Guild Wars 2

ELITE SKILLS
Mortar

• Base range increased to 2000.
• Range when traited increased to 2400.

Elixir X

• Refer to Attachment 1.
• There is also the possibility of assigning 3 Elite Skills to the Engineer’s Utility Skill slots and then simply allowing the Engineer to choose only one or two of them and then the effects of Elixir X would end immediately. That kind of restriction would require duration buffs to the suggestions that I make in the infographic below.

RIFLE
Blunderbuss

• Range for maximum damage and Bleed stacks increased from 100 to 180.

Jump Shot

• Damage radius increased from 120 to 150.
• The Rifled Barrels trait now also reduces Jump Shot’s hang time. As it stands, the trait is almost more liability than help for the Rifle since it extends Jump Shot’s leap animation to an inconveniently long duration compared to what it is without the trait.

FLAMETHROWER
Smoke Vent

• Now part of a Chain Skill (Smoke Vent —> Phlogiston Discharge)
• Smoke Vent remains unchanged.

Phlogiston Discharge

• 0 second cast-time (instant cast)
• Further discharge oxidized residue, creating a Smoke Field at your location but increasing the skill’s recharge time by 50%.
  • Duration: 4 seconds
  • Radius: 180

Napalm

• Recharge reduced from 30 to 25 seconds.
• Duration reduced from 10 to 8 seconds.

TOOL KIT
Box of Nails

• Cast time reduced from 1 to ¼ second.
• Bleeding inflicted increased to 3 stacks.
  • As the skill does no direct damage, it justifies a buff to the Bleed damage (especially since the duration is a base of only 2 seconds). Honestly, the same could be said for Caltrops Mortar (Mortar skill 2) and Caltrops (the Thief Utility Skill).

UTILITIES
Rocket Shoes

• Activation no longer interrupts the player. Player simply jumps backwards 900 range. Animation and effect identical to Acid Bomb’s retreating leap.

Slick Shoes

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

Throw Mine

• Recharge increased from 18 to 25 seconds.
• Now removes 3 boons.

ALL ELIXIR TOOL-BELT SKILLS

• See Attachment 2
• I use Elixir U (pardon the MS Paint reproduction) as an example for the visual application of this idea. What I mean to say is that all tool-belt Elixirs as of now give the Engineer an RNG chance for some boon or effect. RNG IS BAD. Good skills in GW2 are good because when people use them, they expect a specific effect, and then receive THAT SPECIFIC EFFECT. Shocking Aura wouldn’t be NEARLY as good as it is now if it had a chance to stun, cripple, bleed or knock-back enemies with effects decided by a random number generator. It’s good BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT IT DOES. IT STUNS PEOPLE 100% OF THE TIME.
• Tool-belt Elixirs should have predictable effects in order that they can have a constant and reliable impact on the flow of a battle. I propose that ANet split all of the possible effects of Thrown Elixirs up into unique iterations of the same skill that can be selected in the Tool-belt Skill slot.

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

• Range increased from 300 to 600.

Incendiary Ammo (Flamethrower tool-belt skill)

• Recharge reduced from 60 to 30 seconds.
• Burning duration per attack reduced from 3 to 1½ seconds.

Super Speed (Slick Shoes tool-belt skill)

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

Shockwave (Thumper Turret tool-belt skill)

• Recharge reduced from 90 to 40 seconds.

Net Attack (Net Turret tool-belt skill)

• Recharge reduced from 60 to 30 seconds.

Napalm Bomb (Flame Turret tool-belt skill)

• Recharge reduced from 60 to 40 seconds.

Smoke Screen (Flame Turret overcharge)

• Now triggers instantly and generates the Smoke Field and initial Blind effect at the player’s location.

Cleansing Burst (Healing Turret overcharge)

• Now triggers instantly and applies its effects at the player’s location.

RE-WORKING THE PROFESSION SKILLS (F-SKILLS)
See attachment 3

• All skills slotted into the F-skills would still exclusively be considered Tool-belt Skills (all effects related to and triggered by Tool-Belt skills would still proc even if you slotted in a Weapon Kit or Turret).
• Turrets slotted as an F-skill lose their self-destruct skill (no place for it).
• Weapon Kits slotted as an F-skill lose their corresponding Tool-Belt Skill (no place for it).
• Due to Weapon Kits having no cool-down, there would need to be some work done to balance that with some of the “Generate this effect upon using a Tool-belt skill” traits and abilities unique to the Engineer.

