Engineer major traits that need reworking

Hey everybody. One of my older posts was focused on casting times, today I want to do a breakdown of engineer traits that are outdated or very niche, and that I think could use revision by ArenaNet. I'm only looking at major traits with this post, not the minor ones, although several minor traits could also use revision.

Firearms

• Juggernaut -- This trait applies only to flamethrower kit, which is currently woefully underpowered, and doesn't encourage the kit swapping the devs seem to want to encourage.
• Modified Ammunition -- This trait, while not niche, is designed in a very counterintuitive way. It increase power damage for the number of conditions on an opponent. This only has value to the engineer's damage in raid scenarios, where you can reliably expect decent condi-dealing allies. In almost all other scenarios, it's not good.

Explosives

• Grenadier -- this trait only applies to grenades, and ought to be made baseline. Simply put, the velocity increase for grenades makes the grenades way more useful in PvP, and almost nowhere else. The damage reduction for falling is just a nice side benefit that can be attached to nearly any other trait.
• Blasting Zone -- The might granted by this trait is incredibly poor for the amount of setup it requires. If might is granted on blast finishers, it ought to be 3-5 might.
• Aim-Assisted Rocket -- This trait can actually hurt engineers in PvP if there are reflects. The last thing you want is a trait that can automatically hurt the equipper. It's also simply too weak in PvE to be worth taking compared to short fuse or big boomer.
• Orbital Command -- Unfortunately, its cast time is too long to be valuable in PvP, and its damage too weak to be valuable in PvE, when compared against shrapnel.

Investions

• Automated Medical Response -- This trait was often underwhelming before it got nerfed, but with a 120 second cooldown, it has no value anywhere. That's a longer cooldown than almost all elites.
• Experimental Turrets -- The reflective barrier takes an extra second or two after the turret is placed to cast. I'm not sure why, but it greatly diminishes the value of this trait.
• Soothing Detonation -- Again, effects on blast finishers need to be stronger than currently implemented, given the amount of effort it takes to set up.
• Bunker Down -- The trait is just buggy. Please fix.

Alchemy

• Comeback Cure -- While useful in certain healing builds, regeneration is one of the weakest healing sources in the game. This trait would be significantly better if it did a normal heal instead of regen.
• Backpack regenerator -- The health regeneration from this trait is absolutely pitiful. It's also basically worthless considering the kit swapping dynamic that has been encouraged by ArenaNet. I'd recommend just replacing this one altogether with something better.

Tools

• Static discharge -- This isn't niche or rarely used. Rather, its design has been flawed for a very long time. Just read the wiki notes for this page to see how inconsistently it behaves. Make it more consistent.
• Reactive Lenses -- This trait simply has too little functionality in either game mode to be considered viable. Look to replace or improve this trait.

Scrapper

• Shocking Speed -- This trait is just too narrowly specific to be valuable. Additionally, the ICD doesn't really seem to have any real purpose. And one last thing -- because of the nerfs scrapper took to Rapid Regeneration, this trait has very little synergy with anything.
• Perfectly Weighted -- The damage buff needs to be made baseline for the hammer. The stability function is fine IMO.
• Rapid Regeneration -- The healing nerf that this trait got has rendered its healing pretty weak. Not as bad as backpack regenerator, but still pretty bad, especially given how rare superspeed still is in this game.
• Expert Examination -- After gyros got nerfed to reduce the amount of stuns and dazes they could do, this trait simply procs too rarely to be of particular value.
• Adaptive Armor -- Healing Power scaling is still pretty bad for this. The difference between max healing power and no healing power is pretty small. For a grandmaster trait, the base level of this trait is extremely low if you want scrapper to actually function as a tank.
• Final Salvo -- Most of the power in this particular trait evaporated once PoF landed, as it is dependent on gyros. In the current powercreep, gyros simply don't last long enough or show enough utility in most cases to make this trait of any tactical value.

