Guild Wars 2

Hello Engi’s! This was my first class in GW2, my first level 80. I love the aesthetic, I love the wacky skills, love my little Asura engineer, Warpgate. Having said that, I’m in a place of total frustration. I cannot for the life of me come up with a viable build for WvW. Any suggestions?

Full disclosure, Mesmer is now my main and I may have been spoiled by all the stealth and clones and the ease at which Mesmers can shift between roaming / zerging. I REALLY want to make my Engi work, but nothing seems to fly.

First off, I’m SUPER squishy. Even when I spec fully into inventions/alchemy and go for full defensive traits. Pretty much everyone catches me and kills me in nothing flat unless I run away constantly. I also can’t do the damage I really want to unless I go full into Tools and Firearms, but then I’m even more squishy. I tried to spec turrets and it was a disaster. I like roaming, and I like doing damage to groups and getting the heck out of there. I want to do well out there. Obviously I need to learn to play better but tactics and hints would be much appreciated. I see great Engi’s out there, but can’t figure out how they do it. Any good builds for WvW?

Here’s a little story that may illustrate what you need to work on. Nothing amazing, just a little view into the right mindset.

Running P/P I’ll attack a sentry by first shooting “Static Shot” (pistol 3). That’s because I know the first thing the sentry does is throw a projectile at me that immobilizes me. Since I blinded him his immobilize will miss, and that allows me to get into “Blowtorch” (pistol 4) range to put on the burns. The next thing he’s going to do is charge me and knock me down. Sometimes I’ll dodge knowing that’s coming, sometimes I’ll use my “Gear Shield” (TK #4). Next I’ll hit him with “Prybar” (TK #3) and drop my “Box of Nails” (TK #2). While kiting back I’ll hit him with “Poison Dart Volley” (Pistol #2) because I know he is about to heal himself and poison reduces the amount of that heal. Alternatively I can watch out for when he raises his hand and do a magnet pull to interrupt his heal. At that point it’s just cleanup mode because all he has left are auto-attacks.

What is there to learn from this story? Though this is only a NPC fight, most professions and builds lend themselves to a nice ordered set of skills. In a way it’s predictable. Over time one learns what skills look like while being cast and you can figure out which skills need to be mitigated. I’m by no means good, but I’m starting to learn how these things work through an increasing number of encounters, and slowly but surely I’m getting better and better.

As for builds, these forums have some videos posted by people who are not only very good but also use a good build. It’s helpful to watch those videos and learn how those skills are best utilized.

Hi , http://en.gw2skills.net use this and create somthing..make sure at that top right you choose “WvW Mode” and form your spec from there. So we can critique your build and give you pointers on where to improve or how to utilize them.

Seeing as everyone has a different playing style and reflexes I can only offer you what I use and how I like to use it:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqal0p6dH5y5F17IyoHfWntZgeAY81I+pAbB-jUyAINhQaBIpBIHWEN2CWQKfRrKGWVNRUt6GTIgFrBA-w

I have personally found more success out of simplifying one’s build in WvW, as trying to do too much makes you clunky and an easy kill. What I strive to do is isolate someone with the Tool Kit’s pull and hold them in place with my immobilize and cripple. The free Super Speed buff from KR gives me insane mobility when combined with constant swiftness. SS with Rocket Boots will allow me offensive and defensive strategies by closing my gap to targets or creating vast distances they cannot close if I get into a sticky situation. Slick Shoes is an amazing utility since you can keep someone knocked down for 2-3 seconds and attack them with a wrench for the entirety of that duration. I have found the block from Tool Kit to be incredibly useful for survival, as you not only nullify someone’s bursts but also prevent any CC effects when trying to escape hairy situations. This build thrives on bringing someone into your game, by catching them off guard with pulls, blocks, conditions, and CC effects to force them into a different pace that many panic when encountering. There is a lack of condition removal compared to HGH and 409, but as Cripple, Chill and Immobilize tend to be the death of most people Rocket Boots does a fantastic job of removing those and allowing you a chance to recover. As I have used Rabid for my armor choice, you might find the increased toughness to be a good medium between damage and survivability.

Mnemesis, that build looks like fun. Think I’ll give it a shot, though with a few minor trait changes.

