D&D: The Unearthed Arcana’s Alchemist Doesn’t Fix Its Major Problem
We’re taking a look at the four subclasses included in the Unearthed Arcana for Artificers, starting with the Alchemist. Sadly.
Artificers are back in a big way with the new Unearthed Arcana on D&D Beyond. If you missed it, yesterday, WotC unleashed a surprise playtest packet, focused entirely around updating the Artificer to the 5.5E ruleset.
The class gets an overhaul, but not necessarily a significant one. It still plays largely the same, with a slightly more streamlined functionality. Now you make magic items and can give them to people. No more infusions. That’s for teas and Michelin-starred chefs with creative ideas about gastro-foam.
Accompanying the Artificer’s base class rework were all four subclasses: the Alchemist, Armorer, Artillerist, and Battlesmith. And now we’re going through each of those, starting with the Alchemist. Which, sadly, still seems like it has most of the “problems” it had before.
The Alchemist Unearthed Arcana – Why Does It Give Off A Weak Aura
First of all, what does the Alchemist do? And why did people consider it one of the most lackluster subclasses in 5th Edition?
The answer lies in its core feature. Alchemists, as the name suggests, are all about making magical concoctions. And the Alchemist accomplishes that with a feature called Experimental Elixir. Now, you’d think that being an Alchemist, you’d be an expert at brewing up all sorts of interesting things. Not just healing potions but other things, too.
And you’d be half-right. The way the Experimental Elixir worked in 5th Edition was that after every Long Rest, you would create one drinkable potion at random. You’d roll 1d6, and depending on what you rolled, you would create a potion that has a number of minor effects. Things like gain a flying speed of 10 feet (not bad, but not nearly as effective as you’d think) or gain a +1 bonus to AC for 10 minutes. And that was it for the day.
Sure, you could re-up your Experimental Elixir by spending a 1st-level or higher spell slot, but that was seldom worth it. I think the idea was that you would spend your spell slots on potions during non-adventuring days because the Elixirs didn’t expire. So you sort of became a magical potion vending machine.
Except the potions were seldom worth the action it took to quaff them. And that’s a huge difference with the alchemist now. All potions are bonus actions – which is a considerable improvement. But, even in the Unearthed Arcana, Alchemists still lack that critical oomph.
Playtest Alchemists – Needs More Of Either Experimental Or Elixir
The Unearthed Arcana Alchemist, as mentioned, does benefit from the improved speed at which you can chug back potions. That makes a huge difference. And similarly, they get more Elixirs per punch. Starting off at level 3, you create two elixirs after every long rest. And you make more faster. Now, you make three elixirs at level 5, four elixirs at level 9, and five elixirs at level 15. However, these Elixirs do vanish now at the end of a Long Rest.
The healing effect got a little improved, restoring 2d8 + Int instead of the usual 2d4 + Int. But you’re still making them at random. And the other effects don’t feel quite as impactful. Especially compared to what the other Artificer subclasses can do.
At level 5, the Alchemist Savant feature is unchanged from the previous version of it. It still lets you add your intelligence modifier to the damage dealt or hit points restored to one spell you cast, as long as the damage is acid, fire, necrotic, or poison damage. This is a fine enough feature. But again, compared to the other subclasses, it feels a little lackluster.
At level 9, the Alchemist sees some quality-of-life upgrades. Now, all of your Experimental Elixirs grant temporary hit points equal to your Alchemist Level + Int Modifier, giving you more of a consistent performance. And you can cast Lesser Restoration without a spell slot.
Then, at level 15, comes the capstone feature: Chemical Mastery. Previously, this let you cast Greater Restoration and Heal (once each) without expending a spell slot. You also got resistance to acid and poison damage and immunity to being poisoned.
In the Unearthed Arcana, Alchemists at 15th level gain 2d8 extra damage on their Artificer spells that deal Acid, Fire, Necrotic, or Poison damage, but only once per turn and to one target.
They still gain resistance but lose access to both Greater Restoration AND Heal. Instead, they can cast Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron, which is comparable in level. But they only get one casting per day, and it feels like such a weird sideways nerf in comparison.
Your mileage may vary, but it seems the Alchemist could use a little more time to brew!
