Guild Wars 2

Edit UPDATE critique this build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUlIq6dH5SiF17IyIFkWnJSR+pffewWpFEC-jQyAYLASEQyTQMBqsWGLiGraBTVKIrMTq7oIa1yAsMBA-e

Too squishy? Not enough deeps? What can be improved?

Also I pose the question to you all: SD variant or HGH for cleansing/might stacks for a power/crit rifle/grenade build? The above is an SD variant obviously but which do you think is better?

Hey all, I’m still fairly new to Engineer, and I exclusively play WvW. I’ve gone through 3-4 builds in the past 2 weeks, and haven’t found something that I truly want with my engi. I’ve had a blast with all of them, I started with Mask’s p/p condi HGH roaming build and loved it, I then went to a full kit build with EG/Grenades/Toolkit condi build with pistol/shield for added utility/combos and it was extremely fun with all the different abilities from 3 kits at my disposal. I know currently rest in a hybrid(rampager/carrion) grenade/HGH build and it’s absolutely awesome, I’m taking on groups solo, defending towers by bombarding/condi stacking enemy zergs, the whole 9 yards… I still feel empty inside.

Every viable build seems to revolve around HGH and cleansing formula-409 otherwise you’re all conditioned up with no way to cleanse. I come before you, the Engineer community and humbly ask: Is this the only viable build for the current WvW(condition) meta? I’ve never once had the opportunity to experience a rifle/SD build or raw power nades/rifle it’s always condition and always HGH for optimal success. Are any of you currently running a power/crit build with some survivability with moderate-great success? If so… care to share? I’m aiming to find a rifle build that isn’t pure glass cannon and could contribute in a zerg or solo roam setting, if not, looks like I’m sticking with my p/p/nade/HGH hybrid! Any and all ideas/comments/directions to a guide or theory about rifles in wvw or builds I could peek at etc are much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
-Mord

Power/crit builds are viable in WvW depending on what you want to do. The FT/EG is more useful in group/zerg based plays because of the AoE healing you can toss out and the FT is great for zerg fights.

These days I run with healing turret (it’s overcharge cleanses and grants water field that you can then detonate for more healing), Rocket Boots (for mobility/blast finisher), EG and FT. While the combination of healing turret and the EG doesn’t grant you as much condition removal as 409 does, it gives you enough overall healing to compensate.

Something like the rifle/SD builds are more suited for roaming, where you need to kill them before they kill you. That said if you pay attention while you’re in larger fights, you can still be a nice ball of bouncy lightning death.

While you’re still getting a feel for a power/crit build that works for you, I’d use a set of PVT armour with whatever runes/crests/orbs you want. PVT will give you that extra toughness and vitality that’ll let you outlast someone in full berserker’s. With my PVT set up I usually sit at around 50% crit chance with about 65% crit damage. I could get it higher but I like the survivability I have.

you can always go rifle hgh power grenades. same build 30/0/0/30/10 with elixir x. experiment with a mix of knights/zerk until you find the amount of survivability you’re comfortable with.

Malhavoc Adhamar.3675:

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I agree with all those points.

As a solo roamer much of the time, I run P/P Elixir H, B, Tool Kit, Rocket Boot. Condition Damage HgH Build. Sigil of Corruption, Battle, and I forget what my on crit sigil is (I think Earth).

I’ll have to mess around with a calculator when I get the chance! I like the ability to roam with success to deter their roamers and then hop back in with the zerg for an epic tower defense or for the taking/defending of SM etc but I spend a lot of time roaming it seems! So SD/rifle seems more appealing, I like the idea of healing turret/rocket boots for the blast and cleansing. The issue I foresee with a power/crit build is condition removal. It won’t be a problem when I’m running with a zerg but while roaming it may be an issue, which is why I posed the question if its even viable! If anyone has a build or idea please post, I’d like to incorporate grenades and I like the idea the healing turret/rocket boots for mobility/blast finisher, I just can’t get to a calculator at the moment!

Tyaen.5148:

Malhavoc Adhamar.3675:

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I agree with all those points.

As a solo roamer much of the time, I run P/P Elixir H, B, Tool Kit, Rocket Boot. Condition Damage HgH Build. Sigil of Corruption, Battle, and I forget what my on crit sigil is (I think Earth).

