Flamethrower help!

Flamethrower help!

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Posted by: Oswaldzl.3652

Oswaldzl.3652

we’ve been given the wonderful Rune of strength with 45% might duration and might on hit. Add that with sigil of Battle, sigil of Strength, and then equip flamethrower drop a fire field- (bombkit) big 0 bomb- then shield 4, rocket boot and in a fight u can get 25 stacks of might.. that’s just wat the flamethrower needs? more damage…Im planning to use this in zerg along with this build.

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Posted by: Oswaldzl.3652

Oswaldzl.3652

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Posted by: Forestnator.6298

Forestnator.6298

You can easily hit 15 stacks of might with bombs or grenades and with some effort even 20-25 stacks. What is again the point? FT still sucks.

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Posted by: Nabarue.3290

Nabarue.3290

You can easily hit 15 stacks of might with bombs or grenades and with some effort even 20-25 stacks. What is again the point? FT still sucks.

The point being that it’s a game, and as such, not everyone is in to running the OMGWTFBBQ SUPER UBER BUILD that people say is best. People can run whatever they want. (Sorry, I wouldn’t have quoted you specifically, but for every FT thread, there is someone like you who makes a completely irrelevant post like this) Some people (like myself) enjoy running the flamethrower. Also, I am lead to assume that you did not look at his posted build because he IS running the Bomb Kit.

Now, to the OP. Looks decent. I would suggest running Rifle. The Rifle 5 skill, Jump Shot, is wonderful in conjunction with the fire fields you will be running. It can give you the Fire Shield off the Leap Finisher, which burns enemies and grants you might when struck. Pistol/Shield is solid, but if might stacking is your aim, go all out and give the Rifle a shot. If you happen to run a Sigil of Battle in your Rifle, you will gain 3 stacks from swapping from FT to Rifle, then the fire shield, and whatever other finishers those around you may provide. Might everywhere!

Best of luck, OP. Nice to see other FT engis out there making this awesome weapon feasible.

Sir Sprocket the Engi/ Kyoryu Silver the Ele
And my Alter-Ego- Kyoryu Gold, Mesmer, Thundering Hero, wielder of the Legendary Meteorlogicus!

(edited by Nabarue.3290)

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Posted by: dank.3680

dank.3680

You can easily hit 15 stacks of might with bombs or grenades and with some effort even 20-25 stacks. What is again the point? FT still sucks.

The point being that it’s a game, and as such, not everyone is in to running the OMGWTFBBQ SUPER UBER BUILD that people say is best. People can run whatever they want. (Sorry, I wouldn’t have quoted you specifically, but for every FT thread, there is someone like you who makes a completely irrelevant post like this) Some people (like myself) enjoy running the flamethrower. Also, I am lead to assume that you did not look at his posted build because he IS running the Bomb Kit.

Now, to the OP. Looks decent. I would suggest running Rifle. The Rifle 5 skill, Jump Shot, is wonderful in conjunction with the two fire fields you will be running. It can give you the Fire Shield off the Leap Finisher, which burns enemies and grants you might when struck. Pistol/Shield is solid, but if might stacking is your aim, go all out and give the Rifle a shot. If you happen to run a Sigil of Battle in your Rifle, you will gain 3 stacks from swapping from FT to Rifle, then the fire shield, and whatever other finishers those around you may provide. Might everywhere!

Best of luck, OP. Nice to see other FT engis out there making this awesome weapon feasible.

I know right because a weapon that has fire fields, a toolbelt skill that does very nice burn, an aoe low cd blind-though a small radius, and an instant cast cleave knockback on a very low cd is so terrible. Not to mention it does good damage on dps builds.

#MAGSWAG: All class player. XOXO

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Posted by: Oswaldzl.3652

Oswaldzl.3652

Dank is right about rifle it has a blast finisher! k now I will be using rifle…ye I know flamethrower is just for utility. But a power build flamethrower has a kick in it to damage in zergs…in the past people complain about flamethrower not doing much damage but now….25 stacks of might!

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Posted by: Nabarue.3290

Nabarue.3290

Exactly. A good engi asks "how can I make this work?’ not “this sucks, why bother?”

I have run my FT build in dungeons before, and while some people have asked me about it, the results speak for themselves.

Good luck with the rifle, i swear by Jump Shot. And it gives you yet another knockback to help you should you need it.

