Engineer kits are supposed to make the class more flexible and diverse, but in reality they limit Engi alot. Not because the whole idea of kits is bad, but because most of kits favor the same type of condi builds. Power Enhi is really lacking weapon options: Rifle is the only real ranged power weapon, but it is also semi-melee due to some skills, while BOTH elite specialization provide Engineer with melee power weapon. The problem is that without weapon swap Engi cannot use both Rifle and weapon from any Elite specialization.Addition of weapon swap would be the easy and lazy way to fix that problem, but it would work bad for core engi (pistols would not work well with rifle) and also would ruin the uniqueness of the profession.The best way to solve the problem is to give Engi a long range power-based kit. And the best candidate for a rework is a Bomb Kit.

Why Bomb Kit? There are a couple reasons.First of all, the whole idea of squating while running and putting explosive cakes beneath your feet is ridiculous. Bomb kit uses this awful animation for every single skills and majority of players hate it.Secondly, bomb kit works not very well in various builds. It fits badly power-based builds because the only reliable source of good raw damage this kit has is its main autoattack. However, Bomb kit is not the best option for condi-based build because other kits can perform far better, especially Grenades, that can be successfully used both at range and melee.And finally, Bomb kit is just another melee oriented kit. Tool kit and Flamethrower are good options of close range weapons, especially Flamethrower that can work well for power builds. Even Grenades can be very useful in melee range, leaving Bomb kit behind.

Because of these reasons I suggest to rework Bomb kit into 1200 range mostly power-oriented Rocket Launcher kit with some condi-options to save synergy with Explosives and Firearms specializations. The overall idea of Rocket launcher is a weapon that can deal AoE damage like Bomb Kit, but at long range like Mortar Kit, but unlike Mortar this new kit should not be heavily focused on ground-target skills to make it more reliable weapon of par with other long range weapons from other professions.

Here are some example of skills I suggest:

1 Skill main attack: MISSILE BARRAGE

Release three homing missiles that deal moderate damage and applies Vulnerability on impacted target and nearby enemies.

• 1 second channel time
• 120 radius
• 1200 range
• Each rocket is a projectile finisher (20%)
• Each rocket is Explosion
• Three instances of damage provide better synergy with Shrapnel, Steel-packed Powder and Sharpshooter traits for condi builds
• Missiles are slower that average projectile from other range weapons like Rifle or Longbow, but they have a homing effect to compensate.

2 Skill: WHIRLWIND ROCKET

Release a slow-moving rocket that travels forward and can be manually detonated to perform whirl-like explosion that deals heavy damage and applies Confusion.

• 3/4 sec cast time
• 6 seconds CD
• 240 radius
• 1200 range
• Detonation counts as single Explosion
• Detonation is a Whirl finisher with 2 instances of damage
• Rocket passes through enemies, Detonations happens only on manual use or automatically upon reaching max distance

3 Skill: ARTILLERY SALVO

Unleash an artillery salvo of rocket on target area, dealing extreme damage in total and leaving scorched ground that Burns enemies.

• 2 seconds cast time that cannot be perform while moving
• 18 seconds CD
• 240 radius
• 1200 range
• 4 seconds Salvo duration
• 12 instances of damage (3 per second)
• Every instance of damage counts as Explosion (3 instances per second just like Main attack)
• Leaves Fire Field for 6 seconds that pulses burning 6 times

4 Skill: GLUE ROCKET

Fires a fast traveling rocket that explodes on target area coats surrounded it with puddle of glue that immobilizes foes on impact and then cripples foes remain withing

• 1/2 second cast time
• 25 seconds CD
• 1200 range
• Other properties are same as Glue Bomb

5 Skill: BLAST RETREAT

Blast ground beneath, dealing heavy damage and leaving smoke field that blinds foes, and then leap at targeted area.

• Instant
• 30 seconds CD
• 1 second travel duration
• 1200 range travel
• Other properties are same as Smoke Bomb

Tool Belt Skill: Big OL` ROCKET

Launch rocket into the sky that will hit target area after 3 seconds, dealing massive damage and launching nearby foes.

