Guild Wars 2

Utility Goggles.
Rocket Boots.
Throw Mine.
Slick Shoes.
Personal Battering Ram. PBR

Like most utilities for other classes, these should add flavor and synergy to a build.
Currently, these are all underperforming to some degree although I think throw mine is pretty close.

I would also like to see utility added that makes this class more desireable in groups.

Utility Goggles: Create a reveal around your location that shows all stealthed characters for 10 seconds. 60 second cool down, everyone sees the field including enemies.
Counters mesmer veil trains and pesky perma-stealths.

Rocket Boots: Treat it like blink with similar cooldowns but allow us a vertical to jump like jump shot. I’m thinking like blink offers a vertical if you target the underneath of a ‘shelf’. Likewise, treat it like a leap aka- gap closer.

Throw mine: I’m good with its current state, although I would enlarge the mine field mines radius- much too small (meaning, their triggers).

PBR: Allow for multi-hit. I want to be able to knock the zerg off the wall when they rush my tower. Knock em all down like bowling pins. 60 sec cool down, reduce the damage from its current state.

Slick Shoes: Drop the cool down and make the toolbar speed mean something.

Aside from the above, one of the issues I have is alot of our skills are designed to blow-back or launch. They scatter mobs to a degree when we all know AOE is king in this game. I’d like to find an ability or trait or something that allows us to ball up mobs, much like the KR bombkit.

Post your ideas and give the Dev’s something to consider when they eventually tweak these.

I always thought using three gadgets should be able to “replace” a regular weapon—i.e. low-cooldown attacks with damage and a little utility, like weapon sets have. So, more like rocket kick and less like analyze.

I wouldn’t mind Slick Shoes Super Speed giving you Stability. A 200% increase in movement speed sounds fantastic until you are immobilised, knocked down, or stunned or feared. It’s a 45 second cooldown wasted in such a case.
Giving stability to Super Speed would also finally bring back Non-RNG stability to engineer, since the loss of Stability to Flamethrower Juggernaut.
I personally don’t use Slick Shoes because I find the active’s cooldown to be too restricting. If I want AOE knockdown/interrupts I could use Shield offhand or Big Ol’ Bomb, both of which have traitable CDR and have a 30 (!!!) second CD and bring additional utility to boot.

Throw Mine is decent as is, but the Proximity Radius is 60 (!!!) units. You would never slot this outside of PVE where you could reliably throw it in the path of incoming mobs; because it sure won’t be triggered by players. The Mine Field toolbelt would be useful also if the Proximity radius was larger than 60 units. Either that, or make the AOE large enough that deploying and detonating it will ensure it is a reliable PBAoE boon removal.
Change the dispersal to a smaller area if needed, but it is entirely possible to miss detonations entirely because the gaps are so many and so large within the field that it basically does nothing. Since the nerf to Mine Field to remove the blast finisher component, I haven’t seen any other engineers slot it at all.

Personal Battering Ram (PBR) is quite possibly the worst possible skill ever for engineers, which as a class already has a huge amount of launches, pushes, and cripples. It doesn’t combo well with the Rifle because you already have Overcharged Shot for Launches if enemies close to melee. It doesn’t combo well with Pistol Shield because you already have Magnetic Inversion for pushbacks. It could work with Pistol/Pistol – Glueshot/Blowtorch, then PBR them back to burn – but even Rocket boots is better because of Rocket Kick.

Maybe if the launch was a PBAoE, or a large, wide arc in front of the engineer? Elementalist’s Dagger off-hand has already proven time and again the usefulness of a PBAoE Launch with some Knocked-Down time in PVE and in PVP.

My main issue with using Gadgets is the fact that they offer such niche utility whilst sacrificing a condition removal or 5 additional kit skills, especially given how weak Mainhand Engineer weapon skills are right now. In a class with low base vitality and few reliable or easy to access condition clears/removals outside of CF409/Elixir C, I just can’t justify slotting one except maybe for Rocket Boots – and even then, only for the Toolbelt’s sick burns.

Rocket Boots should transfer conditions to those caught in the blast
Mine is awesome in pvp if you are quick to target/detonate tbh I am not able to utilize the tool-belt skill well, perhaps if they were in a more concentrated circle
I think they should let the trait reduce the CD by 25/30%

Utility Goggles:
- Toolbelt: Analyze a foe, applying vulnerability and weakness. Weaknesss: 8sec.
Gives it another use out of bursts (burst counter, Dodge denial) while not increasing the raw burst power.
- Utility: I like your idea of revealing foes, but I’d like to see it keeping it’s current functionality. Also, the flamewar would get crucial if it would destealth whole zergs. Maybe just make it additionally apply the Revealed debuff (3sec) on up to five targets within 900 range.

