Guild Wars 2

Nate.8146:

The only problem with this build is that it’s pure glass. You’re going to have a very tough time if you do temple runs. You’re likely to die on the first drop at Grenth, or get overwhelmed by the sheer number of risen at Balthasar.

I wear full Berserker on my FT/EG Engineer in just about everything in PvE and survive just fine. Temples, dungeons, guild missions, etc. etc. etc.

Only time I slot into my Soldier gear is when I’m fighting something I have the intention of tanking, like Shoggroth.

Surviving the Temple of Grenth event is all about proper placement and avoiding the vortex/portals. No amount of Vitality or Toughness will keep you alive when you get dropped from the ceiling repeatedly. And Balthazar is all about numbers.

OP: You need to find some way to fit Deadly Mixture into your build. I like Napalm Specialist in WvW/PvP, but in PvE it has relatively little place. You’re not the only one that will be stacking burning damage on targets in dungeons, so it’s not very necessary. I also think you’re fairly safe running without Incendiary Powder if you’re bringing Rocket Boots. You should have enough sustained burning without it to take advantage of the 10% damage increase through Rocket Kick.

If you want to check out my build, it’s in my signature. Optimized for PvE though, so don’t expect to take this into zergs and vacuum badges or take it into sPvP and roll face. If you want to know what builds I use with the FT in those situations, I’m welcome to bounce ideas.

Dytrix.3061:

I am only lvl 29

Try out the Bomb Kit and see how you like it. Slot 10 points into Explosives for Forceful Explosives so they have a larger radius.

If you’re not a fan of that, put 10 points into Tools for Static Discharge and wield the Rifle. Provides good-to-great burst at a cost to your survivability; it’s a lot of fun. Sink the rest of your points into Firearms to bolster your Rifle (though 15 Tools is good as well for Inertial Converter).

I would shy away from other kits, at least early on. The Flamethrower only becomes effective with Juggernaut, which is unlocked at level 40. And the Grenade Kit is inferior to the Bomb Kit until you unlock Grenadier at level 60.

The Tool Kit is a more defensive style of play suited for sPvP/WvW, and the Elixir Gun is almost pure support, most useful in group-based PvE content and not soloing. You may find some nice synergy with Acid Bomb, but I genuinely believe that the Bomb Kit and Static Discharge are our two strongest leveling builds.

FreekPalmer.2839:

The issue I have with Turrets is the fact they can’t move.

Why should they?

I only really run the Rifle with Static Discharge in WvW.

Manuhell.2759:

Regarding Elixir U…dunno. Maybe they should change it entirely?

As in, removing Quickness?

Manuhell.2759:

Chaith.8256:

No. It was not okay with how massively popular Elixir R was as a stunbreak – almost no other stunbreaks were getting play after the nerfs to Elixir S. It’s still a widely used utility, which gets play in all game modes for support oriented builds. I personally prefer a 2nd kit, but it’s highly competitive.

The other stunbreaks weren’t being used simply because they are awful.
Exactly the same reason why almost no one uses Elixir S anymore.
And instead of making them decent enough, they pulled Elixir R at their level. And now the utility itself is useless.

2 extra dodge rolls every 24 seconds on top of Vigor and a Sigil of Energy is actually still quite ridiculous, especially if you can slot Runes of the Adventurer in there too.

I think the one thing that would make Elixir R more viable as it is right now would be making it an instant cast. Right now there’s that chugging animation delay, which makes it kinda awkward to use.

TheOneNOnlyGeneralBama.9586:

Elixir S used to be on a scale 1-10 a 12 (OP)
Now its merely a 6 (imo) lmao but its ok….

Elixir S still has plenty of use in WvW, I think. It’s also our only source of Stability.

TheOneNOnlyGeneralBama.9586:

Now you’ve lost the privilege to speak to him.

I’m sure I’ll lose a lot of sleep over it.

Uncalled for?

Maybe you shouldn’t walk around calling people who’ve played several hundred sPvP matches and racked up thousands of WvW kills “PvE heroes” like you’re somebody clever. What goes around comes around. I’m all for open discussion as I’ve had the luxury of having with many people around here.

