[PvE] [Advice Request] Suggestions for survivable high-damage Engineer build

Hey, all! I see a lot of stuff about WvW and PvP but I'm just looking for a real strong PvE open-world spec. If it can solo champs, all the better! This Engi was the third character I created nearly six years ago and up until about midway through LS3 she was dumped in the middle of leveling at 58 and just stayed there, untouched. The various changes and the elite spec in hot gave me renewed interest back then, but only enough to finally get her to 80 and get 80-appropriate gear. When PoF came out, however, I figured I'd try again and waited a while for everyone to figure things out then followed a meta battle raid build, I tried it straight up and tried tweaking it a bit to be more Open World PvE friendly but it's been rather hit or miss and while I realized it was designed for having a lot of other people with you as opposed to random world PvE I had hoped I would be able to tweak it enough to be effective, but it just hasn't worked that way for me. It feels decent sometimes, yet most times I feel like despite my HP, armor, and toughness I get downed in about three hits from any vet, even the stupid little scarab beetles. This may be slightly exaggerated, but only slightly.

I've never had a character I feel more squishy on than my Engineer, that combined with the complexity and all the things I have to juggle just to be half as fast at killing things as someone that just uses two buttons really drives me away from it. However, as I've learned with every other class so far, a proper build and knowing what gear as well as what general rota to use to go with that build can be the difference between slow, clunky, ineffective and dead and fast, hard-hitting, highly effective, and self-sustaining.

Whether you have suggestions or not I thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate and look forward to all of your feedback in regards to this! Thank you all so much. And, finally, to make it perfectly clear, I'm not looking for help with what I've currently got going on, I'm looking for suggestions for things that you personally know actually work. Thanks again and hope to hear from everyone soon! :)

I'm gunna get real weird here, but here is a good build for you. You will want Vipers, Carrion, Trailblazer, Sage in PvP, or my favorite Seraph. Best with Seraph for WvW.http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqelUUhKrYVVwmKw6FLsFF4HuBBQYNMbxm4GFjzIAYou get CC, Boons, AoE Heals. Maybe not the top damage, but you will get decent damage.

Tips:-Toolbelt for Flame Turret makes fire field, use Flame Turret Toolbelt, then Rifle Turret Toolbelt for a 100% burning combo.-Follow up with a Thumber Toolbelt for AoE might on top of the AoE might your Flame Turrets give.-Supply Crate will throw many AoE boons+heals+blinds. Highly underrated.-Thumper Turret heals AoE conditions-Shield Heals AoE conditions in addition to saving your kitten.-Turret Toolbelt skills can be used regardless if turrets are active, was a change a while back if you didn't know.-Seraph Gear underrated stat combo-For more damage swap Alchemy for Tools for faster Toolbelt skills

@Zaviel.1245 Huh. That is weird, but it works for you, huh? Neat. Not something I was expecting but you make some pretty good points in your tips. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it. Thank you again!

Are you wanting to play core engineer, scrapped, or Holosmith? You should not be feeling this way and I can recommend a build for either.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAsenUUBlXhVWBmIDcJjFDDTMd8B+PhBg/SfpvG2DHiA-jxRIQBdTPAAOBA8Q5XG3f4NKBn1DAodq/AA-e

This one is probably pretty standard but its a fantastic build for CC and survivability.You will literally newer suffer from condis and you will have protection up for about 90% of the time, no boon duration needed. Ofc you could slap some durability runes on but thats up to you. You need to get familiar with the blast finishers to make this really shine. You can heal yourself up pretty easily with wster blasts and remove condis with light blasts.You have a decent amount of stab and if you get hit with fear or taunt you automatically convert that to stab.In addition to that you can support your group with decent amount of cleanses and boons.If stuff gets dire you still have the safe effect of elixir S where you can disengage and reheal.

Had a lot of fun with this build, atm i am only exotic on the armor part but its still very good performing.It hits a nice balance between health, power, crit chance and crit dmg.

