Guild Wars 2

the skies didnt fall afterall.

I’m undecided about cloaking device now. 5 seconds is awesome, but 25 seconds cooldown might be too much. its cool if the stealth lasts 5 seconds even if we remove the immobilization. will it still stack with immobilize’s like rangers elite? needs testing. :<

Yamsandjams.3267:

How do you feel your build will hold up after this patch? I’ve been planning on running something similar in WvW as a change up for my regular defensive support build, just haven’t bothered getting the gear until recently. I’ve used it in sPvP, but I think it will do better in the WvW format.

it will probably be hit hard because of confusion nerf and elixir S nerf, so I’d wait till after the patch.
it will still be viable if those are implemented, just not as good.

I could theorycraft and speculate here but there’s really no point. better to just wait a few hours :p

CriSPeH.8512:

JubeiTM.5763:

Engineers didn’t get nerf at all, they were just playing around with numbers. The result is almost the same. Curious to see how the healing turret is doing.

The Elixir S change will be one of the bigger nerfs our profession has received.
This is by far our most popular Stunbreaker and really our best means of disengaging.
Since Engineers lack the ground covering skills that most other professions have, alot of ppl relied on Elixir S to either turtle up and heal or combo into another defensive skill to get away.

I spend most my time in WvW and most Engineers that manage to escape don’t do it just using Elixir S, they needed to be able to combo right into gear shield or smokebomb. See we lack RTL or Blink or Heartseeker or Savage Leap or any other quick mobility type skills, so Elixir S allowing utility skills really put us closer to even with other professions. especially in WvW and PvE, since those other professions can use all those type skills to catch right up to us.

This seems to a straight out of tPvP nerf since you don’t draw as much focus and don’t have to run as far to get away. In WvW and PvE alot more Engineers are going to be eating dirt this next week.

elixir S + heal + supply crate was (is!) such a good combo, probably saved my kitten a few thousand times :p
it was very strong but Im not sure it required a nerf. anyway, it will take some time getting used to, making mistakes will be alot more unforgiving for my usual build.

this is very annoying I agree.
I suppose I be seeing alot more of this bug now if we cant drop supply crate while under S.

Korrank.7850:

Amazing build Mask. You inspired me to play engineer, and I started to PvP a lot cause of your amazing skill and build. I was wondering if I could possibly set up a duel (1v1) in sPvP with you? I just want to see what it is like fighting the real deal. (Ya don’t have to if you don’t wanna, add Korrank Derringer if you do). And again, you’re amazing!!!

Thanks, I’m glad I inspired someone :p

sure, we can duel, but according to the sig, aren’t u from fort aspenwood ? Gandara here, you know.. EU server :p

Monkeymonger.9235:

Hi, i started an engi a few days ago after watching your videos. So far the only 1v1 i lost was to a mesmer that used a phantasmal build [+health/damage, survival utilities].
I always brought him to 10-20%, but at this point he had berserker/duelists out and stealthed away. Do you have any advice for how to fight this build?

Also great videos ofc!

thanks, the key to those is in my opinion, dodging the phantasms. they have some very clear tells/animations.

@katsumo , pretty much what other said :p
protective shield is great and I use it for my duel build but cloaking device can make a much bigger difference especially against several guys or group fights

12% of 0 is still 0 :p

sharing is caring!

engie roaming video, 1v2+

nakoda.4213:

Judging the last month’s worth of sour grapes, I’d say it’s been “that time of the month” around here since March 26th.

lol

grenadier now only affects grenade kit #1
eg #3 now removes 2 boons at the end of the cast.
sigil of battle might base duration changed from 20 to 10 seconds.
enjoy!

well, considering the various guilds zerg v zerg vids I’ve seen around, people just call target on a friendly leader and follow him around mindlessly spamming aoe. I guess a bomb, grenade or ft version of this build would work fine for that, the tk one not so much.
if its a less organized zerg vs zerg I guess there’s no problem as you can single people out, pull them towards you and watch them melt as they try to escape.

