Guild Wars 2

It’ll probably port you to either the top of a JP or next to a chest guarded by a Champion. Can’t think of anywhere else it could take you unless they’ve created new areas specifically for the Portal Device.

Conan.8046:

Its good the way it is! Increases the skill cap! Engineer is only supposed to be played by pro’s!

While I believe this is meant to be sarcasm, I can’t ignore the comment. The issue is independent of skill cap. It’s about making other skills’ toolbelts viable options for SD builds.

Every profession sub-forum has QQers complaining about being underpowered and useless and blah blah blah…

Rangers can bring great team utility, but you’ll hear people complaining about the constant pet death. Engineers have so much build variety and can fill any role, but you’ll get whiners complaining that profession X does it better. Warriors are kings of PvE dps, but they’re not nearly as top-o-the-charts in PvP. Etc, etc, etc…

Every profession has strengths & weaknesses. Play whichever is most fun to you. With updates every 2-4 weeks, every profession is going to change its ranking in the OP/UP listing.

I main an Engi cuz it’s the most fun. And I find my warrior incredibly boring, despite its ability to hit hard.

For the next 2 weeks, get your XP boosters and head to Crown Pavillion and just follow the zergs from destroyers to DE to destroyers to DE to…..

See, I was expecting a flesh wurm with little yellow lightening bolts on its ears and a lightening bolt on its chest.

My vote is for a teleport (maybe 600 range) with a cooldown long enough so that it’s only useable once per Plague. This way we can transform, spread our disease, and then pop to another location and spread disease there.

Listen to TheGuy. Rifle is all about control and having jump shot & net shot with such a low cooldown is invaluable. Pistol/Shield has some great utility, but if staying in range is your biggest problem, I suggest making the switch to rifle. That, plus your magnet and RB should give you the gap closing you need.

7 characters:

Asura Engineer 80
Sylvari Ranger 73
Sylvari Mesmer 53
Human Necro 47
Human Guardian 45
Human Warrior 13
Asura Ele 13

Engineer is my most favoritist love, so 85% of my time is spent with her. But I clearly have an altoholic streak in me, so every other month I get itchy to try something new and spend time with another profession. I love creating characters.

I’ve deleted probably 10 characters, either lvl 1 placeholders or lvl 20s with models I didn’t like or professions I trashed to try another one. I plan on eventually buying 1 more slot for a thief to complete my set.

Engineer. Been my main since I discovered the joys of bouncing around, swapping kits, and killing my enemies with crazy weapons. Perma-swiftness from lvl 20 on, no-CD kit swapping, grenades, bombs, flamethrower, shotguns (rifle), elixirs, turrets…tons of fun. And with all the viable build options, you’ll never get bored.

Engineer is a great class that is designed to be “mid-ranged” according to Anet. Almost all of its attacks are ranged attacks, but you won’t be sitting back at max range and pew-pewing your targets. You’ll either be tossing aoe grenades, bouncing between ranges using your shotgun (ahem, rifle), burning down the enemy at midrange with your flamethrower…you get the idea. It’s a dynamic class that isn’t melee but isn’t a sniper sorta class either. Trust me though, very fun!

Honestly, the point of a duplicate profession is almost always convenience. A 2nd would let you run 2 different specs without having to regear, retrait, reskill. Also, you can park a character in 1 spot for something done often. A COF1 farm spec could be one, and a WvW spec could be another.

Gmr Leon.1846:

=/ So no matter what, it’s kind of annoyingly inconvenient, but at least the dungeon possibility might be tolerable. I kind of came to that conclusion myself as I looked over the wiki, but I put it aside because I either didn’t like the skin or I was really hoping I might be overlooking the possibility of them being available with almost all stat sets.

After all this, I’m just more inclined to believe I simply need to sort out my traits and play better. This equipment stuff is simply obnoxious, which is why I typically try to avoid it in games like this.

Also, again, transmutation stones are invalid on personal principle. I think it may have negatively influenced the design of the equipment system making it as bothersome as it is.

I don’t see gear acquisition as annoyingly inconvenient. They can’t just hand out top tier gear to you without you earning it. The nice thing about dungeons is that you can run them pre-80. You can run Ascalonian Catacombs or Caudecus Manor before you’re lvl 40. Run them here and there as you level and by the time you hit 80 you’d have enough tokens for a full gear-set.

If you want the easy way, you can buy whatever you want from the TP. That’s convenient. But I always feel that earning something offers a greater sense of fulfillment.