Sir Sprocket the Engi/ Kyoryu Silver the Ele
And my Alter-Ego- Kyoryu Gold, Mesmer, Thundering Hero, wielder of the Legendary Meteorlogicus!

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Posted by: Flissy.4093

Flissy.4093

People can run whatever they want.

Yet they still join my groups that request meta builds only.

Light Up the Darkness
“Dear ANet, nerf Paper, Scissors is fine. Sincerely, Rock”
Elysaurus | Warrior | [LOL] | League of the Legendary | Gandara (EU)

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Posted by: Oswaldzl.3652

Oswaldzl.3652

on the bright side guys who reads this….. if u see an ele casting Meteor shower, u can pretty must troll them flamethrower blind

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Posted by: Nabarue.3290

Nabarue.3290

I can’t speak for them, but I stand by my statement. I stay away from groups that look for only meta builds. I used to do that a while ago, and when things go wrong, they tend to go catastrophically wrong. That and I met some very unsavory players in those groups. Not saying you are one, but just speaking from my past experiences.

That and I think the word “meta” is synonymous with “stagnation.”

But alas, we’ve diverted from the original point of this thread…

Sir Sprocket the Engi/ Kyoryu Silver the Ele
And my Alter-Ego- Kyoryu Gold, Mesmer, Thundering Hero, wielder of the Legendary Meteorlogicus!

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Posted by: Oswaldzl.3652

Oswaldzl.3652

the point is flamethrower has always been a utility instead on damage and people complains all the time it does minimal damage… but not so with 25 stacks of might… that’s gotta hurt in aoe..

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Posted by: Oswaldzl.3652

Oswaldzl.3652

6-8k damage one round of flame channeling that’s times the number it hit….

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Posted by: Mork vom Ork.2598

Mork vom Ork.2598

In my opinion anyone can run the build he wants to, PvE is easy enough (I’m partial to heal bombing and so is my very glassy thief friend), but the choice should be done based on facts:

Dank is right about rifle it has a blast finisher!

No it does not, only leap and projectile.

6-8k damage one round of flame channeling that’s times the number it hit….

No it is not – FT damage numbers show the damage summed up. FT #1 takes over 2.5 seconds to channel and has a coefficient of 1.5, so it’s 0.6 per second. It is also limited to 3 targets per tick.
Bomb Kit #1 has a coefficient of 1.25 and fires every 0.92 seconds, resulting in ~1.35 per second or for easier comparison 225% of FT #1. And it hits 5 targets while also covering a much larger area.

I know right because a weapon that has fire fields, a toolbelt skill that does very nice burn, an aoe low cd blind-though a small radius, and an instant cast cleave knockback on a very low cd is so terrible. Not to mention it does good damage on dps builds.

The thing is, Bomb Kit has a comparable fire field, a stronger blind (3 pulses, much larger radius), does more than double the damage vs. 1-3 targets and more than triple damage vs. 5+ targets and can keep up permanent burning on 5 targets. The knockback is of very limited use in PvE.

Exactly. A good engi asks "how can I make this work?’ not “this sucks, why bother?”

A good engi will use the right tool for the right task. You can of course try to make a hole in a concrete wall with a screwdriver but you should not do it when you have a power drill available. The FT is not a DPS kit, it is a utility kit:

  • The knockback and (very) short range instant blind are great in PvP but of very limited use in PvE.
  • Flame Jet deals less damage than rifle #1 on single targets, about half the damage of grenades/bombs on 2-3 targets and less than 1/3 on 5+ targets. It is only useful for fast tagging in large scale events.
  • Juggernaut can be nice to get some added toughness e.g. for the dredge fractal but staying in FT for the might stacking will lower your overall dps instead of increasing it because of how bad FT#1 is. There are better ways to stack might. It’s also only stacking might for yourself, while blasting fire fields also benefits your allies.
  • Flame Blast does good damage but you don’t need to stay in FT to use it.

All that being said, if you’re having fun with the FT and are not concerned with min-maxing, just stick with it. This is a game and the goal is to enjoy oneself.
If you get kicked from a group because of not running the “meta”, most likely you have been saved from spending time with people you wouldn’t want to play with anyway.

Still loving the smell of Napalm
Bill Kilgore – [BIER] – Seafarer’s Rest random Megaserver

(edited by Mork vom Ork.2598)

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Posted by: Ronin.5038

Ronin.5038

A flamethrower build that works? So long as you’re not talking about damage.