Rocket Boots:
- Toolbelt: Fix the animation so that it can be casted while moving and you are no longer immobilized at the end of the animation.
- Utility: Leap backwards while evading attacks and damaging foes with your rocket exhaust. Cures immobilized, crippled, and chilled.
Just to remove that self stun and make sure that no CCs interfere your leap.

Throw Mine:
- Toolbelt: Explosion radius: 180, Proximity radius: 90. Add the boon removal function of the ability to the tooltip. Maybe lower the cast time.
- Utility: […] removes a total of five boons, up to three from any foe struck. Explosion radius: 210, Proximity radius: 90
This should make it more useful as a boonhate skill in small encounters while not overpowering its already strong (thanks to TB skill) AoE boon remove.

Slick Shoes:
- Toolbelt: Either make it remove immobilize, chill and criple or block / lower the duration of these conditions while it lasts by a significant percentage.
That should increase its reliability.
- Utility: […] You gain stability. Stability: 4 sec.
I would not give one of the abilites all the CC/immobilize immunity and think it is a better idea to split them up. This way you have Super Speed against immobilize etc. and a single CC won’t counter your precious 60 CD utility.

Personal Battering Ram:
- Toolbelt: […] Crippled foes get immobilized instead. Immobilize: 1 or 2sec.
Creates synergy with Knee Shot, Sitting Duck, Power Wrench, Glue Paddles glue paddles etc.
- Utility: Charge and launch foes in a cone with a concealed ram head. Cone: 90°, Charge range: 450.
I imangine this to be funny with a charge attached. It adds some mobility and could screw up positioning in group fights. Basically it would be like a different version of a D/D ele’s RTL+Updraft combo. (less range, only cone, no evade, but higher range blowout.)

Throw Mine is pretty solid but I would like some bonus damage or effect if an opponent steps on the mine as apposed to you manually detonating it on them. This would allow it to feel more like a mine and less like a bomb.

Mine Field is just terrible in PvP. If each mine removed a boon, or the cast time was greatly reduced and damage was buffed I could mildly see the application.

Rocket Boots Deffinetly needs an on hit (from launch site) effect. Perhaps if Rocket Boots is used in combat it simply acts like “Acid Bombs” jump. But when used to break a stun or immobilize it knocks down nearby targets from launch point and still knocks you down. -shrug- If nothing else make us “Distort” while under the effects of Rocket Boots. Then the self stun would actually be nice. Currently it is horrible for its assumed application of creating distance from any foe.

Jump Shot can this move please apply Cripple? At the very least? Even a quick blind at Launch and at the land would be infinitely better than Vulnerability.

Turrets There at leases needs to be one turret with a stun breaker. I was thinking something like Net Turret has an additional ability before detonate. (You have to double tap to detonate) “Safety Net” which fires a tethered safety net at the engineer that pulls him to the turret. This net could not hit opponents but has a tricky projectile like Net Shot but would essentially be a “Oh crap” button.

Some great ideas here. I especially like…

Silinsar.6298:

Utility Goggles:
- Toolbelt: Analyze a foe, applying vulnerability and weakness. Weaknesss: 8sec.
Gives it another use out of bursts (burst counter, Dodge denial) while not increasing the raw burst power.
- Utility: I like your idea of revealing foes, but I’d like to see it keeping it’s current functionality. Also, the flamewar would get crucial if it would destealth whole zergs. Maybe just make it additionally apply the Revealed debuff (3sec) on up to five targets within 900 range.

Rocket Boots:
- Toolbelt: Fix the animation so that it can be casted while moving and you are no longer immobilized at the end of the animation.
- Utility: Leap backwards while evading attacks and damaging foes with your rocket exhaust. Cures immobilized, crippled, and chilled.
Just to remove that self stun and make sure that no CCs interfere your leap.

Throw Mine:
- Toolbelt: Explosion radius: 180, Proximity radius: 90. Add the boon removal function of the ability to the tooltip. Maybe lower the cast time.
- Utility: […] removes a total of five boons, up to three from any foe struck. Explosion radius: 210, Proximity radius: 90
This should make it more useful as a boonhate skill in small encounters while not overpowering its already strong (thanks to TB skill) AoE boon remove.

They all need some love. Most importantly a cooldown reduction across the board. Goggles need something to differentiate it from Elixir B. Shoes don’t come close to Elixir S & R in terms of usefulness. PBR self-cc is just ridiculous. What’s the point, especially with rifle equipped. It needs to be reworked heavily.