But I don’t stand for people who walk into my threads who obviously just have an axe to grind.

Michelangelo.1742:

How do you get over 6k damage? I am using rampager’s armor so that may be why and also how do you get 25 vulnerability stacks? I can usually stack only 10 at most

Yes, that is why. Rampager is a good choice for the Grenade Kit, but the Flamethrower operates best by maximizing Power and Critical Damage.

As for the Vulnerability: There are 4 other people in my party.

Chaith.8256:

Again, I’ll clarify, I’m coming from a WvW/PvP perspective, where Elixir U is not fine.

And yet you’re sitting here arguing with me about changing it.

Chaith.8256:

And having no stunbreak is not fine, Mr. PvE hero. So keep in mind that background when you read my posts, haha.

Well, I play every aspect of the game, Mr. PvP hero.

I know you and the other 10 other people that tourney PvP seriously think the game revolves around you, but shelve the elitism for once, “haha.”

Grenade Kit is optimal for DPS, but FT/EG provides more group support through Might stacking and condition removal.

Really about which you prefer doing, but the Flamethrower does more than satisfactory damage now. With 25 Might and 25 Vulnerability on targets, Flame Jet regularly does over 6K damage.

Chaith.8256:

You’re saying if they remove the stunbreak from Elixir U, that will make players take Elixir U ‘as they did before’ and another Stunbreak in their build, LOL.

No, that is not what I’m saying.

It doesn’t matter if people don’t take Elixir U after they remove its stunbreaker. Its Toss ability already provides a significant amount of utility in PvE. What matters is that ArenaNet thinks people use it in sPvP/WvW as a stunbreaker right now when we both know nobody does.

The problem is: Elixir U is a crappy option for a stunbreaker that either depletes your Endurance or heightens damage taken. Compare that to Elixir R which refills your Endurance or Elixir S gives 3 seconds of invulnerability.

They never should have put it on the skill to begin with, especially since now they feel it’s necessary to remove Elixir R’s stunbreaker because elixirs had “too many.”

Chaith.8256:

Maybe there’s a a misunderstanding because I don’t PvE, but Elixir U hardly gets any play in the rest of the game, from what I’ve seen. I think Elixir R would be the superior choice in every case where an Engineer build can’t benefit from another kit’s utility, or a turret, or gadget, and just had an ‘empty slot’ for a non-stunbreak utility, if that were to ever happen. (It will never happen to my builds.)

Elixir R is great when you’re playing in pick-up groups. But if you’re doing a guild run of Arah p3 or CoE p1 that you’ve done a thousand times, nobody is going to die and it’s a waste slot. You’re better off taking something that will instead bolster your DPS, and Toss Elixir U is probably the best at this. It gives you Quickness and a chance for Wall of Reflection, which absolutely destroys some bosses like Lupi.

Chaith.8256:

You mentioned before you like the stunbreak on your warrior’s frenzy, that’s great. Cause what happens to Elixir U when you start with 3 random effects and take away 2 of them is.. you get Frenzy. A word for word copied utility, under a different name.

It will never happen from a flavour perspective, and still does nothing to address the problems it has in WvW / sPvP.

Warriors also have thousands more HP and higher base armor, so 25% increased damage doesn’t affect them as much as Engineers. I care little about how things appear from a “flavor” perspective. Currently Elixir U is a bad choice for a stunbreaker and they need to either buff it or remove the stunbreaker and put it on something else. Ideally: back onto Elixir R. I’m not calling for homogenization of all stunbreakers or Quickness skills. To be frank, I’m not exactly sure why they penalize players for Quickness skills in the first place.

Now are you ready to have a serious conversation or do you want to keep screwing around, “LOL?”

Chaith.8256:

Response to #1 – If the stunbreaker was swapped to something else, Elixir U would be so pillaged & spent, that it would resemble a veteran prostitute. Every other quickness utility is a stunbreak, cross-profession. You’re basically saying: ok ‘kitten it’, I’d rather the already better stunbreaks get better. But to be honest, I feel like none of these utilities, cross-profession, should be stunbreaks – just use the budget to make the darn ability better! You 100% need a 2nd stunbreak anyways!

