Guild Wars 2

I’m looking for a build that uses bomb kit primarily and isn’t super complicated as I’m just relearning the class. I would like to do a lot of damage and survive in dungeons and be able to run around the world dong events / champions / gathering mats solo. I don’t want to be dependent on a group. I don’t fully understand how engineers work yet, so armor / weapon choice / buffs etc would be appreciated!

Any suggestions? Is bomb a way to go? I hate grenades but love bombs.

Here’s the build that I use that primarily uses bombs, it makes you really, really, really hard to kill and gives you a pretty decent amount of damage:
http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-V;4Z;09-o5VQFx0;9;49-TT-2;307A18A;16o0;0o0-pLQhpytba-kgVL;1V_-Vq5rar5sas5t5050D-6V;9;9;9;9;9;9;0VB-6n

I’m a huge advocate of Celestial armor, it could be getting a damage decrease nerf in the near future I still thinks it’s worth picking up for all the versatility it offers that really excels with the traits I use in the above build. If you’re not interested in celestial, Soldier’s, Cleric’s will also work with this build.

I like to run 10/0/30/30/0 when using bombs.

I picked up 10 in the Explosives line for two things, 5 points gives you Evasive Powder Keg which grants you a bomb on evade. This gives you that extra bit of damage and healing when leveraged with Elixr Infused Bombs which I’ll mention later. Also, I like to pick up the Elixr R utility which refills endurance so if you’re really in a tight spot for health you’ll have access to those extra dodges for extra damage and healing (and not to mention evades). The adapt trait Forceful Explosives boosts your bombs AOE, ensuring that you’re in range for the heal and your enemies are in range for the damage/conditions. The aoe is actually large enough that you can run in the opposite direction of your enemy while dropping bombs and you’ll still be in range for the heal (unless you have swiftness).

In the inventions line gives you access to several nifty passive traits including a damage modifier based on your healing attribute (could be great if you decide to roll Cleric’s) and a regen + health slot recharge at low health. The first Adept trait is Protective Shield which gives protection when critically hit, yes, mobs do crit from time to time and while this might not be useful in a 1on1 scenario it can mean the difference between life and death when encountering multiple enemies. For PvE roaming I like to pick up Power Shoes, this trait was recently buffed to work both inside and outside of combat for the 20% speed boost. If you like to take it slow, you can swap this one out with Energized Armor if you want a decent power boost based on your toughness (which you’ll have quite a bit of!). Finally Elixir-Infused Bombs grants us a decent heal (~250-300 per bomb with above traits) when your bombs explode. With the ½ second cooldown on bombs + the bombs on evasion this works out to being a pretty significant source of healing. With all the Toughness and Vitality you have access to you rarely have to use your heal skill to keep yourself alive, as your bombs can usually out-heal any damage you’re receiving.

In the Alchemy line our three passive traits grant us an Elixr B when less that 75% health, a passive that converts ANY incoming condition into boons with a very short (15 sec cooldown), and a 1% damage increase for each unique boon you have on you. Since I primarily use Elixrs for utilities it makes sense to pickup the Fast-Acting Elixirs adept trait which gives a 20% c/d on Elixirs, currently there’s a bug that prevents this from working on toolbelt skills but maybe that’ll be fixed one day too. If you’re into the whole immortality thing then Backpack Regenerator is what you’ll want to pickup for your Master trait, it gives a static 175 hp/second in addition to all the other healing you’re getting. If conditions are warring you down you can swap this out with Cleaning Formula 409. You can try Potent Elixirs, I haven’t tested myself but it seems like it could be good for the might stacking. Last, but certainly not least is the Grand-Master trait HGH, this grants Might on Elixir use. You’ll get 2 stacks for each Utility Elixir you drink, and 1 stack for each Toolblet Elixir for both you and your allies. If you have at least 2 Superior Altruism runes you and allies get 3 stacks of Might when you use a heal. This build allows you to easily squander your heal for those extra boons and might stacks due to all the tertiary healing you’re receiving + the high toughness and Vitality. Couple with the Sigil of Battle and all the boon duration you’ll get from the Altruism and Water runes it’s pretty easy to maintain 20+ stacks of might, not to mention all the other boons you’re getting from Elixr R and Elixr H which synergies great with the boon damage passive trait.

