Holosmith and engie role
We still have yet to see how Holosmith will play, especially in groups. TBH there is a lot they could do with just the core class that could expand Engi roles quite a bit.
Make Medkit actually good and boom you have a dedicated healer (IMO Engi has a good amount of actual support skills but lacks in the straight up heals).
Change rifle around and boost auto attack damage and you have a good ranged power weapon (IMO Rifle should excel at medium/long range and not be a close range weapon, especially now that we have Hammer scrapper and Sword Holo).
I don’t PvE often but engi seems to be good with condis, though I don’t think its meta. In WvW which is my main game mode base engi is pretty selfish now with most damage builds. heavy CC used to be a good engi role but now with stab changes and certain CC abilities not being good anymore its not a good role.
Scrapper has good group roles, especially with Bulwark Gyro in a large group as it doesnt have any target limits.
Holosmith has been described as a glass cannon type style but we shall see.
I don’t believe you have enough experience to make these judgments. As an engineer main who duels, pvps, and gvgs, Engineer brings amazing utility outside of small groups and 1v1s. In guild vs guild, Engineer is unmatched in its ability to stealth his downs and to reveal the other team during the beginning stealth engage. This single reveal and amazing down stealth is what can make or break a gvg round. On top of that pull can be used very effectively to pull targets out of their stack and 100 to 0 them.
Well the problem with me, or my experience is, well… most wvw guilds don’t want an engineer in their groups.
I tried to join a wvw guild a long time ago and i had to reroll into a guard and mesmer.
I do like support groups but gyros are useful only for small parties where your gyros can protect other party members.
Your right i don’t have enough experience to make these judgement. I am on a new account so i only have a few weeks played (because i bought a new account for the boost). I know that i wanted to main an engineer for pvp…but for social pvp (group pvp) i cant find anything or any role.
I know that engineer is good with blow torch and incendiary ammo to be a (1 shot assassin) and scrapper is good for melee burst and gyro or elixir support.
Sorry i am ranting. I just wanted to share my own views and experiences.
I find engineer could be a useful support character if they did indeed buff medical kit and make mortar kit more strong as a long range siege weapon.
I also think that engineer is harder to apply boons with tool belt elixirs than a guardian staff.
I know i know…i hate the meta too. But it’s adapt or die. I play engineer when i want to be alone and solo wvw or solo spvp or farm something.
But for group content…engineer is TERRIBLE. Very selfish class.
But again that’s only my opinion and experience. As soon as i saw guardian staff / mace shield / traits and saw all that action going on, i switched to guardian to do group pvp.
Holo smith looks like it will be another solo pvp spec just like scrapper. What does the heat mechanic actually bring for the group ? Damage ? utility ? boons ? healing ? Condition spam ?
Holo smith (aND engineer in general ) feels like a good single player class. Not good if you’re trying to get any wvw group or raid or fractal action going.
I know they have power bomber and conditions. But there is a lot of other equally competitive dps with more safer rotations and extra utility.
Sorry i am still ranting, i just think in my opinion engineer is going towards a solo profession who does things by himself. At least i think anet is making engineer direction that way too.
I really hope i am wrong and holo smith is a great support character. I really do.
Engineer is not a bad class. It has good skills for when you 1v1 or do duels. It can destroy most classes 1v1.
For pve engineer is mostly sustain dps and does a high amount of damage.
The reason i said engineer is selfish and a solo class is because i do wvw pvp.
I think that …well…. engineer is great for solo or 1v1 but…if you read the other classes traits and skill builds and see their abilities…. they have good stuff too.
Anet doesn’t seem interested in giving engineers buffs to become a stronger 1v1 duelist OR group utility for a role to be unique in zergs or raid groups.
Engineer is not bad, it’s not a weak class. It’s just a very “solo” profession it seems these days.
Engineer brings damage to groups and gyros are useful when you’re in a party (but a guardian is better support) elixirs are also kind of useful for some group support (again…. guardian is better)
but yea… engineer could be buffed to be a powerful support character, but i think anet gives engineers the tools to solo 1v1 any class WITHOUT being over powered in their versatility.
You know what i am saying ? Engineers have strong heals for themselves, stability for themselves, cc and damage, and they have some stealth, and they also have stun breakers and fields.
But that’s all for them to solo 1v1 pvp. It’s not “good” for group play. I think elemental has better water fields than engineer. Everybody has better skills than engineer but engineer has all the skills for themselves to solo 1v1 pvp.
Any ways that’s my opinion on this. I am not saying engineers suck, i am saying they are not heading in the direction of a support character, but rather, a pvp duelists.
