Guild Wars 2

In the beginning, there was TANKCAT. At first, TANKCAT was happy to prybar everyone’s face. It was the highest form of affection TANKCAT could bestow upon the masses. But then people started staying away from TANKCAT, and TANKCAT got lonely. So TANKCAT got a plant, because plants couldn’t run away with them being rooted in clay pots and all.

TANKCAT came to love that plant so much, TANKCAT shared that most wonderful expression of love: a prybar to the face… Or in this case, the cellulose. A flash of incredible power infused the plant with TANKCAT’s message of love and prybars. That plant then picked up a prybar of it’s own, freed itself from it’s clay prison, and set about to sprad the word of love and joy… And prybars.

Thus, ZAPPLANT was born!

…wut?

In case you haven’t figured it out, this is a variant of the TANKCAT build using everyone’s favorite flavor: REAL lightning! The idea is to expand upon the premise of TANKCAT with a more offensive, bursty, build.

ZAPPLANT uses:

Heal: Med Kit – Fastest recharging heal on your toolbelt, along with a fun, versatil healing skill. Of note, Kit Refinement makes this attack cause a PBAoE damage effect when you swap into your kit once per 10 seconds. The Rune of Lyssa will also grant you a buff every 10 seconds. Synergy!

Utility 1: Rifle Turret – Because the toolbelt skill is a super-fast recharging, instant speed, lightning -zapping ranged attack. This should never be deployed.

Utility 2: Toolkit! – How else do you get a prybar? The skills in here are incredible and make for a very well-rounded set. Kit Refinement makes you drop extra Boxs of Nails while you’re at it. Your toolbelt is a boomerang wrench that hits like a TANKCAT driving a bus. It’ll also cripple things for you.

Utility 3: Rocket Boots – Your stun breaker. Pop this whn someone tries to stunburst you, then magnet them in for your own counter-burst! Also, Rocket Kick comes in handy for a goodly application of damage, with the lightning and the burning, and the already being in melee!

Elite: Supply Drop – We have other Elite Skills?

Weapons: Pistol and Shield – The Shield OH brings too much versatility and defensive capability to leave at home. With the build’s emphasis on offensive output, having a source of defensive skills is a good thing.

Sigils: Superior Accuracy and Air – 5% More crit chance, extending to our prybar is fantastic for taking advantage of that full 30 points in Tools. Air grants us a powerful burst damage tool in the form of a lightning strike proc.

Runes: 5 Lyssa, 1 Eagle – This gives us more of that needed Precision to boost our crit chance. It also lets us hot-swap to our healing kit for a quick boon, and extends our conditions just a teensy bit longer.

Gear: Knight’s – Power, Precision, Vitality are key. If you got to mix it up for a more balanced style, add healing, crit damage, and toughness to round out the stats. You’ll still want to try and get as much precision as you can though for frequent crits.

Traits: 0-20-0-20-30

Firearms – Major 3 and 6. When you use your pistol, you’ll have faster recharge for your important Static Shot. And half your crits will give you a 6 second swiftness buff (after boon duration)! You’ll be keeping up with anyon and everyone.

Alchemy – 1 and 9. Swiftness from your crits will now also grant you vigor of a matching duration, so you’ll never be out of dodges to use. This is important, as ZAPPLANT isn’t as durable, and operates more like a ninja than the bigger, beefier TANKCAT. 9 (Backpack Regenerator) can be switched out based on preference, with 6 (Protection Injection – for surviving stunburst), 5 (Blood Injection – for condition damage on your confusions), and 4 (Self-Regulating Defenses – since you don’t have Elixir S) being good choices.

Tools – 2, 4, and 8. Your toolbelt skills shoot lightning… So Spam those suckers. They’ll hit for a small sum on top of the damage you deal with the toolbelt skill, but will also seek out and strike other nearby targets. Since you have two kits, take advantage of your often melee range by having Kit Refinement. Both cause PBAoE effects that add up to damage and debilitating effects. Faster recharge and cripple on your tool kit helps too.