it definetly shines more in zerg busting situations or small scale roaming in my opinion, but I my lack the experience in zerging :p

Myrmidone.4362:

To the Guardian and Engi from Tchu Tchu you are the best roaming duo i have seen so far in the Game, have seen you a lot before so i want to say respect nothing else;-)

Greetings from DTK

Myrmi

btw…….yesterday i met you, the engi at the supply camp near Bay, i faced you there with a Necro and you were more squishy than other times, changed your build for solo roaming?

thanks :p
it’s fun fighting you guys.

and no, I didnt change my build, but the necro was running corrupt boon and that makes it very hard to win against multiple opponents. even a 1v1 would be tough against a necro running that.

cheers, and thanks for the aknowledgement, I’m sure we’ll meet again ^^

MrForz.1953:

Face it, the last patch forced the Engineer players into HGH in order to remain efficient, the new KR is a joke and is nearly impossible to manage when having more than one kit, plus it’s not worth the pathetic, unhelpful and unwelcome effects it has. It is anything but a step foward.

Of course we drew lines. Not alot of people actually looked to play the Engi just to drink and shoot without anything else in between. Anet designs Engies (and over-nerf them) in order to remain versatile, but wait… I can’t be versatile if I decide to not spend 30 points in alchemy? What the…

10 points in alchemy. no hgh. no 409. several kits. destroys stuff.

WHAT. no elixirs, no might stacking, no static discharge and multiple kits??? you must be exploiting something!

nice vid amadeus, I really enjoyed those fights at astralfoghavenNEcamp, reminded me of something :p

one thing tho, I know you like sigils of purity/generosity and corruption but with all that kit swapping wouldn’t an “on swap” sigil like geomancy/battle/hydromancy work better? I can see chill being very good to keep people on your bombs.

also, inb4 useless build next patch

you are right about poison, in fact poison seems to act like that for all heal skills that cleanse, at least that’s been my understanding so far. Confusion, however, does get cleansed without triggering when you use a 1 step cleansing skill, be it 409 or C. 99% sure of this :p

Hybelkaninen.3087:

Maskaganda.2043:

actually I’d have to disagree rasputin. supply crate is awesome, the only bad thing about it is the long cooldown.
it’s like a second chance, even if you mess stuff up, you can always drop supply crate and turn things in your favor.

as for the other 2, they are almost useless. X can be fun but the randomness annoys me so much I can’t use it.

Actually I have to disagree Maskaganda, pull that Supply Crate stunt on a boss and watch him pulverize your entire army of turrets within seconds. If we were talking about 60 sec cooldown on it, it would be worth it…currently now it’s near pointless as the other Elite skills we got.

you are right, but I was referring to pvp situations like crispeh said. I should have made it clearer :p

Grackleflint.4956:

Maskaganda.2043:

actually I’d have to disagree rasputin. supply crate is awesome, the only bad thing about it is the long cooldown.
it’s like a second chance, even if you mess stuff up, you can always drop supply crate and turn things in your favor.

as for the other 2, they are almost useless. X can be fun but the randomness annoys me so much I can’t use it.

Hold. The phone. An Elixir…lemme get this rightAN ELIXIR…has a random effect…and MASK doesn’t like it?!?!

Who are you and what have you done with Mask?

heh, I dont mind the random boons. I do mind the random effects, especiallly since the outcome is so different when you get one thing i nstead of the other. Getting 13 secs of regeneration instead of 6 seconds of protection is not a big deal by comparison.
besides, we shouldn’t get an elite skill that is just copy paste from other classes, even if out versions can be better.

actually I’d have to disagree rasputin. supply crate is awesome, the only bad thing about it is the long cooldown.
it’s like a second chance, even if you mess stuff up, you can always drop supply crate and turn things in your favor.

as for the other 2, they are almost useless. X can be fun but the randomness annoys me so much I can’t use it.

