[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
We complained for months that FOTM 50 is not rewarding for the time investment compared to running something like Ascalon Catacombs. A lot of what drove people to do high-level FOTM were the weapon skins, obviously, but they’re simply too rare as a drop. And good luck even getting the skin that you want. I had a friend that got nothing but underwater weapon skins for like eight months. I got nothing but uninfused rings for a month after their supposed “loot fix” a few months back. Like what kind of torture is that. Why are uninfused rings even in the loot table at 50? I mean, it’s bad enough that a level 30 dungeon is more rewarding than a level 80 high-difficulty instance, but I feel like the current FOTM loot table is just plain abusive to the player base.
Many players over the past two years have offered up some fantastic ideas for FOTM, including revising the token system so that we can purchase the FOTM skins we want; treat them similar to dungeons where there’s decent loot plus gold per run, but that the biggest rewards come from repeated play. This kind of system is already in place for the fractal capacitor, and you know how popular that is! But most everyone after getting that just stop bothering to go because getting the skin they want is like finding a needle in a haystack that re-stacks itself every fifteen seconds. Running FOTM 50 once or twice a week often felt like just putting my hand out and seeing what showed up; the sense of “personal achievement” in such instances is relatively low and “the moment” long gone.
Nearly all of that feedback was ignored, and pretty much nothing from the CDI threads is being implemented for fractals. So naturally people have gotten fed up and left. As someone that played in a guild of 500 that regularly cleared out inactives, I knew only 10-15 people that regularly ran high-level fractals, and we were a legitimately hardcore guild. I can imagine that fractal runners currently constitute a hilariously small percentage of their player base. And because of that, I wonder if you choose not to give it the support it needs over more popular content like Dry Top and the Living Story.
What I hope you understand is that people aren’t playing it not because they don’t want to. They’re not playing it because it’s a waste of time reward-wise. We do want to play it. But because I have to farm out 3000 gold to craft a single legendary, things like Fractals get dropped out of my play rotation. And this is, as an aside, why so many of us are upset that precursor crafting is off the table. By helping new players you are sustaining an unacceptable status quo.
I slugged through this year of farming Teq and Wurm thinking that precursor crafting was coming this year. Now it’s not and I’m (in my opinion) deservedly upset. A lot of my guild continued playing the game at this rate on the assumption that massive changes were in the pipeline.
Now they’re not, and I can tell you that the malaise is palpable.
And speaking of Wurm, the same issues about loot applies there. The amount of time and effort it takes to organize these types of kills even once a week is astronomical. And what are you odds for getting those gloves? Slim. Very slim. I’ve killed Tequatl over 150 times since the content came out in September 2013. I’ve gotten one Tequatl’s Horde. Some of my guildies that showed up every day for a year never got it once.
End-game content in GW2 is based entirely around RNG, and it’s why people are beyond fed up with this game. We were looking forward to this feature patch perhaps fixing some of these issues. I know that you know that the FOTM loot table is broken, and I know you know that precursor crafting needs to be implemented.
But rather than getting these, you spend time updating the crafting UI and gave us more commander colors. Look, those are honest-to-God good changes for the game, and some of these changes were even requested, but not having red commander tags is not why people are quitting Guild Wars 2. Doing FOTM 50 a few times a week for two years and never getting a fractal axe is why they’re quitting Guild Wars 2. The rewards are simply too sporadic, and when we have offered up ideas to fix them they’re abandoned for the low hanging fruit.
Now: keep in mind I didn’t say the rewards are too distant. I would have nothing against a fractal skin costing 100 pristine relics or something excessive. At least every FOTM run would feel worthwhile. And you could incentivize running higher levels by giving 4-5 pristine relics doing 50s. Finding solutions for these problems aren’t rocket science, and yet two years later we’re still wondering where the changes are.
CJ tells us to wait, and that the September Feature Pack is a necessary patch before you can refine these end-game issues, but I think we’ve waited long enough as it is.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Note: This is a cross-post from Reddit that I had written a few days ago. By request of some redditors, I’m making the statement here.
Three days ago Colin Johanson had this to say about the feature patch on Reddit:
I think that’s a totally fair question, as a veteran user I’d wonder that too – why does making the game better for new users benefit me when I want features that benefit me?
The simple answer is: by ensuring the game foundation is solid for new users, we’ll be in a place after the feature pack where we can do the kind of things that excite both veteran and new users simultaneously, and we’ll be able to retain a much larger percentage of the new or long returning users when they show up. Can’t say anything more than that yet – but that’s the thinking, you don’t need to agree with it, but it’s important to know why the decision was made!
The bolding was mine, because I think this statement needs to be examined and carefully considered.
People aren’t leaving the game because of the leveling process. And if they are, it’s more likely because of the trait overhaul system you implemented in April. I don’t insinuate that I know everything or why everyone necessarily leaves before 80, but if someone quits the game because they think the leveling process is too vague about what the downed mechanics mean, then there’s no way they’re going to unlock enough traits to participate in any meaningful way in end-game group-oriented content.
I can, however, more than happily illuminate as to why people leave the game upon reaching 80. People are leaving the game, and have been leaving the game since 2012, because the end-game content of GW2 is very, very basic. Tequatl is on full-blown farm status at this point, so a new player can walk up and participate in this content without actually having to show any work for it. They might even walk away with Tequatl’s Horde and not even understand what it is. (And as someone that has killed Teq hundreds of times, this happens a lot.)
The only content that regularly challenges players still and frequently fails are Wurm and high-level fractals. The problem with both of these content areas, however, are their rewards. The loot table is for the most part random and does not reward you in any way due to personal involvement. A leecher AFKing at the waypoint after tagging Tequatl once has just as equal chances to looting a Tequatl’s Horde as I do manning a turret or helping on defense. Is that appropriate?
One time there was this guild of guys that were trolling a defense group at Tequatl. They would overscale the event, they would not help out in ways that were appropriate, they would leave my guildies to die, and would pull mobs into the batteries on defense phases. They did not in any way impact our ability to complete it, but it wasn’t very nice dealing with really petty players like that. And at the end of the fight one of them looted a Tequatl’s Horde and linked it in chat. I was so furious.
We have asked so many times that you guys allow us a little more control on how Teq and Wurm is organized. We don’t necessarily need to have it fully enclosed, but some kind of mass invite system to a fresh map would go a long way at improving the quality of life for people like me that for a long time helped manage and lead these kinds of events. But you were so concerned about leaving new players out of the content that our requests were denied, ignored, or outright criticized for being elitist. I understand your desire for “facilitating friendly play,” as you put it back in April, as our leading these events were a means to an end to keep casuals playing the game and feeling included.
But the current system for Tequatl and Wurm does not suffice. The loot table is too random and poorly rewards players that show up every day. And it’s very heartbreaking for me to watch. As the year progressed it became harder and harder to push people to do turrets and defense because there was no incentive. My guild has for the past year provided a daily Tequatl kill to anyone that manages to get on our map. But what’s important to clarify is that we were often hanging by a thread getting people to step up and lead these events, or even just hopping on turrets or helping on defense.
Before I decided to quit the game, we even started doing leaderless kills because no one wanted to step up and do it. We just all wanted a chance at the loot. The system does not in any way facilitate or incentivize leading, and some of our best commanders just got tired of leading a few days a week and never getting a Horde for it.
And I wish this was the only area of the game where this is a problem, but it’s not.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
In essence, as a community we have been running completely blind over the past year as to what exactly the direction of the game is and what is being done to address these end-game concerns.
