Guild Wars 2

Hey, I’m not an engi main, but with HoT around the corner (and scrapper being in the top 3 of my favorite E-specs) I thought I’d look around at some of the options for builds. While theorycrafting I noticed that the coefficients on the hammer are ridiculously high (at least on the builder I use).

Quick warnings before the build: I don’t know if the builder is accurate,. I don’t usually go into the maths myself so I may have errors. This build looks decent on paper — I have an engi alt, but I wouldn’t dare say I know how to play an engineer to it’s fullest potential. Also, this build is focused rather heavily on dealing high direct damage. It does have some decent healing thanks to the three leaps in a water field, and alright condi-removal, but again, not being an engi main I’m not aware of any tips or tricks that may be more efficient. On that note, I’d love some feedback on how to improve it.

The build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQFASlUUhqrY9VwALw6FLTGFY1ldhE9bn3/tYzUABAA-TFCBABHcBAqU1nzUCilyPAeAAWqGQR7PknOgAAHA/+bA48zP/8zPvf/93f/93SBMqIL-w

This build has good damage (according the site, which again, may not be accurate with launch build) even without might stacks/bloodlust, and has 100% crit chance thanks to traits and fury. The solo uptime of fury is moderate, probably enough for short 1v1 fights, but the build should shine in group play specifically in dungeons and perhaps other ‘endgame’ content like raids and fractals. (we don’t know much of the content of raids so it is hard to tell really). In these situations you would have full might and bloodlust, which pushes the damage through the roof.

Assuming that the builder is correct, if we take it’s skill damage against a ‘heavily armored target’ with 2600 armor we are dealing 5670 base damage with thunderclap (over 6s duration of the skill) with full might and bloodlust stacks.

Let’s add the multipliers.

We have 100% crit chance, so our crit dmg is a straight damage modifier of 2.1567
In a group we’ll have 25 stax of vuln so 1.25
1.1 from the hammer trait
And again because we are in a group let’s say 6 active condi’s for “modified ammunition” for a modifier of 1.12

This gives us a 3.321 damage modifier. That means our thunderclap is doing 18831 damage over 6s or 3138dps from a singular skill.

Shock shield does 13051 damage over 2s for an additional 6525dps WHILE BLOCKING.

Rocket charge does 3 hits over 1.75s totaling to 15651 damage or 8943 dps.

Electro-whirl does 2 hits over 1s totaling to 11484 damage/dps.

Autos deal 13569 per rotation (over 1.5s) for 9046dps

These are all on paper, they do not account for aftercast.
———————————-
On weaknesses: this build is pretty squishy. It has very little armor and an average healthpool and only one stunbreak (two if you count a 25% health threshold trait). It is not perfect. It just looks like something I want to try — and again the builder may or may not reflect the balance we’ll see at launch of HoT.

i don’t get what all those elixirs are for in a group environment. i assume we’re talking about a coordinated group playing together. i get it, you want to stack might but that’s something the ps warrior will do anyway.
B i get since eles usually don’t stack fury anymore but the rest i think is useless. also the elite is useless in pve. take the kit for blind fields, condis for ma and the two blasts (switch to gyro for skipping, obviously only if they make it work). also eg for ab and nades because nades (vuln, condis and barrage). you don’t need all the elixirs. 3 blasts for prestacking is enough. warrior should have some with banners, ele one on staff and that should be enough for 24 might as you go into the fight. ps warrior will do the rest. however, with nades your group will have an easier time keeping max vuln up. 12 from the nade rota and then you can channel the block. since 5 sec is somehow short it’s good to have a bit more. ab is too powerful to leave it out of any dps rota → eg is a must. exchange B for U if projectile hate is needed.
in the end i’d rather play it like that: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQFASlUUh2tYJWw6KQ7FLQIFde+nFK428NnwXAENTDA-T1BBABYp8DgHAg5XAg80BU0+DVq+zZKBDAcA87vBgzP/8zP/8+93f/93fLFwoCjA-w

