Guild Wars 2

Dear engineer community,

lately I have had some troubles to deal with the Engineer condition roamer builds, especially when they team up. I believe you guys have a famous setup for that for I have no clue about engineer builds. I play myself mostly a Power Mesmer.

Now the actual problem: I have no issues with the damage output. For a long time I can handle the conditions. However, I have a problem with the CC and the defensive abilities like leaping away or blocking. I have the feeling engineers have huge access to such abilities. However, that perception could be biased, because I have not so much experience in dealing with good Engineers. If I can’t take down the engi within a few seconds, I most of the time lose a prolonged fight, if that engi is any good.

So my question is, if you guys could tell me, how I best deal with those Engineers, if there are some weaknesses that I could exploit and if my perception is right, that engineers have so much access to offensive CC and defensive “avoid damage” abilities.

Hey, as a Mesmer you lack a decent amount of Condition removal without setting up for it however there are a few tricks you can use vs Engineers.

First, it depends on the skill level of the Engineer, the class is easy to play(Grenades?) but hard to play well. Remember that.

Greatsword is your best friend when fighting an Engineer, that weapon will counter 80% of Engineers until they learn how to deal with it. Engineer has a decent amount of survivability but the Mesmer Greatsword is extremely gifted at kiting, try and keep range and knock them back or teleport while your illusion and auto attack kill him. If you can try and remove his might asap. Remember to not fall into a confusion bomb, even without perplexity we can get 12-14 stacks of confusion on you. Watch out for the magnet animation and if they stealth get distance to avoid the pull.

If the engineer is leaping a lot or blocking then they are probably using Tool Kit and Elixir Gun/Rocket Boots. If they leap forward then they are using the boots, in which case they are going to be more hit and run oriented, whereas the Elixir Gun gives them more survivability. Because of the versatility of the Engineer class it is hard to pin down any one build, but try and keep Engineers away and kite them. Also Interupts.

Thanks for the hints. I am using GS already, but recapitulating the last fight with an engineer, I realize that he was very close to me, because I switched to sword/focus and wanted to pull → immobilize him and shatter burst him down. He but broke somehow free from the immobilize, if I remember right, and my shatter went into thin air^^ so I was stuck for a brief time on S/F and tried to melee him… that might have been my death sentence there

I’ll try to put your hints into practice. Thanks again, it is very appreciated.

Just PU condi cheese the Engi right back. At worst it’ll end up being a draw.

I don’t like PU… way too defensive. I could survive, but I wanna kill stuff.

I run glass canon for a reason

Just keep your distance with a greatsword. I can’t remember a fight where I won vs a well played greatsword mesmer. It completely hard counters me.

is it engy or mesmer forum???

Dredd Spirit Caller.4082:

is it engy or mesmer forum???

Being the supreme class it is our duty to attempt to help the other class “peasants”.

Really the key is to stay out of melee range because that is where both Bomb and Nade engi’s sweet spot is. Yes we do have a good amount of damage avoidance skills, but there is a limit.

Preacher

Hey, could anyone link me to a cookie cutter version of this condition build? I took a hiatus from this game and want to get back into WvWvW, any help is appreciated.

This is the rough basics. I’ve seen some variations with the last 20 skill points, but these are the main ones. anything i left blank is because those slots are really up to preference, and will depend what you will be doing with the build (SPvP or WvW)

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vcAQJAqOlUUpPrlch1LSiRF6MoC5VUh8/RBAYLA-zEBBYhBMFtIasqbY6YER1AA-w

Preacher

ah thanks a lot. Anything special I need for wvwvw roaming specifically?

Mobility.

Preacher

Also remember that engineers commonly have a lot of projectiles as part of their offensive skills, so any projectile blocks/reflects may be quite helpful against some engineers. For instance, all the attacks on the rifle aside from jump shot are considered projectile attacks, so using a focus with the reflect trait and phantasmal warden as well as feedback and reflect on distortion can prevent you from being CC’ed (and possibly cause the engineer to CC themselves).

If the engineer seems to be boon or condi-based, arcane thievery is also a nifty little thing you can whip out. Engineers can sometimes build up a lot of might stacks as well as protection, regeneration, and swiftness, so stealing those things while throwing back confusion, burning, and poison can really turn things around. It’s also unblockable, so you can hit them with it basically for free if they pull out the gear shield. It can be a bit hard to fit on the utility bar though.

You can also try incorporating some more stealth or stun breakers in the build to help prevent the engineer from being offensive (i.e. decoy and blink).

I feel the glass-canon shatter type mesmers or what have you tend to be at a disadvantage against your typical engineer, so you just have to make sure to outplay them and not overextend yourself.

Yamsandjams.3267:

Also remember that engineers commonly have a lot of projectiles as part of their offensive skills, so any projectile blocks/reflects may be quite helpful against some engineers. For instance, all the attacks on the rifle aside from jump shot are considered projectile attacks, so using a focus with the reflect trait and phantasmal warden as well as feedback and reflect on distortion can prevent you from being CC’ed (and possibly cause the engineer to CC themselves).

actually…
if youre fighting against a decent player, be careful about your reflects against power engis cuz (for example) ill take the opportunity to pull → pry bar → rifle 3/5 → spam grenades at your feet and none of it will get reflected unless a stray rifle auto works its way into whatever parts of that rotation arent on cd. so just… well.. expect to still get hit and be happy if the engi is a baddy or you predict his net shot. the engi may also try to use eg 4 or random flamethrower skills if they have either of those kits. or throw mine or battering ram.

basically, just be aware that a smart player knows what skills he can use to not get reflected, and that engis have a lot. the only thing reflects will really save you from is rifle’s cc and autos, not its burst.

on the other hand, against a condi build… main hand pistol skills all get reflected and reflecting a static shot will really help you, but again nades/bombs/prybar wont get reflected.