This silence would more than acceptable, but this has coincided with some of the strongest gem store pushes including, but not limited to infinite harvesting tools, copper/silver-fed-salvage-o-matics, costumes, toys, and mini pets. You’re clearly dedicating resources to supporting the game and adding new content—especially with regard to the Living Story.
Are things like the FOTM loot table and Teq/Wurm rewards just not a concern for you? Because any time questions are raised about the direction of GW2’s end-game we’re met with nebulous non-speak that would even impress Peter Molyneux.
Now for the “it’s only been two years” argument, it’s true. It’s generally common that MMOs don’t really hit their stride until a few years into their life. It’s at that point the dedicated community is established and the developers have a good idea in mind of where they want to take the game. FFXI was a good game at launch (provided it was 1 year old when it reached the States), but it didn’t really enter into its prime until Chains of Promathia came out.
But the thing to keep in mind about all of this is that CoP built upon preexisting systems in FFXI. The Living Story S2 is entirely disconnected from fractals, dungeons, and even open world raiding. It all takes place in single-player instances and what open world content we’ve received is both (1) completely unrewarding for those working on legendaries and (2) does nothing to challenge or excite two-year veterans of the game.
What happened to stuff like Marionette and the Scarlet invasion? What happened to stuff like Flame & Frost? Super Adventure Box? S1 had a lot of negative stuff in it and the story was (imo) awful, but it also had some very good content that was engaging, fun, and challenging. You had to work with other players to succeed during LS1. In LS2 it’s all solitary. I don’t feel like I’m playing an MMO anymore.
And during the times that I do, like FOTM and Teq, I feel like I’m just being punished for it.
S2 is no where near as engaging kitten for this reason, even if the plot is better this time around. My guild has literally nothing to do in this game together anymore except Tequatl and Wurm, and that content is getting very old very fast due to aforementioned loot issues.
And while I’m more than happy with just walking away and taking a break until they add new stuff, I am beyond frustrated that some of my most dedicated guild members that step up every day still haven’t been rewarded for it.
I don’t know where the game is headed from here, but it would be nice if you took a few of these complaints under consideration and prevented more players from quitting the game and satisfying them, even if it is kinda too late for me.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
if you are facing east and turn the camera north to follow the movement of the mob the hit will “track” in the camera direction.
Isn’t that what it’s supposed to do? Holding down your RMB locks your camera and hides your cursor. Where you move your mouse becomes where your character looks, and your ‘A’ and ‘D’ keys change from being “turn” keys to “strafe” keys—to the left and right respectively.
It’s the same mechanic that allows you to lock your ground-targeting cursor when using the Grenade Kit to a fixed range. It’s invaluable when fast-casting. By holding down the RMB you can also “sweep” your Flame Jet’s plume over an entire crowd versus being locked to your target, which is what makes it so amazing in WvW.
I like the way it works right now. I’d rather they not change it. Just get used to it and you won’t miss as much.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
We’re now looking at entering the seventh season of Heart of Thorns PvP with little if any real changes to the engineer. A few token nerfs just to make us feel weaker than we were previously without any compensating buffs to push the class in any visible, coherent direction.
I’m just baffled.
Six seasons into Heart of Thorns, entering what is ostensibly the penultimate or even final season of Heart of Thorns PvP (depending on when the next expansion actually drops), and we have seen no real changes to the scrapper elite specialization or the engineer profession overall since the end of season one.
We are still stuck with only running the hammer with gyros, the elixir gun, and the healing turret. Minus the nerf to Slick Shoes following season one, my build has not changed in any significant way for nearly two years—not to say that those two years were particularly comfortable. In that time: gyros lost their daze, their damage, and had their cooldowns increased; Rapid Regeneration was nerfed; Automated Medical Response was nerfed; Slick Shoes was nerfed; and now Protection Injection has been nerfed. It’s been a consistent if not systematic downhill slide since Heart of Thorns launched, and core engi has suffered some of the worst of it. Not including today’s nerf to Protection Injection, other traits and skills like Gear Shield have also seen significant reductions in their utility, rendering any core engi build significantly weaker to the scrapper—a state, I imagine, is entirely on purpose to drive sales and artificially inflate the value of one’s purchase.
To compensate many of these nerfs, ArenaNet has, to their merit, tried to help us by adjusting values and tinkering with things for seemingly random effects. Every patch I see a few changes like Fire Bomb’s physical damage being buffed or seeing Utility Goggles’ cooldown reduced from 30 seconds to 20. Despite the fact that these changes did little if anything to the profession, it was nice to see that ArenaNet was at least trying to make other skills more viable—even if at times it feels like they’re improperly forcing those decisions by just making the status quo less viable.
There’s no denial here that Heart of Thorns introduced a great deal of power creep that needed scaling back. I absolutely acknowledge it and I’m glad to see some of it curtailed. But there’s nothing more demeaning than being forced to run the same build you ran the past three to four seasons while being cognizant of the fact that it’s a lesser version of those previous builds. Much like how the reward nerf crippled season six’s popularity, it’s a tough sell to tell people to keep doing what they’re doing for less pay or—in our case—less effectiveness.
It was Irenio’s comment during one of the AMAs, following the closure of season five, however, that gave me hope, which you can find here: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Official-Skill-Balance-Thread-22-February-Update/page/2#post6505559
We would really like to do some in-depth passes on underused utility types across most professions. We did not have time to do that for this update, sadly.
Kits on Engineer are an outlier; as utilities they provide an insane amount of versatility. Inherently it is difficult to bring a single skill up to the level of five skills. This is a difficult conundrum and one we discuss regularly. That said, we do have a few ideas for creating gameplay with other utility revisits in the future.
In particular I’d like to review and revisit Elementalist Conjures, Guardian Spirit Weapons, Engineer Gadgets and potentially Mesmer Mantras.
And I guess I just find myself asking: is this it? Are kits always going to be an outlier for us? Are gadgets always going to be useless? Are we going to just shift from one elite specialization to another, stuck with yet another completely overpowered elite specialization tree that only forces ArenaNet to gut core trait lines further to compensate?
I just don’t get it. They’ve had over 18 months to get this sorted out, and right now, May 17th, 2017, this is what they have to show for it. If this balance patch wasn’t the opportune time to give us something new prior to the next expansion, which obviously will take the lion’s share of the balance team’s focus in the coming months, then when?
I bought into ArenaNet’s fresh take on the engineer when they unveiled the scrapper by purchasing Heart of Thorns, but my hope is dwindling that the engineer will be anything but the scrapper moving forward into the next expansion—to where it’ll then be whatever the next thing is, never again being the class I bought the game to play originally, or being the class that kept me actively playing this game for years.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Anet doesn’t know how to make good rewards for playing.
I’ve made over 300 gold since this season started. What are you talking about?
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
It could be good for zerg balls In wvv but this game doesn’t revolve around only that.
It’s good in PvE too. You just have to stand near your target.
The class is designed to move between melee and ranged as a mid-fielder. If you don’t like how Poison Dart Volley works re-roll to another class. But for what the Engineer is designed to do, it utilizes two playstyles on one slot—for when you need to spread conditions across a group and when you simply want to perma Poison one target.
This is the embedded versatility of the Engineer. Our skills do different things from different ranges and can be used in different ways. Our Magnetic Shield can be used as a projectile block or it can be overcharged and used as an AoE knockback.
