Guild Wars 2

magical giant.8650:

PierPiero.9142:

a condi bomber nukes you really fast.

I’m aware that conditions might be a problem so you have to be extra careful around other condition based players but I always was to begin with, engineers are rather weak vs condibuilds in general in my opinion.

Scrapper is stronger becouse, with the fact that you have a block on hammer and stealth , if u need it on elite, you can play with hammer, sneak gyro and for example take elixir C or purge gryro against condition, then you have 2 skill empty for what you want ..

zinkz.7045:

Ovalkvadratcylinder.9365:

This bring forht another good point about elixir S compared to the invuln skills that allow skills.
Those skills don’t make you immune to ccs.

Erm, mist form, obsidian flesh, distortion, etc work the same as elixir S, they grant invuln, they also let you use skills to various extents, and they are all superior as invurns because of that.

I prefer elixir S to all of them . I got stealth and invuln with the same utility. i can use them togegher or not . Ele has no disangage skills and mesmer has much better disengage skill other then distortion. I would not switch elixir S with any of the other skills you have said .

PierPiero.9142:

With tools you have 6 secs stealth every 32 secs ( if i don’t get wrong ) ,

It is also somewhat irrelevant, if you look at say mesmer utilities do you say its okay utility X is lacking a bit, because I place it in slot 4 so I get distortion on f4? (that is rhetorical by the way)

Agree distortion is not an utlity skills but when you use it you lose also your clones and for a mesmer it is a relevant thing, it is not cheap

This bring forht another good point about elixir S compared to the invuln skills that allow skills.
Those skills don’t make you immune to ccs.
I would much rather have elixir S as it is now with cc immunity than the other way around.[/quote]
Yes in spvp it is really a huge difference. When i stomp with elixir S i am sure stomp will succed ( without another player use stealth on downed) , when i do the same, for example with mesmer F4 ( which has a longer cd) cc break my stomp … it is a really huge difference . I really love elixir S as it is .

a condi bomber nukes you really fast.

perhaps i am not good but i find elixir S real strong . With time reduction of alchemy and proc from alchemy you have it twice in a minute . It is a secure stomp and this is a great thing . With tools you have 6 secs stealth every 32 secs ( if i don’t get wrong ) , which is quite strong. The problem imho is that you have to use it smarty , for example , when health go down stealth before proc elixir S . Real problem is when you pop elixr S and you are full of conditions. .. you die in any case , but if it was different i think it would be too unbalanced .

If you leave the esports side, Condi engi its great in solo q, and ft its one of his main components to deal damage, pretty much you unload your pistol skills and sit in ft for fill the cd’s, also, hist toolbelt makeswonders if the nemy has no ways to cleanse it

Problem of condi engi is that you have terrible condition removal. You can switch elixir S with elixir C against condition based team but you lose a lot of survivability and escape. Another solution can be to give up with toolkit and play pistol pistol with ft, elixir C, elixir S and mortar … you can kill a necro but it is hard to go against a warrior for example .
Condi engi can be great if you are luck to find the right opponent team… otherwise it can be an hell ( for example against 2 necro or condi warriors or good condi mesmer or condi ranger)

Why going on NA ? I have an account on anvil rock and i met really pleasant people ( forgive my english ) but for wvw in my opinion , as for spvp , from Europe , Eu servers are better for an obviuos reason of timing : mine prime time is the same of other EU players while on NA , at my prime time , it is quite often empty , in particular spvp but also wvw ( so nothing related to the players quality , which is, imho the same , good and bad everywhere ) . If you play late in the night NA can be really fun instead

juno.1840:

PierPiero.9142:

i think you ’d destroy the only not scrapper build avaible in spvp …

I didn’t suggest anything other than have fewer attacks in the chain for same damage. So maybe you can clarify your statement by answering these questions:

1. Are you saying Flame Thrower is a viable PvP build?

2. Are you saying that the FT #1 must have 10 attacks in 2.5 second duration?

3. Are you saying that adding burning per attack will destroy the build?

1) yes ft with rabid can be quite viable for casual players , not for tournament. If you don’t want to play scrapper ,pistol pistol condi (rabid/wanderer ) with ft is the best alternative you have (perhaps the only one ) .
2) no it is not a must but for me it can be handy .
3) i am saying that if you lower the amount of burning it is a loss. I prefer to have it all on the last togegher , it seems to me easier to use

No you can’t . Anet can not put a gun to the head of people ordering them to play wvw. The only think that they could do is to redistribuite people from all server to less server …and it is not so different from what they do linking . You could also delete the server by itself and put people on map dinamically basing on how full they are. … but it would destroy guilds becouse every time you would play with different people but you could manage even numbers easily

juno.1840:

Ghotistyx.6942:

FT deals 10 attacks over 2.5 seconds. Even a 0.5 second burn per attack makes for 5s worth of burning (over 3 seconds, which means it’s burstier). With 100% burn duration, that’s now 10s equivalent. 1s per tick with 100% duration is a disgusting 20s worth of burning over 3.5s. That would exist under far less investment then any other burn focused build. Such a change would upset balance with the other burn capabilities engineer has.

You would need 1/4s durations which would still provide 100% uptime base, but not get ridiculous when other factors are added.

It took me a while to digest your math — I have to agree now that I understand your “5s worth of burning over 3s” remark.

This suggestion of burning applied per attack tick would require the total attack count to be reduced. This would be a popular change due to the retribution boon effects alone.

I think it’s worth noting that other classes have some sever burn application. For comparison purposes, the Elementalist Scepter-1 attack applies 3 seconds of burning over a 1 second attack (unbuffed). That can easily reach 5s with buffs.

i think you ’d destroy the only not scrapper build avaible in spvp …

PierPiero.9142:

OriOri.8724:

PierPiero.9142:

Supreme.3164:

If condition dmg would work like power dmg and require 3 stats..we wouldn’t be here discussing, we wouldn’t be here is condition dmg had a stat working against it, like toughness to direct dmg.

People trying to say that something like this : https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Skull_Grinder can be cleared with skills like this:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Cleansing_Fire

Luckily I can play professions that can send back that feeling of helplessness..back to the condition builds

Conditions use 2 stats ( condi duration and condition damage ) but they are not immediate as direct damage so it would be a little unfair if they have a 3rd statistic. And in any case 2 stats ( precision and ferocity ) are a boost of damage, condition damage has no real boost except the base value. It is a different mechanic. How many classes have a condition based meta ? I know mesmer and perhaps necro ( even if many necro are power) . The other 7 i think of no so i don’t think condition builds are now so overpowered

And power based builds have 4 stats they need to spec for. This automatically makes condi builds easier because they only have to slot 1 condi stat (2 if they are serious and want duration) and are absolutely free to have the last stat or two on their gear be all about survivability. Or they can even go for a hybrid build and have all the stats for condis so they can still pull off condi bursts at full power and still have impressive power damage to back it up. Its a broken system fundamentally.

Condi classes shouldn’t be allowed to have “free” stat slots to slot for toughness/vitality/extra power damage because power based builds don’t share that same luxury.

There is not VT amulet on condition. Look at amulets . You have not free stat with condition. If you take toughness you can not have vitality ( rabid , wanderer ) , if you take vitality ( carrion ) you can not take toughness. (sinister and viper have no defensive stats at all ) . There is nothing like Paladin in a condition build , where you can have toughess and vitality togegher …. Are u speaking of wvw or spvp ? becouse in spvp there is no the problem you are talking. The only amulet which is s carrion with power vitality and condition damage, but you have no toughness so you have to play only on your active defense and you have no condi duration so the condition damage output is mitigated ( only 1 of the 2 stat). Perhaps you are speaking of wvw …. and i don’t play only condition builds so i am not defending it for this .
with sinister and viper you have great damage, but it is like playing berserker… 0 sustain … It is paladin amulet imho which is quite wrong …

I play both engineer and mesmer and i agree with op. many times i find easier to moa with elixir X toolbet that with signet of Humility …. ( and with kinetic battery , in a condi build i can ma twice too …)

Supreme.3164:

If condition dmg would work like power dmg and require 3 stats..we wouldn’t be here discussing, we wouldn’t be here is condition dmg had a stat working against it, like toughness to direct dmg.