Well, I use Frenzy on my Warrior all the time, and would prefer it be left alone. That’s not the topic of the conversation here, and I disagree that Elixir U should operate in ways similar to other Quickness skills, especially since Elixir U being a stunbreaker is a recent change (from March 26).

My issue stems from the fact that they felt elixirs had too many stunbreakers, so they removed the best one we had while leaving the one nobody uses. With option 1, players will still take Elixir U as they did before—for its projectile wall—and players will also have access to another stunbreaker on a skill that actually makes sense for the class to operate like a stunbreaker.

Chaith.8256:

Response to #2 – Just checking, you realize that all of the side-effects are mutually exclusive? You mean remove the endurance drain from the ‘pool’ of options so you either take 25% more damage or cannot be healed? Uhh. Another change that would affect a total of.. not a darn thing.

Quickening Zephyr was removed as one of the effects when Elixir U was made a stunbreaker, so it’s either 25% extra damage or the depleted Endurance. My idea for option 2 was quite simple: remove any chance for the reduced Endurance.

The only other class that has to deal with the Endurance penalty with their Quickness skill is also the best burst profession in the game that can near-perma Stealth so it’s not a problem.

So I understand why you removed the stunbreaker option from Elixir R. As an Endurance refiller, it was exceptionally powerful. And without it, we still have Elixir U and Elixir S. Elixir S is still a relatively amazing stunbreaker and is worth slotting.

My only problem is that by removing Elixir R’s stunbreaker while keeping Elixir U’s is that Elixir U is pretty useless as a stunbreaker.

Because of its mechanic as a Quickness skill, drinking it removes Endurance and cuts its regeneration by 50%, meaning you may break your stun, but your mobility is just as poor. And with the change to Stabilized Armor, why would you want to drink Elixir U and take 25% extra damage when you take 20% less while stunned? Or even 53% with Protection Injection? It just never makes sense to use it, and I see almost no one with it equipped in WvW or sPvP. The only time I ever personally use it is in PvE, and that’s for its projectile wall in Toss Elixir U.

I understand that for Warriors, Frenzy is a stunbreaker. It’s a skill that works similarly. But it doesn’t crush your Endurance pool, so it’s still a pretty good choice. So I’d like to see one of two things happen.

1. Remove the stunbreaker on Elixir U and move it to another skill.
2. Keep the stunbreaker on Elixir U, but remove the Endurance penalty.

For a patch that was designed to shift around stunbreakers to make them more viable, I was confused as to why Elixir U was left in its condition. Almost no PvP builds utilize it, and in PvE its biggest strength is its projectile wall. I understand that ArenaNet can’t get to everything in one patch, but the change to Elixir R just makes the issue with Elixir U all the more glaring and something that I think needs to be addressed.

Thoughts?

Just for clarification, I was running this build for a few matches this morning with pretty good success.

Elixir C could be swapped out for something else if you want to, but Necros just slap way too many conditions on you these days. I also find their Fear spam bullspit makes Protection Injection more useful than Backpack Regenerator these days.

Seras.5702:

Do you think that with FT/EG/RB we could effectively rock Static Discharge as well? With 30 pts in Tools the CDs would be low and with FT we’ll be close to our targets so even even the non-targeted SDs would hit enemies right? A hybrid FT/SD build seems viable. Maybe drop EG for another gadget like Goggles?

It’s possible. My only problem with that idea is that Incendiary Ammo has a relatively high cooldown for a toolbelt skill. So even if you swapped out the Elixir Gun’s Healing Mist for something shorter, you’re still tethered to only having 2 fast-recharging toolbelt skills. It’d still be a nice addition to your DPS, though, so you could swap Speedy Gadgets out for it if you’re looking for that.

Skribulous.3521:

What do you think about my All-kit build I posted in the builds thread ? I’ve been testing this for more than a week now, and so far my only real issue is getting downed far too often if I mess up my dodge due to the squishiness. The other isn’t isn’t major, mainly having to decide whether an all-boon bonus rune set (2xS.Monk, 2xS.Water, 2xM.Sanc), an all-Altruism set, or a mix of the two (2xS.Monk and 4x Altruism for the +6 Might stacks + 30% boon duration bonus) is best.