The elixir setup and elite were meant as part of a general build. I did go on about group dynamics so perhaps I should have made it have more purity of purpose in terms of a ‘raidbuild’. The elixirs were for defensive use against players and the supply crate again for against players. Your changes make a lot of sense for a raid slot, and thanks for pointing out AB — as engi is only an alt of mine, I had overlooked the elixir gun as a supporting option. I’ve never like the grenade kit in terms of play, though I’ll have to concede that is a fine kit — at least by general consensus. I may remove it from my actual build in-game purely for my own enjoyment, but I understand it may be a better option in the end.

zaced.7948:

i don’t get what all those elixirs are for in a group environment. i assume we’re talking about a coordinated group playing together. i get it, you want to stack might but that’s something the ps warrior will do anyway.
B i get since eles usually don’t stack fury anymore but the rest i think is useless. also the elite is useless in pve. take the kit for blind fields, condis for ma and the two blasts (switch to gyro for skipping, obviously only if they make it work). also eg for ab and nades because nades (vuln, condis and barrage). you don’t need all the elixirs. 3 blasts for prestacking is enough. warrior should have some with banners, ele one on staff and that should be enough for 24 might as you go into the fight. ps warrior will do the rest. however, with nades your group will have an easier time keeping max vuln up. 12 from the nade rota and then you can channel the block. since 5 sec is somehow short it’s good to have a bit more. ab is too powerful to leave it out of any dps rota -> eg is a must. exchange B for U if projectile hate is needed.
in the end i’d rather play it like that: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQFASlUUh2tYJWw6KQ7FLQIFde+nFK428NnwXAENTDA-T1BBABYp8DgHAg5XAg80BU0+DVq+zZKBDAcA87vBgzP/8zP/8+93f/93fLFwoCjA-w

Err, you maybe want to look over your gear again.

you are on 72% crit chance per default. add on this the extra 20% from firearms you’re on 92%. if you then even proc noscope, you’re on 112% crit-chance. Add on top of this a warri banner & you end up with 123%…

maybe you want to cut back a bit on precission & spend the stats elsewhere.
turning pack into scholar or or the oil into sharpenng stones…

Currently your build is sub-optimal.

edit, found a bunch more of pointless stuff:

- fixed your sigils, since on kill effects are pointless. often you don’t even reach 25 stacks by the end of a fractal / dungeon, and raids are more about single bosses as well. Additionally, after the first wipe your sigil becomes virtually pointless. Picked force & night instead. If the raids turn out to be on daytime, pick sigil of air, peril or strength instead.

- fixed your precission spam. You now have reasonable food & runes. You base-precision is at 49% + 20% from firearms and +20% from fury. this leaves you at 89% percent. Add on top of this a warri banner & you cap exactly at 100%. subsequently, your dps is way higher now

- fixed your traits. The nade-trait is pointless, since it just adds QoL. a stacked boss will eat all your nades, regardless how big their impact radius or speed is. Picked glass-cannon instead since it synergizes with scholar runes & actually increases your dps. Also picked shrapnel. You did not have good access to cripple in your build before (only elixir F), so now you spam it more often, giving you a 2% bonus from modified ammunition. Also the additional bleed ensures that you have the 10% crit chance from firearms up to all times.

Here you go, your dps scrapper works now.

@zaced.7948 Also Id change that Full Zerker gear into something with alittle more defence if your planning on raiding. As a frontline Melle engi, enjoy getting flattened in close fights

Galbedir.9178:

@zaced.7948 Also Id change that Full Zerker gear into something with alittle more defence if your planning on raiding. As a frontline Melle engi, enjoy getting flattened in close fights

Yupp, you can switch your trinkets easily to knight, while still staying on 100% crit-chance. And since fractals get a boost in difficulty, you maybe want to consider it there as well.

For now I just know dungeons & fractal lvl 50. And there full zerk works so far.