Concerning Elixir X, that would be awesome.

Nice and simple idea!

Slick Shoe change, I fear it would be maybe too strong.

This utility, althought under used because of our lack of utilities slot taken by kit, is really good, especially for roamers.

Incendiary ammo deserve a 20 seconde cooldown or something like that.

I’m not sure on everything else in this list to be honest. Most of it I actually think isn’t even enough, but some of the changes I don’t think are necessary. I actually have a massive list of changes myself, but it’s enormous and just a dream list if anything.

A mild sample of what I’ve had is as follows:
(New Gadget) Induction Portal Field – Functions as Portal with a longer cooldown except on activation creates a magnetic pulse on each end that dazes for 2 seconds in a small radius.
(New Tool Belt Skill) Invert Polarity – Pulls targets within a 600 radius to the Engineer with a 60 second cooldown.

Honestly a reasonable list.

Smoke vent increase to 240 would be sufficient combo field would be 2 much.
however, i think the flamethrower #2 should be a blast finisher when you blow it up. ( thief #2 shortbow is a non stop blast finisher).

I dont agree with exliri U changes. But i wish our ultimate wasnt a RNG. Id prefer it simply be tornado reliablly.

Maybe it is just me, but they should split the Elixir into two separate elites.

Haha, Elixir X: the new troll

Hahaha Elixir S would be awesome, even if they make so it ends after you chose 1 option! would add a lot of versatility to the class, love the idea!

( Currently Supply is the best elite but sadly enough, not even runes consider it an elite.. )

daydream.2938:

Honestly a reasonable list.

Smoke vent increase to 240 would be sufficient combo field would be 2 much.
however, i think the flamethrower #2 should be a blast finisher when you blow it up. ( thief #2 shortbow is a non stop blast finisher).

I dont agree with exliri U changes. But i wish our ultimate wasnt a RNG. Id prefer it simply be tornado reliablly.

if they were to make it tornado, hopefully they would boost it at least cause as of right now tornado is the most suicidal skill ingame

Honestly I agree completly with most of these.

This is very accurate to what these skills feel like their lacking.

But I feel that to be fair, for Flamethrowers smoke vent I feel a 1 half to 1 second smoke combo field (similar to the healing turrets combo field:water) is exactly what it needs to add defensive utility needed to survive as a medium to close range Engineer. As it provides several useful combos.

Rockets Boots: has so much potential yet it’s self stun (although stylistic) is very detrimental too it’s purpose. To create functional distance from targets this skill needs some help. Perhaps one of these options would be a balanced way to make Rocket Boots more viable.

-grants stability while launched and for a seconds after landing.
-grants invulnerability during this skills duration.
-knocks down all nearby foes from your launch point for 3 seconds.
-cures several conditions besides the ones already cured.
-or like you said. Just let us land.

And I agree that Jump Shot needs either:

-faster attack animation.
-larger target range.
-causes Daze apon landing.
-combo finisher:blast apon landing.
-basic direction attack targeting like Warriors great sword skill Blade Trail.

Having never used Elixer X extensively (because of its poor PvP application) I think your idea sounds interesting and any step forward with a Eng Ultimate is welcomed.

Alright, here’s a bump because I’m pulling out the big guns and pouring all of my ideas and infographics into this one thread.

I think most of these ideas are really good. I appreciate that you focused on reasonable changes rather than a huge re-work from the ground up. I think you might want to change the title of the thread, because “overhaul” is something that I don’t believe Anet is likely to do at this point.

NevirSayDie.6235:

I think most of these ideas are really good. I appreciate that you focused on reasonable changes rather than a huge re-work from the ground up. I think you might want to change the title of the thread, because “overhaul” is something that I don’t believe Anet is likely to do at this point.

Ah, good point. I don’t really know an appropriate title, but overhaul does seem a bit drastic compared to an in-depth re-tooling (pardon the pun) which is sort of what I seem to suggest with my post.

I like all of the proposed changes, with one exception.

Toolbelt skills don’t really need that much of an overhaul if they are buffed to be reliable. Cooldown reductions, making the effects more on par with each other, and making elixirs, if not controllable, at the very least predictable. (Possibly health based effect, since, if you’re throwing elixir s, there are not a whole lot of situations you would want stability or stealth interchangably. Rather, at high health you recieve stability and low heath you recieve stealth.) Making them completely controllable would be very nice, but it would cause a lot of elixir effects to be unused (very few people would choose stability over stealth, vigor is better than protection unless you have perma vigor, and people would choose either veil or wall of reflection on u, for stealth/stomps.)