Looks good.

One change I’d really recommend, though, would be swapping out Rifled Barrels for something else. I don’t find I really need the extra range that often in PvE, especially since the Elixir Gun (Acid Bomb) and Rifle (Blunderbuss, Overcharged Shot) shine so significantly at close range.

Perhaps drop 10 points out of Firearms and sink it into Alchemy? This will give you room for Invigorating Speed in your build, which will provide more access to Vigor and giving you a much needed boost in survivability—often the only real thing we need in PvE. If the FT didn’t require Deadly Mixture, I definitely wouldn’t have 20 Alchemy in my build. And with 10 in Firearms, you still have access to Fireforged Trigger.

I would also consider swapping out Kit Refinement for Scope to help your Grenade Kit’s damage output, but that’s a play style choice.

As for rune set, what’s “best” is really up to what you want to do. Full Altruism is good if you’re seeking a boon support setup, but stacking Might/Boon Duration will be a better boost to your own DPS. I’m an Altruism fan, though I recognize it doesn’t suit all play style choices.

I’ve updated my Guru thread already if you wanted to check out there.

It’s in my signature. I’ll revise this, as well.

Edit: Revised in full.

Goad them into burning their Corrupt Boons early on in the fight so you can safely use your Elixir C when you need it.

Despite the buff to gadgets, the best way to counter Necros is an emphasis on Alchemy, I think. The condition removal is just too important.

lunyboy.8672:

Exactly. Why bring an engineer with a chance of a revive, when you could bring a Warrior with an instant up… or 2.

Being someone that has an 80 Warrior, I think Toss Elixir R is a hell of a lot more useful than Battle Standard.

In fights like Lupi, which is really where I only take Toss Elixir R these days, I can use it to revive myself if I get caught in a poison bubble without any Endurance. A Warrior cannot pre-emptively drop his Warbanner like we can ours.

I’ve taken a point to running 25 Tools these days with my FT, and now Toss Elixir R has a 96 second cooldown. Battle Standard has almost triple that. It may not be instantly effective, but there’s something about having an area revive every minute and a half that feels totally broken during long engagements (like the Aether boss).

jaif.3518:

Yes, incendiary needs a crit, but flame jet ticks 10 times. You don’t need a high precision to virtually guarantee a crit.

Guarantee a crit on what? One target per ten seconds?

The objective is to deal as much damage as possible across all targets you hit. I can stack over 100% Burning Duration without a single point in Explosives with Napalm Specialist, giving my Flame Jet burn at the end of each channel a 2s duration versus 1s. You may say that the 328 + Whatever damage doesn’t contribute a whole lot, but I assure you that it does. That extra 400 damage often makes the difference between getting a bag at my feet or not.

Anyway, I’ve made my point. Use what you will.

Terrahero.9358:

The amount of damage you have to do to get credit for a kill is very low anyway.

It is very low, but keep in mind that Flame Jet does very little damage per tick. Like 150 damage.

But hey. Feel free to do whatever you want. I’ve just found I walk away with a lot less bags when I don’t stack Burning Duration. People come on here all the time complaining that they get crap for bags doing zergs on their Flamethrower, and I’m just saying that Napalm Specialist has often worked very well for me, and I come away with very different results than a lot of players get around here.

You may get bags hitting guys for 400 damage with your Explosive Shot, but it’s pretty much generally accepted that you have to land close to 1000 damage to be “guaranteed” loot.

I’ve found that 0/20/20/20/10 also works fairly well if you’re reliant on Speedy Kits, but I didn’t get as many badges today as I did with 30 in Firearms. And the zerg sizes were about the same.

Terrahero.9358:

Phineas Poe.3018:

Such as? In WvW I feel that 0/30/20/20/0 is about as defensive as I want to get. There is a such thing as doing too low damage to where you’re not getting tags.

How about 10/20/20/20/0?

You lose some condition damage and precision. But gain power and cond. duration, and pick up Inc. Powder from the Explosives-line. I’d say thats a damage boost over going 30 firearms and picking napalm specialist.