And I don’t understand you druthers with respect to transmutation stones. Acquiring gear from many different methods is handy. Being able to make them look the way you want is even more convenient. I feel like your stance on gear acquisition and on x-mute stones are in opposition. Many people prefer the look of a lvl 20 looking armor piece; x-mute stones let them have that look with exotic stats. Nothing wrong with that. It keeps the entire population from looking identical.

Shoulda made one of the spokes giants…so we’d have more than 6 to kill for the achievement. Or at least pepper in some giants here & there.

Acquiring Armor:

In Lion’s Arch there are a string of dungeon vendors that trade armor & weapons for dungeon tokens. Check em out and figure out which you’ll want. Then run that dungeon for tokens. This is the most economical way imo, because you’ll earn gold and drops from the dungeons, and not pay any gold for the armor.

You can hunt down the various karma vendors in Orr (at each temple once unlocked). Use the wiki to see what they each carry, as none of them has a full set of any stat set. This way is also cheap because it’s gold-free, but the selection is limited.

If you WvW you can use the badges earned there at the vendors near the asura gates in the Borderlands.

You can also pick up the Leatherworking and Huntsman crafts and make your own stuff. I’ll warn you though, that leveling these 2 up to 400 wil be costly. You’ll have a lot of mats in your bank if you’ve been gathering and not selling them, but you’ll absolutely need more than what you’ve got. Especially if you level both. It’ll cost you 10g+ per craft. Someone else would know better a more precise estimate.

Obviously, there’s the Trading Post to fall back on if you have the gold.

As for looks, you have quite a few options with the various dungeon vendors. But you can also use the lvl 80 transmutation crystals to change the appearance of any item.

The primary (and best) method for mitigating damage is to dodge it. It’s better than soaking it up with a large health pool or reducing it with high armor or being fancy trying to proc protection. Dodge = 0 damage taken. So…

Take Speedy Kits (VI) in Tools and Invigorating Speed (I) in Alchemy. You now have on-demand swiftness and vigor. Quickly swap into & out of a kit every 5 seconds or so. Takes practice and you’ll definitely not do it every 5 sec, but it’s an awesome combo.

Having said that, in PvP/WvW get some PVT or Celestial gear to boost your vit/tough. Not knowing your build makes it difficult to nail down specifics. I tend to keep a few celestial trinkets equipped at all times for added survivability and then just rotate my armor as needed.

2h axe seems like the most obvious choice.

Course, I want a portal gun kit for my Engi <grin>

According to dulfy:

Crude salvage kit – 32 copper/15 uses = 2.13 copper per salvage but have 0% chance to salvage rare materials.

Basic salvage kit – 88 copper/25 uses = 3.52 copper per salvage. Same chance to recover rare materials but also 20% chance to give back upgrade components.

Also keep in mind that Basic Salvage kits can be purchased for 77 karma each from a renowned heart NPC in Brisban Wildlands next to the Triforge Point Waypoint – [&BGQAAAA=]

Even if you have the cash in your pocket and forget about the 25g → gem conversion, it just doesn’t seem worth it. A neverending crap quality salvage kit that saves you barely anything per use. And with the 77karma kits available…I dunno. If you’re a salvage kitten then maybe it’s worth it.

Can’t you use the training manuals to reset your traits? It’s expensive as all get out to make a habit out of it, but I think it works.

Psycho Robot.7835:

Let’s not forget about how you can inflict burning underwater.

And yet I can’t use my Flamethrower underwater 0.o

Winds.3087:

Majority of players are humans.
Deal with it.

Actually, I think we’re all humans. Unless you’re letting your dog play.

Those 3 professions still have niches. Ok, Guardian is good everywhere. But warrior isn’t that great in PvP and thief isn’t that great in dungeons due to limited support capability. But they each have their strengths. My engineer main is amazing to me cuz it’s so versatile, is useful in every facet of the game, and is constantly underestimated. I may not be able to dungeon dps like a warrior, but it’s way more fun. Mesmers are another profession that have a lot of group utility as well as being very good in PvP & PvE.

Siphaed.9235:

I’d also like to point out that “Freedom of Speech” only applies to Public and Government locations. These forums and accompanying game are privately owned, operated, and monitored by Arena.Net. As such, all rules and regulations related to what can and cannot be said are controlled by them. This is why you’re not allowed to talk about other video games, call out developers directly, create hate speech, and other rules outlined in the Terms of Service.

