Guild Wars 2

Ahh well i am quiet hopeful for it… after all, its a typical “give Engies some stuff while focusing on giving Thieves and Mesmers more” situation.

They even have the usual whack-a-mole nerfs (Rangers).

Not exactly sure why everyone is afraid of the changes…apart from Elixir R, it seems we’ve been made a lot more survivable. I look forward to the changes in Firearms and thinking about trying the following build in tPVP once patch hits.

Rifle, Healing Turret, Flamethrower, Net Turret, Thumper Turret

20/20/10/20/0 (Knight/Solder)
Incendiary Powder
Accelerant Packed Turrets

Infused Precision
Juggernaut

Stabilised Armor

Protection Injection
Invigorating Speed

Going to be able to tank while stunned, have a stun breaker, dodge the rest and have crazy CC while at +200 toughness AND might from trait/Blast finishers while burning the hell out of everyone

Thank Anet for build diversity…now if only they sort out hobosacks, minor traits in Explosives, make implementation bug free and somehow make Torment not OP…then i will rest well knowing i threw money at the right people.

On the wiki page for Torment…

Torment is a condition that inflicts damage over time and stacks in intensity, but inflicts damage twice per second if the victim is moving.

(0.11 * Condition Damage + 32) per stack per second at level 80

Assuming at around 1200 (Rabid/Rabid with CD Runes), this ticks at around 164 dps. If target is moving, this increases to 328 dps on one stack. To put this in perspective, confusion only ticks at 155 dps on one stack. As Tainted Shackles supposedly applies 3 stacks for 10 seconds…. this works out to 9840 total damage if target constantly moves and it isn’t removed.
Even if condition removals gets thrown around but taking into account reaction time, cast time and moving out of the 600 range… i would estimate it would take around 2 seconds to remove the condition (assuming skill is on cooldown). This deals ~2000 damage in addition to forcing one to move off point, stop attacking, heal while taking damage from other sources… Not to mention the other conditions and Fear applied by Necros.

Obviously we don’t know yet how Torment works exactly but i fail to see why everyone is saying “oh it’s going to be rubbish”. If anything, the information provided thus far suggests it is OP.

Notes look rather legit to me. The copied notes posted by OP don’t include the trait changes (which actually look quiet good) though.

I think our class is getting a fair few buffs to non-viable utilities which is nice although gadgets still seem a bit weak imo. All-in-all i’m quiet happy our builds haven’t been nerfed although the change to Elixir R seems a bit rough…but we are getting additional toys to play with.

Sure…every other class is getting the same if not more than us…but oh well – better that than getting nerfed to the ground Ele-style.

I personally don’t really see how a Warrior/Necro combination works. The best compliment to a Warrior would be something with high CC and lockdowns so that the Warrior can use his burst. On the other hand…a Mesmer can focus on damage and Guardian makes up for a Mesmer’s lack of condition removals. Mesmers and Guardians have so much CC, damage (shatter), survivability and condition damage (confusion & burning) that together they are very strong.

In terms of a tPvP view, a Mesmer also offers Portals to help the Guardians bunker where needed in exchange for Guardians having AoE Swiftness shouts/staff skill to make up for Mesmer’s lack of swiftness. As mentioned before they have high CC too making it easy to decap points.

All in all, I think this question is quiet simple for me and a Mesmer/Guardian combo is easily stronger in most aspects of the game.

I personally use Rabid/Carrion for gear (rather than Carrion/Rabid) as the extra Critical % will activate “Sharpshooter” and “Incendiary Powder” more often – both of which add onto conditional damage nicely.

As had been said before, Healing Turret is a good way to remove conditions (especially if you drop-overcharge-pick it up) as you get 2 cleanses and about 3-5k heal every 15 seconds. What hasn’t been mentioned is that the cleanses and heals are AoE so your teammates benefit too.

If your really struggling with condis, i suggest trying to get used to Elixir R which removes all conditions and then resses you when you die. Its not the easiest skill to get right but great if it works out (especially if used in conjunction with 15-Tool points for Inertial Converter which lets you have two Elixir Rs so you can use one to remove condi/res others and then another to res yourself)

Hope that helps.