Mnemesis.8257:

Seeing as everyone has a different playing style and reflexes I can only offer you what I use and how I like to use it:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqal0p6dH5y5F17IyoHfWntZgeAY81I+pAbB-jUyAINhQaBIpBIHWEN2CWQKfRrKGWVNRUt6GTIgFrBA-w

I have personally found more success out of simplifying one’s build in WvW, as trying to do too much makes you clunky and an easy kill. What I strive to do is isolate someone with the Tool Kit’s pull and hold them in place with my immobilize and cripple. The free Super Speed buff from KR gives me insane mobility when combined with constant swiftness. SS with Rocket Boots will allow me offensive and defensive strategies by closing my gap to targets or creating vast distances they cannot close if I get into a sticky situation. Slick Shoes is an amazing utility since you can keep someone knocked down for 2-3 seconds and attack them with a wrench for the entirety of that duration. I have found the block from Tool Kit to be incredibly useful for survival, as you not only nullify someone’s bursts but also prevent any CC effects when trying to escape hairy situations. This build thrives on bringing someone into your game, by catching them off guard with pulls, blocks, conditions, and CC effects to force them into a different pace that many panic when encountering. There is a lack of condition removal compared to HGH and 409, but as Cripple, Chill and Immobilize tend to be the death of most people Rocket Boots does a fantastic job of removing those and allowing you a chance to recover. As I have used Rabid for my armor choice, you might find the increased toughness to be a good medium between damage and survivability.

-Precise Sights doesnt mesh well at all with this build

-Modified Ammunition is wasted cause you have no attack power

-Coated bullets wasted cause you have no attack power

-Too many points in " Tools"(crit dmg) when you have no attack power

-The 10 in Adrenal Implant is wasted because you once again have no attack power , you’d become stronger by using those 10 for Invigorating Speeds..double the Vigor and more health..not to mention the aid of the passive boon duration youll get that’ll proc your Elixir B giving you more swiftness , crit might and retal (way too many wins)

-Poor choice of sigil (Sigil of Frailty)

-Poor rune choice , you’d be much stronger balancing your build out with more overall condition duration or actually tackling the issue of your poor condition removal.

Upon further analysis Mnemesis’s build has another couple things that bug me, aside from what GeneralBama said; maybe you can comment. With KR granting 2 seconds of Super Speed, it’s somewhat redundant with Speedy Kits? I know Super Speed is faster, but you’re effectively wasting some of that Swiftness time. Secondly, because you have the med-kit, sometimes you’re going to trigger magnetic aura. I’m wondering if healing turret would be better, but then you lose double heals with Inertial Converter…

Eviator.9746:

Upon further analysis Mnemesis’s build has another couple things that bug me, aside from what GeneralBama said; maybe you can comment. With KR granting 2 seconds of Super Speed, it’s somewhat redundant with Speedy Kits? I know Super Speed is faster, but you’re effectively wasting some of that Swiftness time. Secondly, because you have the med-kit, sometimes you’re going to trigger magnetic aura. I’m wondering if healing turret would be better, but then you lose double heals with Inertial Converter…

Ahh you’re right , i overlooked the conflict between those 2 traits…

Eviator.9746:

Upon further analysis Mnemesis’s build has another couple things that bug me, aside from what GeneralBama said; maybe you can comment. With KR granting 2 seconds of Super Speed, it’s somewhat redundant with Speedy Kits? I know Super Speed is faster, but you’re effectively wasting some of that Swiftness time. Secondly, because you have the med-kit, sometimes you’re going to trigger magnetic aura. I’m wondering if healing turret would be better, but then you lose double heals with Inertial Converter…

The SS buff provided by KR synchs perfectly with Rocket boots, which gives you double the distance shot. I rarely delve into the med kit skills unless necessary, mostly keep it for the amazing cd and great base heal with the side bonus of being able to grab another 3k heal from packs. After boosting RB during SS I use med kit to get more swiftness and fury. I admit it is quite a balancing act.

Okay I can see that. I thought it was something like that, but I didn’t know about the distance increase with RB.

Eviator.9746:

Mnemesis, that build looks like fun. Think I’ll give it a shot, though with a few minor trait changes.

That’s what I designed it to be for, it’s mostly just about having fun and adapting to how you play. I get a lot of hate about the build, but at the end of the day I have a blast with it. If I can’t kill you, then you certainly will have trouble tracking me down to kill me. Make whatever changes you like to suit your play style, just wanted to give you some ideas on how to use what you equip to your mind set.

TheOneNOnlyGeneralBama.9586:

-Precise Sights doesnt mesh well at all with this build

-Modified Ammunition is wasted cause you have no attack power

-Coated bullets wasted cause you have no attack power

-Too many points in " Tools"(crit dmg) when you have no attack power

-The 10 in Adrenal Implant is wasted because you once again have no attack power , you’d become stronger by using those 10 for Invigorating Speeds..double the Vigor and more health..not to mention the aid of the passive boon duration youll get that’ll proc your Elixir B giving you more swiftness , crit might and retal (way too many wins)

-Poor choice of sigil (Sigil of Frailty)

-Poor rune choice , you’d be much stronger balancing your build out with more overall condition duration or actually tackling the issue of your poor condition removal.

