Guild Wars 2

Maybe i’m missing something. I know the Engineer is decent because i’m clearing pve stuff with not to much trouble…but then comes the pvp. To counter the mostly ranged fighters I usually go with shield and pistol. But I find that the magnetic shield ability is both on to long a cooldown and doesn’t last long enough to be useful. But without my shield I lose a lot of my survivability.

I also find that one of the useful kits in pve, the bomb kit, is not as useful in pvp since I have to literally run up to my enemy and then drop bombs, which by then people naturally back off if ranged or rip me apart if melee focused. Turrets…turrets seem to be useless in both pvp and pve except the healing turret.

Maybe i’m just not getting the class, but like I said I have no trouble in the pve arena. Before the game came out I could have sworn that there was supposed to be a mine kit. If the bomb kit was a mine kit I would be fine I think.

I play a human engineer if that makes a difference. Any tips to make my play better?

I don’t think kits are as effective in PvP as they should be. The reason why engineers can’t switch weapons in combat (like eles) and have only 3 weapon sets is because of the kits, but they’re very situational, quite buggy and can be hard to use. In my opinion, they don’t compare to other classes weapon combinations and skills, but you can still utilize them.

I agree that the bomb kit and turrets aren’t good PvP abilities. Make sure you turn on smart cast. IMO, alchemy is most important for engineers.10 points in tools with VI trait gets you perma swiftness. Grenade kit and flamethrower can be VERY fun and devastating when the enemy is in a group, but that rarely happens outside WvW. If you play smart and use keybinds which frequently allow you to swap sets instantly, you can be a real menace because it lets you utilize a ton of cooldowns and have a ton of gap openers (net shot, overcharged shot, freezing grenade, air blast, elixir gun F and acid bomb, etc) which grant mad survivability.

I play an engineer in sPvP, and I do well.

One thing to remember is that only engineers can switch bars on no cooldown. Ele attunements and weapon swaps have considerable cooldowns. This means that you can do stuff like switch to toolkit for gear shield when you’re in trouble, and then switch back to your weapon after blocking. Stuff like this makes engineer unique.

Flamethrower is almost worthless for sustained damage, but the knock-back, smoke vent, and toolbelt skill make it decent.

Bomb kit works well, but it is situational. It’s not an offensive tool, but it’s very effective defensively (if a thief is sitting on you for example). It’s also good in sPvP when there’s a big build-up of players on a cap point.

Grenade kit is rarely something you want to use for steady damage. The toolbelt skill does massive damage, and frost grenade is really good. I mainly switch to the grenade kit, throw a frost grenade, and then go back to rifle. Grenade kit can work at long range against enemies who aren’t moving, but this doesn’t happen much in sPvP.

I agree that turrets are generally not very good.

Engineer is underpowered and from bug reports seems like the most bugged class.
It looks like devs didn’t want to make him too powerfull so they cut some of his numbers on range, damage and cooldowns which doesn’t look good in PvP.

The biggest problem is his range that requires him to go up close with most kits and weapons(his rifle has only 1000range w/o upgrade while warrior and ranger have 1200) while being unarmored and actually having pretty weak damage output. And his escape skills are also not the best ones often crippling you more than enemies(the ones which knock you down after use pretty much make you immobilized target for 1-2seconds)

My tips for PvP engineer would be:
don’t use gadgets, they are just bad for PvP(apart from oil shoes and their toolbelt 50% speed boost),
most elixirs are useless too(elixir R seems to be bugged or doesn’t work on killed players, but only downed; elixir B doesn’t seem to give every boon to allies when thrown),
turrets are weak and only net turret is useful(and healing),
get grenades cause they have 1200/1500 range, so you can be fairly safe using them(still hard to hit anyone who isn’t in crowd),
mortar has range issues(bugged range boost) but is overall decent choice, supplies are good to stun and snare someone,
play as a support, using elixir gun to cripple enemies and heal teammates while removing conditions, boost them with elixir B, throw some bandages and cures around with healing kit,
don’t try to go solo against anyone(maybe against other engineer), unless they are less than 25% hp or you will die

If you find decent players to go with, especially playing tanks and warriors try going flamethrower plus reaper(human only skill) plus elixir U(the one with quickness) and watch enemies burn while being unable to run away from you. Otherwise it is not recommended due to short range. And don’t use juggernaut trait with flamer, it gives you permanent cripple which is completely not worth it even with plus 200toughness.

fazimodo.5324:

Engineer is underpowered

Engineers aren’t underpowered imo.

fazimodo.5324:

don’t use gadgets, they are just bad for PvP(apart from oil shoes and their toolbelt 50% speed boost),

Power Goggles are also good—instant cast stun break, and applying 10 stacks of vulnerability before you burst is good.

most elixirs are useless too(elixir R seems to be bugged or doesn’t work on killed players, but only downed; elixir B doesn’t seem to give every boon to allies when thrown),

I don’t think those are bugs.

Elixir S is amazing for PvP. You can stomp or heal someone while being invulnerable.

don’t try to go solo against anyone(maybe against other engineer), unless they are less than 25% hp or you will die

This is just nonsense. I win most 1v1s. I can’t beat competent mesmers, but other than that I’m not afraid of any particular class.

And don’t use juggernaut trait with flamer, it gives you permanent cripple which is completely not worth it even with plus 200toughness.

It gives you on-demand stability, which is great for stomping people.

I do a lot of damage while having decent (not great) survivability. Here’s my build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fcAQFAUl0pyX3zSiF17IyoCcGoH6lf1XfewWtFEC;TsAg0Cnoey8k4J7TunkPNo4QxMCA

I agree with above. Especially the part about Mesmers… kitten those guys. Use elixir U to finish their downed state before they can clone. However, elixir U’s toolbelt effects are severely bugged. One of the effects (black flames) I believe does absolutely nothing, and the other effect (invisible wall) has a very small chance to turn you invisible when you walk through it, only working during combat. The Elixir U tooltip is misleading, and the toolbelt Toss Elixir U tooltip is false.

