Hello!
In the not-too-distant future (u36), a revamp to Artificer Battle Engineer, as well as some Artificer class features, will be heading your way! Here's what to expect:


Base class:

   •Rune Arm cooldown is improved by 30%. (This is the improvement that Thermal Venting currently gives, which has been removed from the BE tree.)
   •Rune Arm Charge Decay while moving is reduced by 50%. (This is the improvement that Arcane Capacitors currently gives, which has been removed from the BE tree.)
   •There is no longer a penalty to movement speed while charging a Rune Arm.
   •Artificers now get Warhammer and Light Hammer proficiencies.
   •Improved Critical: Bludgeoning has been added to the Arti class feat list.
   •Artificer Admixture spells now fire straight down if the caster has themself hard-targeted. (This will essentially deploy it on you... assuming you're standing on solid ground.)
   •Lightning Sphere now has a functional saving throw - for both monster AND player casters


Rune Arms:

   •(Note: None of this really applies to Knives Eternal, Machinations of Madness, or Whirling Words. They were already doing most of this.)
   •Rune Arm shots now scale with 100% Spell Power. Most were scaling at 50% or 80% previously.
   •Rune Arm weapon imbues now scale with 200% Melee or Ranged power (whichever is higher)
   •Homing on Rune Arms now works at about the same angles you can shoot a crossbow at and still hit your target (roughly 80 degrees). It was previously about 20 degrees for most Rune Arms, meaning you'd be shooting your crossbow and hitting your target, but your Rune Arm shots would just shoot wherever your camera was looking. Long story short, homing should be more reliable now.
   •Cannonball Shot (used by Glass Cannon) now uses homing.
   •Cannonball Shot now has a much smaller projectile, which fixes a lot of bad behavior, such as:
       •It should no longer create the projectile behind a creature you're fighting at melee range
       •It should no longer instantly explode on firing because you're playing a Gnome or Halfling and the projectile was taller than you were

Tree Changes:

Core 2: Gets +1 Stable Charge Tier in addition to everything it already does. (This replaces Rune Arm Overcharge, which has been removed from the BE tree.)
Core 4: Gets +1 Stable Charge Tier in addition to everything it already does. (This replaces Rune Arm Overcharge, which has been removed from the BE tree.)
Core 5: Gains +15 PRR and MRR in addition to everything it already does.
Core 6: Gains +2 INT (for a total of +4), +1 Competence bonus to Crit Multiplier with Crossbows, Bastard Swords, Dwarven Axes, Light Hammers, Warhammers, and Morningstars in addition to everything it already does.

Tier 1:
Weapon Training: Add third line: Light Hammers, Warhammers, Morningstars.
Field Engineer: No changes.
NEW: Field Scrapper: +1/2/3 to Sunder DCs.
Thaumaturgical Conduits: (Moved down from Tier 2)
Item Defense: No changes.

Tier 2:
Weapon Training: Add third line: Light Hammers, Warhammers, Morningstars.
Wrack Construct: Made sure it matches Mechanic's version.
NEW: Caustic Strike: (Melee: +1/2/3 [w]) (Crossbow: +0.5/1/1.5[w]), adds 3d6 Acid damage and 10d6 Rust damage. This damage scales with Spell Power. Ranged variant requires a crossbow. 6 second cooldown.
Extra Action Boost: (Moved down from Tier 3)
Attack or Damage Boost: (Attack moved in here from T1, made multiselect with Damage.)

Tier 3:
Weapon Training: Add third line: Light Hammers, Warhammers, Morningstars.
Disable Construct: Made sure it matches Mechanic's version.
STR/DEX/INT: No changes.

Tier 4:
Weapon Training: Add third line: Light Hammers, Warhammers, Morningstars.
Battle Mastery (Fusilade/Haste Boost): Fusilade now lasts for 18 seconds (was 6).
NEW: Shatter Defenses: (Melee: +1/2/3 [w]) (Crossbow: +0.5/1/1.5[w]), procs Improved Sunder. DC 14+INT Mod+Sunder bonuses. Ranged variant requires a crossbow. 10 second cooldown, shares a cooldown with Sunder.
NEW: Agility Engine: 3/6/10% Doublestrike and Doubleshot while wearing a Rune Arm.
STR/DEX/INT: No changes.