I did some testing again and ended up deciding for sigil of battle over sigil of strength.
I know alot of you already use it and some even suggested it but I’ve been short in gold to test it properly :p
I thought that sigil of strength would be better against several targets but not even. fighting the same group of mobs (camp veterans for example) I’d get up to 19 stacks with battle vs max 15-16 with strength, even without micromanaging the cooldowns.

I’ve also made a duel build, dropping rifled barrels and coated bullets for incendiary powder and enhanced performance.

I’m still planning on showing you some pre-arranged duels against good opponents but I’ve been lazy to record them :p

love looking at a cof geared warrior screaming TARGET ME FIRST, I WILL DIE BEFORE I HIT ANYONE. it’s so satisfying :p

it doesn’t trigger with retaliation.

from what I see it triggers with:
-normal skills and utilities (duh)
-dodges that do direct damage (engies bomb, eles fire attunement, etc), but not dodges that heal (guardian, ele water) or thieves caltrops/necro mark
-health percentage autoskills (<3 prybaring a thief at 26% hp, blinding powder kicks in, look for the corpse)
-stomping (you will get one confusion hit when you finish the cast)
-triggers once with channeling abilities even if they hit multiple times (I think guardian gs3 is an exception, it seems to trigger per projectile)
-downed skills
-equiping bundles

that’s it I think, it might trigger with reviving as well, but I’m not sure.

oh and this much should be obvious but I know some have doubts about it:
it does not trigger on one step cleanses, provided it is getting cleansed. it will trigger on two step cleanses, for example, it won’t trigger when you drink an elixir while using 409 but it will trigger when you toss an elixir.

ah! I always found it way too low, glad to know it’s bugged. waiting for a fix.

it’s fixed for the 8 series.

LotuS.4378:

Amadeus.5687:

@LotuS his sitting at about 1500 Toughness
Keep in mind that not all matchups have those huge blobs, I recently moved away from Piken Square because my guild and myself got to tired of these 60-70+ groups running around! We now max face groups of 40 people most of the time, and that’s only rare and in EB, so it’s a lot better!

and heck, even in T3+ you can have a lot of fun roaming around taking camps, or following the zerk to pick off people from the side! There is a lot more to WvW then blob fighting!

1500 for solo/small roaming pt? for sure no, 1700 its min for engi roamer.

I run with less than 1300 and I do just fine.

I’m almost sure HGH won’t be nerfed, not directly anyway.
But even if it was completely removed from the game it wouldn’t be as bad as most think. I ran my build without hgh for months, I only started using it a couple of weeks before they buffed it back in december and it worked just as well. You lose might stacking, you gain something else.
I’d be more worried about formula 409 being nerfed tbh.

yes, they do. corrupt boon and well of corruption will both turn retaliation into 3 stacks of confusion.

yet poor necros will absolutely demolish you and your build with the press of a button available every 40 seconds ^^

weapon stats do work with kits. just not weapon dps which, as NevirSaydie said, is pretty pointless anyway.

Equip a weapon with vitality, switch to a kit, see if your hp drops. It won’t. It used to. Clear enough?

not enough for perma, but pretty close, at least in combat. with the setup I said you can get 19 seconds of retaliation from elixir B on a 32 second timer. hidden flask activates at 75% hp, giving u 19 more. then you have toss B and C/toss C and you can use elixir gun for light field + blast finisher for 9 more seconds if Im not mistaken.
add the transmute minor trait to the list as well.

this is me running boon stacking to the max:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGVTQ5YYSqs

as you can see , retaliation has a pretty high uptime, probably over 90%.

perma retaliation is very easy to get on an engie.
all u need is elixir b, 30 points in alchemy, fast acting elixirs, potent elixirs and some boon duration runes. when I ran like that I’d often finish fights with 1min+ retaliation which was a bit of an overkill :p

anyway, dont base a build around retaliation, u r better stacking all boons.

