Guild Wars 2

Hi there

I just started an engineer out of curiosity and it reminded me a lot of a type of character I used to play in an old rpg game of 2001 (Arcanum).

Now, there are so many options available and I’ll surely end up playing all kinds of builds but I would be pleased if you could briefly introduce me to the engineer profession.

Taking into account that my aim is mainly solo pve:
1) Can you suggest me some builds that focus on elixir gun and another that focuses on flamethrower (or, if possible, both)? I’m a chemist irl

2) What are the best options for pve? Are turrets viable? How much useful are they?

3) Gadgets: do you use them at all? They sound fun but they are on relatively long cds.

4) What are the main roles of an engineer and what gear is mainly preferred? Do you suggest going with gc gear or the survivability isn’t enough?

5) Belt tools: do you use them often or occasionally? Are they worth going deep in tools traits?

6) How do you manage elixirs? Do you suggest having very different utility skills (A kit, an elixir and a gadget/turret) or, depending on the build, focus on some and exclude all the others?

7) Could you provide me the main engineer builds and the most viable one? The mesmer forum has got a topic with a list of the most used and efficient builds but here the thing that comes closest to it is “Post your engineer build”, which is too long and not easy to skim through.

Thanks for your attention, hoping you can help me in immediately getting into the engineer profession

edit: added one more question

1) I’ve linked one below, although I haven’t had a lot of experience with it.

2) One of the best options for PvE is specializing in grenades since they can do a significant amount of damage and the AI opponents do not employ the countermeasures that human players will. Turrets can work in PvE, but there’s a lot of situations where they will either be unnecessary (i.e. net turret on a mob that never dodges or runs away) or will just get blown up quickly during boss fights.

3) I do not often use gadgets, but they can be useful. I believe some gadgets will be getting buffed in the patch today, so they might be around more frequently (I’ll probably start looking at slick shoes more if it gets a stunbreaker).

4) It’s a bit hard to classify the main role. Most of your combat will be done at mid/close range, and the engg can have good CC options as well as condition pressure. Glass canon builds can work with engg (I’ve linked one below), but in most cases you’ll want some measure of survivability. This is because the engineer does not have a lot of escape mobility and unreliable access to stability/stealth.

5) Tool belt skills are used very frequently and are the cornerstone of some builds. In fact, some people take utilities more for the tool belt skill rather than the utility itself. The tool belt recharge rate on the Tools trait line can be handy for this, but I wouldn’t invest directly in that tree only for that. I usually find it’s better to invest in the trees that have the traits you want, with the attribute bonuses being a secondary consideration.

6) It will depend on the build. I really like the elixir skills, so I usually have one or two on my utility bar depending on the build (in addition to the healing skill). It will all depend on your build though.

7) It’s hard to really say what the “most viable” build is since one can be strong in one situation and not in another. Below are some links to ones that I’ve use/use regularly (none of these are my original concepts, but the links likely contain some personal modifications I’ve made to them). Most of them are WvW focused, but they often work in other formats as well.

I’m deciding to post these now, but keep in mind that the vast trait changes coming in the patch today may change the effectiveness of these builds (for better or worse). If nothing else, it can give you a starting place.

1. Dual pistol roamer #1: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcEQJAqalspSXH5SfF17IRoC4H0D9mX+K6xjp8kB-jUDBoMI4MAYNg0CA0HIkIgpQFRjtIsIasKZCy6bY6YJ1qDwImRrWIgFrBA-w

Video demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW_vpbMsgCA

This build is very popular in WvW, but can do well in PvE and sPvP as well. In WvW, it works well for roaming as well as group combat. It’s well-rounded and focuses on high condition damage through might stacking while maintaining defensive utility and mobility. Some people will use different pairs of runes in the armor to stack the boon duration higher, and some people may choose to use something like elixir U instead of the toolkit (also swapping out sigil of battle). However, this is the build I will commonly take into WvW (I think some of the gear is a bit off in that link).