• 1/2 second cast time
• 25 seconds CD
• 1200 range
• Properties of Big Ol` Bomb
• Target area is marked so enemies can see where Rocket will hit

Conclusion:

This kit will be a great addition to Engineer. Focusing on Vulnerability Stacking and heavy direct damage it will be a great addition for Power builds, while numerous instances of Explosions and some innate conditions will save it as a part of Explosives specialization condi build.But most importantly, this kit will open a long range weapon that can be used by both Elite specializations with no need of sacrificing Hammer or Sword in favor of Rifle.

why did you post twice?

here's a better idea, rather than make another ranged explosives option, buff the damage of the current kit, increase the channel time, and add a mechanic to the bombs in that there is a smaller aoe inside the large aoe which does more damage, but also damages you. and maybe add an animation to the bombs where the placer turns a small key and drops the bomb, as opposed to crouching and placing at their feet.

@Fipmip.7219 said:here's a better ideaIt is not better when the whole point is to add long range power kit which Engi does not have but truly needs. What the point of improving Bomb kit as a close range power weapon when Engi already has Flamethrower that fits the same purpose, fits fantasy better and has no awkward animations. It would be better to improve Flamethrower as close range weapon and rework Bombs into long range option, rather that improving Bombs a s close range option and leave Engi with 2 close range power options that fulfills the same purpose and no long range power option for kits at all.

@Bomboed.5697 said:

@Fipmip.7219 said:here's a better ideaIt is not better when the whole point is to add long range power kit which Engi does not have but truly needs. What the point of improving Bomb kit as a close range power weapon when Engi already has Flamethrower that fits the same purpose, fits fantasy better and has no awkward animations. It would be better to improve Flamethrower as close range weapon and rework Bombs into long range option, rather that improving Bombs a s close range option and leave Engi with 2 close range power options that fulfills the same purpose and no long range power option for kits at all.

Flamethrower is not a power option. It's a close range gimmick condi option without aa. Bomb kit looks stupid but is quite effective at what it does.I would rather rework mortar into something good and unique. It just feels like bomb kit but slightly different.

Mortar needs more mortar like stuff. I really miss flashy explosions on bomb and mortar kit. Only grenades have them for some reason. Just give me cluster bombs.

Bomb kit is the pve engi carry though. Any aa dps nerfs would directly kick it out of meta there. Sword may have good golem banchmarks but it just doesn't offer the utility and cleave of bombs and is way worse in actual fights.

@Nephalem.8921 said:

@Bomboed.5697 said:

@Fipmip.7219 said:here's a better ideaIt is not better when the whole point is to add long range power kit which Engi does not have but truly needs. What the point of improving Bomb kit as a close range power weapon when Engi already has Flamethrower that fits the same purpose, fits fantasy better and has no awkward animations. It would be better to improve Flamethrower as close range weapon and rework Bombs into long range option, rather that improving Bombs a s close range option and leave Engi with 2 close range power options that fulfills the same purpose and no long range power option for kits at all.

Flamethrower has a lot of potential. For me it works well both for condi (thanks to burning on all skills except #5) and power (thanks to good numbers on #1 and #2). It only needs some numerical changes to become reliable close range weapon, not rework level changes.

Mortar is an elite skill. And it should be balanced as an elite skill. It would be wrong to turn Mortar into power-based weapon for regular use because it will lost its current purpose of supportive tool for creating utility fields and will compete not with other weapons and kits, but with other elite skills.

Engi needs long range power weapon outside of Rifle. And it should be a kit, not a common weapon, because it should be useful for Elite specs without need to sacrifice their own elite weapons.Bomb kit is the best candidate, because it already has a lot of problems that requires fixing. Reworking Bomb Kit into long range kit will not change its purpose, but will improve the way how it fulfills its purpose.

I like bombs because I can actually roleplay an... insurgent. yes I know how that sounds but god damn it its fun and looks cool okay. especially with the PoF skins.

I would rather see bomb kit improved rather than replaced. a rocket launcher would just blend in too much with grenade and mortar in my opinion. more long range explosives? it's not the answer imo. If you're a power engi with an elite spec that needs to toss damage, the answer is honestly nade kit. three explosions, massive cripple, bleeds and vuln, can improve speed and size, get might with bleeding... even if you're not condi specced like a first glance would suggest you should be, it can still shore up your ranged potential pretty well. kits aren't as cut and dry as you make them out - many kits come with both power, condi and cc and boon potential. their ultimate purpose is to switched around for rotational setups. It doesn't make sense to design them purely on the idea of archetypes.