Also, doesn’t flamethrower have a bad time in zergs due to retaliation and the whole melting yourself thing?

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Posted by: Larynx.2453

Larynx.2453

Exactly. A good engi asks "how can I make this work?’ not “this sucks, why bother?”

And a good player asks, “What is best?”

I can make a celestial warrior work, and it’s actually a very competent build. There’s a difference between making the best of a situation, and being optimal.

Good players don’t sacrifice efficiency at the cost of having a quirky build. For some people, running what is best is what is fun. Running something that has some minor thematic appeal at the cost of their team’s success is not fun for them.

(edited by Larynx.2453)

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Posted by: igmolicious.5986

igmolicious.5986

6-8k damage one round of flame channeling that’s times the number it hit….

Are you talking about flame jet hitting for 6-8k? I’ve never seen that kind of damage from it ever, even in full berserker…

Even assuming 25 stacks of might and 25 stacks of bloodlust, that looks like it would peak a little under 4k, and with 25 stacks of vulnerability that’s still peaking at around 5k. Am I missing something?

Edit: Fiddling with traits to include the damage booster and going full 6 points into Explosives, as well as having full ascended gear seems like it would peak closer to 6k with 25 might/bloodlust/vulnerability, but there’s not a lot in explosives that benefits flamethrower — are you making up the difference here with incendiary powder? I’m honestly interested in how to get that kind of damage.

(edited by igmolicious.5986)

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Posted by: tigirius.9014

tigirius.9014

That’s a good one but I was thinking about using this one the other day simply because I find that might stacking doesn’t work as well as changing conditions into boons (the more boons we have the better imo) and due to the class’ speed issues I thought of doing this.

Speed build

This build has EG/FT Elixirs for boons and emergencies, direct damage bonuses to the types of weapons you will be using (rifle/HP gun/EG/FT) and a bit of might thrown in with FT.

I was playing around with this build the other day (without the runes/sigils mind you) but I used the major runes/sigils on my Guardian and discovered what a joy they are for faster run speeds. So I’m about to switch things around a bit. My engi will be getting a speed boost and my Guard will be getting a bit better boon/condition time and a perma 25% run speed boost so I can use reflects instead of running around trying to get swiftness to work constantly.

Oh keep in mind I rarely do dungeons, most of the stuff I do is open world stuff PVE only.

Balance Team: Please Fix Mine Toolbelt Positioning!

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Posted by: Seras.5702

Seras.5702

I love FT, and despite the hate I’ll continue to unless I’m in a speed-clear run. Otherwise, it’s just so much fun.

I’ve been running this: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fdQQFAUlUUpyq1UxWLseNSdBNqoA6AUguK6EGjQD-TFSDwAMeAAJUC+U53L1fqcBAYt/AIdAAMBREAzWA-w

Using the new GM trait for boons from turrets, I’ve got aoe fury & prot, plus thumper brings mad blast finishers for even more might stacking. A quick drop > overcharge of thumper gives protection and knockback, a great “o kitten ” button.

Flixx Gatebuster, Orwynn Lightgrave, Seras Snapdragon
[TTBH] [HATE], Yak’s Bend(NA)

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Posted by: Oswaldzl.3652

Oswaldzl.3652

hmm seems like flamethrower isn’t that good.. I like it tho.. any ways to improve it? in terms of build..

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Posted by: robertul.3679

robertul.3679

Flamethrower is an utility kit. I know anet names it weapon kit but they do the same for toolkit and elixir gun which are also designed for utility. They name actual dps kits like grenades and bombs device kits. Go figure.
Use flamethrower for it’s utility. In pve the fire field is very strong to prestack might while out of combat because of the duration. You can use it in fractals to facetank dredge buttons maybe as others have mentioned.
In pvp/wvw you can use the pushback and the blind for roaming/dueling/decapping. The actual damage is very bad.
Yes yes. We all know it looks super cool to run around spewing fire at enemies. That doesn’t make it good though.

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Posted by: oniralas.9687

oniralas.9687

So I returned after a very long absence, dusted off the 40 engineer and took him to 74 as of this morning…using mostly FT. I like it, I use it.

