Gold’s Guide to Artist

Created by Gold Zephzellian

Summary

Just a little touch here… the Artist is a dabbler in all Ability usage, never being satisfied to stay with one type of Ability.

The Artist is the Ability Generalist to end all Ability Generalists. With a set of features with no specific focus, the Artist is capable of fulfilling almost any role in a party, often multiple at once. You also have some incredibly unique features that can’t be found anywhere else. Of course, being a Jack of All Trades means you are a Master of None. Unless you invest into a specific type of Ability, you will never surpass a specialist. It’s also highly Ability-centric, meaning WP will have to be managed to a degree.

Don’t be fooled, though! The Artist is a powerful all-rounder!

Sub-Archetype Statistics

Ease of Use – ★★★★☆

Offensive Ability – ★★★★☆

  • Single Target – ★★★★☆
  • AOE – ★★★★☆
  • Disabling – ★★★★☆

Defense – ★★★★☆

  • Passive Defense – ★★☆☆☆
  • Active Defense – ★★★★☆
  • Healing – ★★★★☆

Support – ★★★★☆

  • Offensive Support – ★★★★☆
  • Defensive Support – ★★★★☆
  • Miscellaneous Support – ★★★★☆

Skills – ★★★☆☆

  • Social – ★★★☆☆
  • Physical – ★★☆☆☆
  • Mental – ★★★☆☆
Use this Sub-Archetype if you want to…
– Have a little of everything in your kit.
– You want some uniquely powerful tools that can’t be found elsewhere.
– You want to have access to a wide range of Abilities at once.
Consider avoiding this Sub-Archetype if…
– If you want to be more specialized. You can with Artist, but it might not be as effective as you want it to be.
– If you don’t want to be overwhelmed by a wide range of Abilities. Choice paralysis is real and a fair reason not to play a Sub-Archetype.
– If you don’t want to have to deal with WP. As an Ability Generalist, it is inevitable.

Features

Tier 1 – All the Abilities

You can learn Abilities from every Archetype. You learn an additional Ability for each Tier that you have reached.

You may learn Abilities from EVERY Archetype. Learn an additional Ability for each Tier reached.

ALL OF THEMMMMM! Yes, this is no joke! This provides you possible access to every Ability in the game to learn, all at your finger tips! That’s awesome, and fits an Ability Generalist like you to a T!

To help you get started on your journey, this also provides you an additional Ability for each Tier you’ve got! This goes very well with Creative Improvisation, effectively providing an additional 3 Abilities per Tier. That’s great, and helps you get a jump start on higher Tier Abilities in later Tiers. 

Overall, this is a great starting feature that opens the Artist up to a world of possibilities. Oh, and this is obviously a great Multi-Sub-Archetype choice.

Tier 2 – Creative Reach

The range of all your Abilities increases by 10 m. Your Ability hit bonus increases by 2, and your DR Power increases by 1.

All your Abilities have +10m of range. +2 Ability Hit, +1 DR Power.

Hoo boy, this Feature is multi-faceted! Let’s start with the simpler part; the +2 Ability Hit and +1 DR Power, which is obviously incredibly good. More accuracy with which to land your key abilities allows you to be far more accurate than some might expect, which can be really useful.

The more interesting part of this Feature is actually the +10m Range Increase. Y’see, most of these sorts of increases don’t apply to 1m Range Abilities. This one separates itself from the rest by doing so. That’s actually a bigger deal than one may initially think, 1m Range Abilities are typically stronger to compensate for their stubby range, which is of great use to Artists to improve their output. It’s also just generally good for all of the usual uses of a range increase too; making 5m Range Abilities have good reach helps them out a lot, and downright sniping with longer range options can be really helpful in some circumstances.

This also makes 1m Range Abilities able to have those other range increases applied, since they’re no longer 1m range. That opens up some possible Synergies.

Overall, while simple, this feature opens up Artist’s output a fair bit, and is deceptively powerful. Makes a great Multi-Sub-Archetype follow up to the previous Feature, as well!

Tier 3 – Boundless Motivation

Your upcast and WP turn limit increase by 2.

+2 Upcast and WP Turn Limits.

A deceptively simple feature with some massive ramifications. Increasing Upcast and WP Turn Limits is usually a very rare thing, and usually the benefits are temporary or have restrictions placed on them. Not only is this a Tier-sized increase, but also UNRESTRICTED and PERMANENT. That’s basically unheard of!

This has some massive knock-off effects. First, this lets you further upcast Abilities, which isn’t too crazy, but can allow you to cross some important upcast thresholds sooner. Note that this doesn’t grant you access to Higher Tier Abilities sooner; only upcasting to higher tiers.

Secondly, and arguably more importantly, any Features, Talents, and even Paths that scale off Upcast and WP Turn Limits are impacted. This is huge, and enables a wide range of awesome Synergies. But it’s actually incredibly well balanced here by being deep within a generalist sub-archetype. It has significant opportunity costs if you want it… but man alive is it awesome. 

Overall, this is probably the single most impactful feature of Artist, and is immensely powerful. 

Tier 4 – Multitasking

You can use an Ability that uses 1 AP or 1 RP without using any AP or RP, and the WP cost of that Ability is reduced by 2. You can use this feature once per round.

Once per round, use a 1AP or RP Ability at no AP/RP cost, additionally reducing its WP Cost by 2.

