful for your artificer. You also get 1 superiority die, which can be used to increase your damage output.

This feat is advantageous for Artificers who like to play the board. If you’re a player who likes team combat strategies and on the spot flexibility, improve your teamwork with a Battle Master’s Maneuvers by taking Martial Adept as a feat. This feat works amazingly well with the subclass Battle Smith.

Why Martial Adept is Great for Artificers:

• Take Control. Artificers with access to the Battle Master’s Maneuvers will definitely make you feel like you’ve got everything under control. With a long list of Maneuvers to choose from; have your pick between 23 different maneuvers, you’ll be able to customize your Artificer even more.
• Steel Defender. As mentioned before, Martial Adept is highly compatible with the Artificer subclass; Battle Smith. While you can’t control other players’ characters, you can definitely plan around a set of extra hands. Applying your maneuvers on your Steel Defender guarantees a two person plan is easier to pull off. Just make sure you have the Mending Cantrip on you. It can repair itself, yes, but that’s one action spent healing instead of just damaging your opponents.
• CHARGE! This feat includes one Superiority die. Often used as a resource, certain maneuvers allow you to use a superiority die as an extra d6 of damage. Even better, you regain used Superiority die every short or long rest. Sometimes, a handful of damage Points is the only thing saving you from certain death. Make every hit count. Deal more damage.

8. Lucky (PHB)

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Lucky

You have inexplicable luck that seems to kick in at just the right moment.

• You have 3 luck points. Whenever you make an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can spend one luck point to roll an additional d20. You can choose to spend one of your luck points after you roll the die, but before the outcome is determined. You choose which of the d20s is used for the attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.
• You can also spend one luck point when an attack roll is made against you. Roll a d20 and then choose whether the attack uses the attacker's roll or yours.
• If more than one creature spends a luck point to influence the outcome of a roll, the points cancel each other out; no additional dice are rolled.
• You regain your expended luck points when you finish a long rest.

Lucky is one of those feats that are just good to have no matter what class you play. Built in the same vein as a Halfling’s Lucky racial feat; the Lucky feat can be considered the better upgrade. With 3 luck points to use every long rest, you can bolster your own rolls or cause misfortune on others (mostly the DM). 

Having Lucky would help avoid failures in critical scenes, and could certainly be a deciding factor between life and death for your character. While it does not give you advantage on a roll, the fact that you can choose which dice result to apply makes this feat all the more appealing. 

For Artificers, Lucky is another utility to compliment their build, no matter which subclass they choose. It gives the player a small, yet critical, ability to manipulate an encounter for their favor. While unable to be used in initiative or damage dice, Lucky works with every other check or save.

Why Lucky is Great for Artificers

• Not Today! It’s always fun to see how Dungeon Masters react to being denied their Natural 20. Spend a luck point and force your enemies (even fellow party mates) to reroll their dice. What’s even better is that you get to decide which dice they pick, and they just have to deal with it.
• Third time’s the charm! You can do this 3 times per long rest. Regaining all expended luck points per finished long rest. It’s just a gift that keeps on giving!
• GG. GN. Luck points come in a pool of 3. You can use a luck point after you see what you roll as well, but before the outcome is declared. In any case, most players have a gut instinct what rolling below a 5 means anyway, or what would happen to you if your DM rolls a Critical Success during combat. The Lucky feat will prove useful in any encounter you might face, even the dumb ones. Trust me.

7. Keen Mind (PHB)

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Keen Mind

You have a mind that can track time, direction, and detail with uncanny precision. You gain the following benefits.

• Increase your Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You always know which way is north.
• You always know the number of hours left before the next sunrise or sunset.
• You can accurately recall anything you have seen or heard within the past month.

Artificer is an Intelligence and Constitution based class. With Keen Mind, you’re still able to get a +1 on your Intelligence score despite having to forgo the Ability Score Increase every time you decide to take on a feat instead.

If you want to play the kookie intellectual inventor and lay it on thick with the roleplay, Keen Mind would be the perfect feat for your artificer. You’ll never get lost no matter if you’re in a maze or on a shopping spree; you always know which way is North and recall everything you’ve seen for the past month. You’re always aware of the time, it doesn’t matter if you can see outside or not.

