[GW2] Engineer discussion

[Deleted]

I really like the step GW2 is taking, with the addition of Engineer to the game.

I always liked the idea of a Pyromaniac running around like a madman setting everything aflame.
Elementalist is there, but it doesn't feel the same.

I was hooked with the engineer until today, when I read that he won't be able to switch weapons in combat due to having kits.
Big let down, as I always wanted to switch with pistol / shield for more defensive playstyle against projectiles, without losing the rocket jump ability a rifle provides.

I am also curious about the Turret AI, as it could be as stupid as shaman's fire totems in WoW.
I love shaman, as a caster, played shaman over 170 days, but he is so gimped and sub par to say a mage, and I don't want to be facing a similar situation in GW2.

Besides, from the census provided from another thread, I see engineers are much less popular than say, warrior, elementalist and guardian, it's kind of disheartening to play one, and I think there might be some issues with the proffesion that other people are aware of and I am not.

Overall, Engineer has so much potential, I hope it won't be wasted.

[Exerionx]

I think Mif will probably bookmark this, if all goes well :P

I was tempted Engineer but rolled Warrior. I don't think the profession really held my attention that much in contrast to Warrior, that's all!

[Marn]

Why would you ever need to swap weapons? Equip flamethrower, watch world burn.

[Underskilled]

Completely agree with ya OP. The big 3 I can't wait to roll are my Warrior, Thief, and Engineer, and engineer is looking to be the most technical of the professions, and I know a lot of people can be turned off by a highly technical class or profession in MMO's. The big problem is with less of a playerbase, a profession may not see the fixes or changes they need

That being said, I'm not to worried about not having more than one weapon set, since I believe you can change your secondary skills out often, and thus switching to your engineer weapons will be pretty easy to do.

[Deleted]

Engineer is my choice too.

Can't say I would not like to have an extra weapon set, but if you really look how much potential kits have - it's actually a fair trade. There is also the issue of abilities number. Remember, we now have a tool belt mechanic which means every utility skill has alternative usage, please check: http://www.arena.net/blog/guild-wars...-by-jon-peters . If you decide to take kits only (http://gw2.luna-atra.fr/skills_tool/...itch=2b630ad31) you will have:
- 6 utility skills (4 from tool belt)
- 20 weapon skills
that's a lot of skills and possibilities

If you don't like kits, no problem let's take a look at this combination http://gw2.luna-atra.fr/skills_tool/...itch=2b630ad31 , that should give us:
- 9 utility skills
- 5 weapon skills

By this design, it's clear that you are "missing out" some potential if you don't equip at least one kit which would provide 8 utility skills and 10 weapon skills. So yeah, in some situations if you don't have any kits on you - you are gimping yourself.

I have confidence that Anet will deal with turret's AI properly. Would love to have an option to tweak it by using traits, like X trait makes the turret to prioritize low HP enemies or Y trait makes it to attack minions/pets first.

And yes, engineers will be the least played profession. First, they have the lowest "pick up & play" value of all classes - especially since the tool belt mechanic introduction. They are just bit more complicated. There's also an issue of "guns in my fantasy game" opinion. Also considering the sheer number of available skills and potential combinations I foresee Engineer as class with the highest skill ceiling.

[Mif]

engineer is looking to be the most technical of the professions

Agreed. A lot of people will claim it's the Mesmer, but I think the Mesmer will take more psychological trickery of your opponent than technical gameplay.

A few random thoughts:
The lack of a weapon swap was a bit of a pain until they made the change giving each utility skill a toolbelt skill (ie F1-F4)
The elixir gun is going to be a LOT more powerful than people think
I hope they have sorted out the grenade, mine and bomb kits, because they were quite lackluster

[Deleted]

The elixir gun is going to be a LOT more powerful than people think

Taken from skill thread:
Elixir Dart: Shoot target foe, inflicting weakness or vulnerability. [No recharge]
Elixir F: Fire concentrated Elixir F that bounces between targets, crippling foes and applying swiftness to allies. [?s]
Elixir Spray: Spray elixir fumes in a cone pattern, poisoning enemies and removing conditions from allies. [?s]
Acid Bomb: Leap back and blast the ground with acid, damaging foes that touch it. [?s]
Super Elixir: Shoot an elixir orb that heals allies on impact and creates a healing area. [?s]

It's nice, but it does look bit generic. Nothing to complain about yet as it is not final though.