I won’t be online ingame till around 6pm to 6:30pm ish tomorrow due to work but i’ll be there (and on forums!)

Yay another fan of Net Turret! I find it rather underrated and i just love it! Interesting ideas on increased Chill – definitely worth a try when i get home.

Personally not a big fan of Tool Kit so i might take it out for FT (extra knockbacks) or Bomb Kit (even more conditions!)

I’ll be on at around 6:30pm UK time tomorrow till late if anyone wants to get some practise in before the big event on Wednesday :P! Please drop me a message or whisper me

p.s: Thanks Bas for organising. Looking forward to it.

Kharr.5746:

chungiee.8764:

Call me cynical but i am under the impression the match was fixed to give a good show and to showcase “viable strategies”.

I did enjoy the podcast very much but i don’t feel the Community team played 100% at all times.

After all – the players would lose face so badly if they lost which i am sure ANet wouldn’t have wanted and likewise, ANet would get smashed for not knowing how to play if they were whitewashed 2-0. Consequently, the “close-match-in-favour-of-players” outcome was the only one possible and to be expected.

Quick, everyone, put on your tinfoil hats. We’re all being deceived. Seriously, if anyone here has watched the previous tournaments with the top EU and top NA teams (especially where NA got dominated) knows that even in highly skilled match-ups we end up with one team getting dominated. Someone has to win, at least we got a good fight from Anet instead of a 500-50 roflstomp.

I am not sure what you mean – i am not trying to rile up the player base to go charging in with pitchforks and torches… after all – it was a showmatch. I’m sure the play was generally unscripted hence i enjoyed it but i am just suggesting that the result may have been prearranged with agreements that neither team dominate (as you have suggested has occurred previous tournaments)

Call me cynical but i am under the impression the match was fixed to give a good show and to showcase “viable strategies”.

I did enjoy the podcast very much but i don’t feel the Community team played 100% at all times.

After all – the players would lose face so badly if they lost which i am sure ANet wouldn’t have wanted and likewise, ANet would get smashed for not knowing how to play if they were whitewashed 2-0. Consequently, the “close-match-in-favour-of-players” outcome was the only one possible and to be expected.

Hi there! I’m currently ranked at 94% and I went into TPvP with in a PUG “premade” where everyone else was ranked outside the Top 1000 except for one guy ranked around 800.

While this was quiet late at night at around 11pm-midnight, we ended up facing a Team with top 150 players and then another team with Top 300. While i appreciate the learning experience and the chance to play with the top players from podcasts…i don’t think it made for a very fun match for either team.

I think more clear information on how matchmaking works (even without releasing MMR details) would minimise the frustration regarding seemingly anomalous low PvP “levels”.

Would be a dream come true if we could get Teldo to coach :P

Grackleflint.4956:

I tested inertial converter in the mists. It has its own cooldown of approximately 90 seconds.

p.s. this was a pain in the kitten to test

Haha thanks for your efforts! Glad someone could clear that up for me as I would have no idea how to go about testing that lol.

Now just to figure out how to make use of this knowledge…would be nice if there was something visual to tell me if Inertial Converter will get used so i can plan whether to Toss that Elixir R for condi heals :p.

Thanks again – your awesome.

Hi!

I’d like to request a quick discussion regarding the minor trait “Inertial Converter” trait. I’d love to know more about the following areas:

a) What the internal cooldown is exactly… i haven’t been able to find that information anywhere. I’ve heard some rumours that is 90 seconds but It’s been especially frustrating for me when my Elixir R doesn’t pop back up when i expect it to.

b) What builds do people run it in?

If it’s actually common knowledge what the internal cooldown is, i’d appreciate it if someone could clarify that for me :P.

I don’t see the problem…AoE is pretty obvious with red circles. When you see it, just dodge out of the circle. Furthermore, most of it is aimed on points so its even less of a problem around the edges or skirmishing.

