[Engi changes previewed so far on Feb 3 preview]

2 hours ago, Jalad Lantana.3027 said:

Baffled: What does "fixed bug where mech was source of boons instead of Mech" mean?

Currently, boons/conditions applied by the Mech uses the player's stats instead of it's own. They're fixing it so boons/conditions applied by the Mech uses the Mech's stats.

1 hour ago, Kuma.1503 said:

Frankly, I'm just glad they didn't decide to randomly nerf HAM or Condi Mech this patch.

Condi Mech did get a bit of a nerf. Sigil and Rune effects, and Thermal Vision won't apply to the Mech's condis, so the current condi Mech build will lose 10% Condi Damage and 10% Condi Durations on conditions applied by the Mech

[Question is pistol condi?]

On 1/15/2023 at 5:42 AM, Axl.8924 said:

I went with rifle is there a decent way to build up might for engi for power?

You can take Pinpoint Distribution in Firearms for permanent 5 Might. Using Blunderbuss off cooldown means you can easily maintain 10 Might stacks on yourself. You can also use Sigil of Strength and Runes of the Pack or Runes of the Privateer to reach 25 stacks of Might.

On 1/16/2023 at 6:27 PM, Axl.8924 said:

You guys did say go for mechanist first right?
 

 

Power Mech is easy to play and you won't have to gear out a new weapon if you're transitioning from Core, so you won' go wrong with unlocking Mechanist first.

[Fixing Mechanist. Step by Step guide.]

I think the biggest issue with Mechanist is that there's nothing to manage. Back when Power Mech was a meme build, you at least had to make sure the mech was 450 units away from the target to proc AAR, but at the height of it's OPness there was nothing to really manage. Just set your mech to attack and press buttons off cooldown.

To fix that, the mech needs a mechanic to manage. Anet tried with the Mechanical Genius change, but that's just a worse implementation of the AAR range threshold. A better implementation would be allowing us to "overcharge" the Mech Commands, either through traits or through Signets.

Some examples would be like:

• Force Signet: Your next Mech Command does 25% extra damage
• Mech Frame: Conductive Alloys: Condition Applications increase number Discharge Array of hits, up to a maximum.
• Overclock Signet: Your next Mech Command has 75% reduced recharge
• Mech Core: Barrier Engine:  Combo Finishers increase duration of Boons applied by Barrier Burst

This was just me spitballing, but with this type of mechanic, you'd want to use your signets or your Mech Commands to be more effective and you'd lose effectiveness by being afk and letting the Mech autocast. It's also a lot more interesting than "babysit the Mech".

2 hours ago, Kuma.1503 said:

Step 3. Add new function: Ground Target Mech's Location. 

To save on additional keybinds, this can be rolled into the Return to me command. If the button is held, you can ground target where the Mech will stand. If tapped, the mech will return to the player. This gives players more control over the precise positioning of their mech. This is a change that accomplishes the goal stated in the previous patch, rewarding players for good positioning of both themselves and the bot. This is a change that gives players the tools to manage their bot with precision, thus raising the skill ceiling of the spec.

I think it'd be a lot easier just to change Crash Down/Recall Mech into a "Go Here" type attack. It already kinda does that since you can tell it where to spawn the Mech, and also there is never a good reason to recall the Mech. This way you don't need new keybinds since it'll just be your F4.

[November 29 Balance Update Preview]

Holosmith changes look juicy. Can't wait to try it out

Now do the same to core weapons so they interact with heat

Not sure how I feel about that Mechanist change. 360 Units is really small, but the mech autos have really big range. I'll be really easy to move out of that range, and while there is a 6s grace period, I worry that without a really good telegraph It'll be really easy to accidentally lower your DPS without you realizing (like standing at 370 and thinking you're close enough).

 

P.S. I think you guys forgot Photon Wall

[What Is The Biggest Design Flaw With Engineer?]

11 hours ago, Frayze.4620 said:

The reason nobody really runs 5 kit is that you need to take other utilities depending on the situation or for the build to work properly.

That's the key here. 5 Kit Engi doesn't work because even with 5 Kits, they don't adequately cover every situation, or any situation for that matter. There's no reason that can't also be true if Kits became our Profession mechanic. Also, our utility skills are generally selfish (or turrets), so I don't forsee many issues with our utilities synergizing too well if they weren't competing with kits.

