Guild Wars 2

I just got my engineer lvl 80 today. now im thinking make it does high direct damage with FT(i like flamethrower personally:). I plan to use rifle, and FT, tool kit, elixir S and supply crate as utilities. Question is what stat i should build on?
I do want to stand on the battlefield for a bit longer so may need some defensive point as well.
Please help me out by giving me some suggestions. Like what stats, runes and traits i should run with.
Thank you!
Bill

Wolf.5816:

Are you wishing for PvP Flamethrower advice? Or PvE?

See in the title, WVW

eh FT isnt really good for wvw.

By the start, FT isn’t quite potent in WvW no matter how you build it. Most of classes you’ll encounter will have fairly high mobility, the whole set would compare you to a weaker version of a Warrior with slightly more range and no leaps or lunges which is really problematic.

Don’t get to scared of using the Flamethrower in WvW if you really love that weapon! Depending on what you want to do, you can use it in WvW, for large group fights ect. It can (and sees) use! You can both do it the HGH might stacking way with Elixirs, or you can go for a more supportive Flamethrower using Elixir gun, depending on what you like! Aim for some P/V/T gear, or a mix of Valk and Knight armor, cause you gonna take some hits on the frontline with a Flamethrower! for solo roaming I don’t recommend it tho, it have some serious trouble there!

I run a FT/EG HGH build in WvW, and it holds up pretty well. It is a balanced build that allows me to do high damage while still being able to shrug off some hits.

Most of my FT damage comes from my might stacks, retaliation, and near permanent fury from elixir B and H (which gives me ~2300 power, 60%+ crit chance and ~900 condition damage). I also benefit from the damage and mobility from Acid Bomb (one of the best skills on my bar), and cond removal and healing from Super Elixir.

Toolkit is great in WvW. Prybar hits like a truck, Magnet can pull enemies into your group, and Gear shield can save you from being bursted down. Elixir S is great as well. I’m just not sure how effective FT can be in a build with Tool Kit and Elixir S, you’re giving up a lot of power from boons.

However, if you want some general WvW tips for Flamethrower:

-flame blast is really good for both attacking and defending points of interest. It does a huge amount of damage, and can be used from range unlike blunderbuss and prybar, but it is slow and hard to land for max damage. Ideal targets are people autoattacking gates, manning siege weapons, defending walls, or attempting to revive other players. Getting hit for 5000-9000 damage is a pretty convincing reason to make them run away, or at least stop what they’re doing for a while. Acid bomb is also great for this, if you decide to run that.
-FT 1 can shoot through gates and walls. Flame Rams causing problems? Stand about a foot or so from your gate on the inside and burn away.
-air blast is amazing for interrupting stomps. You can also launch people off of cliffs if you aim it right.
-napalm does not put you into combat. If you can put it down without getting attacked it lasts a long time and will put anyone who walks through it into combat, slowing them down. Its kind of useless for escaping if you’re already in combat though.
-Don’t feel obligated to stay in FT all the time, even with juggernaut! Use blunderbuss and jumpshot to increase your damage, use net shot to keep people from escaping, use overcharge shot to get some space and set up flame blast.
-Most importantly, don’t autoattack someone who has retaliation. You’ll die real quick.

Hey everybody,

in the last few days I’ve tried to play an Engineer in WvW with FT, too. Most of the time I roam around the boderlands alone or in small group. But I still have some difficulties. Maybe you have some nice advices, like Saki Asakura.

By the way, here is my build/equipment.

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/engineer/?2.1|4.1o.h4|0.0.0.0.0.0|1c.77.1c.77.1c.79.1c.79.1c.7d.1c.7d|2u.0.2w.0.3w.0.1g.67.1g.67.2s.0|a5.u58b.0.k17.a6|2e.1|2d.2w.2x.2j.30|e

the problem with FT in WvW is, some enemy drops a blast finisher in a light field (or boon shares retal any of the other ways) and area retaliation goes out, suddenly mid FT auto-attack you will take a huge amount of retaliation damage and kill or badly injure yourself.

Omnom lifesteal food used to protect against this somewhat, but not anymore since food changes. Large amounts of retaliation are common in larger fights.

