Guild Wars 2

The Toolkit #5 skill, Magnet. It pulls enemies to you.

Why isn’t it instant? I’m just curious, I find it annoying that this is the only pull I know of that somebody can react too and evade from pretty easily.

People dodge it so often when I use it, I can’t tell if it’s skill or just that they evaded on a whim, but either way it’s annoying. Compare it to scorpion wire or the Necro pull.

Even the Mesmer pull is hard to dodge if they fire off the pull immediately after casting the curtain.

Because we’re engineers.

I know it’s a stupid answer, but I’m afraid that’s the only one I have for you.

Maybe the devs have some better sounding explanation, but it will boil down to the same.
You’re an engineer, you’re not supposed to do anyhting really well. You’re supposed to do everything, but all of that a tad worse than others.

I agree it’s too easily avoided by the way.
Most people get out of it before I can ‘pull it of’.

Small tip: you can do it while moving.
less people expect a pull from a moving engineer, but the effect is still there of course.

It’s probably due to its 1,200 range. That’s an enormous pull distance and the effect of falling over and being dragged that far in under a second can be very disorientating. It’s probably kept at 1 1/4 second cast-time because when used in chaotic battles, it’s extremely effective. It has no projectile, it has no audible cues and its only visual cue is honestly pretty subtle—especially when a lot is happening around you. Engineers with Magnet Pull are also capable of dragging enemies off of high ground areas like walls.

It’s really, really good. If the Engineer could simply press 5 and drag someone 1,200 range straight up to his feet, I feel that that would most certainly be broken. I do admit that that 1 1/4 second wait is a little brutal sometimes, but it’s probably for the best so that it doesn’t become completely overpowered.

And besides, if Magnet Pull baits a dodge out of your opponent, that’s one less dodge that you have to worry about. A player only gets 2, and if your opponent isn’t stacking vigor, losing that single dodge can be pretty huge in combat.

Magnetic pull is already one of our best skill in the game, and can be traited to be on a really low cooldown.

Making it instant would be a mistake, as toolkit is already our strongest kit. Doesn’t need anymore buff, and we don’t need an instant cast pull.

Crowd control needs to be capable of being dodged via anticipation. Magnet Pull should be no different.

As others have said, Magnet is one of the best pulls in the game. Necromancers and Thieves are the only other classes that have a 1,200 range pull, and they’re both utility skills.

Scorpion Wire
Spectral Grasp

Now compare them to Magnet. Sure, their casting channels are shorter. But with Power Wrench it has only a 20-second cooldown. And slot for slot, the Tool Kit does a lot more for us than Spectral Grasp or Scorpion Wire does for them. We get an AoE snare, 3-second immunity, a 5-stack of Confusion, and a relatively decent auto attack rotation along with Magnet. The Tool Kit is an exceptionally powerful slot option in PvP and WvW. Magnet is just icing on the cake.

You have to consider all of this when you think about balancing skills. We by and far have the upper hand here.

all fair and true, but I still think Magnet Pull is easily avoided, unless it’s a messy fight where they don’t see anything you do anyhow.

But of all things I would change for the engineer, this is pretty much bottom of the list… if even on it.

I wont give any details but the animation for the pull is the best part of it. There is a trick you can do with is that makes it so awesome in wvw.

Riojin.2649:

I wont give any details but the animation for the pull is the best part of it. There is a trick you can do with is that makes it so awesome in wvw.

people and their secret weapons

I already mentioned running, jumping works too but dodging interrupts the cast.

Shield block and pull while blocking if fast on the swapping (as anything works while shield blocking).
Gear shield gets interrupted though, different mechanic from the shield.

Throw wrench while pulling works too, a very underestimated combo. Also because it changes the animation to a throw, and you cripple them while they run from your pull already (if traited Power wrench).

Curious what special tricks you have, always fun to learn.

Hehe gotta keep your secret weapons a secret or all the engines will use it and it might get fixed. But your list here is better than mine anyway. Point is is that you can use the animation to your advantage engine is not a simple class so comparing how our skills work to similar skills is not a good thing. Look at all the tricks we can do with the pill as stated above that allow you to be diverse with your gameplay and non predictable. Good stuff

Magnet doesn’t require need you to look at your target. The best way to land it is to pull then turn away from them to look like you’re running away and hide your pull animation. This is from a 1v1 situation.

Might as well share secrets, everything gets fix anyways, the Anet group maybe lazy but they are a smart bunch. I’m curious what the Engineer will look like a few months from now.

