I am going to voice my opinion, with the high hopes that Arena Net reads this and considers this. Not sure how possible that is, but I still want to voice my opinion about a few things wrong with the Engineer that could use some work. I will first express why I think it’s a little wrong, and then leave some feedback on some possible ways to improve the areas Engineer is really weak.
So, Engineer is considered to be the jack of all trades. What this means to me is, it can do very very well in any role, but not every role. Meaning whatever role it decides to specialize in, it can fulfill that role with exceptional results. However, this is not the case at all. In fact, far from the case, and I think that is a huge problem. some kits work very well, while others fall way behind. The traits are also really needing some work as well.
While I think the current meta is nice with the scrapper build that uses hammer, elixir gun, and menders amulet with water runes, I find it quire boring. It is a neat build, but it’s really the only good thing for Engineer right now in pvp. Mass Momentum was really hyped up pre launch heart of thorns to really help the flamethrower shine, but it doesn’t at all. It seems to really want you to go into a amulet that includes defense, which is cool. But the only ones to do so are Wanderer’s, Demolisher’s, Knight’s, Paladin’s, and Cavalier’s. What could be the problem you ask? Wanderer’s and demolisher’s have no HP investment in them. So having that extra defense is quite pointless, since having toughness does almost nothing to mitigate damage whatsoever. I mean, even druid healers can still destroy you quite easily, even with all that toughness invested into your player. Quite sad. Paladin’s has the Hp investment, but with how weak flamethrower is right now, it doesn’t put out nearly enough damage, even with 20+ stacks of might loaded onto it. Cavalier’s is a nice option to go to, but it has no precision. so you can’t maximize damage with the flamethrower still, because now you lack crits. It’s like flamethrower is in this place of doom and dread, destined to stay there for eternity. It’s barely even viable in pve, let alone pvp. It really needs work, along with the traits that affect it.
If the Engineer is really supposed to be the jack of all trades, its traits selection and build should be diverse to reflect this. However, it seems that most of the traits are suggesting being a self supporting bunker style character. Which would then take away the notion that the Engineer is the jack of all trades.
Here is what I think should happen to some of these traits to help give the Engineer some more diversity. High caliber in the firearms trait line should increase damage as well as critical chance when at a specific range. This range should be increased, from 240 to about 360, or 425, the range that the flamethrower maxes out at. This would be a lovely little change that could really change the way flamethrower is played, as well as some burst builds that involve rifle’s blunderbuss skill, and possibly bomb kit. No Scope trait in firearms should also get a range increase, and maybe also increase the critical damage bonus by a small %, maybe 10-15. Range should also match the flamethrower’s max range. Juggernaut is pretty good, I like it the way it is, though I think it should also see a toughness boost on top of its effects already, as well as maybe either a faster application of stab and might, but also maybe a longer duration for the might granted. If the Juggernaut is supposed to be some “unstoppable” style of play with the flamethrower, then shouldn’t it be shown some love to encourage this kind of balls to the wall, in your face, burn it all down playstyle? I think so.
In the scrapper trait line, Mass momentum really needs love. With the change suggested earlier in this post about juggernaut, it could then be maybe somewhat viable with the toughness to power application, but it would still probably be a little lackluster. I think it should apply 2 might per second of stab uptime, instead of 1, and maybe scale off of toughness by 20% instead of 10%, or just get rid of the toughness scaling altogether. Where it stands right now, compared to rapid regeneration, it’s completely useless, and doesn’t do much if anything at all for the flamethrower or anything else. Applied force should see some kind of change too, Just not too sure what. Where it stands, it is useless when compared to the other choices of traits, and doesn’t really have any use in any build. It could work well with flamethrower, if it was just a little better. Suggestions anyone?
Flamethrower kit should be reworked to suit its intended playstyle better. Right now, it’s not that good at condi because of how the 2 skill works as well as the 4 skill, and it’s not really a power kit either because of the low damages on all the other skills, as well as the auto attack. 2 skill should be something different instead of a slow molten ball that you hope will kit. Something with a little less counter play, it has way too much as it is now. Maybe make it some kind of 2 shot burst that you use that functions similar to the auto attack, except a little quicker and cool looking. 4 skill should be a burning field, much like bomb kit’s 2 skill, because that line of fire that you lay down just doesn’t do anything. It’s too easy to get away from, literally step forward or backward out of it and voila, no more worries. I think rifle should see some kind of buff as well, it doesn’t do much in terms of damage, if it’s supposed to be a damage weapon at all. It has some CC that is good, but it’s too easy to counter. Maybe make the 4 skill on rifle unblockable, to make the skill have less counter play than it has currently. Also, maybe give blunderbuss some ammo mechanic? and give 5 skill on rifle an invuln while jumping? That would help it out.
Please consider this. Thanks.
(edited by Ghos.1326)