Hello!
I just picked up my Engineer over the weekend, and I honestly had the time of my life running around setting kitten on fire and blowing kitten up! I’ve leveled 5 other classes (Mesmer, Guardian, Thief, Necro, Ele) to 80, and they all had their “fun” moments, but Engi has been (pardon the pun) a blast so far.
I’m nowhere close to needing final build advice, but I’m currently having a lot of fun with Pistol/Pistol, with Grenade/Flamethrower/Bomb Kits for skills – is there a good build out there I can aim towards?
Thanks for anything you can provide, Engi is awesome so far!
Welcome to the club. I too have played most of the other professions extensively and Engineer is by far my favorite. Too much fun!
I recommend grabbing Elixir Gun and experimenting with that. Really boosts survivability. Also, I’ve found that 2 kits is enough and I add a gadget or elixir to my bar. This way I can swap between my pistols, FT, & Elixir Gun, and buff it all with Goggles or Elixir B.
Mines with Elixir Gun’s kiting is fun. Just lead em thru a minefield & sneer.
Traits: 10 in Firearms makes your pistols more effective. 10 in Tools gives you more dodging/swiftness and good kit buffs. My next 10 went into Alchemy. Elixir B at 75% health is just amazing.
I wouldn’t say “favorite” yet, as I’m only level 15, but it has been the most fun in that time, no doubt. I gave up Ranger at level 20, and my Warrior is on hold at level 15, but I feel like Engi will definitely make it past that wall.
To add to my question, it looks like the Grenade/Bomb kit is a good start to a condition-type build, and Pistols have conditions on them as well, so it looks like I’m leaning that way at the moment – does Elixir gun complement that type of play?
I’m already 5 into Firearms for the bleeding on Crit, the pistol recharge will be my Adept trait. Continuing to build along that line seems like the best way to go for now, and I’m already looking at winding up with Rampager’s gear for endgame (although I’m still a LONG way away from that).
So, that said, any other info on a Pistol/Kit condition build that goes deep into Firearms/Tools?
I recommend grabbing Elixir Gun and experimenting with that. Really boosts survivability. Also, I’ve found that 2 kits is enough and I add a gadget or elixir to my bar. This way I can swap between my pistols, FT, & Elixir Gun, and buff it all with Goggles or Elixir B.
I second this advice.
The Elixir Gun is a low cost, high reward investment to your build given that it requires no traits to use effectively. You’ll get more out of it with Deadly Mixture and Fireforged Trigger, but these are not at all necessary like Juggernaut and Grenadier are.
The usual setup is to have an offensive-minded kit like the Bomb Kit, Grenade Kit, or Flamethrower and then use the Elixir Gun with your choice of third utility slot. In PvE I focus on elixirs. In dungeons I’ll use Elixir R or C depending on what the content most requires; I’ll use Elixir B in open-world content. In WvW I prefer to focus on gadgets, as most of them are better stunbreakers on shorter cooldowns than elixirs.
The Elixir Gun shines less in sPvP, and in such cases you’re best off just using one kit that augments the strengths of your weapon (Flamethrower with Rifle, Tool/Grenade Kit with Pistol) and slotting two elixirs/gadgets on your bar.
I wouldn’t say “favorite” yet, as I’m only level 15, but it has been the most fun in that time, no doubt.
For leveling, the best kit is the Bomb Kit. Learn to love it, though dungeon content makes it dangerous to use a lot of the time at level 80.
The Grenade Kit doesn’t really shine until Grenadier is unlocked at level 60—the same with the Flamethrower and Juggernaut.
When leveling I liked Static Discharge, wielding a Rifle with Tool Kit + Utility Goggles + Rifle Turret, specced mostly into Firearms, Inventions, and Tools.
I cannot say how the Grenade Kit performs as a Condition Damage build while leveling. My only real experience with it is using it at level 80. I didn’t much like the way it worked and still do not.
For leveling, the best kit is the Bomb Kit. Learn to love it, though dungeon content makes it dangerous to use a lot of the time at level 80.
The Bomb Kit has been awesome so far, and the toolbelt Bomb is just hilarious.
The Grenade Kit doesn’t really shine until Grenadier is unlocked at level 60—the same with the Flamethrower and Juggernaut.
The Grenade kit isn’t great on its own, but the toolbelt barrage of grenades has been a life saver so far. I finished Metrica Province midway through level 12, which is fast for me (I usually wind up at or around level 15).