The Guardian and Warrior shield skills do not work like this.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
You really got to forget about the cooldown. Expect it to happen at any switch instead of trying to time it.
That would be nice except for the fact that most of the procs are completely situational. Magnetic Aura is totally useless unless I’m actually getting hit with projectiles. Fire Aura is totally useless unless I’m actually getting hit. The Elixir Gun’s immobilization is totally pointless unless I’m actually trying to run away from something.
I have nothing against the new procs. I think they’re great situational skills. But on a 20-second cooldown, with multiple kits on my bar (Med Kit + Flamethrower + Elixir Gun) it’s just not reliable or even remotely useful anymore in any reasonable metric.
I’d rather put 10 points in Inventions or Explosives instead.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
The only reason to keep veteran players around is to populate the world and make it seem like a bustling, active game.
With the Megaservers, that is not quite as important any longer.
And, let’s be honest here, you’ll be back. Maybe not next month, or even two, but vets will always come back and check out the new content….because it’s free.
I don’t think that criticism is fair. The megaservers are actually one of the things that I liked most about the April feature pack. Even if it did ruin server-organized events like the world event train and threw everyone in with everybody, it has made lesser tread ground more populated and has offered players outside of Sanctum of Rall to participate in our Teq kills.
And I am not in any way insinuating that I will not return. I would be more than happy to come back provided these types of overhauls get implemented. But that’s kind of the point: I’m not coming back unless they are.
I think something else needs to be established here: I love horizontal progression and I enjoy having a finish line. I don’t want new tiers beyond ascended added into the game, nor do I necessarily need a new carrot to chase. I would certainly like new dungeons, fractals, and world raids to be added into the game … but who wouldn’t?
The reason why I’ve quit is not because I have nothing to work on. The reason why I’ve quit is because the path to get what I want is abusive with rewards randomly delegated. I cannot stress this point enough: the RNG has to go.
To apply a little more context, going after legendaries would be a lot more enjoyable if the process to obtaining your precursor involved an actual quest line. It can be long. It can be incremental and require crafting. And it can be challenging. But standing at the forge dumping in hundreds of gold is equated to rolling a pair of dice. There’s no personal achievement in that.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
I wouldn’t call a daze that requires certain conditions to be met power creep.
Adding a daze to a skill that used to not have it is the very definition of power creep.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
Hey all.
This is Phineas Poe from Sanctum of Rall’s Ethereal Guardians [EG]. Though many of you are likely already familiar, the purpose behind this thread is to provide a comprehensive guide to using the Flamethrower and Elixir Gun in Guild Wars 2.
If you have any additional questions about the FT/EG that is not addressed here, please do not hesitate to comment in this thread, send me a PM on Guru, or whisper/mail me directly at Phineas Poe.3018 in-game.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
^Okay I understand why you are mad you are not rewarded for your hard work but its a game and to be honest I am one of those guys who killed Telquat and did not know a thing I did not got the hoard but you see this is a great thing about this game you do not have to be great and put a lot of effort to be rewarded
Some of us play video games because we want to be challenged. It’s contextual-based critical thinking. It’s like solving a jigsaw puzzle, but instead with dragons and fiery greatswords.
And I do find this more fun than stitching pieces of cardboard together.
And just to make something clear: a lot of hard work and effort goes into organizing those Tequatl kills. And we haven’t really been rewarded for it.
To provide a little more context, do you think it’s fair that easy content like Dry Top facilitates all the ways to get all the weapons you want in a reasonable time frame while FOTM 50 content, that’s actually difficult to do in the first place, is gated entirely by RNG?
They could design a system that easily keeps casuals involved while still rewarding people that show up every day. They do that exact type of system in dungeons. It confuses me that Tequatl and Wurm doesn’t have any kind of token system that would perfectly counterbalance the RNG issue while still making these skins hard to obtain.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
I just wonder where your bombs or grenades are.
Believe it or not, there are other ways to play the Engineer than 30 points in Explosives.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
I cant stand the new change because I used to be able to get the dailies done with a single match in a daily room because I don’t have a huge amount of time during the week to play but I guess its too bad for me because I don’t “have skill” or “don’t like pvp” and good riddens to me and people like me.
Jesus.
Effing.
Christ.
This is Exhibit A of the absolutely reeking self-entitlement I was talking about previously. “Why isn’t ArenaNet catering to my every whim? What do you mean I have to actually play PvP to complete PvP dailies now?”
Boo-hoo, dude.
If you don’t have “a huge amount of time during the week to play,” guess what?
You miss out.
For years ArenaNet dumbed down this game and their original vision they launched with in 2012, solely to cater to achievement hunters such as yourself that feel excluded from content. It’s because of people like you that:
- WvW achievements were nerfed
- Dynamic events were completely gutted and put on timers
- PvP class achievements were made unlockable in unranked
- dungeons were nerfed and left in a state of disrepair
- Living Story season one was completely scrapped
- WvW tournaments were cancelled
Guild Wars 2 has lost so much of its original appeal and charm because people like you kittened and complained that you’d “miss out” on something; they caved to this pressure from casuals to gut/nerf so much of this game, resulting in the casual-catering kitten show that was season two with 3 hours of content every month and WvW being left in complete disrepair for nearly three full years.
Even when Heart of Thorns launched the crusades continued, crying that it took “too long” to unlock elite specializations, which they later ALSO nerfed, and complained that raids were “too hard” and encouraged “elitism” just because you were required to actually exercise some effing brain power and not press #1 to have loot rain from the sky for you.
Last week’s patch was the first time WvW got some actual good things with meaningful, long-term rewards … and up and down these forums and reddit people were crying that it’d take too long to reach the rank required for completely free ascended gear and moaned that the T4 chest piece skin looked better than legendary armor.
I mean, seriously? I have a wife and both a part-time tutoring and a full-time teaching job(s), and at 29 years old I have plenty of other societal expectations and personal responsibilities that divide my attention to the point where things like regularly attending automated tournaments are out of reach for me. I’m still very happy to see the game mode grow, and I want to see ArenaNet continue to foster the competitive aspects of this game, even if I’m gatekept from it by multiple factors.
So rather than kitten and moan on the forums, take some personal accountability and set some more realistic expectations. Or just be like every other casual kitten ruining this game and chop down some trees or look at some stupid kittening vista to complete your daily.
I already feel excluded because there is no way for me to get any of the Mini Llamas without playing a part of the game I hate making it impossible for me to ever complete the mini collection.
God forbid PvPers have something they can claim as their own, as little as it were.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
As the person who rotate 3 gamemodes on monthly basis.
PvP and WvW community in the nutshell:
1. Give us the rewards! Done.
2. Cleanse our elitist gamemode from PvE scrubs! Happened.
3. Ah rewards suck! Statement.
4. Our gamemode is dead, why?! Fact.
5. Then cycle repeats.
This is a hilariously bad oversimplification of the situation.
The rewards weren’t nerfed in season six to appease PvPers or keep “PvE scrubs” away. The rewards were nerfed in season six because getting a free set of ascended armor, literally worth hundreds of gold, for just queuing matches (and not even winning them) for a couple weeks was pretty detrimental to both the economy and the game mode overall. Case in point the insufferably self-entitled comments like this:
Don’t sweat it. When PVP’ers who championed this change don’t get players to fill out teams they will only have themselves to blame for even longer wait times. And Anet don’t change things back unless it really breaks the game. Have fun “serious PVP’ers” with the choice you asked for.