If you happen to be soloing a champion/legendary bosses (which can totally be done with this build, seriously go to AC with this build and you’ll be able to solo pwn Lieutenant Kholer and all his mobs no problem) and things start to go south you can Toss an Elixir R for a self-rez.

http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/86927-building-around-the-bomb-kit/

Any recent videos with a bomb eng in a dungeon?

In dungeons, all exotic berserker gear, Bomb Kit + Rifle rotation.

30 (III-IV-VII)
30 (III-IX-XI)
0
10 (I)
0

Get stronk with 8-9k bombs and rifle bursts over 30k with 10k+ from Blunderbuss and 20k+ from Jump Shot.

@wondrouswall what runes/sigils? Tips on playstyle?

and how many might stacks

Well this is almost the top of the top. 8k bombs means 25 stacks might, 25 stacks vulnerability, a light armored enemy aswell bufffood and 25 stacks bloodlust. I guess that would result in even a bit more, I guess its about 15-20 stacks of what I just mentioned.

Unbuffed bombs will crit for about 3.5k. With maties in general 4-6k.

That some decent dmg down there.

Underrated class is underrated … obviously.

Xyonon.3987:

Well this is almost the top of the top. 8k bombs means 25 stacks might, 25 stacks vulnerability, a light armored enemy aswell bufffood and 25 stacks bloodlust. I guess that would result in even a bit more, I guess its about 15-20 stacks of what I just mentioned.

Unbuffed bombs will crit for about 3.5k. With maties in general 4-6k.

Close. The bombs done to the cafeteria golem were done with moderate vulnerability on the him at the time, average 15-18 stacks. Might stacks was consistent between 15-18. At the time I was using 80 Power / 60 Precision food with 0 stacks of Bloodlust. My unbuffed bombs do roughly 3.5-4k crits and with PUGs/Unorganized groups, I usually see 5k+ bombs but rarely in 6k range. Build is also old since I now moved those 10 points from Alchemy into Tool for Static Discharge (or Speedy Kits on skips/runs). Been getting a bit more 9k hits on bombs now, especially when I have full stacks of Bloodlust. Very underrated class, indeed.

@motherbox.5493: I use Sigil of the Night in night dungeons and Force during the day time ones + typical Scholar Runes. Playstyle usually starts with buffing party before the fight with Might, usually 18 stacks, then doing a dodge roll to drain my endurance for 5% extra damage from Empowering Adrenaline. When Endurance is not full that’s when I use my rifle 3 and 5 bursts. If the fight keeps going on (usually bosses) I stack 6 Might with Healer & Rifle for rotation, then cooldowns are done for another 18 Might stack mid-fight if it goes that far. Always remember to dodge roll before your rifle bursts or use the bursts after you’ve dodged – helps your DPS a bit bursting for 30k+. Also remember to use (if you take) Static Discharge, assuming you’re taking Rifle Turret in you’re loadout, when you’re bursting on your rifle – does more damage than if you have a kit on. I use Surprise Shot midair during Rifle Jump since you’re locked in an animation anyways, might as well press the “FX” key.

Wondrouswall that’s a lot of min-maxing.
Unfortunately (for me) I was in a CoE party yesterday and we had 2 more engineers. One of them used FT exclusively(he spent more time dead anyway) and the other P/S pew-pew-ing for crap dmg….

