Guild Wars 2

There is a lot more to the game than just one class.
If you are getting upset with this class level another character. I would say if you leveled an Engineer first do a Guardian second. Chances are you wanted to be helpful in a group with your Engineer. The Guardian class is the best for feeling like you really helped out.

I caught myself getting really frustrated by the Engineer class a few months ago. It was the first class I leveled to 80 with 100% world completion. When I got there I found grenades were the only really viable thing to build around at the time. I would try as hard as possible to help every group but still would get the cold shoulder from most people once they saw I was an Engineer. I would read every patch note and cringe every time I saw anything about Engineers. It started to become not fun…

I’ll be honest. The Engineer feels like the weakest class of all and the hardest to play. It is like easy mode leveling up a Guardian after the work put into leveling an Engineer. Even my glass cannon Warrior feels tougher than my Engineer.

I wrote this because when I only had 1 level 80 character (the engineer) I would wonder what it would be like to level another class to 80. Two more level 80s (Guardian and Warrior) and a couple of 40s (Thief and Mesmer) later and I can say it was fun. If you are not having fun with the Engineer level another class and you will be glad you did.

tl&dr: I got frustrated by the Engineer class. Found fun in leveling other classes. If you are not having fun with the Engineer level another class. It is fun having multiple level 80s.

The problem is though that I love the idea of the engineer. Turrets, Kits, Elixirs and shield/pistol combo is just cool. As much fun as everything is though pretty much none of it is up to snuff. I have play most other classes and while they played really well just not as much fun.

So those are my options apparently. Play a useful class that bores me or one i enjoy that is weak and almost useless.

I tried Engi early on and just couldn’t get into it.

Fast forward 6 months and I just rolled an Engi (lvl 20) and am having a blast. I think I needed to get familiar with GW2’s combat style and the nuances of damage avoidance/mitigation, etc. Now, the Engi offers a really fun and variable profession, instead of a headache with too many hobo sacks to choose from.

Portal Master.9146:

There is a lot more to the game than just one class.
If you are getting upset with this class level another character. I would say if you leveled an Engineer first do a Guardian second. Chances are you wanted to be helpful in a group with your Engineer. The Guardian class is the best for feeling like you really helped out.

I caught myself getting really frustrated by the Engineer class a few months ago. It was the first class I leveled to 80 with 100% world completion. When I got there I found grenades were the only really viable thing to build around at the time. I would try as hard as possible to help every group but still would get the cold shoulder from most people once they saw I was an Engineer. I would read every patch note and cringe every time I saw anything about Engineers. It started to become not fun…

I’ll be honest. The Engineer feels like the weakest class of all and the hardest to play. It is like easy mode leveling up a Guardian after the work put into leveling an Engineer. Even my glass cannon Warrior feels tougher than my Engineer.

I wrote this because when I only had 1 level 80 character (the engineer) I would wonder what it would be like to level another class to 80. Two more level 80s (Guardian and Warrior) and a couple of 40s (Thief and Mesmer) later and I can say it was fun. If you are not having fun with the Engineer level another class and you will be glad you did.

tl&dr: I got frustrated by the Engineer class. Found fun in leveling other classes. If you are not having fun with the Engineer level another class. It is fun having multiple level 80s.

This is pretty much how I felt. If I had started my Guardian or Mesmer first I probably would be 6 sets of exotics and 1 set of ascended items richer. However that being said the Engineer in my opinion is really fun to play solo or boon spike built for parties. However if you are doing anything other than solo or boon spike engineer you are really missing out on how much better the other professions are for group play.
Personally I think the Engineer profession is not bad, just unfinished. Turrets could really be great for groups some day in WvW and PvE, but that day has not come. A person could also say that Condition Damage/Duration needs an overhaul and that is why the Engineer feels a little lackluster atm.

Only a few days ago when a thief and a war (separate instances) were glad that they had me (an eng) in party. The war was even “an eng! woohoo!” and I was honestly surprised but happy. Hats of to Sardonicus, commander for BG! Thanks for the build tip!

I think eng, like the AH guard, benefits most from a party/group setting than solo (like some mesmers and thieves, and even rangers/war).

