Guild Wars 2

Just curious as why other people play engi.

Is it because is in the PvE meta for dps?
Is it because of the flavor of using explosives and flamethrowers instead of swords and sticks?
Is it because of the versatility? Being able to use the right tool for the job and swapping between kits?
Is it because of the lore and the story?
Is it because of the looks?

For me is a bit of the lore (I love being a sylvari researching the world and puting my research to use agains the elder dragons), the versatility (I love that all challenges I find I can always think of how to overcome it) and the looks/flavor (I love to shoot things with a plasma riffle or pistols and bomb it with granades or mortars)

I know I’m speaking for the whole crew here when I say :
To hate anet and always complain on the forums about how bad the class is

/69 salts

I dislike meta-gameplay at all and I do not do PvP. That are the two major reasons why I rarely post on this board.

The engineer is mostly considered a weak, rather uesless joke class with tons of toys and none of them work properly – compared to true dps classes. This grants me the freedom to try out a lot and use plenty of skills&traits which are considered to be useless/weak/buggy. Although I play this class for years now, I find something new nearly every week. More knowledge allows better synergy. The ability of adaption to constantly changing environments and combats is the major reason for me to stick with the class. I enjoy it everyday and it still is my only main.

Mostly because I got Hope, but also to sometimes kitten off WvW commanders moaning about guardians and necros.

Because of the versatility.

I love playing with a bunch of kits, there always seems to be room for lots of (mechanical) improvement. I think I was lucky that I chose engineer as my first class and that the class exists alltogether, I doubt this game would have held my intrest for as long as it did otherwise (the playstyle of other classes bore me).

Because it is fun and I enjoy technology type classes in games.

Also the general design for Engineer allows it to have more possible creative Elite Specs for the future compared to the other Professions limited by their classic theme that have been established from generations of fantasy theme games.

Versatility and activity. Kit builds being the most active play there is, but we also have other options and can aide in every aspect. I do think we lack a strong support role, we have options and we can help, but I’d love to see us get something strong like Druid, PS War, or Chrono for the next Elite spec.

It’s not my favorite profession but it’s the only one that I feel completely comfortable with. There aren’t any skills, rotations, builds, etc. that I feel confused about or have difficulty using. It all just comes naturally and it’s one of the bigger reasons I enjoy Engineer.

Besides that, it’s because Engineer feels like a bunch of classes mixed in to one. From build to build, playstyles change so drastically that I feel like I’m playing a different class at times. I enjoy that I can keep myself entertained with the profession because if I get bored of a build, I can switch to something else and get a whole new feel.

Also, I just really love active professions/builds that require high APM. Every so often I’ll play with 4 kits at once just because I find it engrossing.

Is it because of the flavor of using explosives and flamethrowers instead of swords and sticks?
Is it because of the versatility? Being able to use the right tool for the job and swapping between kits?

these, and i guess looks somewhat too

why I play engineer?
Because I am a mechanical engineer

Because Engineer is fun. Why else?

I play Engie due to the fact Anet neglects it so immensely!!!!!! Someone has to show it love! Anet —-—-I know you don’t like the Engineer compared to every other profession. Oh well. Too bad. It’s your creation and it’s not going away. So get it together! And show it some well needed attention! Get it? Got it? Good! pffft!

i played engi back when it was a ton of fun, not a hammer spam bore fest.

If honestly, 1 reason, Engineer has been kept me so entertained that i have not felt the need of make another class at all, the only feeling is the forced need of have multiple classes in raids, but that’s not even enough for keep me away from my engi.

I just simply find it so sastysfing how it is to kill bosses or other players with engineer, (except with hammer), melting mobs with condi engi, or destroying other players with rifle.

The engi gameplay has kept me so entertained that i will only create others for the sake of raids, thats it.

i started playing it cuz its the only sciencey class in a mostly fantasy game and im a sci fi kid.

i got good at it and stuck with it because it was really good for 3 years, even when no one actually wanted them around over 4 war 1 mes or any of the other lowest common denominator metas. when hot launched, it wasnt really left behind dps wise, but it was forgotten with regard to group utility and how easy other classes are to play, meaning lots more effort for same reward. and that made me branch out to every class and become competent at nearly everything instead of just remaining content with engi.

