Thank you guys. I went with a full zerker 30/0/0/30/10 nade build. Monk/Traveler/Water runes. Only problem I have atm is lack of condition removal, those slows hurt.
Use Healing Turret, Cleansing Burst and pick the turret up immediately afterwards, then the cooldown of Healing Turret (and thus the removal of 2 conditions) is only 15 seconds; you don’t seem to get the Regeneration from Cleansing Burst, though.
If you’re in need of an emergency heal you can also use Healing Turret F skill and then a blast finisher, e.g. Elixir Gun #4.
Do you think it is viable to try your build at my level with leveling in mind?
Flamethrower is good in events because with #1, #2 and sometimes #4 you can tag a lot of mobs and get more exp and loot and a gold medal. However outside of events I advice not to use it because it simply deals too little damage.
If you’re level 60+ Grenade Kit becomes better during events because you have access to Grenadier.
Also, despite what the tooltip says, you can block more than one melee attack; it was changed a few months ago but the tooltip wasn’t changed.
but, but…I don’t wanna be a support class. I already have a guardian for that. I’d rather be a ranged nuker that can deal massive AoE damage, ya know like how mages have been in every single game ever in the history of video games.
Expect for at least GW1 were Eles dealt horrible damage; you know, the predecessor of GW2.
However if you want to deal massive AoE damage from afar you can actually do that; try the Staff build of Guanglai Kangyi.
Aggro is not random. http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Aggro there you go.
Most of the information on that page is speculation, e.g. some players have run tests and couldn’t validate that players with more armor/Toughness generate more threat.
How to get equipment:
http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/86123-allround-equipment-for-pvedungeonswvw/#entry2241188
In PvE the motto “As much Berserker as you can, as much other stuff as you need to survive”. For the beginning Soldier armor with defensive runes (e.g. Melandru) and Berserker trinkets is a solid idea, later on when you’re more confident in your abilities (and new content doesn’t make full Berserker suicide) you can switch the Soldier armor with Berserker, too.
According to the wiki:
Both speed buffs and debuffs do not stack; the effect with the greatest value will be used (though some speed effects from traits do stack). For instance, having swiftness and Signet of Air active will make a character move 33% faster, not 58% faster (33% from swiftness and 25% from Signet of Air). The in-combat speed reduction stacks with movement speed debuffs.
Grenade Kit and Bomb are the best PvE builds of the Engineer; Grenade offers the highest overall damage and best support, Bomb the highest direct damage. However expect for the one utility slot and 30 respectively 25 points in Explosives nothing else is required so builds can differ quite a lot.
More information:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/New-Level-80-looking-for-dungeon-advices/first#post3011897
There’s properly nothing better than a Grenade Kit Engineer in open PvE.
Dunno if the Tooltip reflects that but Deep Strike scales with level, if you’re not level 80 you get less than 40 Precision per unused Signet. Also Signet of Fury’s passive is to increase Precision, if you use it you lose the Precision of Deep Strike and the Precision of the Signet itself.
nope magic bullet have 100% chance of inflicting confusion after going through an ethereal field despite it being a physical projectile attack. Are you saying this is a bug?
It’s neither an auto attack nor a channeled attack.
I did the math for this in my written guide on Guru. 30/10 is the 3rd best choice.
30/25>30/0>30/10
30/0 = 30/0/0/10/30?
I’m still sticking with Healing Turret, Grenade Kit, Bomb Kit and Elixir Gun; Healing Turret and Elixir Gun are already good skills on their own but together they are even better, and Grenade Kit and Bomb Kit just go nicely hand-in-hand. Bomb Kit also gives me a “melee” weapon in case I face an enemy with reflection.
I zoom out as far as possible and keep the camera above my character so I can see “down” to be able to target better; for the longest time I’ve used the normal ground targeting, press 1 once to see where you’re throwing them, press 1 again to throw them. I’m currently trying out the new ground targeting system.
Against trash mobs your team should hit roughly 25 stacks even without you using Giver weapons so against those Berserker is the better choice.
Against bosses it depends on your team composition. Theoretically two Giver weapons increase of each party member by 1,5%, however if your team member have abilities that inflict a lot of stacks with a relative long recharge it can be that increased condition duration has not benefit. Basically if you have no more than 1 Warrior and 2 Guardians/Thieves in your group Giver is slightly better, otherwise Berserker.
Why do you compare a 15 points trait AND a healing skill to ONLY a healing skill?
Out of these two options Healing Surge is better because you don’t need to spend 15 points in a trait line that’s weak in PvE.