Very fitting name for a feature that is basically just Multi-Action on STEROIDS. Yes, it doesn’t work on non-Ability actions… but you’re primarily an Ability user, so you probably don’t really mind. In exchange, you get access to RP and AP Actions both, don’t need to use a different action beforehand, and you get a discount on top just for fun. Yeah… that’s pretty good.

This feature is pretty simple, and honestly, it’s just more Abilities to cast! Remember that discounted WP doesn’t count towards your WP Turn Limit, so anything that costs 2WP or less (and can be discounted below 1WP) is effectively free when used this way, effectively giving you a free, low-power Ability each turn at worst. Plenty of fun ways to use this one!

Tier 5 – Flash of Inspiration

You can use an Ability, which does not need more than 3 AP or 2 RP, without using any AP or RP. The WP used for this Ability does not count towards your WP turn limit. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Primary Stat Bonus per full rest.

You can use a 3AP or less or 2RP or less Ability at no AP or RP cost, and any WP used in this way doesn’t count towards your WP turn limit. Usable [Primary Stat Bonus] times per full rest.

Hooooo boy… Now THIS is a capstone! In effect, this allows you to instant cast any Ability at no tax towards your limits. That’s awesome, and can be used for setup, burst damage, emergency healing, and a wide range of other purposes. It’s just as flexible as the Artist is! 

Couple of downsides: using it frequently can burn through your WP fast. In addition, it has an admittedly strict usage limit. This can be remedied somewhat with something we’ll discuss in Synergies.

Overall, yep, this is a great capstone. Enjoy!

Synergies & Tips

Synergies

  • Literally ANY Ability Stuff: Artist is heavily generalized in what Abilities it wants to use (maybe the most generalized!), and thus, anything that improves Ability usage in any way will always help out Artist. Unlike other Ability Generalists, who typically have a focus they might want to lean into, there really isn’t for Artist, meaning you can pick up whatever you think your party needs most. 
  • Path of Polymathy: If you really want to be a hyper-generalist, this is probably your Path choice. More Abilities and WP allows you to lean even harder into your generalist style than you already do.
  • Any Ability Path: Artist’s kit is so generic, that almost any Ability path functions very well. In particular, remember that Boundless Motivation will influence each if they rely on Upcast Limit at all, with Path of Maneuver and Healing being especially notable. 
  • More WP/WP Discounts: Ability Generalists usually eat WP for breakfast. More of the stuff is needed, or at least a way to discount it. Perseverance Master, Will to Act, and Willpower Boost are classics for more WP, but if you need even more, remember that Hybrid Sub-Archetype Tier 1 Features provide more of the stuff, even if it isn’t ideal. Intuition Master is your standard discount feature, but look around for more options; they tend to be more specific, though!
  • More Abilities: Ability Generalists always appreciate a wider pool of Abilities, and you are no exception as the Ability Generalist to end all Ability Generalists!
  • Regain Endurance: This isn’t something you’ll probably pick up for a long time, but when Flash of Inspiration arrives, this is your best friend for doubling its number of uses. More instant casts are invaluable.

Tips

  • Not much I haven’t already said, really! Artist is truly whatever you make it.

Sub-Archetype Build Showcase

Simple Build

This simple Artist is all about doing a lot of things really well. While it does have a slight lean towards team support thanks to Overhealing and a wide range of Healing Abilities, it is also a rather capable debuffer with every Elemental Projectile and a toolbox of Debuff Abilities. It can also serve as a competent, if not particularly crazy utility user, thanks to a handful of universally useful options like Art Adept and Safe Fall. The real meat of this kit is in the wide range of Abilities, though, supported by Arcanist T2-T3, which will slowly but surely provide more WP and regenerate WP during combat, ensuring you never run dry… so long as you use a bit of restraint. It also has quite good bulk thanks to Shield Mage, Parry, Barrier, and Temporary Defenses, allowing it to stack a healthy supply of Temporary Vitality to tank what its Vitality cannot (just watch out for Bleeds!)

The key is definitely that restraint; this kit can theoretically do everything quite well… but you need the WP to run it. Run dry, and you’ll find yourself in a pickle QUICK. Consider picking up Stimulants to make this more reliable, as well as Mental Recharge in the future if you’ve got space.

Experimental Build

WARNING, this Artist build is almost certainly not campaign viable. Is it funny? OH YES. This build is all about triggering as much weird stuff with each cast as possible. Perfectionist T1, Anomaly T1 and T2, and Maniac T1 cause you to focus on casting AS BIG a Reality Bolt as you can each turn, potentially nuking yourself for 20 DAMAGE in the process. Good thing you’re Durable, eh? The good news is that if it works, this build is actually surprisingly WP efficient, and can potentially cast a wide range of weird Abilities from it’s Unstable List. 

It does have a range of other Abilities it can use, but they’re nowhere near as effective as Reality Bolt is. They’re mainly just there to help fill holes in the admittedly one-dimensional strategy. It works way better than one might expect at first glance, and is hilarious. And that’s all that really matters for this weirdo.

Conclusion

Overall, the Artist is a highly flexible Ability Generalist with a lot of potential to do a wide range of stuff. Thanks for reading! If you have any fun builds that could help show off Artist more, feel free to send them to me on Discord at goldzephzellian!