A poster in these forums called Hawks said it in the more simple and clear way I could imagine: “Only problem with the Engineer is that it makes every other class in the game boring to play.”
Even neglected, non meta and buggy, Engie is just extremely fun.

Because things explode.

Because it’s the only profession that does not bore me after playing longer than half an hour.

For me I’d say it’s the fact, as long as you don’t do blunt power bomb 1 spam, this class keeps me busy all the time and the versatility kits and toolbelt offer me, compared to quite some other classes who keep their few hardhitters on cooldown in the right order and watch how 50-60% of their overall dps comes from boring auto attack channeling.

Engi rocks. (as long as you dont do bombkit 1 spam <.<)

Jack of all traits, master of none some.

Most versatile profession there is, hardest profession to play, accordingly high skill floor. I love it. >:3

Really fun class to play that has a tool kit for every situation, I’m enjoying it a lot more than my warrior just by the amount of skills I get to manage. And much easier to level up than my mesmer.

Boom?

Famine.7915:

Boom?

HERE COMES THE BOOM

I’ve been playing Engi since the beta. I’ve tried the other classes but to me they aren’t as fun.

For me it is the guns and the gadgets, even tough i don’t get to use gadgets much :/ or the guns.. well i use em anyway as i mostly do world events.

Because of the versatility, especially in pvp. It did evolved a lot over time, but engineer/scrapper is the cls which seems able to adapt the more to every situations, with any ally, against any opponent, if well played.

While playing scrapper, I never say to myself “I can’t manage this situation as a scrapper”. I may say “I failed to do this right” (like when I moa a reaper at the wrong moment) or “My build was wrong” (like when I prefer blast gyro over purge and die by condi dh).

Each time I tried another cls (but I didn’t tried thief neither ranger), I enjoyed it and loved its own specificity once mastered, but I always end up to admit I was weak in some common situations, with no solution as changing my build bring others problematics situations.

100% stability uptime. :P

The ability to provide solution to every problem. With some knowledge and adjustments you can fill any role, provide anything except portals. Engi is the wizard of GW2. But once you taste this freedom of choice, all these other professions feel “meh”.

Science-ish theme is not for me though. I think it is weird to have an old school knight or a magic user, and a dude armed with a grenade kit and a flame thrower together.

alain.1659:

The ability to provide solution to every problem. With some knowledge and adjustments you can fill any role, provide anything except portals. Engi is the wizard of GW2. But once you taste this freedom of choice, all these other professions feel “meh”.

Science-ish theme is not for me though. I think it is weird to have an old school knight or a magic user, and a dude armed with a grenade kit and a flame thrower together.

We’re in GW2 technology and engineering can match magic, just look at magitech and all the technological wonders like Omadd’s machine which has answered almost all of the lore questions for years.

As for filling any role, I would have agreed before HoT or possibly before the great trait rework. Simply we cannot keep up with healing/support roles. We can provide might and decent fury, but that’s just not nearly enough to be a support role anymore. EA/Banners are huge as is GoTL, but we can’t come close to that. Nor can we match the might production of a PS simply auto attacking (granted they don’t just do that but still…). We cannot match healing of a Druid (coming with damage support through various buff), or an Ele (fanstastic healing capabilities) or even a guardian (near druid healing capabilities but no buffs).

In the end we can be a DPS or we can go with a “tanky” build to hold agro while doing Far less for the group than the alternatives (Popular options being Mez primarily but druid works too). So we’re basically a singular role, DPS.

Likewise in WvW you have some different variation, but still, an Engi is DPS with some utility (stealthing downed allies, rezzing downed allies or stomping foes, revealing stealthed eneimies, and Damage). If I were to believe the versatility argument I’d expect something like Toss Elixir B to have a 600 radius so I can actually contribute to Stab, or Med Kit’s 5 skill having a group effect giving resistance to all. Or, maybe purge gyro not being complete kitten.