Your character essentially has eidetic memory (at least for the past in game month), and you’re pretty much allowed to ask the DM about lore you yourself forgot but your character remembers. You’re definitely going to be the most informed person in the room, most of the time, even if you as a player aren’t. This feat works well with the ‘recipe books’ of the Alchemist subclass.

Why your Artificer Needs the Keen Mind Feat

• Genius Quality. Including the +1 to the Intelligence score, Keen Mind is just too good of a feat if you want to play the genius inventor. Having eidetic memory (for a month’s information) is definitely a great way to play the studious Artificer.
• Ctrl + F on Lore. This feat works whether or not you’re the type of player to write notes. Lore can be tough to keep track of. You can set things straight by asking your DM if you remember anything about, well, anything. As long as your character’s read or seen it, and it’s within the past month, you remember every detail.
• Clock+Compass Combo. This feat is perfect for dungeon delving adventures. You’ll always know where you are, and if a mission is time sensitive, how much time you have left to complete it. Definitely a useful feat for campaigns where exploration is a big factor.

6. Fighting Initiate (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

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Fighting Initiate

Prerequisite: Proficiency with a martial weapon

• Your martial training has helped you develop a particular style of fighting. As a result, you learn one Fighting Style option of your choice from the fighter class. If you already have a style, the one you choose must be different.
• Whenever you reach a level that grants the Ability Score Improvement feature, you can replace this feat's fighting style with another one from the fighter class that you don't have.

No matter the campaign, combat is a vital thing every adventuring team has to deal with. For Artificers, there’s no straight way to behave in combat. Close, mid, or long range; the artificer’s combat style depends on a lot of factors. Fighting Initiate helps in this by bringing in a Fighting style from the fighter class.

Much like Martial Adept, Fighting Initiate can help increase your artificer’s damage output, increase your chance of hitting, or even protect your friends! The major difference is that there’s no superior die to keep track of. Fighting Initiate is an active feat. You can use it whenever you’d like.

Artificers would benefit well with Fighting Initiate. It synergizes well with whatever build you may want to make. All you have to do is choose which fighting style fits your current build and it will flow seamlessly from there. As long as you don’t forget you have the feature, it’ll make combat much more interesting. God knows how many times I’ve forgotten a useful feat until after combat’s done.

Why Fighting Initiate is Great for Artificers

• Versatility. Artificers are built in a way where, much like with their proficiencies, they could work with every situation. Having the Fighting Initiate feat adds a new facet to the Artificer who wants to be versatile in combat. Artificers are also a martial class, above all else. This feat would augment and improve on that.
• Adjustability. You can change your fighting style everytime you reach 4th, 8th, 12th & 16th level of any class. It’s fine tuning your Artificer to the T. It’s also just a fun feat to have if you want to explore different combat play styles without having to multiclass.
• I Cast Gun, and then some! Artificers are stereotyped to be firearm lovers. Heck, you might have chosen Artificer because you want to use a fantasy character that gets to use a gun as their main weapon. Well, just in case your gun jams, you’ve run out of bullets, or just to surprise your enemies, it’ll be good practice that you have something in the metaphorical back pocket. Or, you can always pick Close Quarters Shooter (Unearthed Arcana), fight in melee, and blast them point blank.

5. Sentinel (PHB)

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Sentinel

You have mastered techniques to take advantage of every drop in any enemy's guard, gaining the following benefits.

• When you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, the creature's speed becomes 0 for the rest of the turn.
• Creatures provoke opportunity attacks from you even if they take the Disengage action before leaving your reach.
• When a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack against a target other than you (and that target doesn't have this feat), you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature.

Take control of the action economy by taking the Sentinel feat. It’s a great feat to have as it improves on the common opportunity attack (reaction) and helps with enemy crowd control. Artificers would have a fun time with this feat if you work in tandem with your Steel Defender to keep your enemies in check.

Melee attacks done against you would invoke disadvantage from your Steel Defender’s Deflect reaction. Melee attacks done against your Steel Defender triggers the Sentinel’s attack of opportunity reaction. If they attempt to disengage, and you have a free reaction, whack them again to keep them in place.

Sentinel puts a highlight to close range combat and teamwork. Artificers more often than not land in the thick of it. Having Sentinel would give you an awesome advantage in combat, and it works amazingly well with the subclasses Battle Smith and Armorer.

