Games » Guild Wars 2 » Guild Wars 2 Engineer Comprehensive Guide

Guild Wars 2 Engineer Comprehensive Guide

Guild Wars 2 Engineer Comprehensive Guide by Sleepy

Hello everyone, I’m vVv Sleepy and welcome to “So you wanna be an Engineer?”! Today I’ll be teaching you everything you need to know about one of GW2’s adventure professions, the Engineer. This guide will go over all the mechanical mayhem that is the Engineer’s skills and Toolbelt. We will also be looking at the pros and cons of the Engineer, basic builds, traits, and much more! So, enjoy the wild ride, and please watch out for bombs!

“Hey look, buddy. I’m an engineer, that means I solve problems.

Not problems like ‘What is beauty?’ because that would fall within the purview of your conundrums of philosophy;
I solve practical problems.” — TF2 Engineer

– Table of Contents –

I. Introduction

  • Overview
  • History
  • Pros
  • Cons

II. Toolbelt

  • What is the Toolbelt?

III. Weapons and Kits

  • Main Weapons
  • Device Kits
  • Weapon Kits

IV. Utility Skills

  • Heals
  • Elixirs
  • Gadgets
  • Turrets
  • Elites

V. Traits

  • Explosives
  • Firearms
  • Inventions
  • Alchemy
  • Tools

VI. Builds

  • How to make a good Engineer Build
  • Starter Builds

VII. Useful Resources

  • Wesites
  • Guides
  • Videos

VIII. Tips and Tricks

IX. Conclusion

Introduction

Hello and again, welcome to “So You Wanna Be An Engineer?”! Before we go more in depth, let’s start with the basics of the Engineer. This class immediately caught my eye when it was unveiled; it just looked so much fun with guns, elixirs, and explosions. Perhaps it also appeals to me because I’m a long time Team Fortress 2 fan

The Engineer’s excels at mid-range combat, being able to keep melee opponents just out of reach in order not only to avoid taking damage, but also to maximize their own damage. With a plentiful selection of knockbacks, cripples, immobilizes, and stun breaks, the Engineer is a true master of mid-range combat and because it is an Adventure profession, it wears medium armor to go along with its mobile style of play. The class features for the Engineer are Kits and the Toolbelt. You gain a different Toolbelt skill depending on what Utility skills you have equipped. Kits are much like weapons, but the cost an utility slot and give a corresponding Toolbelt skill.

AreneNet’s description of the Engineer is: “Masters of mechanical mayhem, engineers tinker with explosives, gadgets, elixirs, and all manner of deployable devices. They can take control of an area by placing turrets, support their allies with alchemic weaponry, or lay waste to foes with a wide array of mines, bombs, and grenades.”

History of the Engineer:

Engineer technology really developed with the Charr first and foremost. And it’s one of the specialties developed by the Charr Iron Legion. When we talk about the Engineer, he is very much a Combat-Engineer and good in inventing things that are useful in a combat situation. The Iron Legion is the start of all of this, and the Engineer profession has spread to the other races from there. The People of Tyria have seen it in combat over the past few years and have seen the effectiveness of an engineer. And so you are going to see Engineers of all races although it is a little bit more common to see a Charr Engineer than anybody else. So it all started with the Charr and their technological development.

Posted Image

Engineer’s Pros:

  • ​HUGE amount of CC available to them
  • Can be very defensive if traited correctly
  • Can be a very good support
  • Though damage isn’t too high, it offers more control
  • Guns and EXPLOSIONS! :3
  • You’re an Alchemist! (Did I mention I’m also a complete Fullmetal Alchemist nerd?)

Engineer’s Cons:

  • Not that great of damage compared to other professions
  • Some kits are worthless at best (I’m looking at you Tool Kit)
  • Though being descried as “versatile”, the lack of weapons does hurt the Engineer if no kits are slotted, and even then we lose a Utility slot.
  • Has to go with a “Glass Canon” build to get enough damage
  • No Signets (Utilities with a passive and active effect) like other professions
  • No viable long range weapons for WvW (A weapon with 1200 range)

Toolbelt

The Toolbelt is the Engineer’s class feature; for every Heal and Utility Skill you have, you get a corresponding Toolbelt skill on F1-F4 (Or whatever you have it keybinded to). For example, say I had Elixir H for my heal, and Flamethrower, Slick Shoes, and Rocket Boots as my Utility Skills, then my Toolbelt would look like this:

Posted Image

  • Toss Elixir H: A ground-targeted skill that throws Elixir H at the target area, randomly granting Vigor, Protection, or Regeneration to allies in the area.
  • Incendiary Ammo: Your next three attacks cause Burning.
  • Super Speed: A very short but powerful speed boost.
  • Rocket Kick: A kick that causes AoE fire damage.