Omg god, please ANET you can take a lesson from this. Keep making more great ideas man!

Creld.8702:

I like all of the proposed changes, with one exception.

Toolbelt skills don’t really need that much of an overhaul if they are buffed to be reliable. Cooldown reductions, making the effects more on par with each other, and making elixirs, if not controllable, at the very least predictable. (Possibly health based effect, since, if you’re throwing elixir s, there are not a whole lot of situations you would want stability or stealth interchangably. Rather, at high health you recieve stability and low heath you recieve stealth.) Making them completely controllable would be very nice, but it would cause a lot of elixir effects to be unused (very few people would choose stability over stealth, vigor is better than protection unless you have perma vigor, and people would choose either veil or wall of reflection on u, for stealth/stomps.)

If you’re referring to my third attachment, while I do agree that out of all of my suggestions that’s probably the one that is the most difficult to implement and probably the least important out of all of them, I do want to say that it’s not an overhaul. It’s very simple: the F1 slot can now hold a Weapon Kit and the F2 slot can now hold a Turret. The goal here was to work around some of the issues that ANet has drum up themselves with kit builds eating up Utility Slots and turrets being general pieces of garbage.

We only have 3 Utility Skill slots. Therefore, having a free space for a turret might incline some Engineers to use one and change up the metagame a bit. As for the Weapon Kits, having one as an F-skill (and therefore technically a tool-belt skill and not a Weapon Kit even though it functions as such), players could work around the stupid change to the Improved Kits trait while still making full use of two kits—or even three kits while still retaining a Utility Slot.

As for the Elixir Tool-belt Skill change: I realize that as of now some Elixir Tool-belt Skills would probably have certain effects see more play than others, but I don’t think it would be too imbalanced in any direction. However, if it were, it’s not difficult to simply buff/tweak certain iterations in order to make the choice a little more difficult or interesting. Let’s take Elixir B: one might think that “Let’s take fury 100% of the time” would probably be the typical response from an Engineer. However, that’s completely counting out group swiftness (great for map movement or maintaining your own speed), group retaliation (which can help swing chaotic fights) or group might (the single stack could maybe be buffed to 2 in order to make it more favorable).

Furthermore, do you really think everyone would take stealth over stability 100% of the time? Really? I think you’re discounting how huge GROUP stability can be in combat (completing channels despite CC, keeping ground, maintaining pushes, rezzing or stomping). It’s not terribly difficult to interrupt/predict someone trying to do something while in stealth unless all they’re doing is putting every skill into escaping (in which case, it gives you time to reset and negates their current combat threat).

More people need to read this idea.

Add flamethrower flamejet does incrased damage at 100-150 yards.

Remove slickshoes AE knockdown,…a stun breaker…maybe, but we already have a lot of access to these, maybe rework goggles to do something other than stun break and give it to slick shoes?

Also Napalm ball (flame turret) doesnt need to be a blast finisher.

And Rocket shoes just needs to be a knockback and not a knockdown. Then it’d be fine.

Other than that they’re all pretty solid.

Zinwrath.2049:

Add flamethrower flamejet does incrased damage at 100-150 yards.

Flamethrower is very useful for proccing crit triggers due to its 10 hits in rapid succession. I’m not sure it really needs another damage buff—especially since you can pop Incendiary Ammo and get a good stream of 10% base damage boosted hits for at least one full channel.

Zinwrath.2049:

Remove slickshoes AE knockdown,…a stun breaker…maybe, but we already have a lot of access to these, maybe rework goggles to do something other than stun break and give it to slick shoes?

That knockdown is amazing. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. The only reason I’m suggesting that it have a stun-break effect or an on-stun trigger is because of how gimmicky and unwieldy the knockdown trigger can be sometimes and it often provides you no help in the case that you are disabled and someone starts throwing damage on you (especially from a distance).

Zinwrath.2049:

Also Napalm ball (flame turret) doesnt need to be a blast finisher.

You’re probably right. I just thought it needed more utility. I actually reworked the original suggestion into a Fire Field suggestion that would probably prove more useful and have a bigger impact on battle.

Zinwrath.2049:

And Rocket shoes just needs to be a knockback and not a knockdown. Then it’d be fine.