Until they fix the bug with Flame Blast’s double detonation (if history is any indication … not for a while), the FT is actually pretty good now in WvW. I was just playing with it yesterday. I had it hit people for over 10,000 damage in Zerker gear.

Like Kalan suggested above though, I would be careful just spamming Flame Jet into a crowd because of Retaliation—but that’s a skill issue and not a build issue. Just be mindful of this and you’ll be fine.

The problem with retaliation is that you can’t see it when your charging into a zerg. By biggest question is why my guardian doesn’t get faced palmed on retaliation for whirling in circles but my Engineer does with flamethrower. Honestly the should only have retaliation effect flamethrower once on skill use.

Goloith.6349:

The problem with retaliation is that you can’t see it when your charging into a zerg. By biggest question is why my guardian doesn’t get faced palmed on retaliation for whirling in circles but my Engineer does with flamethrower.

Some devs actually played a Guardian? Sorry couldn’t resist.

Goloith.6349:

By biggest question is why my guardian doesn’t get faced palmed on retaliation for whirling in circles but my Engineer does with flamethrower.

Because Flame Jet hits more targets.

Phineas Poe.3018:

Goloith.6349:

By biggest question is why my guardian doesn’t get faced palmed on retaliation for whirling in circles but my Engineer does with flamethrower.

Because Flame Jet hits more targets.

incorrect information. Gaurdian’s ae on Whirling Wrath has no max targets (and if it does its above 6).
Engineers Flamet jet has a cap of 3 targets.

Please do not spread false information.

But to the point at hand. I would say because flame jet has no CD, your spinny attack has at best an 8 second cd, and your 5th attack is on an even longer cd. so its far and inbetween when you yank 5 people onto you and spin em to death.

The sensible option might be to triple FT damage per hit, and have it hit 3 times over 2 seconds or something along those lines.

Kalan.9705:

The sensible option might be to triple FT damage per hit, and have it hit 3 times over 2 seconds or something along those lines.

Its supposed to be countered by retaliation. Attacks with fast attacks are supposed to benefit from on-hit procs from sigils/traits etc. While retaliation is supposed to counter them.

Also another reason i just realized why gaurdian doesnt get rocked by retaliation using the GS….same reason necros with daggers dont. Grabbed the trait for self heal on every GS attack. It heals everytime the spin hits anything, so basicly nulls out retaliation damage.

Zinwrath.2049:

incorrect information. Gaurdian’s ae on Whirling Wrath has no max targets (and if it does its above 6).
Engineers Flamet jet has a cap of 3 targets.

Please do not spread false information.

Flame Jet has a cap of 3 targets per attack. The skill “attacks” 10 times. Whirling Wrath flies out projectiles at random, which makes it pretty difficult to hit anywhere near the same number of people, which is why I farm Orr on my Engineer and not my Guardian—as should everyone else who has leveled both classes.

If you just bull rush into a crowd with it you’ll hit a lot of different people, which means you’re more likely to hit someone that has Retaliation—if not a group of people. This is why Flame Jet murders people, never mind the obvious fact that it is a spammable auto-attack and Whirling Wrath has a cooldown.

Phineas Poe.3018:

Zinwrath.2049:

incorrect information. Gaurdian’s ae on Whirling Wrath has no max targets (and if it does its above 6).
Engineers Flamet jet has a cap of 3 targets.

Please do not spread false information.

Flame Jet has a cap of 3 targets per attack. The skill “attacks” 10 times. Whirling Wrath flies out projectiles at random, which makes it pretty difficult to hit anywhere near the same number of people, which is why I farm Orr on my Engineer and not my Guardian—as should everyone else who has leveled both classes.

If you just bull rush into a crowd with it you’ll hit a lot of different people. This is why Flame Jet murders people, never mind the obvious fact that it is a spammable auto-attack and Whirling Wrath has a cooldown.

I dont know why you try to justify yourself sometimes when you say silly things.

It will hit all 9 times against anything thats right next to the gaurdian, the projectiles are if they’re outside of a small radius. Gaurdian 5th ability pulls 5 people in close, you will hit all 5 for all 9 hits.

FT on the other hand, if there are 5 targets infront of you, you will hit 3 of them 10 times. You will not hit 5 of them 10 times.

