Torchlight 2 Engineer 2H Elite Sample Build

Torchlight 2 Engineer 2H Elite Sample Build by RetsReds

So I just woke up early this morning (Eastern Europe) to watch adoomgod’s stream of a 2H melee Engineer only to find out that he is streaming with his Embermage because and I almost quote: “It turned out that the 2H Engineer was dieing every 10 seconds on elite.”

Now, I trust that the game is balanced enough so that at least such core builds can be viable at elite, but obviously being a total glass cannon is not the best idea if you are planning on playing Single player (like me). So, since my ideal build for a 2H melee Engineer, which is going to be my first char, is planned for a couple of weeks now I decided to share it, to check how you guys feel about it.

First off, my planned stats distribution is either 2 str, 1 dex, 2 vit or simply 3 str, 2 vit, depending on the gear and the circumstances. As for my skill build:

1- Forcefield – I really dislike “bubble skills” but I guess on single player elite this is kind of a must. I do plan to be highly mobile tho, so I’m gonna skip this for as long as I can if I don’t die too much, but I assume I’ll be forced to use it quite early and max it out fast as well. (Maxed out asap)

2- Bulwark – Armor, armor, armor, not really much to say here apart from that I see this as a must for a upfront glass cannon. (Maxed out asap)

3- Healbot – Heal, mana, armor – again, a defensive must I guess. Aaaand that’s probably all the defensive skills I’m going for. (Maxed out asap)

4- Ember Hammer – My main AoE dps. High dmg, reliable arc (although a small arc), breaks shields, awesome tier bonuses and I think it applies on hit effects.

5- Onslaught – Main mobility skill, also a great debuffer, charge generator and also AoE dmg. I plan to max it as well instead of putting just one point in it for maximum dmg and for its tier bonus, cause I intend to use it A LOT. I hope that with this skill I’ll be mobile enough to stay safe at elite.

6- Flame Hammer – My secondary AoE dmg skill, this is gonna get maxed too, for its tier bonus. It deals less dmg then Ember hammer, doesn’t break shields, uses up charge and has a more chance-dependent AoE but also a simply bigger AoE which means I can use it from a distance when I feel threatened.

7- Charge Reconstitution – I really like the sound of this skill and I think it will compliment well with Flame Hammer – for every FH I do I get a nice heal. I’m big on that.

8- Heavy Lifting – Not much to say here – AS is needed for 2Handers and as I understand it the chance-on-hit stun can also happen with FH and EH so I view this as a must.

9- Superchage – Some people say that this skill is for 1Handers but I disagree. Sure, a fast 1Hander has a bigger chance to proc, but the bonus % dmg will also be much smaller. 2Hander with Heavy Lifting and a AS Spell scroll should proc it often enough AND give enormous dps boost for boss killing.

10- Coup de Grace – Probably the weakest part of my build since I don’t have neither Seismic Slam, nor Grenades. However I really do like the sound of it and I hope that with Heavy Lifting I’ll often have enough stunned enemies around me to benefit from this. Mostly for fun tho. Still its the most optional part of my build and can be changed for anything.

So that’s about it, what do you think? I don’t want to go for Seismic Slam, because I simply don’t like it visually. I hope with a good grind for items and high mobility I won’t need the AoE stun that much. I also intend to skip Storm Burst although it does sound awesome in favor of Onslaught. For mana regen I’ll be mostly depending on the heal bot. As for Fire and Spark – my dmg skills are all Weapon based and I’m still not sure how F&S affects those but either way I think with a heavily Str build I won’t have any dmg issues.

My main concern is whether this build is viable enough so I don’t “die every 10 seconds”. Any thoughts?