Even if my guard (boring typical AH build) is almost fully exotic, I somehow still prefer running wvw or dungeons with my eng, simply because it is more fun. Sure the guard may survive longer, but I don’t really feel the power it has over my eng. (Maybe its because my build is AH. But that shouldn’t be the reason. My eng is in full knights armor, cavalier trinkets with two knights earring (no asc yet), while my guard is in full soldier armor with 1 exo and 4 green cleric trinkets. idk, maybe just me :p)

I play my Engineer better than I play my Guardian. I tank better on my Engineer really. It’s just I can’t get into any other class. I love it too much. Honestly, why tell someone to roll another class? I think they already know that option is available.

I definitely agree that the Guardian may better suit peoples’ playstyles, but I don’t think it totally outclasses the Engineer in support.

The Guardian supports people around him/her. Mostly Warriors. I pull all the mobs together with Binding Blade and then Warriors go to town with Hundred Blades. Or I’ll use my Hammer and provide Regeneration/Protection to those in my vicinity. Overall, it’s a front-line, tanky support character.

The Engineer, comparatively, is a lot more mobile. Super Elixir can be aimed. Thrown elixirs can be aimed. Our Combo fields can be aimed. It’s not about just buffing people in your vicinity. I can Toss Elixir R to a Warrior getting facerolled and bring him back up from 1200 range.

The Engineer is just a lot more flexible than given credit—probably because a lot of players want out of the Engineer what it wasn’t designed to do, and more in line with what the Guardian does.

I think a lot of that has to do with miscommunication on the part of ArenaNet clearly not entirely knowing where to take this class and bringing it to balance with other classes, especially in PvE.

If you’re running an Aegis/Shout Guardian you’re going to be tanking more than the Engineer. Also unless you have speedy kits as an Engineer your mobility is not as great as a Guardian rolling GS/Staff. Also an Aegis Guardian when seeing his party member getting face rolled can spam Aegis twice to mitigate a lot of damage before he dies.

On a damage side of things:
In my opinion the Engineer really needs to have a rush/charge/shadow step in the bomb kit that lays down a line of bombs along the way. That would really give that kit a needed boost.

Goloith.6349:

Also unless you have speedy kits as an Engineer your mobility is not as great as a Guardian rolling GS/Staff. Also an Aegis Guardian when seeing his party member getting face rolled can spam Aegis twice to mitigate a lot of damage before he dies.

So really what you’re saying here is that Guardian is more mobile than an Engineer is so long as the Engineer doesn’t spec for it.

Invigorating Speed/Infused Precision gives us perma Swiftness and Vigor in combat. It’s true that Guardians get Vigorous Precision, but Symbol of Swiftness only grants 8 seconds of Swiftness every 15 (or 12 with Two-Handed Mastery).

Watch a Staff Guardian and an Engineer race each other in WvW. The Guardian has to fill up their utility bar with skills like Retreat and Save Yourselves to keep pace—an Engineer just has to swap in and out of their Med Kit.

Hell, just watch a Guardian try to keep pace with Prisoner 1141 in preparation of starting a Guild Hunt. It’s kind of hysterical.

And more to what my actual point was, Elixir R has the flexibility of being used with any build. Yeah, a Guardian can revive allies just as good as anybody can. Warriors can revive downed allies with Battle Standard. It’s also their elite skill. Elixir R is a utility slot—and on top of that is a toolbelt skill on a separate cooldown of the elixir itself which breaks stun and refills our Endurance.

Do you know how much Guardians would kill to have a skill like that? I certainly would love to have it on mine.

I get it, guys. You’re not happy with where the Engineer is at. But arguing that a Guardian is more mobile than us is just plain wrong. The Guardian buffs people around them. The Engineer as a mid-fielder can support both the front and back—and move between the two very easily.

Of course people know that they can roll another class but he/she has a point. If your not happy do something else. Perhaps it’s more your thing and you’ll do fine OR you realize that the class you’re expecting so much from has actually it’s on weaknesses and so on.
But a problem could really be what you expect. If you really want the guy whos shooting arrows and has pets you have a hard time not rolling a ranger. A perhaps better question could be:
Do I wan’t to play at mid range with weaker auto attacks but lots of control and conditions and do I like the idea of kits?

Oh the roleplayers are going to kill me…

Engineers are fun. They’re just very hard to play at anywhere near the effectiveness of other classes, and most of the promotional material about Engs is overstated.