Earth and Water have an AoE slow, so if you switch from Earth/Water to Fire/Air and back you should be able to keep melee foes out of range most of the time. Air has also a stun for melee foes getting too close.
Water #2 heals yourself.
Ever since I knew these two things I had hardly problems with D/D while leveling.
Not sure how my build was back then but Fire and Air for more damage and Arcane Power for faster recharging attunements are properly the best idea.
OH Pistol is ridiculously overpowered in PvE; #5 makes you virtually immune to damage against everything but champions or Dredges, and #4 can interrupt hard-hitting attacks, e.g. the projectile spam of Young Karkas. Combine it with a MH Sword to be able to hit multiple foes at once and you’ll have one of the most easiest and boring leveling experiences in GW2.
You can kite around while killing mobs even without dots.
Up until level 60 you don’t have access to the trait Grenadier, without it the Grenade Kit shouldn’t be used as your main set; it is however quite useful as an utility skill for Blind and Freeze.
In lower levels the Bomb Kit works best, just lay down bombs while running in circles.
More information for a newbie Engineer:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Engineer-PvE-little-help/first#post2992442
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Updated-Engineer-Leveling-Guide/first#post2970327
If you want to know it more precisely when it’s better to switch some Berserker gear with Assassin gear:
http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/85254-power-vs-precision-berserkers-vs-assassins/
You could go 30/0/15/10/15 or 30/0/20/0/20 if you want reflection and faster recharge for shield.
cookie setup, all zerk with gs+ sword-focus. Can I have some trait details for this one?
This is my open PvE build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAsdWlYg6CHFyKEfIFSmCRCBteAQHk/UVIewKgRA-e
Secondary weapon and some skills change when I go into a dungeon.
The 2H build uses the same traits, the Honor 20 trait is VII, VIII or IX, depending on which weapon you mainly use.
It might make sense to bring a Greatsword as your secondary weaponset to be able to gain Vigor from afar; not every player and group is good enough to always stay in melee from the get-go.
A Grenade Kit Engineer will deal the most overall damage and at the same time provides great support due to 20+ stacks of Vulnerability and other utility skills he can bring.
More information:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Grenadier-build/first#post2986584
A Bomb Kit Engineer will deal less overall damage but more direct damage; is “only” able to inflict 7-10 stacks of Vulnerability but comes with a fire field and blast finisher (combos), and can bring even more support if so desired.
Example build:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/PvE-Dungeon-Speedrun-Zerk-Build/first
This might also be helpful:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Engineer-PvE-little-help/first#post2992442
Crafting gives you the same amount of progress towards the next level on every level, meaning you can craft your way from 1 to 21 or from 60 to 80; imo doing the latter is better.
Unlike in other games killing mobs is actually one of the slowest ways to level in GW2; instead focus on map completion (all waypoints, vistas, etc.) and events. Choosing skills that gives you Swiftness makes this easier.
You can have a new character ready for PvP in 10 minutes or so, so it doesn’t really matter what race your PvE character is. Also, in PvP all races are the same so the only difference is appearance; Asura is properly the “best” option because it’s harder to recognize a specific animation on an Asura than on other races.
For WvW Norn is good because the Snow Leopard is a great escape tool; otherwise Asura for the reason above.
For PvE it hardly matters because the profession’s elite skills are better; Asura gives you advantages in jumping puzzles though because it doesn’t block as much of the camera as e.g. a Norn.
Ranger is totally viable, but a RANGED ranger is not (even if it sounds strange). You can have a longbow as a burst weapon, but you have to swap back to your sword after barrage, hunter’s shot and rapid fire or else you’d be losing A LOT on dps. Pets aren’t a problem, they hit hard and they do not die so often if you know how to manage them! Sword/WH ranger is one of the best DPS classes out there, but you have no other build choice. That’s it :\
http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/86111-questions-about-ranger-viability/#entry2241074
So which class is easily casually played? All in a hard days work, I just wanna login and have fun and not stress myself over again playing a game (I can already expect some nasty responses over that line… But just humor me all right?). Seems ranger is playable casually, but to be optimal you have to work kitten this class?
A Ranger with Bow and Axe/Warhorn is properly the easiest to play and totally fine in open PvE however you may not be very welcomed in dungeon groups.
Warrior and Guardian are also played rather straight-forward.
At lower levels the attribute points you get are often more important than the actual traits.
Spend your point in Zeal, Radiance and Valor to get Power, Precision and crit damage, choose your gear to raise those attributes, too.