End point, FT has a cap of 3 targets it can be hitting at any one time. so no it does not “hit more targets”. Its gonna hit 30 times total every auto attack (if there are 3 or more targets to be hit) Greatsword can easily hit 5 targets 9 times for a total of 45 hits.

So your incorrect in saying it “hits more targets”, because it doesnt.
If you wanted to say “its more likely to land on all its attacks” or “it hits 10 times instead of 9”. Then you could justify that, but we’re assuming the O kitten uggesting when he dives into a group of people and spins it doesnt wreck him. Anyway, i already said why it doesnt, he probably is traited for GS master trait to heal himself every hit.

and finally, do you seriously play a gaurdian? Because if you think your farming faster with a FT engineer over a greatsword gaurdian….man….either you dont actually have a gaurdian or your doing something wrong.

Zinwrath.2049:

End point, FT has a cap of 3 targets it can be hitting at any one time. so no it does not “hit more targets”. Its gonna hit 30 times total every auto attack (if there are 3 or more targets to be hit) Greatsword can easily hit 5 targets 9 times for a total of 45 hits.

So your incorrect in saying it “hits more targets”, because it doesnt.

The difference is that I can direct where my Flamethrower aims. If you aim at one corner of a group and sweep it across all of them, you will get badges like candy. A Guardian cannot do this. Binding Blade can pull 5 people toward you, and Whirling Wrath can beat up those around you, but you cannot aim your Greatsword at a crowd of people and sweep it across as you strafe through it.

Zinwrath.2049:

and finally, do you seriously play a gaurdian? Because if you think your farming faster with a FT engineer over a greatsword gaurdian….man….either you dont actually have a gaurdian or your doing something wrong.

Or maybe you just don’t know how to use the Flamethrower to tag targets properly?

Whirling Wrath has a cooldown. Flame Jet doesn’t.

I’ve heard of people leveling Engineers solely for farming Orr with the Grenade Kit or Flamethrower. I have never heard of anyone doing that with a Guardian—but if I was one to farm with it, I’d use the Staff, not the Greatsword.

Zinwrath.2049:

Anyway, i already said why it doesnt, he probably is traited for GS master trait to heal himself every hit.

Who puts 30 points in Zeal? It’s easily the weakest tree of the five.

Altruistic Healing + Empowering Might passively heals for a lot more than Zealous Blade does. To be exact: ZB heals for 25 per hit. Retaliation does 200+.

So try again.

Or better yet: Stop trolling me across different threads. It’s getting old. Not even sure why this argument is even happening, just like how you blew a gasket over me saying using the Rampager trinket in sPvP with the Flamethrower is “fine.”

Phineas Poe.3018:

Goloith.6349:

By biggest question is why my guardian doesn’t get faced palmed on retaliation for whirling in circles but my Engineer does with flamethrower.

Because Flame Jet hits more targets.

i’m just gonna leave this here. Where you claim it hits more targets. You can beat around it all day, but in the end, it hits 3 targets, GS hits more.

Also GS healing, whether the damage outscales the healing isnt important, its still going to cushion the damage…thus he is taking less damage. If he doesnt have the trait, then my first explanation of the CD explains it. (which suddenly now your on board with) Also, it might be good to note theres a good chance not everyone he hits has retaliation on them at the time, so if he hits 6 people and only 1 had retaliation i imagine it wouldnt seem severe at all.

Also, my mistake on Orr farming, i dont pve much. i assumed you meant farming mobs, not running in those zerg squads, at which point yea, you’d be better off with grenades, but there are few situations where grenades dont trump everything else sadly.

But ya, you claim false info in every thread, which is why i have to correct you in every thread, i’m not singling you out, you just happen to be the doofus saying clueless stuff in half the engineer threads i read. Anyway, like last couple threads you began backpeddling which is when i know i got through to you, and now your just trying to salvage pride….so, whatever ya gotta do. But ya…3 targets max. GS unknown (in testing it hits atleast 5)

Zinwrath.2049:

Phineas Poe.3018:

Goloith.6349:

By biggest question is why my guardian doesn’t get faced palmed on retaliation for whirling in circles but my Engineer does with flamethrower.

