Warriors – A pain in the kitten in PvP, but I don’t find them that bad in WvW. They have lots of sustain, yes. But because of the wide-open nature of WvW compared to PvP where you need to sit on a point, Warriors in WvW need to use slightly different tactics. Using Hambow would just get you killed. As soon as a Warrior switches to bow, I drop my kits and reflect.
Guardians – This is the one class that has never known what its like to be UP. However, they’re not OP. In PvP, if the guardian is alone on a point I tend to just overrun them with conditions from afar until I see an opportunity to knock them back. If they have a friend and it becomes 2v1, then it is best for me to run. Even a mediocre guardian is nothing to scoff at. In a gametype based around holding small plots of land, its only natural that the super tanky controller class will be strong. I tend not to see many that roam in WvW. Mostly for the reason as to why they’re so good in PvP. They’re great at defending and for control in zergs, but when roaming they don’t have AMAZING mobility and sticking potential.
Thieves – Most thieves have a canned skill rotation that can be easily predicted. In PvP, an engineer can easily go toe-to-toe with any thief build, with the exception of an HGH grenadier vs a s/d thief. In WvW, you can’t escape a thief unless you blast your smoke fields. Just fight them. When they’re losing they’ll just stealth away and reset the fight. Keep calm and continue on your merry way. If they come back, fight them again. It’s good practice for when you meet a decent thief. Perpexity thieves are something to watch out for, though.
Rangers – While we CAN 1v1 these guys in PvP, I wouldn’t recommend it if they’re the meta spirit build. If they aren’t, then go get em champ. In WvW they’re strong roamers, but so are we. Golden rule in WvW: if they’re coming at you with a bow, you have the advantage. Otherwise, its equal ground.
Engineers – they’ll hook u in a gabba m8, i swer on me mum
Elementalists – Stone skin eles are really annoying. S/D eles bring a decent amount of damage, D/D eles have more sustain and CC. In PvP and WvW they’re not much of a threat. The upcoming balance patch will buff their sustain, however. So be wary then. Roaming eles were once uncatchable, unkillable demons.
Necromancers – Our hard counter. Only if they’re condition. In PvP, pack condition removal and range them down with ’nades. In WvW, try to run away. They have the lowest mobility in the game. Abuse that. MM builds are just bleh.
Mesmers – In WvW, if its a PU mesmer, just run. They can’t catch you. And you running away will make them feel unwanted and unloved. They’ll eventually succumb to the loneliness and depression as they realize that their only friends are their clones and phantasms. We’re on equal grounds with every other mesmer build.
Basically, in my opinion:
In PvP we’re disadvantaged vs Necromancers and Warriors, and have the advantage over thieves, eles and sometimes guardians. Equal with everything else.
In WvW we’re disadvantaged vs Necromancers, and whether we are advantaged or equal to other classes depends on their build. I.E. we’re advantaged vs power rangers, but equal vs regen condition rangers.
Are engineers a great choice in PvP? Yes, yes and yes. We’re amazing.
Are engineer a great choice for WvW roaming? Yes x 10^100. We’re even better here than we are at PvP.
Are engineers a great choice for WvW zerging? We’re okay. We offer sustained ranged damage, CC and healing bombs. We’re weak to retaliation, which limits the builds we can use. This is an area Anet needs to work on.