What needs to be done is something twofold:

First, traits need to have a larger impact on gadgets. Warrior banners get larger radii and cooldown reduction, Guardian consecrations last longer and cooldown faster, so why not make gadgets hit harder as well? Or perhaps have a larger radius, or something!

Second, the toolbelt skills. They’re typically awful. 4 second burn and minor damage, double movement speed (only relevant in combat, this one isn’t bad, but some suggestions like stability would be amazing!), a point blank nuke (mine field), and Analyze are all fairly weak. As another poster said, 3 gadgets should feel like another weapon, not a myriad of useless tricks! Even devs have admitted gadgets are terrible – why take a gadget when you can take a kit, and get 6 (2-4 of which are good) skills instead of 2 (of which 0-1 are good)? I’m not saying make Throw Mine do 12k damage on a crit, but I am saying give it an 8-10 second cooldown, and replace Minefield with an ability that fills a similar, but mildly different role from Throw Mine. Perhaps you put a mine on your hand and slap an opponent with it? Or you throw a mine on your foe that detonates after several seconds (comparable to the underwater 4 skill on harpoon gun). Something to make it worth taking!

Mighty Favazz.1546:

Utility Goggles: Create a reveal around your location that shows all stealthed characters for 10 seconds. 60 second cool down, everyone sees the field including enemies.
Counters mesmer veil trains and pesky perma-stealths.

This sounds a bit clunky TBH, adding in new mechanics difficult and often buggy. I would just rather they change this to grant stability for a short time since it’s currently a stunbreaker. The analyze toolbelt skill is fine for as short of a CD it has.

Mighty Favazz.1546:

Rocket Boots: Treat it like blink with similar cooldowns but allow us a vertical to jump like jump shot. I’m thinking like blink offers a vertical if you target the underneath of a ‘shelf’. Likewise, treat it like a leap aka- gap closer.

I like this, but most teleport skills had their Z-axis transversal component cut due to exploits. In the interest of keeping it simple, my vote would go towards making this similar to Ride the Lightning, but with an appropriate animation (maybe superman style or something). Make the statistical elements similar (40sec CD unless you hit something, then it’s 20sec). The flame kick toolbelt is nice, but a bit underwhelming, maybe extend the affected field to a 300 range cone.

Mighty Favazz.1546:

Throw mine: I’m good with its current state, although I would enlarge the mine field mines radius- much too small (meaning, their triggers).

I too would like to see the explosion radius expanded to the size the traited mines currently hit at. The current untraited radius is a bit small for how difficult it is to reliably hit with it. The trigger radius I’m not quite as concerned with because I prefer to manually trigger them (especially the mine field toolbelt skill) which gives me control over who get hits and what direction they fly in (in the case of minefield, if done right all the mines will hit the intended target on a manual trigger).

Mighty Favazz.1546:

PBR: Allow for multi-hit. I want to be able to knock the zerg off the wall when they rush my tower. Knock em all down like bowling pins. 60 sec cool down, reduce the damage from its current state.

I really don’t know about this one, the PBR is the only gadget I’ve written off as completely useless. Saving this skill from the heap is going to be a challenge and anything that gives it a unique flavor would be welcome.

Mighty Favazz.1546:

Slick Shoes: Drop the cool down and make the toolbar speed mean something.

Agreed, drop the CD, but I’d like to add making it a small field (180-200 radius) that persists for 6-8 seconds. That’ll make it an area denial tool similar to Line of Warding, Static Field, or Ring of Warding. The toolbelt skill is just to bloody funky, make it a swiftness buff with a meaningful duration to CD ratio and call it a day.

Mighty Favazz.1546:

Aside from the above, one of the issues I have is alot of our skills are designed to blow-back or launch. They scatter mobs to a degree when we all know AOE is king in this game. I’d like to find an ability or trait or something that allows us to ball up mobs, much like the KR bombkit.

AOE pulls are very, very powerful and have the potential for some serious abuse (see Warhammer Online’s Engineer for a prime example). I would only be onboard for such an ability if it were tied to a long CD utility or an Elite skill (i.e. Thumper Turret overcharge or a new gadget themed elite).

i really want rockets boots toolbelt to be more flamey!

Gadgets need a GM trait for them. Something that improves each individual gadget as well as their toolbelt skill, something like rocket kick knocks back and rocket boots launches, or personal battering ram applies 5 stacks of confusion and the launch PBR stuns.

