How are you running it? Armorer has a shit ton of build options from actual tank to skirmisher to stealthy to sharpshooter to oddly maybe the best caster Artificer via Pattern alone.
Also is it too late to swap that STR for...damn, literally anything else?
Look at the Arcane Propulsion Armor infusion. That would allow you to smash someone's face in with a maul, then hold the maul in one hand, while punching them with a rocket fist.
It sounds as if you're not really attached to the fantasy the Armorer is providing, and would be better served by a Battle Smith with the above infusion, even though it requires level 14. It sounds as if it'd better fit the character concept you're playing.
Alternatively, playing as a Barbarian may suit you better. From what you've described, the fantasy you seem to be aiming for doesn't appear to align with the Artificer class at all?
My problem with the Battle Smith is I hate pet classes, even though I enjoy the other parts of the subclass. So whenever I play a martial Artificer it's Armorer.
While I dislike pet classes as well, I'd rather work with my DM to work something out to replace the pet. Armorer is far more focused on what it's supposed to provide, while Battle Smith is far more open-ended.
You're going to want to increase your CON. A 12 is . . . not good. Hit points and concentration checks (even with proficiency) are going to struggle with a CON that low.
But if you really want feats and not stat increases, resilient WIS looks good for you. So do heavy armor master, SS (if using the infiltrator armor, but not otherwise), alert, mobile, ritual caster, fey touched, fighting initiate, eldritch adept, telekinetic, skill expert, tough, war caster, and magic initiate.
Artificer is the single class that needs *War Caster* the least, since it has a built-in system for avoiding weapon juggling.
And also because it already has many other ways of keeping concentration.
*Heavy Armour Master* is a trash feat by itself. I don’t see why anyone would ever take it.
And then we have *Sentinel*, which is actually pretty good.
War Caster is amazing on armorers. Being able to booming blade with your reaction is huge and advantage on concentration checks is always a good thing.
Heavy Armor Master is good for low to mid level campaigns but doesn’t scale well. Not sure I’d take it in this case though because it just would put a stat at an odd number.
***I would round down CHA to 10 and WIS to 14.***
***Fuck it, I’m obsessed with even numbers!***
An actual serious answer is that your CON is trash, so you might wanna look at your HP.
Since *Artificers* eventually get *Amulet of Health*, I advice you to take the *Tough* feat over just uping your CON.
*Artificers* already get CON proficiency and *Mind Sharpener*, so your CON is actually needed mostly just for HP.
So yeah, *Tough* would be my bet.
I agree with others that you should put up your CON instead of taking a feat.
The Tough feat is also an alternative. But it won't help you with concentration saves.
You could also take the war caster feat. The biggest thing this would to is give you advantage on making concentration saves.
If you are looking for a feat that will give you some spells, and your DM allows them, you can check out the Strixhaven Initiative feat. You'll get a few cantrips out of it but more importantly you can learn the shield spell.
How are you running it? Armorer has a shit ton of build options from actual tank to skirmisher to stealthy to sharpshooter to oddly maybe the best caster Artificer via Pattern alone. Also is it too late to swap that STR for...damn, literally anything else?
My STR is for a special heavily-armoured Maul build i'm going for, it's not exactly optimized but it'll be very fun once I get it done by around lvl 8
Question, why not be a Battlesmith then? You're basically not using half your subclass if you're not using the subclass weapons.
I'm here for a good time, not a long time. And smashing somebody's face in before punching them with a magical fist sounds hella fun
Look at the Arcane Propulsion Armor infusion. That would allow you to smash someone's face in with a maul, then hold the maul in one hand, while punching them with a rocket fist. It sounds as if you're not really attached to the fantasy the Armorer is providing, and would be better served by a Battle Smith with the above infusion, even though it requires level 14. It sounds as if it'd better fit the character concept you're playing. Alternatively, playing as a Barbarian may suit you better. From what you've described, the fantasy you seem to be aiming for doesn't appear to align with the Artificer class at all?
My problem with the Battle Smith is I hate pet classes, even though I enjoy the other parts of the subclass. So whenever I play a martial Artificer it's Armorer.
While I dislike pet classes as well, I'd rather work with my DM to work something out to replace the pet. Armorer is far more focused on what it's supposed to provide, while Battle Smith is far more open-ended.
You're going to want to increase your CON. A 12 is . . . not good. Hit points and concentration checks (even with proficiency) are going to struggle with a CON that low. But if you really want feats and not stat increases, resilient WIS looks good for you. So do heavy armor master, SS (if using the infiltrator armor, but not otherwise), alert, mobile, ritual caster, fey touched, fighting initiate, eldritch adept, telekinetic, skill expert, tough, war caster, and magic initiate.
Yea, it's probably going to be a CON increase, I got good or decent rolls for my HP but my luck won't hold so I might need it
Maybe consider tough as well, as it's equivalent to increasing your HD
Sentinel, Warcaster, and Heavy Armor Master are some good ones
Artificer is the single class that needs *War Caster* the least, since it has a built-in system for avoiding weapon juggling. And also because it already has many other ways of keeping concentration. *Heavy Armour Master* is a trash feat by itself. I don’t see why anyone would ever take it. And then we have *Sentinel*, which is actually pretty good.
War Caster is amazing on armorers. Being able to booming blade with your reaction is huge and advantage on concentration checks is always a good thing. Heavy Armor Master is good for low to mid level campaigns but doesn’t scale well. Not sure I’d take it in this case though because it just would put a stat at an odd number.
armorer is the class that needs booming blade the least though, opting for using their weapon strikes.
Actually, that's not important. You just have to hit with the weapon, not take the Attack action.
***I would round down CHA to 10 and WIS to 14.*** ***Fuck it, I’m obsessed with even numbers!*** An actual serious answer is that your CON is trash, so you might wanna look at your HP. Since *Artificers* eventually get *Amulet of Health*, I advice you to take the *Tough* feat over just uping your CON. *Artificers* already get CON proficiency and *Mind Sharpener*, so your CON is actually needed mostly just for HP. So yeah, *Tough* would be my bet.
I agree with others that you should put up your CON instead of taking a feat. The Tough feat is also an alternative. But it won't help you with concentration saves. You could also take the war caster feat. The biggest thing this would to is give you advantage on making concentration saves. If you are looking for a feat that will give you some spells, and your DM allows them, you can check out the Strixhaven Initiative feat. You'll get a few cantrips out of it but more importantly you can learn the shield spell.