Holosmith

• Light Density Amplifier -- The damage reduction (15%) is so minor for the tradeoff it makes is pretty laughable. The DR only serves certain tank holo builds, which often rely on more powerful DR abilities/boons. My recommendation is turn this trait into granting protection for 3 seconds every 3 seconds while in Photon Forge, with the current debuff. This would make it competitive enough to be worth taking in PvP.
• CC: Storm -- Unfortunately, the range on this trait just makes it bad. 600 range is still basically melee range, so I'm not sure what this trait actually serves to do, other than the potential for explosives synergy. Also, why the damage reduction associated with this trait?
• CC: Zephyr -- I only ever hear of this getting use in WvW blobs and edge-case uses in PvE (a particular guild challenge involving a succulent crab comes to mind). Holo leap's damage has been nerfed plenty -- so what harm is there in buffing this particular trait?
• ECSU -- Thermal Release Valve does this trait's job better, and more reliably in PvP. PBM flat out allows way more damage in PvE. The >100% heating benefits only apply to sword anyway, due to a design decision not to add heat bonuses to other weapons. This trait feels like it was handicapped by its own ambitions.

@Vagrant.7206 said:Explosives

• Grenadier -- this trait only applies to grenades, and ought to be made baseline. Simply put, the velocity increase for grenades makes the grenades way more useful in PvP, and almost nowhere else. The damage reduction for falling is just a nice side benefit that can be attached to nearly any other trait.

I'd rather have the damage reduction on falling replaced with grenade skill cooldown reduction by 20%. Make the throw velocity and explosion radius baseline, increase the throw range from 900 to 1,200 and reduce the cooldown on grenade skills by 20%.

• Blasting Zone -- The might granted by this trait is incredibly poor for the amount of setup it requires. If might is granted on blast finishers, it ought to be 3-5 might.

Make it 10 stacks because ArenaNet nerfed Thermal Vision. It's bad enough that not a lot of players play core engineer in fractals and raids, but they made it even more difficult to play than ever before.

Alchemy

• Comeback Cure -- While useful in certain healing builds, regeneration is one of the weakest healing sources in the game. This trait would be significantly better if it did a normal heal instead of regen.

It would be nice if it also applied the same heal on the engineer.

• Backpack regenerator -- The health regeneration from this trait is absolutely pitiful. It's also basically worthless considering the kit swapping dynamic that has been encouraged by ArenaNet. I'd recommend just replacing this one altogether with something better.

Or they could significantly increase the healing from 117 to something like 200 or above. Core engineer is rarely played, both in PvE and PvP/WvW and most engineers use the Elixir S passive. I never liked the passive proc, so it would be nice to increase the healing by a lot to give core engineer with kits much needed sustain.

In regards to ECSU, it is not as useful as the other two, I agree. I’d like to see maybe one or two more skills (or traits) be affected by being used over 100% heat. Maybe a slight reduced cool down on holo elite skill if used over 100%, or additional healing from Coolant Blast if used over 100%.

I pretty much agree with everything the OP says. Some of which I have been preaching about for a long time.I'd love to see Juggernaut work how I have it suggested in my forum post. Basically, keep it the same, but apply the effects when swapping between flamethrower and the main weapon. As well, if you decide to "camp" in the flamethrower, you gain those effects periodically, same as before. Of course, there would have to be some coding done to not allow a boon effect from both a camping in the kit, and switching the kit. Like, if you gain the effects in one method, the other method won't work until the ICD is up. Maybe make the way you gain said effects share the same ICD?

Backpack regen and Rapid regen, yeah I agree. There was no need for the rapid regen nerf. I think rapid regen still needs to be a minor trait, along with adaptive armor. Scrapper sure don't feel like a tank, or a negation style bruiser at all honestly. backpack regen needs a huge buff, and the healing effect needs to proc on weapon swap. If not, then kits need to be buffed significantly if arenanet wants to encourage a secondary playstyle of being able to stay in kits whilst in combat for long periods of time.

Automated medical response, way too long of a CD. Protection injection, way too long of a CD as well. Especially when you compare the likes of something like a ranger getting protection every 10 seconds? for AMR, I'd like to see it at a 60-80 second CD. Protection injection, back to a 10 second CD. That is, unless, they're planning on nerfing all direct damages all across the board some time here soon, then the higher CD defensive things can stay, so we don't see a bunker meta return to the game any time soon, and still see players able to theory craft more than just a "i need to burst you down as fast as possible before you burst me down as fast as possible" build.

