Guild Wars 2

– Update 1: Added a strawpoll to the Utility Goggles after a discussion about it. Please vote

Hey Guys!

I wanted to open some discussion about the gadgets. As engineers we seem to struggle with gadgets having a good use in our builds. Therefore I am opening this thread. The goal of this thread is to get discussion going around them, get good suggestion and analyze them (haha get the joke?) to find the core problems. Here we go!

1. Oudated

The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about gadgets is that they seem to be very outdates. With the new elite specs around we see alot of skills, or even traits, that do the effects of gadgets much better.

2. Trait problem

Secondary we have the fact that the gadget traits heavily lack. There is one trait specified for gadgets: gadgeteer. This trait (barely) enhanches the gadget effects and puts them on a lower cooldown. I will discuss this problem later on in the suggestion section.

No synergies

All the gadgets seem to be standalone skills with whole different purposes. Due to this fact you wont easily trait for a gadget trait.

Suggestions:

Overall suggestions
These suggestions will apply to all the gadget skills

1. The buffs the current gadgeteer trait gives (except for the lowered CD) will become mandatory. This will mean the following:
- Rocket boots: Increased raange to 1200
- Slick Shoes: Increased radius to 90
- Throw Mine: Increases proximity radius to 180 and explosion radius to 300.
- Utility goggle: Adds 3 stacks of might that last for 10 seconds.
- PBR: Increases launch range to 600.
- AED: Increases duration to 8 seconds.

2. All toolbelt skills from gadget skills will be classified as “gadget skills” (Just like with elixirs)

Trait changes

1. Gadgeteer will be completely removed.

2. New Gadgeteer trait:
When using a gadget skills, you will gain a gadgeteer charge (20s?). When you have 3 charges, you next damaging attack will stun a foe for 2 seconds.

3. Static Discharge: Even tho this isnt a gadget trait, it does get help from gadgets. However it’s burst potential needs to be increased. Therefore a damage increase would be greatly appreciated (30%?)

Skill specific changed

1. Rocket Boots: Damage is removed. Removes all movement impairing conditions.

2. Utility Goggles: 2 new functionalities:
- The “utility goggles buff” will give you a standalone critical hit chance of 20%. This can stack with fury.
- Utility Goggles will also grant immunity to weakness.
Strawpoll with options: http://www.strawpoll.me/10825823

Analyze: Applies a seperate debuff “Analyse” on the foe, increasing incoming (condi) damage by 10%. This can stack with vulnerability.

3. Personal Battering Ram: Increased damage by 30%.

Launch PBR: Pierces.

4. Slick Shoes: Lowered cooldown to 35s.

5. Throw Mine: Becomes “Place mine”. Drops a mine instantly at your feet. It does get a 1s charge time before it can be activated, wether manually or automaticly.
– Mine Field: Every mine also removes a boon.

Gadgets need overhaul. Most of them need cooldown reduction, including AED. I’d like to see something you suggested, Gadgeteer trait making gadget skills more powerful (longer jump on Rocket Boots, insta-cast AED, bigger crit chance with Goggles, PBR damage boost etc).

And, since most of Elixir Gun skills are effected by Elixir-related triats, maybe we could get gadgets on other kits? Tool Kit’s gear shield would be a gadget, traited with Gadgeteer would give us invulnerability instead of block, or grant 5x Stabilites on use? Bigger range on Magnet? Pry Bar causing Confusion AND Weakness?

Edit: if it would actually take place, to make some kit skills gadgets, if would be logical to make turret-related kit as well. I saw a Medkit change suggestion, so skill would be turret-like stationary machines that pulse a boon every x seconds…

The V.8759:

- Utility Goggles will also grant immunity to weakness.

- Utility Goggles will also grant immunity to weakness and retaliation.

Anet should seriously work on gadgets, they are my favourite.. If only they were viable

Gadgets are in a terrible spot atm, from my point of view would be better if the devs pick up all the gagdegts, fuse them with the utility belt skills and create a new set of skills (maby some traps, you know for once the engi could share some skills with the rest of the other classes). As it is for now, most of the ppl only use like 2 of them and the rest are just useless.
Now since the high lords of devs would never make another set of skills until….the next expa (meaning another 3 years of waiting) changing the cd of all the gadgets would be a really nice start.

