Jerus.4350

Mechanist does need some nerfing though, we just need a scalpel not the axe. We don't want even more Powercreep in this game, it was bad enough with HoT and even worse with PoF, and yeah, lets not do more of that, please. Mechanist isn't the only thing needing a nerf though, from EoD I'd say at least Harbinger and Virtuoso are both there as well, and maybe Guardian if what I've heard is correct. A lot of PoF and HoT specs could use a bit of shaving as well. I miss a few core builds, and I wish they were at least not terribly uncompetative, and I also don't like that so much old content just falls over.

You're right, both Scrapper and Holo have a much more "normal" GW2 play style, though I'd argue it wasn't until Holo that Engi got an "good simple build" because of how janky and impractical Scrapper was back then. I do still think ClickToKill has a point in that Engi has always been one of the weirder/more complex professions in GW2 and unlike Ele they weren't stupidly OP for the first 4 years so people just didn't feel like learning it. And, now we have Mechanist... 😅 Gotta say, I'm loving Engi even more lately (always loved it), we have so many build options. We have simple Power DPS options with PBM Holo, or more complex ones with ECSU or maximized PBM rotations. We have simple Condi DPS with J-Drive, or more complex options with 3-4 kits. We have Quickness with Power Scrapper or Alacrity with Power or Condi Mechanist, and you can play either of those as a Heal role as well. Really we have options for it all even if some aren't top tier (Scrapper healer is basically weaker Healbrand in PVE for example). Probably need a little shaving on Condi DPS Mech and Heal Mech, but otherwise we're sitting pretty.

The ranger main comment wasn't aimed at you, just in general I feel for them since Mech looks like it will take over for Druid in raids/strikes/fractals and it's a spec that has more power focused in a pet, just can't be fun.

I think everyone is asking why Catalyst deserved what they got. Did they kill a devs puppy or something? I'm not sure what else would warrant that level of nerf.

Naw it's Axe Mirage that has the 28k+ AFK DPS.

You lost me here. Mechanist is a bit OP, I'm an Engi main but I won't lie about that. However there are other builds that trivialize content just fine themselves, Firebrand being one of them. Personally I feel like they could get Mechanist into a good position with 2 changes. Base Mech stat inheritance being reduced from 50% to somewhere in the 30-40% realm would likely make the Mech itself a bit less trivializing in open world. You'd still inherit the Condi Damage/Expertise with that trait, and I'd add the Power stat to the Prec/Fero inheritance trait to make up for this loss. Then for the support side, it's going to have insane sustain simply by design, and getting away from it would cost a LOT. ALL the healing is from Core Engi which shouldn't be nerfed. But, they took that and added more on top through barriers. It is what it is there, but on top of that it's spitting out boons like it's nobodies business. Take some of the duration off of Might/Protection from Barrier Burst. Make us take the Experimental Turrets trait, losing out on Soothing Detonation, and make us take a turret or two, using up 1-2 utility skill slots. Do that and I think it's "fine". Still very powerful, but like a Firebrand "fine" where it's really pretty OP and a perfect example of power creep.

Use 5 toolbelt skills, get 5s of Quickness and 5s of Superspeed (can be more quickness with boon duration). Simple as that. If you want to maximize it, use faster recharging toolbelt skills. Like you could go Holosmith and take Rifle Turret and Photon Wall for the Surprise Shot and Particle Accelerator toolbelt skills that you'll pump out every ~7s, which with your other toolbelt skills will have you triggering Kinetic Battery every 14s or so. On Mech, it's not all that great because we only have longer cooldown "toolbelt skill" options (Mech Command skills count as toolbelt skills). Overall the tools trait line, while having neat stuff, just isn't really worthwhile outside of for-fun/niche builds. We just give up so much in Explosions/Firearms for DPS and Inventions/Alchemy for healing.