Like Frostedblaze says, i think its a good way to prevent passive bunkery play where everyone just stands on point and heals. AoE forces people to balance risk of damage with reward (preventing points from being decapped / capping for your team).

Weapon Set:
Pistol/Shield – Shield offers more survivability than P/P while offering me more CC. Using Teldo’s FB tip of Shield 5 + 3 pistol shots, I am generally able to damage while biding time for my Net Turret to stun/daze – after which i switch to grenades and nuke them. I find P/S allows me to stall more often than Rifle (with S4/S5/P3 all being relatively defensive against multiple attacks).

Skills:
Healing Turret – My only condition removals but i also set it up at the start of incoming 2v1 fights (or when I see a Thieve coming) to blast people back if/when i get stunned. Occasionally i use Regeneration Mist + Shield 4 Blast Finisher to heal a bit.

Grenade Kit – While we have low condition damage, we have conditions that have secondary effects. Poison halves healing, Chill reduces damage output/movement speed, Blind misses, Burning does decent damage regardless of CD, Vulnerability is the same as ever. In a way, i would argue the conditions on the Grenade Kit doesn’t really need much Condi Damage to be effective as shown by the Power Grenade build.

Flamethrower – Used as a utility (as suggested by Voz). Air Blast knocks people off point and gives you time to swap to Grenades to land an all important Chill or prepare another knockback. Skill 4 adds decent burn damage while the AOE Blind is used for anti-thieve spikes or stomping.

Net Turret – Overcharged in battle, a 2 second daze net is fired every 5 seconds. While the Net turret is “weak” as suggested by many, i find putting it in a spot where there is low AOE means it survives as not many focuses damage on it when you are pumping out conditions at them / CCing them. By putting it simply a few steps away from the point, it generally lasts long enough to swing a fight for me.

[Note: In matches against NPC-heavy teams, I’d probably swap this out for Elixir R. I personally use Elixir S cos im not great with Elixir R].

Traits:
Explosives
Incendiary Powder (V) – Burning damage…pretty much a stable in any Explosive lines’s Minor trait unless using Bombs.

Accelerant-Packed Turrets (IX) – Turns Healing turrets into Big Ol Bombs that heals you. Great for defense, attack and CCing. Oh..and there is also the Net Turret and turrets from Supply Crates (not sure if it works on those).

Grenadier (XI) – Using grenade kits makes this the key trait.

Firearms
Hair Trigger (VI) – More Static Shots and Poison Darts under the Shield 5. Static Shots great for defense and damage and one of my favourite skills in the game.

Alchemy
Invigorating Speed (I) – Additional dodges to increase survivability and stalling for time as your turrets/conditions do their thing. Also goes well with Speedy Kits.

Protection Injection (VI) – While Teldo’s bruiser uses Backpack Regenerator, my build has less defense to Stun so i go for Protection Injection to minimize the inevitable pain. Generally, this trait lets me survive and CC/Heal with Healing Turret to bring myself back into the fight.

Tools
Speedy Kits (VI) – Without Elixir B or Medkit, Speedy Kits is my only choice for Swiftness. I require Swiftness to avoid being a full-time bunker (which this build isn’t for) and to attack far-points / temporarily escape team-fights when focused). Speedy Kit also brings Vigor which complements the tankiness and damage avoidance well.

Runes
Note: I would love some advice on Runes and Sigils as i’m not totally satisfied with what i have at the moment

6x Rune of the Nightmare – Gives me some condition damage to increase the condition pressure on opponents and prevent them realizing they can just keep attacking me despite conditions… The 6th Nightmare sigil offers a bit more CC every now and then (and possibly at vital times where you get bursted)

Sigil
Sigil of Leeching – Adds to survivability
(vs Sigil of Doom? / Sigil of Energy?)

Sigil of Accuracy – Due to low Crit rates, Incendiary Powder is not as effective as it can be. Accuracy remedies this after a few kills from teamfights.
(vs Sigil of Corruption? / anything else…?)