At level 40 put 15 points in Radiance and 5 points in Virtues for AoE Blind, Vulnerability, Might and recharge on kill and 5 points in Honor for more dodges; 5 points more in Honer for a faster recharge for “Retreat!” to have almost permanent Swiftness. If you want to do dungeons at that level 5 more points in Virtues for Master of Consecrations could be helpful. The remaining points for Power and Precision again.
Sword/Focus is imo the best weaponset; #2 and #4 inflict AoE Blind, #3 blocks ranged attacks and #5 blocks 3 attacks, #1 is the most damaging auto attack the Guardian has. If your GF doesn’t use Focus use Staff as your second weaponset to be able to give yourselves Swiftness; first run through the symbol/wall, then use “Retreat!”, otherwise you’ll only gain 1 second of Swiftness from the symbol/wall.
Your crit chance is too low and thus you’ll hardly make use of Honor 5; two times as many dodges will improve your survivability more than the Vitality/Toughness you have to give up for it.
Your points in Valor are wasted; you already have Absolute Resolution and have the option to take Pure of Voice so losing 1 condition every 10 seconds is redundant. 150 more Toughness when you already have a lot of Toughness makes little difference; it’s somewhat useful for a Berserker (group), though.
Better spend 15 points in Radiance for AoE Blind, Vulnerability and recharge on kill; it helps your teammates too and is great in open PvE. The remaining 5 points to into Virtues for more damage:
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQBYCJnBAgg2HAIsHYEAsRA-jAyAJ/ioxW1KiGrqmIqWXjZvRM4RzinarOAA-e
The unused traits depend on your utility and weapon choices.
At lower levels the attribute points you get are often more important than the actual traits so start with Strength and Arms to gain Power and Precision; any leftover points go into Discipline for crit damage. Those attributes are also the ones you should focus on when choosing gear.
As your main weapon set Axe/Mace is good, and you can increase their damage by 5% once you have 10 points in Strength. As a second weapon set you could try Longbow or Rifle; not because they are good but because it allows you to fight from afar when you think going into melee is too dangerous.
At lower levels Healing Surge and Healing Signet are about equally good healing skills, at higher levels you gain access to traits that get better the more adrenaline you have and thus Healing Surge gets better.
Banner of Discipline and Signet of Rage (Elite) are imo good skills for open PvE; you can pick up the Banner and gain new skills, and between Banner #2, #3 and the Signet you should have almost constantly Swiftness and Fury up.
Other professions already have a weapon swap so how would this conjure weapon swap work for them?
I would like to be able to pick up the second conjured weapon and that adds its charges to my own; that would make them way more useful in solo PvE.
The easiest solution would be a setting “Turn off Aegis effect on your own character”.
Then everyone with a kitten shield can delight themselves about how cool their character without the annoying effect, and it doesn’t hamper anyone else.
If you don’t mind doing it every ~16 seconds Bomb Kit #2 followed by Elixir Gun #4 will give you over the cause of ~50 seconds about as much Might as Thumper Turret but you’ll get far better additional skills.
I think Pistol/Shield is amazing in PvE, but only as a support weapon set, not as a main weapon set.
It gives a AoE blind, a blast finisher, reflection and a block, 20% longer condition duration (Giver weapons) and two sigils. In my book that’s better what the Rifle offers, at least if you don’t intend to use your actual weapon as your main weapon set.
If you’re running full Berserker why don’t you use Modified Ammunition instead of Incendiary Powder? Together with the minor trait it’s at least 9-11% more direct damage and it can affect more than one foe.
I’m not really a fan of HGH, with Bomb Kit and blast finisher you’ll be able to buff yourself with about as much stacks of Might, and more stacks for your allies:
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelIqSX3zyuF87IyoHd2ECAgeoX81IKqQ+B-e
Should be able to deal between 10-20% more damage or so than your version.
It’s basically + 50% more damage in a dungeon group
Nope, it’s 10% more damage.
If everyone in your group deals 1000 damage 10% more damage would be 1100, so your whole group deals 5500 instead of 5000; that’s 10% more.
If you’re the only Warrior in your party Banners and “FgJ!” will almost always be the better option.
If there’s more than one Warrior “On My Mark!” is even worse. One Warrior can already inflict almost 10 stacks of Vulnerability with Axe #2, Mace #4 and maybe some Greatsword auto attacks, with two or three Warriors you’ll hit the cap.
Aside from swapping to Flamethrower, using skill #2 and then quickly swapping to another weapon set/kit I cannot think of anything; if you already have the Flamethrower equipped skill #3-#5 are a nice addition though.
What makes the Flamethrower semi-useful is that it can create a fire field with which you can generate Might for your party by using blast finisher in it; however a Bomb Kit Engineer can do this even better because the Bomb Kit comes with a fire field and a blast finisher, and a Grenade Kit Engineer can do it just/almost as good by equipping Bomb Kit.