I know. I noticed my post became increasingly worldly and less GW2-focused. What started out as my views on in-game behavior devolved into social commentary.

Isn’t there an optional language-filter option in the game? If you’re offended by the cursing of others, turn on the filter. Otherwise, don’t complain. If people are being inflammatory, ignorant, racist, mean, rude, etc in a way that language filters can’t understand, report them. There is a policy that every player agrees to to be allowed to play. However, I do suggest people not being so sensitive that they feel that everyone is a bigot or hatemonger and needs to be reported. Use discretion and know that not every curse word is used in a cruel way.

I get the whole not-offending-people. Nobody should be insulted or ridiculed, especially in a game.

But why is everyone so sensitive these days? If someone says that something is g**, they’re not hating on homosexuals. They’re just using coloquial slang. I get how it can grate at some people, but really, just let it roll off you. Somebody very close to me has Down Syndrome, but I don’t rage at people who say that such-n-such is kittened. It’s just vernacular. Words change over time. Terrific doesn’t actually mean great/wonderful. But the useage has changed over time and that’s how we now use it.

I’m using terrible analogies I’m sure. But my point is that while freedom of speech shouldn’t infringe upon other people, I feel like people in general are just becoming more and more sensitive. Everyone is looking for a way to feel victimized and it’s getting old. Where did our pride go? Where did our sense of strength and self-esteem go? Just stand up, hold your head high, muscle through it, and earn what you get. Nobody’s words can take that away.

Gutbuster.8745:

Cauterize Wound
Set yourself on fire for 1 second and cure all conditions, gain 5% life force for each condition cured.

I love this concept!

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

I would think that any Torch the necro gets actually shouldn’t have a ranged burn skill. It’s boring. Everyone burns with torches, so let the necro have their own twist on it and do necro-y things.

Agreed. Allowing it to give vigor would be paramount imo, especially with the nerf to DS.

Salute to the Dead
Jam your torch into the earth (blast finisher), and gain 8s vigor
long cooldown #5 skill

Scorched Earth
Burn the ground around you (fire field) and evade backwards (range 240)
for damage evasion / kinda generic

Stop, Drop, & Roll
Apply 1s burning to self and gain 2s of (necro equivelant of) distortion.
for damage evasion

In Your Face
Wave your torch in your target’s face, causing blind and vulnerability for X seconds
for a non-condition torch

@Morbridae: I have jumped back into my necro and brought her round to the Pavillion and was having fun. But before I go getting sucked into necro, I want to make sure the profession has variety and viability. I don’t care about dps-meters but I want to make sure I can mess around with my necro and bring some useful and fun tools to the party.

@Anchoku: are MM builds possible now? At least for open world? Before they were stupid and died to fast. I’m guessing their survivabilty in dungeons and WvW is still a liability.

re Dhuumfire: (100% chance to inflict burning for 4 seconds on critical hits. This effect can only trigger once every 10 seconds). This is a grandmaster trait that is identical to an engineer (my main) adept trait. It’s a great trait that is often taken to complement engi builds. I know that comparing professions is like comparing apples and ogres, but why is this trait so awesome for necros, and so build-defining? Is it that it’s the only way for a necro to apply burning (as opposed to engi’s many ways) that makes it so important?

Oh yea, I’ve deleted tons of old characters. My first toons at pre-launch are long gone. A guardian, an ele, a thief….yea all have passed into the Mists. Maybe I can claim their b’day gifts in the Heart of the….nah.

In any case, I have 1 toon who will probably celebrate a b’day in Sept/Oct. My others are much newer, including my main.

Honestly, not bothered by the human-dominated story right now. Cuz it’s just right now. Granted, it’s the only event so far that has celebrated a human and takes place in a racial capital, but I think that Anet plans to do this more often with future events.

But we’ve had events in Southsun, in LA involving toy-bearing asura, and a norn & charr fighting the molten alliance in eastern Tyria. We’ve had an asura made SAB, a sylvari villian, and a human pirate. We’ve had a human/charr political campaign.

Also, I think people underestimate how important some of these people and places are. Lion’s Arch is the only all-races area in like…all of Tyria. It was founded on that principle of equality and cooperation (read Sea of Sorrows). That makes it incredibly important from a global perspective. And Jennah is the human leader trying to stop a war and form a truce with their enemy (charr). Which btw, is a war that has been raging for centuries and brought about The Searing, The Foefire, and the sinking of Orr. Kinda pivotal. If Jennah can do that, she will be one of the most important humans ever to live.

