I might actually try a engineer

So engineer is really the one class I wanted to like but always hated from launch because I have a hard time staying alive on it. From basic packs of mobs in events even and forget even looking at a solo champion fight.

I was wanting to maybe try a sword shield engineer in pve and was curious as time has moved on are they a decent solo? Can I do hard fights alone that I could on my necro and ranger? Any good ways to stay alive well while still doing damage?

https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Holosmith_-_Toolbelt_Sword/ShieldThis is insanely good at solo pve. Huge burst, block, stab, blind. Versatile, cheap(berserker gear).

For mob tagging you can use a FT build with soldier or wanderer gear which works really well, for HOT a support scrapper keeps the train alive.

I cant compare to your ranger or necro, if you want somethng like pet necro standing at range then no. But u can kill champs solo if u know when to dodge.

Thanks I'll give that a go!

I can personally vouch for the survivability of the engineer, but it does take practice and knowledge of the right tool for the job. For example, you mention you have no problem soloing with a Necro or Ranger. I haven't played those two classes much and as such I have difficulty working with both for hard fights. Necro never had enough stun breaks on useful skills and Ranger was sort of a one trick pony for me. Engineer though... Because I play it all the time I just dance around PvE content with him. Champs, bounties, fractals, doesn't matter. I'll charge in solo and not have to worry about my survivability.

@Nate.8146 said:I can personally vouch for the survivability of the engineer, but it does take practice and knowledge of the right tool for the job. For example, you mention you have no problem soloing with a Necro or Ranger. I haven't played those two classes much and as such I have difficulty working with both for hard fights. Necro never had enough stun breaks on useful skills and Ranger was sort of a one trick pony for me. Engineer though... Because I play it all the time I just dance around PvE content with him. Champs, bounties, fractals, doesn't matter. I'll charge in solo and not have to worry about my survivability.

To be fair, a lot of that is actually knowing the mechanics of the game itself and combo fields. Healing turret, when used right, can restore you from nearly 1/3 health up to max if you chain combo it.

I would say that mastering engi will make you a better player :) ofc I would say that

I would agree with the others, surviving with an Engineer is more about play skill and knowing what your abilities do than anything related to it being more powerful now than it was before. Engineer is one of those professions where you have to practice and maybe die a lot before it clicks. That's why it's considered one of the harder professions in the game to master. Can you do hard fights alone like your Necro or Ranger? Sure, but not using the same strategies that you do with them. Necromancer and Ranger are considered some of the easier professions in the game (each one being considered the easiest to play in their given field with Warrior being the Solider easy one).

My advice though, until you learn the profession stay away from Sword/Shield. You want to start off with the Rifle so that you can keep your distance, and also keep them at a distance when needed, as you learn the profession. When you are comfortable surviving on your own then move on to Sword/Shield.

No kit holo with rifle isn't optimal though and anyways being close is more.damage via traits.dmg means safety.

While it might sound counter intuitive to people, Sigil of Rage is a phenomenal choice for Sword Holosmith. Especially Sw/Sh builds. Triggers 3 seconds of quickness following your opening attack (which is 99% gonna be Shockwave, which 100% auto crits). This lets you rapidly drop Corona burst and a couple of seconds of insanely fast auto attacks for a huge amount of upfront damage. When you drop out of PF, immediately use Radiant Arc to get quickness and gap close, Refraction cutter for burst damage, and auto attack until Radiant Arc is refreshed. The 3rd auto reduces the cool down on the other 2 skills, so try to let it complete to get a second Radiant arc before the heat level drops below 50. Works ever better with Capacitor trait, letting you keep up stronger sustained damage between PF and the Sword attacks.

The opening quickness is insanely effective, as your follow up attack is so fast, you can usually be on the target before it finishes getting up.