Guild Wars 2

Hey! So I’ve always been an altoholic and I’ve never really settled on a single profession in the 3 years i’ve been playing this game but I think it’s time! My favorite classes are Engineer and Guardian, but I can’t for the life of me pick between the two. My endgame goal at the moment is to be part of a raid group, and since Engi and Guard are two different armor classes and only share a couple weapons I want to focus on playing / gearing one of them up first.

I enjoy Engi for it’s silly amounts of versatility and the feeling of jumping around leaving explosions behind me, with so much AOE, durability and mobility. The playstyle is extremely appealing to me and I’ve also liked damage over time classes in a lot of games so condi Engi works for me. I think I like being the minority when I play Engi too but that’s less important. I’m just not sure if the aesthetics of the Engi are for me, since I love to play Fashion Wars 2 and engi weapons are out of sight most of the time. Going for an Engineer legendary weapon just feels less cool than it should but idk if that’s a good reason to not play this profession. The only actual gameplay element I dislike is how repetitive throwing grenades all day can be.

I enjoy the Guardian for the playstyle too, but for different reasons. I like being in the front lines and Guard is a class that can take damage as well as dish it out. I like the flavor of the class a little more than Engi and the aesthetics are a whole lot more appealing. They also have a lot of tools that benefit groups of players, but it’s not like Engi doesn’t. However, Guardians definitely lack the versatility that I enjoy on the Engi, which can make them feel a little more stale or repetitive, and I think Engi is a little more desired in raid groups? The lack of mobility on a Guardian does kill me sometimes.

I mostly play solo or in a small group and the only game mode I don’t really have any interest in is WvW. Any idea which I should pick? I know there are a ton of threads like this but i’m really struggling here! Thanks for any help

Objectively, I’d say guard, subjectively I’d say Engi.

Guard is a bit more wanted in raids though as a pure dps, large hitboxes they’re really good and they bring extra defenses that take the stress off people. Engi just kind of rocks in their own little subtle world, doing things like holding 2 spirits on Gors, seeker control on VG, and less necessary things but still very nice.

Both are good in PVP as I understand but I detest that mode, guard is better in WvW but you don’t care for that.

So really it’s a close comparison but I’d give the edge to guard if I were honest with myself (I want engi to be the answer so bad).

Engineer, with 2 reason a major reason and a min or . Major .. Engineer is much more fun to play at least in spvp and pve and fun is the real reason for playing. Minor : with a single class , the engineer, you have a bit of everything … from soloing dungeons to every other expect of the game . OK …. i prefer engineer….

ok.
I just get myself into forum to start the exact same post.
The difference.
I main a guardian and recently a level up an engi with tomes and start map completion to open waypoints.Playing around with engi i just ask myself a question….what i was doing with the guardian?
Engi feels way better than everything. Take down mobs easily and protect himself from them, healing alies, giving might and swiftnes and all that(correct me if i m wrong i have him 3 days), plus ….the playstyle…omg that playstyle. I found myself several times to just rofl with him.
My guardian is half ascended but as it seems i ll pass amults , back etc to engi(zerk hammer yes ) and continue with him.
Also hammer is really a blast on engi, or at least i feel it that way.
I’ ll leave guard to dust for a while…for now. It took some buff with recent changes an also other ppl said that engi is nerfed(don’t know it i’ m fresh), but i don’t really care.
I just love engi so much right now….
I don’t care for wvw as my ele spread a lot of aoe in there dressed in soldiers :P , and pvp just passing through my eyes without even stopping..
More experience players can give some feedback.

Guardian has a staff, which is a lot like our flamethrower.
Except its a lot better: has longer range, wider cone, takes less retaliation and it even burns more.

However guardian is slow, really slow. Engi is still more fun to play.