Mhm, and we give up 5 skills to get the Mech, so it better be able to pull it's weight. We're losing key DPS skills like Grenade Barrage, Big Ol' Bomb, Mine Field, or Surprise Shot. The Mech needs to be able to make up for those losses and do more because Elite specs are supposed to be better than Core (I don't necessarily agree with the idea but it seems to be the way things are going). In the end the mech needs to be better than what we're seeing from Ranger pets to be worthwhile, but I do agree that maybe they're a bit too good right now. Perhaps dropping the base power inheritance from 50% to 30-40% would work (apparently the 25% they had in one phase of beta wasn't enough). I think they did a fine job as far as balance is concerned, they just need to do some more fine tuning and shave things down a little. Mechanist isn't alone in that though, looking at Virtuoso, Harbinger, Specter and Willbender. I will say I feel for ranger mains, get the lemon of Elite specs while you watch another profession get a better version of "your thing" with the pet. I hope they can rework Untamed to be as solid as Mech has turned out.

You're right, it takes a couple buttons, and then AFKing:

I have wondered the same thing and I think the idea is more about Meta comps rather than PUG/easier comps that most of us will play. hMech is likely to become a top choice for a lot of places, and a lot of places don't need 2 healers, especially with base Engi having so much raw healing. So, what does the second healer-less group look like? qHarb or qFB, and 3 DPS + Alac. Someone needs to be giving Might, and that's something aMirage and aMech will be able to do. Personally I'm a little torn. I'm liking the idea of Elementalist runes for the 10% condi duration, then take Malice Sigil still and PPD. Be the Condi group's favorite Alac source. Could also have a second pistol with Concentration Sigil and not take PPD for a build that doesn't require 48s Toxic Maintenance Oil.

Well that's frustrating. Thanks for the heads up though.

I'm trying to get this item for HOPE. Says "Gathered by looting the Champion Auran the Golden Ooze inside the cave at Westwatch Patch in Auric Basin". Killed it twice now, no Golden Oxide Compount. Is there some trick I'm missing?

New Harbinger traits in the second line you can choose either 13% Vitality to Concentration or Expertise. Ritualist seems tailor made for Harbinger.

I like the different looks, so I don't want Golemancer changed. That said, where are the Elite Spec Runes this expansion? Give me: Rune of the Mechanist 1) +25 Condi Damage 2) +5% Boon Duration 3) +50 Condi damage 4) +10% Boon Duration 5) +100 Condi Damage 6) +125 Precision; summon a jade mech while in combat. Sort of a Pack rune/Golemancer Rune combo with a condi twist. Mainly because I really want a Condi version of Pack runes and Golemancer runes are just fun.

Totally agree. I've wanted personal tags for while now anyways, just squad tags but ones that only I can see. Those would solve this issue as well (or at least help). For now I've been watching for the barrier numbers (light blue) to see where my mech is when it's not visible.