Or you can go 10 into tools. Pick up a lovely Toolbelt cooldown reduction and 10% critdamage, aswell as Speedy Kits. Also something i’d rate much better then going 30 Firearms for Napalm Specialist.

Two things:

1. Incendiary Powder requires crits to proc. If you’re wielding the Flamethrower and manning the frontline in a zerg, you’re probably wearing Soldier gear for the most part. Your Precision will be pretty low.

2. Blowtorch and Rocket Kick are both conical and can hit up to 5 targets. They benefit more from a flat increase in Burning Duration across all targets hit than an additional burn on a single target. I’m talking about tagging here. And the best method to getting badges is doing as much damage as possible across multiple targets while staying alive at the same time.

Not saying that Napalm Specialist is the overwhelming favorite or that I even use it all the time, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near as useless as you guys are insinuating. I used it pre-patch to try and nab as many badges as possible, and it was stupidly effective at it when used with Blowtorch. Now it’s just even better.

The Gates Assassin.9827:

Phineas Poe.3018:

I dunno.

With certain builds Napalm Specialist was very powerful pre-patch, especially for bunker builds that slapped like a wet fish for direct damage. With the new Rocket Boots animation, they’re finally worth using—which has a toolbelt which applies 5 seconds of burning.

So between Blowtorch, Incendiary Ammo, and Rocket Kick, people have to cleanse 3 times to get rid of my burns, which last quite a while otherwise. Remember that your chance for badges is dependent on damage done to targets, and if you’re a bunker FT in full Soldier, spamming Flame Jet isn’t always enough. The extra few seconds of burning has definitely made a difference in tags.

And I was messing around with it in sPvP the other day, and while it may be better to roll 30 Inventions with the buff to Stabilized Armor to use alongside Protective Shield/Energized Armor/Cloaking Device/Reinforced Shield, I don’t think Napalm Specialist is a terrible option to boost your damage.

Time will tell, but it’s a trait people took pre-patch and used effectively, and it’s only gotten stronger.

It was a trait taken because Juggernaut was a grandmaster and there wasn’t much in that line to take. Those 10 points in firearms could be so much better used in another line.

Such as? In WvW I feel that 0/30/20/20/0 is about as defensive as I want to get. There is a such thing as doing too low damage to where you’re not getting tags.

Rifle Static Discharge builds got better this patch.

Surprise Shot got buffed. Analyze has a lower cooldown. And Modified Ammunition is surprisingly good with the Rifle. As a Human I’m actually very curious to see how Prayer to Lyssa will work with that (applies a random condition to foe, boon to yourself—12 second cooldown).

I was thinking of running a Rifle build today. I need to do a couple CoF/SE runs. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I dunno.

With certain builds Napalm Specialist was very powerful pre-patch, especially for bunker builds that slapped like a wet fish for direct damage. With the new Rocket Boots animation, they’re finally worth using—which has a toolbelt which applies 5 seconds of burning.

So between Blowtorch, Incendiary Ammo, and Rocket Kick, people have to cleanse 3 times to get rid of my burns, which last quite a while otherwise. Remember that your chance for badges is dependent on damage done to targets, and if you’re a bunker FT in full Soldier, spamming Flame Jet isn’t always enough. The extra few seconds of burning has definitely made a difference in tags.

And I was messing around with it in sPvP the other day, and while it may be better to roll 30 Inventions with the buff to Stabilized Armor to use alongside Protective Shield/Energized Armor/Cloaking Device/Reinforced Shield, I don’t think Napalm Specialist is a terrible option to boost your damage.

Time will tell, but it’s a trait people took pre-patch and used effectively, and it’s only gotten stronger.

That would depend. What level Fractal? The Flamethrower is not going to ever be as strong as the Bomb Kit or Grenade Kit in DPS given its native 200 passive Toughness, so I’m not sure it’s the best choice for top-tier runs where speed is everything.

DrMatt.9408:

I’ve played around some more and tbh, Im going to keep using the above build in wvw. protection injection and leg mods are just too good to give up.

I don’t use 0/25/0/20/25 in WvW; it’s purely a PvE spec.

Apologies if I didn’t make myself clear on that.

rogerwilko.6895:

I`m not happy with PvT, even in zergs, the damage output is mediocre at best. So I survive, but hitting for 200-300 (pistol) is meh.