Bunker down, I like the functionality of the mine. However, I hate how it is for the heal. I think the heal should just proc on you without the need to pick up a bandage. Or, place the bandage in a spot right underneath your players as so you can either stay still and pick it up immediately, of if you move out of its area when it drops, you can just move right back to the spot to pick it up.

Static Discharge needs to target players that you target, for all toolbelt skills. SD seems to me to be a more bursty option. So make it bursty. If this is the case, however, then lower the damage it can do by a little bit so that it is not way too powerful.

Orbital command. well...lul. So much ramp up time, to do such pathetic damage. I think this needs way more than just a 44% damage increase, Considering it's on a 15 second ICD, and takes so long to ramp up. Unless the enemy has: no movement speed augments (most have anyways), cripple, chill, or immob, or no evades left, it's as easy as walking away from the area and wondering why in the kitten you'd take such a trait. Hell as it stands, you can just tank it and be fine. It doesn't really feel like a threat.

@Hoodie.1045 said:

@Vagrant.7206 said:-- SNIP --

Pretty much agree with everything you suggested here.

@Ghos.1326 said:-- SNIP --

Agreed.

from pve pov:

Explosives

• Grenadier baseline
• Blasting Zone - grants condition damage instead of power
• Orbital Command - to its current design, add: After finishing a blast finisher, grant 10% mods for 10s

Holosmith

• Lenses - arent stacks but duration now (remove burning)
• ECSU - to make it a good alternative -> still increases heat by 50 and doesnt grant might anymore (still gives sword the bonuses), maintain buff https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Laser%27s_Edge outside of PF only when above 101 heat (the moment u drop below 100 heat while out of forge Lasers edge will dissapear too)

Scrapper

• https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Impact_Savant -> while having Barrier, get 10% mods
• rework https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Function_Gyro_(trait_skill) - when used on ally, grant aoe barrier (the target gets bit more) | when used on enemy -> you are able to overcap vulnerabilty up to 30 stacks.

these are skill and not traits:buff https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Shredder_Gyro and buff hammer AA (fot it being a slow AA weapon it should atl hit hard) for scrapperbuff https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Refraction_Cutter and rework https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Radiant_Arc (reduce cast+aftercast and it doesnt grant quickness anymore for more dmg)https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Acid_Bomb -> double cast, on first it leaves the trail and on second leaps awayhttps://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Flame_Blast -> rework the same way staff for guard got this patch (phoenix aiming)

I think scrapper has the most traits which need rework. Especially adaptive armor; the trait itself it useless. If you get hit you get barrier; chances are, you'll get hit for more than the barrier completely making it useless. Rapid regeneration is fine. Given how we have zephryte runes, it can be more useful than we think.

ECSU should affect more skills. If you're not running sword you pretty much run it for more might generation.

@archmagus.7249 said:I think scrapper has the most traits which need rework. Especially adaptive armor; the trait itself it useless. If you get hit you get barrier; chances are, you'll get hit for more than the barrier completely making it useless.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha. What? If you're getting hit every 3 seconds, say in 1v1, Adaptive Armor is an obscenely good trait.

Real worst major traits are: in order

• Expert Examination
• Expert Examination
• Shocking Speed (just not as useful as the alternatives)
• Applied Force (Elixir U makes this obsolete)

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:I think scrapper has the most traits which need rework. Especially adaptive armor; the trait itself it useless. If you get hit you get barrier; chances are, you'll get hit for more than the barrier completely making it useless.

• Expert Examination
• Expert Examination
• Shocking Speed (just not as useful as the alternatives)
• Applied Force (Elixir U makes this obsolete)

The reason adaptive armor is useless it reduces condition damage and not duration. If you're constantly taking Condi damage, you're never going to get that barrier.

Expert examination doesn't have an ICD, and synergizes well with controlled analysis. It's a death sentence for thieves.

@archmagus.7249 said:

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:I think scrapper has the most traits which need rework. Especially adaptive armor; the trait itself it useless. If you get hit you get barrier; chances are, you'll get hit for more than the barrier completely making it useless.