Seteruss.4058:

ok.
I just get myself into forum to start the exact same post.
The difference.
I main a guardian and recently a level up an engi with tomes and start map completion to open waypoints.Playing around with engi i just ask myself a question….what i was doing with the guardian?
Engi feels way better than everything. Take down mobs easily and protect himself from them, healing alies, giving might and swiftnes and all that(correct me if i m wrong i have him 3 days), plus ….the playstyle…omg that playstyle. I found myself several times to just rofl with him.
My guardian is half ascended but as it seems i ll pass amults , back etc to engi(zerk hammer yes ) and continue with him.
Also hammer is really a blast on engi, or at least i feel it that way.
I’ ll leave guard to dust for a while…for now. It took some buff with recent changes an also other ppl said that engi is nerfed(don’t know it i’ m fresh), but i don’t really care.
I just love engi so much right now….
I don’t care for wvw as my ele spread a lot of aoe in there dressed in soldiers :P , and pvp just passing through my eyes without even stopping..
More experience players can give some feedback.

I too had the DH/Guardian and have gone to Engi, mostly because I am looking for a class to raid with more often but also that is “fun” in open world, PVE, etc.
I jumped back onto my Druid (condi) but keep coming back to my Engi for some reason…lol. Fun perhaps?
What builds do you all go with? I am currently condi but that’s more for raids as I really doubt a Scrapper would even get a look at. But I am keen to run Scrapper hammer outside of raids, if its viable and not squishy?

For OP, I’d say guard. I actually think that guard has more versatility and utility in raids, even though it sounds counter-intuitive.

Guards have some more unique utility such as spammable protection, aegis, and pulls (great for encounters like KC and Xera). While engi is not bad and is certainly viable, it just doesn’t have as much to stand out and since so much of the DPS comes from kits, it’s hard to really swap in any decent utility without wrecking damage. However, even if utility spots were freed up, most of their utility is redundant and slightly less efficient than what other professions can do.

If you really liked engi, I’d say to go for it since the difference is pretty small, but if you have even the slightest bias towards guard, I’d say to go for guard for sure. You can find a great resource for guardian setup in raids at the link below:
http://qtfy.enjin.com/guardian

Joxer.6024:

Seteruss.4058:

ok.
I just get myself into forum to start the exact same post.
The difference.
I main a guardian and recently a level up an engi with tomes and start map completion to open waypoints.Playing around with engi i just ask myself a question….what i was doing with the guardian?
Engi feels way better than everything. Take down mobs easily and protect himself from them, healing alies, giving might and swiftnes and all that(correct me if i m wrong i have him 3 days), plus ….the playstyle…omg that playstyle. I found myself several times to just rofl with him.
My guardian is half ascended but as it seems i ll pass amults , back etc to engi(zerk hammer yes ) and continue with him.
Also hammer is really a blast on engi, or at least i feel it that way.
I’ ll leave guard to dust for a while…for now. It took some buff with recent changes an also other ppl said that engi is nerfed(don’t know it i’ m fresh), but i don’t really care.
I just love engi so much right now….
I don’t care for wvw as my ele spread a lot of aoe in there dressed in soldiers :P , and pvp just passing through my eyes without even stopping..
More experience players can give some feedback.

I too had the DH/Guardian and have gone to Engi, mostly because I am looking for a class to raid with more often but also that is “fun” in open world, PVE, etc.
I jumped back onto my Druid (condi) but keep coming back to my Engi for some reason…lol. Fun perhaps?
What builds do you all go with? I am currently condi but that’s more for raids as I really doubt a Scrapper would even get a look at. But I am keen to run Scrapper hammer outside of raids, if its viable and not squishy?

