Guild Wars 2

cast your vote ppl. i love p/s, but i see most engies running with rifle. is pistol subpar?

below is roughly my pistol build. and i usually get burst down before my condis work.
they sit out my tool #3 confusion. flamethrower #1 burning is hard to land. and my power damage is half of theirs, often less then that. in the end, i’m down and they walk.

i try to let conditions work, while magnetic shield inverts their ranged auto attaches.
i try fire combo with pistol #1 for burning.
but then rifle comes at me with jump shot and blunderbuss, 2k here, 3k there, 1k autoattack and i’m gone.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqOlspyaH5SfNkAkCAoXA-TcAg1Eap0yplRLpWWtA

Pistol is absolutely subpar if you have to use its autoattack much. The standard answer is to use bombs and/or grenades so you don’t have to fall back on pistol 1 very often. EG is also a great option. Incendiary powder takes engineer auto attacks from zero to hero, which is why it’s getting moved to master tier next month.

The link doesn’t show many trait choices—I could make some suggestions but I don’t know what you’re currently using.

They have become op with running in circles and bomb kit with rifle. No one has noticed due to them complaining over and over again about hammer warrior. Now that they’re getting over nerfed people are actually going to see they were far from the most OP and that the true problem profession is engineer. Way too much pull, knockback, AoE and an elite that that can be used altogether too easily without much thought or concern.

CntrlAltDefeat.1465:

They have become op with running in circles and bomb kit with rifle. No one has noticed due to them complaining over and over again about hammer warrior. Now that they’re getting over nerfed people are actually going to see they were far from the most OP and that the true problem profession is engineer. Way too much pull, knockback, AoE and an elite that that can be used altogether too easily without much thought or concern.

Rifle engi gets a lot of CC, that is true. They can be annoying at lol-Skyhammer. But the difference between that and hammer warriors is that warrior CCs you while also demolishing you with damage at the same time (I think Dec 10 patch is trying to address this). Well I guess engi can do the same but only when specced as zerker and zerker engies are fragile as kitten, not even close to how sturdy hammer warriors are. The problem with warriors is not CC. Is the combination of CC, damage and tankiness (where is the trade-off?)

You can’t just directly compare Rifle and Pistol like that. One gets used as a primary damage source dealing direct damage (rifle), while the other is used in combination with kits (pistol + grenades/bombs) for dealing condition damage.

Pistol is great for stacking bleed and poison, but it’s best used along with either grenades, bombs and/or elixir gun. In PvP you should be using Rabid amulet which gives you condi damage, toughness and crit and use Nightmare runes.
Condi engineers are already very powerful, coming only second to Necros when it comes to unloading a barrage of conditions on people very quickly (AoE too).

Rifle engineers tend to use Berzerker amulet and dip heavily into Tools + Firearms (the infamous static discharge build) so they are very squishy with almost zero condition removal. If you’re using pistol + shield + grenades smartly, you should have no issues beating a rifle engi. Unload conditions, use shield reflect/block against toolbelt burst (very predictable), dodge/block rifle CC’s and watch them melt.

I know because I play mostly as berserker+rifle and a pistol+grenade condition engi is almost impossible to beat unless they are terrible. Here’s a good condi build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelIqqbH5SiF1LJyoCdGIF1leJqQ+95BblWQIA-ToAAzCpI+S9l7LzXyvsfN6Y+B

The Firearms traits are mainly up to you, but overall it’s a pretty deadly condi build with tons of survivability (dodge, healing and block).

elixir gun – maybe, haven ttried it much. but how one makes grenades to work in spvp is beyond me. i only use them in hughe pile-ups, when i can shower them somewhere from top. but who would stand in small or 1v1 fights in those circles?

here is my question: is flamethrower viable in condi build? in engi formu they say its a power weapon, but when i look at tooltips, it has a lot of burns (main, #1 hard to land through)

As far as I know Flamethrower simply isn’t an optimal weapon for neither power nor condition damage. Power is far better suited for rifle + toolbelt builds, and condition is far better suited for pistol + grenade builds.

Elixir gun is mostly used as a defensive/healing tool especially for group support, everything it does is great.

With Grenadier trait the total area of impact is quite large, your enemy doesn’t need to stand still in those circles. Even a single touch from any of the grenades will apply the full condition.
Just as an example, doing a quick swap between pistol / grenade and then throwing a single Shrapnel Grenade that crits will cause all this to happen: Bleeding (Shrapnel), Burning (Incendiary Powder), Poison (Sigil Of Doom) and Vulnerability (Steel-Packed Powder). Neat huh?
What’s even more awesome is once you master grenade-kiting, i.e. 180-running forwards and throwing grenades behind.

Beware that build has quite a long learning curve, since there are SO MANY abilities at your disposal. For new players jumping straight into that build, they may be confused and not sure what to do.

ok, i’ve been talking to folks in engi forum too, how does this look for condi engi?

p/s + elixir + tool kit
~1.5k condi dmg

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelspqbH5SfF1LJSoCFGoH1HfNiiUgZW2nCsFA-ToAAzCpI+SplTLjWStsaNCYWC

I wouldn’t rely on elixirs unless you have other traits for them in your build. Try healing turret.