People trying to say that something like this : https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Skull_Grinder can be cleared with skills like this:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Cleansing_Fire

Luckily I can play professions that can send back that feeling of helplessness..back to the condition builds

Conditions use 2 stats ( condi duration and condition damage ) but they are not immediate as direct damage so it would be a little unfair if they have a 3rd statistic. And in any case 2 stats ( precision and ferocity ) are a boost of damage, condition damage has no real boost except the base value. It is a different mechanic. How many classes have a condition based meta ? I know mesmer and perhaps necro ( even if many necro are power) . The other 7 i think of no so i don’t think condition builds are now so overpowered

I did not like it but i +1 on this. At least in unranked having a bit of variety is a good thing . I can understand you can not have it in ranked becouse builds for a such map should be a little bit different from builds on conquest and so , if you get this map randomly the match is meaningless. But in unranked, imho , it is better to have more maps. If my build is not ok for that map … and i lose , in unranked, it is not a great problem. Unranked is for having fun

in meta there are few condi builds and many direct damage / support build. So Condi are not out of control. If condi builds were so op every class would use it . If you tune down conditions you have to tune down direct damage too otherwise classes which have not good dps builds will be erased .

I tried something like this but it seemed weak to me :
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQFAUlUUh+sYXWw6KQ7FLpF13GGAho4IlFVx4PmGFJA-TJRBQBA4CAYw9HcYZgP8AAAA
( i tried to couple decap to boon removal )

[quote=6395597;Silv.9207:. Engi have the common dps, the condition and the decapper build (a shame that barely no one use it, it’s a insanely strong build!). Thief have the common stealth, the full dodge and the pistol build and they all work really good. The ranger have the LB dps, the bunker and the condition build and they rule with them all. Mesmers have direct damage, condi damage and still the support/bunker build. [/quote]

How is decap engi build ? i did not find it in any places and with all stability around i am just curious to try it

insanemaniac.2456:

zinkz.7045:

insanemaniac.2456:

back around vanilla release it was only good in pvp scenarios because stability was op and it gave on demand stability. after juggernaut was nerfed to only provide might it was a noob trap until HoT.

Apparently Teldo didn’t get your message whilst he was winning tournies that flamethrower was a “noob trap” after the juggernaut nerf.

i seem to recall he was huge on eg/ft but nerf after nerf pushed him to something like bomb/tk/eg.

I never tried but i think that a build with ft. eg and elixir S now could be really fun for spvp . You lose toolblock but you gain a stun break, eg 4 … and something new to play. I want to try it

insanemaniac.2456:

f
…
but its fun. i prefer it in wvw over power. but in pvp power is better.

But condi pistol pistol is much more fun in pvp also than boring hammer scrapper

In a power setup bomb or nades traited are much better imho. The damage of FT is quite low as dps, it becomes really good with burning in a condition setup. But if you have no condi damage the direct damage is not that great. Nades or bombs are much better.

No staff ? i was thinking to try only scepter but you lose a strong evasion skill … ( staff 2 ) but staff sometime seems me not as good in wvw as in spvp

Which build to use ? i looked on metabattle but there are more than one build on the same build , more alternatives . What to use ? for now i was using something similar to the spvp meta so chrono illusion , inspiration. Is it ok ? there is something better for wvw condi roaming ?

Ghotistyx.6942:

Stability in wvw is important though.

FT can work well as power or condition (best for zerging and roaming respectively). It’s main issue in zerging is retaliation, which is dangerous enough to drive it out. Flame Legion runes are a good option with power FT and might stacking is pretty self explanatory.