Nobody wants to have these PvP daily achievement chasers on their team that have literally zero investment in the game mode beyond how much AP it adds to their account, and good riddance if this is the type of thing that gets these people finally out of PvP.
ArenaNet sensibly nerfed the rewards for season six, and the mass exodus of PvErs back to raids, fractals, or worse, just AFKing in Lake Doric for money, indicates how toxic a large percentage of the game’s community really is, and how allergic they are to playing something simply for fun. We’re talking about people doing stupid kitten like, following the WvW update, trebbing a random wall every 5 minutes in WvW to maintain participation while watching Netflix on the other screen than actually play the game mode just because it earned them the same amount of pips with substantially less effort. There are thousands of these types of people who are literally just poison to this game’s future; these are the people who show up to PvP just to get a dumb backpack.
These aren’t people that actually care about PvP or even really, my view, even care about PvE or Guild Wars 2 at large. These people aren’t even really gamers in my view; they’re just obsessors, gamblers, and addicts. The only thing keeping many of them logging in every day is the knowledge that it’d affect their AP leaderboard position if it didn’t, and without those meaningless internet points they’d probably be buying kittenty $5 games to inflate their Xbox Gamerscore. I hate to sound like a curmudgeon but a lot of these younger MMO players who need that instant gratification or constantly need a reward for everything they do are just cancerous to good game development.
ArenaNet needs to stop catering to those people and just focus on making PvP and WvW fun to play. New WvW maps/objectives (with a desert BL rework), new PvP modes, and automated tournaments are the types of things we need more of.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Engineers are in record runs in raids and on top PvP teams in tournaments. And none of the changes made in this balance patch will affect that.
I think we’re fine, even if our build diversity is still incredibly sterile. I was hoping that non-scrapper engineer would be more viable in this patch, but with how crazy strong necro is you need Inventions + Scrapper imho.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
gw2 is everything else than remarkably well balanced.
What did you feel was so egregiously overpowered last season?
the whole game is in a state of overpoweredness and spam.
So nothing, then.
Okay.
Good talk.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
Part Two: Selecting Your Traits
Rocket Boots Variant (0/25/0/20/25)
Use this variant to maximize the damage output of your Flamethrower and Elixir Gun. 25 Tools gives you Enduring Damage, increasing your damage by 10% with full Endurance. Being dubbed the “Rocket Boots” variant, this better benefits wielding the Rocket Boots as your third utility with the use of Speedy Gadgets, though you could swap it out for something else as necessary.
Elixirs Variant (0/25/0/30/15)
Use this variant to maximize the boon support of the Flamethrower and Elixir Gun with 30% Boon Duration from Alchemy. With Potent Elixirs, this setup also strengthens the potency of your elixirs, pushing Toss Elixir B’s Stability to 6 seconds in duration. This also increases the length of Toss Elixir U’s projectile wall.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Part Three: Choosing Your Skills
Med Kit: Best self-healing skill at the Engineer’s disposal. Roll with this when you feel like focusing on DPS with Drop Stimulant.
Healing Turret: Still the be-all, end-all group support healing skill. Provides 2 conditions removed per overcharge across your entire group (as long as they’re within range) and can be detonated in Napalm for Area Might.
Flamethrower: Natively stacks Might while wielding it, so this will be the kit you spend the majority of the time using. Integrate Napalm into your rotation so that you’re stacking Might through your Blast finishers. Wield this for DPS and providing offensive boons to your group.
Elixir Gun: Continues to reprise its role as a great support kit along with a stunbreaker in Healing Mist (toolbelt). Make a point to using Acid Bomb (a Blast finisher) every time it’s available, both inside and outside of Napalm depending on what the situation requires.
Rocket Boots: Provides a 5+ second burn through Rocket Kick, though the main utility skill has its own strengths. It’s a Blast finisher, which makes it pair well with Napalm, but more importantly it’s a great escape option that the Engineer has often lacked, curing immobilized, crippled, and chilled conditions in the process.
Elixir B: Consuming Elixir B grants Might, Fury, Retaliation, and Swiftness, but the best part about the skill is that Toss Elixir B grants 4+ seconds of Stability. Very useful.
Elixir R: Use this whenever you think you may need the area revive through Toss Elixir R.
Elixir U: Use this whenever you need a projectile wall through Toss Elixir U. Also acts as a stunbreaker when consumed.
Elixir S: Use this whenever you need area stealth. Also acts as a stunbreaker when consumed.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
The only “successful” game mode GW2 ever had is going to stay. There’s other things for you to do than to play the thing you dislike so, try that.
With all due respect, this talking point is absurd. Conquest is the only “successful” game mode GW2 ever had because it’s the only game mode that ArenaNet has ever made any effort to support.
Courtyard had the potential to be good, but they never properly supported it with its own queue and they just tacked it onto the map rotation. It’s still just sitting there, exactly in the same form it launched in. They’ve done literally nothing to it.
Stronghold also had the potential to be a good game mode, and it arguably still does. Simplify the game mode and streamline the gameplay experience. Get rid of the supply runs and the trebuchets, and just have critters leave the base at an interval with players fighting over the hero spawns to swing the match in their favor. But instead they’ve just done nothing. Just like Courtyard, aside from adjusting a few overtime mechanics, Stronghold is literally in the same exact state it launched in. People bought Heart of Thorns on the implication that the PvP area of the game would grow and ArenaNet has literally nothing to show for it almost two full years later.
Instead we just see more and more Conquest maps like Skyhammer, Revenge of the Capricorn, and Eternal Coliseum being added over the years that very few enjoy and even fewer want in the ranked rotation. Let me reiterate: people HATED the original Skyhammer, and yet ArenaNet has spent YEARS revising it and now forces us to play it in RANKED PvP.
They’ve even dedicated development time to working on kittening Spirit Watch, a complete garbage fire of a map, adjusting its orb mechanics. The fact that ArenaNet hasn’t made any meaningful progress with Courtyard/Stronghold by mid-2017 is pretty much indefensible at this point, because they seem to have dedicated their attention to pretty much everything else, including stripping out the Mystic Forge from Heart of the Mists and designing, re-designing, and re-designing again the lobby.
I really thought this 2v2 announcement was the first moment that ArenaNet finally listened to its fan base, but I guess that was a mistake on my part. I suppose I’ll just be doing occasional automated tournaments and spending the majority of my time in WvW moving forward.
It’s really a shame, because Guild Wars 2 could still be that dominant PvP MMO they originally envisioned it as if they just dedicated the resources to it. ArcheAge, BDO, ESO, WoW … they all have terrible PvP by comparison, gated either behind an arduous grind/vertical progression or suffering from old/floaty/awkward gameplay mechanics.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Condi rifle? Wut?
The hammer offers a lot of CC, which might be useful for some groups that are lacking in Berserkers or Revenants. Breaking bars is a huge aspect to defeating bosses in the raid, but so is damage. I could see an argument made for hammer under certain compositions, but I think most engineers should still run pistol/pistol whether they’re tanking or not.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
If you want to be helpful with damage, you have no choice but to take grenades. Period.
Define being “helpful.”
My Flame Jet regularly does 4-5K damage every 2.25 seconds at level 80, both inside and outside of dungeons. For an auto-attack skill, that’s about average. It’s not as good as a Warrior’s Axe but it’s certainly better than a Guardian’s Hammer.
Once you include Flame Blast, you’ll come to find that the FT’s damage output is more than satisfactory. You won’t top the charts, but the whole point of running it isn’t to be the damage dealer of the group. It naturally pairs well with the Elixir Gun since they both benefit by the same traits.