Rocket Boot’s retreating and Blast Finisher combo is very powerful. The only problem is that it CC’s you. I won’t go into trashing the logic of having something like Acid Bomb as a regular Kit Ability/Weapon Skill and then Rocket Boots (exact same thing but worse save for the stun-break aspect) as a UTILITY Skill, but the retreat is great for re-positioning, getting out of big damage areas or even just covering distance (the jumps I can pull off with Acid Bomb can be insanely useful and chaining Acid Bomb with Rocket Boots while under the effects of swiftness is something akin to Ride the Lightning speed except for the self-knockdown at the end). It doesn’t need a functionality change, just that the self-CC is removed and the movement is changed to a retreating leap so it can actually cover terrain gaps if you choose to use it that way (at the moment it’s simply a backward charge despite the fact that you’re bouncing across the ground like a skipping stone).

Goloith.6349:

More people need to read this idea.

I appreciate your support!

These changes seem reasonable, I think Gadgets as a whole need changes or buffs, simply because there is no reason to take them over kits/ elixirs at this current time.

The idea is nice but do be honest it is big love to engineers

Lupanic.6502:

The idea is nice but do be honest it is big love to engineers

I think the Engineer does need big changes, but I’ll agree that every class would need similar changes to keep pace. In my opinion at least, the game isn’t really that far off from being balanced. Fixing one classes crap skills while leaving everyone else’s crap skills in the game would be too much of a buff for one class.

Basically, these changes are awesome but even if implemented they would need to come slowly alongside other global class changes.

I like pretty much every suggestion you’ve made. Another minor thing I’d like to see is for the rifle’s #1 attack to have a more useful effect than just piercing, and to have the Coated Bullets trait also work with rifles.

Eccentric Duck.7510:

These changes seem reasonable, I think Gadgets as a whole need changes or buffs, simply because there is no reason to take them over kits/ elixirs at this current time.

I completely agree. The reason Gadgets are often set by the wayside is because they are just single skills. Elixirs are also single skills, but thanks to traits an Engineer can really benefit from taking 2 or 3 Elixir Utility Skills. Gadgets have no real traited benefit aside from a single 20% cool-down reduction trait. Therefore, they’re going to need lower cool-downs in order to be effective.

I sort of imagine a Gadget Engineer as some sort of uncatchable battle demon, breaking stuns and snares left and right while keeping in the fight through rapid movement, keen positioning and CC silliness. However, the current cool-downs on most gadgets prevent that sort of feel.

I guess if I had to suggest some Gadget-centric skill changes in addition to the ones I’ve already made (and since I have no more available characters in my OP):

Personal Battering Ram

• Cast time removed.
• Recharge reduced from 45 to 30 seconds.
• You can use this skill while disabled (does not break stun).

Launch Personal Battering Ram

• If you strike a foe that is disabled, you do double damage.

Acid Bomb is an awesome power-based attack as well as an escape. Even without power it provides a good oomph. Use it on ranged enemies as they’ll dumbly sit in the pool and take all three high damage ticks.

In agreement with the OP that RNG skills need to be completely re-vamped. I refuse to use them (with the exception of Elixir S, but only because I want the drink on it). I think it was a neat concept, adding some chaos and a “mad scientist” feel to the class, but just because it seems like something that is “in-character” for the feel of the class doesn’t necessarily mean that it translates into playability. In this case, it falls flat.

(to start my opinions are from a SPVP perspective)

Also, what you changed the flameturret toolbelt skill to sounds too OP, have you looked at the other turret toolbelt skills?

Also FT’s flame jet is good for proccing things, but it also gets wrecked by retaliation. Any profession you fight who wants to be in mellee range with you hits MUCH harder and FT doesnt offer quite as much utility as it does damage so its only appropriate for it do that well, even a 25% increase to damage would not put you on par with another professions mellee weapon up in your face.

Slick shoes might be able to pull off stunbreaker, like i said. Just not an AE knockdown. It already is a counter to warriors/theifs who jump up behind you. Just click and walk away slowly while they are knocked down often for 4 seconds while you prepare more CC. (keep in mind they had to nerf this ability several times since launch…buffing it has to be careful cause it wouldnt take much to push it back over the edge)

Also, Rocketboots thats why i said a knockback not a knockdown. Your overcharge on your rifle is a knockback for you but a knockdown for your opponent thats why you hop up first. Not to say this ability doesnt have more going on for it that you mentioned, its toolbelt is incredibly powerful and the ability itself isnt just a stunbreaker/blast finisher/teleport it also clears you of chill/immob/cripple.
But maybe it could have the self CC changed from knockdown to knockback…it would definitly make it very attractive even outside of condition builds.