Because Flame Jet hits more targets.

i’m just gonna leave this here. Where you claim it hits more targets. You can beat around it all day, but in the end, it hits 3 targets, GS hits more.

I’ve already responded to this point, explaining how it hits more targets. I don’t know how to be more explicit.

It has a maximum reach of 3 targets per Flame Jet attack, but the skill “attacks” 10 times before restarting. That means you can potentially hit 30 different targets every 2.25 seconds; this is very easy to do given that you have full mobility with the Flamethrower and that it can be used with perma Swiftness in combat with Infused Precision. That’s passive. I just have it.

A Greatsword Guardian, on the other hand, has to be within 600 range of his targets to reach them with Whirling Wrath. At reduced mobility. Without perma Swiftness. They have to fill up their bar with shouts to match the mobility of an Engineer that only has to spend 10 trait points to get it.

I know on paper this argument sounds so convincing to you, but WvW zergs are not static objects. They move. And a Greatsword Guardian spinning and winning is going to move slower than people that run away.

I don’t.

Which is why, if you’re out to get badges for your Guardian, you shouldn’t be using the Greatsword at all. You should be using your Staff, which hits 5 targets every second. It doesn’t have as high tagging potential as the Flamethrower does, but with Symbol of Swiftness and any modest Boon Duration stacking, it does give you near-perma Swiftness.

Zinwrath.2049:

Also GS healing, whether the damage outscales the healing isnt important, its still going to cushion the damage…thus he is taking less damage. If he doesnt have the trait, then my first explanation of the CD explains it. (which suddenly now your on board with) Also, it might be good to note theres a good chance not everyone he hits has retaliation on them at the time, so if he hits 6 people and only 1 had retaliation i imagine it wouldnt seem severe at all.

So I’m the one backpedaling?

Empowering Might + Altruistic Healing is the best passive healing the class has for the Greatsword. But I’m the one playing my Guardian wrong, right?

Zinwrath.2049:

But ya, you claim false info in every thread, which is why i have to correct you in every thread, i’m not singling you out, you just happen to be the doofus saying clueless stuff in half the engineer threads i read. Anyway, like last couple threads you began backpeddling which is when i know i got through to you, and now your just trying to salvage pride….so, whatever ya gotta do. But ya…3 targets max. GS unknown (in testing it hits atleast 5)

For one thing, this isn’t about “salvaging pride.” I don’t really much care about what trolls on the internet think of me or my opinion; I’m just here to set the facts straight for those that probably haven’t leveled both a Guardian or Engineer or for those that have an Engineer and just haven’t tried the FT because of people like you who constantly downplay how good it actually is.

I offer up my own ideas of the Flamethrower for how it works for me in PvE and PvP; if they’re not interested, that’s no skin off my back. If people want less badges because they’re afraid of Retaliation, that’s their loss. And yours.

I’m just offering alternatives here in line with what the OP wants. If you want to spend all day shooting them down that’s up to you. But I think I’m allowed to respond to it in kind.

Amadeus.5687:

Don’t get to scared of using the Flamethrower in WvW if you really love that weapon! Depending on what you want to do, you can use it in WvW, for large group fights ect. It can (and sees) use! You can both do it the HGH might stacking way with Elixirs, or you can go for a more supportive Flamethrower using Elixir gun, depending on what you like! Aim for some P/V/T gear, or a mix of Valk and Knight armor, cause you gonna take some hits on the frontline with a Flamethrower! for solo roaming I don’t recommend it tho, it have some serious trouble there!

Thanks very much for your tips! Btw, i been watching your video while i was leveling my engineer and i was very inspired! Thanks again for the fun you brought to me.
As i know you didnt have any FT build in your video(maybe i just didnt cover all of it). And in the meantime i tried to use bomb kit/genade kit to replace FT because of i found a lot of fun in your confusion bomb build. So what stat and trait u suggest me to run with for a bomb kit, tool kit combination?

Saki Asakura.6479:

I run a FT/EG HGH build in WvW, and it holds up pretty well. It is a balanced build that allows me to do high damage while still being able to shrug off some hits.