Amulet
Solders/Shaman – While the Power from Soldiers is rather wasted, I find the Toughness/Vitality too precious to take out. Although Shaman/Shaman offers an alternative, I find T/V more consistent than Healing Power (especially when the only source of healing is the Turret). I’ve put Shaman Jewel to add some CD and make Healing Turret better.

Hi guys, just wanted to start by saying this is just a build i’ve started trying and rather enjoyed it. Any ideas/input to improve it would be appreciated (especially regarding Runes/Sigils/Amulets)

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-VRw;2cPVg0i6NSFx0;9;4T9-J948A5;305-5;0XR1;3hoHAhoHA6cJ

Abstract:
The point of this build is to combine the ideas of Teldo’s Grenade Bruiser build with the idea of point defence from Nakoda’s chain-CC flamethrower builds. The way i play is generally to tank in the middle while pressuring with conditions, knockbacks, stuns, dazes to overload my opposition in team-fights. This build also gives me enough CC to attack far-points or defend points as i see fit as it is more mobile than FT/Rifle/Rocket Turret/Net Turret. Using Net Turret, I am able to support team-fights without being there while I am able to do well standing afar (Turrets/Condi Pressure from Grenades) or be effective on point.

Pros:
- Offers high survivability (high HP/Toughness/Vigor/Protection/CC)
- Maintains Condition Pressures (Chill/Poison/Blinds/Burning being effective even at low Condi Dmg)
- Great in team-fights (especially with Net Dazes which destroys Bunkers)
- High CC to cap/defend points

Cons:
- Significantly worse vs multiple targets (Mes/Necro)
- Lack of Stunbreaker (reliance on Turret / Protective Shield trait) = synchronised burst will probably kill you.
- More susceptible to Condi overload than HGH
- Low damage (especially with Power & Conditions both being used)
- Doesn’t have Toss Elixir R for rez.

While i agree with the whole increasing tPvP rewards argument, i personally wouldn’t enjoy a Consecutive Winning Rewards system under matchmaking system.

I feel it would kill Solo Queues even more with more and more Premades “farming” glory.

I love the Utility Goggles idea

As it is HGH, i obviously use a similar build but i notice you have some interesting variations which i’d like to ask about.

1) Is Shrapnel worth it over Short Fuse (or even Enhanced Performance).

With Short Fuse, the benefits from reducing Shrapnel Grenade would mean you get off more Bleeding and reduces the consequences for missing with Freeze/Blind/Poison Grenades. Is the 15% bleed (which equates to around 1 bleed stack every 2-3 hits with 3 grenades) worth it?

2) It seems an awful lot of Condition Damage to give away for extra bit of burning with Lyssa runes. I haven’t really tested it so it is interesting – would love some theorycrafting behind that.

Apart from that, your clearly a very decent Engie

I am SO happy there is a EU version for this!

Screw exams… i’m definitely in for this! Please sign me up!

IGN: Chungie
Account Name: chungiee.8764
Current Rank: 29

Would you say Juggernaut is not really worth using in tPvP then?

Really enjoyed those vids. Loved the commentary and the exciting action lol.

Wish i could use 3-kits as smoothly as you did.

I’d also like an invite to the guild (EU). I just got my Champion Genius title but having been destroyed on the way by some top ranked players, i’d love to be involved in possibly improving / helping others to get up to a certain level.

As an Rabid HGH Engineer playing tPvP, there has been times where i get ambushed by a warrior, die and see the damage breakdown… always ~8k from Eviscerate.

Definitely very power.

From my personal experience in sPvP, here’s a few points i use for myself (others may disagree):

1. Find the real Mesmer
This is the one with the life bar most like a players (i.e: life is not full after you’ve been hitting AND occasionally heals up). Other ways to detect the real player is to look for Dodges or moves used by the player which gives them away.

2. Use AoE to nuke everything (bombs/grenades/FT)

3. Keep an eye on Confusion stacks. Make sure you get rid of Confusion before spamming your skills or you will die.

4. Avoid purple fields or domes (unless you are sure its one of your team mates Time Warps.