Guild Wars 2

Hi all,
I started a new engineer character. Well it’s still only lvl 15 and I already died more than I died on my first character (which is mesmer) in 80 lvls.
Is engineer squishy ?
I was wondering if it will get better when I level up more ?
what bonus stats I should use on it ? On my mesmer I have power/prec/%dmg build.
Wondering what will it the best build for engineer ?

I have also a problem with the Fast-ground targeting option. I activated it because it’s faster for some kits to use the skills. BUT I have a small problem with it ? How do I know If I am in range to use those skills If i hide the circle on the ground ?

All your remarks, tips, suggestions, etc … to improve my engineer playing experience are welcome.
thank you in advance

It will definitely get better, since engineer starts out with fewer skills due to limited weapon choice and no weapon swap. But as you level up you will unlock new kits and other useful utilities that will make life a lot easier for you!

at level 80, engineer is far from squishy.
even with full glass cannon gear (which I personally do not recommend though) you can get yourself a decent amount of survivability just from certain utilities, traits and right usage of your CC skills)

I would suggest you get Elixir S as soon as possible, both the toolbelt and the elixir itself serve as a “oh snap, I need to get away” skill, and there is also an early available trait in the alchemy line that triggers an Elixir S once you fall below 25% health.

When soloing and fighting single mobs, I suggest you start out by using the rifle to keep the enemy off you with net shot and overcharged shot.

When fighting multiple mobs, grenades come in handy and the chill and blind grenade help you to either slow mobs down and thereby keeping them at a distance or make them all miss their next attack, giving you some space to breath.

You can use grenades to effectively kill a larger group of PVE mobs by changing your view to uhm.. well view them from the top, use the right-click-mouse while pressing W or having Autorun on to run around them in circles and keep throwing grenades at them.
(Bit difficult to explain but easy to execute once you get it right, was an eye-opening discovery for me in my early levels as an engineer!)

I personally tried Fast-ground targeting but felt like its more valuable to actually know where you are hitting (sometimes the landscape can play you for a fool and it takes you a couple of seconds before you realize u arent actually hitting that mob but instead the small hill in front of it)

Hope this was a little bit useful, I can HIGHLY recommend giving engineer some time…
Engi was my first character but stopped leveling her at level 20, then switched to mesmer and levelled that one up to 80.
Only to come back to engineer, get her to 80 as well and since then I have never looked back!

Is engineer squishy ?

Yes engineer is a little squishy but if you feel you are dying too much try a using shield/pistol combo more often and also try to use the engis abilities to his favor like try kiting the mob while turrets eat the mob up etc.

Engineer lv 80

I almost never died until lvl up to 80, you just have to pull only 1 enemy or more when you use bombs or when you become the trait that pistol shots pierce. You will become so good to survive almost every situation except against players.

The Key is ALWAYS running around !

Thanks a lot Flaunz and Crisvok for your tips and suggestions.
So I will deactivate fast-ground targeting.

Still have few more questions concerning Flaunz post:
so you prefer grenade kit than bomb kit ?

I think I understood what you meant by thee kiting in circle thing. will try autorun tonight to see how it goes.

and you didn’t reply to my question, about stats ?
I was thinking of going for power/though/vit. If I have a good memory this set exist from AC tears.
Well I was going for toughness and vitality, because was feeling squishy. But at lvl 80, maybe it won’t be a good choice. What do you think about that ?

Hi Syrio, sorry was typing my reply when you posted yours.
Well indeed this is what I am trying to do. My problem comes mainly from long rang mobs (elem and ranger). If you keep running in circle they will end up hitting you because you ran out of endurance and can’t dodge anymore. Sometimes I think it will be better for those ranged mobs to be aggressive and go closer to them.
Much easier for melee mobs.

This video should answer your question nicely.

Thanks Dust,
This is indeed one nice video of a PVP engineer.
I am really curious to know what stats he’s using.

Define squishy. Are you pulling too many? Are you constantly on the move or trying to stand flat-footed and spam buttons (like some games).

I’d say the engineer is very situational in most builds outside of bunker. Especially in the beginning when your short on trait points You need to be aware and choose your fights.

Join a group when you can. And keep trying…it gets better.

I like rifle over pistols, btw. Mostly for the control it gives me over my opponents. I solo most of the time. There is a rifle / static build in these forums that I’ve been using for pve with a lot of success.

I also use it for WvW…but have beent thinking about doing some changes there. Maybe anyway..as I don’t pvp much as a rule.

P.S. Here is the thread with the rifle / static build…

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Chain-Lightning-Engineer-Build/first#post846752

zugly.9035:

Thanks Dust,
This is indeed one nice video of a PVP engineer.
I am really curious to know what stats he’s using.

