[GW2] Engineer discussion

[Herecius]

Figured I'd give it a go - I really enjoyed playing with the rifle and being very gung ho, so I built a rifle-based build that drops turrets in the back for support. It's very defensive, because I tend to get right up in the enemy's face a lot with the double jump shot doing damage on liftoff and landing.

http://www.gw2tools.com/skills#e;SpX...aaa;Zaaa;ZWVZb

[DrakeWurrum]

I followed this build after testing in the eternal battlegrounds.

http://www.gw2tools.com/skills#e;paf...aaa;bYaa;ZXeZZ

Hrm.. well I'm mostly avoiding elixirs with this build. After all, I'm going with a "Heimerdinger" theme. :P

[Mif]

Depends on the turret. Some can take a longer beating than others.

I really regret not remembering about thumper turrets high HP until after the beta.
Having mobs attack it while hitting thump on cooldown should give it quite a long life.

[DrakeWurrum]

Tweaked the Heimerdinger build... looking at your build Fencers made me think about it a bit. Felt like it did have a bit of fluff. The Pistol-piercing is nice, but if I'm going to rely on wrench and turrets more, no need for it. Getting a Toughness boost from having the wrench equipped sounded nice, but maybe it's uneeded... since the alternative was to go an extra 10 points into Inventions for +100 Toughness at all times, and +100 healing, as well as a trait converting Healing into Power.

http://www.gw2builds.org/view/310013/heimerdinger

Notes: that's what I love about that tool. Unless you change the build name, the link does not.

[Fencers]

Hrm.. well I'm mostly avoiding elixirs with this build. After all, I'm going with a "Heimerdinger" theme. :P

The only elixir I use is the 6. Because it's actually a spectacular heal/boon buff. The ability to drop conditions is a freaking lifesaver as well.

Power and Vitality seemed to be the best two stats to focus on. Crit was rather lackluster even with the best damage siglis on weapons I could find. Raw throughput and the capacity to survive were just supreme by comparison.

Take it with a grain of salt if you'd like though. I tend to build defensive in most MMOs and solo'd almost everything as an Engineer. There wasn't anyone high enough level to play with at the time. So I sort of came up with a way of doing things alone here. I am far from an expert on the class.

I really regret not remembering about thumper turrets high HP until after the beta.
Having mobs attack it while hitting thump on cooldown should give it quite a long life.

I didn't really know Thumper had the most HP. When I chose the turret it was mainly because it offered better control. Similar to my reasons for flame turret's smoke screen.

There were times when I found the rocket/machine gun turrets far more useful. Esp. in PS when I needed to drop mobs FAST or Garm was tanking like a goddamn boss. ;d

[Mif]

Power ..... seemed to be the best two stats to focus on.

Which is why the explosives trait line is such a pain in the ass

[Chronius]

I really regret not remembering about thumper turrets high HP until after the beta.
Having mobs attack it while hitting thump on cooldown should give it quite a long life.

I prefer the rocket turret, overcharged it knocks even champions on their asses. Far more control than the thumper.

[terrahero]

Should probably revise your builds next BWE. ANet said they didnt do a numbers pass yet for Engineer, so things can really change a lot. I sure hope so.

[Herecius]

Should probably revise your builds next BWE. ANet said they didnt do a numbers pass yet for Engineer, so things can really change a lot. I sure hope so.

That can only be a good thing, I think; I can't see any way that ANet could come to the conclusion that the engineer is overpowered in any way, so with any luck, that'll just mean that some skills that are a bit substandard (flamethrower kit, Rifle '1' skill) will get some beefing up!

[Fencers]

Should probably revise your builds next BWE. ANet said they didnt do a numbers pass yet for Engineer, so things can really change a lot. I sure hope so.

Yea, I hope they do tweak the damage output and hopefully some of the skill design around a bit. Actual output and effective use for the Engineer was poorest of all classes I tested. Not that it wasn't great fun all the same.

[terrahero]

Yea, I hope they do tweak the damage output and hopefully some of the skill design around a bit. Actual output and effective use for the Engineer was poorest of all classes I tested. Not that it wasn't great fun all the same.

Oh yah Engineer was fun to play, atleast imo. But the performance of the profession was... lacking, to say the least. Some kits were almost redundant, and the Toolbelt abilities were lackluster.

Luckily it is mostly a matter of tweaking numbers. Altough some issues are mechanical aswell.

edit:

That can only be a good thing, I think; I can't see any way that ANet could come to the conclusion that the engineer is overpowered in any way, so with any luck, that'll just mean that some skills that are a bit substandard (flamethrower kit, Rifle '1' skill) will get some beefing up!

Well to be blunt, PvP is just overtuned. Every class has atleast a build or two where they just blow someone away in seconds. Ive seen Rangers smack people flat on their ass in just a few hits by just spamming their 1 ability on the Greatsword. And its not an isolated incident.
Even the Engineer with his lowest damage throughput can, with Elixir abuse, smack people down suprisingly fast.

The only thing i can really say definatly needs a balance tweak are the Downed-abilities.

[Chronius]

God I hope the flamethrower gets an overhaul, there's something so sexy/primal about a flamethrower and in game it was just so weak.

[Fencers]

I felt dual pistols as the main offensive weapon set didn't do you any good over Rifle or Shield. That was my biggest gripe, if you ask me to forgo the luxuries of mobility and safety then you have to give me something awesome on par as trade off.