Full zerk version:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQFASlUUh2tYJWw6KQ7FLvFF9uH8HPYHGip13DOhBAA-TlRBABXt/o8DPdA5dBAA4BAQp6PmpEMAwBwv/GAO/8zP/8z73f/93f/tUARM0C-w

Knight mix:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQFASlUUh2tYJWw6KQ7FLvFF9uH8HPYHGip13DOhBAA-T1RBABXt/AkKBxTHAXK/y7CAAwDAgS1fCAcA87vBgzP/8zP/8O/8zP/8zLFQEDtA-w

i agree with most of you guys said, especially the precision. the build was put together hastly and i also didn’t look at the runes and food from the initial build. the sigil of cruelty is indeed a double edged sword, but if you can get and maintain the stacks you get a flat 12-13% dmg increase as a %ual modifier.
i disagree on shrapnel though. i find that second blast very useful for prestacking. although you are obviously right about everything you said about shrapnel. i just personally find the second blast more useful. grenadier is indeed qol. at first i took it just because i’m used to it but i find it also more comfortable to play with it. against moving bosses and trash mobs. however, it’s true in a controlled scenario the cannon is better.

also this build was not necessarily meant for raids. i was just building upon the theme “high direct damage scrapper”. in raids i’ll probably run sinister anyway.

Th builder’s numbers were inaccurate last time I checked. The in-game numbers are a bit higher, so yeah the damage is ridiculous…

(It may have been fixed in the last two weeks, so don’t quote me on this)

Why is everyone putting mass momentum in their builds? With scrapper’s ability to daze/stun using expert examination is much better for solo or group play. Adds weakness and vuln with no icd. hammer 5 > 3 will grant 20 stacks itself with a ton of weakness for a lot of added defense. When in a group, your warrior or guard will be granting team might, so your ability to stack it yourself is overboard and selfish.

Diet Plain.4513:

Why is everyone putting mass momentum in their builds? With scrapper’s ability to daze/stun using expert examination is much better for solo or group play. Adds weakness and vuln with no icd. hammer 5 > 3 will grant 20 stacks itself with a ton of weakness for a lot of added defense. When in a group, your warrior or guard will be granting team might, so your ability to stack it yourself is overboard and selfish.

They’re comparable, but if you’re going to compare a team situation for one you have to do it for the other. In this circumstance, both Vuln and Might will be capped. Now it becomes a comparison of Weakness spam vs more power from your toughness. Since the concern in most fractals is to avoid attacks altogether rather than tank them, the Weakness seems to not offer as much as the extra power from MM.

If we’re not talking about a group situation, I still think they’re comparable. I like both, to me Mass Momentum gets the edge because Might persists between fights and Vuln does not and also the boost in power.

If it is a team situation in PvE like fractals like you said, odds are you don’t have toughness as a stat on your armor. If you do… change your armor out already. in a solo situation, you’re not going to have stability up all the time as an engineer unless you time all your evades and use throw elixir b. Even then, it’s only a 5 second might. i can see it being used in a power or maybe cele build, but i like the other 2 traits more in different situations.

Diet Plain.4513:

If it is a team situation in PvE like fractals like you said, odds are you don’t have toughness as a stat on your armor. If you do… change your armor out already. in a solo situation, you’re not going to have stability up all the time as an engineer unless you time all your evades and use throw elixir b. Even then, it’s only a 5 second might. i can see it being used in a power or maybe cele build, but i like the other 2 traits more in different situations.

It’s still 100 power at baseline Toughness.

As someone mentioned before, being a front line medium armor melee class now the full zerker build will be far from optimal. I’m glad I made the decision with an even 3-way split with bezerkers, valkyrie and celestial for my gear stats. Remember the engineer is and always will be a jack of all trades class so to build pure dps is to dramatically hamper your full capabilities of a class that can adapt to any situation. Having zerker, valkyrie and celes gear making up 2 each of your armor pieces and 2 each of your accessories combined with appropriate runes, sigils and infusions you’re seriously a force to reckon with! A tankyish sustainable damage dealer.

These pve scrapper builds have a massive lack of swiftness, I can’t even imagine open world PVE at minimal speed, literally what I would love addressed first.

Bish.8627:

These pve scrapper builds have a massive lack of swiftness, I can’t even imagine open world PVE at minimal speed, literally what I would love addressed first.

Pretty much all effective scrapper builds lack an IMS.

It is extremely depressing.

Bish.8627:

These pve scrapper builds have a massive lack of swiftness, I can’t even imagine open world PVE at minimal speed, literally what I would love addressed first.

It’s not perfect, but you can give yourself a good amount of swiftness with Hammer 5>Orbital Strike>Detonate Healing Turret>Acid Bomb/Flame Blast/any other blast finishers. That’s what I’ve been doing to get around outside of combat with a Firearms/Explosives/Scrapper build.