As you can see, these skills are completely different than the Utility Skills with different effects and cooldowns. Some are completely “meh”, but others are really great to have, such as Elixir R’s Toolbelt, Toss Elixir R, letting you revive down teammates or even yourself if timed right. Now are they so important you change your Utility Skills for them? Well I guess it comes down to personal preference, but some builds do rely on Toolbelt skills (Like a Burning build relies on Flamethrower’s Incendiary Ammo).

Also, the Tools tree mainly focuses on reducing Toolbelt cooldowns, so if your build does use them a lot, that is a great way to go.

Weapons and Kits

The Engineer has access to the fewest options in weapon selection and is limited to only one weapon set at time. There are only three possible combinations available to the Engineer, but kits and the Toolbelt skills help make up for it. The Engineer could decide to go with three kits, having more skills than an Elementalist (That is, an Elementalist with no Conjured Weapons).

-Weapons-

Rifle – The Rifle is the only 2-handed weapon available for the Engineer. It feels clunky, has moderate damage, and it’s not a viable long range weapon; in fact, it acts much more like a shotgun in nature. With a jump, a stun, and a knockback, you would think this would be a great control weapon for sPvP, but it just pales in comparison to Pistol/Pistol or Pistol/Shield. Thus, I usually just use the Rifle for PvE when I want to kite Mobs around my turrets.

Pistol – Ah, the Engineer’s bread and butter for sPvP and WvW. The Engineer has a main-hand Pistol and an off-hand Pistol (Yes, you can go akimbo!). The Pistols focus on condition damage and have a 900 range, though some skills are better used closer due to their nature (I.e Poison Dart Volley). Main-hand Pistol is better than the Rifle for sPvP because the damage can be done at range most of the time and it is much higher and consistent than the Rifle. Off-hand pistol is used less often than the Shield IMO, but it still has a nice AOE stun and a close range burn.

Shield – The shield is the Engineer’s other Off-hand. As opposed to the off-hand pistol the shield is very defensive, it adds a projectile reflect which also functions as a knockback if activated again, and a ranged stun. The cooldowns are not the greatest (35s and 40s), but can be reduced by 20% if you go 20 points into Inventions. The Pistol/Shield combination is great in a large number of builds because you still get good damage from the main-hand Pistol and the amazing CC of the Shield.

-Kits-

Weapon Kits:

  • Posted Image Flamethrower: This is a mid to close-range kit. With the Flamethrower’s auto-attack, you can do some great AOE. Unfortunately, it is hard to aim in the heat of sPvP, and to be honest, the damage just doesn’t compare to other mid-range (Dagger Elementalist) or close-range (Warrior, Greatsword Ranger, etc.) attackers. However, its ability to push, pull, and create a combo field is very nice. And let’s not forget the Toolbelt, which make your next three attacks cause burning (Great for condition builds!). All in all, if your going with a condition build in sPvP, this is a great control weapon to bring along. And if you’re PvE, it can help your friends clear a large pack of mobs.
  • Posted Image Elixir Gun: The Elixir Gun is a Support Weapon. The first attack would be good, aside from the fact that the damage is basically nothing and the RNG. But you do get a team speed boost with a Cripple, a jumpback, and a very nice AOE heal. For sPvP, many take the Elixir Gun solely for the extra heal on the toolbelt, but the AOE heal is nice in support builds.
  • Posted Image Tool Kit: Ah, the Tool Kit… Its cool because if you hit a turret with the wrench, it heals them. Unfortunately, the damage is terrible for a melee weapon and the Flamethrower is just better control wise. Hopefully the Tool Kit will be fixed in the future, because right now I don’t see it being worth it in any build.

