Guild Wars 2

…and it seems to me that because of the stability changes, engi will have a couple new options (especially barring a potential slick shoes nerf). yeah i know there are good frontline builds out there already, but i really think the stab changes are gonna bring something entirely new to the table. slick shoes wasnt a viable option because it didnt eat stab! but now… it does that better than having 10-15 people all place a cc on the melee train. you can have 2-5 people dedicated to frontline chaos and save those other ccs for trapping stabless miscreants instead of eating their stab.

first i was thinking about this. the purpose of this build is to basically pop everything and faceplant yourself into a melee train. if about 2-3 engis do this at the same time, there cant possibly be enough stability in tyria. the entire melee train will start slipping around on bananas like looney tunes. the entire rest of the build (besides rockets boots and slick shoes) is dedicated to helping you stay alive after committing a kamikaze act.

here are some big points:

• sentinel/nomad gear cuz everyone else can do damage.
• power shoes cuz when it matters youre gonna have super speed, power shoes cant be stripped, and dat toughness/healing line. this build is about surviving after doing something thats usually really dumb, and there are already 2 really good traits in tools (which is not a tanking line) that you really want to have to help this build work and to add to your survivability.
• invis when immob’d, for free stealth when you might need it 2nd most (whats better than rocket booting into a zerg to slicky them all? doing it invisible with S toolbelt!).
• melandru + leg mods + -duration food so your free stealth actually lets you escape!
• a 2nd S at 25% to tell you to GTFO NOW. master minor in tools to get a reset on your stealth and another stunbreak when you really need to run.
• now, you dont really want a rifle… jump shot is an acceptable mobility and tagging tool that definitely shouldnt be overlooked, but i have a feeling that hammer is going to be way better if hammer is not limited to being specialized and/or specializing doesnt somehow wreck the build. im sure swinging a hammer around a bunch for as long as possible will be a lot better for tagging, because who doesnt want loot. slicky doesnt hit them, it only ccs, so its not gonna give you loot.
• you have tons of water fields, the single most wanted field (and no other bad fields!).

what isnt so great imo in this build:

• potent elixirs. the only other reasonable thing to take imo, is fast-acting elixirs, so you can be ready for the next push sooner. however, i know for a fact people count to 3 and do things immediately as you unshrink, because i do it. the extra 1/2 second on your 2 S’s may trick gank squads that are watching you. sadly, backpack regen (the obvious choice for this slot) isnt an option.
• you dont have a kit. kits are love. kits are life.
• gadget traits suck. i took the only one worth taking. anet, gimme another.
• im iffy on crate. X might be wayyyyy better. requires testing.

i like to think this could potentially be a commander build. it has plainly excessive defenses. it has target drops. you can call your own waters. you get to choose the moment to suicide dive the melee train with instant reaction, and not a 3 second delay because you had to ask for it. it only lacks stability, which can be well covered by always partying 2 guards/revs and slotting elixir X, but i think a good group could roll with the commander being pulled while running this and entirely turn it around!

now, that sounds great and all right… but i said a couple new options right! so here is the other thing i was thinking of.

i feel like there is a whole lot more choice with this build. a lot less is clearly defined:

• you want to have some damage as front line, and not just be pure tank the same way a suicidal build or a commander build would be, which means knight or soldier gear, potentially a couple zerk pieces. you really need to find a balance between tankyness and damage thatll work for you.
• further on that point, there are 6 different runes slotted in there. i feel like those could all be viable. each offers something a little different (though hoelbrak and melandru are fairly similar).
• if you dont like healy bombs, another excellent option for those 2 points would be kit refinement. with only 1 kit, you can be reasonably aware of what kit refinement will do when, and youre taking slicky to strip stab and create mayhem so you can be reasonably certain the magnetic bomb will pull targets! additionally, youll get a reset on your stunbreak.
• on that stunbreak note, you have another really good food option in addition to lemongrass poultry — saffron bread combos with the other damage reduction traits, while still providing -condi duration. however, note that saffron bread and stabilized armor interact poorly with stunbreaks in general and just be aware that maybe breaking the stun isnt the best action.
• healy bombs could also be dropped for self regulating defenses. sometimes you just need to get out!
• stabilized armor could be swapped for cloaking device. target drops help.
• my final point on diverse choice, rifle vs hammer again. i lean towards rifle in this instance. your job isnt to be the first one in and last out. youre gonna be helping trap and clean up enemies. rifle 2 and 4 are perfect for that. 5 gives some mobility. 1 gets a couple tags from long range. will hammer have something more interesting? maybe. dont know yet. #hype. but rifle seems like a really good fit.