When leveling I liked Static Discharge, wielding a Rifle with Tool Kit + Utility Goggles + Rifle Turret, specced mostly into Firearms, Inventions, and Tools.
I cannot say how the Grenade Kit performs as a Condition Damage build while leveling. My only real experience with it is using it at level 80. I didn’t much like the way it worked and still do not.
I do carry a Rifle with me, but I don’t like it nearly as much as Pistol/Pistol. I have no traits into Tools yet, but Static Discharge looked like the obvious choice, so nice to know I’m onto something there. I know that at my low level, I have quite a few conditions on enemies – not nearly up to what my Necro can do, but they do seem to melt away.
Understandable. Rifle versus Pistol is a playstyle choice—primarily whether or not you want to center yourself around Power or Condition Damage.
You seem to be well into the swing of things even at level 15. Just steer clear of the Inventions tree unless you plan on using turrets and you really can’t go wrong in the building of your Engineer.
Understandable. Rifle versus Pistol is a playstyle choice—primarily whether or not you want to center yourself around Power or Condition Damage.
You seem to be well into the swing of things even at level 15. Just steer clear of the Inventions tree unless you plan on using turrets and you really can’t go wrong in the building of your Engineer.
I played with Turrets for a full level or so, but I just wasn’t into them as much as the other kits. I read some of your thread on guru and got some helpful info there, so I’ll just play around for the near future and worry about what way to go when I get there.
The thing about turrets is that their cooldowns are way too long. Rocket Turret does good damage, but if you’re not camping a single spot it’s very frustrating to use.
Most people just slot the Rifle Turret with Static Discharge. You use Surprise Shot, place the Rifle Turret, overcharge it, detonate it, and then Surprise Shot again. Adds quite a bit of potency to a Rifle rotation’s Jump Shot → Blunderbuss → Overcharged Shot burst.
I have no traits into Tools yet, but Static Discharge looked like the obvious choice, so nice to know I’m onto something there. I know that at my low level, I have quite a few conditions on enemies – not nearly up to what my Necro can do, but they do seem to melt away.
Depending on what you slot, I recommend taking a look at Kit Refinement over Static Discharge in the Tools trait line. If your utilities have toolbelt skills with long CDs, then SD might be less help than KR. KR casts a spell upon kit equip (10s iCD, so if you’re bringing 2-3 kits and swapping often, you’ll get some nice free boosts. For instance, swap to Elixir Gun and you get a free Super Elixir (combo field!) before you even get a skill off. Pretty sweet. Check the wiki for what each kit swap casts.
As far as stacking conditions, FT toolbelt + Poison Dart Volley + Static Shot + Elixir Gun’s Fumigate and you have burning, poison, confusion, blindness, & vulnerability in 3 skills. Swap back and pepper in some pistol auto-attack and you can add bleeding to that mix.
Do all that with Kit Refinement you’ve also got a healing field around you that can be blast finished with Elixir Gun #4 for area retaliation and create some distance.
This is my standard opening salvo btw. When they get close again (and if they’re not dead [not likely] then I FT em to ash.
(edited by Seras.5702)
I have no traits into Tools yet, but Static Discharge looked like the obvious choice, so nice to know I’m onto something there. I know that at my low level, I have quite a few conditions on enemies – not nearly up to what my Necro can do, but they do seem to melt away.
Depending on what you slot, I recommend taking a look at Kit Refinement over Static Discharge in the Tools trait line. If your utilities have toolbelt skills with long CDs, then SD might be less help than KR. KR casts a spell upon kit equip (10s iCD, so if you’re bringing 2-3 kits and swapping often, you’ll get some nice free boosts. For instance, swap to Elixir Gun and you get a free Super Elixir (combo field!) before you even get a skill off. Pretty sweet. Check the wiki for what each kit swap casts.
As far as stacking conditions, FT toolbelt + Poison Dart Volley + Static Shot + Elixir Gun’s Fumigate and you have burning, poison, confusion, blindness, & vulnerability in 3 skills. Swap back and pepper in some pistol auto-attack and you can add bleeding to that mix.
Do all that with Kit Refinement you’ve also got a healing field around you that can be blast finished with Elixir Gun #4 for area retaliation and create some distance.
This is my standard opening salvo btw. When they get close again (and if they’re not dead [not likely] then I FT em to ash.
I saw something on that Guru thread about Kit Refinement – I’ve also been reading some of the wiki articles, so thanks for all the info (especially the skill rotations)!