Device Kits:

  • Posted Image Bomb Kit: The Bomb Kit lets you drop bombs that go off shortly after you place them, so you could say this is a close-range Kit. One of the best sPvP builds right now focuses on the Bomb Kit (Scroll down and check out that build!) and it offers a large amount of damage via conditions and CC for group fights. And its Toolbelt is great for denying an area or if a melee is chasing after you.
  • Posted Image Grenade Kit: Not much to say about this kit, because I’ve never really used it besides in WvW spamming grenades. :3 But in sPvP and PvE, clicking and directing the attacks every time is very hard to do while staying on the move (And the damage isn’t worth all that trouble). So I say, make it a directed AOE like some of the Elementalist’s attacks, and I would be a very nice kit.
  • Now this would be where the Mine Kit is located, however, John Peters announced in a recent interview that Mine Kit is being removed and replaced with a single mine Utility skill. “Mine Kit is no longer a kit. It is a single mine that works as the elements of the kit did, but now, when you detonate that mine, it knocks enemies back and removes boons. This means that you can throw it at your feet and then blast people away from you, or you can throw it past a fleeing enemy and detonate it to blast them back toward you. The tool belt has been replaced with a “drop mine field around my location” skill, which toggles to “detonate mine field.” Quote from this article.

Utility Skills

Posted Image Heals:

  • Med Kit – The heal being in the toolbelt is very nice because it can be effected by the Tools line and is on a 20 second cooldown. Also, the medkits heal for around 1,000 a piece, which is helpful while running away and it comes with a speed buff on a 20 second cooldown.
  • Elixir H – A nice heal and buff, but with a 30 second cooldown, it isn’t used as much as the others.
  • Healing Turret – In PvE you can throw this turret down to give constant heals to your group and in sPvP/WvW, if you have good timing, you can pick it up as soon as you drop it, making it have the shortest cooldown among the heals.

Posted Image Elixirs:

  • Elixir B – Not as good as it was before it got nerfed to a 40 second cooldown, but still can be used for helping to burst things down. The Toolbelt relies too much on RNG for my taste.
  • Elixir C – Great condition remover, but the cooldown of 60 seconds is a little meh.
  • Elixir S – Good for getting out of sticky situations, much like an Elementalist’s mist form. Again, the RNG kinda kills the Toolbelt for sPvP, but it’s not that bad for WvW/PvE.
  • Elixir U – I haven’t really tested this Elixir much because of the RNG and how different all the skills you can get are. Just not really usable for a sPvPer like me.
  • Elixir R – This skill is just amazing; its Utility is a stun-breaker and its Toolbelt is a mass revive that, if time correctly, can revive you too.

Posted Image Gadgets:

  • Rocket Boots – These are useful for a high elevation places, allowing to get from point A to Point B very fast, but if used on a flat plane, enemies could use its brief knockdown to their advantage. Toolbelt is good for a burn build, but not 100% needed.
  • Slick Shoes – Though a little hard to master, Slick Shoes are a great CC and really let you lock down your opponent. Speed buff is always nice too.
  • Utility Goggles – Other stun-breaks are just better currently because Elixir S has a 4 second evade and Elixir R has the revive.
  • Personal Battering Ram – Helps keep people away from you and has a cripple if you are chasing someone down

Posted Image Turrets:

  • Flame Turret – A short-range turret that burns; I never really got to use it due to the fact it always bugged out and disappeared.
  • Net Turret – Immobilizes the target every few seconds, which is good in PvE, but in sPvP I think you need more control of your stuns.
  • Rifle Turret – Short cooldown, low damage. All I can say is in sPvP, it distracts the NPCs and in PvE it gives you more damage.
  • Thumper Turret – Has lots of HP and a knockback, so it can tank for you to a degree.
  • Rocket Turret – Higher damage then the Rifle Turret, but has a higher cooldown and dies much faster.

Posted Image Elites:

  • Supply Drop – The best Elite for sPvP. Stuns target if hit, medkits provide quite a bit of healing, and it give you three turrets to help control an area.
  • Elixir X – The RNG attacks again, but this time in the form of an Elite… It is supposed to make you think on your toes and adapt to the situation, but the three things you can get are just so vastly different from each other, chanes are you get something that won’t help at all.
  • Mortar – This is great for WvW, Has amazing range (1400) and pretty good damage. It can get a little funny with height on walls, cliffs, etc., but other than that pretty good Elite.