Most of my FT damage comes from my might stacks, retaliation, and near permanent fury from elixir B and H (which gives me ~2300 power, 60%+ crit chance and ~900 condition damage). I also benefit from the damage and mobility from Acid Bomb (one of the best skills on my bar), and cond removal and healing from Super Elixir.

Toolkit is great in WvW. Prybar hits like a truck, Magnet can pull enemies into your group, and Gear shield can save you from being bursted down. Elixir S is great as well. I’m just not sure how effective FT can be in a build with Tool Kit and Elixir S, you’re giving up a lot of power from boons.

However, if you want some general WvW tips for Flamethrower:

-flame blast is really good for both attacking and defending points of interest. It does a huge amount of damage, and can be used from range unlike blunderbuss and prybar, but it is slow and hard to land for max damage. Ideal targets are people autoattacking gates, manning siege weapons, defending walls, or attempting to revive other players. Getting hit for 5000-9000 damage is a pretty convincing reason to make them run away, or at least stop what they’re doing for a while. Acid bomb is also great for this, if you decide to run that.
-FT 1 can shoot through gates and walls. Flame Rams causing problems? Stand about a foot or so from your gate on the inside and burn away.
-air blast is amazing for interrupting stomps. You can also launch people off of cliffs if you aim it right.
-napalm does not put you into combat. If you can put it down without getting attacked it lasts a long time and will put anyone who walks through it into combat, slowing them down. Its kind of useless for escaping if you’re already in combat though.
-Don’t feel obligated to stay in FT all the time, even with juggernaut! Use blunderbuss and jumpshot to increase your damage, use net shot to keep people from escaping, use overcharge shot to get some space and set up flame blast.
-Most importantly, don’t autoattack someone who has retaliation. You’ll die real quick.

Thanks very much for your time! Its very detail and informatical. So do u suggest i run berserker gear with FT to get that high damage? How about the defensive point i wanted

FT hits 3 targets.

Greatsword no cap on targets.

your words “Because flamejet hits more targets”

You can dance around that all day. But its fact. Its not a matter of situation, your post said ’FT hits more targets" if you meant “ft hits more times” or “FT is going to be more reliable in hitting more times” then go edit your post to say that. Otherwise your spreading false information.

ALso the situation you made up about it hitting 30 different targets each. Cannot happen, unless 30 targets that only needed one more hit to die all stood infront of you (aka might as well be impossible). Flamethrower will continue to hit the same 3 targets untill one is out of range or dies.

I dont need a wall of txt to explain this. You can go test it in game. Go stand in the Golems in pvp, FT will hit 3 targets, GS will hit atleast 5 targets. FT does not hit more targets because FT has a target cap. It can only be attacking 3 at a time.

BILL GE.8716:

Thanks very much for your time! Its very detail and informatical. So do u suggest i run berserker gear with FT to get that high damage? How about the defensive point i wanted

Currently, the damage potential for critting Flame Blast is a lot more than you get stacking Condition Damage for perma burning, so yeah—go Zerker.

If you feel you’re too squishy, Knight’s insignia gear is a good in-between of Zerker (full offensive) and Soldier (full defensive). I’d argue a Soldier set is easier to compile than a Knight set given that you can get it from Orr karma vendors, but that’s ultimately up to you and how much gold you want to spend.

At level 80 I first started out with Soldier + Emerald jewelry, which really gives you a nice balance of stats—so that’s usually where I recommend FT Engineers to start.

I find it’s defensive overkill in most situations, though. But it eases out the learning curve, as Flame Jet takes getting used to.

@Bill. You can run beserker. If you find your having difficulty staying alive build the rest of your kit to handle those situations.

Grab toolkit and elixer S, and consider running pistol shield. Also in alchemy tree we have protection injection 10pts, and in inventions we have protective shield 10pts. For protection boon whenever you get caught between blocking attacks.

Keep in mind this isnt a build where you will soley keep flame thrower out, and will often be using your pistol or smacking them with a crowbar. Flamejet doesnt trade well, so use it in between other attacks.

Method waka used in our duels involved pulling me in with magnet and crowbarring me, then blowing me away with airblast then landing a max range napalm then began shooting me at range till he could do the cycle again.

Punkin used a elixer build using the traits i mentioned and working mostly on pure might stacks. And it seemed to keep him up awhile.

