So the current Engie meta for dungeons more or less consists of a 66002 build with Assassin/Zerk gear, with grenades as the primary kit.
I’m currently looking over the new specialization lines and thinking about what new build options we might get still within the same lines of thinking.
The condition changes might make Sinister and Rampager (yes, rampager, I’ll get to that in a moment) stat combos just as damaging for Engies in dungeons and open world as Zerk and Assassin.
The thing about Rampager gear is we now have a trait that gives us back 10% of our precision as condi damage. We won’t be able to crunch the actual numbers until the finalized numbers on gear are released, but I’m interested in learning what the stat difference would be between full sinister, and full rampagers with Pinpoint Distribution. And if it would be overall more effective to max out precision with rampager, get some of it back as condi and take Heavy Armor Exploit, Or to take Sinister Gear, and get back the extra crit with High Calibur and No Scope instead.
Incendiary Powder VS Modified ammunition might also be a worthwhile consideration with firearms with hybrid offensive stats like sinister and rampager. Modified Ammo is still the obvious choice for Zerk/Assassin, and Powder would be the obvious choice for Pure condi, but what if you have power/condi? With how many conditions Engie pumps out, grenades alone easily gives you a steady 10%+ bonus to physical damage from maintaining 5+condis, so as long as you have the power damage I think that’ll win out, but it might be tricky to compare that to the extra burning ticks if you’re running bomb/flamthrower/offhand pistol. (Juggernaut excluded from that comparison because if you’re planning around a flamethrower centric build over a grenade centered one that more or less a different build style. It’s a total shame juggernaut and powder are mutually exclusive now though)
Grenadier style builds will likely want Grenadier (Duh) and Shaped Charge, I think, but the three grandmaster traits are all pretty strong choices. Shrapnel is the obvious match for grenades, but Siege Rounds is good for strengthening the Motar if we want that long range option, and the extra blast finishers might synergise very well if the third chosen line is Inventions.
For that matter, choosing the third specialization is a tough choice. 66002 was the standard with that last 2 just for speedy kits, which isn’t at all what it used to be. Taking inventions to get Mecha/Robo legs as a replacement seems pretty logical and the extra healing and support might help to prop up glass stats.
But Alchemy can ALSO bolster your survivability and give support, so it might come down to what your preferred kits are.
Tools seems better for sqeezing out extra dodges and some extra damage, and might work better with pure power builds than condi and hybrid ones.
But all in all, it sounds like there will be some really strong alternatives to the old grenadier meta-style builds.