Guild Wars 2

So far anet your attempt to make gadgets somewhat better have been just kinda sad, instead of calling you out for not being very good at balance im just going to assume that you like alot of us atm just dont kittening know what to do with them without making them either useless or the new meta so im here to help.

there are quite a few things that gadgets dont bring to the table that another skill does for example comparing PBR to FT or Elixir B to utility goggles, incase you haven’t figured it out its the case of Gadgets are a hit or miss and bring nothing else to the table unlike the vast majority of commonly used engineer skills if something goes wrong.

another problem is the possibility for damage when using gadgets, now i think weve all seen what mines can possibly do but we are talking about balance here and not yolo mode, this isnt so much a hit and miss problem as it is a reapplication of use problem, if we were to slot more gadgets then other skills it simply diminishes our ability to survive to use that gadget again and again where as a kit or elixir will help with that cause allowing more sustained use of the skill.

The next problem we face is balancing gadgets without making them superior while still giving them there own identity as a skill, essentially think about what gadgets would be if we just had a gadget kit instead of five different skills, it would be rad but it would still just be another kit and thats not what we want we also dont want them to be shoe horned forcing a gadget only build or nothing allowing for extra variation in other builds, the gadgeteer trait and some of the skills them selfs actually do a good job of giving a feel of individuality to the skill and thats something they really need.

with all that outta the way lets look at what we can do to gadgets.

Firstly the only gadget traits and other certian traits that apply to particular gadgets, befor i get to indepth what we can do to give our selfs a better idea of what we can do to improve individuality of a skill while also buffing it is looking at Throw mine and how it functions with other traits aside from the gadgeteer trait, since its an explosive it does get a bonus from the explosive traits which dosent really help the skill out very much but does allow us to use this idea to help improve the gadgets overall.

Trait: Gadgeteer. Heal for 100hp (0.1 from healing power) for every stack of static charge consumed.
I know what your thinking kitten Ukune we dont need anymore kitten like this but you all need to remember what it actually means to take the tools trait line and gadgets in a build, now that that is over lets look at how it affects gameplay, using aed will become more viable with this trait with no healing power your looking at best a 4844 heal with a 22 second cd which makes it alot better for use in a sustained situation instead of popping it at low hp and hoping the enemy dosent notice, with multiple gadgets this also helps us overcome the short lived nature of builds that use gadgets, i would like to go more in depth about how this effects the current meta and other related stuff but thatll be to much writing.

Before we go on id like to remind people to remember that when you take a gadget slot it takes 1 of 3 skill slots meaning you cant take some other skill in that slot.

Skill: Throw Mine. will now only detonate on command, gadgeteer now removes 3 boons.
In its current state its either a trap or a knockback grenade, allowing the engineer to put it down and detonate on command gives a player alot more control over a situation you can arguably say that in its current state it already does have alot of control but allowing you to take advantage of a on demand knock back/boon removal gives the engineer a huge advantage.
ToolBelt Skill: Mine field. Mines are now thrown in a straight line with the first mine starting at 100range with the last reaching to 450 range away from the engineer.
this gives it way way more use then its current way its used which is in pure glass cannon builds EG, enemy is running at you throw down a mine field and strip 5 boons and watch him run over the mines, using rifle then net shot->throw mines->over charge over said mines.
Toolbelt Skill: Analyze. no longer makes target revealed, attacks are now unblockable for 3 seconds cd increased to 50 seconds.
Thematically this makes more sense to me, you analyze a target which gives you information on there defenses and thiefs will think they got an indirect buff, in the current meta we are seeing alot of blocks and range denial with unblockable attacks this will really reduce the whole hit and miss application of gadgets, used properly this indirectly buffs gadgets sustainability in combat EG, how much damage do you take when someones trying to heal back up.
Skill: Personal Battering Ram. Gadgeteer now applys 200% more critical damage.
Gadgets are notoriously bad for actual damage application from the skill itself PBR is also bad for not even being very good for actually landing a hit let alone doing any damage, now the idea for this change comes with the idea that it works well with other trait lines aswell as its own trait, now if you look at firearms trait line we have 3 traits high caliber and no scope and to a smaller extent hematic focus that really increase the chances of getting that crit damage bonus.
Skill: Rocket Boots: Gadgeteer now gives a 50% condition duration reduction of movement impairing effects and super speed for 5 seconds.
Arguably this skill is already pretty good but lets look at this in a PvP sense, it really makes it alot better for getting out of combat and away from an enemy but more importantly with the super speed it allows the engineer to potentially rotate from fights to other points/fights much more rapidly with the addition of super speed, it also functions with a particular trait from the inventions line.
Skill: Slickshoes. Gadeteer now applys 2 knockdowns per target.
That change to slick shoes is arguably what stopped people from using it, with some of that good ole knockdown back but controlled by gadgeteer it makes it a far more build defining skill since its forcing a trait line in order to maximize its potential.
Toolbelt Skill: Static Shock. now deals area damage around stunned target, casttime reduced to 1/2, range increased to 300
I think ive only managed to actually land this skill like 2 times since it was released so a bit more range/cast speed makes it alot easier to land and since it does have decent utility with other trait/skills itll make the heal seem more worthwhile.
Toolbelt skill: launch personal battering ram. Will now evade player backwards on top of current effects.
this is some massively needed utility for a skill that lacks in alot of areas compared to other skills available as well as that whole idea of more sustainable benefits to gadget focused builds.