Either this or give them passive effects, which seems quite difficult because most gadgets are about control. Gadgets passive effects must be more similar to the ranger signets than stat increase. Something like rocket boots increases you movement speed by 25%, personal battering ram increases stun duration by 20% or 15%, Goggles blind imunity become the passive effect, slick shoes reduces movement impairing effects(chill, cripple, immobilize) by 33% and Throw mine gives a 30% chance to cause an explosion that knocks back foes when the engi is hit 20s CD.

Wreknar.5076:

Mighty Favazz.1546:

Slick Shoes: Drop the cool down and make the toolbar speed mean something.

Agreed, drop the CD, but I’d like to add making it a small field (180-200 radius) that persists for 6-8 seconds. That’ll make it an area denial tool similar to Line of Warding, Static Field, or Ring of Warding. The toolbelt skill is just to bloody funky, make it a swiftness buff with a meaningful duration to CD ratio and call it a day.

The movement speed buff of the toolbelt is significant in combat, don’t use it out of combat!
Super Speed allows you to run as fast as out of combat swiftness movement speed and more or less negates chill and criple. The effect is great. It’s just rather short and not a reliable escape since it has no form of evasion and it is easily “countered” by a CC or a charge/port of your enemy. However, chasing a ranged with tool kit equipped is really funny and in some situations you can just run away, because other class can not achieve this in combat speed.
The effect itself is really fun and unique, the skill just needs more … something to make it less situational.

Silinsar.6298:

The movement speed buff of the toolbelt is significant in combat, don’t use it out of combat!
Super Speed allows you to run as fast as out of combat swiftness movement speed and more or less negates chill and criple. The effect is great. It’s just rather short and not a reliable escape since it has no form of evasion and it is easily “countered” by a CC or a charge/port of your enemy. However, chasing a ranged with tool kit equipped is really funny and in some situations you can just run away, because other class can not achieve this in combat speed.
The effect itself is really fun and unique, the skill just needs more … something to make it less situational.

While I agree with the notion that fun and unikittenfects are great, they tend to make balancing a nightmare. Two seconds of double-time speed is overpowered and useless at the same time. It has the potential to open up space from a swiftness buffed thief, but the end result will be the same, the thief will just catch back up on the third second.

Realistically, in the interest of keeping changes simple, the buff really needs to be a swiftness boon, especially for balance’s sake. Developers do not like to re-invent the wheel for good reason, and swiftness has already been vetted with every class in the game. It also allows the toolbelt skill to benefit from stats like boon duration and be affected by boon hate, which the current incarnation is isolated from. This means it has a layer of power progression via gear and a viable counter outside of cripple/chill.

Of course this really my own thoughts on how balance should be handled, so in no way do I speak authoritatively on this matter.

Wreknar.5076:

While I agree with the notion that fun and unikittenfects are great, they tend to make balancing a nightmare. Two seconds of double-time speed is overpowered and useless at the same time. It has the potential to open up space from a swiftness buffed thief, but the end result will be the same, the thief will just catch back up on the third second.

So what about the 2s burst, followed by a few seconds (4-8s) of standard swiftness? This will give you the burst and then let you maintain distance. Not to mention that an on-demand swiftness skill would be useful.

Seras.5702:

So what about the 2s burst, followed by a few seconds (4-8s) of standard swiftness? This will give you the burst and then let you maintain distance. Not to mention that an on-demand swiftness skill would be useful.

Agreed that it would be useful, but my recommendation is solely based on the K.I.S.S. philosophy, keeping the changes simple. Adding in a secondary “aftereffect” buff just muddles up class balancing acts.

In the grand scheme of things, our knockbacks (i.e. mines, FT #3, thumper overcharge, oil slick, et al) and escape mechanisms like rocket boots should be enough to get that initial distance we need. It’s the staying power to keep that range in which right now it’s high uptime swiftness or bust (our immobilizes and cripples aren’t really cutting it atm). While yes it’s true that we have a few options for perma swiftness, both options require either a kit build or HGH (don’t give me crap about the crit proc trait, it won’t save you from chase or chasing).

I don’t know about you, but I’d like to have another option than a dedicated elixir build or a kit build.

Hey I’m with you Wreknar. I recently rebuilt my FT engi and it’s the first time ever I haven’t had Speedy Kits traited. I can proc swiftness mid-combat. But without that on-demand swiftness it’s a pain doing any out of combat running. My only option is MedKit, drop #5.

GADGETS
Rocket Shoes

• Activation no longer interrupts the player. Animation and effect changed to be identical to Acid Bomb’s retreating leap.
• Now grants ¾ seconds of evasion upon use.