I wanted to share some builds I've been running and having a lot of success with as well as some little tips I've learned so far. I'd love to hear other cool things people have found and any neat synergys. Condi Alacrity: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PekAoqlxy0YdMXWKOWL5xUA-zxIY1oh/M6QBEiEwjzSgTbA-e I'm pretty sure there are better rune choices than Leadership, but I was prepared for less base Alac duration, so it's the gear I had and I haven't changed anything yet. You need a little less than 50% boon duration for 100% Alacrity uptime without taking Barrier Signet (which doesn't add much due to ICD of Barrier>Alacrity trait), but personally I like a little extra because I'm not perfect. Simple rotation: Pistol 4/3/2>Shrapnel Grenade>Napalm>Flame Blast>Poison Gas Shell>GrenadeX3>Shrapnel Grenade>Grenade>Repeat Use Freeze/Poison Grenades in place of any normal grenades when up, and sub Air Blast in for Napalm every other go around if it makes sense. Plenty of room to improve on that rotation, but it's a simple one. While you do that of course keep your mech commands on cooldown and watch where your mech is. I like taking the long cast time of Pistol 2 to hit the commands. Condi Signet Mechanist: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PekAoqlxy0YwMXWMOWL5xaA-zRJYmRD/Z0hCIEJgcnFFl2A-e I'm loving this mainly because it's a simple 1 kit condi build for Engineer, and it performs pretty dang well. I think some form of triple kit build with either FT or Bomb kit and Grenade/Mortar will end up being the ideal setup, but I'll let those better than myself figure that out. Simple rotation: Throw Grenades! Seriously though, similar to the rotation above, just sub in throwing grenades or hitting Superconducting Signet where you would have the FT/Mortar skills. Rotation is centered around Shrapnel Grenade with the pistol rotation after every other Shrapnel Grenade + 1XGrenade (throw one more grenade attack after the second shrapnel and your pistol skills will be ready). Heal Alacrity Mechanist: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PekAk6lZw8YtMXWKeyTbxVA-zRJYjRDfZUdCkeB47s43BA-e Tons of variations of this posted around. I do think some of the variations I've seen might be better, higher Healing Power for more Barrier for example, but this is what I had and it's been working. Healing Turret is great, more self survival than Med kit and often more than enough group healing, especially with the extra blasts we have if you can use the combo field. Med kit of course is a good idea on higher damage intake fights. I like it on Boneskinner for instance, or anything I'm not comfortable with. If you notice I have the Mech Arms: Jade Cannons trait instead of the might producing Mech Arms: High-Impact Drivers that should be the default pick. I did that to segue into the first tip. Tips: Mech Arms: Jade Cannons: Don't sleep on this trait, it can be the answer to a lot of the mech positioning issues you might be having. Taking this trait makes the mechs Auto Attack ranged, meaning more or less stationary. I used this on Boneskinner tonight and it worked as well as I could have hoped. Once we had a safe window after engaging, I used Shift signet to place my mech in the center of Boneskinner and then we were in range for the barrier/buffs as we rotated around. Obviously you're giving up Might or Condi damage to get this, but I think it's something worth considering for Alacrity or Heal roles that need more control of the Mech. Shift Signet: Right now it's giving double duration buffs to your mech. So if you use Elixir U, you get 12s of Quickness, your bot will get 24s. I imagine this will be fixed eventually but for now, you can extra buff your mech. It can be easier to find your mech while playing support looking for the light blue barrier numbers, specifically/especially on Meta's. Fights that Kill your pet, and might be worth taking Elite Signet on (I'd love to know if anyone has any others): Soo-Won in the Dragon's End Meta will kill your pet with the hand slam attack. I've tried using Shift Signet to blink into the center in hopes it doesn't kill the mech, but it didn't work. Echovald Meta Boss will also kill your pet with the hand clap, using Shift Signet to move you and the mech into the safe spot is convenient and a solution to the problem as long as your pet doesn't run right out, so I like using Barrier Burst right after I Shift, which happens to be a similar timer. New Kaineng Strike some of the "Lieutenants" attacks will hit your pet, I haven't had it die but it's gotten very low, luckily I was playing support and easily shifted to include it in my med kit healing. I'll end with my take on the Mechameme build with Golemancer runes:http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PekAkqlZwsYvMXaBO8TbRVA-zxIY1ohvMSvACJB0fW87AA-e Plenty of variations to be had with the Quad mech meme build (don't forget your Mini). I went with this. Its mainly for an easy play style with 2 stunbreaks and stability for QoL.. Not great damage, but enough, and I'm spewing out boons for those around me while being kitten hard to kill.. I'm loving it for open world, and of course the first thing I did was go to the Uncatagorized Fractal to show the Raving Asura who the true Mech Master was. EDIT: Mistlock Singularities do not recharge Mech Command skills, so we can't prebuff and reset them.

I wouldn't call Grenades a power build option considering just tossing them yields 22+ stacks of bleeding when traited. Doing just some quick testing because it did have me curious. No outside boons/conditions (IE no prep from training room): Grenade Kit: 14k FT Kit: 11.5k "Group setup" with Boons (no profession specific stuff though) and normal conditions including max vuln on Golem: Grenade Kit: 26k FT Kit: 25k! Really not bad, and not as big of a difference as I thought. I think the FT option went way up with the "group setup" because Vulnerability is nothing to ignore, and with alacrity you're big skills are back up much faster, so less Auto attacks. With FT Auto being it's worst aspect, made me wonder about pulling Mace into things, but I haven't figured things out yet. Without boons I was able to get higher DPS than what I got with FT Primary (12.5k with Mace included), but then once boons are on I was only hitting 22-23k, clunky rotation and less auto attack time really hurt. Anyways, had me curious, thought I'd share my results.

In fractals/Strikes, it doesn't die because the big scripted attacks do not hit it. When dealing with regular enemies the normal style of attacks do hit it and it can die. So in Fractals/Strikes I have yet to have it die on me, but in open world I've had it die on me though I wouldn't say it has been a problem. I've spent more time with my mech gone because I fat fingered my recall button than with it dead.