He’s using full Soldiers, which is Power/Vitality/Toughness. It’s not all the viable for leveling though, as this stat combo is only available via WvW and at the end game (Orr karma vendors and the pieces cost 42k karma a piece).

The bottom line is, Engineers are fairly squishy early on, but that improves later in the game if you choose to add Toughness and Vitality to your gear.

I think that Engineers, like some other classes (e.g., Mesmer) have a really rough time pre-L40 because of the pivotal nature of their grandmaster traits. Because of this, a lot of advice on L80 farming gear doesn’t scale well down to pre-40s levels. So early on you need to have a bit more technique, and Engineer is not a low APM class.

My technique for leveling was different and I wanted to offer it, because I seldom see it done. It works early on and scales.

There are 2 variants, but both rely on flame and thumper turrets and pistol+shield (pistol+pistol will work fine too, shield is just such a magnificently versatile offhand). Use pistol and build for power and condition damage. The general technique is straightforward: rely on 1 turret per fight, and draw as many ads in as you can. Drop your turret and stand on it as enemies charge.

The flame turret can blind when you use its active ability, and that creates a smoke field that can also blind enemies struck by pistol shots. Its burn damage is a nice complement to your condition and power based DPS. The blinding helps offset the general squishiness (as does shield use).

The thumper turret is usable as an off-tank and CC assistant. Try to keep your pulls smaller when the thumper turret is out.

For facing down vets, you drop both turrets.

And remember to intelligently use your pistol 3 skill! It is a bouncing, long-duration AoE blind, and can be used to greatly improve your survivability when paired with other forms of CC. Use shield knockbacks and combo field blinds to keep the enemies from overwhelming. It’s not unlike thief blind tanking, if you’ve ever tried that.

Another secret to leveling that everyone should know is Sigils of Corruption and Sigils of Bloodlust. These are perfect for leveling and massively boost your stats very quickly. If you have watched a fellow low-level player absolutely melt a group of mobs and said, “I wonder how they do that. Maybe their class is OP?” the answer is probably Minor Sigils of Bloodlust.

As for traits as you go, it’s meaningless for this build except for stat points. With the exception of Explosives 1 and perhaps a few Tools traits, you’ll find very little that really helps early on.

@ KirinDave, re: traits

Speedy kits though…nothing like a quick strategic retreat or fast zone traverse…spamming medi-kit n toolkit.

Raf.1078:

@ KirinDave, re: traits

Speedy kits though…nothing like a quick strategic retreat or fast zone traverse…spamming medi-kit n toolkit.

Speedy Kits is so overrated for leveling. It’s fine, but once I get where I am going I turn it off. And I certainly think there are better traits to pick up first. If you have to retreat in PvE and you can’t do it by just running, it’s unlikely swiftness will make a difference anyways. A far better solution is to snare.

If this is for advice about leveling, then get thumper turret and put it on your bar, grab a rifle, then take the 20% rifle cooldown reduction. The pistol is all about condition application and the shield somewhat situation (great against things like dredge, kind of meh otherwise), but the rifle is all about spike damage and CONTROL, and thumper turret may not seem like much from the skill description but it is in essence an immobile hunter pet in terms of aggro control. You can solo any non-ranged mob in the game with thumper turret tank (it holds aggro for things in melee range of it very well), net immobilize, and overcharged shot. If you’re dealing with larger groups you may switch to an application of blinding grenades, and you can also use the flamethrower’s #3 or the ram knockback skill to push things away an additional time. Thumper can also be used to off-tank additional mobs while you power down something.

For escape in dungeons or PvP you may consider elixir S, though it’s not as useful out in the leveling field.

mine isn’t squishy at all, i use rifle, elixir b, s, and nade kit. you don’t need a shield to be tanky.

Depends entirely on your build as others have noted.

No more so then thief really. I play mine with shield pistol because i like to setoff those wall effects with my shield bubble while pushing enemies back and I like to as a charr use my hidden pistol toolbelt ability while under the effects of quickness.

It’s fun really, it does take some getting used to.

Only soft if you build soft, it is entirely possible to have great survivability.

The engineer isn’t more squishy than most other professions, but:

For some reason, engineers seem to draw more aggro from mobs than other professions. It’s hard to test, of course, but many people have noted it and in my experience it’s 100% true. Call it superstition, but mobs head straight for us.

Even in PvP, in the Forest of Niflhel, if one of my teammates starts attacking a boss and I come up behind him and start attacking the boss too, the boss will turn to attack me after I use my first skill.

Hi all,
thanks a lot for all you advices and tips. OK engineer is squishy at start, gets better later

@Raf: I always keep on moving, but my main problem comes from long ranged mobs. thanks a lot for the build you linked. I will try it
@Kirin: thanks a lot for explaining you leveling technique.
what do u mean by " Engineer is not a low APM class. "
Indeed, the description of Thumper Turret doesn’t show that it does a good job. Will give it a try

@Lego: thanks also for your tips. Thumper turret seems really worth trying

Do you mean Slick Shoes when you are talking about speedy kits ?