With everything I’ve been reading about gadgets and everything, I can’t help but feel like Blankman sometimes… and I think it’s hilarious!
Kit Refinement is something I defined my build around given that it gave us a 100% sustainable Light field with Super Elixir. On top of having 100% Fury upkeep with Altruism + Drop Stimulant, the FT/EG build for a long time was about the best hybridization of offense and defense the Engineer had in PvE.
With ArenaNet re-examining Kit Refinement, ideally with the intention of making it something along the lines of the Elementalist’s Evasive Arcana, it will become a larger component to Tools-centric builds which the FT/EG setup cannot integrate given our 60-point dependency on Juggernaut, Deadly Mixture, and now Incendiary Powder.
This, of course, is all determinant on what ArenaNet has in store for the Flamethrower and lightening up our trait dependency. If they rework how Flame Jet’s damage values are calculated, not to mention perhaps having Flame Just burn on the first hit and not the tenth, we may or may not be able to follow Kit Refinement up the Tools tree.
This is also dependent on whether or not the Tools tree gets an entire rework that actually makes a 30-point investment worth it over other options. Outside of Kit Refinement, we don’t have much need for the tree currently in PvE.
Outside of Kit Refinement, we don’t have much need for the [Tools] tree currently in PvE.
I disagree. Static Discharge is fairly strong when coupled with fast recharging toolbelts.
Speedy Kits is a great trait for open world travel. And paired with Invigorating Speed from Alchemy it makes dodging endless.
Unfortunately, these are all 10pt traits, meaning we have lots of choice with 10 pts invested in Tools, but beyond that it’s not that we don’t have good traits, we just don’t have good high-level traits. Grandmaster traits are supposed to be better than Adept, making investing 30pts worth something valuable. However, I’d rather have 3x Adept traits in Tools with my current FT/EG build than 1 of each.
Static Discharge is fairly strong when coupled with fast recharging toolbelts.
Agreed. But Healing Mist and Incendiary Ammo are not fast recharging toolbelt skills.
Speedy Kits is a great trait for open world travel.
Agreed. I used to run 20 points in Tools for that reason: Kit Refinement and Speedy Kits. But over time it became more obvious to me that it was much easier just reducing the point total to 15 for Inertial Converter and swapping out Kit Refinement for Speedy Kits and vice versa as needed.
You gain far more in damage with Energy Conversion Matrix (25 Alchemy) than you did in utility with 20 points in Tools. It wasn’t until Flame Jet’s 10% damage buff to burning targets that Incendiary Powder became the best method (thereby freeing up only 10 points for Kit Refinement).
10/30/0/20/10 gives us the best damage possible with the Flamethrower while still sustaining Light fields with Super Elixir. What setup do you think outperforms this?
And paired with Invigorating Speed from Alchemy it makes dodging endless.
Not necessarily “endless,” but very useful. Yet we already have 30 points in Firearms. Why not just go for Infused Precision? It’s not like we need Hair Trigger or Rifled Barrels. And Napalm Specialist is unnecessary with Incendiary Powder and of no great help without it.
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
@Phineas:
You make very good points. Mine was simply that Tools has more than 1 decent trait but that unfortunately they’re all 10pt traits.
As to whether traits in other lines are better, I can’t really speak to that. Currently, my Eng is only lvl 36 so I haven’t been able to climb up the traits much yet. Since the OP was focused on “whilst leveling” I thought I’d put in my 2 cents. I’m glad to learn though that as I progress there are good traits spread out amongst other trees, giving me more variation. Through our back-n-forth I’m learning that a) I’m doing things right as of now and b) which direction to head as I continue.
Any gadgets you recommend for use with FT/EG builds? I was using Elixir B (but dropped it since I have 5pts in Alchemy now) and switched to Mine. Being able to booby trap an area with 5 mines and 1 big one with knockback and kite around has been quite useful. I want to try Goggles but I’m wondering if the vulnerability will fall flat since I’m not stacking power. I am however, stacking condition damage and am getting precision thru the traitline (currently around 35%).
Sorry if I misunderstood you; he mentioned my build so I was going off that and not my experiences while leveling. As I posted before, the Flamethrower doesn’t really shine until level 60 when you unlock Juggernaut, but I am glad to hear that so many people are leveling Engineer and enjoying the kit even before that point.
Then again, it’s also a lot stronger now than it was in September as a DPS option—given Juggernaut was used for Stability more than anything back then—so I guess some of what I’m saying may be outdated.