The main reason of this thread is that, quite frankly, I’m tired of the HGH condition build, sure it’s awesome, sure I can 1vX quite easily but with all of engineers so called “versatility” I should be able to go something else, though everytime I try I always find that nothing is quite as optimal… Where are my options? Where’s the versatility that I mained an engineer for!?

hgh power grenades:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUlspSXnvSiF87IyoCdmoHPGlNZfewWpFEC-jgxAYLASEQyrIasFyioxqrxUuER1A-e
you can swap ogre runes for 2 hoelbrak/monk/water if you prefer. elixir x and supply drop are interchangeable. you can swap out some berserker pieces for knights if you want more survivability.

sd grenades:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUlIq6dH5SiF17IyIFkWnJSR+pffewWpFEC-jgxAYLASEQyrIasFyioxqrxUuER1A-e
my personal opinion is that sd sacrifices too much survivability for not enough damage gains in a pvp scenario

Mord.9237:

Tyaen.5148:

Malhavoc Adhamar.3675:

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I agree with all those points.

As a solo roamer much of the time, I run P/P Elixir H, B, Tool Kit, Rocket Boot. Condition Damage HgH Build. Sigil of Corruption, Battle, and I forget what my on crit sigil is (I think Earth).

The main reason of this thread is that, quite frankly, I’m tired of the HGH condition build, sure it’s awesome, sure I can 1vX quite easily but with all of engineers so called “versatility” I should be able to go something else, though everytime I try I always find that nothing is quite as optimal… Where are my options? Where’s the versatility that I mained an engineer for!?

I can’t remember the thread or video, but it was recent. It was a Char Engi roaming with a Mesmer if I recall.

Anyway, I thought his build was pretty impressive. It was a kit build (Bomb, Tool, and EG) with healing turret. I don’t know the traits, but I can’t imagine it would be hard to find a good mix. His survivablility was really impressive and at one point was 1v6. Personally it would probably take me a couple of days to get the proper rotation down, and the blast timing for the water field, but it looked like a ton of fun as well as being very versatile.

Edit: I used to run a P/S FT/EG tank when I started and it worked extremely well also. Once I started solo roaming more I switched to HgH and now my twitch muscles are just used to the style. I am going to start experimenting more with the above build types as I find myself running more with large groups. Water fields are constantly being called for now, and the one thing HgH builds tend to lack is fields and finishers.

Tyaen I think you’re talking about bamfjoe! And I agree his survivability was spectacular, however the key goals of mine are more damage than survivability, as in as much damage as possible without being completely glassy! I plan on eventually having a set for zergs that buffs my survivability and a comfy set of glass/survivability gear for roaming. I’ll eventually find my desired stat thresholds, for the time being I need build ideas that are practical and versatile for both settings. I’d love to make a SD build but it seems HGH/cleansing formula 409 is the only way to go with the current condition meta, keep the builds coming!

If you want to be a part of the zerg you need toughness. WvW is about being extremely durable to outlast the other zerg, as in PvP survivability is actually greater than damage, given equal skill.

If you want to roam, remember that skill > anything else. Thus, all the videos of 1v2+ you see are great players vs abysmal players. Anyone who loses 2+v1 is terrible in this game, that is the simple truth.

I won’t post my open world build (almost identical to my tPvP build which I want to keep private for now) but I can tell you that engineers excel at survivability. Really look into the rune/trait combinations on offer and you can do some great things with engineer or any other class for that matter.
As a starting point I would suggest you run Knight’s, consider how to counter your weaknesses and get a rifle because it’s better than dual pistols in a power build and gives you decent control.

If you do intend to run a high damage build as an Engineer in WvW, I would suggest getting utilities that allow for maximum mobility, as you will be running away a lot and will need to be good at it. Good luck!

P.S. Conditions for damage are trash in fights larger than maybe 5 people (2 in PvE), when compared to direct damage equivalents. In WvW, everyone decent either runs Melandru+Lemongrass for -65% condi duration or lots of condi removal. There is also constant AoE removal in zergs, so conditions last 2 ticks at best in most cases from my experience.
Conditions are for sPvP.