(edited by DesertRose.2031)
Flamethrower itself is viable, just the auto attack of it is not.
Flamethrower #1 has a base-DPS of 196, even with the 15% damage trait and 10% damage bonus when the target is burning that’s roughly 250.
Grenade Kit #1 has a base-DPS of 321 (with Grenadier).
Bomb Kit #1 has a base-DPS of roughly 450, assuming it attacks every ~0.91 seconds. With the 10% trait that’s around 492.
Now keep in mind that each grenade will inflict one stack of Vulnerability, meaning a Grenade Kit Engineer will easily reach 20+ stacks on their target; then the base-DPS will be close to 400. A Bomb Kit Engineer with 25 points in Explosives will be able to reach 7-8 stacks, boosting their damage to over 500.
With Precise Sights a Flamethrower Engineer will inflict 3.6 stacks plus condition duration on average, so around 260.
At least outside of solo PvE condition damage is rather bad in PvE so you should use weapons/builds that focus on direct damage.
You have two weapon sets, and with Discipline 15 (Fast Hands) you can switch between them every 5 seconds. So, rather than pondering about “What’s the best weaponset?” you should be pondering about “What is the best combination of two weaponsets?”
According to GuanglaiKangyi Rampager deals a little more damage in open PvE under ideal circumstances, even with a build like 30/5/0/10/25. However most mobs in open PvE don’t live long enough to reach your maximum number of Bleeds so Berserker is properly better.
However in groups Berserker will pull ahead. The reason for this is because all buffs to condition damage, like Might, increases your damage linear, meaning it doesn’t matter if you have 0 or 1000 Condition Damage, your Bleeds will profit equally from Might, whereas there are a lot of buffs or effects which increases your direct damage by a percentage, e.g. Vulnerability, meaning you’ll profit from them roughly twice as much if you have 2000 Power instead of 1000.
A Grenade Kit Engineer deals only about half to two-thirds direct damage as the direct damage build of other classes; if you add the damage from the conditions it’s about equal, though. If you want to deal as much direct damage as possible use the Bomb Kit.
However what a Grenade Kit Engineer excels at is support; the ability to constantly apply more than 20 stacks of Vulnerability is especially useful against bosses with Unshakable, and depending on your other skills you can buff your allies with Might, have AoE condition remove, and bring a lot of soft CC.
There have been many threads like this in the past few days:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Grenadier-build
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Tips-for-a-new-Engineer
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Elixir-Gun-flight-cancel
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/power-build-for-PVE
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Allround-equipment-for-PvE-Dungeons-WvW
Those threads should answer most of your questions.
If you want to use Pistol and be useful to your group this builds should be at least not horrible:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqalspSXHwSfF17IyoCdGoH5FfNiieAAU2kB
With thrown elixirs you can remove conditions from your allies and give them Might.
Adept Alchemy trait is either -20% recharge or Vigor.
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelIq6dH5STF17IyoHdGpNhgeAA81IKqQ+B
This is actually a Rifle build but should also somewhat work with Pistol/Shield if you use Rampager; the goal is to support your team with blast finisher while dealing damage with Static Discharge.
Adept Firearms trait is either -20% recharge or more range.
You could use the above Bomb Kit build simply with Pistol/Shield instead of Rifle but then you would be a Bomb Engineer, not a Pistol one.
Why do grenades have no auto cast?
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Why-do-grenades-have-no-auto-cast
Earth and Water has a slow, so if you always switch from Earth/Water to Fire/Air and back you should be able to keep melees on distance almost constantly; if a melee gets too close you can stun him with Air #3.
do you really need givers weapons to get 25 stacks of vulnerability? Thinking in taking steel-packed powder and precise sights enough.
Without Giver and food and with Steel-packed Powder and Precise Sights you’ll barely get to 25 stacks.
Without Giver but with + 40% food you don’t even need Precise Sights to get to 25.
With Giver and without food and Precise Sights you’ll alternate between 21 and 24 stacks.
Without Giver and food Precise Sights will inflict barely 4 stacks on average, assuming a crit chance of around 66%; imo that’s not worth 10 trait points. Someone once said to me that the main benefit of Precise Sights isn’t to inflict more stacks but to reach the max number of stacks faster.
I don’t spvp so I dont have a say in that. But I run banners in WvW and they are fine. The only thing that needs buffing is the #2 skill on banners.
The #2 skill is unique for each Banner; which #2 do you find too weak? E.g. I don’t think that the Discipline one (Fury) is too weak.