Guild Wars 2

Engineer is my only alt. I love it and I have been playing it since beta. Mostly WvW. Actually only WvW.

Recently, with the big 10th December update, I realized that during this time playing as an engineer – some traits have never found a place in my builds. Reasons are diverse, but mostly is because they where broken or just lacking in synergy.

Here is my list.

Empowering Adrenaline Get a damage bonus when endurance is not full.
Acidic Elixirs Thrown elixirs cause damage when they land and remove a boon.
Autodefense Bomb Dispenser Drop a smoke bomb whenever you are disabled (stun, daze, knockdown, knockback, launch, float, sink, or fear).
Infused Precision You have a chance to gain swiftness on critical hits.
Go for the Eyes Critical hits with rifles have a chance to inflict blindness.
Autotool Installation Turrets are self-repairing.
Rifled Turret Barrels Turrets deal more damage and have a longer attack range.
Metal Plating Reduces damage dealt to turrets.
Acidic Coating You have a chance to inflict blindess [sic] on enemies that strike you with melee attacks.
Blood Injection Gain condition damage based on your vitality.
Always Prepared Drop bandages when downed. Downed damage is increased.
Kit Refinement Equipping a kit creates an attack or a spell., Activate a fire shield that burns enemies who strike you, granting might for each burn applied., Leave a trail of glue behind you that hampers enemy movement., Set a timed charge that pulls nearby foes., Drop a mine that deals damage to enemies that trigger it., Run at double speed., Become surrounded in a magnetic shield that reflects projectiles.
Scope Gain critical-hit chance against targets farther away.
Armor Mods Gain aegis when critically hit.

What is your list?

All turret traits and Always Prepared

I would love to see more engineers answering this topic, the veterans may not see it but it is a vauable source for newcomers.

Scope: Gain critical-hit chance against targets farther away.
Armor: Mods Gain aegis when critically hit.

Only trait i’ve never used would have to be acidic elixirs.

explosives:
smoke bomb, accelerant packed turrets, exploit weakness, empowering adrenaline, acidic elixirs

firearms:
go for the eyes, rifled barrels, infused precision, sitting duck,

the entire inventions tree

alchemy:
automated response, self regulating defenses, acidic coating

tools:
armor mods, leg mods, scope, packaged stimulants, deployable turrets, always prepared

I have used them all, but most of it was academic, because I was confirming or updating the wiki page.

Honestly though, I am seeing some traits listed and shaking my head. Because some of the traits I am seeing listed as having never used are good ones. Not saying they are must haves, but you should have at the least, used it just to see for yourself, what it does.

Given the almost nonresistant cost of respecing, there really is no reason not to have tried them to experience for yourself, how they work or feel when applied in actual combat.

just because you don’t use a trait doesn’t mean it’s not good. some traits fit certain play styles you don’t enjoy playing.

ellesee.8297:

just because you don’t use a trait doesn’t mean it’s not good. some traits fit certain play styles you don’t enjoy playing.

I agree. My point was, how do you know how useful a trait is or is not if you have never used it?

I would advise every engineer player, to at least go to the mist, where respecing is 100% free and test them all in small battles against the misc. AI controlled classes.

I mean lets take you specifically for example. You very specifically point out that you have never even used a single skill in the inventions tree here, yet in another thread you say

the inventions tree is poopy

Yet here you confess to never having used a single skill in the tree at all. So how do you know they are “poopy” as you put it?

I have seen you specifically discuss specific skills in other threads, skills that you list here as having never used. To make post exclaiming how bad a skill is or how much someone should never use it, when you yourself have pointed out that you have never so much as even experimented with it is a fairly toxic pattern of forum behavior in my opinion.

i have used mostly every trait including the inventions tree. i listed the traits i don’t use as per the thread. i don’t like the inventions tree because i need all 70 points for other things. that’s how i play my engineer. if by some miracle i start to enjoy playing bunkers i’d start putting points into inventions.

ellesee.8297:

. i listed the traits i don’t use as per the thread.

The title is “What engineer trait have you never used?”

It says never not prefer or like.

