(edited by Moderator)
Thinking of making an engineer (PVE)
I’m a human engy, but I’m running rifle / flamethrower / turrets. Unconventional and not the most optimal, but grenade lobbing’s just too boring.
I LOVE supply crate, though. It’s a good tool for holding down a point or softening up a boss. The turrets are AI controlled, so you can’t juice or destroy them, but with the Explosive Turrets trait they will explode and do damage when clobbered.
The engineer won’t often be able to get more damage, support, or control than another class. However, an engineer can roll with a very decent amount of all 3 in a single build, which only the elementalist can really do. Engineers are really the best utility class, as they can bring something for every situation packed into one single build
1. Honestly, I wouldn’t plan much. I went into it thinking I’d use grenades and bombs all the time, but it turned into me using rifle and gadgets, mostly. I would try it before you try to plan a build. Bombs can be kinda irritating to use.
2. I wouldn’t agree about the burst.. or the damage. Engineers aren’t exactly consistent, with our condition build being less than satisfactory at the moment (seems on par with every other condition build though .. unloved). However, engineers are all about adapting to situations. It’s not just about maximum DPS.
3. AI.
4. Pretty sure they fixed this in the last patch. Could be wrong.
5. Nope. Maybe once or twice to say “Hey look what I got!!” But .. most people never touch it. Charr and Asura fit the role of an engineer really well. I picked human just because the armor looks better on them.. and in the end, looks are all that matters from a race.
6. Honestly, the best name generator I’ve ever found was not a name generator at all, but a word creator. It gave me my engineer name, “Thwackstat”. http://www.randomwordmachine.com/ I have a lot of fun with it.
Grenades are not that good before you get the Grenadier trait which is level 60+.
I think you’ll have a much smoother experience with Rifle or Pistol/Pistol and Elixirs, plus maybe Flamethrower to tag foes during events until you hit level 60.
2.) There are some crazy builds for all professions; I’ve seen both Elementalists and Engineers burst for something like 20k+, but overall Engineers can properly do it more consistently and with less sacrifices.
Just for dungeons alone, changing your utility skills alone which can result in completely different play-style for engineers without the need to change your traits is definitely a plus.