Guild Wars 2

Every now and then, I pull out my ascended hammer out of my bank and give it a go. I just don’t get it.

Sure, for one-on-one it’s okay. Great even. This might be true for sPvP as well. (I don’t play that part of GW2.)

But as someone who predominately plays WvW, the lack of a Ranged attack (except for Kits) is a major weakness.

If, in the future, Anet continues to create Specializations, then they need to reconsider giving the Engi a second weapon. I’ve never advocated this in the past, but because we now only have 3 trait lines, the adaptability of the Engi, which was always it’s strength in the past, has been severely crippled.

O.o what are talking? Melee weapons always lack in range attacks, that’s what makes them a melee weapon, isn’kitten You can easily use grenade kit, elixir gun or even flamethrower for range attacks.
What do you mean with 3 trait lines? We actually have 6…

Forestnator.6298:

What do you mean with 3 trait lines? We actually have 6…

Hmmm,

We used to be able to pick and choose from 5 Trait lines. Now, if we choose a Trait, we are obligated to vest in it completely. So our options are reduced. Anet clearly did this to promote eSports and make balancing simpler by reducing the number of viable builds.

The hammer makes complete sense in sPvP – but nowhere else.

Have you been playing this game long?

Edit: Do you WvW? And if so, do you use a hammer? I can’t remember the last time I saw an Engi in WvW foolish enough to use a hammer.

Soon.5240:

Forestnator.6298:

What do you mean with 3 trait lines? We actually have 6…

Hmmm,

We used to be able to pick and choose from 5 Trait lines. Now, if we choose a Trait, we are obligated to vest in it completely. So our options are reduced. Anet clearly did this to promote eSports and make balancing simpler by reducing the number of viable builds.

The hammer makes complete sense in sPvP – but nowhere else.

Have you been playing this game long?

Edit: Do you WvW? And if so, do you use a Hammer?

O.o I played engineer for 5k hours. I just misunderstood what you mean with 3 trait lines. To be fair you expressed yourself bad here.
What has the trait line change to do with hammer btw?
Hammer is only good in pvp? Do you even play engineer?

Edit: Do you WvW? And if so, do you use a hammer? I can’t remember the last time I saw an Engi in WvW foolish enough to use a hammer.

Are you trolling?

And I have 4k + hours on Engi.

Enough with the O.o.

Anet introduced Specializations as a way of reducing the number of builds to simplify balancing in their commitment to eSports.

And no Engi runs hammer in WvW. Except, maybe, in high tier zerg-blobbing. Or those who roam looking for noob PvE’er trying for Dailies.

Soon.5240:

Edit: Do you WvW? And if so, do you use a hammer? I can’t remember the last time I saw an Engi in WvW foolish enough to use a hammer.

Hammer engineers are currently the most common kind of engineer in wvw .
So you want a second weapon (weapon swap i assume you mean) in exchange for what? What are you willing to sacrifice for it? Adding a weapon swap will only lead to our utility skills (kits especially) to be nerfed. You think that is gonna enhance our adaptability/flexibility?

santenal.1054:

Hammer engineers are currently the most common kind of engineer in wvw .

And your proof of this statement is what?

Edit: Again, if you are in a high-tier, highly-structured zerg-blog server, then you may be right. But this is not true of mid and lower tier WvW.

Soon.5240:

And I have 4k + hours on Engi.

Enough with the O.o.

Anet introduced Specializations as a way of reducing the number of builds to simplify balancing in their commitment to eSports.

And no Engi runs hammer in WvW. Except, maybe, in high tier zerg-blobbing. Or those who roam looking for noob PvE’er trying for Dailies.

What else then zerging or roaming are you doing in WvW? And for roaming… Hammer builds actually superior to every other engineer weapon choice. So not only for “noob Pve’er trying for dailies” but also for competitive roaming or small scale hammer is your best choice.

Soon.5240:

santenal.1054:

Hammer engineers are currently the most common kind of engineer in wvw .

And your proof of this statement is what?

Edit: Again, if you are in a high-tier, highly-structured zerg-blog server, then you may be right. But this is not true of mid and lower tier WvW.

