Guild Wars 2

Wonder which build works the best. I hear grenades are better now in wvw. But i dont really like the nade spec in wvw. Elixer build seems to be a big one as well. What about tool kit with high toughness and vit and crit traits? I mean the tool kit skills hit really hard there really slow but u could make it up with the elixer that speeds u up. Just curious, as well as which spec works the best with you guys and what armor runes and what not your using with it?

Grenades/Bombs/Stunbreaker is generally the best thing to go in my experience if soloing. Gear is up to you because that spec is very versatile and will work with basically anything.

Reason being, is in solo and small groups bombs are insanely good during the fight and also makes it very hard for people to chase you /or your group. Also provides excellent damage when taking camps etc.

Grenades are the best damage the engineer has access to at any range hands down, however you need to be good at landing immobilises to effectively use them against other players.

Stunbreaker is self explanatory.

Tool kit doesn’t really bring anything to the table aside from the grab to be honest, the block is ok but its usefulness is outshined by basically any other kit for roaming. I do like it in sieges however.

As for elixirs, they are ok but don’t have the damage or utility that a spec that revolves around abundant kit use has. (in my experience)

Although for my build i do use elixir H and R with elixir CD reduction trait and cleansing. But I don’t have all utils assigned to elixirs which is common to elixir builds.

As for armor I use carrion with 2 pieces of power/tough/vit for the toughness mostly. For runes I use orbs and weapons p/p.

do u have a build i could look at and try? I love bombs for pve as well

nofo.8469:

Tool kit doesn’t really bring anything to the table aside from the grab to be honest, the block is ok but its usefulness is outshined by basically any other kit for roaming. I do like it in sieges however.

Not true tool kit is one of the best kits for w3 when used properly specially after latest buff unless u are running as full glasscannon. AoE cripple with 10sec cd, pry bar is great dps addition on jump shot combo, 3sec dmg block just destroys 9/10 thiefs, basically it has all dps,defense and control in same kit.

I small man usually with just a thief on my engineer. Is an interesting duo. He is p/d spec and focuses on condition dmg from bleeds while maintaining almost full stealth which leaves me the primary target vs groups of varying sizes that we attack.

I’ve used a few builds, mostly centered around grenades/rifle. I did try using EG spec with small group, and I found that it’s too unreliable. It’s wonderful for solo/small group if the only enemies you see are solo or duo but I tended to get overrun really easily by bigger groups without my chill/blind grenades. Also, the thief I run with is also condition dmg so I wanted a power build.

This build fully synergizes with my rune set and gives me incredible survivability while still maintaining a decent amount of damage.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcMQFAUlspSY38SiF1LJyoCdGoC5lIFPGl95BblWQIA

While I will eventually switch to power/toughness/vit gear, I’m currently using a full set of carrion gear. I maximize vitality with my carrion gear as well as power. Condition dmg is just a bonus.

My jewelry is all emerald (power, toughness, precision). This mixes me a decent amount of toughness/vitality with gear without grinding for badges for Invader gear or dungeon badges for catacombs gear.

I use the full set of Runes of Svanir. These give me additional toughness and a proc at 25% health. The proc stuns me and makes me invulerable for 5s. Might seem stupid to just stand there stunned, but any skill that broke me out of stun would still maintain the invulerability for the remaining 5s (more dmg while invulerable). This recently got nerfed (if stun gets broken early, we lose the remaining invulerability too – although I haven’t personally tested if this did indeed change) so I may switch out my rune gear (possibly divinity but not sure)

Abilities:
#1 I used elixir R because in a small group or solo, being able to rez yourself or your ally vs varying numbers of enemies (from 1 to multiple full groups) is imperative. The actual stun break is important too as that let me un-stun myself through runes of svanir proc, but also works well against most melee classes or big groups where a stun can be life or death. Yeah, the recharge rate got increased, but it’s still a great skill.
#2 I use slick shoes (I think imperative in small group) which once activated leaves a trail of oil behind you which makes enemies fall when they walk through it (or chase you). The toolbelt gives you an automatic double speed boost for a limited amount of time. This is nice because it ignores combat. Pop the toolbelt and you have immediate speed compared to enemies, and pop ability and when they are chasing you all of them fall anyway. Automatic getaway.
#3 Grenades – With runes of svanir this gave my chill grenades 13s in duration on a 15s cooldown. Great for small groups so you can keep a large number of people chilled/slowed almost at will as long as you can aim correctly. Other than chill grenades, the toolbelt skill grenade barrage (which got a slight buff last patch) is awesome. Lots of dps. People always complain that grenades are hard to use but if you understand that people you’re fighting are trying to engage you and kill you then you can funnel your enemies appropriately and make it really easy to land grenades in the first place (ignoring dodge mechanic).

I use elixir H for heal because it synergizes with my trait spec (20% reduced elixir recharge rate)

Lastly, I use rifle because of the disruption it provides. Having a net shot on a super low cd is amazing for small groups. Also the overcharged shot (knocks backwards). These two abilities are all I use for rifle (sometimes blunderbuss if not too many people). Most time is spent in grenades and I only switch out for net shot or overcharge shot someone and then quickly switch back (can do this like every 5s). Increases your survivability a ton.

Mention about random trait choices:

Speedy kits are a must for the permanent swiftness it provides. Small groups have to have really good mobility in order to stay alive vs all the zergs and bigger roaming groups. Also just helpful for getting around faster.

409 is nice, but has limited effectiveness if you don’t use a full alchemy build. Each throw or elixir use only removes one condition. Elixir R is a get out of jail free and not to be used willy nilly to remove a condition (same with toolbelt ability). This trait can actually be substituted for something more appropriate for your build. — I sometimes switch in cloaking device (first trait line in tools). Adds survivability in small groups when you are the only target.

Would love to hear some feedback if anyone else is running small group/skirmish exclusively. I’m interested in trying bomb/grenades but would miss my elixir R or slick shoes

Just like to emphasize, in order to maximize play when running small man/solo in W3, dmg is not the priority, survivability is. You will be facing groups of varying sizes (some much bigger than your own) and you need to be able to gtfo or kite-to-fight (rinse and repeat). You will be able to play longer and fight more while you’re still alive.