Guild Wars 2

Hi everyone.
Ive just rolled an engineer, and im currently a low level; but i want to know before i start putting on skill points and traits, is full precision a viable option? If so, what would be the best weapon set? I Like the idea of being a ranged assassin, so to speak, and full crit chance sounds awesome..

My engineer build focuses strongly on Critical chance.

I’d say the best option is Pistol / Pistol because, well, Firearms tree is the one that gives Precision (300 when you invest fully on it) and it improves pistol greatly. Besides, P/P focuses a lot on conditions, so since it also gives +300 Condition Damage,it’s a good way to go. If you want to steer away from Conditions though, then go Rifle. It also works well, but requires that you focus on Power so that your damage output can be decent.

Keep in mind that Arena Net likes us to use Kits, so using at least one Kit is advisable. You can do well without it though, the choice is yours. I’ve seen some builds with P/P that use 3 Elixirs in the Utility slot (mostly B, S and R or U) that do very well in WvW.

Also, don’t worry about experimenting with builds! When you reach level 40 you’ll be required to buy a new manual to unlock a new trait tier, and it will reset all your traits. Same thing when you reach 60. So your build before level 60 most likely won’t be your endgame one, since you won’t have access to the 3 tiers. And even after you hit Level 80, reseting your build is actually very very cheap. So don’t worry, explore!

(As a side note, you can go to the mists, the PvP area and practice with any build you want in the dummies and bots. Reseting there is free, and so are runes. That’s a very good place to practice and see what you like and what you don’t.)

So what is your complete build? Thanks for the reply, just the answer i was looking for!

Full precision I’d recommend rifle over pistols because pistols are condition based and conditions can’t crit. Rifle otoh is a power weapon and hits harder, and when it crits is much nicer. Also, ToolKit hits pretty kitten hard (especially #3 prybar) and its autoattack dishes out vulnerability. Throw in Elixir B or Goggles and you’ll have serious crit% as well as vulnerability on your target, letting you hand out large crits and often. Use on crit% sigils like Earth cuz you’ll get some decent +condition dmg from the Firearms traitline. I’d say grab Rocket Boots cuz they hit hard and gives you a knockback, but with rifle you sorta have that already.

if you go full crit with a power based rifle… consider Static Discharge trait, it’s pretty good in that.

Several versions of a SD (static discharge) build in different topics.
best put it in the search bar, or check the sticky with all the builds.

If you want to go full crit on engineer it’s to abuse multiple condition/(might/fire) proc items/traits and fast ticking attacks (flamethrower, grenades).
Like a setup with Sigil of Earth, 5+ firearms, Shrapnel and Incendiary Powder. Mass condition nade spec.
Key here is the condition damage and high crit chance, both rampager and rabid items provides that. And as most of the damage is done with grenade kit. The weapon set is chosen for it’s utility: rifle to land combos (pvp), pistol shield for more safe control (pve), for example.

For direct damage you don’t go precision as mainstat.

It’s perfectly viable! Well, this is of course subject to opinion, haha. Being someone who primarily focuses on Necromancer, Ranger, and Engineer, I’m FAR off the beaten path.

First time trying this out: http://en.gw2codex.com/build/24886-capture-the-target

That’s my personal build that I’m running, although I’m still experimenting with the last ten points ( currently invested in crit on blind ). Description is all there. Summary: Lock down target with immobilize, pile on the might and vuln, start chunking away.

Sovarix.8369:

Hi everyone.
Ive just rolled an engineer, and im currently a low level; but i want to know before i start putting on skill points and traits, is full precision a viable option? If so, what would be the best weapon set? I Like the idea of being a ranged assassin, so to speak, and full crit chance sounds awesome..

Glad you decided to join the profession. First things first you need to determine which path you wish to go. Condition or Direct damage. Direct damage is probably the easiest way to level up because you don’t have to wait for conditions to take effect. This can be achieved by either P/P or Rifle, with a preference with Rifle. Grenades are a must if you’re leveling up. This kit also stacks very well with whatever route you choose because it’s #1 does direct damage and it’s other skills do condition damage/utilities. Flamethrower also scales well with both, but it actually favors direct damage more in my opinion, but that’s just me.

In short, my opinion is to go Berserker Engineer (direct dmg) leveling up and then swap to a Rabid Engineer (condition dmg) once your level 80.

Sovarix.8369:

So what is your complete build? Thanks for the reply, just the answer i was looking for!

My complete build is this one:
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mzMzz9Mz0MlovMMlovMax0x0VmobMRq

My gear tries to balance between Precision and Condition Damage as primary stats, with a bit of Power and Vitality thrown in. The focus is mostly what another poster mentioned already: Using critical procs for even more conditions. Incendiary Powder and Sharpshooter work well in that aspect.

As for the one who mentioned Critical Damage and Conditions aren’t that great becaue Conditions don’t crit, well, it’s true they don’t, but keep in mind Firearms tree improves both Precision and Condition Damage equaly, and with the right traits your crits can give more Conditions, which are all efficient ways of increasing your damage output.

The 30 points in Alchemy are mostly because I really like using Elixirs and thanks to them recharching 20% faster, lasting +20%, +30% boon duration from the tree and drinking an Elixir B at 75% health, I can get a quite decent Fury uptime. Besides, the same logic works for stacking Might, which is made quite easy thanks to HGH. Getting a lot of Might stacks by yourself is very cool when you are applying so many conditions in such a short period of time.

As an added bonus, this build can easily be changed to a Flamethrower build for farming events and just having some fun, getting 25 stacks of Might by yourself and changing your play style every now and then when you get bored. You can change it on the spot, no need for reset. Just change some traits and you are good to go.

As for the Elixir Gun in the build, I just really like all the variery it offers. It’s a matter of playstyle, really, but I feel too vulnerable without it. The Healing Field and the backwards leap have saved my life so many times I don’t even know. Also, it offers Weakness, Cripple, Vulnerability in addition to Poison and Bleeding to your condition arsenal. My choice of Elixir R over U is because it has instant cast (Might stacks NOW), has shorter cooldown and the Toolbelt skill is very usefull in dungeons (the thing I do the most at endgame). Also Quickness has recently been nerfed, so there’s that too.

Once again, I hope it helps!

SD Rifle Build.