Simonoly.4352:

I must be the only person that thinks it’s fair that confusion ticks on a traited dodge.

depends on the trait. unavoidable minor traits shouldn’t punish players, even more if they are activated on health percentage.

I was dueling a thief with my engie a few days ago. He said, as many thieves tend to say, he was undefeated in duels. He tried and tried and tried and kept dieing to me. the funny thing is he was dieing to confusion even without using skills, I would prybar him at 30%ish for about 2k damage, the auto-blinding powder at 25% hp minor trait would kick in and finish him off for another 3k confusion hit.
so a prybar at 26% health is a guaranteed 5k damage on a medium armor target with a 25% hp proc they can’t even trait away from (unless, obviously, they choose another trait line). this happens to engineers and to a lesser extent guardians too.

I take a huge advantage of it but I don’t see it as being fair. confusion shouldn’t kick in when using minor traits.

Thank you and yea, you are right, sometimes stat stacking sigils are pretty useless. I actually don’t prioritize people running them but now that you mention it I probably should.

I don’t run from fights just to keep the stacks tho :p

what I’ve been doing recently is sometimes when I get stomped and have to release I just go kill some coyotes next to the southeast borderlands spawn by the vista. I dont grind them all the way to 25 stacks, I just grab a few (they multiply like wolves do) and kill them, usually gettting 7-12 stacks for 30 seconds worth of pve right outside the spawn.

And I have used Force before for a long time before I switched to corruption, I might actually get one again just for duels (there’s a cross server dueling guild around for my latest 3 wvw match ups and I keep getting invited to participate.. and some frown upon stat stacking sigils).

@kimbald , I just really love piercing poison darts at melee range when someone is trying to revive, especially combined with blowtorch. it doesn’t seem much but that alone makes coated bullets justifiable for me.

coated bullets and the extra range trait are very situational, they are not mandatory for the build at all. you can do just fine with only 10 points in firearms for the reduced cooldowns.

I find that coated bullets are great at stopping/delaying resses, I dont use it in s/tpvp and I regret it often.

Expiatus.4210:

I like how you lay down glue shot and then nails when being pursued. It’s a perfect example of Parthian Tactics. Engineers are annoying and unpredictable, and I love them for that.

ah! parthian tactic! :p
now thats funny since I described it recently as the way of the mongol. feint retreat, turn around, kill.
but yea, I agree, skirmishing, hit and run, dipping, disengaging, w/e you want to call it, is where I feel I’m at my best.

Tyaen.5148:

Alright Mask, you convinced me to switch back to 70% Boon and 60% Condition Duration. Happy now?

Im not trying to convince anyone :<

Kardiamond.6952:

Not only mesmer use confusion.

I play Confusion engineer, and I’m not biaised enought to defend it.

Confusion is really strong. It shouldn’t proc on traited abilities like on dodge effect and kit/attunement swap.

at least not from minor traits which you can’t avoid, thats just silly. prybaring a thief at 26% health means he dies to confusion without actually using a skill.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Drakeco-s-Videos-How-to-Shatter-mesmer-up

I go 50% duration and not 100% because I really having +70% boon duration. I feel I get more from that than I would from condition duration. Thats not the same as saying this is superior or inferior to going 100% duration, it just means I like it more and it fits my (and my groups) playstyle better.

both are good, both have their weaknesses and strengths. check goloiths and amadeus posts for some great 100% duration builds if you are interested. and quite honestly, the way we can stack confusion right now, +100% is probably unbeatable in a 1v1, just maybe not as good in a 6v2 :p

edit: took the direct download link down as the traffic limit was reached. Will set it back up when I can. unless someone can point me to a free hosting site.

Kardiamond.6952:

So Mask, that freaking “Protect me” also make them immune to CC? kitten

Good to know!

Thanks man!