Let me begin by thanking you for taking the time to actually look at the build so thoughtfully. I didn’t imagine anyone would do so with such intensity. Let’s keep in mind this is less of an analysis of individual builds as it is providing the OP with ideas on what he may or may not like to try out. I don’t expect everyone to agree with my justifications of why I have chosen this particular setup, but I will try to address it if only to show it wasn’t merely slapped together without any forethought.

I find Precise Sights to be very useful actually, as when you crit with SoF the Vuln stacks build rather quickly; granted it’s no where near the efficiency of Grenades. Both of those can easily be swapped out for one’s needs, however I just prefer it for team based support because 2 whacks with a wrench can yield ~7 stacks of vuln plus what you do during Pistols.

The runes allow me to extend bleeding to their fullest since everything else can already be maintained without having to over clock condition duration completely, granted yet another option someone could change to suit their needs, but one that i have found to give me another 2-3 stacks of bleed to maintain without completely altering my traits; having to rearrange the entire build to accomodate a larger boost to base condition duration would put me right back into a grenade kit setup that I wanted to leave.

Coated Bullets truly shines when attacking from walls in WvW as the positioning allows the shot to pierce and impact doing double the damage in a small area, which turns out to be even more useful with zergs present. I can see Modified Ammunition being a bit underwhelming in this particular case, but again it is something I have found to be of use to me as it does improve ones damage and is synergetic with vulnerability. The Coated Bullets effect with Modified Ammunition has given me Auto Attacks with pistols anywhere from 1k to 1.8k damage, which I dare say is pretty good for a Rabid set.

Eviator.9746:

Mnemesis, that build looks like fun. Think I’ll give it a shot, though with a few minor trait changes.

It’s gotta be the shoes!

Seriously though, it’s the shoes. I love our shoe/boot abilities. Not even an Elementalist can disengage like we can.

Oh, and in any build that uses Slick Shoes, might I suggest Sigil of Impact. +10% dmg vs. stunned or knocked down foes. This sigil really shines in zerg v zerg fights too because a LOT of knock down and stun abilities are being spammed.

Thanks for sharing what looks like both an offbeat, and effective build, Mnemesis.

Well we did hijack this thread with talks about a specific build.

Grackleflint.4956:

Oh, and in any build that uses Slick Shoes, might I suggest Sigil of Impact. +10% dmg vs. stunned or knocked down foes. This sigil really shines in zerg v zerg fights too because a LOT of knock down and stun abilities are being spammed.

I had not considered this, I could see this adding a bit more damage to the slick and TK pummeling. Granted the cd of slick shoes is too long to make it very useful, but a thoughtful adaption none the less.

Grackleflint.4956:

Thanks for sharing what looks like both an offbeat, and effective build, Mnemesis.

If you want a bit more fun, try pulling a Leeroy into a zerg with shield up, activating slick shoes + super speed + rocket boots. Funniest thing ever to lay down a giant line of slick and kd the whole lot of em. I have actually survived a zerg by pulling this stunt hahaha.

Mnemesis.8257:

TheOneNOnlyGeneralBama.9586:

-Precise Sights doesnt mesh well at all with this build

-Modified Ammunition is wasted cause you have no attack power

-Coated bullets wasted cause you have no attack power

-Too many points in " Tools"(crit dmg) when you have no attack power

-The 10 in Adrenal Implant is wasted because you once again have no attack power , you’d become stronger by using those 10 for Invigorating Speeds..double the Vigor and more health..not to mention the aid of the passive boon duration youll get that’ll proc your Elixir B giving you more swiftness , crit might and retal (way too many wins)

-Poor choice of sigil (Sigil of Frailty)

-Poor rune choice , you’d be much stronger balancing your build out with more overall condition duration or actually tackling the issue of your poor condition removal.

Let me begin by thanking you for taking the time to actually look at the build so thoughtfully. I didn’t imagine anyone would do so with such intensity. Let’s keep in mind this is less of an analysis of individual builds as it is providing the OP with ideas on what he may or may not like to try out. I don’t expect everyone to agree with my justifications of why I have chosen this particular setup, but I will try to address it if only to show it wasn’t merely slapped together without any forethought.

I find Precise Sights to be very useful actually, as when you crit with SoF the Vuln stacks build rather quickly; granted it’s no where near the efficiency of Grenades. Both of those can easily be swapped out for one’s needs, however I just prefer it for team based support because 2 whacks with a wrench can yield ~7 stacks of vuln plus what you do during Pistols.

The runes allow me to extend bleeding to their fullest since everything else can already be maintained without having to over clock condition duration completely, granted yet another option someone could change to suit their needs, but one that i have found to give me another 2-3 stacks of bleed to maintain without completely altering my traits; having to rearrange the entire build to accomodate a larger boost to base condition duration would put me right back into a grenade kit setup that I wanted to leave.