Bonus damage traits don’t affect condition damage (i.e. the grandmaster firearms trait). You may want to adjust those.

You might want to try pistol/pistol with this setup. You don’t lose much survivability, you don’t need the blast finisher, and blowtorch will add a lot of damage to your two low-dps, high-utility kits. You’re also perfectly set up to take reduced pistol cooldowns.

Keep tweaking it—the beauty of engineer builds is that there’s always something you can change. I can see this build being a pretty solid duelist or even teamfight dps with the right tweaks.

It’s not one I’ve tried but see how it works out for you. Just keep in mind you’re missing 20% condition duration that is gained from Explosives trait line, you have no way to get swiftness outside combat, you have no guaranteed Vigor (this can get very bad if you’re attacked), and overall this build really won’t be able to put out any pressure in an AoE situation. My recommended build has all those things :P

See how it goes :P

gesho.9468:

ok, i’ve been talking to folks in engi forum too, how does this look for condi engi?

p/s + elixir + tool kit
~1.5k condi dmg

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelspqbH5SfF1LJSoCFGoH1HfNiiUgZW2nCsFA-ToAAzCpI+SplTLjWStsaNCYWC

Despite the highish condi damage (1490), your build lacks condi variety and application. Elixir gun is a pretty defensive kit, and Tool kit offers more utility and defense than damage. So in practice, most opponents will clear your condis faster than you can apply meaningful pressure, since you are mostly relying on pistol for the incendiary powder procs.

Another weakness is that you lack condi clear. I wouldn’t grab Elixir H heal outside of HGH builds, healing turret is just so much better, especially when you learn not to blow it up all the time.

If you like condi and you feel like experimenting with different builds, give Ostrich Eggs’ build a go. It’s a very solid combo of survivability and damage.

Build here: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelIq6ZHxSfF17IyoCdmoH5nlpffewWyFEC-ToAAzCpI0SplTLjWStsaNWYKC

Unfortunately grenades are just too good to pass up currently, so if you want to kill people in sPvP with engi and not just play CC/bunker, you kind of have to use them.

Aereniel.7356:

Despite the highish condi damage (1490), your build lacks condi variety and application. Elixir gun is a pretty defensive kit, and Tool kit offers more utility and defense than damage. So in practice, most opponents will clear your condis faster than you can apply meaningful pressure, since you are mostly relying on pistol for the incendiary powder procs.

Another weakness is that you lack condi clear. I wouldn’t grab Elixir H heal outside of HGH builds, healing turret is just so much better, especially when you learn not to blow it up all the time.

If you like condi and you feel like experimenting with different builds, give Ostrich Eggs’ build a go. It’s a very solid combo of survivability and damage.

Build here: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelIq6ZHxSfF17IyoCdmoH5nlpffewWyFEC-ToAAzCpI0SplTLjWStsaNWYKC

Unfortunately grenades are just too good to pass up currently, so if you want to kill people in sPvP with engi and not just play CC/bunker, you kind of have to use them.

well, played tonight we elixir gun and tool kit. we won some and lost some. overall, i dont think ill stick to this build. it was no powerhouse and frankly bit boring. even rifle would be more fun. essentially elixir gun #1 auto.

with grenades, enemy does not see circles, do they? i guess one would start with #4 (larger radius) and once chilled, go for #5, #2. and then swap to different weapon before cooldowns come back?

with ostrich build, bombs are for bunker build, right? also, how come condi build has all traits in power? i see that traits are fit, but stats? and also, with grenades in range and bombs in melee, i dont quite sure i see how id carry combat, kiting or catching up. prob should search some youtubes.

I like the rifle. I agree you’d have to be squishy cause that’s just how the game works. You need power, crit and precision(if you still want to do damage and not only use it for CC) which does not leave much room for any defensive stats. Still I like it. I like the CC and it is fun to play with rifle. Also gadgets are fun. Lol…

But if the full CC warrior is attacking with perma stun(and his high health) it will be a problem. Lol.

gesho.9468:

well, played tonight we elixir gun and tool kit. we won some and lost some. overall, i dont think ill stick to this build. it was no powerhouse and frankly bit boring. even rifle would be more fun. essentially elixir gun #1 auto.

with grenades, enemy does not see circles, do they? i guess one would start with #4 (larger radius) and once chilled, go for #5, #2. and then swap to different weapon before cooldowns come back?

with ostrich build, bombs are for bunker build, right? also, how come condi build has all traits in power? i see that traits are fit, but stats? and also, with grenades in range and bombs in melee, i dont quite sure i see how id carry combat, kiting or catching up. prob should search some youtubes.

You’re right, bomb kit provides the most benefit when fighting on points. It’s not so great when roaming / fighting off-point, when you mostly stick to nades and pistol. Also, there’s great synergy between bomb kit and shield offhand thanks to the fields and blast finishers. Overall, nades plus bombs gives the engi a great team fight presence.

Grenadier and forceful explosives (bomb radius) are in the power tree, and they’re pretty much mandatory in making bomb/nade work. In practice, you’ll still be sitting at about 1,200 condi damage with minimal might stacks, which is more than enough to dish the hurt.

For gameplay vids, search for Ostrich Eggs on Twitch, or watch GW2 PvP TV. Good plays, great music and liberal amounts of herbal supplements. What’s not to like?