A Small Note: I don’t have the PvP experience some others have, since it’s not my preferred mode of play. It’s growing on me though. I hope someone who is better can come and help me test to provide me with some additional data in that realm.

Initial Testing: Attacking the Heavy Golems in the Mists is very promising. Two of each of my three offensive toolbelt skills (a total of 6 attacks) is more than enough to get the kill. The impressive parts are Throw Wrench (hitting for 1500-2000 twice) and Rocket Kick (Hitting for 1000-1500, with another 1600 or so in burn damage). Surprise Shot is pretty whimpy though, and I’m contemplating switching it with the Battering Ram for a hard-hitting cripple on a longer cooldown (25 sec). It’d also grant a decently useful utility skill, instead of leaving Rifle Turret there, bored… Warming the utility bench.

The kit attacks hit strong as well, tossing out vulnerability before bringing about one heck of a wallop on the auto-attack chain. Prybar hits like a truck and might not even be needed for the confusion. Box of Nails just makes getting away that much harder, especially since it’s also cast when you equip the kit.

The theoretical fight goes a little something like: Enemy sees you, and cackles madly at the thought of easy Engineer stabbin’s. Thy get the drop on you, starting with their stun or immobilize. ZAPPLANT laughs and GTFOs with Rocket Boots. As the enemy is coming to chase ZAPPLANT down, you fire Static Shot to get a blind in, then switch to your Tool Kit. Bam! Instant caltrops, saving you a step. Smack them with the prybar to keep the confusion going. They’re either full stopped now just trying to get rid of confusion, or foolishly killing themselves. Either way, you Rocket Kick them to get the burn going. Throw your Wrench for good measure, then play a little defense while you line the wrench up for the return trip. If they aren’t dead by now, your auto-attack should do the trick. Also, at anywhere during any of this, you could pop your Surprise Shot, so don’t be shy.

What do you think? Worthy successor to TANKCAT, or destined to be torn apart like a toy filled with catnip?

You seriously exchanged the last rune of lyssa for some minor % of damage?
Srsly? lol. Sry i stopped after reading that.

great writeup again. this is why i play, and will always pla, an engineer!
Oh, and pls ignore lol’ing nonfactors

Kontrolle.3514

You seriously exchanged the last rune of lyssa for some minor % of damage?

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Rune_of_Lyssa

Supply Crate does not trigger the 6th bonus.

However, I’d use an Emerald Orb in the last slot. 14 power + 14 toughness is way better than 5 extra precision.

Surprise shot used to work when you were incapacitated, not sure if it does, but if it does it might be useful to keep just as a way to screw with people when they think you’re stunned. This build looks interesting, because honestly, who doesn’t want a more offensive version of our beloved Tankcat? Thanks for the writeup! Will definitely be trying this later!

FYI, surprise shot can still be used while stunned, feared, etc, but like you said, doesn’t hit very hard at all. Relying on the condition removal of the med kit was a bit of a problem, as it was too easy to get loaded with a bunch of conditions that just ate away at you. Damage isn’t bad at all, though I must say I missed my elixirs, especially Elixir S. Survivability wasn’t as great as I would have liked, but that could have simply been a l2p issue, due to me not playing builds like this as often. Not a bad build, just not my cup o’ tea I suppose.

TANKCAT loves ZAPPLANT! Best buds for life! HAHA, GET IT? BUDS

Very amusing read, and the build looks solid, too! :> Very intriguing, might have to give this a try veery soon.

Static Discharge that can be worked into any build significantly increases the ability for an Engineer to apply DPS pressure even when they are not spec’d significantly high in power or crit. This build is one that focuses on crit and if you can see your opponent, or catch them off guard due to the fact most people aren’t ready for high damage Engineers, it works… for a while.