Actually I’m not sure man, there’s a big chance I was wrong.
It might be http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Shared_Anguish , I just rewatched the footage and the pet seems to get pulled somewhere (but not to me) while the immune message pops up above the ranger.

check: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW_vpbMsgCA&feature=player_detailpage#t=143s

sorry if I mislead someone, gonna check other footage and come back if I have an answer :p

yes kardiamond :p

the damage immunity thing also makes them immune to pull. I had a couple of footage of that random ranger immunity and was trying to figure it out myself too, Im 90% sure its their immunity to damage skill. You can see that happening on my last vid too.

thats not a bug tho, its their trait to mirror the cc. should pull you the other way tbh! :p
same happens with necros that use that trait, but they autofear you instead.

have you noticed that you if start pulling a thief right before he casts shadow refuge, not only do you pull him out and reveal him immediatly but also.. he warps all over the place? it also happens with rangers that use that stealth on cc trait, you pull them and they warp around like crazy (even if you cant see them, when they do reappear they are no where where they should be.

it’s a prediction issue I guess, the server doesn’t send you the correct information. sometimes we get misses for no reason at close range if you prybar immediatly after magnet too.

Lanny.6987:

Hmm. I’m carrion trinkets and using the armor for the other stats. When you get a chance would you fill out your current gear on gw2buildcraft.com? I can’t seem to incorporate ascended trinkets without taking a real hit to my power and I’m wondering how you are threading that needle.

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/engineer/?2.1|a.1m.h1b.a.1h.h5|0.0.0.0.0.0|1h.b1h.1h.b1h.1h.71h.1h.71h.1o.71g.1h.b1g|21n.0.2u.d14.2w.d12.21n.0.1o.63.2w.d12|0.u46c.a6.u2ab.0|30.d|2b.2g.2j.2x.30|e

I forgot I still had one rabid armor piece.

its strange indeed, I know bugs usually get prioritized, some things have higher priority than others so this may be why.

If 1/8 players is an engineer and 1/5 is an asura, and from those 1/2 uses elixir S you are looking at 1/80 players having this issue which may even be considered non-important or non-gamebreaking.

So please, oh god of devs, send us 1.25 percenters some love, we do consider it gamebreaking even if you don’t. We will occupy your street.

I’m sure the fix can’t take more than a few man-hours, as it was working well before. Maybe use the same idea you got for super adventure box and make us all the same mini-size when using S.

so fix it

http://i.imgur.com/qYdeHTg.jpg

or the bunny gets it.

what they said.
although it IS (was?) bugged in another way. I often used it and it didn’t activate, nor did it go on cooldown, tho you can see the button press animation on your hotbar. I never seen it happen with anithing except C, I checked recordings of it and there’s nothing stopping me from using the skill. anyone else noticed it?
I havent used c for a while now, might have been fixed since then.

added direct download link for those with gema issues or just wanting better quality.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6180260/Mask%27s%2010th.wmv

MentalPause.9183:

@ Mask: I noticed you have a different set up for underwater, namely EG. Have you tried swapping out Elixir H for Med Kit for the extra heal from the toolbelt? It can make a big difference in those types of fights. Also, I was originally using geomancy, and have since switched to Strength as well (Last I checked you were using earth), surprising difference overall.

Also lately I noticed I’ve been having some issues with Necro’s in small fights. They are kinda hard to burn down and tend to saturate me with conditions while the others supplement. Any advice on taking them out in groups? Lately I’ve been creating space (They are kinda slow) and picking off the others while the struggle to keep up.

Love your videos btw. I just upgraded my computer so I’m hoping to be able to post some roaming videos once I get everything figured out.

I use eg and elixir X underwater; eg #1 seems to have a faster cast time underwater (might be just my wrong impression) but I prefer EG to any other kit underwater for a number of reasons. it’s tough to find cover underwater and eg gives you some extra mobility, I’ve found eg #4 to be very good in a 3d enviroment. I dislike the way supply crate works underwater so I use elixir X, but ofc, sometimes the randomness ruins my plans. it’s still a decent way to tank, no matter what you get.
I can’t really use medkit with this build, a fully traited elixir H is better than an untraited medkit, it wouldnt be worth the extra healing.
I’m also using sigil of strength since a month or so ago.