People run the FT/EG build because it’s a hybrid spec that offers extensive group support and reasonable DPS. Doesn’t matter what dungeon you’re doing: An FT/EG Engineer with a Hammer Guardian and content just becomes trivial. Nobody dies.
The Flamethrower as it is right now is perfectly fine and nothing really needs to be changed. I’d like it if Smoke Vent was a Smoke field and if Flame Blast was a Blast finisher, but there are bigger issues with the class right now (i.e., turrets and gadgets) I’d rather ArenaNet focus on.
Your ideas are nice, but please don’t suggest that the kit is broken and needs fixing. Many of us have been using it ever since we’ve hit level 80 and think the kit works extraordinarily well.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
I started engineer again…(only got to 23 last time). Warrior feels boring, and i simply cant take it….every second character i meet is a warrior….
But i deleted it again after like 20 levels…I no i just god oh god cant take kits. Why on earth they are like this? What the hell is the point of weapon skins if engineers cant use any sort of kitten ed weapon besides rifle shield and pistol?
The problem isnt even that…ok they can only use those…but why are they forced to swap to kits then contantly? There is no point of having “main” weapons.It so kitten ED UNFAIR !!! Enginers should have the same ammount of skins on weapons, that other classes have for Gs, Hammer, Mace , Swords and so on…
Also there is no point to legendary if you constantly switch to kits anyway…..I am so sick of this….I alredy start to think of uninstall alredy….came back after a half year, but cant pick a decent class to play with again……
Dude. Relax.
They’ve already stated they’re working on a solution to allow hiding kit backpacks. They’ve also said they want to come up with ways to better personalize kit skins and give them diversity. The problem is: this is not a game-breaking issue. This is a cosmetic thing that affects 1 class in the game. It’s just not a high priority. This past patch they took the time to make gadgets viable. I’d say they’re about where they should be, now. There’s still the issue of turrets. Should cosmetic details like this take precedence to balance fixes?
Also, about legendary weapons: there are plenty of builds out there that utilize the pistol, rifle, and shield as main damage options. You don’t have to use kits, and you can easily complete every dungeon and fractal in the game without them.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
Part Four: Weapon Selection
Though you will be using your Flamethrower and Elixir Gun mostly, you still need to make an active decision of what your equipped weapon will be. Similar to utility skills I will list each option and explain their strengths.
The ultimate decision of which is best really comes down to playstyle and what you need most in the moment. Just keep in mind that when using the Rifle you are forgoing the natural advantage of having two sigils to work with versus one (i.e., Pistol of Strength + Shield of Force versus Rifle of Battle).
As with many aspects of this build playing into a versatile role in groups, I recommend just buying a full set of weapons (1 Rifle, 2 Pistols, 1 Shield) and bring them all with you, slotting them in an 18-slot Invisible Leather Backpack or something similar.
Rifle: Overall, an efficient weapon choice given that it plays into the close proximity to targets similar to the Flamethrower. Jump Shot, Blunderbuss, and Overcharged Shot all work best within 400 to 100 range of your target, making the Rifle an optimal choice when centered on offensive output. Do not stay out of the Flamethrower for very long, however, as you will do more damage with Flame Jet than you do with Hip Shot.
Pistol: The Pistol has gotten a pretty bad rep when used in Power-based builds, but don’t be fooled: Poison Dart Volley actually does a pretty significant amount of damage (4-6K depending on Armor). Poison also has great utility in PvE when fighting bosses that regenerate health, as Fumigate alone does not permanently sustain Poison on a target. Static Shot can help as a situational Blind when needed, but its Confusion is nothing to write home about. When dual wielding Pistols, you additionally have access to Blowtorch and Glue Shot. Blowtorch will help in better sustaining Burning damage on a target for Flame Jet, and Glue Shot is a helpful but momentary AoE snare. Like Hip Shot, stay away from Explosive Shot. Use your Poison Dart Volley or Static Shot as needed and swap back to your Flamethrower or Elixir Gun.
Shield: Best utilized for its defensive abilities but it can additionally be used offensively for its Combo finishers. Magnetic Inversion is a Blast finisher and Throw Static Shield is a Projectile finisher. When using Throw Static Shield with the Light fields this build utilizes you will cure conditions on allies within vicinity of the target hit (so long as the shield passes through your Super Elixir field). When using Magnetic Inversion paired with the Fire fields this build utilizes you will stack Might for your allies, or heal them in Water fields. As such, beyond its obvious defensive capability with its stuns, blocks, and knockbacks, it can be used to buff your allies when needed.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Vets don’t make the company money.
I am pretty sure that ArenaNet made a lot of money off me. And they will continue to do so if they implement these changes. But not anymore until they do.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Can this be taken somewhere else, please?
There are enough threads debating our function gyro mechanic. The purpose of this thread is to talk about the scrapper in accordance to raids, where it is meaningful, so your discussion about it being meaningful for “most of the content” is really off-topic.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
I get the feeling you don’t play engi.
lol.
Those combo fields are ok, not great, and certainly not the best in the game, just ok.
I’m kind of baffled I have to explain how long we’ve been asking for a water field that lasts longer than 1 second. Water fields are literally the most important combo field in WvW, and having a ticking Poison field that covers an entire point in PvP is absolutely invaluable.
Understand that not everything is balanced around PvE. What the Mortar Kit offers in PvP and WvW for power-centric builds is absolutely incredible, and was legitimately overpowered in its original state.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
… I am tired of condi meta, it’s been there since the bunker one ended (necros, ahem) but it’s ok.
I want to know, what seems to be working on the engi right now?Dude, where have you been since the beginning of HoT? How have you not heard of the keyboard mash scrapper build? It’s probably going to bore you more than the condi meta, but it’s a nice change for a time if all you’ve done was a condi meta, one which only recently came around since the flamethrower change last season.
The build I’m talking about is the same one the previous poster mentioned, except it’s entirely possible to bunksustain at mid and contribute greatly to teamfights due to either amazing heals (if wearing menders amulet) or just not dying and doing some pretty sustained damage. While you should make changes to the build depending on the team comps, it’s going to end up being the same playstyle for the most part.
Marvin tried replacing the role of an elementalist in the Unity tournament and we all saw how well that worked. The meta right now is pretty strict, and the simple fact of the matter is that the engineer doesn’t particularly shine in team fights right now outside of being a res bot.
Leave it to the tempest on your team, stick to the side points, and try and pull 1v2s in your favor. I don’t think it’s particularly bad advice to help in team fights whenever possible, but we are one of the better duelists at the moment and are capable of forcing their power roles out of team fights and relieve pressure off home/mid by frequently contesting if not absolutely pestering far.
It’s this type of play that won Zan the EU tournament, and I think he’s pretty much the model to follow right now unless someone else does something remarkable in the monthly ATs to come. Just do whatever you can to decap far without dying in the process. Throughout season five I went through 5-6 matches in a row without dying once, using super speed and the stealth gyro to re-position myself as needed. While I know a lot of time has passed since then, and we’re facing some different classes in season seven, not much has really changed regarding how the class is played.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
I was hoping you’d talk more about missions, as I imagine they will be heavily impacted by server mixing. Is it really too much to have these instanced? As an officer of a 500 man guild that gets 150 people online for their weekly commendations it’s kind of a big deal that the new system doesn’t disrupt our ability to do things together as a guild.