I was attracted to the Engs by the promotional material which, IIRC, emphasised turrets, the FT and kits. Despite really wanting turrets to work, as my Eng levelled he ran with less and less turrets, to the point that so far this year he’s only used a turret a couple of very predictable PvE times. The FT was disappointing for a long time – it was improved in the latest patch but is still mediocre.

. . . It turns out ANet have redone the promo material for Engs. Now it features:

• Weapon Kits (reasonable)
• Backpack Kits (the best of which is actually a weapon kit)
• Turrets (we live in hope)
• (NB: there’s no more mention of Gadgets. Are they a lost cause for now?)

The new promo videos are:

• Rifle Turret (Every shot is an instant kill. Detonate insta-kills an ogre. Yeah, right!)
• Jump Shot (promoted as battlefield speed boost, gap closer and killer all in one. The first two I can get . . .)
• Grenade Satchel (the example is a grenadiers dream: 5 enemies at distance that move only in a straight line and stay grouped despite being repeatedly hit by predictable AoE. At least this one promotes a truly viable kit.)
• Glue Shot (Poison Darts, Glue Shot and Big Ol Bomb. Feasible, against AI anyway, apart from the error on the glue stun.)

Engineers are what happens when you have a Heavy Armoured class that the Devs are having trouble balancing. So they just downgrade to Medium Armour and let pass.

90% of the Engineers problems come from being centered around having higher armour.
That is why Engineers are so hard to play, all of their Survivability comes from user-activated skills whether its blocks, dodging or invulnerable.
Our invulnerable skills arent ground covering and they remove our skill bar. (unless you requip a kit while invulnerable for 1-2 “free hits”.

When you see the vids of Elite Engineer players like Maska or TankCat you can see how much good blocking/dodging and mostly knowing when to disengage and re-engage factors in to how well they do.

Even going full PVT with Toughness you are still too squishy for the amount of time we have to stay at close range.

Engineers are an awesome concept and Anet gave a good try but just play any other profession and you will see how much easier it is while earning much better results.

So sad.

my first class was warrior, and i was convinced i would never play another character. however, as the meta changed for wvw i found that my build was actually really weak and the class as a whole is missing some pretty major things (cond removal..sustainability in fights, etc.)

i finally went ahead and made a second character and that char is an engineer. i find it wayy more fun to play wvw with it than my warrior now.

sometimes the grass looks greener from the other side.

CriSPeH.8512:

Engineers are what happens when you have a Heavy Armoured class that the Devs are having trouble balancing. So they just downgrade to Medium Armour and let pass.

90% of the Engineers problems come from being centered around having higher armour.
That is why Engineers are so hard to play, all of their Survivability comes from user-activated skills whether its blocks, dodging or invulnerable.
Our invulnerable skills arent ground covering and they remove our skill bar. (unless you requip a kit while invulnerable for 1-2 “free hits”.

When you see the vids of Elite Engineer players like Maska or TankCat you can see how much good blocking/dodging and mostly knowing when to disengage and re-engage factors in to how well they do.

Even going full PVT with Toughness you are still too squishy for the amount of time we have to stay at close range.

Engineers are an awesome concept and Anet gave a good try but just play any other profession and you will see how much easier it is while earning much better results.

So sad.

As I said somewhere else, it may be due to Anet’s philosophy, trying to make us ultra versatile to the point that they really don’t want us to be very good at some criterias. Problem is that it’s not rewarding us at all. People will pick Warrior for the super damage (and might stacking), then Guardian for being an effortless concentrate of support, then a Mesmer for bypassing the frustrating mechanics.

Now, most of engi players embraced the gameplay to the point of not going back to any other class, the most frustrated ones are the ones having a hard time getting away from their Warrior, Mesmer or Thief.

Phineas Poe.3018:

Goloith.6349:

Also unless you have speedy kits as an Engineer your mobility is not as great as a Guardian rolling GS/Staff. Also an Aegis Guardian when seeing his party member getting face rolled can spam Aegis twice to mitigate a lot of damage before he dies.

So really what you’re saying here is that Guardian is more mobile than an Engineer is

Watch a Staff Guardian and an Engineer race each other in WvW. The Guardian has to fill up their utility bar with skills like Retreat and Save Yourselves to keep pace—an Engineer just has to swap in and out of their Med Kit.