In general, glass engineers are 100% kiting. Core Engineer would usually take Tools as defense for Endurance management and tool belt enhancement. Depending on the build, others will take Alchemy for Elixirs (which used to do condition management), and provide a ton of boons. Arms and Explosives for Damage pretty much regardless of what kits you run. The majority of adaptable aspects comes from Kit choices. Bombs are good static targets, but is less reliable for mobile targets you're trying to kite. Grenade kit is considered bread and butter with access a lot of damage in both power and condition; the triple nades on auto also trigger bleed on crit, so there is a lot of synergy as an offensive kit. Elixir Gun is a defensive kit that offers a lot of condition clearing if you're not running Elixirs. Flamethrower is mostly used to tagging in events, as the damage output is low overall, and relies on traits to gain stable condition output. Tool Kit is mostly Utility/Defense, having access to Block, Pull, Confusion, and Melee damage; Standard for most Engineers in PvP/WvW because of the strong block and pull, but is in a few PvE builds as a Melee option in fights where Projectiles are awkward or ineffective. Rifle is reliable range, while Pistols are reliable condi. Shield is Defense/Utility. The dynamics of the weapons against the kit is how you balance your combat options, despite the fact you only have 3 choices to work with.

With Especs you gain a lot more flexibility in Traits and lower reliance on Kits for build options. Scrapper is a PvP focused Spec which offers strong passive and active defenses to augment a more aggressive play style. The Hammer is essentially a beefed up Tool Kit with a huge amount of internal synergy, freeing up a utility slot for other things. This opens up the ability to go all-melee, or even Kit-less. Gyros are hit and miss, but Stealth and Bulwark Gyros are considered solid choices for the defenses they offer.

Holosmith is a damage focused Espec with a streamlined concept made mostly to offer a less taxing build option for Engineer. The Photon Forge is essentially a Damage focused kit, offering Melee, AOE, CC and Ranged attacks that can be bursted out on Demand. The Exceed skills were made with Tool Belt in mind, with each perfectly complimenting its base skill. While it can be set up for conditions, its easier to setup as Power Damage. Holo is weaker on the defense side, relying heavily on offensive pressure and well timed skill use to counter enemies. The Defensive exceeds are strong, but short lived, further pushing the need for rapid decision making and deep understanding of what your build can tolerate. Because the offensive power of this spec is so strong, you can afford defensive stats if smart about it. Toughness works best in moderate amounts, as it stacks will with the more mitigation oriented nature of your defensive traits (mainly in the from of Protection, % damage reduction, Regeneration and healing ticks).

The build I run for open world is mostly centered around QOL and self sustain, but offers strong enough damage output to handle the type of Combat POF leans towards. HOT combat has a stronger emphasis on sustained Controls as a counter, and this build needs a different usage strategy since highly burst oriented.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAsenEIDFJjlID2IDcJjFDDLMAMO2L91we4QEs9Mf2JA-jRyIAB5ocDgHAQSKBtY/B9U/xHlEapDIbtAtfCAIEQotA-e

The gear set is from an older WvW build, so its a bit excessive on defensive stats. Despite that, the Burst Damage output of Holo is so stupidly high, its still got comparable damage output to most open world builds, but its tanky enough to survive solid hits from Hydras, Djinn, and Forged attacks. Going with all Zerks trinkets is recommended to squeeze more damage out.Note the food options and sigils on the cheap..... so you can easily sub in Force over Draining. The big reason I would recommend keeping Rage, is that the Quickness you get from it is perfect for Follow up of opening with Photon Forge, as Auto and 4 unload insanely fast with that boon on you. Alternatively, you can open with Sword 3 (even if it won't hit) for 2s of quickness to speed up PF5 as a opening attack, and Rage will trigger at some point in your other attacks. For fast fights, this does way better then Air, and makes the Holo feel like a real threat. If I could find other sources of Quickness, I would had tried to squeeze it in.

Oh, btw- Bunker down gives you health for longer fights (med kits heal for 500 each) and the mines add extra damage. If they pile up, just take a half step back, and they'll step forward and trigger all the mines. If you need more on-going condition clear, Anti Corrosion plating turns your multiple sources of Protection (especially hard-light arena) into condition clears. Its also worth noting that your auto attacks are still hitting for 2.4k-3k on both Sword and PF auto; which is high damage for how low the power/crit stats are.