About the Tools tree: Definitely. Agreed. It becomes more attractive when you use the Tool Kit for Power Wrench, but the Grandmaster traits right now are quite frankly awful. Armor Mods needs to have its cooldown halved (at least) and Adrenal Implants is a great idea on paper until you realize you can get the same exact thing with only a 20-point investment that you’ve already recognized (Speedy Kits/Infused Precision + Invigorating Speed). I hope tomorrow’s patch will reinvent the tree as a multi-kit specialization, making Kit Refinement our Evasive Arcana.
Right now it feels like everybody just uses Kit Refinement + 30 points in their kit’s respective tree, which is probably not a healthy trait distribution. But that’s a conversation for another thread.
About gadgets: Utility Goggles is best used with Static Discharge for Vulnerability stacking. With Sitting Duck in the Firearms tree, the damage output is awesome. For Condition Damage, you’re probably not going to want to use it.
I would maybe look at something like Rocket Boots. It has a decently short toolbelt skill that applies burning damage, is a stunbreaker, and is our best escape option despite the self CC.
Mines are great, but they work better with Explosive-spec builds like the Bomb Kit—which is what I used near the tail-end when leveling.
Rocket Boots were my first gadgets. I love the toolbelt skill (which is really why I took them). It synergizes nicely with Pistol #4 and FT for some burst. But the self-knockback was getting really frustrating. Actually, the knockback was fine. It was the taking forever to get back up that bothered me.
So I’ve been dabbling in elixirs and gadgets, trying to find what best complements my P/P, FT, EG build.
Hello!
I just picked up my Engineer over the weekend, and I honestly had the time of my life running around setting kitten on fire and blowing kitten up! I’ve leveled 5 other classes (Mesmer, Guardian, Thief, Necro, Ele) to 80, and they all had their “fun” moments, but Engi has been (pardon the pun) a blast so far.
I’m nowhere close to needing final build advice, but I’m currently having a lot of fun with Pistol/Pistol, with Grenade/Flamethrower/Bomb Kits for skills – is there a good build out there I can aim towards?
Thanks for anything you can provide, Engi is awesome so far!
I’ve rolled an engineer (now level 55) after leveling a Guardian to 75 (will push him to 80 soon but engi is way more fun). What I like best about the class is the flexibility. Yes, for X or Y or Z, A or B or C build might be best, but to me (admittedly still new to the game), what makes Engineer so much fun is there are SO many different ways to successfully play the class (note I’m just talking PVE here).
I roll with FT, EG, wrench, and attitude (LOL). I’ve tried the grenade kit, and it hits harder than pretty much anything else, but I’ve yet to master the run/ground target/fire combo. No clue how people do it without major re-mapping of keys and/or mouse buttons, or they have 3 hands. :-) Regardless, spamming 1 on grenades makes me crazy, so I just go w/ guns….and wrench! Don’t forget the wrench! OMG does that thing hit like a truck. EG 1,2,3 then FT 3,2,1 then finish w/ a big ‘ole Pry Bar (wrench 3) to the noggin’. I go w/ pistol/shield to be a little bit less squishie when 3+ mobs decide to pound on me.
For traits I’m Master level Firearms/Inventions and working up in Alchemy since I’m more “Conditioneer” in my play style. For big fights (Champions), I go w/ rifle and rocket turrets, keep EG around to pile on conditions and give me and my allies a nice AOE heal (EG 5), and drop Elite Supply crate when it’s up. Good times. :-)
I hope some of that newbie rambling helps you.
-Thor
I’ve tried the grenade kit, and it hits harder than pretty much anything else, but I’ve yet to master the run/ground target/fire combo. No clue how people do it without major re-mapping of keys and/or mouse buttons, or they have 3 hands. :-)
I don’t know how you do it on a keyboard (I also apparently have small fingers), but I recently bought an MMO mouse, and it has been incredible so far.
For leveling, I’ve found I level much quicker running with the pistol/pistol/Tool kit combination if I’m focusing on 1 vs. 1 mob action. For groups and events I swap to flamethrower for tagging.
The combination of some +condition damage gear, Pry-bar + Static shot for 7-9 stacks of confusion literally melts single mobs (especially if they land more than one attack). Throw in a Rocket Kick (big burns) for good measure since I’m in melee range.
Even mobs 3-4 levels higher than me go down in an instant. This obviously isn’t an end game spec, I just find it super fast for leveling. I’m level 42 atm so it’s legit at lower levels.
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