Bomb kit as a sole kit is more of a power based kit. I'd say the same with Mace though someone might make a Perplexity confusions build, I know I'm going to test that out in the future. Shield is also a huge DPS loss. So overall I'd say you'd be swapping off most of your condi making those changes. As far as being "ranged", it's still played up in melee to maximize Blowtorch and stay with the group for boons. If you, or anyone is curious about rotation, a simple start is just to hit pistol 432 into grenade 2, then superconducting signet, grenade 4/5, toss some nades until Shrapnel is up toss that and then 1 more nade, drop the kit and start over, this time tossing grenades instead of signet and nade 4/5. Then keep all your mech commands on cooldown, prioritizing Rolling Smash (1), Sky Circus (3), and then Discharge Array (2), and you can hit Elite signet as well, the pet survives fine in most spots, no need to save it usually. Also, I like to hit Mech commands while Pistol 2 is going off, longer cast time is a little reprieve in button pressing. As for mace builds, I hope someone figures something out because I just like it, plus the barrier for group is nice.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PekAoqlxy0YwMXWKOWL5xaA-zRRYVRQYGN8nRHKiQkAydaSxZF-e Surprisingly good, just chuck nades and shoot your guns, activate signets whenever and keep mech commands on cooldown.

Just to throw some math out there, -180 Vitality would be -1800 HP, to get that back in the form of barrier we would need to do 1800/0.05= 36000 damage every 5 seconds (to maintain barrier) or 7200 Strike DPS (Please correct me if I'm wrong here). In coordinated groups while playing a Power based DPS or DPS/Boon role, that's no problem. Most anywhere else, at least personally that's not an easy target. I'm not usually hitting that solo in OW screwing around on champs, nor am I getting anywhere close while playing a healing/support role. Personally I don't have a problem with the nerf to barrier, when I came back to the game a couple months back my initial reaction was that Scrapper was just OP. I do think the -180 Vitality is a bit harsh at this point though, making that trait a negative in many situations.

Returning Engi here as well and having a blast. I was gone 4-5 years and just back almost a month now. First, as others have said, HOT is just hard, lots of enemies and lots of fast attacks. My general advice to newer/returning Engi's would be to use Blind fields. That means Mortar 4 and Bomb 4, and then spot blinds like Grenade 4, Flamethrower 5, or Pistol 3 are also useful. The fast/rapid attacks in HoT makes blinds not nearly as effective, but they're still a big help. Drop the field as you engage and then fight inside it and make use of that Hard Light Arena toolbelt skill to pull enemies in to you. With your build I'd swap out the elite for Mortar to get those blinds as well as some other useful tools like the water field you can blast with Shield 4 and Holo 5, or Leap through with Sword 3 and Holo 2 for extra healing. y As far as build, the above advice is good IMO. Marauder when not trying to min/max is a great idea. Personally my Holo solo build is very similar except I went with Explosives instead of Firearms. Middle, Bottom, Bottom for traits, the second bottom trait gives you extra health and barrier from Explosive Entrance, and then you get some healing back with the last bottom trait as well as more damage. Alternatively I also have one with Inventions, getting extra protection from shield skills (and lower cooldowns) as well as protection application cleansing a condition. It's my "tanky" option for Holo. I would suggest trying out HGH in the Alchemy tree, especially given that you're using 2 Elixirs. That's 4 skills with lower cooldowns, and while Iron Blooded is nice for a flat % less damage, I think having your heal back quicker and more boon application is overall better. Also, that first major trait line in Alchemy is one I jump around in a lot, Vigor is nice, and so is automated protection, but don't sleep on the Med Kit trait. Even without using Med Kit it gives 10% more incoming healing, which is not nothing. Not sure I'd suggest using it, like I said I jump around on that one, but just to give a heads up that it's an option. Now, all that said, I'd HIGHLY recommend a Scrapper build for HoT. Scrapper is just so tanky with the barriers as a % of your strike damage, as long as you keep swinging you keep getting barriers, and those barriers keep your health% up letting you take advantage of things like Scholar runes or traits for bonus damage at high health. I've been face tanking a lot of champs and even strike mission bosses. I really enjoy playing Holo, but I've run across more than a few situations where Scrapper was just too good/easy not to pick for me.