Direct damage from your pistol will always be mediocre regardless of what insignia you wear.

Soldier gear has Power as its main attribute, so you should still be sitting on close to 3,000 Attack in a full set. Use Maintenance Oil and Drop Stimulant to lift your low Precision. I sit around 45% when all is said and done, with 24K HP and 3K Armor. It’s a good insignia; you just have to build around it.

This is what I’m currently using on my FT/EG Engineer in zergs.

Swap out Healing Turret for Med Kit when you need more Water fields. If you’re bad at running SE, you can swap out Runes of the Forge for 5/6 Warrior and 1 of something else.

DrMatt.9408:

Interesting point about getting those minor traits for 5 each, although as soon as you dodge you loose enduring damage, and target the maimed is reliant on the target bleeding. In this build ECM will give you 5% damage increase constantly as you should be running 5 boons at least during battles.

Every target you attack should be bleeding because the Flamethrower stacks it through Sharpshooter. This is a non-issue.

And about Enduring Damage: if you think you’ll be dodging a lot, then sink the 5 points into Energy Conversion Matrix. I just think you’re leaving a lot of damage on the table putting a full 30 into Alchemy.

10% extra damage is significant, even if temporary: a lot more to your “burst” than anything Energy Conversion Matrix will give, especially when paired with Scholar runes.

DrMatt.9408:

I’m using leg mods and protection injection mainly because they significantly improve your survivability in wvw. If you get stunned/dazed/feared PI can save your life. However I take the point that in general pve they should probably be swapped out for other traits. You could swap PI for backpack regenerator as mentioned above, and swap leg mods for something else. I’m going to keep the trait point set up the same though so I don’t end up loosing 1000 health and 10% boon duration.

Sure. In WvW I use Protection Injection too. But in dungeons? Not really. You can swap to Backpack Regenerator, but the point is that you’re really not gaining anything by sinking that final 5 points into Alchemy. And when it costs 3.5 silver to respec your traits, I don’t really see why you shouldn’t be optimizing your Flamethrower for dungeons when you do take it there.

Viscero.7293:

You also have to remember it gets kittened if youre slowed or chilled so its an even trade off

How so?

Rocket Boots cures immobilized, chilled, and crippled conditions on use.

I now run something similar. Only difference is that I take 10 points out of Alchemy and put it into Firearms and Tools for Target The Maimed and Enduring Damage (0/25/0/20/25).

This gives me a 15% increase in my Flamethrower’s damage output, which is more than Energy Conversion Matrix could do (1% per boon). I also don’t think Protection Injection is all that useful in PvE, but that’s just me.

Also: Definitely try out Rocket Boots. Rocket Kick gives a considerable amount of burning damage that synergizes well with Flame Jet’s passive 10% increase to burning targets. Without Incendiary Powder, you’re not applying enough, especially if you’re using the Rifle over your Pistol (which has Blowtorch). If you do, swap out Leg Mods for Speedy Gadgets giving you a pretty fast Blast finisher to use in Water or Fire fields.

Brew Pinch.5731:

Relax fellow engineers, we have it far better than most.

Why are you saying to relax? No one is raging here. I even thanked them for this change.

I just don’t think it goes far enough. Whether or not we have it “far better than most” is totally irrelevant and contributes nothing to the conversation.

Right, but my point is that having it on Healing Mist versus Acid Bomb means that you have a second stunbreaker when you hit 25% HP.

Obviously Acid Bomb has a much shorter cooldown, but I’d argue a 15 second stunbreaker would be a little too strong given how tanky Engineers can make themselves, especially in light of the Stabilized Armor buff.

By no means perfect but this is what I’ve been messing with lately.

• 3000 Armor when in the Flamethrower
• 20,000 HP base
• 50% Critical Hit Chance
• 50% Burning Duration
• 53% Damage Reduction when stunned
• Perma Vigor/Swiftness (on crit)

May not be the tankiest method but you’re still very durable while also being able to pump out a lot of Burning Damage so you’re not slapping like a wet fish. Rocket Boots may be swapped out for Elixir S, and you may use a Shield in place of the Pistol off-hand if you’re having trouble landing Blowtorch.