Coated Bullets truly shines when attacking from walls in WvW as the positioning allows the shot to pierce and impact doing double the damage in a small area, which turns out to be even more useful with zergs present. I can see Modified Ammunition being a bit underwhelming in this particular case, but again it is something I have found to be of use to me as it does improve ones damage and is synergetic with vulnerability. The Coated Bullets effect with Modified Ammunition has given me Auto Attacks with pistols anywhere from 1k to 1.8k damage, which I dare say is pretty good for a Rabid set.

Im a firm believer of theorycrafting and ironically im completely against cookie cutting , but some people doesn’t have the desire to create their own so they require assistance . Thats fine , also my intentions werent to pick your build apart viciously , and dismiss it as bad..i merely wanted to analyze the synergy and what could be better for those potentially wanting to use the build . Your stance on your build is inspiring , i love the fact you created what works for YOU and not just hand picked from another’s. Talk about engineering

TheOneNOnlyGeneralBama.9586:

Im a firm believer of theorycrafting and ironically im completely against cookie cutting , but some people doesn’t have the desire to create their own so they require assistance . Thats fine , also my intentions werent to pick your build apart viciously , and dismiss it as bad..i merely wanted to analyze the synergy and what could be better for those potentially wanting to use the build . Your stance on your build is inspiring , i love the fact you created what works for YOU and not just hand picked from another’s. Talk about engineering

Quite the opposite, I love having someone analyze as deeply as you have because it brings new ideas to improve upon what has been built. Many of the critiques you provided were from my initial evaluation of the build as I made it. I am truly honored you took the time to inspect it so intently and provide alternatives. This whole exchange is an example of what someone needs to consider when adapting a build to their play style and mentality.

P.S.
Sorry OP if the thread was jacked hahaha.

Well if you like being tanky then maybe you ought to consider my build, which I feel is super friendly for beginners.
http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-X;4cPkk0463UFx0;9;5J9T9;156-0;058B5;04N1;3NX8aNX8a;0FlFB;9;9;9;9;9;9;9;9;4V6s5m
(It just uses settlers stats but you probably can get by on apothecary)

Quick rundown:

The basics of this build is based on achieving a high defense then converting it to condition damage through undead runes and tuning crystals. Once you got your sigils stacked too, the condition damage should raise to around 1677 (Note Im still using only exotics), which combined with our pistols can make some good damage. I used to try putting more trait points in inventions but felt vulnerable to conditions through extensive testing so I switched those to alchemy and picked up automated response.

Rocket boots and slick shoes for mobility, plus rocket boots combos well with regenerating mists for extra heals. Tool kit has multi purpose uses, throw down some caltrops if glue shots, superspeed and rocket shoes aren’t enough. Or pull enemies close to the p/p range etc.

I have had some fun times with this build in wvw, and I got comfort in knowing I can safely roam with speed and defense while still being able to kill stuff. Settler’s trinkets can’t come soon enough to push this build to the max.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqel0p6d38SyF17IxIFcW0hUUYDL6h+tsjB-j0wA0AAKEYdsIasA-w is my personal build. It doesn’t do too much damage, but it’s tanky as kitten.

It uses either Soldier (slightly more damage) or Sentinel (slightly more defensive) gear, and the Mercy runes are primarily because they’re so cheap on my server’s TP.
You have massive toughness, massive vitality, a 3 second block, a 2 second block, a projectile reflect, tons of CC, tons of healing, and insane mobility. With Slick Shoes + Rocket Shoes, you can’t be caught, and healkit #5 provides decent swiftness.

Also, if expressly for WvW, this build has some other nice features: because of the points in Inventions, you can temporarily swap to the 50% fall damage in order to jump a cliff, and if you need to travel quickly the points in Tools lets you get Speedy Kits temporarily.

One last note is that you have omni-directional CC: you can pull people, push people, knock them down, or stun them where they are. Cliffside fights are fun

For solo roaming, Eng is arguably almost as good as Mesmar. Maybe more fun for people who enjoy the eng toys, bombs, etc, but mostly just ‘more fun’, not more efficient at killing / escaping.

For the eng vs mesmar contribution / efficiency within a zerg, for me there is no doubt: mesmar wins easy.

Some will tell you to go FT or bombs, or grenades. I disagree. If you are member of a good wvw focused guild / group, you will need certain things: on demand water fields, on demand blast finishers, mass cloaking, etc etc.

Bottom line: if you enjoy eng more than mesmar, play eng (with the spec that feels the more confortable). If you enjoy being efficient and helping your group(some weeks you get easier matches, some weeks you get harder ones), leave eng behind.

That`s my opinion, as a wvw eng with 1200+ hours on it.