In a power setup i find ft a terrible kit. Nades or bombs are much better for a power setup. Taking a setup with power and condi togegher ( sinister or viper) makes you really squishy so it is really hard to use it . I want to see you to kill someone not brainless in 1vs 1 with a power setup and flamethrowers.. i find it really hard. I don’t like zerker engineer becouse i don’t think that there are really viable builds. SD or rifle based build with full berserker are quite weak against strong people and also with hammer i think that the best setup remain marauder or paladin but ft damage in power is quite bad

Condi class, at least in spvp are not so faceroll. If u play condi engi for example ( with pistol pistol ) you have to setup your fight and to avoid some matchup ( warriors and necro can kill you easily so you have to fight against them being ready to disengage ). Condi mesmer is really strong but quite balanced imho, at least in spvp. Resistance is quite strong and a good dh or a good warrior can kill you. And being effective with mesmer requires more skill than other professions becouse you make damage shattering . On necro i can not say nothing becouse i don’t play it but , for what i tried, playing condition based build is not easier than power ones .

Dawdler.8521:

Problem is that when its effective in a condition build, you kitten either the flamethrower or your condition damage because its either juggernaut or incendiary powder.

Might is not that usefull in a condition build … IP is much more important imho so i have no doubt on what to chose. Standard condi engi build is based on damage stacked by pistol 4 and IP and bleeding from autoattacks. Other condiotions help and are a good coverage but the burst come from these 2 .

Flamethrower can be really good but it is a kit in which you can not camp in. It is effective only in a condition setup ( rabid+ dire or trabalizer or viper+ rabid ). I play with the same build i use in spvp ( classic ft, toolkit , elixir S build that you find in metabattle ) . I use FT for its toolbet skill and now flamejet is quite strong if your opponent has burning. In my opinion it is a good setup for roaming. I find it good in a condition setup , not in power . it is different from guardian burning becouse with engi you use many more conditions for covering burning. it is not probably strong as meta scrapper but it is much more fun to play .

maddoctor.2738:

Keep the builds coming. I’d love to see some DPS comparisons so we can judge if Ele condi dps is fine or not.

From a spvp point of view, in my opinion condi elmenetalist is a no go. You can make damage from burning and bleeding but for being viable , at least in spvp , the most important thing is not how much stacks you stack but how many different condition you stak. If i stack you 1, 2 or 3 condition quite often , it is quite easy to clean.
If i stack you 5 or 6 conditions it is really harder to clean. Conditions are cleansed by number, not by stack . Cleaning 10 burning stack or 1 burning stack is the same.
So condi ele becomes unviable against all the condi cleans that are in this meta.

Ivantreil.3092:

Dawdler.8521:

Ivantreil.3092:

idk if this happens in other races, but the asuras always drop a smile when they use poison dart volley :P

Sad but true truth … old true engineers … use pistols and find scrapper hammer boring as hell

The op made the wrong question , as already said. There is one race, the superior one, asura … and other subraces … inferior races . So you can chose to be superior or not. It is simple . :-)

Sins.4782:

Ivantreil.3092:

idk why, but tool kit simply doesnt work for me, utility googles, elixir u, elixir b or rocket boots have done me a better work for me than tool kit

I feel that too, tool kit has more survival, but you dont damage more than the other options that i mentioned, i guess pry bar cant carry the kit so much after all.

You don’t take toolkit in a condi build for prybar. You take it for the vuln & cripple covers on throw wrench and the auto, and the repeated application on box of nails, which will let you pressure eles with diamond skin up and give you a much better shot against anything with high condi removal (read: most of the meta). On top of that you gear shield, which is still the 2nd best defensive skill core engi has when traited, and an unblockable CC that is still great to use as an opener or for baiting defenses with stows. There are a ton of fun things you can do with the kit like proccing on-swap sigils and other effects while blocking, and playing mind games with magnet, which is twice as fun if you have toss elixir s stealth as well.

toolkit is great but it is not as easy to burst as with elixir U. I think that the classic ft, tk , elixir S build condi is really really strong but not so easy to play becouse you have 2 melee weapon … and a mid range weapon. Taking Elixir U instead of toolkit makes you a little weaker becouse you have no block , you have to stay away for your opponent but your burst is great and consistent. It is much easier to put burst with it than with toolkit. Even if the build toolkit in good hands is stronger

fruitbat.8705:

i also have an engi and mesmer which both are 80, tho i feel like they arent good for a new pvper either..