Zenon.7364:

Might sound strange for an engi player, but I personally don’t like this change.

If the intention was to make EG more popular I’de rather like to have the Elixir F’s projectile speed and or the weakness duration on the autoattack increased so that one can stack a bit on the 2-3 shots you want to get out in between. Would have been perfectly fine for me. If there really should be a stun break on the EG it would, at least imho, fit better with Acid Bomb with an increased CD. Wouldn’t be that accessible but still more than good enough. On the toolbelt it seems a bit misplaced to me and I can already see it being removed again.

Overall I feel a bit pulled into a certain path and I usualy tend not to say yes and thx for that.

Mmmm. I disagree.

I prefer the stunbreaker be a toolbelt skill for one reason: Inertial Converter.

Now 15+ Tools is viable, and a welcome alternative to elixir-spec lording over everything.

Iarkrad.8415:

Flamethower is vary good in comparison, but sevearly lacks when taken to WvW, sPvP or any actually difficult dungeon.

lolwut.

I’ve been taking the FT into CoE and Arah for months now. Never had a problem, though I do have to fight Lupi at range during phases 1 and 2 of his fight.

The FT just got even better in WvW too, because now with Juggernaut as a 20 point trait you can sink a full 30 into Inventions now, better improving your survivability. Same with sPvP. It’s an incredible bunker spec now.

Deified.7520:

I would be very disappointed if they nerf rocket boots. It gives us a viable escape. Compared to all the leaps and kitting mechanisms that the other classes get, we really deserved this.

I don’t see them nerfing the actual range. Only reason this trick worked is because it can be used with Super Speed from Slick Shoes. It’s a mechanic that works with all leaps in the game. If Warriors had access to 2x movement speed they’d be able to do it with Savage Leap.

If anything, they’ll just nerf Super Speed so that it simply grants Swiftness.

It’s unfortunate that the stunbreaker is gone, but we now have Stabilized Armor, which with Protection Injection lowers damage received while stunned by 53%.

Elixir R still refills our Endurance and can be used as a self-revive in sPvP. I still use it.

Nate.8146:

Phineas Poe, they didn’t add 100 range, they moved the range trait from the Rifled Turret Barrels to the Elite Supplies. So now instead of getting range on all turrets + 15% dmg, you now only get 100 extra range and no other turret buffs. It’s actually a nerf.

I didn’t know that about Rifled Turret Barrels. Good to know. Thanks.

Nate.8146:

Had anet released the game where grenades only had a max range of 1200, then I would say the mortar would have value. By giving grenades the same max distance and making them so good, it’s really difficult to give them up.

Well, ArenaNet did release the game where grenades had a max range of 1200. It’s Grenadier that gives them 1500 range, and a possible solution is that they nerf the trait making Mortar more viable. That’s a pretty hefty subtraction though, especially when Mortar has more issues than just its range.

tattoohead.3217:

They also lowered the animation and recast time on flame jet by a good bit (efectivly increasing the damage) and with the buff to Napalm Specialist 33% up from 20% burn duration, not to mention that Rocket Boots are making a comeback and the toolbelt skill adds burn. I think we have a very viable FT condition build.

Wait, what do you mean in regard to Flame Jet animation? Looks the same to me, and still is a 2.25 second cast.

FT/EG build got buffed so hardcore this patch.

Thanks for recognizing that Mortar needs to be improved, but adding only 100 range to it is still not enough.

There is no excuse for an “elite” skill to have equal range to the Grenade Kit on a significantly slower attack speed.

Kilger.5490:

With juggernaut get an extra 6 stacks might with full uptime, and that can include HGH, not to mention the toughness. Not to mention a fire field to stack another 6 or so with little problem with a couple blast finishers. And it attacks often so great to stack on-crit conditions.

Not sure why flamethrower gets a bad rap.

The build it opens for me is to use the trait to pierce with pistol, spread around a lot conditions that way, no need for grenades to get a full spread of conditions on everyone.