Obviously you don’t play in Tier 1 because Retreat, Save Yourselves, and Stand Your Ground are a staple for the Guardian Frontliner build. What would I know, after all JQ is the #1 server and EMP is undefeated in Guild vs. Guild events. Personally flipping to a kit to get swiftness is nice, but again your forced into that skill tree just for the speed. If your condition build that +10 in Gadgets hurts you.

Goloith.6349:

On a damage side of things:
In my opinion the Engineer really needs to have a rush/charge/shadow step in the bomb kit that lays down a line of bombs along the way. That would really give that kit a needed boost.

Yeah, we definitely need a charge / jetpack storm / teleport to / something better than Rifle 5. If we’re expected to be medium range, we need some kind of gap closer, instead of one million gap creators (PBR, Rifle 4, EG 4, FT 3, Rocket Boots, etc.).

Goloith.6349:

Obviously you don’t play in Tier 1 because Retreat, Save Yourselves, and Stand Your Ground are a staple for the Guardian Frontliner build. What would I know, after all JQ is the #1 server and EMP is undefeated in Guild vs. Guild events. Personally flipping to a kit to get swiftness is nice, but again your forced into that skill tree just for the speed. If your condition build that +10 in Gadgets hurts you.

Haha, what? Wow. What a TryHard post. Nobody cares if you’re on Jade Quarry, especially since the only reason you’re in first place is because of the disgusting amount of Oceanic/EU players compared to all the other NA servers. But what would I know? I only played on the server for 3+ months, even before it reached Tier 1. I moved to Sanctum of Rall precisely because I was tired of always playing against the same realms.

My point was that a Guardian has to fill up their bar with specific utility skills to match the mobility of an Engineer. That you’re trying to dispute/downplay this is kind of hysterical.

And lolwut? I use a Condition build in WvW. 0/30/0/30/10. P/P Elixir spec with the Tool Kit. Speedy Kits is not a problem. It’s 10 points in Tools, which is something every build pretty much has in PvE because of Kit Refinement. Sometimes I’ll even go the extra 10 for Power Wrench.

Destroyer.1306:

Yeah, we definitely need a charge / jetpack storm / teleport to / something better than Rifle 5. If we’re expected to be medium range, we need some kind of gap closer, instead of one million gap creators (PBR, Rifle 4, EG 4, FT 3, Rocket Boots, etc.).

Magnet is your friend.

Somehow I see Thumper Turret + Tool Kit being a really obnoxious build in the near future with perma AoE cripple.

CriSPeH.8512:

90% of the Engineers problems come from being centered around having higher armour.
That is why Engineers are so hard to play, all of their Survivability comes from user-activated skills whether its blocks, dodging or invulnerable.
Our invulnerable skills arent ground covering and they remove our skill bar. (unless you requip a kit while invulnerable for 1-2 “free hits”.

When you see the vids of Elite Engineer players like Maska or TankCat you can see how much good blocking/dodging and mostly knowing when to disengage and re-engage factors in to how well they do.

Even going full PVT with Toughness you are still too squishy for the amount of time we have to stay at close range.

I won’t deny it adds to the difficulty, because you have to be aware of the field and a screw-up can leave you pretty vulnerable, but Engineer isn’t the only class who plays their survivability almost totally in user-activated skills (either defensive ones or CC)—Mesmer and Ele both do the same thing, both have very popular melee range weapons/builds, but I don’t think anyone would say that it’s a problem for them. Thief and Ele both do a lot of disengaging during the fight, too, so these kinds of things are more staple of the armor classes we’re at and above than the one we’re under.

Our problem with it, though, is that we’re so cluttered with having a lot of our utility/damage in our utilities (kits especially) that we don’t have a lot of breathing room around (or for) our damage mitigation—we have to cram a lot more in a smaller space, or accept that we’ll be lacking in more areas because we don’t have the room.

Which is part of what makes Anet’s versatility clause so painful for us—I see a lot of potential in us having a tool for every situation, and in us being controllers of the field, but we’re so bogged down we don’t actually have a lot of room for versatility after all.

Engie> all

simple i won’t drop my engie!

FUN FACT

I decided for engineer as my main ~1 month BEFORE it was revealed as playable class. How? There were many signs he will be a class, from book, lore, etc. I remember saying even to my girlfriend “should i play thief i have decided for now or the sure-to-bo engineer class that they will announce for sure next month?!”

Still happy how spot on i was.