Guild Wars 2

Well i see a ton of threads talking about the issues so why not one more? The picture below is my engie for better or worse all lvl80 exotic berserker including the rifle plus emerald orbs in the armor since most runes are trash and my trinkets are masterworks. So far i have a high damage output and 50% crit chance. I have managed to 1v1 any class and beat them with thief being the worse to face off against.My build is 30 explosives,30 firearms,10 inventions. Now that being said i am getting into my thoughts on engie excluding pve since that is simple enough.

1)Weapons- We basically get three combos rifle, two pistols, and pistol/shield that is it for our main process and these play styles are so drastic we don’t even get a hot swap for it it’s like elementalist not having a hot swap either it’s stupid. I understand we get “kit weapons” but really how much do you use them and are they practical? Lets brake the main weapons and kits down.

A)Rifle- Honestly to me the only choice you have in any pvp(not saying it is for anyone else). The saddest thing is if this is our shining beacon of hope for engie we are kittened. This weapons is a sad excuse of a gun with our “range increasing trait” it goes to 1200 to which we are out ranged by a kittening longbow? How the he11? They(ranger) get 1500 range i don’t agree to this one at all but it needs to be stated.Our skills are a mesh up of confusion at best.We get 2 actual distance attacks, 2 short range attacks, and one flying attack that can be seen a mile away and hangs up in flight.Plus we have a torrent
of skills for that close range ordeal so we don’t need any in rifle.

Now granted i have found use for all these attacks as i am sure you have but considering the rifle is “suppose” to be a long range weapon for us why do we have skills that force us into melee? Now those close skills have saved me a few times but the thing is if the rifle was designed to be full distance i bet this would not be a issue.This weapon could have been and needs to be done better it’s a cruel joke.

B)Pistol Combos- So far i see very little reason to use these no matter what way you go. On the range issues again it’s very short you might as well be in melee range at 900 for most skills. They are basically condition damage weapons nothing really shines about them. The damage is not all that great and you have no real way to save yourself in a bad run in other then glue shot and it’s really not going to help you much.Now the shield it’s a help in a way but considering you are not really able to take hits it’s not a great ideal to use and is really getting 1 skill to protect you with a slow cool down and a Captain America shield toss worth it? Not really i don’t want to be any closer to the enemy then i need to be with paper armor thanks.

Ok to be fair going into kits i am starting by saying this yes i know they are for the most part not meant to be used for full time weapons.

C)Nades- Sure i use nades on the walls to deter people but using nades for anything other then that and volleying into a crowd is pointless. You have to aim them and hope they don’t dodge and usually i just keep it for the belt skill since it’s a fast drop at your feet if they are up on you in melee usually averages around 6k damage.

D)Bombs- Same as pistol we are paper thin i don’t want to be closer to the enemy then I need to be.They have a small explosions even with the increase range trait. The only way i see these being any use is as a retreating tool or maybe to shake a melee. Even then nades can still do this better considering it does not have a fuse timer and you can do more damage with nades. Honestly i see no point in wasting a slot of these lackluster fizzles.

E)Elixir Gun- Basically Rifle all over again with pistol range and style of condition damage with 1 possible attack to give a boon and a aoe heal. Plus i still don’t want to be that close to the enemy!

F)Flamethrower- While i won’t lie i love this weapon after all it’s a F’N flamethrower! Fanboydom of loving flamethrowers aside. this again kinda goes hand and hand with bombs,pistols, and the elixir gun AGAIN I DON’T WANT TO BE THAT CLOSE TO THE ENEMY WE ARE PAPER THIN!! I would rather use my rifle at close range for the damage and net then this.Plus you can’t use this and run away really well. Again better off with nades.

G)Tool kit- If you got this far and not read about pistol,bombs,elixir gun and flamethrower your a lazy kittener go back and read it. That aside this does do a lot of damage but the main attack is slow and we do not have the armor to compete in a melee fight with other melee.

H)Mortar- Yes this is a kit even though it uses the turret traits. It’s like the nades but less damage and you figure a mortar would have better range it doesn’t. basically used the same way as nades can be good for siege and protecting your tower and such but it’s short range and low armor will not let it last long. Only difference between the two is mortar has a heal and a good blowback. Nade kits can’t be destroyed and you can move around.