I still have few question concerning some skills:
Flamethrower kit: 1st skill of it is bugged? Most of the time I get misses when I use it while moving.
Bomb kit: I have the feeling that I wasted 3 TPs for a useless kit. Maybe I am using it wrong It seems you drop the bombs only where you are standing …

For leveling first 40points went to 10exp for bigger explosion range, 10fire arms for cd reduction, 10alchy for cd reduction and 10 tools for speedy/refinement/static.

Those traits I found to be most effective at lower levels. Grenades I only used underwater until hit 60 and got grenadier…

Yes bombs are dropped at your feet but you can kite easily/effectively with them. No need to face targets. Just run small circle and drop bombs + big ol’ and things die quite fast and relatively safely.

zugly.9035:

Hi all,
thanks a lot for all you advices and tips. OK engineer is squishy at start, gets better later

@Raf: I always keep on moving, but my main problem comes from long ranged mobs. thanks a lot for the build you linked. I will try it
@Kirin: thanks a lot for explaining you leveling technique.
what do u mean by " Engineer is not a low APM class. "
Indeed, the description of Thumper Turret doesn’t show that it does a good job. Will give it a try

@Lego: thanks also for your tips. Thumper turret seems really worth trying

Do you mean Slick Shoes when you are talking about speedy kits ?

I still have few question concerning some skills:
Flamethrower kit: 1st skill of it is bugged? Most of the time I get misses when I use it while moving.
Bomb kit: I have the feeling that I wasted 3 TPs for a useless kit. Maybe I am using it wrong It seems you drop the bombs only where you are standing …

Engineer definitely isn’t a ‘low APM class.’ What’s meant by that, literally, is actions per minute. The point being: engineer isn’t a class with which you can sit there and do extremely well at any single task. You’re not going to be able to sit there and facetank as well as a guardian or warrior, for example. How well an engineer does is very dependent on the player’s awareness of how the game works and how quickly you react to situations and use your abilities and skills to your advantage.

That’s not to say Engineers are squishy or flawed – Take a loot at the Tankcat build for WvW, linked here in the forums for an example of how well Engies can do in wPvP.

Speedy Kits is a major trait, I believe in the Tools trait line, granting 5 secs of swiftness when you switch to a kit.

And yes, Flamethrower 1, Pistol 4, and Elixir Gun 3 all use the same mechanics, and are slightly bugged. They do work reliably, but you must aim them, or else you will miss constantly. There are a few specific mobs in PVE that you will miss 100% with these abilities, regardless though… that’s indeed, a bug.

Bombs are indeed, dropped where you are standing.

Hope that helps a bit! And I have to agree – Engineers probably have the roughest time starting out while leveling… It was my third toon, and I honestly nearly gave up hope on the class several times. Now it’s one of my two 80’s and my main.

A class is only as squishy as you invest into toughness and vitality.

KirinDave.6451:

Raf.1078:

@ KirinDave, re: traits

Speedy kits though…nothing like a quick strategic retreat or fast zone traverse…spamming medi-kit n toolkit.

Speedy Kits is so overrated for leveling. It’s fine, but once I get where I am going I turn it off. And I certainly think there are better traits to pick up first. If you have to retreat in PvE and you can’t do it by just running, it’s unlikely swiftness will make a difference anyways. A far better solution is to snare.

To each their own…I like perma-swiftness.

Raf.1078:

KirinDave.6451:

Raf.1078:

@ KirinDave, re: traits

Speedy kits though…nothing like a quick strategic retreat or fast zone traverse…spamming medi-kit n toolkit.

Speedy Kits is so overrated for leveling. It’s fine, but once I get where I am going I turn it off. And I certainly think there are better traits to pick up first. If you have to retreat in PvE and you can’t do it by just running, it’s unlikely swiftness will make a difference anyways. A far better solution is to snare.

To each their own…I like perma-swiftness.

Being Elixir build, I have perma Swiftness, Fury, Regen, and Might. Most of the time I have Retal, Protection and Vigor too… But yeah, to each his own.

^ I’m with this guy. I don’t use speedy kits, between Elixir B, Throw Elixir B, and Elixir H I generally have all the swiftness I’ll ever need. Besides, I’d rather have Static Discharge or Kit Refinement than rely on speedy kits.

can you link your build please Halcyon ?
thanks in advance

More than other class: it depends how you spec. Engineer is a very versatile class and, as that tankcat spec shows, is capable of being extremely hardy as much as it is capable of ye olde glass cannon.