@Brew Pinch: I couldn’t agree more, conditions do next to nothing when the enemy team is bunched up, hence the recent desire to transition. I want the ability to burst yet survive through toughness/utilities. I was thinking knights too to take care of my needed crit damage and toughness. Then go with possibly berserker weapons/trinkets or even thrown in some cavaliers, I’ll have to play around in a calculator. If you aren’t willing to give away your build which is totally fine I understand, would you be willing to give me some stat thresholds to shoot for?

Also HGH rifle/grenades or an SD variant? What does everyone here run?

UPDATE: Added a build to the original post for critiquing along with some additional questions regarding a power/crit build and the more viable path in WvW! Thanks all!

I started of running Rabid HGH Grenades but it wasn’t very effective in large zergs. I moved to Power HGH Grenades and I felt better but was still lacking. The few builds I run now are a 0/30/0/10/30 Rifle/SD, Power Rifle/FT 0/30/0/20/20 and a Power P/S FT/ EG 0/20/0/30/20. I sorta prefer them over grenades for various reasons but mostly that I’ve had better luck with them. Rifle/SD for small group roaming and FT for larger zerg play seems to work well. I can elaborate some if there is interest.

GL
Blood~

I’m not to keen on the close range necessity of the flamethrower, I’d like to use power/crit grenades to reign death on flame rams/people without retaliation and continue to rain death upon their friends who try to revive them I’d also enjoy being able to roam like I said so a rifle/SD/grenade kit build is what I’m looking for, maximum damage while still holding some survivability along with maximum control through rifle/grenade kit and possibly tool kit. Please elaborate on your rifle/SD build as well as stat thresholds to shoot for when running a power build in wvw ie: 2k+ armor, 20k+ health for surviving, x amount of power, x amount of crit chance to shoot for etc!! Thanks!

Is it safe to assume you plan on being in the back line? The armor/toughness is really low, so if you end up in the middle of the zerg you might melt. I assume speedy kits and invigorating speed to keep the dodges up. Looks interesting, as long as you can stay at range.

One other thing, condition removal is really light.

I have an Apothecary condition engineer build that you can try out.

Oldly enough I am going back to HGH now after many months to experiment with a P/P build. :p

I have mainly been a P/S engi

Mord.9237:

I’m not to keen on the close range necessity of the flamethrower, I’d like to use power/crit grenades to reign death on flame rams/people without retaliation.

You still deal with Retaliation with the Grenade Kit—arguably a lot worse than you would with the Flamethrower, because the AoE skills have a larger hit cap than Flame Jet does.

@Tyaen: Yes, it will be a back-middle line assaulting class, I plan on sitting back with grenades, and bursting, runners or people caught solo will get a rifle rotation to the face and it has the versatility/mobility to roam as well. I’ve yet to run tests on it in the mists, and there may still be tweaks based on feedback I get from others and how my testing goes. It may not be an optimal build but it’s what I’m looking for in an engineer and I’ll optimize it as much as I/the community can! Condition removal is something I was struggling with and based on testing I may change the build completely and go HGH/cleaning formula 409 for might stacking/condi removal, depending on the damage difference etc. I currently have around -50% condition duration through food and runes so that will certainly help, any high stacks of conditions I receive I’ll cleanse with the healing turret. Not sure how much that will suffice but we shall see! I’m not sure of the range on static discharge but I know it scales with power and I felt the extra burst would do nicely not to mention the crit damage from that tree.

@Oblivious: I’ll have to take a look at it when I’m home from work, however I’m looking to go with a power/crit build due to the fact that everyone is now typically geared/traited for the condition meta and your conditions don’t last more than 2 ticks in an organized zerg. Also I don’t think healing power really scales well with our healing abilities, I could be wrong though.

Mord.9237:

@Oblivious: I’ll have to take a look at it when I’m home from work, however I’m looking to go with a power/crit build due to the fact that everyone is now typically geared/traited for the condition meta and your conditions don’t last more than 2 ticks in an organized zerg. Also I don’t think healing power really scales well with our healing abilities, I could be wrong though.

Ah I can’t help you with power builds I leveled as a power engi but when I hit 80 I switched to conditions and stuck to it.

No I don’t think Healing power scales on engis as in other classes. with zero healing power i get around 214 per pulse on Super elixer with over 1k healing power it around 314 iirc. However I found the build fun and I can survive a long time in Duels and in WvW

GL hope you find the build that suits you