as for the playstyle… well basically you follow your commander as close as possible and predict him saying “bomb here” and put slicky down there as hes saying it. youve got water for water calls. you have fire for buff calls. you have really strong, aoe, stab-eating cc (and on much shorter cd than veil, which demands a niche of its own)! i think theres a place for that now that stab isnt just plug and play. chaining 2 slick shoes will straight up be the death of melee trains. which means there is room in a pug zerg, and there may be room in a gvg.

…now im gonna go gather up some gear for this. IM SO PSYCHED!

this is terrible :P
you want engi to become blob-utility-man like mesmer but with only 1 usefull skill?

its actually pretty fun to rocket boots into a zerg

And rallybring when immobilized super fun

At the moment i am trying this build http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fdAQJAqelUUpzr1XxPLseRicBNqtEyTsQRGxj8xCEAA-T1xHwAc2fIwDAYv6P/U+1UJIgTAwX9AAA-w for Front line CC in a melee Group.

I have been running something similar for the last couple of days, albeit mainly in EOTM.

I have something pretty close to the second build you linked, although I’ve gone for throw mine instead of rocket boots. Just for giggles, I also traited accelerant-packed turrets. The amount of CC is absurd – slick shoes burns through a few stacks of stabs, while mine, shield (x2), heal turret, big ol’ bomb and supply crate all knock a few more points off. The mine has the boon-stripping as a nice bonus.

It is a lot of fun – I’ve found the slick shoes to be great for not just stab stripping the front-liners, but also for using super speed to run down stragglers as the opposing group pulls back.

Also, if you’re feeling a bit less kamikaze, you can bring plenty of utility to the group with might stacking, healing bombs, blinds etc

I’m going to give it a shot in some proper BL/EB zerg v zerg action – I will probably end up needing to re-jig for more survivability. But hopefully I can keep the skill setup, its awesome to be able to bring the same CC potential as 2 or 3 hammer frontliners

Just re-reading insanemaniac’s post – I think I will give kit-refinement a shot too. As you say, only one kit – and no speedy kits – means you can time the kit switch to place the magnet bomb.

MOAR CC!

Dimes.6024:

And rallybring when immobilized super fun

you dont at all. cloaking device and duration reduction prevents it pretty well.

Haralin.1473:

At the moment i am trying this build http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fdAQJAqelUUpzr1XxPLseRicBNqtEyTsQRGxj8xCEAA-T1xHwAc2fIwDAYv6P/U+1UJIgTAwX9AAA-w for Front line CC in a melee Group.

i really really like earth runes, its what i decided too on while scrounging together gear tonight. i still think the others can find justification just as easily, and i might try a couple of the other cheapo ones.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fdAQFAUlUUpPrlcx+KseNiaBF6omxAIyrklPGhDA-T1BEABMp8TR1fA4BA8wFAIm9HcTHwWKBJFATatA-w
For frontline you need some dmg, but also a way to survive. This build gives a lot for that. Stealth pulling to get necros into forntline by surprise. Block every 20 secs if needed, 2.5k power yet 2.8k armor and 21.5k hp.
You could bring slick shoes now due to the chance, having the knock down will remove 12 stacks of stab if they run into all of it.

Earth runes look nice, does the magnetic aura proc help? I was worried that 20% was too low for it to help much, and might compete with self-regulating defenses.

My typical go-to for cheap survival runes are Runes of the Dolyak.

The magnetic aura is just a gimmick i want the +20% protection duration.

i believe that this is the effect your going for?

Tor.1365:

Earth runes look nice, does the magnetic aura proc help? I was worried that 20% was too low for it to help much, and might compete with self-regulating defenses.

My typical go-to for cheap survival runes are Runes of the Dolyak.

theyre definitely for the protection, but the reflect helped a couple times i think. its pretty hard to tell. but its really nice that it has a different threshold from S @ 25%, so you gtfo when you shrink, and if a stray thing hits you after you grow you most likely already have protection and you get reflects on top of that.