Neither was very effective against my necro i was playing at the time. But power necros dont lose to most engineer builds that arent 100 nades. And i kinda exploited the fact FT hits 3 targets max, so i just kept next to my minions vs Punkin.

Had i been playing anything else, that tactic woulda killed me.

I run a weird mixture of knights, berserker, soldier, and valkyrie, mostly because I wanted to use as much of the gear I already had as I could.

I have found that running full berserker does not give enough survivability. Engineers don’t have reliable stealth, and dont have Ride the lightning, or anything else that can help glass cannons escape. Whenever I run full glass cannon I die way too quickly.

I would recommend getting a full set of PVT gear from Orr or AC, and running berserker trinkets and rifle. Rune set and Sigil are up to personal preference (I use blood and altruism). This should give you a good mixture of survivability and damage.

Saki Asakura.6479:

I run a weird mixture of knights, berserker, soldier, and valkyrie, mostly because I wanted to use as much of the gear I already had as I could.

I have found that running full berserker does not give enough survivability. Engineers don’t have reliable stealth, and dont have Ride the lightning, or anything else that can help glass cannons escape. Whenever I run full glass cannon I die way too quickly.

I would recommend getting a full set of PVT gear from Orr or AC, and running berserker trinkets and rifle. Rune set and Sigil are up to personal preference (I use blood and altruism). This should give you a good mixture of survivability and damage.

What traits/utilitys do you run?

@BILL GE.8716 Yeah I don’t run a FT build, mostly because I have trouble using it solo/roaming play hehe! But you know what, just to keep this topic on FT, you can just send me an PM here on the forums, with what you want to use the Grenade and Bomt builds for in WvW, and I can share some builds with you for what you wanna do!

10/30/0/30/0 with Elixir H, Flamethrower, Elixir Gun, and Elixer B.

In Firearms I use rifled barrels so I have a 1200 range attack, Fireforged trigger to reduce cooldowns on most of my skills, and Juggernaut. In Alchemy I use Elixir cooldowns, Cleansing Formula, and HGH. This lets me keep about 15-20 stacks of might and have 5 condition removal skills.

I have been using incendiary powder recently instead of speedy kits. I have pretty decent swiftness uptime anyway, and the burns I get with my ~700-900 condition damage, combined with the 10% damage bonus on FT 1 make up for some of the damage I lose from not having Deadly Mixture.

Saki Asakura.6479:

10/30/0/30/0 with Elixir H, Flamethrower, Elixir Gun, and Elixer B.

In Firearms I use rifled barrels so I have a 1200 range attack, Fireforged trigger to reduce cooldowns on most of my skills, and Juggernaut. In Alchemy I use Elixir cooldowns, Cleansing Formula, and HGH. This lets me keep about 15-20 stacks of might and have 5 condition removal skills.

I have been using incendiary powder recently instead of speedy kits. I have pretty decent swiftness uptime anyway, and the burns I get with my ~700-900 condition damage, combined with the 10% damage bonus on FT 1 make up for some of the damage I lose from not having Deadly Mixture.

Seems to have good condition countering, but absolutely no way to deal with a burst assassin. What do you do about the burst professions?

Zinwrath.2049:

FT hits 3 targets.

Greatsword no cap on targets.

your words “Because flamejet hits more targets”

I’m going to make this point very clear to you: In one attack it may not, but Flame Jet strikes 10 times per channel. You do realize that the tooltip for Whirling Wrath is suggesting you hit only the target in front of you—with 7 spins and 2 of the projectiles, right?

You don’t hit all targets in 600 range 9 times.

I’m going to take a move from your playbook and tell you to go to the Mists, stand in the crowd of Golems, and spin in place while you shoot Flame Jet. You will hit most if not all of them at least once.

Now swap to your Greatsword Guardian. Stand in the middle, doing the same thing. Fire off Whirling Wrath and see how many targets you hit. You’ll hit like 5 of them—maybe 7 or 8 if you’re moving.

The one crucial detail you’re neglecting here is that the projectiles (there’s seven of them) fired out from WW do not penetrate. They will hit a target and disappear. So that is seven maximum targets you can hit with Whirling Wrath’s projectiles.