@Fipmip.7219 said:I like bombs because I can actually roleplay an... insurgent. yes I know how that sounds but god kitten it its fun and looks cool okay. especially with the PoF skins.

I would rather see bomb kit improved rather than replaced. a rocket launcher would just blend in too much with grenade and mortar in my opinion. more long range explosives? it's not the answer imo. If you're a power engi with an elite spec that needs to toss damage, the answer is honestly nade kit. three explosions, massive cripple, bleeds and vuln, can improve speed and size, get might with bleeding... even if you're not condi specced like a first glance would suggest you should be, it can still shore up your ranged potential pretty well. kits aren't as cut and dry as you make them out - many kits come with both power, condi and cc and boon potential. their ultimate purpose is to switched around for rotational setups. It doesn't make sense to design them purely on the idea of archetypes.

Nades are awful option for power builds. They have nothing special in them to favor power damage. They are only 900 range, not 1200. And they are purely ground-target weapon which makes them very unreliable.

Kits aren't there to cover all your shortcomings. Why do you want a long range power option? to tangle with rangers? to pressure scourges? you can do those on engi without sacrificing all of bomb kit. believe it or not but you can take a utility even when not specced for it, it'll get the job done in the right situation. what situation are you trying to cover?

@"Fipmip.7219" said:Kits aren't there to cover all your shortcomings. Why do you want a long range power option? to tangle with rangers? to pressure scourges? you can do those on engi without sacrificing all of bomb kit. believe it or not but you can take a utility even when not specced for it, it'll get the job done in the right situation. what situation are you trying to cover?

Kits are Engi equivalent of weaponswap. Kits are weapons. Certain weapons fits certain niches. Every class has weapon options for almost all niches, and every class can freely combine them (except Elementalist, but they are completely different story with how their weapons and elemets work). While Engineer is very limited in choice^ the only long range power weapon this class has is Rifle and it is a regular weapon, not a kit. While both Elite specs provide additional power-based weapons for the same weapon slot. It means, that weapons for Engineer are overloaded with power options, while kits are overloaded with condi options and the only kits that can work somewhat well for power builds are alos focused at close range combat, which is already overloaded with regular weapon options.

Other classes can have sets of weapons like condi-melee + condi-range or power-melee +power-range. Yes, some weapon options for them come from Elite specs, but they are free additions with no need to sacrifice anything. While Engi has a lot of options for condi builds and very limited for power build. The only way Engineer can have a reliable long range option is Rifle, which means that if you play power Scrapper or Holosmith you have no choice rather than sacrifice their Elite weapons on favor of Rifle if you want to have a long range option in your weapon set. If you use Hammer or Sword+whatever you are left without any reliable long range weapon.

Changing Bomb kit from melee weapon to long range weapon will not cost Engineer anything. It still will be the weapon with exactly the same purpose as Bomb Kit, but usable as range weapon, not only in melee. It is not a "sacrifice" of Bomb Kit, it is a process of turning it from melee weapon to range weapon and it will be very healthy for engineer simply because it will help with balance between number of melee options and range option for Engineer, because currently there is an obvious problem.If we, for example, implement my version of rework, which I tried to make it to contain every good part Bomb Kit has in its current form, Engineer will lose nothing, because my version of this kit still can be used at close range and will be almost as good for it as current version of Bomb kit which you, for some reason, love. But in my version it will also be a range option for engineer, but as kit, not regular weapon, which Engi truly needs, especially for Elite specs.

And yes, kits are there to cover shortcomings. Because kits are weapons. They fulfill the same purpose as weapons. And because of that Engi has so little option of regilar weapons. And for the same reason Engineer has Toolbelt skills to compensate utility slots filled with Engi equivalent of weapon swap. Kits are weapons and they should provide Engineer with options in same manner as regular weapons provide options for other classes. But currently kits provide a very unbalanced variety of options and rework of one of them will change a lot for Engineer in a good way.