Where is your proof about your statement?

I roam on a daily basis and i fight and see more hammer engineers then rifle, p/p or p/s ones. Most of my guildies play mostly hammer builds, most of the veteran engineers i know on my server play mostly hammer builds. (I play in mid to low tier by the way). Do you want me to record all my gameplay to convince you of the obvious or something?

Now tell me what you are willing to sacrifice for a weapon swap.

Soon.5240:

santenal.1054:

Hammer engineers are currently the most common kind of engineer in wvw .

And your proof of this statement is what?

Edit: Again, if you are in a high-tier, highly-structured zerg-blog server, then you may be right. But this is not true of mid and lower tier WvW.

his evidence is anecdotal but true.

im on t4 and i rarely see engis not using hammer. i think ive seen 1 rifle and maybe 2 p/p. and scrappers are not uncommon.

soooooooooooo

insanemaniac.2456:

Soon.5240:

santenal.1054:

Hammer engineers are currently the most common kind of engineer in wvw .

And your proof of this statement is what?

Edit: Again, if you are in a high-tier, highly-structured zerg-blog server, then you may be right. But this is not true of mid and lower tier WvW.

his evidence is anecdotal but true.

im on t4 and i rarely see engis not using hammer. i think ive seen 1 rifle and maybe 2 p/p. and scrappers are not uncommon.

soooooooooooo

and how many of these hammer engies are actually successful at anything

how many times do you see them down a bunch of guys in a zerg
or how many times do you see them kill roamers
scrappers as bruisers are amazing at taking non player defended camps and thats about it in wvw

Rezzet.3614:

insanemaniac.2456:

Soon.5240:

santenal.1054:

Hammer engineers are currently the most common kind of engineer in wvw .

And your proof of this statement is what?

Edit: Again, if you are in a high-tier, highly-structured zerg-blog server, then you may be right. But this is not true of mid and lower tier WvW.

his evidence is anecdotal but true.

im on t4 and i rarely see engis not using hammer. i think ive seen 1 rifle and maybe 2 p/p. and scrappers are not uncommon.

soooooooooooo

and how many of these hammer engies are actually successful at anything

how many times do you see them down a bunch of guys in a zerg
or how many times do you see them kill roamers
scrappers as bruisers are amazing at taking non player defended camps and thats about it in wvw

You can be serious. Everytime I see an engineer without hammer I know he is easy to kill.
Why should hammer scrapper be absolut top tier in sPvP but rubish in WvW roaming? I don’t get you…

Rezzet.3614:

insanemaniac.2456:

Soon.5240:

santenal.1054:

Hammer engineers are currently the most common kind of engineer in wvw .

And your proof of this statement is what?

Edit: Again, if you are in a high-tier, highly-structured zerg-blog server, then you may be right. But this is not true of mid and lower tier WvW.

his evidence is anecdotal but true.

im on t4 and i rarely see engis not using hammer. i think ive seen 1 rifle and maybe 2 p/p. and scrappers are not uncommon.

soooooooooooo

and how many of these hammer engies are actually successful at anything

how many times do you see them down a bunch of guys in a zerg
or how many times do you see them kill roamers
scrappers as bruisers are amazing at taking non player defended camps and thats about it in wvw

i cant say anything for them, but i swap to mortar and get a bunch of tags. of course, im in marauder when i do that, so being in the front line would be dumb.

i kill plenty of roamers and generally only go down when a zerg turns the corner or my fight gets +2’d while sneak is on cd / off my bar. in fact, its extremely annoying how many people are faster than me. i cant ever seem to catch thieves, warriors, and sometimes mesmers. they all just run from me because they take 2 hits and cant put any damage back on me.

sooooooo

idk. maybe its the pvp i played last season. maybe its that ive been playing engi for 3.5 years. scrapper doesnt suck. if you think it does, maybe youre doin it wrong.

Soon.5240:

And no Engi runs hammer in WvW. Except, maybe, in high tier zerg-blobbing. Or those who roam looking for noob PvE’er trying for Dailies.

Using a hammer and my Gyros I make a tower completely alone. There is absolutely nothing better in WvW for a Roamer as a hammer.