I started a thread almost identical asking for the XP scrolls to change from 1-20 to X+19. Making a new character is something that takes time. Many people spend an hour (or more) just in the character creation screens making them look perfect. Then you start playing a brand new profession and won’t really know if you’ll even like it till 20 levels. How long does it take a new Ele to unlock all those weapon skills and do some DEs and hearts? Before you know it, you’re lvl 10-15 and you’ve decided “I like this” and by then the scroll is a waste. Or you roll a new necro, use the scroll, play for an hour and realize you wasted the scroll on a profession you hate.

If you can make the scrolls X+19 then they function the same way but without robbing players of the joy of discovering a brand new profession. Heck, limit it so you have to be lvl 50 or lower to use it. That way nobody can skip 70-80 without doing it for real.

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

There will not be a one time event in the next release.

Well that pretty much puts the nail in this thread. Thanks for the quick response.

I have a lvl 46 Necro alt that I abandoned 6 months ago and want to pick up again. I was using scepter/dagger + staff conditions and it was working pretty well. But it sounds like some fairly good changes have happened for necros and I’m wondering what’s new and what’s a fun way to level now. Is DS a good time now rather than merely a 2nd health bar?

Thanks to their diminuitive size, the packs (read: hobosacks) look best on asura. On hulking male norn they just look funny.

That being said, asura run into the same problem no matter the profession: small weapons & scrunched (always male) armor. For an engi, who can only use 3 weapons, it’s not much of a problem, especially since we spend most of our time using kits anyhow. You want a gigantic rifle though, don’t pick asura.

We only have 1 viable elite (Elixir X is a gimmick and Mortar sucks). I like using the asura racial golems when leveling and in open world.

As for play style: try everything. Literally every kit and weapon is useful in some way (yes, even turrets). As you unlock them, give em all a try. Remember that our kits are good, but are amazing traited so don’t be discouraged if grenades aren’t phenominal pre-60 and FT is lackluster pre-40. Also, take Speedy Kits in Tools tree for perma-swiftness to make leveling in open world that much faster. It tends to be a staple of nearly every build.

Sometimes I love my asura. Great racials, story, animations.
Sometimes I hate not being able to see my armor/weapons.
A race change would be a nice option.

Norn. Better looking in armor, no doubt.

There’s this: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Kohlopoi_Aquabreather

It’s a lvl 79 masterwork PVT light aquabreather. it’s the best PVT light aquabreather in the game. Only better aquabreather is what you found from Gavebeorn, but those aren’t the stats you want.

cesmode.4257:

I would like to try one some day I suppose. I liked the idea of a grenade engi, but thats a ton of friggin clicking.

So then don’t be a grenadier. The joy of an Engi is that we have so many viable builds and playstyles. Despite grenades being one of our best/accepted zerk builds, there are plenty more. Engis are (imo) for players who want some spunk, some pizazz in their toon. Maxing out the dps meter shouldn’t be your primary concern. Have fun!

Viparix.8476:

This is exactly the reason why most people go with Utility Goggles, Toolkit (which is a must) and Rifle Turret when running SD. Tough when you are a Charr, Hidden Pistol works wonders, but only in PvE, because you have to switch it for your stun breaker (UG).

The only other option is subbing out RT for Rocket Boots in WvW for an immob breaker and movement tool.

But yes, being forced to take targeted toolbelt abilities for SD to work limits the SD build variety. Being able to bring something like EG into a dungeon could be helpful.

Asura Engineer, checking in!

It’s 1 stack. I don’t see this as a mass stacks of confusion rune. This rune actually benefits mesmers more than any other class. Considering that mesmers can spec for interrupts and confusion, this rune set is perfect.

Not to worry. When they eventually do, they’ll be hidden inside RNG boxes or exclusively in the gem store.

As others have said, SD = bursty and frail. Which is why I learned to love the rifle. It’s a mobility tool that has a pretty hard hitting autoattack. I always used pistols before trying SD and fell in love with the control it brings. As well, the trait Sitting Duck synergizes beautifully with rifle’s net shot, stacking vuln and cripple.

I built full zerker with a few pieces of celestial for added survivability. Just my personal preference, not having bottom of the barrel vit & tough. But that’s up to you. Speedy Kits + Invigotating Speed + Adrenal Implant should let you dodge endlessly, assuming you quick-swap in & out of a kit every 5.5 seconds.