Juggernaut is really not as great a trait as it sounds. Any PvE dungeon group can reasonably hit 25 Might, meaning the 6-9 gained from Juggernaut is a total kitten to your DPS.

They need to just elevate the damage of the Flamethrower at a flat rate rather than using Might stacks as a fix.

For new options: I don’t see much changing if these notes are true. You’re still going to sink 40 of your points between Firearms and Alchemy for Juggernaut and Deadly Mixture. As a DPS option, it will still be outclassed by other kits.

I really hope these notes are fake, because while I think making Juggernaut a Master trait and Fireforged Trigger an Adept trait are nice, merging Deadly Mixture with Fireforged Trigger would have been a hell of a lot nicer and would have freed up any need to put points into Alchemy at all, which is exactly what the FT/EG build needs.

The Flamethrower and Elixir Gun are the only kits that we have that have to put points in a defensive tree to best bolster their damage. It’s half the reason why people think the FT’s damage is so “subpar,” because Grenadiers and Bomb Kit Engineers can sink 30 points in Tools no problem while we’re stuck sinking 20 of ours into Alchemy.

I’m pretty happy overall.

Gadgets and turrets have had their cooldowns reduced, the Flamethrower had its trait dependency lowered, and Tools traits have been improved.

Gnat.9405:

Kaaboose.3897:

zerospin.8604:

More like – new content – and unavailable. Like the skins. What’s even the point?

So you gamble money on the gem store or the TP. Since it’s limited time content it creats a sense of urgancy and keeps the market stimulated. A real cheap tactic to keep players playing with the shallowest of content.

This. The temporary content makes the gem store items look extremely attractive with their “limited time only” design. It may be unfair to say that the main reason these events leave nothing permanent behind is solely for ANet to score from limited time items, but with more and more RNG in the gemstore it’s getting pretty obvious that there is a lot of motivation there.

Then make the weapon skins temporary. Take away Fused Weapon Ticket drops. But leave the dungeon.

It was something new, and it was obvious they put a lot of work into it. Why would they spend all that time and money crafting that dungeon only to remove it a month later? I’ve never heard of a developer managing a game’s content that way, and it’s really strange.

There’s a such thing as seasonal content, like Dragon Bash, but it becomes suspect when everything becomes temporary.

I’ve tried it. You frontload more Might, but I find that Energy Conversion Matrix more than makes up the difference.

If you don’t think you’re going to have a lot of boons on you due to the composition of the group then Enhance Performance is a safe choice. But if you’re rolling with a boon Guardian or something similar, I think you gain more by running ECM.

Terrahero.9358:

Phineas Poe.3018:

vinceftw.5086:

Yeah I bought myself 600 for now I don’t think they’ll rise though. A slight maybe when the event is done.

I don’t see it going up in price either. At least: Not for a very long time. There’s just too many on the TP.

But given that they’re so cheap, and because Condition Duration food is arguably our best to use in dungeons/WvW regardless of what build you have, you might as well stock up anyway.

It cost me roughly 20 gold to get all that I wanted. Maybe in a couple months I can re-sell it for 40, but I’d rather keep it to myself and never have to buy Rare Veggie Pizza ever again.

Its always a longterm investment. When was the winter event? Half a year ago? And now the snowflakes are looking very profitable. I litterally stand to quadruple my initial investment, probably more.

So sure, it might not be instant profit. But the price will be pulled up because these items are also being consumed really fast. 3 cakes for 1hour of PvE/WvW.

Keep in mind that Super Veggie Pizza is a cheap alternative that gives 36% Condition Duration and is less than 1s a piece on the TP.

Many Engineers go for 2x Mad King, 2x Lyssa, 2x Lich/Nightmare for that reason, picking up an extra 4% Condition Duration to make up for their food.

lunyboy.8672:

For full support (Arah), I generally DON’T run SD, but change my traits for more durability and survival.

Why not? We have plentiful Vigor to dodge out of all of Lupi’s BS.

But our lack of Stability is really a big problem in phase 3 if you get a lot of aggro due to high Toughness. I find it’s safer going the DPS route against him. He usually ignores me when I’m in Berserker gear.

Only time I slot in my defensive gear is when I’m tanking Shoggroth with the Flamethrower, on path one.