Necros are tough, they can counter my spec very easily by using some utilities. elixir C works much better than 409 against most necros, another thing is to learn how to recognize and dodge their utilities since most of them are long casts. it’s also a good idea to ease in against them, meaning.. don’t dump everything you have on them at once and dont use all your boons at once either. they are also extremely susceptible to cc.

best of luck for your roaming recordings!

Nate.8146:

Nice vid Mask, although I can’t help but notice your opponents are not that good :P Reviving a dead guy in the middle of a battle? whoa.. I do like your strategy with the elixir S though. I will have to start trying that out.

well, thats the dilemma, I either make an entertaining vid that most people enjoy and features the (not so) occasional mistake by some bellow average player or I fill it up with good 1v1s that no one really wants to see :p
worry not, I might make a duel session vid soon enough since its the latest craze in my current wvw match up.

Yamsandjams.3267:

I’d also be interested in seeing fights without using consumables. While I don’t object to their presence, I feel it doesn’t really showcase the power of a build when it’s juiced up with consumables. If the performance in the videos is relatively similar without consumables, that would be that much more impressive.

Also, any chance of EBG roaming? Seems like your videos are always borderlands… although I guess there’s better opportunities for roaming there.

consumables are a pretty big part of this build (really need that +40% condi duration from pizza); besides, its not like I’m using cheesy stuff like wayfarer buffs or skale venom, just the refular food and crystal most use anyway :<

dunno about ebg roaming, I don’t go there often, I might give it a try again.

nakoda.4213:

AH EM GE your soundtracks, maska .. it’s like watching a contemporary the young ones!

Thanks! I guess (?) :p

and thank you everyone for your comments and praises.

grimtooth.3146:

Biggest shout-out goes to maskaganda, love those videos and your mindset, keep it up.

lol thanks :p

RuBarBz.4972:

I’m haven’t played WvW with engi but this peaked my interest, could you link this build somehow?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Mask-s-10th-wvw-vid

Im in t4 so not really much difference :p gotta pick your fights tho

@ kimbald , lol :p

most fights are from this last 2 match ups so I guess this can go in here :p
(one isnt, previous week, sorry about that)

cheers ^^

Hey guys, new vid:

I tried to gather the best possible footage for this video -was planning to take a few weeks gathering it- but my hard drive kindly reminded me to take it easy as storage space tends to be finite. So this is still not the absolutely best I can get but I hope it’s enjoyable, there’s no pure 1v1s or 1v2s, all fights feature at least 3 opponents, sometimes together, others in quick succession, other times from different servers, all 80s except a couple. You know, the usual :p
It came out a bit longer than I expected which is sad because I had a couple more good fights I wanted to include, maybe better than some of those there, but also longer or repetitive (I’ve been rightfully accused of living at foghaven).
I most likely won’t make a new one until the next patch and w/e it brings us, I might open an exception for one of those duel nights that have been happening lately on my current wvw matchup.

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=VVRR;2Z;0h0u53UFx0;9;5T9T;235B5;019Ar

2x superior runes of water + 2 x major runes of water + 2x superior runes of the monk
sigil of corruption + sigil of strength

full carrion armor right now, mixed jewel set (2x rampager, 1 x soldier, 2xrabid)
1x giver’s pistol 1xcarrion pistol
rare veggie pizza + master tuning crystal

total +50% condition duration +70% boon duration

previous vids: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9NnXVfY4vRU1F-X7b1Oorw/videos?flow=grid&view=0

gear/build: http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/engineer/?2.1|a.1m.h1b.a.1h.h5|0.0.0.0.0.0|1h.b1h.1h.b1h.1h.71h.1h.71h.1o.71g.1h.b1g|21n.0.2u.d14.2w.d12.21n.0.1o.63.2w.d12|0.u46c.a6.u2ab.0|30.d|2b.2g.2j.2x.30|e