Zinwrath.2049:

Flamethrower will continue to hit the same 3 targets untill one is out of range or dies.

I get what you’re saying, but people don’t stand in place. They’re not Golems.

They move around. It’s actually easier to just blindly sweep through a crowd than it is to try and directly take down individual players—so the likelihood that your Flame Jet will continue to hit the same 3 targets is ridiculously low—as is the higher likelihood you’re going to hit someone that has Retaliation compared to a Greatsword Guardian, which is the real reason why the Flamethrower is more dangerous—not having AHEM or ZB.

The question is solely about risk versus reward. Some players like Amadeus prefer other styles because of the fact that there are less risky ways to get badges. I find risky, front-line play a lot of fun—which is why my two level 80 characters are a Hammer Guardian and a Flamethrower Engineer.

@Phineas Poe

“I’m going to make this point very clear to you: In one attack it may not”

you coulda stopped there, thats all you had to say. Rest was random garbage i wasnt even argueing about. But glad you agree.

10/30/0/30/0 with a mix of rabid and knight gear and you should be fine. Take Jugg and HGH and maybe boon duration runes. Stick with the melee part of the zerg and hit everything in your path. But yeah watch your hp cuz retal is brutal when you use FT.

Depends on the situation. If I can get the jump on them, a flameblast → blunderbuss → acid bomb → another flameblast pretty much destroys glass cannons. Acid bomb and flameblast are also great for burning through mesmer illusions, and hitting thieves while they are stealthed.

However, I really have no way to avoid burst if I get attacked first. The lack of a stunbreaker/ invulnerability skill is pretty much the biggest weakness of this build. My Vit and Toughness mean that I can take a decent amount of punishment, but not that much. If I can dodge/ survive I usually try to pop supply crate for a stun/ heal, and use airblast or overcharge and then decide whether I think I can survive or if I have to run away. Overcharge + Acid bomb is about as good as escape I have with this build, but its usually enough to get by.

I mostly try to stay with small groups if I can, its much easier to survive with someone backing you up.

Saki Asakura.6479:

However, I really have no way to avoid burst if I get attacked first. The lack of a stunbreaker/ invulnerability skill is pretty much the biggest weakness of this build.

This is probably the number one reason I do not spec for HGH with my Flamethrower. Elixir B’s Retaliation is nice, but Rocket Boots are probably the best escape tool we have and has saved my life countless times—in WvW and sPvP.

Zinwrath.2049:

Phineas Poe.3018:

Goloith.6349:

By biggest question is why my guardian doesn’t get faced palmed on retaliation for whirling in circles but my Engineer does with flamethrower.

Because Flame Jet hits more targets.

incorrect information. Gaurdian’s ae on Whirling Wrath has no max targets (and if it does its above 6).
Engineers Flamet jet has a cap of 3 targets.

Please do not spread false information.

But to the point at hand. I would say because flame jet has no CD, your spinny attack has at best an 8 second cd, and your 5th attack is on an even longer cd. so its far and inbetween when you yank 5 people onto you and spin em to death.

Yes but the greatsword #1 on the Guardian hit’s 5 targets repeatedly and it doesn’t hurt as badly.

Saki Asakura.6479:

Depends on the situation. If I can get the jump on them, a flameblast -> blunderbuss -> acid bomb -> another flameblast pretty much destroys glass cannons. Acid bomb and flameblast are also great for burning through mesmer illusions, and hitting thieves while they are stealthed.

However, I really have no way to avoid burst if I get attacked first. The lack of a stunbreaker/ invulnerability skill is pretty much the biggest weakness of this build. My Vit and Toughness mean that I can take a decent amount of punishment, but not that much. If I can dodge/ survive I usually try to pop supply crate for a stun/ heal, and use airblast or overcharge and then decide whether I think I can survive or if I have to run away. Overcharge + Acid bomb is about as good as escape I have with this build, but its usually enough to get by.

I mostly try to stay with small groups if I can, its much easier to survive with someone backing you up.

Ya, people occasionally bring the build you use to SPVP and usually get train wrecked by a theif/warrior/mesmer/ranger running some kind of insta kill tactic.