What is interesting to me is that, completely untraited, a heavy golem in the mist drops with bomb#1 in the same amount of time as FT#1. Bomb hits harder on paper, but their times still evened out over and over again. Even traited to favor the FT (juggernaut, etc) is still came out the same. I thought #1 bomb would outshine the FT1 much more than it is (?!). The other abilities are debatable – like anything else, situation dictates the tool.

Sucks that they’ve capped the number of FT targets to 3… I don’t remember that from closed beta, but it’s been a long time heh. I guess the reasoning there is that it’s got nearly 3x the range as the bombs. Still think it should be capped at the cone dispersal rather than max # of hits at any moment…but whatever

On the topic of “good vs. bad” — GW2 has devolved into the same number hungry meta as other MMO’s. To make matters worse, being the pay model that it is attracts rather unsavory elements/attitudes that are unfit for service in even the most menial of jobs. If you find yourself surrounded by people trying to tell you to play a specific way or a specific build, you’re among the toxic. Just go off and do your own thing, enjoy the beauty and don’t be afraid to try out different things.

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Posted by: Nate.8146

Nate.8146

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fdAQJAqalUUpWrtbx+KseNSdBFydWQQGgCI6gMkYA-T1RBABVq+DN7PolyvFeAAAcCAyTPRkKBJFwFLjA-w

FT is all about power, forgot conditions. Soldier armor + knights jewellery. Not uncommon to maintain 3K power ~50% crit + excellent survivability. Run in and throw napalm at target, swap to EG and acid bomb out for might stack + dmg, swap back to FT and fire a flame blast while running in with flame jet. Let flame blast past the target and manually detonate for maximum damage.

Nothing beats FT for tagging mobs and getting tons of loot. EG acid bomb is also good for clustered mobs, like in Melandru runs.

FT however requires head on fighting, which will slow you down when you want to kite or some such. Bombs are more convenient for dueling and WvW in general. Less fuss, just drop and go + elixir bombs keep you and your mates going. FT is still viable though. I wouldn’t want to 1v1 with it, but for zerg fights the napalm blast does quite a bit of AOE damage while maintaining some distance.

Most importantly, just have fun. I often switch builds to keep the game interesting. FT one day, bombs another, turrets, gadgets, etc.

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Posted by: lunyboy.8672

lunyboy.8672

You can easily hit 15 stacks of might with bombs or grenades and with some effort even 20-25 stacks. What is again the point? FT still sucks.

^This. It’s useful as a utility kit, especially in pvp for area denial, but that’s about it.

Miss Fisthammer – Engineer | Urgard Fistorsen – Guardian
Physti – Elementalist | Fistful of Blades – Thief
[WHIP] Quaggan Slavers – HoD

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Posted by: oniralas.9687

oniralas.9687

You can easily hit 15 stacks of might with bombs or grenades and with some effort even 20-25 stacks. What is again the point? FT still sucks.

^This. It’s useful as a utility kit, especially in pvp for area denial, but that’s about it.

Meh, to each their own. If I want to be forced into a specific build, I’d play the plethora of other cookie cutter MMO’s.

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Posted by: Halcyon.7352

Halcyon.7352

Flame jet may be limited to 3 targets, but that’s three targets per tick. That equates to way better rapid tagging than even staff guardian, at only 30% less range, for way less effort. (Less #1 mashing) Not to mention chances to proc for everything from traits to sigils is way higher.

It also can be cast through walls and other solid objects, just like wave of wrath. Use this. I can often pull, cripple or chill and los while I flame jet down mobs before they even reach me.

I used to love showing off my higher bag counts farming Angaria in an all guardian group.

@igmolicious I see 6-7k flame jets fairly often, sometimes higher. I’ve also seen 9k flame blast detonates, and 2.5k pass throughs. I imagine the number would be higher with things like banner of strength and other party buffs. Plus that’s usually numbers you get while you’re target is soaking in 2-3k Acid bomb ticks from the might stacking.

Modified ammunition is a must have in any group setting, 2% per condition, which is also why I use pistol main. Target the Maimed and Energy Conversion Matrix also help provide flat bonuses.

Force and bloodlust, and I don’t even have the 7% from Strength runes at present.

I’m not claiming any comparisons to bomb kit, as I’ve never run it. Just here to help shed some light on how to not be terrible with FT/EG.

Tarnished Coast Engineer and… general alt-o-holic.

For the toast!