I am not getting into med kit. While i am at it turrets for the most part blow and need some love and it’s very well seen why they do.

I am also not even going to start in bugs/things not working that is a world of it’s own though I did make at least one shout about it i am sure.The other skills are self explanatory and really don’t need going into. I do play my engie every time i get on and i enjoy it for the most part but i still get kinda annoyed when this class has more potential to be fun and useful but yet we are broke in a lot of way and it seems like we are tossed together.Any thoughts? think i did not cover something or did not do something justice? let’s talk and see if they are willing listen to make us better. Also this is my wvw build attacks included

I think you should check this topic (which pretty much puts the same argument as you, even the name almost matches), in particular I suggest you check my answer… I know it’s a walltext but I feel it was the most complete one.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/My-opinion-about-Engineer

About Pistol: I must say they are only truly viable in a condition build but even so they are plently outdamaged by other classes, I mean it, you can’t expect to stack decent enough stacks of bleed with THAT condition duration and also keep in mind pistols=30 points wasted to get’em to pierce, which means that in order to compliment that you’d HAVE TO use critical gears and such ultimately ending up in a build that a lot of people use and it’s not truly your own, ’coz iz just easy to figure out.

About mortar: I actually wish this was edible pvp-wise, but the slow projectiles, the short time it spends AoEing after launching the skill and the LOW healthbar make it one of the worst, I mean… it IS useful… just on paper though, it obviously needs some rework, either shorten the CD and make the AoEs last longer while givin it a DECENT amount of hps, OR all of the above plus adding a new mechanic to the engineer that lets him control turrets like rangers control pets (say a “right side” mechanic uh?).

yeah. I hadn’t really noticed it until recently.
Our entire skill set is melee.
Grenades are literally the only ranged option we have. That is a serious problem for the profession.
Esp, as we also do not have the pull options others do. (lol at removing it from flamethrower)

Even rifles net which has a 1000 range, actually only has a 500 range. It will miss vs anything past that, unless its not moving. (This is where glueshot is actually better, you can lead your target.)

I find this a bit crippling honestly. Its part of the reason grenades are so dominant.
Its pretty much the only thing actually usable in pve and wvw.

Shifue
There are many errors in your thread.

Elixir Gun has pretty much the same range as rifle.
Tranq Dart has the same range as hip shot.
Elixir F has the same range as Net.
Jump Shot and Acid Bomb are pretty much the same distance leap (in fact I think acid bomb is a larger leap).
Fumigate and Blunderbuss have pretty much the same range.
Super Elixir and Overcharged Shot also have very similar ranges if not the same.

As far as I know, a pistol engineer is the only profession in the game who can reliably apply all four damaging conditions (bleed, burn, poison, confusion). That’s pretty kitten useful.

Tool Kit has one of the better confusion applying skills in the game plus an amazing block ability. I agree though it does need a lot of work.

Med Kit has one of the lowest cooldown heals in the game when specced properly (15 seconds I think?).

Mortar is not a kit. It is entirely useless though.

Flamethrower has the right idea, it just needs a bit of a rework, and many people have coined in on how to make this possible and not too strong.

Like every engineer you mention grenades several times in your post and how nothing really compares to them.

Well this is true, but this is also a problem. It’s a kit that has far too much versatility (blind, bleed, freeze, poison, and a baked in vulnerability with the explosives trait), has the longest range, and deals the most damage. Many people will come back with “oh but it’s hard to aim!” which is simply not the case in team based sPvP when you design a comp where several professions are there solely to lock people down. Have you ever fought a hammer warrior and a grenade engineer? The one weakness a grenade engineer has vanishes while your hammer warrior buddy locks a guy down with multiple knockdowns and stuns.

I’ve played nothing but engineer in live, leveled to 80 completely in WvW, and now still do wvw but spending most of my time in tpvp. I’m trying to get better at tpvp, I feel good at wvw, but tpvp I’m still struggling.. might help if I had a team.

Anyway, I’ve tried tons of different builds and playstyles, at least 20 different ones, if not more. in both wvw and spvp.