What is the likelihood that we get our own Plains of Ashford instance to do Puzzle? I felt like on command instancing with guild merits or a district system would satisfy all the disadvantages of megaservers… and yet we get neither. Is there anything in the pipeline about this?
Just concerned. Thank you for your time.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
A simple question, why on earth would you choose your profession as engi and complaining about the main characteristic of that?
When Guild Wars 2 launched in 2012, they didn’t even really have any real back items. They were just invisible “straps.” You can still buy them in WvW, if you don’t know what I’m talking about. It wasn’t until Fractals and the Living Story began literally months after the game’s launch that they started to actually release cosmetic back items and the problem quickly revealed itself.
So the implication that I “chose” engineer on the basis that I’d be cut out of a lot of those cosmetic rewards is not particularly accurate, because there weren’t any good back items in the game at launch—and I don’t think even ArenaNet properly thought out or recognized the bind they put us in, which is why they ended up just gutting them.
Many of us requested that the kits only showed up when we hid our back item, thereby still giving us some semblance of choice … but I imagine just removing them was the easier option for ArenaNet.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
“So feared?” I’m not so sure I follow.
Scrapper is not a PvE spec and its additions of the hammer or its gyros aren’t really very apparent or even valued there. You have to remember that PvP and WvW are played very differently from PvE. PvP has a very stringent and controlled meta, and it just so happens that the scrapper’s overwhelming condition cleanse and damage reduction makes it a very good duelist/side-point class right now, especially when gyros also provide stability, healing, and damage on top of their preordained utility.
I also find scrapper to be the tankiest build in WvW and one of the best solo roamers. I’d be happy to share my builds but it’s also important you understand a bit of the metagame (which doesn’t seem to be the case). On that subject I’d be happy to help you, though.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
I quit this game in the beginning of 2016, absolutely disgusted by the most egregious bunker meta ever conceived in the HoT launch. I came back for like a few weeks in the middle of May/June, only to quit again when it felt like ranked PvP dissolved into premades trashing solo-queuers.
As it stands, the game is better balanced than it was at HoT launch, and we’re getting the return of solo/duo-queue in season five. What is the doom and gloom about? I just don’t understand.
While this last point is anecdotal, my queue times are short. There’s more people in my guild PvPing than before. And there’s a lot of new names I’ve seen, even at a time when we’re weeks into the off-season with no clear announcement for when season five starts.
The game seems healthy enough, balanced enough, and has good changes coming in the pipeline. Even as an engineer main, a class people say is absolutely mediocre/bad right now, I manage to win 1v1s against most professions.
And while I’m pretty experienced playing this game for over four years with a few thousand games under my belt, I am pretty kitten rusty having played BDO and WoW over the past year. I would hardly consider myself an ESL level player in any remote sense even when playing at my best. I feel my experience since coming back a couple weeks ago would be fairly standard, and not an outlier or unrealistic data point to extrapolate toward a larger conclusion.
So why is this forum on fire? Is there something I’m missing?
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Continued.
So here is my question: is it out of the question that guild missions occur in a fresh map? Is it out of the question that Tequatl events started by guilds are capable of being started in our own overflow? We understand that you want the world to feel inclusionary, and we’re OK with that. Don’t let them be entirely locked! Just let us have the opportunity to spawn a new map at our leisure. If other players manage to come in after we’ve started our Puzzle or Tequatl run, that’s more than OK, and we are more than happy to create an inclusionary atmosphere that welcomes non-guildies to our events. We want that.
It may be hard for you to believe me, but there’s nothing more satisfying to me than to see a random player participate in our Tequatl kills and receive Tequatl’s Horde. I love seeing some newer, less experienced player walking away with mounds of goodies, as I believe that is exactly what these world events stand for. We like helping our server with Tequatl to the best of our ability, and we like participating with the rest of the game at large.
Contrary to what other guilds may think of us, we don’t want to hide in our own overflows, or our own server. We don’t want the game to feel like there’s no one else around outside of EG. That’s already kind of (no offense Rallians) how SoR feels like, and is why we are excited for the mega-server system.
But if you could at least throw us a bone here and allow us not just the ability to start Teq at will, but start it in a fresh overflow, you will solve a lot of the issues that are about to crop up with the mega-server system. And we’ll spend all the influence or merits required to do this. Charge us. Fleece us. We don’t mind. Just give us the option!
I do believe that the mega-server system is a gigantic step in the right direction for the game at large, but I do think that this is something that you should take under consideration to make sure that there are no unnecessary side effects that result in making things tougher for us. We truly believe that this game can be what everyone wants it to be, and that we can find a way to satisfy large guilds like EG in organizing events without going so far away as to exclude content from the open world entirely.
Thank you.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
It appears Sparkfly Fen was just made a megaserver map. In the middle of prepping for Teq people started getting tossed in random maps.
Are there any zones that aren’t on the system yet?
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
Matchmaker inaccuracy.
I’d rather wait 10 minutes in queue between games if it resulted in stronger team parity. If you queued at any time outside of reset after the first two weeks of the season, you’d have people literally in silver on your team when you were in platinum.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
Being able to stack every condition ever at 1500 range from the total safety of the back of a zerg isn’t OP?
Retalation kills You if You spam nades into a zerg.
Heal yourself.
Let’s establish some credibility. Do us all a favor and screenshot your WvW rank for us.
Engineer is pretty terrible in WvW zergs at the moment. I haven’t ran the class there in months. There’s nothing it offers that I can’t do better on my necro, warrior, ele, or guardian.
For roaming we’re still pretty good, but if I want 1v1s, I’ll do sPvP.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Engi is no longer allowed to use any healing skill to survive comparing to others.
-Too long Cast Time.
It blows my mind that for close to a year I was able to use Elixir H with a full one second cast speed against thieves and mesmers and yet people are crying that the Healing Turret is useless with a .75 cast speed activation.
There is, admittedly, a lot more CC flying around now versus what there was pre-HoT when P/P HGH was strong, but the Scrapper affords you so much stability between Final Salvo and Perfectly Weighted (never mind still having Toss Elixir B as well) that getting your healing skill consistently interrupted shouldn’t be blamed on “basic beginner” thieves but your own play.
Even when Final Salvo wasn’t working on patch day, I messed with a Mender amulet setup with Adaptive Armor outlasting most 1v1 encounters and several 1v2 encounters. The only class I couldn’t really stand up to was Revenant, but that’s less an issue of our nerfs and more an issue of Assassin’s Annihilation dealing waaaaay more than it’s supposed to (like 2K+ vs. the ~300 it’s supposed to do).
With Final Salvo back into the mix it’s really tough to argue that Scrapper isn’t still one of the better classes in the bruiser role—and plenty survivable even with the new damage amulets. And with Slick Shoes getting nerfed, Blast Gyro is arguably a stronger replacement.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
If engi wont have that effect, doing legendary weapon is pointless for me.
It’s no different from kits, really.
…oh yeah and it overwrites your elite toolbelt so you wouldnt have been able to detonate supply crate if they hadnt changed turrets lmao
Mortar Kit seems like the only core elite skill worth taking given the loss of the F5 skill. Certainly something to ponder.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
Really? I love this change.
The only power attack on the FT was Flame Blast. Now the kit has a bit more “purity of purpose.”
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
That being said… some extra damage would be nice.
It would be nice, but is it necessary?