Ameno, am I going to be able to hurt anything with this build? Can I run around and do solo things in the world? (thanks for the thorough post btw)

Ameno.6813:

Here’s the build that I use that primarily uses bombs, it makes you really, really, really hard to kill and gives you a pretty decent amount of damage:
http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-V;4Z;09-o5VQFx0;9;49-TT-2;307A18A;16o0;0o0-pLQhpytba-kgVL;1V_-Vq5rar5sas5t5050D-6V;9;9;9;9;9;9;0VB-6n

I’m a huge advocate of Celestial armor, it could be getting a damage decrease nerf in the near future I still thinks it’s worth picking up for all the versatility it offers that really excels with the traits I use in the above build. If you’re not interested in celestial, Soldier’s, Cleric’s will also work with this build.

I like to run 10/0/30/30/0 when using bombs.

I picked up 10 in the Explosives line for two things, 5 points gives you Evasive Powder Keg which grants you a bomb on evade. This gives you that extra bit of damage and healing when leveraged with Elixr Infused Bombs which I’ll mention later. Also, I like to pick up the Elixr R utility which refills endurance so if you’re really in a tight spot for health you’ll have access to those extra dodges for extra damage and healing (and not to mention evades). The adapt trait Forceful Explosives boosts your bombs AOE, ensuring that you’re in range for the heal and your enemies are in range for the damage/conditions. The aoe is actually large enough that you can run in the opposite direction of your enemy while dropping bombs and you’ll still be in range for the heal (unless you have swiftness).

In the inventions line gives you access to several nifty passive traits including a damage modifier based on your healing attribute (could be great if you decide to roll Cleric’s) and a regen + health slot recharge at low health. The first Adept trait is Protective Shield which gives protection when critically hit, yes, mobs do crit from time to time and while this might not be useful in a 1on1 scenario it can mean the difference between life and death when encountering multiple enemies. For PvE roaming I like to pick up Power Shoes, this trait was recently buffed to work both inside and outside of combat for the 20% speed boost. If you like to take it slow, you can swap this one out with Energized Armor if you want a decent power boost based on your toughness (which you’ll have quite a bit of!). Finally Elixir-Infused Bombs grants us a decent heal (~250-300 per bomb with above traits) when your bombs explode. With the ½ second cooldown on bombs + the bombs on evasion this works out to being a pretty significant source of healing. With all the Toughness and Vitality you have access to you rarely have to use your heal skill to keep yourself alive, as your bombs can usually out-heal any damage you’re receiving.

In the Alchemy line our three passive traits grant us an Elixr B when less that 75% health, a passive that converts ANY incoming condition into boons with a very short (15 sec cooldown), and a 1% damage increase for each unique boon you have on you. Since I primarily use Elixrs for utilities it makes sense to pickup the Fast-Acting Elixirs adept trait which gives a 20% c/d on Elixirs, currently there’s a bug that prevents this from working on toolbelt skills but maybe that’ll be fixed one day too. If you’re into the whole immortality thing then Backpack Regenerator is what you’ll want to pickup for your Master trait, it gives a static 175 hp/second in addition to all the other healing you’re getting. If conditions are warring you down you can swap this out with Cleaning Formula 409. You can try Potent Elixirs, I haven’t tested myself but it seems like it could be good for the might stacking. Last, but certainly not least is the Grand-Master trait HGH, this grants Might on Elixir use. You’ll get 2 stacks for each Utility Elixir you drink, and 1 stack for each Toolblet Elixir for both you and your allies. If you have at least 2 Superior Altruism runes you and allies get 3 stacks of Might when you use a heal. This build allows you to easily squander your heal for those extra boons and might stacks due to all the tertiary healing you’re receiving + the high toughness and Vitality. Couple with the Sigil of Battle and all the boon duration you’ll get from the Altruism and Water runes it’s pretty easy to maintain 20+ stacks of might, not to mention all the other boons you’re getting from Elixr R and Elixr H which synergies great with the boon damage passive trait.

If you happen to be soloing a champion/legendary bosses (which can totally be done with this build, seriously go to AC with this build and you’ll be able to solo pwn Lieutenant Kholer and all his mobs no problem) and things start to go south you can Toss an Elixir R for a self-rez.