Fact is our versatility and variety is ancient and no longer really applicable because so many things have been added. When Ele’s were the primary source of might we could “compete” for presence there, but that’s not the case anymore.

I’d really like to see Engi’s become that versatile jack of all trades profession again, but that would require a lot of work. Namely we need a bit more potential on actual healing, and we need more potential with that in the offensive/defensive boon area to support.

We just need a lot of work, and the thing is it could be totally through systems that exist. I would rather they fix our diminishing role of the variation role than a new profession. Do it with an elite spec and…whatever, as long as we get that role back.

I want to be a quality addition to every group, even if not ideal, as long as we are a strong second choice I’d be happy.

Well like I said, science stuff is not for “ME”, especially if mixed with old school sword and magic. But there are also things that I do not like in GW2 lore. But that is me.

I would want a good engi over any other profession when roaming . You can do everything with preparation and timing. You are right, there are professions that can do everything better, but they cannot do all of them by themselves.

Reveal, reflects, heals (proper blast and some healing power, inventions trait line) , cc, point defense, ranged aoe, several fields and blasts, pull, invul, push etc. Engi has so many options when she has the time to adjust.

Engi is not in the best spot right now, it is true. But the question was “why do you play engi” and these are my reasons. I can provide a unique support to my team. I can do many things if I can time it right. I cannot win every fight but it is fun. And fun is my goal here.

ps: do not get me wrong, engi still needs a bug fix and a skill rework. But that is the general problem in this game. No bug fixes and no proper balance patches.

Totally agree, versatility is still a major reason I play Engi, but it’s just I’m disappointed. When I first played engi he was decently strong in the various roles at the time. As time went on we got things like PS warrior rending our might production weak, and then healing specs like druid/tempest that again makes that area of our play weak. Then there’s the shared quickness, alacrity, and things like GoTL that we just can’t touch.

I’d like the feeling of actually being a jack of all trades back is all I’m getting at. Even if I feel versatile, I can’t actually fill various roles, just play DPS while helping at various roles. I just miss being able to fill in everywhere, I miss replacing the Ele for might stacking or pulling out the random fortified turrets to lock down reflects. Those were a big deal back in the core game, but they just aren’t enough anymore when you compare to true support roles.

alain.1659:

Science-ish theme is not for me though. I think it is weird to have an old school knight or a magic user, and a dude armed with a grenade kit and a flame thrower together.

To me, magic actually serves to explain the anachronisms.

Magic users could already throw gouts of flame (or other effects) equivalent to a flamethrower, or cast explosive spells at range that are equivalent to grenades or a portable mortar. In fact, in the lore, the Iron Legion developed technology so they could compete with enemies who made more use of magic (humans and Flame Legion).

Regarding the old school knights – historically, they became obsolete because their armour could no longer stand up to the weapons that were being used. In a world where exotic metals exist that possibly outperform modern metallurgy, and those metals can then be enchanted for greater toughness and protection against heat and other effects, it’s possible that they would continue to be viable up until the point where technology reached the point where melee combat just largely doesn’t happen. (Note that in the real world, this happened less than a century ago.)

I like to think it as 2 different paths people like to go for win power, both will do the job, but both are developed in different ways, requires different knowledge and a different type of experience.

Regardless of that, people select the one fits more to their style, magic or technology.

The mid term would be magitech, but theres not really a class that stands in mid term (Except asura golems wich are useless)

In gw2 lore they explained it well, and it made sense to me when I read it. But still I am an old fashioned guy it seems. A charr engi makes sense to me but a sylvari does not

By the way magitech would be really wonderful too. You guys in engi forum are very fun to speak to. This is a surprisingly civilized topic

alain.1659:

In gw2 lore they explained it well, and it made sense to me when I read it. But still I am an old fashioned guy it seems. A charr engi makes sense to me but a sylvari does not

By the way magitech would be really wonderful too. You guys in engi forum are very fun to speak to. This is a surprisingly civilized topic

I never liked that idea that Sylvari can’t be Engineers. Charr and Asura of course are the most fitting but an Engineer is just a well learned person, no innate physical requirements needed.