Perceptor.7189:

Gadgets are in a terrible spot atm, from my point of view would be better if the devs pick up all the gagdegts, fuse them with the utility belt skills and create a new set of skills (maby some traps, you know for once the engi could share some skills with the rest of the other classes). As it is for now, most of the ppl only use like 2 of them and the rest are just useless.
Now since the high lords of devs would never make another set of skills until….the next expa (meaning another 3 years of waiting) changing the cd of all the gadgets would be a really nice start.

Merging wouldnt be an option in my opinion. This would make some maybe too strong and might even get higher CDs (Rocket boots burning). Also it would mix up the roles the skills have too much (Slick Shoes for CC or stunbreak?). I’dd rather see them buffing in terms of CD (indeed), functionality, trait synergy and toolbelts that count as gadgets

guildabd.6529:

The V.8759:

- Utility Goggles will also grant immunity to weakness.

- Utility Goggles will also grant immunity to weakness and retaliation.

-Utility Goggles will also grant unblockable in addition to blind immunity

Ovalkvadratcylinder.9365:

-Utility Goggles will also grant unblockable in addition to blind immunity

Then just reduce its cooldown to 15s.
Now thats a good gadget.

The following suggestions were made above when it comes to Utlity Goggles .

A few suggestions were made:
A. Utility Goggles will also give immunity to and retaliation
B. Utility Goggles will also give immunity to weakness and make skills unblockable
C. Utility Goggles will also give immunity to weakness and make skills unblockable, cooldown reduced to 15s

A few questions when it comes to balance:

1. Are those proposed changes in addition to my suggestion?
2. Does suggestion C include the stun break, or any of the other old effects? Wouldn’t this be too strong, mainly in comparison to Nothing Can Save You for example?
3. I entered a strawpoll in the first post at utility Goggles. Would you all be so kind to add your vote?
4. Would you also like to show your toughts on as many as the proposed changes, give all of your ideas of how it should be. This way I could make strawpolls for each gadget and suggestion to show what the engineer community (that is active on the forums) thinks about the changes.

The V.8759:

The following suggestions were made above when it comes to Utlity Goggles .

A few suggestions were made:
A. Utility Goggles will also give immunity to and retaliation
B. Utility Goggles will also give immunity to weakness and make skills unblockable
C. Utility Goggles will also give immunity to weakness and make skills unblockable, cooldown reduced to 15s

A few questions when it comes to balance:

1. Are those proposed changes in addition to my suggestion?
2. Does suggestion C include the stun break, or any of the other old effects? Wouldn’t this be too strong, mainly in comparison to Nothing Can Save You for example?
3. I entered a strawpoll in the first post at utility Goggles. Would you all be so kind to add your vote?
4. Would you also like to show your toughts on as many as the proposed changes, give all of your ideas of how it should be. This way I could make strawpolls for each gadget and suggestion to show what the engineer community (that is active on the forums) thinks about the changes.

My suggestion about unblockable was “blind immune, unblock, stunbreak” think that would be a fine skill even without the proposed immunity to weakness or retal. Also even without the reduced cd

Rocket Boots: either make this a stun break, or increase the range to 1200+. It is my favourite skill in the game, but it is so inferior to other things I could be running in that slot that I feel kind of bad for playing with it.

Throw Mine: Increase damage by 100%. Remove 3 boons.

Gadgets need love so bad right now. Or perhaps Anet could just change the skill icons to look as desparate, needy or generally unloved as the skills themselves.

In all seriousness, if you are going to suggest changes to gadgets (or anything for that matter) you need to keep the scope as small and effort as minimal as possible. For example, even if you look at the expac content absolute reams of stuff is cut-and-paste or re-purposed from already existing in the game.

To have even the slightest chance of your change being implemented (aside from the fact we are posting on a forum that the dev’s don’t read; need to head over to reddit for that generally) your change(s) must adhere to following constraints:
- can be cut-and-paste or absolute minimal programming (eg. increase a duration, lower a cd, add a stack of boon/condi.) Nothing new and no functionality reworks
- does not require any localization work (i.e. nothing that needs translated into other languages) such as numbers or the ‘invisible stuff’ (eg. healing of skill X increased by 17%)
- cannot make a vanilla build equal to or greater in power/effectiveness than a HoT build

Bonus factors in the change suggestion:
- doesn’t overlap with another class and/or stays inline with your class’ general theme/playstyle
- clearly identify the issue and how your change addresses set issue

Happy brainstorming fellas