Guild Wars 2

So so so, new map, new meta, new disasters. I have been off for quite long but as I’m back I was trying some pvp. First thing I noticed, all sigils have changed, and it seems new patches brought another condi meta wave.
Personally I am pretty sad about this, I am tired of condi meta, it’s been there since the bunker one ended (necros, ahem) but it’s ok.
I want to know, what seems to be working on the engi right now? These sustainable condi builds doesn’t seem to be countered by the p/p or p/s: we just don’t have THAT condi pressure and sustain at the same time, it’s sustain OR condi, not both.
I tried mender’s amulet, going for a more supportive build, and it kinda worked, even if people are still getting wrekt by necro/guardian condi toasters.
What do you guys think? Which builds are you using? Let me know

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQFASnUUBdpitbBGpCEqilJjS8ZKgAg+vr7+Oc7SmwC-TJRXAB0WGA4HAwyXAAA2fAA

Swap to Adaptive Armor and/or Recovery Matrix if facing against good power revs/guards. Elixir X, Elixir C, and Elixir S can be swapped in for flavor as well. Really depends on the matchup and whether you can expect to hold a 1v2 at far versus the enemy comp.

Don’t try to team fight much if at all. Play side points the entire game and +1 mid only when the enemy thief is dead or you know it’s safe to.

I haven’t played at all this season because of WvW changes but I won over 80% of my games in unranked during the off-season with this and will be probably running this build in ATs when I have time to participate in them.

Murmur.9746:

… I am tired of condi meta, it’s been there since the bunker one ended (necros, ahem) but it’s ok.
I want to know, what seems to be working on the engi right now?

Dude, where have you been since the beginning of HoT? How have you not heard of the keyboard mash scrapper build? It’s probably going to bore you more than the condi meta, but it’s a nice change for a time if all you’ve done was a condi meta.

The build I’m talking about is the same one the previous poster mentioned, except it’s entirely possible to bunkstain at mid and contribute greatly to teamfights due to either amazing heals (if wearing menders amulet which you probably should for conquest) or just not dying and being an obnoxious piece of ionic charged kitten. Oh, and don’t forget those pretty gucci res power. While you should make changes to the build a little depending on the team comps, it’s going to end up being the same playstyle which may bore you out of your mind unless all you care about is winning. The playstyle is as easy to learn as it is to fart anonymously in a concert, the learning curve is even easier, and all you need to work on to master this build is to manage your cooldowns.

kitten, there’s a lot you can do with this build. You’re going to end up even more of a thief than a thief with Stealth Gyro alone. You can just contest two people on a point for a while, and even if you’re not able to last forever on it, it’s far more likely you’ll waste enough of their time until your own team comes and makes them realize how pointless it was to get a Scrapper off a point. Once a Scrapper is on a point, you’re going to need to get all other four of your team-mates because they’re going to be clinging to that kitten like their lives barely depend on it. Despite that, they can crawl around fast enough to have you see them traveling to the point you’re fighting on, and you’re going to say, “kitten me in my kitty cat, I was this close to grabbing this point. I sure wish I got a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Guess I better go McFlip my Mckittening burgers at McBronze Tier because I got a degree in non-meta builds instead.”

It’s a pretty fun build, you should try it. Don’t bother with any other build that uses a different build either except for I suppose p/p. The shield became a rare UFO sighting, and the rifle is basically a cruel joke to players who hope to find a ranged engineer power build.

Uber.7623:

Murmur.9746:

… I am tired of condi meta, it’s been there since the bunker one ended (necros, ahem) but it’s ok.
I want to know, what seems to be working on the engi right now?

Dude, where have you been since the beginning of HoT? How have you not heard of the keyboard mash scrapper build? It’s probably going to bore you more than the condi meta, but it’s a nice change for a time if all you’ve done was a condi meta, one which only recently came around since the flamethrower change last season.

The build I’m talking about is the same one the previous poster mentioned, except it’s entirely possible to bunksustain at mid and contribute greatly to teamfights due to either amazing heals (if wearing menders amulet) or just not dying and doing some pretty sustained damage. While you should make changes to the build depending on the team comps, it’s going to end up being the same playstyle for the most part.

Marvin tried replacing the role of an elementalist in the Unity tournament and we all saw how well that worked. The meta right now is pretty strict, and the simple fact of the matter is that the engineer doesn’t particularly shine in team fights right now outside of being a res bot.

Leave it to the tempest on your team, stick to the side points, and try and pull 1v2s in your favor. I don’t think it’s particularly bad advice to help in team fights whenever possible, but we are one of the better duelists at the moment and are capable of forcing their power roles out of team fights and relieve pressure off home/mid by frequently contesting if not absolutely pestering far.