Currently two sets.
One condi rabid in my inventory and a full zerk on me with hammer.
Honestly i jump to fights with my eyes closed and tear apart everything.
I miss aegis of guardian but my scrapper…oh mine..i love him.
Plus that sneaky gyro help me avoid a lot of trouble opening map again

Seteruss.4058:

Joxer.6024:

Seteruss.4058:

ok.
I just get myself into forum to start the exact same post.
The difference.
I main a guardian and recently a level up an engi with tomes and start map completion to open waypoints.Playing around with engi i just ask myself a question….what i was doing with the guardian?
Engi feels way better than everything. Take down mobs easily and protect himself from them, healing alies, giving might and swiftnes and all that(correct me if i m wrong i have him 3 days), plus ….the playstyle…omg that playstyle. I found myself several times to just rofl with him.
My guardian is half ascended but as it seems i ll pass amults , back etc to engi(zerk hammer yes ) and continue with him.
Also hammer is really a blast on engi, or at least i feel it that way.
I’ ll leave guard to dust for a while…for now. It took some buff with recent changes an also other ppl said that engi is nerfed(don’t know it i’ m fresh), but i don’t really care.
I just love engi so much right now….
I don’t care for wvw as my ele spread a lot of aoe in there dressed in soldiers :P , and pvp just passing through my eyes without even stopping..
More experience players can give some feedback.

I too had the DH/Guardian and have gone to Engi, mostly because I am looking for a class to raid with more often but also that is “fun” in open world, PVE, etc.
I jumped back onto my Druid (condi) but keep coming back to my Engi for some reason…lol. Fun perhaps?
What builds do you all go with? I am currently condi but that’s more for raids as I really doubt a Scrapper would even get a look at. But I am keen to run Scrapper hammer outside of raids, if its viable and not squishy?

Currently two sets.
One condi rabid in my inventory and a full zerk on me with hammer.
Honestly i jump to fights with my eyes closed and tear apart everything.
I miss aegis of guardian but my scrapper…oh mine..i love him.
Plus that sneaky gyro help me avoid a lot of trouble opening map again

For raiding you’ll want to invest in vipers ideally, sinister for things you can’t or rampagers if you have to. Rabid has toughness and toughness controls agro in some places. Just a heads up.

Engi 4 life. Yes I am totally biased. In engi you have something for every situation. The engineer can wear so many hats. Some of them are not so great by meta standards, some of them are pretty top notch. If you look at a core class that has advantages in a few aspects that class will do it’s thing better than the engi but the engi’s power is his ability to adapt. From silly flamethrower engi (which can bring rediculous dps if you can stay alive) to Mr nice guy, healer, buffer engi, we have the tools to bring anything to fill the needs of your group or just to satisfy your own curiosity and creative mind.

Jerus.4350:

Seteruss.4058:

Joxer.6024:

Seteruss.4058:

ok.
I just get myself into forum to start the exact same post.
The difference.
I main a guardian and recently a level up an engi with tomes and start map completion to open waypoints.Playing around with engi i just ask myself a question….what i was doing with the guardian?
Engi feels way better than everything. Take down mobs easily and protect himself from them, healing alies, giving might and swiftnes and all that(correct me if i m wrong i have him 3 days), plus ….the playstyle…omg that playstyle. I found myself several times to just rofl with him.
My guardian is half ascended but as it seems i ll pass amults , back etc to engi(zerk hammer yes ) and continue with him.
Also hammer is really a blast on engi, or at least i feel it that way.
I’ ll leave guard to dust for a while…for now. It took some buff with recent changes an also other ppl said that engi is nerfed(don’t know it i’ m fresh), but i don’t really care.
I just love engi so much right now….
I don’t care for wvw as my ele spread a lot of aoe in there dressed in soldiers :P , and pvp just passing through my eyes without even stopping..
More experience players can give some feedback.

I too had the DH/Guardian and have gone to Engi, mostly because I am looking for a class to raid with more often but also that is “fun” in open world, PVE, etc.
I jumped back onto my Druid (condi) but keep coming back to my Engi for some reason…lol. Fun perhaps?
What builds do you all go with? I am currently condi but that’s more for raids as I really doubt a Scrapper would even get a look at. But I am keen to run Scrapper hammer outside of raids, if its viable and not squishy?