• Expert Examination
• Expert Examination
• Shocking Speed (just not as useful as the alternatives)
• Applied Force (Elixir U makes this obsolete)

Adaptive Armour could offer no condition damage reduction, it's still a 1200+ barrier every 3 seconds just passively coming in. One of the most impactful passives ever..

Also, you far overestimate Expert Analysis. Your stuns and dazes are now limited to Hammer 5 and 3, you can do this combo every 24s. It's a relic of the past where Gyros dazed on death. Very bad trait especially when compared to Rapid Regeneration or Mass Momentum with Elixir U.....

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:I think scrapper has the most traits which need rework. Especially adaptive armor; the trait itself it useless. If you get hit you get barrier; chances are, you'll get hit for more than the barrier completely making it useless.

• Expert Examination
• Expert Examination
• Shocking Speed (just not as useful as the alternatives)
• Applied Force (Elixir U makes this obsolete)

you're still missing half the functionally of a trait. At least with Final salvo you can get stab from every gyro you let off. And they all pulse superspeed.

We get way more stuns and dazes hammer 5 for stun and 3 for leap combo. Shield 5 stuns melee attackers on hit and can be thrown for two ranged dazes. Rifle 5 if leaped through a static field. Supply crate has a really long stun. Net turret overcharge stuns. AED toolbelt stuns. And personal battering ram toolbelt dazes. Also overcharged AED grants static aura stunning attackers when they hit you on a successful save.

@archmagus.7249 said:

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:I think scrapper has the most traits which need rework. Especially adaptive armor; the trait itself it useless. If you get hit you get barrier; chances are, you'll get hit for more than the barrier completely making it useless.

• Expert Examination
• Expert Examination
• Shocking Speed (just not as useful as the alternatives)
• Applied Force (Elixir U makes this obsolete)

Hmm, Id prefer to limit discussion to the most viable Scrapper builds in PvP.

Bruiser Scrapper is best with Adaptive Armour. Support Scrapper can use final Salvo especially well for ressing.

Well, Hammer Leap combo is 2 dazes, they removed the middle finisher some time ago. Rifle and shield do even less in 30s, they're mutually exclusive too.

I'm aware crate, battering ram, net turret and AED have stuns and dazes. But they're frankly garbage. Taking far worse utilities to build around a weakness & vuln proc, it's still not good. Expert examination has no place being used in PvP

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:I think scrapper has the most traits which need rework. Especially adaptive armor; the trait itself it useless. If you get hit you get barrier; chances are, you'll get hit for more than the barrier completely making it useless.

• Expert Examination
• Expert Examination
• Shocking Speed (just not as useful as the alternatives)
• Applied Force (Elixir U makes this obsolete)

I never do PvP. I was looking more of a wvw (which is what I play most of the time; mostly roaming).

@archmagus.7249 said:

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:

@Chaith.8256 said:

@archmagus.7249 said:I think scrapper has the most traits which need rework. Especially adaptive armor; the trait itself it useless. If you get hit you get barrier; chances are, you'll get hit for more than the barrier completely making it useless.

• Expert Examination
• Expert Examination
• Shocking Speed (just not as useful as the alternatives)
• Applied Force (Elixir U makes this obsolete)

The same logic largely applies, small scale fights in PvP or WvW... I suspect more so that your chosen build and spec don't really matter in casual WvW roaming if you're just looking to play what strikes you as fun. My Scrapper mindset is very competitive PvP oriented

• Shocking Speed -- This trait is just too narrowly specific to be valuable. Additionally, the ICD doesn't really seem to have any real purpose. And one last thing -- because of the nerfs scrapper took to Rapid Regeneration, this trait has very little synergy with anything.To add to this, Scrapper can have literally only 1 leap finisher available at a time, either from Hammer 3 (2 leaps, ok, but the trait has ICD) or Rifle 5. ICD on this trait is like a punch line to a really bad joke.

• Final Salvo -- Most of the power in this particular trait evaporated once PoF landed, as it is dependent on gyros. In the current powercreep, gyros simply don't last long enough or show enough utility in most cases to make this trait of any tactical value.This trait hardly even buffs gyros. We have other, better ways now to put stability on allies. The trait actually buffs the destruction of gyros, the thing ANet said they want to avoid when nerfing Expert Examination. Purity of purpose not found.

