I’ve been in love with the Engineer since day 1. Though i admit i have found myself left with an underpowered class at times, i always prevail.
However my suggestion stems from something i’ve noticed, something that bothers me: The lack of use for weapon skins and back item skins. Think of it this way: everyone has their weapons to use, and they can apply new skins to them as they get them. Warriors have a big selection, so do Mesmers and Guardians. Engineers however have 3 weapons and one underwater weapon. Most skins we acquire end up useless to us, as we have no need of them for lack of access to that specific weapon (imagine only an engineer and no alts). this leaves us to always need to select the same thing: either a pistol or rifle or shield. Spearguns don’t always have a special skin to them as well, like the Jade Dragon skins. Essentially i’d suggest letting the engineer wield an extra weapon set, like the mace (engineers have to nail some screws in somehow, right?) or a sword (everyone likes swords, even a mesmer).
My other suggestion is more of a nuisance than anything: back items. I’ll put it simply: we work our butts off to acquire some awesome back items to show off, like fractal Capacitors or plushy charrs, yet as soon as we want to use a weapon or device kit, they are instantly replaced. While i understand that the backpack that comes with the kit is there for a reason, would it not be fair to allow us to toggle what gets displayed? like a simple option in the menu to display back items over any over-riding skill items? that alone would help so much in the aesthetics of an engineer and we would not cry every time our hard-earned stuff vanishes just because we want to use a skill. It’s a known fact that to be fully effective, Engineers should use everything at their disposal, so why is our hard work on an item being overwritten when we want to play the game the way we like it? worse still: we buy back items from the Gem store like charr and quaggan plushies, yet they disappear too. is our back to always be this forbidden zone?
but enough of my rant, i’ll resume by saying we should have an option to never show our hobosacks in favour of other back items. we shoudl also get access to a extra weapon for more versatility (not everyone likes weapon kits it seems). you could also maybe let us put weapon skins on our kits?
here’s a new weapon kit just in case that’s better. rant over
Lightning Rod Weapon Kit
An Engineer’s best friend: the Lightning Rod is a simplistic, yet efficient piece of equipment. Able to generate and manipulate electricity through its Tesla-Charge coils, this weapon fires up like a storm, yet purrs like a kitten.
Appearance
*The backpack is a banded pack of wires, coils and metallic shielding. Two large Tesla Coils protrude from it towards the sky, slowly gathering ambient static electricity. The useable part of the weapon resembles a staff in appearance and wielding, lightning bouncing up and down the shaft. The tip looks like a radio antenna, the main focus of the weapon’s electric attacks.
Skills
1 (chain ranged attack)
- Static Pulse. Swing your Rod forward, sending a quick jolt to your foe.
Low damage, 1000 range.
*Static Bolt. Swing your Rod sideways, unleashing a stronger bolt to lunge at your foe.
Medium damage, 1000 range.
*Static Strike. Plant your Rod into the ground, causing a lightning strike on your foe from above.
High damage, range 1000. Inflicts 2 stacks of Vulnerability for 3 seconds (max 4 stacks)
2
- Electrocution. Lunge forward, unleashing a wave of bolts at your foe that leave him confused.
Multiple hits: medium damage X3, range 1000. Inflicts 3 stacks of Confusion for 4 seconds. Recharge 8.
Combo finisher: projectiles
3
- Storm’s Call. Point your Rod to the sky and leap backwards, leaving a thunderstorm in your wake.
Backwards leap of 600. High damage. Recharge 25. Combo finisher: Leap
4
*Gathering Tempest. Ground yourself and immerse yourself in a wreath of lightning.
Combo field: Lightning. Grants 5 stacks of Might and Protection for 10 seconds. Recharge 30.
5
- Full Coil Discharge. Unleash all the power at your disposal, lashing out around you and around your foe
Multiple hits: medium damage X10. Combo finisher: Whirl. Effect on player and on target. Recharge 60
Tool Belt Skill
*Powered Stride. Embed your steps with a little extra jolt.
Grants Swiftness for 15 seconds. Recharge 25.