I think that the simple thing you can do is to begin with a scrapper ( engineer specialization with hammer ) . It is a strong build , with really good sustain and it is quite easy to use . Probably , among mesmer,necro and engineer, scrapper is the think that give you much rewards in less time. Obviously mastering a class is not fast, but, at the same skill player level i think scrapper is the easiest of the 3 . Mesmer is strong but it is not as immediate as scrapper .

Ivantreil.3092:

PierPiero.9142:

I really don’t like scrapper.
This is the build i am using since start of season 4. It has a great burst but you have to play it as old sd berserker build even if you are condi .
Elixir S and elixir U are a great couple : Elixir U gives you a really strong bust to use as alternate of FT toolbet skill and also give you a projectil reflection, a great skill.
The only class really hard to fight are warriors for their resistance and some dh , not all. In any case,quite often , i am loosing i am able to stealth and run away. If you play as “+1” in a team fight you can be devasting. Try it for fun. Obviously is not ESL.
Scrappers can be an issue too .. but it depends … many time you will kill them if you play smarty .

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqalUUhatY5Vw+KQ7FLsFlYHNFPxYOOG/I4HWiBAA-TJhHABAcCAA+BAQx+DeXGAA

The idea obviously is to kill before be killed … I am also evaluating a variant based on alchemy , firearms , inventions with shield traited but the problem is dps … it is quite low so i have to think it better to be viable …

I use that build sometimes too, quite bursty :P, my only issue with it its that the toolbelt is situational, even at safe stomping, but still, a good choice imo :P

It is a fun build , not made for ESL but it can be really strong. It is situational , true, but you have 2 great source of damage, elixir U and toolbet skill. and if you begin with elixir U … dodge and activate kinetic battery , you can use ft toolbet twice. It is really an absurde burst. Obviously you have to play as a thief …. but it is really really fun for me . And in any case you have 2500 toughess, not as rabid but not that bad… and elixirs remove conditions . You have not the sustain of scrapper, but with stealth , elixir S, toss elixir U and a bit of attention you have a little sustain too . I tried the classic build with toolkit but for me i was not able to win 1 vs1 quite often. I lasted more with toolkit but it is hard to make sufficient damage to kill before be killed. With this build instead, i win more often becouse i lose a great block from toolkit, yes… but i gain an absurde damage and against range classes like rangers or pistol thief toolbet elixir U is great

I really don’t like scrapper.
This is the build i am using since start of season 4. It has a great burst but you have to play it as old sd berserker build even if you are condi .
Elixir S and elixir U are a great couple : Elixir U gives you a really strong bust to use as alternate of FT toolbet skill and also give you a projectil reflection, a great skill.
The only class really hard to fight are warriors for their resistance and some dh , not all. In any case,quite often , i am loosing i am able to stealth and run away. If you play as “+1” in a team fight you can be devasting. Try it for fun. Obviously is not ESL.
Scrappers can be an issue too .. but it depends … many time you will kill them if you play smarty .

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqalUUhatY5Vw+KQ7FLsFlYHNFPxYOOG/I4HWiBAA-TJhHABAcCAA+BAQx+DeXGAA

The idea obviously is to kill before be killed … I am also evaluating a variant based on alchemy , firearms , inventions with shield traited but the problem is dps … it is quite low so i have to think it better to be viable …

In the end, they buffed Ft, bombs , shield and rocket bots. I think that in next season many people will play condi engi again, but… how ? any new build interesting to try ?