The minute any Ranger, Necro, Condition Thief, etc. realizes what you are though, you will lose the rest of the fight due to it’s extremely heavy weakness to conditions. Low HP pool + no condition removal means a quick death, no matter how you block. This is essentially the burst static rifle build out there, but lacks the extra CC the rifle brings along with Blunderbuss, which I find make the build work better. The blocks and shields are good for condition specs because while you block and reflect, you’re still doing damage, where in this spec you are not.

Overall though, the Toolkit fits into a few good specs like this for PvP and should not be underestimated.

To start, I play the tankcat pretty much 100% of the time now and really enjoy it. With that said I do sometimes find it low dps so I thought I’d load this up and give it a run in spvp. The lack of condition removal pretty much destroys the whole build, and like the above poster mentioned you have little to no way to damage while you block. I guess I’m just to used to tankcat, and the amazing survivability it offers, but thanks for taking the time to post this, and it was definatley worth trying out.

I chose to run a variation of this, using a 0/20/0/30/20 build with Rifle. Also, Elixir H, Elixir B, Rocket Boots, and Tool Kit with the Elite Mortar. Knight’s Gear, with Emerald Exotic Jewelry, Plus I run with Superior Runes of The Fighter(I know it’s a bit odd, but I like having my Rifle with Bloodlust Sigil being able to hit with a punch after 25 stacks)

I use the Mortar exclusively when we are in WvW, and our guys are trying to press the advantage and drive the opponent Zerg back…Run in, Drop Mortar, start firing. It gives the group the advantage it needs to press forward. I step away, use my Jump Shot to get into the fray, Rocket Kick someone in the face, and swap to Tool Kit and start with the Prybar and face hitting, and not to mention that wonderful Magnet(being able to pull someone close while moving? Yeah. Love that, man ) Good stuff.

I have tried so many builds, and this one works for me. If my team needs that extra boost, I toss that Elixir B(Alchemy Trait to remove conditions, along with increase in recharge and Duration).

For the longest time I was being eaten alive by Warriors, and actively avoided them as much as I could. Now, with practice, and a better understanding, I actively seek them out. Thieves? I just keep my distance and try and pop my Immobs and Knockbacks as much as I can.

I love Engineer. Yes, we have been nerfed, but I feel that we will get our dues. I believe our patience will pay off, as we are the Sleeper Class, and the Engineer will be the one you want to run away from

-What food to use?

- i have zergy set and soldier stat set and zerg accessory with zerg orbs. I assume i go soldier statted armor set and zerg accessory? (+20k hp still, nice crit, ) I need to play around with runes still.
- What about pain inverter to replace rifleturret/ram (asura skill F bar attack and basic skill give retaliation and confuse —> will it stack with prypar confusion or just not needed here?
- Also asura elite attack golem prolly helps this alot. (u just have to see the dps it gives few seconds)

Thanx for the info of how to ride the pony. Many times see builds but not the fundamental idea. Also extra points from staying away from might stacking. How u been in WvW? As good as tankcat?

The Rifle Turret should be deployed. Drop it, detonate it (get a Static Discharge), then follow up with Surprise Shot and another Static Discharge. That’s a lot of burst. Also—it gives you another Blast Finisher to combo with. I’m a huge fan of having at least one turret in my arsenal and if you’re going with a Static build this is the one. Just my .02.

Yeah, this is a sPvP-oriented build, so there’d have to be some modifications for PvE or possibly even WvW.

In playing, I found that, like others… Conditions were problematic.

However, ZAPPLANT did one thing surprisingly well: the “kitten Ninja.” That’s why you hide from LoS, leaving your bunker buddies (like TANKCAT) all alone. Just one lonely guy, trying to defend a point. A tasty target. The thief jumps in, thinks it’s going to be a kill… AND BAM! kitten ninja jumps in, turns it into a surprise 2v1, and makes the thief go back to spawn crying, unsure of what just happened.

So as a harrier/disruption role, ZAPPLANT does well. But there’s likely better ways to do this.

I’m thinking ZAPPLANT might be a bit thirsty after all that prybaring, and should be looking into packing some POWERTHIRST elixirs. ZAPPLANT loves SHOCKOLATE.