I hope they have sorted out the grenade, mine and bomb kits, because they were quite lackluster

For me bomb satchel is bit undefined. It's almost like a melee tnt weapon - no range, short fuse. For now I prefer grenades mostly because of their wider potential: range and you can throw them over obstacles. Though bombs could be good war/thief deterrent. Oh and mines NEED the proximity trigger - now they are just remotely detonated bombs .

I'm more interested in "tool kit" it may be our only melee option.

[Deleted]

I must tell you I did not count for the Tool belt.

This is great, because even though it's only 4 skills on tool belt, you are still more versatile because you can deploy them without the need to change weapons, thus retaining the original 5 skills in your primary 1-5 bar. This is great and I am thankful for reminding me

But can you use the tool belt, while having a weapon kit active? Hope yes.
Cause from what I saw, Anet likes playing with such things.
I checked out earlier the Lich Form of Necromancer, and while active they cant use utility skills, hope this isn't the case for the tool belt.

[Deleted]

I must tell you I did not count for the Toolkit.

This is great, because even though it's only 4 skills on toolkit, you are still more versatile because you can deploy them without the need to change weapons, thus retaining the original 5 skills in your primary 1-5 bar. This is great and I am thankful for reminding me

But can you use the toolkit, while having a weapon kit active? Hope yes.

I think we need to clear some misconceptions.

Tool Kit - one of many engineers Kits: Grenade Kit, Bomb Satchel, Mine Kit etc. At this point we don't know what it does ;s.

Tool Belt - engineer's core class mechanic. It adds secondary, optional skills under your Utility bar (http://www.arena.net/blog/guild-wars...-by-jon-peters ). For every utility skill or kit equipped you'll get alternative skill button just below it.

Personally I really do hope, Tool Kit will be viable melee option, would love face slam people in the face with a wrench ;p or an chainsword ;O

[Maarius]

But can you use the toolkit, while having a weapon kit active? Hope yes.
Cause from what I saw, Anet likes playing with such things.
I checked out earlier the Lich Form of Necromancer, and while active they cant use utility skills, hope this isn't the case for the toolkit.

yes, take a look at this example:

To give some examples, an engineer that equips slots 6-9 with Elixir H, Flamethrower, Slick Shoes, and Rocket Boots would now have the following skills in their tool belt:

• F1 - Throw Elixir H: A ground-targeted skill that throws Elixir H at the target area, randomly granting vigor, protection, or regeneration to allies in the area.
• F2 - Incendiary Ammo: Your next three attacks cause burning.
• F3 – Super Speed: A very short but powerful speed boost.
• F4 – Rocket Kick: A kick that causes AoE fire damage.

I personally love popping Incendiary Ammo, firing off a few rounds, swapping to my flamethrower, chasing the enemy with Super Speed, and finishing them off with a Rocket Kick.

http://www.arena.net/blog/guild-wars...-by-jon-peters

[Glytch]

the engineer is probably one of the most versatile professions, second only to the elementalist. and even then they surpass them in a few respects. where elementalists are locked into a specific range (short, medium or long) depending on their weapon choices engineers are far less troubled by that. engineer weapons all seem to be able to work at differign ranges, example being the rifle's blunderbuss move for short range but can transition to med-long range with an overcharged shot followed up by net to gain breathing room (and hip shot kite). pistol/pistol and pistol/shield are arguably much more short range oriented that the rifle counterpart but still have longer range options (glue shot for pistol OH and absorb and ballistic shield for the shield- since the last 2 deal with projectiles chances are you'll be dealing with attacking enemies at a longer range)

to top it all off with their weapon and backpack kits engineers can truly customize for specific themes or turn into jack of all trades. imagine a rifle engineer with flamethrower kit for strong melee coverage, an elixir gun to gain a force multiplier when near allies and mines for strong area control (or if attacking grenades for offensive area control) thats a LOT of areas they can cover with one build if they so choose

but because of the vast amount of possibilities the reason for a low predicted engineer population is most likely due to 1) timid players unsure how to harness all the possibilities and 2) them not meshing well with the "traditional" fantasy setting (even though guild wars is not with its early renaissance tech level)

[Deleted]

I think we need to clear some misconceptions.