Why Sentinel is a Great Fit for Your Artificer

• Stop right there! Landing a hit with an attack of opportunity stops your foes where they stand. It’s a fun and easy way to keep your enemies where you want them.That is, within your melee range.
• Disengage denied. Disengage is useful when you’re stuck in a sticky situation. It’s annoying when you’re the one having to deal with the slippery foe. With Sentinel, you ignore disengage, and you’re free to use your reaction to attack the enemy with an opportunity attack. 
• All eyes on me. Increase your opportunities to attack with Sentinel. Particularly useful in close quarters combat, pile on the damage against enemies by using your reaction in response to their attacks. As it’s a reaction, you can only use this once per turn.

4. Sharpshooter (PHB)

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Sharpshooter

You have mastered ranged weapons and can make shots that others find impossible. You gain the following benefits:

• Attacking at long range doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged weapon attack rolls.
• Your ranged weapon attacks ignore half and three-quarters cover.
• Before you make an attack with a ranged weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If that attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage.

If you’re like me, one of the main reasons you picked the Artificer class is because of their ability to wield firearms. Better yet, Artificers are known to create them. Whether in the form of bullets with gunpowder or energy shots with repulsors, as long as your Artificer has a preference for ranged attacks, Sharpshooter is one of the feats you need to take.

Long range fighters often have to manage their expectations. No matter how much they’d prefer to stick to the shadows, unless  you are wielding a Long Bow, sometimes you have no choice but to get within range to shoot without invoking disadvantage. Sharpshooter negates this.

Along with the ability to ignore half and three-quarters cover, you’ll also be able to use any ranged weapon from beyond the usual distance without gaining disadvantage on your attack. You can embody the sniper in the shadows without much difficulty. Even better, is that this feat carries over to your Eldritch Cannons! Handheld or walking by itself, you can master all ranged weapons with this feat! This feat works amazingly well if in tandem with the subclasses: Artillerist and Armorer.

Why Sharp Shooter is a Great Feat for Any Artificer

• Partial cover doesn’t matter. You ignore half and three-quarters cover with Sharpshooter. If you must, you can even try to shoot them through the wall.
• Snipers. Since Sharpshooter negates the long range attack disadvantage, it would be the perfect time to act like Snipers in the bushes.
• Hinge your bet. You can take a leap of fate and try to double down on damage output by taking a -5 penalty to your attack roll. If your attack is a success you add a whopping 10 points to the damage dealt, on top of your usual dice rolls and modifiers. Artificers who can use their Intelligence as a weapon modifier can optimize as much as they need. Talk about firepower. 

3. Alert (PHB)

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Alert

Always on the lookout for danger, you gain the following benefits:

• You can't be surprised while you are conscious.
• You gain a +5 bonus to initiative.
• Other creatures don't gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being unseen by you.

Alert is one of those feats that I’d recommend no matter what class you take. It’s just too good to pass up. Initiative order is a huge factor to take into account when in combat. It alters what you could do, and going last isn’t always good when dealing with powerful enemies. Luckily, Alert is here to save us from our unlucky roles.

At base, it gives a +5 bonus to initiative. No matter if you’re naturally fast with Dexterity, and you don’t tend to be because you’re an Artificer, a flat +5 bonus is hard to come by. Alert also makes you immune to being surprised (as long as you’re awake), and while that can be unnecessary with a Steel Defender by your side, it’s a great help when you don’t.

Attacks from hidden assailants also don’t get advantage, invisible or no. Overall, Alert is a great feat to have. Artificers need it even more in my opinion. It guarantees that you’ll never be caught off guard and that you’re, on average, quick on your feet in the presence of enemies. I’d recommend you take the Alert feat every time, it’s just that good.

Why Alert is a Great Feat for Any Artificer

• Gotta Go Fast. Alert gives you +5 on your initiative. The higher you are on the initiative tracker, the quicker you react in combat. Which means the better chances of dealing with enemies before they kill you.
• Come out, come out wherever you are. Attacks from unseen enemies typically give them advantage on the attack roll, it’s similar to how a Rogue’s Sneak Attack works. Alert makes sure they won’t.
• No Steel Defender? No problem. A Steel Defender is a great help. It has the Vigilant feature, which is the same with the Alert feat in that it can never be caught by surprise. In case you don’t pick the Battle Smith subclass, Alert can stand in its place. As long as you’re awake.

