Guild Wars 2

hey everyone so I have a couple questions to things I couldn’t figure out or decide on my own. So, I main an ele and just hit 80 on my engi alt. I’ve decided im going to play a grenadier style engineer and I have some questions about build and gear. After reading both threads on here and guildwars2guru I would like to know the following:

1) how do I decide which two to pick between incendiary powder, explosive powder and shrapnel? (my inclination is explosive + incendiary due to sharpshooter in the next trait line)

2) Does steel-packed powder apply vulnerability 100% of the time? If so, is it still worth picking up precise sights for additional vuln stacking or is it a waste/redundant?

3) Is 25 in alchemy worth taking even though i’m not actively seeking a dedicated boon-stacking build?

4) I’ve gathered that these 55 points seem to be discussed as ‘essential’ for this type of build, i’m not 100% certain where I aught to spend the rest http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-V;9;9;9;0T4-J;1A;58;9;9FY That being said I assume answers to both the proceding and following questions will shed light on that, but any suggestions are welcome.

4) What on earth kind of gear do I use? Every thread i’ve read on this build/topic seems divided but FEW people seem to offer much in the way of evidence when they stake their claim. Is there any math/evidence that suggests one method of gearing is superior to the other? – Now for further clarification, I am interested in PVE ONLY. So fractals, dungeons, world bosses etc. I don’t know if full zerker, full rabid or full rampagers is the way to go, or even some blend of any two.

My present, personal, inclination is to go full rampager gear, zerker weapons with with rabid jewlery and engi runes I feel like it give me the best blend of stats without completely neglecting one for the other. – That being said I am 100000% open to advice, evidence etc. (http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-V;9;9;9;0TJ-J;1B-8;38;9-3H7W3H7WQ-FgNL;5M-hWn1rYxZ259eWPk0R;9;9;7FFFFFFM)

1). Assuiming your condi damage then explosive powder really isnt an option as it will only have a strong effect on power builds. Incendiary powder is single target so vs a group shrapnel is much more effective. The longer the fight the more shrapnel becomes useful. It is a matter of taste but in bigger fighs shrapnel is better.

2). Yes. No.

3). No. Simple reasoning is if you are condi damage matrix will not have much of an effect (does not effect condition damage). If you are direct damage same thing actually (since you are not getting a big boost out if it 2-3% given the likely boons you will have up).

4). The only thing essential to grenadier is a grenade kit and 30 points for Grenadier. Backpack Regenerator is never required.

The last question has a simple answer since you interested in PvE only. The most effective gear set up for PvE in most cases is zerker/power. That is PvE Meta atm. This has nothing to do with class just the way damage works in the game. So PvE only going full zerker would generally be best. That being said you do not have to. You could go rabid, Rampage, whatever. It is PvE and unless you are running with a group that wants you running certain stats there isn’t much too the “math”. Zerker will do more DPS but most PvE content is so simple you could run anything as long as it does damage.

Is pure zerker acceptable in high level fractals? so even though engi benefits tremendously from + condition dmg, i’m to ignore it entirely? What it, say I do want to WvW on it a bit, still zerker or would I need an alternative gear set?

Faelun.7563:

Is pure zerker acceptable in high level fractals? so even though engi benefits tremendously from + condition dmg, i’m to ignore it entirely? What it, say I do want to WvW on it a bit, still zerker or would I need an alternative gear set?

Fractals someone else can answer (not my thing). I do know zerker builds are appreciated and generally they will want you to run nades. However, others know more than I do so wait for that reply.

WvW is a little trickier. In the long run the condi argument goes the same route there. Most players run so much removal and -condi duration that what you do apply will not be on very long. That being said I still run condi in WvW. Power in the general sense is better none the less.

For WvW you will personally have to go in there and figure out where you want your stats. It may take some time. In most a cases you are not going to burst like a discharge build and nades take time to get used to in WvW. I would not suggest full zerker nades as you will generally find yourself on the ground (retal alone could do this).

In the general sense (though this can vary from player to player and how they dodge) I like about 2500 armor and 18-20k hp on this class. I find that comfortable but you may not. You may want more burst defense etc. It will depend on your build.

My humble advice to you is figure out the exact build you want to run first. Learn it. And then figure out the stats. You’ll be tweaking a great deal if you are serious about WvW and may run multiple builds.

From another post but I run both these builds in WvW

Faelun.7563:

Is pure zerker acceptable in high level fractals? so even though engi benefits tremendously from + condition dmg, i’m to ignore it entirely? What it, say I do want to WvW on it a bit, still zerker or would I need an alternative gear set?

In high level fractals I think most people run zerker because no amount of toughness or vitality will save you from a missed dodge or some other form of negating the damage. If the group you run with is decent, you will be having plenty of might stacks which will increase the power of both the direct damage and condi damage. For WvW depends on how you play really, you can wear zerker but there are probably better choices, especially given the current retal/knockdown train that is the zerg meta.