Slick Shoes

• Now breaks stun.
  • I would petition a slight cool-down reduction as well (something like from 60 down to 55 seconds), but this skill is strong and any further buff beyond the addition of stun-break might push it overboard.

Throw Mine

• Now removes up to 2 boons.

Personal Battering Ram

• Recharge reduced from 45 to 40 seconds.
• Now breaks stun.
• On use, the Engineer now hops backwards in the same manner as do Rangers when using [Quick Shot].
• Now grants ¾ seconds of evasion.
• Cast-time removed (now instant; can be cast while performing other actions).
  • Despite having an instant cast-time, using PBR will still interrupt other actions due to its forced hop animation. The instant cast-time is mainly to bring it into functional line with other Stun-breaks. I think that the skill’s forced animation aspect will balance its inadvertent (or unavoidable) instant cast-time buff by preventing excessive skill/CC chaining or at least capping skill/CC chaining since the enemy knockback and the Engineer’s forced hop would almost cancel each other out concerning “time spent not being able to use skills freely.”

GADGET TOOL-BELT SKILLS
Rocket Kick (Rocket Shoes tool-belt skill)

• Range increased from 300 to 600.
• Now counts as a Leap Finisher.

Super Speed (Slick Shoes tool-belt skill)

• Recharge reduced to from 45 to 40 seconds.
• Now removes Crippled, Chilled and Immobilized.

Launch Personal Battering Ram

• Cast-time reduced from ¼ seconds to 0 seconds (instant; can be cast while performing other actions).

I personally feel that Gadgets should be the Engineer version of Signets. Engineers don’t use archaic etched stones they use the most modern devices created. With that said I feel that Gadgets should have a passive effect along with their Toolbelt skill and Utility skill.

I would remove Slick Shoes and replace it with Teleporter Pad. I am of the opinion that Mesmers should not be forced to run Portal and that it should be available to other Professions to allow more diversity in groups.

Rocket Boots:
Passive – Grants a 25% increase in movement speed.
Toolbelt – Use your rocket boots to do an explosive kick that burns foes.
Utility – Fly backward, damaging foes with your rocket exhaust. Cures immobilized, crippled, and chilled.

Mine:
Passive – Improved condition duration.
Toolbelt – Plant five mines around yourself.
Utility – Throw out a remote-controlled land mine that damages, knocks back, and removes a boon from nearby foes.

Battering Ram
Passive – Improved power.
Toolbelt – Shoot out a ram’s head in front of you, crippling any struck foes.
Utility – Launch a target foe with a concealed ram head.

Utility Googles
Passive – Improved precision.
Toolbelt – Analyze a foe, applying vulnerability.
Utility – Break out of stun, gaining fury and immunity to blindness.

Teleporter Pad
Passive – Improved toughness
Toolbelt – Teleport to target area.
Utility – Create an entry portal at your location that teleports allies to your exit portal or vice-versa.

Swagg.9236:

GADGETS
Personal Battering Ram

• Recharge reduced from 45 to 40 seconds.
• Now breaks stun.
• On use, the Engineer now hops backwards in the same manner as do Rangers when using [Quick Shot].
• Now grants ¾ seconds of evasion.
• Cast-time removed (now instant; can be cast while performing other actions).
  • Despite having an instant cast-time, using PBR will still interrupt other actions due to its forced hop animation. The instant cast-time is mainly to bring it into functional line with other Stun-breaks. I think that the skill’s forced animation aspect will balance its inadvertent (or unavoidable) instant cast-time buff by preventing excessive skill/CC chaining or at least capping skill/CC chaining since the enemy knockback and the Engineer’s forced hop would almost cancel each other out concerning “time spent not being able to use skills freely.”

What you’ve just suggested there basically makes PBR a stronger version of Updraft (Elementalist Dagger offhand Air 5). In a Utility Slot. Stronger because Updraft does require cast time, whilst your PBR will make it a Stunbreak as well.

Updraft has been a staple setup for burst damage for Elementalists running D/D or S/D since daphoenix popularised the 0-10-0-30-30 triple cantrip build. Updraft into → Fire Attunement → Burning Speed → Fire Grab was one of the first burst rotations I learned as D/D Elementalist.

I fail to see how the “forced” roll back, that gives invulnerability frames, will not do the same. Hell, I figure that there’ll be something involving 2H rifle and Static Discharge.

Not that such a suggestion is bad; far from it. Making PBR the Engineer’s version of Updraft will finally make it slot-able. But to say that the “forced hop” in any way prevents skill-chaining for bursts is patently false.