Joxer.6024:

PierPiero.9142:

I think the op made the wrong question. The real question is not what is the best race for an engineer but… what is the superior race of tyria? What is by far better than any others ? Obviously Asura … so … for every class, the best race is always asura . And obviously, i am impartial

Lol, I didn’t make the “wrong” question per say….just should have labelled it “Asura rules all”, is that what you are saying?
Yea, they kinda grow on you.

Yes Asura Rules ALL

I think the op made the wrong question. The real question is not what is the best race for an engineer but… what is the superior race of tyria? What is by far better than any others ? Obviously Asura … so … for every class, the best race is always asura . And obviously, i am impartial

Toasa.1236:

“Dueling” Condi is lame as kitten.
Another full noob who cant Play any power class.

Another full noob who play without condi remove …

Wvw problem is different and imho not bound to engineer as class.
There are specs that with food, trinkets and whatever have an incredible toughness, great condi remove , really good damage. It is a problem of stat balance more than single class imho. Wvw is completely broken from a balance point , as gametype itself ( 20 vs 200 ) and as stats

Sins.4782:

PierPiero.9142:

Sins.4782:

It was a bit too good traited, but the solution to that is to tune down the trait they overbuffed in the first place, not to kill the base skill…

You guys are too negative. It is not bad 2 seconds block every 13.5 seconds . ANd in this patch we had also something good. In my opinion now core engi is really better. shield if traited is quite strong now and if you take ft and rocket boots you have good damage in condi and 2 heal combo’s ( classic turret + f1+rocket boot) . it is not bad at all . Try it .

I would agree with you that 3s every 13.25s is far too strong if this was still pre-HoT. Since HoT though there have been a ton of unblockable effects introduced, both damage and CC, that make it rather unlikely that you’ll actually be able to stay blocking for the full 3s anyway, or that you won’t take heavy damage while doing so still. As I’ve said, I’d like to see it go back to 3s every 16s traited instead of 3s every 13.25s, and I think it’ll be balanced at that point.

I don’t think the issues with condi engi have been resolved yet— the shield buffs did nothing to address the problem of p/s simply not having enough damage to be good without sacrificing multiple utility slots to augment it. Regardless, the gear shield nerf did hit core power engi very hard, which does rely largely on that block for damage mitigation.

Try to use rocket boots with shield . his elite has a good condi damage every 15 secs. i think that if u use it with pistol pistol it can have really a huge damage ….

Sins.4782:

I haven’t been able to use rocket boots since they changed movement speed mods from working with it. It just feels so… slow now, like it’s hardly worth using as a movement skill.

Edit: I’d also like to advise nightmare runes over balth if you’re using wanderer’s. Your big burns are going to be cleansed before they can tick out most of the time, and you’re wasting some by going over the duration cap for burning. Nightmare gives you longer lasting cover condis, which makes your burns a little harder to cleanse, and it gives you some much needed condi defense on the transfer on elite use. Tormenting runes are also a good choice for the extra cover. I’d also recommend changing your sigils for more cover conditions: frailty and tormenting are both good choices. I also think geomancy is flat out superior to earth right now.

it was a build i put down in a minutes but thanks for the suggestions . The toolbet of rocket bost is quite good and also the combo f1+ rocket boot can be useful . My build was only a suggestion for people destroyed for the reduction of gear shield. It is a nerf, ok but for me it is not something that make core engi trash. Instead the use of traited shield is something new. Probably it will not be next esl setup but it is something people can try . Don’t be desperate

Sins.4782:

It was a bit too good traited, but the solution to that is to tune down the trait they overbuffed in the first place, not to kill the base skill…

You guys are too negative. It is not bad 2 seconds block every 13.5 seconds . ANd in this patch we had also something good. In my opinion now core engi is really better. shield if traited is quite strong now and if you take ft and rocket boots you have good damage in condi and 2 heal combo’s ( classic turret + f1+rocket boot) . it is not bad at all . Try it .