30/30/0/0/10 or 25/10/0/10/25 full zerk. please don’t go healing bombs for pve. those 300 heals are worthless when things hit you for 10000. and going 30 inventions really gimps your damage. save it for when you go pvp bunker.

Ok sounds good, but I am feeling a little squishy during world events and am going down a lot – any advice?

ellesee.8297:

30/30/0/0/10 or 25/10/0/10/25 full zerk. please don’t go healing bombs for pve. those 300 heals are worthless when things hit you for 10000. and going 30 inventions really gimps your damage. save it for when you go pvp bunker.

motherbox.5493:

Ok sounds good, but I am feeling a little squishy during world events and am going down a lot – any advice?

Don’t take this as an insult, but this is just an issue of inexperience. You just have to get used to being in melee and knowing what attacks to dodge. It’s also just a matter of learning when you have to fight at range (i.e., Fire Shaman phase 2).

To ease the learning curve, it may help you to give yourself some room for error. Run 10 points into Alchemy instead of Tools, giving yourself vigor. Take the tool kit or the shield for their blocks, and add a stunbreaker or two into your build. Use a Sigil of Energy on your off-hand instead of Bloodlust or Force.

Just don’t wear Soldier’s or Knight’s gear. Accept that you’re squishy in Berserker gear and learn to get used to it. If you ever need additional survivability, it should come from your traits or swapping out skills. And as you get more comfortable in Berserker at melee, you’ll learn to rely on them less.

Think it’s generally accepted to have -some- pieces of Knight’s gear when learning encounters and replacing them with Berserker pieces when familiar/comfortable.

Wondrouswall.7169:

Think it’s generally accepted to have -some- pieces of Knight’s gear when learning encounters and replacing them with Berserker pieces when familiar/comfortable.

There’s no point in wasting gold crafting armor you’re only going to be using temporarily.

If you need the additional survivability, just swap around some skills and traits. It’s much cheaper.

motherbox.5493:

Ok sounds good, but I am feeling a little squishy during world events and am going down a lot – any advice?

although it does less damage, 25/10/0/10/25 is the safer build because you get vigor. or you can run 30/30/0/10/0 and take swiftness on crit and vigor on swiftness. you lose permanent swiftness out of combat if you go this route which is why i personally don’t like it. as phineas poe said you can add some defensive utilities for the learning process. an example could be elixir s, tool kit, bomb kit. tool kit block is amazing and complete invulnerability and invis obviously helps with survivability. make sure to learn the animations of the bosses to know when they’re going to do their sweeping one shot attack so you can dodge.

Ok sounds good, and no offense taken – I see from this response you are saying I should be using a pistol and shield then? I thought rifle for some reason with this build?

Phineas Poe.3018:

motherbox.5493:

Ok sounds good, but I am feeling a little squishy during world events and am going down a lot – any advice?

Don’t take this as an insult, but this is just an issue of inexperience. You just have to get used to being in melee and knowing what attacks to dodge. It’s also just a matter of learning when you have to fight at range (i.e., Fire Shaman phase 2).

To ease the learning curve, it may help you to give yourself some room for error. Run 10 points into Alchemy instead of Tools, giving yourself vigor. Take the tool kit or the shield for their blocks, and add a stunbreaker or two into your build. Use a Sigil of Energy on your off-hand instead of Bloodlust or Force.

Just don’t wear Soldier’s or Knight’s gear. Accept that you’re squishy in Berserker gear and learn to get used to it. If you ever need additional survivability, it should come from your traits or swapping out skills. And as you get more comfortable in Berserker at melee, you’ll learn to rely on them less.

motherbox.5493:

Ok sounds good, and no offense taken – I see from this response you are saying I should be using a pistol and shield then? I thought rifle for some reason with this build?

Keep all weapons with you. Run rifle for burst dps, but in those situations where you absolutely must range (ugh) grab the pistol-shield combo.

why would one use P/S while running bers bombs?

extra blast finisher, block, poison for bosses that heal, more condis for modified ammo, chain blinds, poison dart volley does decent damage