It’s this type of play that won Zan the EU tournament, and I think he’s pretty much the model to follow right now unless someone else does something remarkable in the monthly ATs to come. Just do whatever you can to decap far without dying in the process. Throughout season five I went through 5-6 matches in a row without dying once, using super speed and the stealth gyro to re-position myself as needed. While I know a lot of time has passed since then, and we’re facing some different classes in season seven, not much has really changed regarding how the class is played.

Or you could say, screw the meta, and play what you have fun doing? A lot of people seem to think that, playing the meta equals winning. But I’ve always been under the impression that playing what you enjoy, you’re going to perform better than someone who just, knuckles under to the, “Muh Meta” mentality. As long as you are helping and not hindering the team, then go for it. Not everyone has to strive to be the next, “1%’er”.

GLHF

Odokuro.5049:

Or you could say, screw the meta, and play what you have fun doing? A lot of people seem to think that, playing the meta equals winning. But I’ve always been under the impression that playing what you enjoy, you’re going to perform better than someone who just, knuckles under to the, “Muh Meta” mentality. As long as you are helping and not hindering the team, then go for it. Not everyone has to strive to be the next, “1%’er”.

GLHF

In an unranked environment, I think this type of attitude is perfectly fine. But in ranked play and in automated tournaments, places where people are ideally trying to win as many games as possible, I think it’s incredibly detrimental to your team to shirk the meta out of some self-aggrandizement urge.

is Menders really that much better than Paladin amulet? I feel like i cant kill anything with menders

Phineas Poe.3018:

Odokuro.5049:

Or you could say, screw the meta, and play what you have fun doing? A lot of people seem to think that, playing the meta equals winning. But I’ve always been under the impression that playing what you enjoy, you’re going to perform better than someone who just, knuckles under to the, “Muh Meta” mentality. As long as you are helping and not hindering the team, then go for it. Not everyone has to strive to be the next, “1%’er”.

GLHF

In an unranked environment, I think this type of attitude is perfectly fine. But in ranked play and in automated tournaments, places where people are ideally trying to win as many games as possible, I think it’s incredibly detrimental to your team to shirk the meta out of some self-aggrandizement urge.

So people who aren’t running a meta build and comp, aren’t trying to win, I got it.

Phineas Poe.3018:

Leave it to the tempest on your team, stick to the side points, and try and pull 1v2s in your favor. I don’t think it’s particularly bad advice to help in team fights whenever possible, but we are one of the better duelists at the moment and are capable of forcing their power roles out of team fights and relieve pressure off home/mid by frequently contesting if not absolutely pestering far.

I’ve noticed this as well. Sitting on the enemy’s home is incredibly disruptive given that we can handily tank 1v2s for a fair bit of time. I’ve won several matches just by being disruptive like that.

Odokuro.5049:

So people who aren’t running a meta build and comp, aren’t trying to win, I got it.

I don’t think that’s what he’s trying to say. I think what he’s trying to say is that most builds that deviate from the meta have some hard counters that are currently in the meta. Playing a build which has a high chance of being hard countered is a poor strategic decision, and could cost your team. Obviously, you can play around it with skill, but you’re ultimately handicapping yourself.

(IE: Most necro builds hard-counter our condi build. Many classes have very heavy condi removal and reflects, leaving pistols relatively unusable. Rifle’s been bad for quite a while too)

Spartacus.3192:

is Menders really that much better than Paladin amulet? I feel like i cant kill anything with menders

On Menders I can 1v1 pretty much everything but other engis just fine. Engis I can still kill, but it takes a while and I’d rather just get a thief or rev to +1 real quick.

Odokuro.5049:

So people who aren’t running a meta build and comp, aren’t trying to win, I got it.

Plenty of teams veer heavily from the meta and find great success with it. Marvin couldn’t replace the role of an elementalist as a scrapper, but his team still finished top three in the tournament.

My point was more so that it’s pretty bad advice to tell someone to “play what they enjoy” with complete disregard of what’s actually effective. Your quote:

Odokuro.5049:

Or you could say, screw the meta, and play what you have fun doing?

Simple fact is, by saying “screw the meta,” you’re promoting ignorance with a bit of arrogance. I think it’s important to remember that PvP is a team mode and your contributions (or lack thereof) can have very severe, negative consequences that affect other players on your team and their own ranked progress.

Just be a team player and work around the weaknesses of your roster; you may not have to play precisely the same build I linked above, especially if there’s already another engineer in your team (I usually opt for Paladin or even Marauder in such instances) but you should at least put some thought into what you’re running to beyond “what’s fun” to at least lead yourself and the rest of your team toward the path of least resistance.

Either that, or you’re welcome to “have fun” spending the afternoon trying to push open a glass door by its hinges.