I run dungeons often. It’s how I prefer to play the game. I have a level 80 Warrior, Guardian, and Engineer. When I bring my Guardian to groups, everybody else benefits. Binding Blade -> Ring of Warding is one of the best cross-weapon combinations in the game that elevates the DPS of the group when eliminating trash significantly. Wall of Reflection is arguably the best projectile block in the game. The Hammer has a Blast finisher on a ridiculously short cooldown.
I bring so much more to groups on my Guardian than I do my Warrior, so when I see people complain that Warriors and their Hundred Blades do so much damage, I just roll my eyes. And of course playing a Guardian I would love to see my Hammer do more damage. I would like my Greatsword to do more damage. But like the Engineer, I have to ask: is it really necessary?
As an FT/EG Engineer, I’d always like to eke out a little more damage with Flame Jet. But with my setup I grant my group Might, Fury, and Regeneration every time I drop my Healing Turret, overcharging + Area Heal for a decent group heal.
I can then Regenerating Mist + Acid Bomb for another Area Heal when necessary. Or I can use Acid Bomb in Napalm for Might stacking. I can use Fumigate to remove conditions. I can use the Healing Turret to remove conditions. I can use thrown elixirs to remove conditions.
Like Guardians, Engineers are so much more than their DPS. You could say that a Warrior could be built similarly with a Sonic Boon build or something of the like, but they don’t have Water fields. They don’t have Light fields. They don’t have projectile walls. They can’t give their group Fury as consistently as an Altruism Rune Engineer swapping to the Med Kit does (Lung Capacity drops it to 20s, but Altruism gives Fury every 15s).
The Engineer is such a versatile, exciting class that it confuses me why anybody would even bother comparing us to such a stifling, simplistic class like the Warrior. I love my Warrior and I love its DPS, but if you ask me I’ll always take my Engineer over it unless the group needs DPS THAT badly.
Would I like it if Rocket Boots didn’t self-CC? Would I like it if Flame Blast was a Blast finisher? Would I like it if Engineers had a Whirl finisher outside of Elixir X?
Of course I would. I’d also like it if my Guardian sprout wings and could have perma Swiftness without being ensnared with Retreat and Save Yourselves in WvW. Some things just are intentional limitations to balance classes across the board.
Engineers are perfectly fine right now in my book.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Protip: Hit your tilde key (`) after activation and you’ll interrupt the launch, or whatever you have your weapon swap button set to.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
II: TRAITS
I’ve today (5/19/14) gone back to the old trait format. Unfortunately due to character limits on posts I had to do this. Sorry for any confusion.
Full DPS Build (6/6/0/X/X)
Useful Skills:
- Healing Turret (Heal)
- Grenade Kit
- Elixir Gun
- Bomb Kit
- Throw Mine
- Rifle Turret
- Supply Crate (Elite)
Summary: Best used for maxing out vulnerability stacks for your party with the Grenade Kit and integrating a few blast finishers and fire fields to contribute might stacking with the Bomb Kit. Use the Elixir Gun for its stunbreaker and additional DPS from Acid Bomb. Fumigate/Super Elixir for condi removal support. In a group where might stacking is covered, swap in Throw Mine for additional vulnerability stacking with its toolbelt or Rifle Turret for Static Discharge’s natural synergy with Surprise Shot.
Explosives: Take Forceful Explosives (III) to increase the radius of your bombs and mines. For Mine Field this is especially fruitful, as you will see a bigger damage return and better vulnerability stacking from it. This also expands the radius of your fire field in Fire Bomb, making this setup a little more friendly for any inaccurate blast finishers. Take Explosive Powder (VII) to buff the damage of your explosives another 10%. Take Grenadier (XI) as your GM trait, increasing the range of your volleys as well as adding a third grenade into the mix. With Steel-Packed Powder (GM Minor) you will be able to stack 3 vulnerability per volley with this trait.
Firearms: Precise Sights (V) is taken to help stack more vulnerability, especially through the Grenade Kit’s toolbelt skill: Grenade Barrage. Take Rifle Mod (IX) to heighten the damage output of Blunderbuss and Jump Shot. Modified Ammo (XI) is the GM trait here. Because of the number of conditions you’ll be putting out between your bombs and grenades, this will substantially increase your personal DPS.
The final two points can go into either Alchemy or Tools. Depending on content and group comp you are expected to regularly swap between these trait lines. Because trait respecs are 100% free, there’s no reason not to take advantage of this!
Alchemy: Invigorating Speed (I) is the trait to be taken here, providing you access to vigor on swiftness. To best proc this ability, I suggest swapping out a trait in Firearms to Infused Precision (III). Two points into Alchemy will also add more duration to your boons, which helps maintain might stacks for your party.
Tools: Static Discharge (II) or Speedy Gadgets (III) are the primary traits taken here, and are taken based of what skills you’re primarily wielding. If taking all three kits—the Bomb Kit, Grenade Kit, and Elixir Gun—run Static Discharge to eke a little extra damage out of your toolbelt activations. If running Throw Mine as a third utility, however, the reduced cooldown will provide you a 14.5 second blast finisher.
Fractal Reflect/Carry Build (6/2/6/0/0)
Summary: This build should be taken only if running with a group that is having a hard time in mid- to high-level FOTM and needs additional projectile blocks and support. Rotating between the Healing Turret, Rifle Turret, and Elixir U will stack, if done properly, around 28 seconds of reflect uptime.
Useful Skills:
- Healing Turret (Heal)
- Grenade Kit
- Rifle Turret
- Elixir Gun
- Elixir U
- Elixir R
- Supply Crate (Elite)
Explosives: Take traits that will help maximize your contributions with the Grenade Kit: Shrapnel (II), Explosive Powder (VII), and Grenadier (XI).
Firearms: Run Precise Sights (V) to help maintain vulnerability stacks for your party. Swap this out for Fireforged Trigger (I) if fighting Mai Trin or other condition heavy bosses and you need the quicker cooldowns on Super Elixir and Fumigate. This is also extremely useful with Acid Bomb, turning it into a 12 second blast finisher if your group is poor at stacking might.
Inventions: Take Cloaking Device (VI) to help survive against Lava Elementals’ immobilization if you have a bad guardian in your group. Take Fortified Turrets (XIII) so that they help reflect projectiles. Your third trait is optional, but I like Reinforced Shield (VII) if taking that with me (which I will do if a group is doing THAT bad). You may also take Energized Armor (V) for the additional damage boost.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
In fact, if they are shrewd and experienced, a flamethrower engineer can do top notch damage. They just have to do all this stupid bullkitten to do it.
Do what? Swap to Med Kit every 10 seconds for Fury/Might?
Not that hard. Fights tend to develop a rhythm that becomes easy to settle into.
Swap to Elixir Gun for Kit Refinement -> Flamethrower -> Swap to Med Kit during Flame Jet -> Go back to Flamethrower until Super Elixir disappears -> Swap to Elixir Gun for second Super Elixir -> Flamethrower -> Swap to Med Kit during flame Jet -> Go back to Flamethrower until second Super Elixir disappears -> Swap to Elixir Gun for Kit Refinement.
Rinse and repeat.
If I need any extra health I’ll do direct heals with Med Kit before swapping back to Flamethrower. If I need any extra condition removal I’ll drop an Antidote. If that’s not enough I’ll skip the Flamethrower in my rotation and just sit in the Elixir Gun or fire my pistol for Projectile finishers to proc the 20% chance to remove conditions.
Even if I goof up, it’s not like my group will enter crushing defeat because I’m not standing there derping with the Flamethrower. Super Elixir always comes first and always. And I try to have Fury up as much as possible.