The ones I never use. (Tho I did give every trait a chance at least once)

Always Prepared To what? die? The 50% damage bonus is wasted on auto attack and you never get to use booby trap anyways. Might be more useful if it at least cut the cd on down stuff by 20% to at least be able to use #3

Speedy Gadgets Not enough decent gadgets to go with it. Effect a little on lame side.

kit refinement So sad now.

Autodefense bomb dispenser : Its situational in the sense that in only works against melee. I would rather have a grandmaster trait that works against both melee and ranged, otherwise it just feels…bad as a grandmaster trait. Makes a decent master trait tho

Auto defense bomb dispenser-I can make a smoke field on demand with the bomb kit. Just seems pointless for a gm trait to make a smoke field on stun etc… I don’t care for the on stun etc… traits of any class.

Armor mods- Even with the dec 10 patch I don’t think I will ever use this gm trait. 6 seconds of aegis just would never beat out 50% endurance regen increase.

Any trait dealing with turrets. They die way to fast and have to long a cooldown to be useful.

Precise sights- 50% chance for 1 statack of vuln for 3 secs on a crit is next to useless

Always prepared- Traiting for anything expecting to be downed is fail.

All turret traits. I’ve never run a turret build so I’ve never tried these out.
Acidic Elixirs
Autodefense Bomb Dispenser
Napalm Specialist
Most of the Inventions line. I don’t WvW or PvP often so I’ve never needed to bunker.
Acidic Coating
Automated Response
Always Prepared
Leg Mods
Armor Mods

After checking carefully of all the traits, I can safely say that the ONLY trait I never used, or ever intend to use, is Acidic Elixirs.

There are other traits that are slightly more lackluster than the most, but sometimes out of reasons such as just for fun, or when you simply had no better choice, you may still pick them up.

Acidic Elixirs however, I fail to see any usefulness out of it.

The damage sucks, and only remove 1 boon, which is something hard for you to control if enemy has multiple boons up. If I really want to have boon-ripping ability, what reason should I use this over just taking Throw Mine/Mine Field?

Also, in the first place what thrown elixir would you even sacrifice for this pitiful trait?

Toss Elixir S? You want to waste a 42~60s CD stealth skill for the effect?
Toss Elixir B? You want to waste a 4s stability skill for the effect?
Toss Elixir R? Please tell me you’re joking…well, to be fair if enemy only has stability on and you’re about to go down, then it may be useful, but what are the chances?
Toss Elixir U? How would this even work? Unlike other thrown elixirs being AoE effect, this thing’s a freaking line…good luck hitting moving enemy with that.

Now that only leaves Toss Elixir C/H. Toss Elixir C still has its usefulness, so I would still call it a waste to use it on your enemy instead of on yourself.

I have no objection of using Toss Elixir H with Acidic Elixirs, since this skill is just so random that you wouldn’t rely on it.

So then, you basically only has one useless elixir skill to work with this pitiful trait, which Engineer on their right mind would take this? -_-

It is just too pathetic even for an Adept trait.

Blizt.3086:

After checking carefully of all the traits, I can safely say that the ONLY trait I never used, or ever intend to use, is Acidic Elixirs.

There are other traits that are slightly more lackluster than the most, but sometimes out of reasons such as just for fun, or when you simply had no better choice, you may still pick them up.

Acidic Elixirs however, I fail to see any usefulness out of it.

The damage sucks, and only remove 1 boon, which is something hard for you to control if enemy has multiple boons up. If I really want to have boon-ripping ability, what reason should I use this over just taking Throw Mine/Mine Field?

Also, in the first place what thrown elixir would you even sacrifice for this pitiful trait?

I dont think that trait was intended to be used offensively, I figured its just a bonus for using your elixirs in combat. Like tossing elixir b while fighting since your boons ran out. So you drop it on yourself for the boons and it just so happens to hurt enemies near you as a bonus

Just curious;

Does “Autodefense Bomb Dispenser” —-—— Drop a smoke bomb whenever you are disabled (stun, daze, knockdown, knockback, launch, float, sink, or fear).————- work with Rifle#4 ? The one that you knockback both you and target ?