2. Dual pistol roamer #2: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcEQJAqalspSXH5SfF1LJRIF4vwgKkXRPeMln8nCsF-j0CB4MCh0CA0HIkIgpQFRjtIsIasKZCyqbY6YJ1qDwImRrWIgFrBA-w

Video demo: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9NnXVfY4vRU1F-X7b1Oorw/videos

This one is like the first build, but with slight differences in the traits and gear. This one is arguably better at small scale group or solo combat, but may not be as effective in large group combat due to the loss of range and piercing bullets.

3. Explosive Alchemist: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUlspSXHxSfF17ICoC5loHPGlNZfeMfPIEC-ToAg0CtI0RljLHjOygsBNo4QB

Video demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y5QkrOh6oY

This build focuses on build might stacks through HGH and deals in direct damage with the grenade kit and rifle. I’ve used it in sPvP, but haven’t really tried it in the other formats. The CC on the rifle can be very handy in ensuring your grenades will hit the target, and you can really hurt people who are a bit squishy.

4. Condition Apothecary: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcEQJAqelIq6dn1yuF8bJxoCdOUhCDSRerrIF5X/fKwWA-jACBIOChUDgUIBJPqIasFYFRjVPjIqWfDzIGTKAIWDA-e

Video demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmWi9tBMPRE

This was a build someone posted a little while ago, I think it was still in an experimental phase. It uses both the elixir gun and flamethrower and focuses on using water combo fields, regen, super elixir, and life stealing to provide healing to yourself and a group. The build is also effective at stacking a large amount of burning to do damage to enemies, and the flamethrower is handy for an additional knockback as well as a blind to help ensure you finish downed enemies by avoiding their interrupt skill. I’ve used a variant in sPvP but haven’t given it a good try in WvW yet.

5. Tankcat: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqel0pSXH5SfF17IxIFdW0hUgfDL6RlzPlB-jUCBoLCh0HJkKAI7pIaslNFRjVZDT9iIq2qDwImRrWIAZjBA-w

Video demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pfO5s9pi0c

This is a version of one of the oldest builds that cropped up on the forums. It’s designed primarily for WvW use, and focuses on providing support for allies and distracting enemy groups with high durability. It’s not as effective since the retaliation and confusion damage were nerfed in WvW, but it can still be a nice choice if you want to be a WvW tank that helps finish downed enemies and revive allies.

6. Static discharge: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUl0pqdH5STF17IxoHkuzbG0D7mX/+pAbB-j0xAYrgQUCCRAM5VEN2ibR0Y11YKXioapAiYMA-w

Video demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgEyg769cDc

This is a common version of the static discharge build, so named because of the static discharge trait in the Tools line that makes this build work. It’s a complete glass canon build that can kill enemies very quickly. The basic combo is to immobilize someone with net shot, then use F2, F3, and F4 in quick succession, followed by a jump shot that starts and ends right on top of the enemy. You can kill things really fast if you are able to get a single opening, but you will also die very quickly if you become overwhelmed (although the toolkit might help save you for a little while).

7. Condition Grenades: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqalspSXHxSfF17ICoC5loHPGlNZfewWpFEC-TsAAzCpI0RljLHjOyisFNW4IyUEA

Video demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hx93LdkAOg

This is a fairly typical grenade build that you will see in sPvP or WvW formats (considered one of the stronger builds to take). It also works well in PvE. It’s designed to apply a massive amount of condition pressure on the oppoents through might stacking. In WvW or PvE you can use consumables to up your condition duration and damage for a more potent effect.

Thanks for the fast reply, it’s much appreciated.

As far as gear is concerned, which is the main stat I should aim for? I see that engineers deal both direct and condition damage, so I guess a Power & cond. damage gear could do, but what about critical chance and critical damage? How much are those two stats valued over them? Is crit more important than power? Do I need a certain % of crit damage at anytime (like 50%) ?

Thanks for your attention

for stats, its all about what skills you have on your bar and what weapons you are wielding. For secondary stats (besides power/condition dmg) it’s a mix of toughness/vitality for survivability and precision and crit dmg for killing effectively. I am going more toward survivability with toughness/vitality but still have +precision gear/ring ~30% now while building stats.