Also, I went 3x Air & 3x Mesmer runes for +swiftness duration and more crit . This will give you 100 crit damage and 63% crit chance (Add goggles’ fury for 83%!).

I like Rocket Boots over Rifle Turret for the burning its toolbelt heaps on, making it harder to cleanse my vuln and cripples, also because of Modified Ammo trait. Plus, it’s a good escape/gap closer/etc.

Here’s my build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUl0pqdH5y3F17IyoHkWntZgeYX+1IKqQ+B-jQzAYLAyCQyrIasVMhoiqGruHWtgpKTkqFQ3i6xB8GKa+jULEwoFA-e

Elbegast.6970:

FYI, Jennah is a Watchknight in disguise.

Rytlock Brimstone: She’s a Watchknight, isn’t she?

Zojja: I’m impressed. How many questions does it usually take to spot them?

Rytlock Brimstone: I don’t get it, Zojja.

Zojja: How many questions?

Rytlock Brimstone: Twenty, thirty, cross-referenced.

Zojja: It took more than a hundred for Jennah, didn’t it?

Rytlock Brimstone: [realizing Logan believes she’s human] He doesn’t know.

Zojja: He’s beginning to suspect, I think.

Rytlock Brimstone: Suspect? How can he not know what it is?

Nice Blade Runner crossover….I like it

I think it’s ridiculous that the game has direct & condition damage and plenty of build and gear combinations…but the limitaion of combat system forces everyone to run direct damage. A whole sub-set of builds and gear largely ignored by people who run instances & DEs. And, while a solution is there to basically allow the game’s combat to exist as it was supposed to, the suits won’t spend the dough. No wonder musicians are producing their music themselves or on independent labels more & more. Shame developers can’t do the same.

I say Kickstart the server upgrade for personal condition stacking!!

I’m planning on taking my 70 Ranger to the Queen’s Pavilion for some zerg trains. Leveling her to 80 wasn’t one of my goals but since I’m so close and these trains are easy and the rewards are good, might as well.

None of those.
Kodan for sure. Largo, but might not make sense above water. Ettin would totally rock the heavy armor classes but I don’t think they posess the intelligence to be a mesmer.

What about a reformed baddie? Like a Risen?

Yep, was hoarding mine too. Now that it’s account bound, I blew em all with the combined boosts of a bonfire, food, banners, and guild. I think everyone has the same idea now.

I’ll agree, it’s better than pinatas or sonic devices. But it’s still hide-n-seek. The only reason I’m doing it is because there’s a chest at each one, a balloon prize, and a few champions to kill on the way. I figure do 2-5 per day I play and I’ll have the achievement before time’s up.

To make both fractals anyway would minimize the impact of the player driven vote.

Hickeroar.9734:

rodadams.5963:

Uvatha.5476:

Dungeons award the gold once per day per run but the tokens for each alt is still 60 for the first time each and that’s important for people with goals to get dungeon armor or just grind dungeon tokens as a source of rares.

This was changed with today’s patch. You get the 60 tokens once per path per day per account, not per character.

If that’s true, that’s actually a reversion of a previous change. It used to be per account, then it was per character. kinda sucks if it’s true.

Nowhere in today’s patch notes do I see this change. Only changes to loot and gold.

I have 7 slots currently. Will buy an 8th and final slot so I can have 1 of each profession. It’s not just about achievements. It’s about having fun playing a completely different profession, learning the ins-and-outs, perfecting them, making em look cool with snazzy gear, etc.

I don’t buy the argument that we can’t expect awesome content every 2 weeks because it’s unrealistic. With BotFW, we got the Labrynthine Cliffs, complete with a couple champ/vets. It’s not a huge zone, but very well designed. I love its look. But rather than actual GW2 gameplay we get (albeit fun) a glorified jumping puzzle, an instanced racing game, and some nodes to mine. And we get kites hidden throughout the world.

Next time, I’d rather have a zone as beautifully designed as the Cliffs but include actual gameplay fights, something that is meaningful and utilizes the profession I chose and the build/gear I’ve worked to attain. And instead of hiding kite baskets, maybe have some captured Zephyrites throughtout Tyria that require group DEs to rescue.

And maybe every 2 weeks is pushing it for quality content. I’d prefer monthly patches with actual MMORPG gameplay than mini-games every other week. And for the love of God, no more pinatas.