[PvE OW] Holosmith

My Engy normally rolls as a Medi Scrapper for WvW, but I wanted to find a build I could use for OW to do map completes, etc. I tried an OW Flamethrower build (that thread is further down) but I found I didn't care for it. So this weekend I decided to give Holosmith a try, and was very surprised at how fun it was. But I'm having some difficulty deciding on a build. I found that my burst and CC were amazing, but if I took a hit, it would be hard to come back from it.

Here is what I'm looking at for the moment, and would appreciate any feedback: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdQQJAsanUUBlIjlXBWIDcJjlJDDs6kdCJ9dwR4JUsZUACAA-jxRBQB4RPAlU/xp7PcFlfL4EAYGlgA4BAQGgqxA-e

I'm not a fan of shield, so have opted for offhand pistol for DPS and boost to Modified Ammunition.

I was using Explosives 2-2-1, but after spending some time in the Desolation, I found I was getting my face melted with conditions and such, so I switched to Alchemy, and here is one thing I'm on the fence about: Do I stick with Elixir U + HGH, or switch to Spectrum Shield + Iron Blooded (which has good synergy with Runes of Fireworks).

Absolutely love Hard Light Arena and its toolbelt. Laser Disc seems like a solid DPS tool, so not sure if I want to change that out.

Any suggestions? I don't think this is something I'll be taking into fractals, but definitely map complete and (melee friendly) meta-play.

Thanks in advance.

If conditions are your problem, might I recommend the inventions traitline? It synergizes like crazy with shield and hard light arena. Especially anticorrosion plating and overshield. Should make you way tankier.

Well, I was in the Desolation, and I think those mobs raised the bar on condi bombs. But just in general, looking to improve survivability. I think a lot is L2P while I get used to how this elite works, but in the meantime if I'm eating dirt all the time it's not going to be fun.

You could also try going with Enhanced Capacity Storage Unit so that you generate more healing from Heat Therapy. This gives a lot more sustain that I think is often recognized.

@stone cold.8609 said:You could also try going with Enhanced Capacity Storage Unit so that you generate more healing from Heat Therapy. This gives a lot more sustain that I think is often recognized.

Hmm, I'll give that a try. Overheating is my #1 thing to work on, obv, since it's easy to just tunnel and spam cool looking abilities.