Tier 5:
NEW: Reconstructed Armaments: +1 Competence Bonus to Critical Threat Range with chosen line (Crossbows, Hand-and-a-half, or Hammers/Morningstar).
Weapon Attachment: No changes.
NEW: Thunder-Shock Weapon: (Melee: +3 [w]) (Crossbow: 1.5[w]), +3d6 Electric Damage which scales with Spell Power. Procs Trip, DC 14+INT Mod+Sunder Bonuses. Ranged variant requires a crossbow. 12 second cooldown, shares a cooldown with Trip.
NEW: Unlock Potential: +20 Melee and Ranged Power while wearing a Rune Arm.
Tactical Mobility: Move 10% faster while wielding Rune Arm.

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FAQs!

What's the current status of this feature?
Built and ready to roll out with U36. That said, there's still time to make adjustments (though not enough time to wholly alter direction).

Why Hammers and Morningstars?

   •Artificers in P&P don't especially excel with one weapon type or another, but there are a fair few official images of them with these kinds of weapons.
   •We wanted a bludgeoning option, as well as some simple/martial options
   •All three of these weapons are somewhat underserved in DDO
   •Synergy with the Onatar deity, who has similar themes
   •Synergy with Gnomes and Dwarves, who make good Artificers in P&P and also get bonuses with these weapons.



There aren't a lot of good Hammers and Morningstars out there right now...
    •Fair! But there will be more.



Why is the Crossbow damage lower on the actives?

    •Artificers tend to focus on Repeaters, who get extra returns from +[w] attacks. Cutting it by half, but multiplying it by three shots still comes out a bit ahead.



Why isn't Weapon Attachment getting changes?
    •It just got some upgrades during the Race Tree Pass.



Does Endless Fusillade still have that super-long windup animation?
    •Yes! ...But we also tripled its duration without increasing its cost. Keeping the animation means we can make it a lot more powerful.



Any changes to Arcanotechnician?
    •Not at this time. They just got a pass a little over a year ago!



So? This pass is bigger than that one was!
    •Arcanotechnician before that pass was a better tree than Battle Engineer is now (on Live) - It's a solid tree in its current state (with some good builds using it), and the base class changes above will help them.



Rune Arms DCs are really difficult to attain in Epics!
    •Yep. At this point, they have the same DC as a 10th level Artificer spell, more or less. Which isn't the easiest to attain! That isn't best fixed in the Battle Engineer tree, though. Arcanotechnician has a leg up on attaining those DCs (as it should). We added a few things behind the scenes as part of this pass that will help us better improve Rune Arm DCs in the future, if needed. In any case, most Rune Arms will be doing more damage than before regardless of DCs.



You didn't mention the poor Iron Defenders here, they're still terrible!
    •Yes, they are. In working on this pass, we did a lot of meetings, research, and discussion about Arti dog and Druid wolf pets - And came to the conclusion that a meaningful pass to improve them (not even including AI changes, just statistic and enhancement based) was going to take twice as long as the Arti pass above, at minimum. It's something we'd love to do someday, as they're a core part of these classes; it's just not in the cards for the moment.



Third Tree?
    •I wish. Not yet, sorry. 

  •It should no longer instantly explode on firing because you're playing a Gnome or Halfling and the projectile was taller than you were

Well my mech is going to love the free runearm buffs.

Looks like a pure gnome light repeater build should be worthwhile with +1 crit range and +1 multi.

 •Rune Arm weapon imbues now scale with 200% Melee or Ranged power (whichever is higher)

Yeah this will be pretty absurd.

What are the numbers like if you went heavy repeater in Shiradi?

I'm certain you're giving up base damage + crit profile, which is significant, but I'm thinking non-stop Shiradi procs with a (now truly) Endless Fusillade might bring Teh Lulz as well.

Unless that's losing too many Boosts from LD... 

Correction 6 minutes not 7 but you would also have down time between groups so could push it higher anyway.

Can always twist in some shiraldi.

See above. At least they know. Light hammers still blow dead bears for quarters and give change, but MOAR HAMMURZ.

I have some Arty lives coming up on alts, so this should make the TR/rTR grind a little easier to bear.