Tool Kit - one of many engineers Kits: Grenade Kit, Bomb Satchel, Mine Kit etc. At this point we don't know what it does ;s.

Tool Belt - engineer's core class mechanic. It adds secondary, optional skills under your Utility bar (http://www.arena.net/blog/guild-wars...-by-jon-peters ). For every utility skill or kit equipped you'll get alternative skill button just below it.

Personally I really do hope, Tool Kit will be viable melee option, would love face slam people in the face with a wrench ;p or an chainsword ;O

Right! I meant Tool Belt then!
(Fixing that asap)

You just blew my mind with the Tool Kit.
Imagine a Charr Engineer, chasing after some Asura with a bigass chainsaw (or chainsword) :P
This would be great, I hope more info on Tool Kit comes out fast!

[Glytch]

Personally I really do hope, Tool Kit will be viable melee option, would love face slam people in the face with a wrench ;p or an chainsword ;O

you will probably enjoy the flamethrower weapon kit then

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Flamethrower

closest thing to a melee focused kit so far

[Arrowstormen]

I think I'm going to play an engineer, damn I like the concept. But we will see when the game comes, will have to try it to get a feel of the playstyle!

I could say engineer today, and when the game comes, you would see me play a warrior. Not that I think I will play a warrior, but that just proves the point.

[Vaelkyri]

Flamethrower + Battlesuit.

Nuff said.

[Ynna]

Engineers can still have a lot more skills available than other classes, even without weapon switching, so I don't think not being able to have two weapon sets is that big a deal.
On the (assumed) lack of popularity: A part of it is probably the aesthetic. It has a pretty unique and specific aesthetic. It goes against people's expectations for the genre (fantasy) and doesn't fit a clear cut fantasy archetype.
Another part is probably the daunting flexibility. With a couple of tool kits a single Engineer's toolset is extremely diverse. In order to play one, you'd probably need to master swapping toolkits and cooldowns according to the situation. More so than any other class. Just by looking at the skill list, I get overwhelmed by how much I'd be able to do.

[Deleted]

<snip>.

Not to be like that, but elementalist got just as many skills to be honest, still many chooses them so the part about it being to many skills ain't correct. But I do believe, just as you said, it's just a thing with them not "fitting" the fantasy genre in gaming. That's what probably turning people down.

[terrahero]

I was looking forward to playing Engineer, but the concepts of "being diffirent" and "needs more skill" have never worked out to well in past experiences.

[Autumn xD]

On the (assumed) lack of popularity: A part of it is probably the aesthetic. It has a pretty unique and specific aesthetic. It goes against people's expectations for the genre (fantasy) and doesn't fit a clear cut fantasy archetype.

But I do believe, just as you said, it's just a thing with them not "fitting" the fantasy genre in gaming. That's what probably turning people down.

For as much as it's worth, this is the reason why I'm not playing an Engineer. I find the versatility of the class very appealing (Except for the Turrets), but the aesthetic turns me completely away from the class.

[Ynna]

Not to be like that, but Elementalist got just as many skills to be honest, still many chooses them so the part about it being to many skills ain't correct. But I do believe, just as you said, it's just a thing with them not "fitting" the fantasy genre in gaming. That's what probably turning people down.

You're right about the Elementalist, but I still believe there's a difference. With an Elementalist, you pick one weapon, and all your skills are decided. An Engineer's skills provide a lot more choice. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it might put off some players.

But yeah, the aesthetic is probably a bigger factor. I must say I don't like the aesthetic too much, and it does put me off enough to not consider the profession. And from what I've seen in screenshots and concept art, the aesthetic overlaps somewhat with that of the Warrior, so people who like that kind of visual style will be divided amongst those professions.