Guild Wars 2

Hey! I’m fairly new to the Engineer (I’ve been playing it for a month and I still feel like it has tons of potential I haven’t tapped into yet) but I love it.
I like going tanky and, so far, it’s working for me, it’s frustrating when I get all the aggro even if I’m just standing there doing absolutely nothing and my party is doing every crazy thing ever, though; but my Aggro build is rapidly turning into a cool in-joke, so it evens that out.

Anyway, I can’t help but wonder if I’m doing things right, specially in the traits, skills and equipment department (I know I’m not doing things exactly right in combat, but I’m slowly learning to take into account all my finishers and fields and with some luck I’ll grow some extra fingers by the end of this month).

So what I’m aiming for is a PvE non-zerg build. This mostly translates into a Dungeon build, but I like doing anything that doesn’t involve fifty more players killing the same humongous dude I’m killing. I like solo exploring and doing small-medium events, but I guess those are doable with any kind of build as long as you get your kitten together and know where your buttons are.

TL;DR:
This is the build that looks the most like my healer/tank PvE build right now, I’d like some tips improving it.
Disclaimer: Yes, I know I’m lacking two runes and a backpiece. Money don’t grow on trees! (Also I’m not sure what runes to get yet!) But feel free to recommend any.
Also: I tend to switch my major traits a lot to get a feel of what’s better, so those aren’t exactly set on stone (and I usually switch Reinforced Shield for Stabilized Armor if the enemies have lots of CC, for example).

So, now for the questions:
Is Cleric equipment worth it? I chose it because of the traits converting Healing and Toughness into Power. It seems synergistic, overall, but I was discussing the choice of Power over Condition Damage with a friend the other day and, really, all I know is that it seems right due to the trait distribution I’m using. I’m not trying to kill things through conditions, but through MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS. Conditions are a plus (when I’m not in dungeons I usually switch some Explosives traits for the condition ones), but not my main focus, especially when I’m usually on a party with a Ranger, an Elementalist, a Thief and a Mesmer. So should I go for some Condition (Damage or Duration?) runes or equipment?

I have 10 points on Tools because Speedy Kits is awesome for exploring, but I never know what to do with that Trait in Dungeons. The minor trait saved my kitten many times, though, so I’m not keen on just switching those 10 points into another line.

I assume Pistol and Shield is the only way to go tanky, but I have a question about that: What stats are kept when you put on a kit? I’ve been testing and I think the shield’s armor is scrapped when equipping a kit, but do other bonuses (other stats, runes or extra toughness from Reinforced Shield) carry over?

Is there any acceptable substitute for the grenade kit for range and bomb kit for melee? I personally like the wrench for melee, but since bombs have of area of effect damage, combo fields and healing, everything else seems underwhelming. As for the grenades… well, they have insane range, high damage output, conditions both defensive and offensive, so they have everything going for them.

And that’s all for now. Thanks in advance!

None of this is worth it for pve

Very helpful, the door is right there.

Anything but zerker in PVE is horrible in PVE. Im sorry you don’t like that :/

You could have started there, you know. There’s a difference between telling someone something is wrong and telling someone why.

I’ve heard that zerker is the only thing that exists for PvE, yes. Okay, so if we get past the fact that this game is fundamentally flawed and get to the part where I don’t want to get the best existing build but the best tanky build possible, which is where I wanted the discussion to start, we could talk about the best build possible within the realm of not-optimal-because-they-are-not-berserker builds.

check out why
i mean its not totally answering your specific question but its got a lot of good stuff about why your mentality doesnt fit gw2. tanks dont have a place in a party, because you cant clear pve content faster with a tank.

now if you were talking wvw or spvp? yeah tanks/bunkers/supports have a place. but if you title the thread “pve tank…..” youll get responses like this that you dont like.

@Carpboy Dude, if you’re going to just ignore the thread and be insufferable you can go and be insufferable outside this thread. You don’t seem to be restrained by the thread’s content anyway, so I don’t think you’ll notice any change doing it elsewhere, thank you, bye.

@insanemaniac: That cleared up many things, actually. Well then, there’s no viable PvE tanky build because the game is botched at the core of its design, that’s actually quite funny, to be honest. And I can get behind that. I don’t have any problem with people telling me this is not viable, anyway, but I like understanding why things are that way.

Let’s talk WvW then, I don’t like zergs, and dungeons end up being quite boring anyway.
How should I go for a WvW tanky-support build, then?

Is there any way to edit the topic title, by the way?

Doszak.3150:

You could have started there, you know. There’s a difference between telling someone something is wrong and telling someone why.

I’ve heard that zerker is the only thing that exists for PvE, yes. Okay, so if we get past the fact that this game is fundamentally flawed and get to the part where I don’t want to get the best existing build but the best tanky build possible, which is where I wanted the discussion to start, we could talk about the best build possible within the realm of not-optimal-because-they-are-not-berserker builds.

Build how you want my friend. Might as well report those other guys for being off topic and trying to derail your thread. There is no reason to build anywhere near optimal when your playing with friends. You asked a question and they rudely ignored it, only to berate you for the question itself. Personally, I feel you would do better with celestial gear or with dire or soldiers then you would with clerics or any healing power gear.

Personally I find the scaling of healing power to be poor, and find more survivability with the gear with toughness and vitality on it.

I would suggest dropping any investment into grenades if you expect the mobs to be on you all the time anyway. Perhaps something like this:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vcAQFAUlUUpdr9ZxvLseNSE6h9vvaF9Q/V2yfKIXA-zgBBofBhKIIpmFRjt2qIasKbYqXER1BAQAu5NDs5NzQH6QH6QHa38o38o38olC4ilRA-e

I suggest something like this because you will get the most damage and heal out of being in bomb kit. Still have a bit of range with rifle if need be, but you will not get enough mileage out of pistol or shield. If you ever get into trouble, at 25% you will automatically pop a elixir S and have a free escape. The second you pop out of elixir S you can pop rocket boots to get clear and have some breathing room. The stabilizing armor + protection injection combo works for those multiple knock back and knock down enemies that mitigates all damage by 55% when your stun breaker is on cool down.

Doszak.3150:

@Carpboy Dude, if you’re going to just ignore the thread and be insufferable you can go and be insufferable outside this thread. You don’t seem to be restrained by the thread’s content anyway, so I don’t think you’ll notice any change doing it elsewhere, thank you, bye.

@insanemaniac: That cleared up many things, actually. Well then, there’s no viable PvE tanky build because the game is botched at the core of its design, that’s actually quite funny, to be honest. And I can get behind that. I don’t have any problem with people telling me this is not viable, anyway, but I like understanding why things are that way.

Let’s talk WvW then, I don’t like zergs, and dungeons end up being quite boring anyway.
How should I go for a WvW tanky-support build, then?

Is there any way to edit the topic title, by the way?

So you want one for solo/small man groups? Link in my signature

@coglin: Actually, I found insanemaniac’s post useful in more ways than I’d expected. I don’t mind discussion about my choices sucking, as long as I can get some insight out of it, and I got the insight I needed. So everything’s good!
Is Condition Damage really that good in PvE that it is better to go for it than for Power when you want to deal damage? The more I learn about the inner workings of this game, the more it confuses me.
Okay, now I see you edited your post, but I can’t stay much longer. I’ll read it later.

@Carpboy: Link noted down for further reading.