@Samug.6512 said:

• Shocking Speed -- This trait is just too narrowly specific to be valuable. Additionally, the ICD doesn't really seem to have any real purpose. And one last thing -- because of the nerfs scrapper took to Rapid Regeneration, this trait has very little synergy with anything.To add to this, Scrapper can have literally only 1 leap finisher available at a time, either from Hammer 3 (2 leaps, ok, but the trait has ICD) or Rifle 5. ICD on this trait is like a punch line to a really bad joke.

• Final Salvo -- Most of the power in this particular trait evaporated once PoF landed, as it is dependent on gyros. In the current powercreep, gyros simply don't last long enough or show enough utility in most cases to make this trait of any tactical value.This trait hardly even buffs gyros. We have other, better ways now to put stability on allies. The trait actually buffs the
  destruction
  of gyros, the thing ANet said they want to avoid when nerfing Expert Examination. Purity of purpose not found.

Shocking speed also procs on blast finishers. If you have the rune of the zephryte, you get an extra 33% duration. When you have rapid regeneration, you get lots of healing. It's worth nothing that rapid regeneration works with medical dispersion Field.

Final salvo gives both of you stability. It protects the function gyro from the cc every class gets downed. Using it with bulwark or medic gyro allows you to outrun pretty much every class when it dies.

• Juggernaut -- This trait applies only to flamethrower kit, which is currently woefully underpowered, and doesn't encourage the kit swapping the devs seem to want to encourage.

I think that trait itself is fine. But they should improve flamethrower to make it a reliable main weapon. Lower CD, increase damage potential of all skills except #1, make Smoke Vent to deal damage over time and create moving Smoke Field.

• Modified Ammunition -- This trait, while not niche, is designed in a very counterintuitive way. It increase power damage for the number of conditions on an opponent. This only has value to the engineer's damage in raid scenarios, where you can reliably expect decent condi-dealing allies. In almost all other scenarios, it's not good.

Agreed, this trait is bad by design and should be replaced with a new trait.

• Grenadier -- this trait only applies to grenades, and ought to be made baseline. Simply put, the velocity increase for grenades makes the grenades way more useful in PvP, and almost nowhere else. The damage reduction for falling is just a nice side benefit that can be attached to nearly any other trait.

Yes, it should be baseline.

• Bunker Down -- The trait is just buggy. Please fix.

I would love to see Bandages to apply Regeneration and Mines to apply Burning or any other damaging condition. I really love this trait and I want it to be more fitting for condi builds.

Power wrench could be altered to cause pry bar to overcharge turrets that it hits. This will give the kit more synergy and allow us to re use overcharge skills without blowing up or picking up the turret.

Not sure if overcharge was re-usable before the turret changes, but I would like to have the option now.

@Zex Anthon.8673 said:Power wrench could be altered to cause pry bar to overcharge turrets that it hits. This will give the kit more synergy and allow us to re use overcharge skills without blowing up or picking up the turret.

Not sure if overcharge was re-usable before the turret changes, but I would like to have the option now.

That would be a neat idea, IMO though we should change Box of Nails (Toolkit 2) to be something else that overcharges the turrets on activation. Only downside to this is you'd have to take toolkit to overcharge the turrets more than once on activation so running a 3 utility turret build you wouldnt be able to do that, but toolkit as a compliment to the turrets would be cool. Also would be nice if the toolkit auto attack turret repair would heal the turrets when striking an enemy rather than the turret itself since just sitting there whacking your turret would be lame, and also if the enemy was there your turret would just get destroyed.

And yeah turrets were able to be overcharged on command before the change but the detonate turret skill was on the toolbelt with the overcharge being on the skill as a flipover and whenever it was off CD you could use it as long as the turret was still up of course. But they changed the turrets so you can still use the toolbelt while they are active and put the detonate on the flipover and got rid of the overcharge skill and just made it once automatically on activation.

@Arimas.3492 said:

That would be a neat idea, IMO though we should change Box of Nails (Toolkit 2) to be something else that overcharges the turrets on activation.

box of electro-nails: lightning field that overcharges turrets, causes vuln, and does the things box of nails already does. and with double the bleed duration too. or maybe triple.

oughta do the trick.