Currently two sets.
One condi rabid in my inventory and a full zerk on me with hammer.
Honestly i jump to fights with my eyes closed and tear apart everything.
I miss aegis of guardian but my scrapper…oh mine..i love him.
Plus that sneaky gyro help me avoid a lot of trouble opening map again

For raiding you’ll want to invest in vipers ideally, sinister for things you can’t or rampagers if you have to. Rabid has toughness and toughness controls agro in some places. Just a heads up.

Totally agree for toughness.
Was just the first one that i purchase from orr(temple armor).
Was the very best experiment keeping in mind to survive as unexperienced with engi(with guard i was full zerk everywhere).
I ll follow your advice on armor.
With hammer i think i ll keep zerk one(the other go with pistols :P )

Warchant.8476:

Engi 4 life. Yes I am totally biased. In engi you have something for every situation. The engineer can wear so many hats. Some of them are not so great by meta standards, some of them are pretty top notch. If you look at a core class that has advantages in a few aspects that class will do it’s thing better than the engi but the engi’s power is his ability to adapt. From silly flamethrower engi (which can bring rediculous dps if you can stay alive) to Mr nice guy, healer, buffer engi, we have the tools to bring anything to fill the needs of your group or just to satisfy your own curiosity and creative mind.

That exactly

I haven’t tried guardian yet, but engineer was my latest to 80 and it’s been a lot of fun so far. Right now I’m trying out a solo build that does some pretty incredible boon stacking. It’s pretty fun and feels like a nice balance between damage output and survivability. Plus I just like seeing nearly every boon up and a 25 stack of might in combat. I didn’t get to do that on my other characters with solo builds!

The Engineer low lag and low ping yes, otherwise Guadian.

I’ve played all classes and a engineer’s the one i stuck with but WARNING engineer seems to be the last class they fix and first to get nurfed because of pvp match complaints

i really can’t imagine how it was before nerf, especially now that i’m fresh to the class and find it awesome…and it is ..

I’m biased since I had an Engineer main from day one. I also mainly play WvW. That being said it took me 3 separate attempts to level a Guardian past 35 or so. I finally powered through to see what all the hubbub is about. I played a few different builds then went back to my Engineer after the newness wore off.

Some replies are skewed as they include PvP/WvW input. But all great! I have had this dilemma too; Guard or Engi. It’s overall the most “fun” class to me, perhaps more so because I have an asura; love those little guys. With the Guardian changes tho; I sorta ended up focusing that as my main. I don’t regret it; Guardian fits my playstyle aka support DPS or healer/support and even decent just full burn DPS fits the bill.

But PvE wise; and RAID wise unless you’re seeking hardcore elite RAID groups; go with what you love most. I’ve raided with Engi’s perfectly fine. I love my Guardian has all my fav weap types; etc. but I could also see me at 80 despite engi’s current issues also off and on preferring that.

I’d not be too concerned with meta/what is “best” in PvE unless seeking elite raid groups. Open world PvE wise for DPS I prefer Guardian; group support ironically Engy. And well yeah engy can get mech legs and elixer for speed but you can give Guardian travler/speed runes and Retreat can literally be upp’d for nonstop use and you’re just as quick/faster. But I get it’s a slot. Anyways; not to rant on – if u prefer engy go with that imo! Don’t just go Guardian because it may be “better” in some areas, unless u do love Guardian then.

Honest and balanced-ish responses like these are why I decided to post this in the Engi forum tbh. I decided to go with the Engineer, as I do really love the playstyle and roaming around the open world as a Guardian just isn’t quite the same. I’ll still be picking up other classes now and then but I think Engi is the one I’m gonna stick to. Thanks guys.

Play both. Both are great pretty much every mode in this game. I play every profession, I’m 100% an altoholic myself, but I do find myself on 3 of my toons the most. Though for fun playstyle, you can’t beat Engi. I have the most fun on him.

GLHF on whatever you pick, hope you have fun, that’s key.