Although I think the engineer is buggy with a few weak aspects, it’s still strong. If you aren’t bad and use proper skills, traits, and gear, 1v1 fights vs. other classes mostly comes down to whichever player is more skilled.

I use bomb kit for those times when melee are on top of me, or when I’m defending a point and lots of people are clumped up around me. I use rifle and grenade kit at range.

I use the med kit for healing. I like having the extra healing from bandages in addition to the main heal, as well as having antidote for curing conditions.

The hardest part about playing the engineer for me is juggling the various kits, but I like the challenge.

I think the engineer is a solid class, just harder to play effectively compared to some others. I feel that you can build engineers to have both good damage and survivability.

Still not understanding all the troubles people have with engineers, I’ve been trying it out and its amazing so far. The kiting possibilities are absolutely ridiculous, I can almost hear warriors punching their screen. Haven’t run into any class where I get worried in 1v1.

A question for the guy who said elixirs are useless, what do you use in their place? Elixir C, condition remover. Elixir S, stun breaker (alongside the countless other benefits, e.g. easy finishers). Elixir U is alright when trying to burn down that last little bit of health, but gets problematic in heavy AoE fights or when you’re fighting more than 1 person. Overall I think elixirs are amazing in PvP, its the turrets and kits that are next to worthless.

I have a flamethrower build on my Engineer. It only focuses on condition damage and that is great on thiefs in sPVP

noblue.8640:

This is just nonsense. I win most 1v1s. I can’t beat competent mesmers, but other than that I’m not afraid of any particular class.

Apparently you didn’t see any competent warriors, thieves or necros who eat half of your hp with one skill, and still have couple of other to use with similar effects.

noblue.8640:

fazimodo.5324:

And don’t use juggernaut trait with flamer, it gives you permanent cripple which is completely not worth it even with plus 200toughness.

It gives you on-demand stability, which is great for stomping people.

Great to get kited, with your maximum of 600range and self obtained perma slow.

noblue.8640:

I do a lot of damage while having decent (not great) survivability. Here’s my build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fcAQFAUl0pyX3zSiF17IyoCcGoH6lf1XfewWtFEC;TsAg0Cnoey8k4J7TunkPNo4QxMCA

Considering you have no points in vitality or toughness your only survivability is elixir S. And that is far from being decent. One warrior spin through you and you are dead.

Rifle is not easy. It is one of the most difficult weapons to use effectively in the game really, and it isn’t really viable until much later in the game when you can get the traits needed to fully support it. Even then its a glass cannon melee burst spec in a game that heavily favors ranged.

But don’t confuse 1v1 with actual game play when your fighting in groups or zergs. They are completely different.

There are some nice 1v1 specs out and engineers do fairly well. But you get absolutely destroyed in group settings with any kind of coordinated effort. All it takes is for a watch MA and your rifle engineer is useless in a real fight.

I can relate to some of the problems that come with playing an Engineer. While I am ‘okay’ at PvP, I see that a)turrets are only good with a Supply Crate (although Rocket Belt is pretty neat), b) even with Smart Cast, Grenades still have the issue of wondering how far they can be tossed. I mainly use my stun breakers and my Slick Shoes, and have now adopted the pistol/shield combo. Have the personal battering ram helps with keeping them at range.

After working on my Engineer, I made a Thief. I understand now why I see a ton in sPvP. They are easy to play, and require very little skill, considering Heartseeker and Death Blossom are the two skills I use alot(saw others use these two almost exclusively in sPvP).

Addendum: is there a Mesmer ability that lets you go from NO HEALTH to FULL HEALTH in 2 SECONDS? I fought a Mesmer in sPvP(it wasn’t one of the illusions), and this happened after dropping Bomb Kits all over the place (had the Mesmer cornered).

At any rate, see you all in game!

Fazimodo, I don’t know if you took exception to noblue’s post; however all the rebuttals he makes are valid.

noblue.8640:

fazimodo.5324:

And don’t use juggernaut trait with flamer, it gives you permanent cripple which is completely not worth it even with plus 200toughness.

It gives you on-demand stability, which is great for stomping people.

Great to get kited, with your maximum of 600range and self obtained perma slow.

Your counter argument here is moot if you re-read what he said. Noblue mentioned using the Juggernaut trait for flamer as CC invulnerability when finishing players or when you see an incoming stun or the like. It’s actually very effective as a 0s CD to protect against CC.

Pro-tip 1: Tool kit as a melee weapon is equivalent to the warrior greatsword. If you want a melee ranged weapon for raw power unlike the bomb kit’s conditions and delays, go with Tool kit.

Pro-tip 2: Grenade kit throws two grenades, three if traited, and has a range of 1200. Get to higher ground to increase that range tremendously. In the Legacy of the Foefire map, the center point has a cliff next to it from which you can grenade the entire point.

Pro-tip 3: Place your turrets well. Well placed turrets keep the battle in range and only in range. Remember they are utility skills and your main source of damage should still be from your weapon skills, but they can effectively double your damage output.

Pro-tip 4: Maintaining distance is key in this game and especially with the engineer. The Flamethrower’s #2 does tremendous amounts of damage but only if you’re at the right distance. Underwater combat relies almost entirely on positioning.

Pro-tip 5: Don’t think of your toolbelt as some extra junk, it’s a part of your skill bar. The rocket boot’s TB does a lot of damage, and Elixir R’s TB can revive players, including yourself(if timed correctly).