12 replies to this topic

[AwefulWaffle]

Hello! I'm new to Engineer, and I'm feeling rather weak. I'm not sure what weapons or kits I should be using as my primary damage for solo questing.

Currently level 18, and I'm getting killed by monsters my level where my Warrior or Necromancer would normally chew through. For example, fighting two Ettins my level I got absolutely destroyed.

I think it's partially because of lag. I'm getting hit by attacks when I'm far away from enemies and even when I dodge I still manage to get hit. But that doesn't stop the pain of low damage output.

What would be my best source of damage at the moment? And which traits should I invest in? Thanks a lot, really depressed with my Engi at the moment. D:

[Calebrus]

Stick with it.  Similar to Mesmer, Engineers develop more slowly than some other professions. This is especially true when compared to something that takes almost no development time such as a Warrior.
But if you're expecting your Engy to pwn solo PvE content as easily as your Warrior does you're going to be disappointed.  Engineers struggle in solo play compared to some other professions, but they absolutely shine in a group.  That's not to say that they can't solo.  They certainly can.  It just takes a little more effort compared to some others.
For example: The two ettins you were having trouble with.  Well, to be perfectly honest, you should have only been fighting one at a time.  Even if two were aggroed.  Engys excel in control.  Lock one down while fighting the other.  It just takes some practice and experience with your skills (which you don't even have yet at level 18).
So like I said, stick with it.  It does get better.

Edited by Calebrus, 30 December 2012 - 09:44 PM.

[FoxBat]

If you can tango in close range, bomb kit is best DPS for low levels before traits can kick in. You don't have to melee if you kite proper (just run directly away, mobs will run into your bombs behind you.) Go 10 explosives and get increased bomb radius, everything after that is just gravy. No problem taking on 2 or 10 ettins then.

[Kurosov]

Bombs, grenades, rifle, /s, /p. any of those mean melee foes should never even be close enough to hit you. The play style of engineer is very different from warrior.

[shiggidyshwa]

Not really having any problems on my Asura lvl 10. Turrets take aggro for me, and I just got grenades so spamming those, plus blowing up turret before it's destroyed. Not the hardest enemies, but I can solo 3 ranged krait.

It's more squishy than my warrior but it's really fun to play.

[Mura]

http://gw2skills.net...qxUjoGbNuak1MIA

I think that was the build I used to level, up to around level 60  (I took the engineer to 80, but around level 60 I switched.)

I also leveled to 80 doing only wvw, so maybe it isn't the best pve build.  Anyway, Kurosov said it right, you've got to use a different playstyle when using engineer.  You  need to be rotating through all your kits to put out the most dps.  Engineer is very fun to play, and tons of different builds are great builds, but you do in general have to work harder than most classes to pump out dps.

[coglin]

I cannot understand how you are having trouble at that level. I know have all classes to 80, and I felt they all sucked till I hit 30, amend get all the initial skills
want.

Is this your first alt OP? Because every time i made a new character, I allways felt weak, but I soon learned it was because I was going from being used to playing an 80 with my choice of build and skills, to playing a low level character with only 2 stats instead of 3 on ,my gear, limited utility choices, minimal trait points and less then exotic gear.

[Kable]

AwefulWaffle, on 30 December 2012 - 06:55 PM, said:

Hello! I'm new to Engineer, and I'm feeling rather weak. I'm not sure what weapons or kits I should be using as my primary damage for solo questing.

Currently level 18, and I'm getting killed by monsters my level where my Warrior or Necromancer would normally chew through. For example, fighting two Ettins my level I got absolutely destroyed.

I think it's partially because of lag. I'm getting hit by attacks when I'm far away from enemies and even when I dodge I still manage to get hit. But that doesn't stop the pain of low damage output.

What would be my best source of damage at the moment? And which traits should I invest in? Thanks a lot, really depressed with my Engi at the moment. D:

Engineer is squishy at the start. You need to be extra cautious of the ground beneath you and also ranged stuff like rock throwers.

I used heal turret, net turret, flame thrower, shotgun. Later added rocket turret.

There are many parts to this build that work together. Heal turret give you initial heal, and overcharging gives good regen and can draw agro. Net turret stops single mobs from getting to you and you also have a tool belt electric net as well. Beyond that the flamthrower and shotgun both have gap creators built in. Also you can blind enemies that get to close. I never had huge problems with this setup through my leveling. The aoe damage that the flamethrower puts out along with the burning damage from the wall of flame really did quite well for frying several mobs at once.

That is the setup I used well into my 60s and could still fall back on today. Once you hit cap though the world becomes your oyster and you can fiddle with all sorts of builds.

[Evans]

Personally I take a grenader/elixer gun condition damage build. I haven't had any trouble, unlike when I used the flamethrower, but it does kill slower than a warrior yes (but then again all other professions do).

However I think you'll find that single targets go down somewhat slower, but reliable (cripple, chill, poison, bleed, blind) but its against groups that you shine.

Elixer gun is very useful to weaken the foes and heal yourself up, don't underestimate it, and with kit refinement you can just equip it for a super elixer heal. Once you learn to juggle your kits and toolbelt skills, you'll find it goes a whole lot better.

Still, the engineer is more of a teamplayer than soloist imho.

[MrForz]

I've been redirected in here by someone telling me that Engineers had troubles soloing, I don't get to believe this actually.

We're not Warriors or whatever head-on class you can ever find.

http://gw2skills.net...MlYK7UupkTNqYGA

This is what I leveled my engi with. With stats based on ConditionDamage, Precision, and Toughness. When leveling, getting Coated Bullets is a must to optimize your 1-vs-Many ability. Flamethrower will give you control and Burns, Elixir Gun will give you more heals (Healing Mist + Super Elixir), the Thumper Turret in here is just a way to hold some aggro during hairy situations, never underestimate the benefits a turret can give.

Edited by MrForz, 04 January 2013 - 12:38 PM.

[Daesu]

Why is it that people tend to only read half a sentence and goes off to form their own interpretation?  Again, engineers can solo.  Mine has completed the game on his own with only green gear.  But he doesn't solo as easily as my warrior does.  

Though I would be more than happy if anyone can provide an engineer build that can solo in Orr as easily as a warrior.

Edited by Daesu, 04 January 2013 - 10:00 PM.

[MrForz]

Daesu, on 04 January 2013 - 09:57 PM, said:

Why is it that people tend to only read half a sentence and goes off to form their own interpretation?  Again, engineers can solo.  Mine has completed the game on his own with only green gear.  But he doesn't solo as easily as my warrior does.  

Though I would be more than happy if anyone can provide an engineer build that can solo in Orr as easily as a warrior.

Well I had to pass by here anyways, too much time in PvP to even realize that there's Tyria outside and people debating about ways to be successfull in Fractals, leveling, and farming.

For the Orr soloing, well.. Coated bullets + Blowtorch and Slick Shoes are your friends, Elixir R aswell, turrets aswell. Unless you speak of 'easy' in the terms of gameplay where indeed, you have much less trouble slaughtering that 100B attack than constantly kit-swapping and attack.

[dawdler]

Daesu, on 04 January 2013 - 09:57 PM, said:

Though I would be more than happy if anyone can provide an engineer build that can solo in Orr as easily as a warrior.

No problem - go all out bomb healer!

Go melee range, spam 1 (combine with random other buttons), repeat.

You'll be in melee like a Warrior, you'll regen *almost* as good as a dps built Warrior and you'll have about as complicated weapon button rotation

It still wont be as easy though