Off hand pistol 4 & 5 were just kinda are lackluster, IMO. CD on glue shot was far too long & inappropriate for most solo PVE situations. Blowtorch was nearly impossible to achieve maximum damage potential. Yar, just not really worth the loss of Rifle or Shield abilities.

I'd like to see a shorter CD on Personal Battering Ram, slightly longer range on Rifle Turret and damage on Flamethrower upped quite a bit. Flamethrower bottomed out so fast by max level. Even with Flamethrower traits. It seemed impossible to crit w/ Flamethrower as well. Despite a 47% crit chance and heavy Precision investment- wasn't an ideal stat for Engineer anyway.

Would love for Anet to make Grenade Kit a bit less of a pain in the arse to use. Ground targeting and fast casting was rather unwieldy w/ Grenades. Grenades should just be tossed at your target, dealing DD splash/condition damage as normal. Bomb Kit on the other hand should be ground targeted by default [Gragas] w/ Mine Kit being the "Singed" mechanic.

[terrahero]

God I hope the flamethrower gets an overhaul, there's something so sexy/primal about a flamethrower and in game it was just so weak.

I hope Engineer gets a decent longrange weapon. Rifle is just 1000range, 1200 seems to be the standerd for most ranged i believe. And only 2 moves actually work at 1000range, and only 1 deals damage. The other 3 are all (much) shorter range. Pistol is more of a long range weapon then that, altough capped at 900. :P

Then you got the Grenade kit, also limited range. Bomb kit, which is essentially melee range. Toolkit, also melee range. Flamethrower, also fairly limited range. Elixir gun, also limited range. Mine kit, well this one is obvious. So many kits + 2 weapons... and nothing for 1000range or more. Nothing on our Toolbelt either.

Nothing really seems designed for dealing actual long range damage. And Rifle is lacking in more areas then just range.

[PonyCannon]

If the Engineer hasn't been number tuned that seems like great news too me. I like the general mechanics of the class but some things just didn't seem worth using.

As for range, I honestly think the Engineer is more of a mid range profession. I got the feeling they wanted engineers to be naturally durable rather than squishy like a traditional range class. Seems like the rifle of a shotgun then some other long range weapon (yea I'm not a gun person I don't know a name)

[Herecius]

As for range, I honestly think the Engineer is more of a mid range profession. I got the feeling they wanted engineers to be naturally durable rather than squishy like a traditional range class. Seems like the rifle of a shotgun then some other long range weapon (yea I'm not a gun person I don't know a name)

I agree. While I can't speak too much for their handling in PvP, in PvE, I spent a great deal of time right up in the mobs' faces, despite using a rifle.

[terrahero]

I agree. While I can't speak too much for their handling in PvP, in PvE, I spent a great deal of time right up in the mobs' faces, despite using a rifle.

Well it is part of the versatility that all professions have. And lacking a descisive and proper ranged "answer" to "problems" can be a bit of a pain. Out of all the possible weapons we can pull out (altough kits are currently not classed as actual weapons) one of them simply has to be a proper Ranged weapon. Designed for ranged combat.

And thats not the only problem i have with the Rifle. Its to light on conditions, on account that it has only 1... that lasts 2 seconds. It is litterally the ranged weapon with the LEAST condition effects.
And ofcourse, despite being relative close range weapon (epsecially for the "heavy" hitters) and being so light on debuffs and buffs, it deals piss damage.

[Chronius]

Well we already touched the subject earlier, sniper kit =) Could just be one of those stationary ones already in the game with a few skills added on them and their damage turned down(They 1shot mobs)

[DrakeWurrum]

Would love for Anet to make Grenade Kit a bit less of a pain in the arse to use. Ground targeting and fast casting was rather unwieldy w/ Grenades. Grenades should just be tossed at your target, dealing DD splash/condition damage as normal. Bomb Kit on the other hand should be ground targeted by default [Gragas] w/ Mine Kit being the "Singed" mechanic.

Aren't you able to toggle something in options to make abilities smart-cast onto your target?


I saw an interesting suggestion on the official forums before they closed: Somebody suggested to make one tweak to the Engineer's special kit situation. Rather than having NO weapon swap, and rather than having two weapon sets, make it so that at level 7, the Engineer unlocks his weapon kits. The weapon kits take the place of what would otherwise be a second weapon set, and you obviously choose between flamethrower, elixir gun, or tool kit. The other kits remain where they are.

They'd obviously need to do some major tweaking to the traits and the trait synergies they're trying to set-up, but it could prove useful.
(IMO, if they did this, they'd need to give the Engi some Signets. Poor guy.)


My own concern: Mine Kit needs to be dramatically altered. Since it seems mines are proximity-detection to begin with, all those detonate skills are pointless.

[Fencers]

Aren't you able to toggle something in options to make abilities smart-cast onto your target?

Yea, I mentioned it up above. The problem is smartcast @ cursor. Quite a problem when the game involves almost constant movement & the grenades have long CDs.

At the very best, and I mean, the very best, you just spam 1 with the grenade kit. Because trying to set up it's suggested rotation or get the most out of the conditions is just too unwieldy. To add insult to injury, smartcast doesn't show the ground target aiming reticule. Not too big a deal, right? We can handle this from other games w/ smart/fast cast options... except Anet gave each grenade a slightly different target area. Making consistent Area of Effect judgement and condition application while moving pretty much garbage.

Mines; location drop, drop & run
Bombs; ground targeted, toss & run
Grenades; targeted toss, splash AE & run

I feel the explosive kits as above. Great concepts as they are now in game. Horrible function.