Pistol engineers, or pistol/shield, are very effective when built and geared for conditions. Rifle engineers, and the grenades, are very effective when built and geared for power/crit.

I can see your points about melee arguments and engineer being squishy. However, you can build a toughness/vitality, high hp engineer. I’m not saying you should do that for melee builds, you just have to be prepared to change your playstyle if you’re squishy. Many times I’ve run with a pistol/shield bomb kit melee type build in wvw, and it requires making good decisions. I don’t charge into melee, unless I’m following my warrior buddy sharing his target.

I’ve used mortar a couple of times. meh. It is lame that it’s range is shorter than our grenades. totally lame. However, at keep battles it’s pretty awesome. or you drop it down and let your guardian friend use it while you use rifle/grenades.

To truly appreciate Flamethrower, you can’t neglect the knockback and blind on it. Those are awesome abilities, and depending on your build and the fight, you could take it and do nothing but knockback and blinds and switch to rifle or another kit.

I haven’t settled into a single build yet, but I’m starting to narrow it down.

Decklan.7540:

Shifue
There are many errors in your thread.

Elixir Gun has pretty much the same range as rifle.
Tranq Dart has the same range as hip shot.
Elixir F has the same range as Net.
Jump Shot and Acid Bomb are pretty much the same distance leap (in fact I think acid bomb is a larger leap).
Fumigate and Blunderbuss have pretty much the same range.
Super Elixir and Overcharged Shot also have very similar ranges if not the same.

As far as I know, a pistol engineer is the only profession in the game who can reliably apply all four damaging conditions (bleed, burn, poison, confusion). That’s pretty kitten useful.

Tool Kit has one of the better confusion applying skills in the game plus an amazing block ability. I agree though it does need a lot of work.

Med Kit has one of the lowest cooldown heals in the game when specced properly (15 seconds I think?).

Mortar is not a kit. It is entirely useless though.

Flamethrower has the right idea, it just needs a bit of a rework, and many people have coined in on how to make this possible and not too strong.

Like every engineer you mention grenades several times in your post and how nothing really compares to them.

Well this is true, but this is also a problem. It’s a kit that has far too much versatility (blind, bleed, freeze, poison, and a baked in vulnerability with the explosives trait), has the longest range, and deals the most damage. Many people will come back with “oh but it’s hard to aim!” which is simply not the case in team based sPvP when you design a comp where several professions are there solely to lock people down. Have you ever fought a hammer warrior and a grenade engineer? The one weakness a grenade engineer has vanishes while your hammer warrior buddy locks a guy down with multiple knockdowns and stuns.

hehe actually i did fact check my post before posting your off :P (seriously look it up) rifle without the trait is 1000 hip shot and net all the elixir gun is 900 and acid bomb blows you back and you can’t control where you land. overcharge shot is 400 super elixir is 900. I live on my engie he is my main.

On pistols yeah the conditions might be worth it to some but the type of gear needed to make it worth while hurts you more in the end then helps.plus there are thousands of ways to get conditions off.i’d rather go for raw damage can’t shake that off unless you heal it.

Tool kit yeah pry bar does mess them up has great damage to boot but yet again even with the block how long do you think it will save you against a war or a guardian?

I did not jump into med kit cause i really don’t see a issue with it other then it’s very short (they have to walk on it or you drop it on them) we should be at least able to throw them or something but either way i think it’s fine.

Mortar may not be a kit in some peoples eyes but considering it takes away the use of your rifle/pistol and any other kit while using it in essence it’s a kit it gives you a different skillbar. However it’s claimed by turrets.

Flamethrower can be possible but yet again i don’t see surviving in your future unless you rush in with a group and your going to be a huge target.I think I summed that one up about the best it could be above.

Grenades are kinda our bread and butter true and no they are not bad to aim but yet again i see no point in using/acting like it’s a main weapon it’s not honestly your better off rifling them and and using the tool belt skill if they get close or chucking these at groups. or going on the defensive while holding ground. As stated above but i find them better to use while running away if not in offensive or defensive seige or trying to hold ground

@Rfreak i did read that post that is what got me to write my own as well