Well if yove gotten this far i have one last idea and that is a new trait that could replace gadgeteer itself or another trait

New Trait: Gadget Scrap. Gadgets leave various scrap behind.
AED: drops a antidote
Throw mine: leaves a box of shrapnel(nails)
Utility Goggles: drops a stimulant
Rocket Boots: does an aoe Blind (Smoke vent)
Slick Shoes: drops a accelerant
Personal battering ram: not quite sure about this one but im thinking something that gives quickness.

Next i do Gyros.

200% critical damage is crazy, don’t you meant critical chance? Or do you mean that the critical hit of the ram itself would do much more damage (which would be interesting, like our own little headbutt)?

And i think it would be a shame to make mine into a grenade only, rather i would like to see it more effective at its “purpose” which is tactical area denial. To be fair making the toolbelt strip 1 boon from everyone walking over it instead of only one and have those detonations (not manual!) be unblockable might actually make it a serious tool for wvw. The problem is that right now its more of a sneak up, place and detonate in the same move kind of tool which is as far from how you would expect a mine to work as healing turret is from a turret. Making the explosions when the enemies walk or are pulled into the mines stronger somehow would allow more counterplay and make a mined area dangerous. But i absolutely agree on a fixed formation instead of a random pattern (which pattern is debatable, sometimes a “circle” would be preferable i suppose)!

I had sort of forgot AED had a toolbelt. The cast reduction would help, as well as cleave. But also it would be nice to not have it require a target, so you could get clutch interrupts against stealthed targets and such easier.

miriforst.1290:

[…]
And i think it would be a shame to make mine into a grenade only, rather i would like to see it more effective at its “purpose” which is tactical area denial. To be fair making the toolbelt strip 1 boon from everyone walking over it instead of only one and have those detonations (not manual!) be unblockable might actually make it a serious tool for wvw. The problem is that right now its more of a sneak up, place and detonate in the same move kind of tool which is as far from how you would expect a mine to work as healing turret is from a turret. Making the explosions when the enemies walk or are pulled into the mines stronger somehow would allow more counterplay and make a mined area dangerous. But i absolutely agree on a fixed formation instead of a random pattern (which pattern is debatable, sometimes a “circle” would be preferable i suppose)! […]

I don’t think he wanted to make the mine a grenade. I think he meant that you can place it on the ground and it won’t trigger if someone is walking over it. So you can prepare the battlefield with it by placing it unseen like a trap. And in the perfect moment, you trigger it to cc as many enemies as possible.

About the toolbelt: I think the mines should be invisible. How they are right now they don’t function like mines at all. You are running to an enemy, get out your mine field and detonate it immediately, hoping to hit with every of them.
I think mines should be the engineer version of traps. You can’t see traps of enemies, so why can they see the mine field? Would be better to be able to prepare a field of mines unseen from the enemy to be able to surprise him with a great explosion. And it isn’t that easy to dodge them either because of the random spawn pattern.

For those that have not noticed the Throw mine skill is already invisible (no idea if it is intended) but that fact has made it a very usefull tool and i would love to see this extended to the other mines engineers can deploy.

miriforst.1290:

200% critical damage is crazy, don’t you meant critical chance? Or do you mean that the critical hit of the ram itself would do much more damage (which would be interesting, like our own little headbutt)?

Yea i mean just extra crit damage on the ram only.

Kodama.6453:

miriforst.1290:

[…]
And i think it would be a shame to make mine into a grenade only, rather i would like to see it more effective at its “purpose” which is tactical area denial. To be fair making the toolbelt strip 1 boon from everyone walking over it instead of only one and have those detonations (not manual!) be unblockable might actually make it a serious tool for wvw. The problem is that right now its more of a sneak up, place and detonate in the same move kind of tool which is as far from how you would expect a mine to work as healing turret is from a turret. Making the explosions when the enemies walk or are pulled into the mines stronger somehow would allow more counterplay and make a mined area dangerous. But i absolutely agree on a fixed formation instead of a random pattern (which pattern is debatable, sometimes a “circle” would be preferable i suppose)! […]

I don’t think he wanted to make the mine a grenade. I think he meant that you can place it on the ground and it won’t trigger if someone is walking over it. So you can prepare the battlefield with it by placing it unseen like a trap. And in the perfect moment, you trigger it to cc as many enemies as possible.

About the toolbelt: I think the mines should be invisible. How they are right now they don’t function like mines at all. You are running to an enemy, get out your mine field and detonate it immediately, hoping to hit with every of them.
I think mines should be the engineer version of traps. You can’t see traps of enemies, so why can they see the mine field? Would be better to be able to prepare a field of mines unseen from the enemy to be able to surprise him with a great explosion. And it isn’t that easy to dodge them either because of the random spawn pattern.

for the throw mine skill the idea is that it wont detonate unless you activate it instead of it being walked over and detonated allowing an engineer to set it up and utilize it at the right time instead of hoping an enemy runs over it at the right time.

as for the mine field i agree with yas both and with anet throwing around words like purity of purpose the idea of making mine field more appropriate of design is even more important now then ever, im not totally sure what we could do to them to fit the concept but something that promotes a more sustained playstyle and less yolo would be a good start.

edgewalker.2903:

For those that have not noticed the Throw mine skill is already invisible (no idea if it is intended) but that fact has made it a very usefull tool and i would love to see this extended to the other mines engineers can deploy.

i think we all know this already i think we are actually referring to the throw mine tool belt skill which is visible