Problem with it being all the professions i mentioned can stun you and/or have stability and multiple teleports/invis. Your gonna have to take the burst to the face and any of those profs full glass cannon will drop ya even if you have 30k hp.

But i can see roaming with the group in wvw how you could pull some nice things off with long range autos, team condition cleanse/heal between hurling fireblasts and reflecting projectiles flying through the air at you.

I would have a hard time giving up nades for those big team fights or hurling over walls doing crazy damage, or toolkit for yanking unsuspecting people off ledges and that 3 second block. But i suppose if your wanting to be more support your build would be much better. Super elixer is still one of the best heals in the game (thats not attached to an elite) and the AE condition cleanse is awesome.

Goloith.6349:

Zinwrath.2049:

Phineas Poe.3018:

Goloith.6349:

By biggest question is why my guardian doesn’t get faced palmed on retaliation for whirling in circles but my Engineer does with flamethrower.

Because Flame Jet hits more targets.

incorrect information. Gaurdian’s ae on Whirling Wrath has no max targets (and if it does its above 6).
Engineers Flamet jet has a cap of 3 targets.

Please do not spread false information.

But to the point at hand. I would say because flame jet has no CD, your spinny attack has at best an 8 second cd, and your 5th attack is on an even longer cd. so its far and inbetween when you yank 5 people onto you and spin em to death.

Yes but the greatsword #1 on the Guardian hit’s 5 targets repeatedly and it doesn’t hurt as badly.

Dunno, maybe your just not noticing it as much cause gaurdians are regening, blocking, condition cleansing #$##@’s. So NO damage is going to stick out as much on them.. :P

I actually run GS / Staff and I get a lot more badges than I do with my FT Engineer. I think it is probably has something to do with ft missing. Then again those misses might save you haha.

Goloith.6349:

I actually run GS / Staff and I get a lot more badges than I do with my FT Engineer. I think it is probably has something to do with ft missing. Then again those misses might save you haha.

They fixed the FT’s bugginess with missing. How recently have you tried the setup?

I’ve gradually become an FT roamer, running around looking for lone wolves to cull. The FT is a fantastic attrition weapon that makes roamers wish they were in . a . zerg.

Ya, it is a slow kill. But I like watching things burn. Especially Norn (charr not so much, burning hair smells bad) because their fat sizzles like an immobilized siamoth at a spit roast.

I’ve been messing about a bit by replacing EP with AP turrets so that my net turret and supply drop have extra umph, but I think EP is better over all. I’ve also made the full switch from str to battle sigils for the WvW scene (I still use STR in spvp).

net shot, toolbelt, air blast, net turret and supply crate have a lot of cc, so the whole idea is to chase and make your foe hate you. it works wonders.

Phineas Poe.3018:

Goloith.6349:

I actually run GS / Staff and I get a lot more badges than I do with my FT Engineer. I think it is probably has something to do with ft missing. Then again those misses might save you haha.

They fixed the FT’s bugginess with missing. How recently have you tried the setup?

Its not fixed, but it’s better. My current build is using Wrench/Elixir Gun/Flamethrower. I’ve been using the flamethrower Rabid condition gear, but I also have a full set of exotic Berserker gear laying around as well.

Goloith.6349:

Its not fixed, but it’s better.

What’s not fixed about it? Seems to work fine for me. The biggest problem was attacking stationary targets, which was fixed a patch or two ago.

Goloith.6349:

Phineas Poe.3018:

Goloith.6349:

I actually run GS / Staff and I get a lot more badges than I do with my FT Engineer. I think it is probably has something to do with ft missing. Then again those misses might save you haha.

They fixed the FT’s bugginess with missing. How recently have you tried the setup?

Its not fixed, but it’s better. My current build is using Wrench/Elixir Gun/Flamethrower. I’ve been using the flamethrower Rabid condition gear, but I also have a full set of exotic Berserker gear laying around as well.

This is my build, except I run full Zerker with Scholar runes. As long as I’m with a group in WvW, I can hang back with the rifle, help remove conditions or set them with EG, rush in on occasion with Flame Blast and pop back out with Acid Bomb. And nothing is quite so satisfying as pulling someone off a wall with the magnet and whopping them with the pry bar. It just kinda makes my day….

The only thing really missing is something to break stun.