2. Fey Touched (TCE)

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Fey Touched

Your exposure to the Feywild's magic has changed you, granting you the following benefits:

• Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You learn the Misty Step spell and one 1st-level spell of your choice. The 1st-level spell must be from the Divination or Enchantment school of magic. You can cast each of these spells without expending a spell slot. Once you cast either of these spells in this way, you can't cast that spell in this way again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast these spells using spell slots you have of the appropriate level. The spells' spellcasting ability is the ability increased by this feat.

Your Artificer had to have gotten inspiration from somewhere! Maybe you got lost in the Feywild as a child. Maybe you saw the Witchlight Carnival once. Maybe you’re just looking for a certain aesthetic.

Those are just some of the reasons to get the Fey Touched feat. With an Artificer’s Intelligence based spellcasting, the +1 to Intelligence is a great boon. This also gives you the Misty Step spell for free, as well as a 1st level spell (Divination or Enchantment) of your choice!

With the very limited amount of spells Artificers do get to learn, any free spell is always welcomed. What’s better is casting the spell for free, once a day,  no spell slot required! Any Artificer, no matter the subclass, would appreciate the extra spells. The extra Intelligence stat is almost overkill!

Why your Artificer needs the Fey Touched feat

• Intelligence Boost. There’s quite a few Feats that include an ability score increase. With a +1 to Intelligence, Fey Touched makes sure you don’t miss out the ability score increase you’d get if you didn’t take a feat once you reach the 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th level of a class.
• Extra spells! An Artificer’s spell slots leaves much to be desired. Compared to its fellow spellcasters, an Artificer doesn’t get many spell slots. Especially when compared to the Wizard, who also uses Intelligence as their spellcasting modifier. With the often suggested Mending Cantrip, that lessens your number of possible spells even more. Fey Touched negates that limitation.
• Get Me Out of Here! A free Misty Step per day is a nice way to get out of a sticky situation. And it’s mostly free! Unless you want to bump it up a notch, casting this spell doesn’t require any spell slots.

1. Spell Sniper (PHB)

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Spell Sniper

Prerequisite: The ability to cast at least one spell

You have learned techniques to enhance your attacks with certain kinds of spells, gaining the following benefits:

• When you cast a spell that requires you to make an attack roll, the spell's range is doubled.
• Your ranged spell attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
• You learn one cantrip that requires an attack roll. Choose the cantrip from the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell list. Your spellcasting ability for this cantrip depends on the spell list you chose from: Charisma for bard, sorcerer, and warlock; Wisdom for cleric or druid; or Intelligence for wizard.

Last but certainly not the least is the Spell Sniper feature. Artificers are martial spell casters, and the list of spells you can choose from range from utility spells and damage dealing spells. Among the damage dealing spells, there are quite a few that are long range, and deal damage against one enemy of your choosing. It’s even highly suggested that at least one of your few cantrips deals damage.

Spell Sniper is the magical counterpart of Sharpshooter. With it, spells that require rolls doubles in range, and it ignores half and three-fourths cover. The great thing about Spell Sniper is that it also gives you a free spell from the Wizard spells list (they also use Intelligence in spellcasting). The spell does not count among your known spells, but it still requires a spell slot. 

Artificers need all the spells they can get, and Spell Sniper, along with a few other feats, can help you with that. I highly suggest taking Spell Sniper because, at the end of the day, slinging spells and causing a lot of damage is one of the reasons playing Artificer is a lot of fun. 

What’s more, is that an Artificer also has access to Magical Infusions, you can make your firearm magical. You get to play both sides of the field; wand waving, gun slinging, melee fighting. The possibilities for Artificers are endless, and with Spell Sniper, it allows you to become all the more formidable.

Why Spell Sniper is an Awesome Feat for your Artificer

• Extra Spell. Artificers are always hurting for spell variety. Get a free one from the Wizard spell list with Spell Sniper.
• Snipers pt. 2. Your spell casting range doubles on spells that use attack rolls. You ignore half and three-fourths cover. Your playing field just doubled in size.
• Human Tank Optimization. Piled on top of each other; magical tinkering, firearm proficiency (arcane or otherwise), and attack spells at maximum distance. Spell Sniper ensures that no matter your build, your Artificer has a high chance of becoming a damage dealing monster in the field.

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