Guild Wars 2

!PvE player warning!
I leveled an engi at release up to level 50 then I rerolled a new class. Simply because I was disappointed that using the Flamethrower 90% of the time was gimping myself for the sake of the “cool” factor.

So now, is it safe for me to come back and use primarily the Flamethrower (and not gimp myself by doing so)? When I say primarily, I mean not having to switch out of the flamethrower every engagement no matter if it is a normal mob or a boss.

It’s still mediocre damage, so you may want to wait until stats on weapons effect kits at least. The sigils DO help and lead to some interesting build ideas though, especially ones utilizing might.

And there will always be occasions when switching to another weapon will be preferred. Even thieves will bust out the pistols when they need the distance.

Flamenommer does well enough now.

I agree that a little more love is needed, but sigil benefits have drastically improved the viability of the Flamethrower.

Crit-Might (Sigil of Strength) and Juggernaut (stack of might every few seconds) goes really well with the improved HGH (elixirs grant might). Especially if you stack boon duration (Alchemy Line, 60% Might Duration from 3 sets of 2 Power Runes)

If you do want to primary your Flamethrower… Take Pistol/Shield or Pistol/Pistol. Since you benefit from sigils, and kits will be balanced around having access to two sigils, Rifle just won’t cut it unless you need the control and like to kit swap.

Also keep in mind that the flamethrower #1 skill hits the target several times. Each of those hits has a chance to crit, meaning each of those hits can proc on crit effects. This can make the flamethrower useful with a high investment in firearms and traits like incendiary powder, and runes of earth in your main weapon.
I was using this as an experimental build, but I don’t think I like it that much yet:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelspSXn1SgF17IBoH1Hw3V0j834J/pAbB;TsAAzCpoAzAmAMLYOwkgNE5swMDA
I tries to incorporate some solid direct and condition damage without being a glass cannon. Elixir H and B help you get buffs and might stacks from HGH, and elixir C does this as well as allow you to remove conditions you might acquire.
The pistol and shield gives you some defensive options but also lets you use two sigils so you can get more might stacks easily.
As for the traits, infused precision goes well with invigorating speed. You will be critting often, which means you will have both swiftness and vigor available for essentially the entire fight.
I didn’t use naplam specialist because burning stacks in duration only, and the build is designed to inflict burning very frequently during a fight. This means that it’s easier to keep enemies burning when they have good condition removal, so I used precise sights instead to also add some vulnerability. Fireforged trigger would probably also work well if you want to use the other skills more frequently.
I used deadly mixture for the damage boost, but the elixir cooldown reduction might be a better option since you’d be able to keep up more might stacks.
I went with more durability stuff in equipment so the build would have some survivability, but I haven’t played around with that too much yet.
Anyways, there’s probably much better FT builds out there atm, that’s just one I experimented with a bit.

Edit: Well that build editor always gives me bad links so I guess you can’t even see it. Oh well.

Flamethrower has nice synergy with the bomb kit too. You get an extra blast finisher for your fire field for stacking might, and an additional aoe blind. If you have superior runes of altruism and run a more defensive setup you can use the medkit for some crazy might building.

If flamethrower were working right, it would be godly with the Elixir-Might Trait.
7 stack of might when wearing Flamethrower (all the time) + bonuses from elixirs. Might goes up a lot.