I can picture some disheartened Sylvari who lacks magical prowess and isn’t some physically gifted freak. That Sylvari travels to Rata Sum and learns about Elixirs, suddenly having an opportunity to boost themselves up to the physical level of those Warriors. Confident in this new power they begin to travel, stopping in Lions Arch where they see all these fully mechanical creations.

They spend time learning how to build and repair turrets as well as how to make gadgets like rocket boots and utility goggles, the perfect tools to keep up with those acrobatic thieves. Engrossed in these new discoveries they continue to tinker with other gadgets such as a defensive belt that launches any potential enemy away like a personal battering ram. After a time they meet a Charr who seems a little off. Turns out they are a demolitions expert, and they teach this Sylvari how to create mines, bombs, and grenades. This new friend also has a weird looking rifle turning out to be a Flamethrower. The Sylvari looks at these things and begins to wonder what else can be done.

After some time of tinkering they modify the pistol they brought from home to have a built in blowtorch as well as creating new incendiary rounds and poison dart rounds. They get a rifle and modify it with a variation of their rocket boots so they can use it to propel themselves. They continue to create various modified ammunition like an overcharged shot that will knock an enemy on their ass (though it has a bit too much kick).

So now this Sylvari who started out as basically a reject is walking around toting an kitten nal of deadly and useful tools that make them just as formidable a force as the best Elementalist or the hardiest Warrior. And it’s all thanks to a just educating themselves because of course knowledge is power.

Well, ArenaNet doesn’t seem to like the idea that sylvari can’t be engineers either. We’ve seen quite a few in the game – Scarlet, Aerin, arguably Canach, and probably more that I’ve forgotten.

It is an uncommon path, though. Most sylvari prefer professions that are closer to nature and/or magic (there are some dialogues that suggest that straight warriors are also rare, at least outside the Nightmare Court – it’s worth noting that the generic Wardens are rangers and elementalists). However, it’s entirely reasonable that some sylvari will have a fascination with machinery and how it all works that leads them to become engineers, or with how the various substances in the forest can be mixed and put to use leading to learning alchemy, including the making of explosives. In fact, I recall an interview where one of the devs suggested that a sylvari engineer might use a kind of biofuel in their flamethrowers, rather than the more conventional mineral oil based fuel likely used by the charr.

So, there’s nothing stopping a sylvari from becoming an engineer. However, their culture and values are such that those that do are typically oddballs, and that is reflected in sylvari NPCs – sylvari NPC engineers are rarer than most other professions.

Sylvari has a theme in my opinion. They are close to nature and they should instinctively protect it. The things an engineer does is for progress and invention. Their main aim is to invent, to build and to fix. But not everything they do goes well with nature. Their destructive power feels a little harmful to nature in my opinion. Bombs, mortars, constant oil throwing etc. These are all good inventions but they harm the environment.

Maybe because of their look, I always felt like sylvaris are close to nature not if a part of it. So they should protect and nourish rather than unintentionally hurt nature. (Although game does not show any harm being done to nature. These ideas are hypothetical and just personal opinion)

But again there are exceptions in every generality, and players want to play that exception rightfully.

alain.1659:

The ability to provide solution to every problem.

I bet you can’t provide a solution to a 1v1 scenario against fresh air s/f elementalists.

Yes I can. Stealth, rocket boots, run away. Keep running until ele cannot be seen. Ta-daa. You had a problem, an elementalist, now you do not have a problem. Simple logic

alain.1659:

Yes I can. Stealth, rocket boots, run away. Keep running until ele cannot be seen. Ta-daa. You had a problem, an elementalist, now you do not have a problem. Simple logic

Haha, I knew you’d say that ^@^, I hope we get something (either buffs or a good elite spec) to give us a chance to win against elementalist focus :/