It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. Everything is conveniently on 10, 20 second cooldowns to where it’s easy to get used to how things work. You build a rotation. You get used to it. It becomes second nature.
How is this any different from any other multi-kit build for the Engineer? Especially if you’re like me and likes incorporating the best skills available at any time with each of your kits/rifle/pistol.
God forbid you try and play an Elementalist. Juggling cooldowns is literally all they do. At least the good ones.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
Probably not. However, turrets were one of the big attractions I had to the class. The idea that I can leave a bunch of automated support drones in hard to reach places to help you fight appeals to me. As well as situated point defense.
Turrets still have a lot of use on my skill bar, though I’m probably not using them properly. The rifle turret is my go-to blast finisher for stacking might. The thumper turret is my go-to for stacking stealth. The healing turret is my healing skill 99% of the time.
That said, I would like to see more incentive to leave them out instead of destroying them. Similar to ranger spirits, we have to offer some kind of buff to our group using them. A simple damage increase isn’t enough—the opportunity cost taking a turret purely to deal some extra damage is just too much.
Instead, they just need to make them provide AoE buffs. Have the thumper turret improve the toughness of nearby allies. Have the healing turret improve boon duration when it is out. Have the rocket/rifle turret improve the power of nearby allies.
It would make engineers more on page with other professions in PvE applying group buffs to each other, and would additionally not break PvP balance too much since they’d still be destroyed very easily.
I think there’s a lot of directions ArenaNet could go with how they’ve designed turrets, but it seems they’re undecided on where to go at the moment.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
Sorry, but kits are much more than just another utility skill.
They are a core mechanic for engi just as much as the toolbelt, or as ranger pets, or warrior burst skills, or ele attunements.
There is a pretty obvious difference between engi kits and everything else you mention here in that toolbelt skills, pets, burst skills, and attunements aren’t optional. They’re ingrained, core aspects of their given profession that you cannot remove—hence their title as a “core” class mechanic.
And unlike all of what I’ve mentioned, kits aren’t an ingrained, core aspect of the profession. They’re certainly powerful utilities, and just like warrior banners and guardian consecrations, they get an inordinate amount of attention compared to other options, but that doesn’t make them a core mechanic—and there’s nothing stopping ArenaNet from releasing kits on another profession in the next expansion, or putting banners in engineer.
Classes are not limited to one, and only one, mechanic. Thieves have steal and initiative, revs have legend swap and energy… Some class mechanics are spetial skills (f1-5) some are not…
You’re right that classes often have more than one “core” mechanic, and that sometimes relates to a managed resource like adrenaline/rage, astral power, energy, and initiative. Illusions, in fact, could arguably be both a core mechanic and a skill resource.
Engineer does, in fact, have more than one “core” profession mechanic, but it’s not kits; it’s the toolbelt and the function gyro. And this is what you’re not understanding.
The purpose of elite specializations is to add new, different things to the profession—or enhance existing core mechanics (e.g., rage or continuum split). So yes, rangers got new pets, warriors got new burst skills, and engineers got new toolbelt skills and the function gyro.
It’s also true that engineers don’t have a weapon swap, and it’s true that’s arguably because of kits, but that doesn’t mean that kits are a core profession mechanic, and it doesn’t mean that they can’t add a specialization down the road that locks us out of kits while granting us weapon swap.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
An extra sigil will never make up for the loss of a good control weapon and damage.
Oh, but it really does.
The Shield gives you another Blast finisher to apply 3 more stacks of Might to your party. That’s 105 Power to everybody. For 20 seconds. Your Shield can also AoE knockback (versus Overcharged Shot’s conical) and can Stun/Interrupt. From range. Twice.
With Berserker gear, Poison Dart Volley can do 4K+ damage and Poison is a very significant utility condition that should be applied as much as possible regardless of whether you’re geared for Condition Damage or not.
Diminishing regenerative health skills on bosses actually does a lot more than what you’ll get switching to Blunderbuss. But I’m a bad player and give bad advice and play like a brain dead vegetable, apparently.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
and man, reddit is no more toxic than this forum. this forum is just more authoritarian and gets rid of kitten that is over the lines of “decency” and “normalcy” that they dictate.
I agree that we should not get ahead of ourselves and assume things we don’t entirely know. It’s very well possible that Holosmith will be the #1 DPS specialization in Path of Fire. There’s no real way of knowing right now. I do, however, think you’re underestimating the severity of a lot of their (and my) complaints.
Whether we like it or not, Guild Wars 2 is an MMORPG where its meta is defined entirely by DPS. Sure, there are damage-oriented support specializations in nearly every game: Discipline Priest literally deals damage to heal in the Legion expansion of World of Warcraft; and every White Mage in FFXIV is expected to make use of every global cooldown, spamming Stone IV and maintaining Aero so long as no one dies in the process.
The “holy trinity” concept of MMOs is long dead, and Guild Wars 2 pretty much led the charge in that transition when it launched back in 2012. I can’t think of a single modern MMO that has “healbots” or “meatshields,” reduced to a singular role and never stepping outside of it. But unlike other modern MMOs like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV, Guild Wars 2 is literally defined entirely by the raid’s cumulative DPS. There are no aggro mechanics to handle, and healers have next to zero resource management. If we’re being honest, the PvE content in this game is still a completely joke compared to Mythic+ runs in WoW or Savage runs in FFXIV … so it’s not all that surprising that raid DPS—the easiest role of the “trinity”—is the only thing that really matters in Guild Wars 2. And as a result, every class is hand-chosen to be a member of the “meta” in PvE based not on their personal DPS contributions (which for Holosmith, as you said, is still in the air) but entirely their raid contributions through boons, alacrity, vulnerability, and class-specific buffs.
There’s a reason why warrior overtook elementalist for might stacking. It’s not that scepter/dagger or lightning hammer+staff are any less legitimate. After all, an elementalist, when traited, for it is just as effective at it (if anything, the rotation has only gotten easier over the years); instead, it’s the mere fact that a phalanx strength warrior and a staff elementalist together elevate team-wide DPS higher than a DPS warrior and a scepter/dagger elementalist does. It’s not that a berserker does bad DPS or that a tempest does poor support (if anything it’s quite the opposite) but rather that, as a sum of their parts, a warrior playing a supportive role with their banners and an elementalist playing an offensive role more consistently produces raid clears with a lower time-to-kill.
Even the healers are evaluated entirely by how much they can elevate raid DPS, which is why druids and their Grace of the Land stacks have such an overwhelming presence in nearly every raid group. And the simple fact of the matter is, if Holosmith contributes literally nothing to a raid group, it’ll likely be passed over for other class specializations in raids, fractals, World vs. World, and even structured PvP.
This just isn’t a game where personal DPS really matters, and acknowledging this doesn’t make me “toxic,” “paranoid,” or “authoritarian.”
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
(edited by Phineas Poe.3018)
I sense we’ll see the shield get more play when we get our next weapon (ideally the axe, mace, or sword) and specialization, but this is a good idea. It doesn’t affect P/P as the max condi build for PvE, but it makes P/S more attractive in PvP/WvW. This in turn would help balance out the disparity baseline engi and scrapper, and make every weapon used somewhere in the game.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians
3 elixir builds are low skill floor specs that don’t belong in the meta any more than turrets do.
Kits are the backbone of every build across the game because functionally they’re among the highest skill cap builds in the game warranting their strength.
[EG] Ethereal Guardians