I main a necro, and I can assure you Spectral grasp is a joke of a pull. While the cast time is shorter, it’s a slow projectile that can be seen miles away, won’t hit a moving/strafing target, get obtructed/miss a lot and you can outrun it if you run at normal speed in the opposite direction. They dont even have to evade it in most cases. Oh and of course like most pull abilities the target almost never get pulled the full 1200.

Of course it’s a good point blank interrupt, but by no mean the super pull you think we have. Having played with both, I prefer the Magnet pull by far.

I don’t mind thats its not instant as much as i mind that is doesn’t work so often. Either it doesn’t pull at all it pulls half way.

Magnet cast time can be brutal, but being able to swap back into Main Hand when channeling is an amazing trick. Pulling into a Rifles Blunderbuss>Overcharged Shot>Net Shot>Throw Wrench. Or Magnet into a Pistol off hands Glue Shot>Blowtortch, both these combos work seamlessly and very effectively against almost all Professions. Not to mention Using Box Of Nails immediately before creates a bleeding/cripple field that is invisisible to your enemies making it a perfect set up for Big Ole’ Bomb and Has great synergy with Concussion Bomb>Pry Bar. Using its channel time to your advantage is key with all kits. But as mention previously, pulling a foe from such a great distance instantly would be very powerful since in tight situations it can be used simply to CC your opponents, Preventing their DPS for a few seconds.

It will be OP if its instant

Kimbald.2697:

Throw wrench while pulling works too, a very underestimated combo. Also because it changes the animation to a throw, and you cripple them while they run from your pull already (if traited Power wrench).

Are you sure about this? I’ve been testing it in the Mists and Throw Wrench and Magnet seem to only ever work one after the other, and not during. I’ve tried many times and have been unable to use the tool belt skill Throw Wrench while channeling the Magnet skill, or vice versa. how are you using the two concurrently?

Pro Tip: You dont have to be facing the target you are pulling. Very easy to juke people with it by pulling them while running away or not facing them.

Both scorpion wire and spectral grasp are projectiles, and can be blocked/dodged as such. Spectral grasp also moved stupidly slow. Temporal curtain can pull at 1200 range, but it will only pull you about 400ish towards the curtain itself.

Magnet has a small animation, not a projectile, instant once the cast is finished, and will pull all the way to you. It’s already on the verge of op, and that cast time is the only balancing factor.

Thanks guys, you pretty much answered the question and I agree with you.

It’s fine as is and I will certainly use some the tricks suggested here in the future such as throw wrench at the same time as pull, and turning around when I pull.

This thread can be over now :P

I got one more trick for you:

Just some days ago i got pretty owned by an engi using this. We were fighting at hills (you know, where the high cliffs are ^^) when he laid down his Big Ol’ Bomb near the cliff. I was far enough away but didn’t realize that he was just using magnet on me just in time to get me blown off the cliff.

You can also magnet through blocks and projectile reflects. I shed a tear every time I ruin a shelter, shield stance or sanctuary.

Feels kinda dirty.

And an instant cast on magnet would be ridiculously overpowered. As much as I love my engi I don’t wanna become a pullbot. The only thing that prevents it from being overpowered already is the animation and cast time. It’s still the best pull in the game ;D

Druidic.3146:

Kimbald.2697:

Throw wrench while pulling works too, a very underestimated combo. Also because it changes the animation to a throw, and you cripple them while they run from your pull already (if traited Power wrench).

Are you sure about this? I’ve been testing it in the Mists and Throw Wrench and Magnet seem to only ever work one after the other, and not during. I’ve tried many times and have been unable to use the tool belt skill Throw Wrench while channeling the Magnet skill, or vice versa. how are you using the two concurrently?

will test again before I confirm this, don’t want to spread false info.

But yesterday (and other days in WvW) I could start pulling, than throw wrench and still pull the target. And it got hit by the wrench in the process.

I hope this wasn’t just lag, so further tests are indeed needed.

edit: testing in the Mists, so without lag interfering.
I can pull and than throw wrench during the animation.
The pull will continue and take effect, but the throw wrench will only hit the instant the dummy is pulled at my feet.
Still: the animation is changed from pull to throwing (which is the visual ‘trick’) and both go of. So the pull animation stops and changes, even though the pull goes through.
In WvW the throw often was visable during the pulling itself, which was probably lag on the visuals of my enemy.

edit 2: and now I can’t get the animations to mix anymore
Seriously starting to think it’s either my pc, or server lag playing tricks on my visuals.
Have been combining them often, but only since this thread I actually checked what the animations were doing. Before I just hit both and they both worked… too busy to look at my own animations._