As someone who played rifle engi for a year, i officially retired it because it simply is not viable anymore. At your absolute best in wvw you can beat offguaurd intermediate players or get lucky. Your best dps (rifle 5) is easily cc’d and stopped and any other damage you do with rifle is weak. As a cc it was nice in earlier metas when people didnt have so much stab and stunbreak on every uility they had. a few gimicks help like blasting quickness or putting incendiary ammo on hybrid builds. ultimately though i miss my favorite weapon on my favorite class and ive tried it all, believe me. my hope would be that holosmith aids in making it more viable again. however with rifle base dps so garbage i dont thing engi will ever go in the direction i would like. long live deadeye lol.
Engineer is not a bad class. It has good skills for when you 1v1 or do duels. It can destroy most classes 1v1.
For pve engineer is mostly sustain dps and does a high amount of damage.
The reason i said engineer is selfish and a solo class is because i do wvw pvp.
I think that …well…. engineer is great for solo or 1v1 but…if you read the other classes traits and skill builds and see their abilities…. they have good stuff too.
Anet doesn’t seem interested in giving engineers buffs to become a stronger 1v1 duelist OR group utility for a role to be unique in zergs or raid groups.
Engineer is not bad, it’s not a weak class. It’s just a very “solo” profession it seems these days.
Engineer brings damage to groups and gyros are useful when you’re in a party (but a guardian is better support) elixirs are also kind of useful for some group support (again…. guardian is better)
but yea… engineer could be buffed to be a powerful support character, but i think anet gives engineers the tools to solo 1v1 any class WITHOUT being over powered in their versatility.
You know what i am saying ? Engineers have strong heals for themselves, stability for themselves, cc and damage, and they have some stealth, and they also have stun breakers and fields.
But that’s all for them to solo 1v1 pvp. It’s not “good” for group play. I think elemental has better water fields than engineer. Everybody has better skills than engineer but engineer has all the skills for themselves to solo 1v1 pvp.
Any ways that’s my opinion on this. I am not saying engineers suck, i am saying they are not heading in the direction of a support character, but rather, a pvp duelists.
No, engineer is not a “solo” class. Literally the only reason people run it in gvg is because of its unbeatable down stealth. Also it has the ability to slot in a utility that pulls w/o losing much.
i don’t know what guild versus guilds you’re talking about, but in wvw i have always seen people stack elementalists for water fields, revenants for tablet healing, necros for corruption bombs, and guardians for aegis and stab.
These are zerg versus zerg fights. Now naturally guild versus guilds might be different, i don’t know.
But i know engineers are not very great for wvw or team pvp in general.
Engineers are just not meta, and they seem to be (well anet does it) anet seems to make holosmith similar to scrapper – PvP spec.
I don’t know how a holosmith will be top dps in raids. They might, if their scaling is good with power and condition.
In wvw holosmith brings absolutely nothing but in roaming and spvp they are quite good (holo smith is good) for this gameplay content.
I know you probably think i am dumb. I have played engineer and i made it my first 80. I had to get a guardian to 80 to do wvw with my guild.
Engineer is not a very popular class in guild wars 2 nor is it a meta class,
The thing is, people want buffs for engineer but they always want more damage or more convenience or more strong stuff.
The reason they cant buff engineer is because engineer would be the best roamer and duelist in the game if their rifle was stronger or their hammer was better, or their shield was better.
If engineer wants buffs, they first need to redesign the role from a “solo casual single player profession” to a more serious “team orient profession” and i believe anet doesn’t want to do that or have no interest in that.
I looked at the holosmith skills and traits.
Very good damage and self utility and self defense skills, but that’s about it.
Holosmith feels like the "scrapper " syndrome all over again.
THIEF is going the same route as engineer. a scout ganker. Engineer is becoming a roamer like thief but with more focus defensive tactics (water fields, healing, turrets, cc, boons, some toughness and some damage)
Thief is all damage. They are gankers and assassins.
ranger is also going the same route. Roamer ganker scout. HELL MEDIUM ARMOR PROFESSIONS ARE THE LONELY GANKERS… lol seriously.
Warrior guardian revenant elementalist necromancer mesmer are all being given support group stuff on top of their damage.
But ranger engineer and thief are very much the lonely solo players in pvp. Druid comes close, but reve tablat healer is better for group support.
any ways this is my opinion. I only go based on observation in the game.
I played a few wvw games and i see what the meta is. Nobody really likes rangers or engineers in thier zerg, and thiefs make good spotters / scouts.