Also utility goggles i think your asking for way too much.
1. Stability doesnt fit the goggles thematicly.
2. There is no reveal stealth in the game, and i beleive the game is balanced around not requiring such a thing and coupled with stability this would definitly push this ability FAR into the must have zone.

Your original stuff mostly seemed appropriate, but now your just sounding greedy.

Keep in mind with the exception of mine, gadgets dont have but one trait that effect them individually. Imagine if gadgets and potions swapped traits for example…. One utility group is being HIGHLY ignored by traits. So instead of going overboard with buffs to gadgets themselves, perhaps suggest some traits to be put in.

Zinwrath.2049:

(to start my opinions are from a SPVP perspective)

Also, what you changed the flameturret toolbelt skill to sounds too OP, have you looked at the other turret toolbelt skills?

Also FT’s flame jet is good for proccing things, but it also gets wrecked by retaliation. Any profession you fight who wants to be in mellee range with you hits MUCH harder and FT doesnt offer quite as much utility as it does damage so its only appropriate for it do that well, even a 25% increase to damage would not put you on par with another professions mellee weapon up in your face.

Slick shoes might be able to pull off stunbreaker, like i said. Just not an AE knockdown. It already is a counter to warriors/theifs who jump up behind you. Just click and walk away slowly while they are knocked down often for 4 seconds while you prepare more CC. (keep in mind they had to nerf this ability several times since launch…buffing it has to be careful cause it wouldnt take much to push it back over the edge)

Also, Rocketboots thats why i said a knockback not a knockdown. Your overcharge on your rifle is a knockback for you but a knockdown for your opponent thats why you hop up first. Not to say this ability doesnt have more going on for it that you mentioned, its toolbelt is incredibly powerful and the ability itself isnt just a stunbreaker/blast finisher/teleport it also clears you of chill/immob/cripple.
But maybe it could have the self CC changed from knockdown to knockback…it would definitly make it very attractive even outside of condition builds.

Also utility goggles i think your asking for way too much.
1. Stability doesnt fit the goggles thematicly.
2. There is no reveal stealth in the game, and i beleive the game is balanced around not requiring such a thing and coupled with stability this would definitly push this ability FAR into the must have zone.

Your original stuff mostly seemed appropriate, but now your just sounding greedy.

Keep in mind with the exception of mine, gadgets dont have but one trait that effect them individually. Imagine if gadgets and potions swapped traits for example…. One utility group is being HIGHLY ignored by traits. So instead of going overboard with buffs to gadgets themselves, perhaps suggest some traits to be put in.

I LOVE it.

Thanks for keeping me in line. I was thinking to myself off and on lately with regards to this post about whether or not I was getting greedy with buffs and in which areas. You really did call me out on that and I appreciate it since I want to keep these suggestions and ideas as principled and viable as possible.

Now that the knockback/knockdown thing was cleared up for me, I see where you’re going with it, but I still wish that it was just a straight leap backwards (mostly because then I could use it to do goofy terrain maneuvers across gaps and whatnot). However, I would even take a knockback since, you’re right, it is far better than the 2-second KD that we have in place now.

The retaliation aspect of FT1 was a good point and I didn’t really think of that. I also feel a little out-of-touch with FT1 in general since—and I guess it’s because of points you’ve already raised—I don’t use it all that much. I would run FT and EG with the Rifle with the two related cool-down traits so I could just cycle through the most powerful/interesting abilities at will. You’re right in how I never really used FT1 because it just doesn’t really match up to other attacks.

As for the traits, I had mentioned either here or elsewhere before that that really was the case for Gadgets: they have no real trait base, meanwhile Elixirs (also single-skill abilities) have such a strong trait-base that an all-Elixir Engineer can actually be a viable combat set-up. My next project for Engineer suggestions was going to be some sort of trait shenanigans, but I wanted to better refine some of my current Gadget suggestions in order to see what others felt about them before moving on to traits that would in effect buff them further.

Thanks again for your input.

Ya, i read the gadget vs elixer thing from a post you said, thats why i was repeating your own words as i thought you kinda identified the problem. Minus my few suggestions everything else you have is really good. Be interested to see what trait ideas you have.

OK, so I just watched the Engineer section of March’s State of the Game and I felt a little ill afterwards. Bump.