Guild Wars 2

Not that there is anything wrong with thieves, I love my thief and play it as much as my engi. But why do so many people prefer thieves over engineers in Fractals? Yes, thieves do a lot more damage, but I personally feel that engineers are more useful in fractals, especially for fractals like the Grawl one. AOE cleanse anyone?

Because no one wants a FT camping engineer in their party. Much like no one wants a bearbow or staff guardian in their party.

Also known as ignorance.

Who said anything about a FT camping engi? Im talking about a good engineer, who understands how to play their class as well as a good thief does.

yeah but they arent talking about a good engi and until you prove otherwise youre bad to them and being bad is bad lol

dont tell them they have a choice and they wont make your decision for you

Thief has better blind. Thief has better Stealth capabilities. Thief has better single target damage. And, thief has a few tricks they can do which is a nice bonus (like arm seals in Cliffside for example).

So basically Thief is just more specialized, and fills that role better. Engi can contribute some might, but why when you already cap out with a PS war and/or Ele’s. Engi has great vuln, but on any burst fight between the war/ele(s) you’re more than covered. Basically Engi is just too diverse, not specialized enough, though the one real niche they have is Immob which is very nice in fractals.

That said my Fractal last night was 3 Engi’s, a War, and an Ele

Thieves have easier access to stealth and blinds which is why you want a thief in the first place. I’m not saying engi can’t do all those things but it takes a bit more effort than 2 clicks like thief.

And FT engis.

Better stealth, better blinds, better dmg.

It is easier to find good thief than a good engi in a LFG. Plus thieves got more precise and faster defiance control.

Engie damage rotations are also more complicated to pull off than pretty much any other profession, something people don’t trust a stranger to do.

Yup id rather not risk taking an engie pug even tho i <3 engies.
Although i do get more annoyed with kittenty thieves than kittenty engies :/

Thief has very good damage with icebow 4, high burst and consistent damage, good blinds and the best stealth potential. In all honesty thief is better for speed running fractals because it is better for fractals such as dredge, harpy and cliff side for example. However that being said I think that engineer is a great class too, and for daily runs you will barely notice the difference of taking an engineer over a thief.

I think in reality it’s the simple fact that more people play thieves. It’s a toss up for me which is actually better, I think it comes down to the shard. I agree with painbow that in a 5 man speed run the ease of steath skips and the greater burst damage of the thief gives it a slight advantage. In trios I’m starting to prefer the engi because you can take on both the buffing and the utility roll, and the awkwardness of a few stealth skips is made up for in kill times.

Thieves has vertical Blink and affordable defiant management. There are quite a few trap/transport/etc that vertical blink becomes extremely handy and it makes the whole process effortlessly smooth. I also believe that a good group benefits more from a thief than an engi. If I notice that my group has a good supply of ice bows, I would bring my thief, not my engi. On the other hand, if it’s a kite-and-survive game, I would bring my engi, not my thief.