With engi hammer you can solo much everything with HP not dropping below 95%.

Forestnator.6298:

Why should hammer scrapper be absolut top tier in sPvP but rubish in WvW roaming?

Putting aside it wasn’t top tier even before the nerfs last patch and has been replaced by other classes in a number of teams, what happens in sPvP and roaming WvW are two different things, because one involves fighting on & around a point and contesting it, where a large part of the “win” condition is control of the point and not necessarily killing the other guy, where as in WvW you fight in open spaces and the only win condition is killing the other guy.

So whilst hammer engy is still tough to kill in WvW, it is actually pretty crap at killing anyone who plays cautiously, classes that can kite you to death and players who run if they think they will lose (which in WvW is a lot), because there is no useful damage dealing range kit in that scenario when players aren’t neatly stacked on a point, and the mobility of engy in WvW is one of the worst these days, so it’s often a struggle to finish off someone on say 30% HP who has decided to run, when even a DH with (f2, elite gives another f2, sword 2 or gs leap, Judges intervention & traveller runes) can outrun an engy, let’s not even go into thieves, gs/staff rangers, etc.

Saying that, ‘rubbish’ is too strong a word, but hammer engy is less effective roaming in WvW than it is fighting on a point in PvP.

Magira.6390:

Using a hammer and my Gyros I make a tower completely alone. There is absolutely nothing better in WvW for a Roamer as a hammer.

Whoa! You made a tower all by yourself! Teach me your magic harry!

On Topic:
Thats coz hammer engi is very easy to kite.
Engi’s are balanced on having kits instead of weapon swaps. So giving the engi more kits is the only meaningfull way to expand the class.

OP, I’m sorry but despite your what 4k hours on engie this seem like a good old l2p issue. Get your build and gear right or you’ll continue to scratch your head.

Zinkz gets the point of my post.

My point (to try and restate it more clearly) is not that the Hammer is bad. In certain situations it is a wonderful weapon.

What I’m concerned about is the way that Anet is applying Specializations to Engi is causing the Engi to lose the wonderful versatility that the profession has always been noted for.

As I stated above, I have over 4k hours in Engi and another 1,100 in other professions. Other professions bore me in much the same way that Hammer bores me. And I hope that this trend of “dumbing-down” the Engi is not something that Anet will continue with in the future.

Soon.5240:

If, in the future, Anet continues to create Specializations, then they need to reconsider giving the Engi a second weapon.

Do you mean a weapon swap or just another weapon so you can choose between 2 weapons? (weapon swap (after the nerfs that would certainly follow) would just make engineer another boring class imo)

I’m all for more kits and weapon choices, maybe even a customizable kit where you can put in 2 gadgets or elixirs.

Its true that most/all hammer scrappers lack range pressure. I roam with a hammer scrapper buddy and i much rather have him play a rifle engi cuz hes spending to much time being kited and swinging his hammer in the air (hitting nothing ofc) while im being focused down.

@santenal

Engi has always been known for the ability to engage at Long, Mid and Short Range. We are not, nor have we ever been, OP at any one of these ranges. Rather, playing Engi requires skill, because you have to use the right weapon/tool at the right time. The constant switching is what turns many players away from playing Engi — while it’s what has always attracted me to it.

I don’t really want a Weapon Swap, for much the same reason that you don’t.

When I first unlocked the Scrapper, I thought, “Wow, these Gyros are cool Kits!” But of course, they are not Kits. The only way we have access to them is to vest fully in the Scrapper Trait line.

With the reduction of 5 to 3 Trait lines, I think many of us have Traits that we select only because they are the lesser of 3 evils. Or, we just play the Engi the way that Anet wants us to play the Engi. And Anet has completely given up even the pretense of caring about Turrets any longer.

Build crafting/theorizing is at an all time low for Engi. Which is another thing that has always attracted me to Engi. Always making tweaks to find the sweet-spot.

I don’t think scrapper is so easily kited (with the right build).
The availability of reflects, jumps, swiftness and superspeed make it quite good at keeping up.

Sure, you will not get a warior or thief that is running away, but they won’t be kiting you around either.