Traits

Posted Image

Explosives–

  • +10 Power (Damage)
  • +1 Expertise (Condition Duration)

Minor Traits:

Major Traits:

Firearms-

  • +10 Precision (Critical Hit Chance)
  • +1 Malice (Condition Damage)

Minor Traits:

Major Traits:

Inventions–

  • +10 Toughness (Armor)
  • +10 Compassion (Healing)

Minor Traits:

Major Traits:

Alchemy–

  • +10 Vitality (Life – Max HP)
  • +1 Concentration (Boon Duration)

Minor Traits:

Major Traits:

Tools–

  • +1 Ingenuity (Tool Belt Cooldown)
  • +10 Prowess (Critical Hit Multiplier)

Minor Traits:

Major Traits:

Builds

The Engineer is can be so many different things; a crazy support Alchemist that throws Elixirs to buff and heal allies, a single-target damage dealer running in with akimbo Pistols to do crazy condition damage, or even a AOE damage dealer the locks down foes with bombs. That’s what is great about the Engineer; it can be good at so many different things. However, builds and gear play a stong role in this. If you build is bad, you are going to suck more so then if another classes build was bad. So us Engineer’s has to be very careful when making are builds because one wrong trait could screw us over.

First you have to think, “What do I want to do as an Engineer?” If you say, “Well I wanna do lots of damage while supporting my allies and being tanky,” just throw that idea out the window. Sure, Engineer’s can fulfill all those roles, but not at the same time. Your traits would be too spread out to really help in anything. So do you want to do lots of damage or support allies? Then make sure you have the traits for that thing and don’t half-ass it, because then you’ll be no help to your group at all.

-Starter Builds-
These builds are basic and tested to help get your feet wet in Engineering before you start making your own builds. Going in depth with builds right now is pointless with all the changes happening to the Engineer currently. This section will start filling with builds once the game is out and info is more concrete. Also, you can check out GW2Codex for a great list of Engineer build. But beware, many of these are either outdated or not tested completely.

Bomb Build – http://gw2.luna-atra…aa2a6aab1b3bgk9

Burning Build – http://gw2.luna-atra…aa2a6aab1b3bgk9

Useful Resources

There are many useful resources out there for GW2 and the Engineer class. However, since we are still in beta till the 28th of August, there are many changes and resources can become outdated pretty quickly As stated before, once the game is released, we can get you much better and concrete resources

-Videos-

PvP:

PvE:

Tons of footage of Engineer PvE can be found here and here

Tips and Tricks

– The Healing Turret’s main heal happens right when you put it down, meaning if you pick it up again immediately, you have a pretty strong heal on a 15 second cooldown.

-If you use Smoke Bomb in combination with a regular bomb, you can grant your whole team Stealth for a large chunk of time before a sPvP match starts, before you raid a point in WvW, etc.

– Incendiary Ammo’s duration is as long as its recharge; this means you can use it before you go into a fight so you don’t have to worry about it later.

-Signets on weapons do not apply to kits right now, but it is looking to be fixed in the future.

-Turrets don’t cale with gear, meaning if you went for a Tanky or Support build, they still do the same amount of damage.

-Opponents can be knocked down several time by Slick Shoes, so if you run back and forth correctly, you can stun-lock them for awhile.

-Rocket Boots knock you down, so make sure you have the time to get back up!

-You can swap Utility Skills if you’re not in combat and they aren’t on cooldown (Cooldowns within the kit do not count), so you could have a Bomb Kit equipped to get the AOE stealth and then switch to Flamethrower before the fight starts or something along those lines.

Conclusion

And so the tour of the Engineer is over; hopefully you did not lose any body parts or drink a bad elixir that turned you into a chicken. I thank everyone who read this, whether it was people who have never even thought of playing an Engineer or some of my fellow Engineers try to get a better idea of what their class is all about.

And remember, don’t give up, fellow Engineers. Many might lose hope when that first build they make doesn’t go as planned. Keep trying to make it better. That is the whole idea of the Engineer. Just keep building bigger and better things, no matter how how crazy it may seem.

We Engineers adapt; we’ll build a bigger gun, we’ll concoct a better elixir, and we’ll craft explosions that’ll make ‘yer ears bleed. So, you wanna be an Engineer? Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Featured Cosplay
Guidescroll Cosplay
Hestia Cosplay and More