I am trying this build after patch . It seems working ( it is for fun ) :
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqelUUhatYfXw+KQ+FLsFVYNcRvmYHNFPB4HWiBAA-TJRFABI8AA6Y/hzLDAwJAAA

The skill cd in editor is wrong, it is 20 secs for shield 4 and 24 for shield 5. It is not that bad . I think shield now is a little bit better . Not viable for esport but not that bad . I prefer pistol pistol since 2012 as gameplay , but shield traited now seems ok to me .

i am angry too but i understand the nerf : 3 secs on 13,5 is really huge… 2 secs every 13,5 means more than 4 secs block per minute … it is not bad and it is in line with other similar skills. Perhaps i would liked an improvement on toolkit autoattack as compensation becouse it is really bad .

Joxer.6024:

PierPiero.9142:

it is not a fun question. it is a fundamental question imho. Which is the smartest race ? Asura… so a profession based on math and science… should be Asura .

LOL…that’s just mean to all the Char out there……

It is a joke , but i am an asura fan boy …. sorry . For me everyclass in this game, asura is better

it is not a fun question. it is a fundamental question imho. Which is the smartest race ? Asura… so a profession based on math and science… should be Asura .

Ivantreil.3092:

Ardid.7203:

Exactly my point! I would really love to get a better condition availability while wielding rifle. AA giving more bleeds, Blunderbuss adding some burning, Net Shot could cripple, maybe even a few confusion stacks for Jump Shot…

That sounds exactly to what we have with pistol aa, and it would get rid of p/p main purporse, i would suggest making rifle get weakening conditions instead of damaging conditions (inflict weakness, criple, chill, etc.) and make rifle aa get his damage buffed to a 15% if the enemy has vulnerability.

We don’t need another condition based weapon Pistols are great for that , eg, ft are great with condition setup . Rifle imho is ok as it is for pve. We have 1 power spvp/wvw weapon ( hammer) , 1 general pourpose condi weapon setup ( pistol/pistol), one good pve power weapon (rifle) and an unusefull kitten ( shield )

I don’t agree. Rifle is a great pve weapon and i think it is ok for that in pve . I used it quite often for pve roaming and for fractal.
For going power ( i prefer condi usually) i think that rifle with bombs and nades is really great. It has good burst and i have much more fun with it than with hammer. Power scrapper in pve probably is good too but i don’t love hammer and if i take explosive, firearms and scrapper i have no switness … with explosive ,firearms and tools it can be great. What for me is really kitten, really useless now is shield. It has no use in wvw, no use in spvp no use in pve. IF anet tomorrow delete it nobody realize it

Sorry , yes, i confused toughness with armor. I arrive quite easily at 2700 armour that is quite enough for me. Coupled with elixir S and stealth i can survive quite well and in the mean time i have really a good condi burst . The link is an example . i am at work now so it is not the real build but i think it is really similar to this . I ofter swap elixir C for elixir U which is really great imho . If i go full rabid i arrived at 3k toughness but with a low vitality in any case i have not chance against a necro for example . I saw instead that with he 13% of condi duration of viper, if i play smart i can quite often see them go down , with the same build . The amount of damage given from FT toolbet skill + elixir U is really great and the survivability through elixirs and kinetic battery is not that bad . I personally have better results with viper than with rabid in wvw

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqalUUhCsYtWw+KQ7FLsF1YOOG/oYHNFPB4HWiBAA-TVhMQBZRPA4U/hgKBjhyPAs/AA-w

I suppose that Anet has the numbers of avarage player for server over the time. why not Try to plan a definitive link server and reduce the number of serves ? Instead of linking for a short period of time merge them in the bigger ..

I agree with the op , the zerg fight is meaninless, brainless ( it is a matter of numbers ) and boring. The only solution would be a different point system with which if you want to make points you have to split more . The “train” is too strong and too rewarding for people to leave it . The only wave to solve this problem is to force people to split, to make split in littler groups a must