Also, I never said to keep Kits in their current states. If we do make them our profession mechanic, I would get rid of the auto-attacks on most of them and I would also increase the cooldown on most abilities to be between 25-35s, so you're encouraged not to use them willy-nilly and you won't get them back for a while when you do. Some of our utility skills might need to be changed, but we're going to need to do that anyway since our abilities would no longer have their Toolbelt counterparts.

I do think you could make it work and be fun without also making it dominant. I'm also smoking hopium. It's usually sold right next to the copium aisle in most stores.

[Engineer Trait Improvements - Disscussion Post]

I think it'd be interesting if Bunker Down and Grenadier got merged into one trait (and the grenade velocity increase got made baseline), so you'd have grenade barrage on heal plus mine/med pack on crit. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if they just got rid of Bunker Down. They were moving away from pick-up type effects several patches ago and it does the practically the same thing as Big Boomer.

I'd also like to see Invigorating Speed replace Power Wrench in Tools, since I don't feel self-Vigor uptime is very good when you're not using Surprise Shot. It would also be cool if the conditional was on Superspeed rather than on Swiftness so it synergizes with Kinetic Battery, but maybe DPS Scrapper would become a menace in WvW/PvP if it had perma-Superspeed and Vigor.

[What Is The Biggest Design Flaw With Engineer?]

On 11/8/2022 at 11:07 PM, Frayze.4620 said:

You know how everyone complains about firebrand? About how they bring too much to the table with tomes? Congratulations, you just made an even more insanely OP “thing” than that!

 If I could equip flamethrower, elixir gun, bomb kit, tool kit, grenade kit on my function keys AND have space for more utilities, Be they elixirs, turrets out gadgets, don’t you think that might be just a tiny bit OP?

5 Kit Engi has been in the game since 2015, so why isn't it the most OP build in the game? It has access to 35 skills! What the buttons do matter more than how many buttons you have. If the kits are designed to be more selfish in nature and don't have any high-value boons (i.e. Stability, Aegis), they wouldn't necessarily be OP, otherwise 5 kit Engi would be.

[What Is The Biggest Design Flaw With Engineer?]

Kits being Utility skills instead of our Profession Mechanic

 

They tend to overshadow Elixirs, Turrets, and Gadgets. I also think Kits are a stronger thematic than the Toolbelt. While we do have several useful Toolbelt skills, they don't feel all that "cool" when you compare it to the likes of Death Shroud, Elemental Attunements, or Legendary Stances in my opinion.

If our Kits were our F1-4 (with F5 reserved for Function Gyro/Photon Forge), I believe Engineer could also better fulfill it's "Jack-of-all-Trades" theme, since you'd have a kit themed for a particular purpose. For example, F1 could be the Support kit for healing allies and applying boons like vigor or swiftness, F2 would be the DPS kit and could give might (or fire fields and Blast finishers), F3 can be the Defensive Kit with CC, Blocks, and Stealth, and F4 being Mortar kit.

 

There's also a lot of overlap in what our Utility Skills do, but I wouldn't call that the biggest design flaw.

[Balance patch preview for Engineers]

5 hours ago, Nephalem.8921 said:

It was not fun at all seeing rifle mechs everywhere killing everything. Doing top dps while being semi afk. It will still do 34k+ dps which is still too high considering holo being not much higher than that.

I didn't say it wouldn't be fine. 34k is perfectly fine for pMech. I am just lamenting the loss of double Orbital Strike (again), which I think the spectacle is very fun to see.

[Why Pistols are so poorly designed?]

I agree with most that’s already been said.

• Fragmentation Shot should fire at the rate that’s listed on the tooltip, apply AoE Bleed, and have the Explosion tag for Shrapnel synergy.
• Poison Dart Volley should be a poison version of Harbinger’s Weeping Shots. 1.25s cast time, fires 6 shots, and is projectile finisher.
• I think Static Shot could be made a little bit better if it had a 1/2 Daze on it, at least on the first hit, for some interrupt potential.
• Blowtorch is fine as is. It should be fixed to hit more consistently. Shield is always better in every situation than offhand pistol, especially with Overshield. Plus, Engi has so few weapons that I don’t think there’s much value in trying to make them compete. And Blowtorch not getting it’s full value is a problem intrinsic to condition damage builds.
• And lastly, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, Glue Shot should be swapped with Acid Bomb on Elixir Gun. This would give OH Pistol some much needed power damage to pair better with Sword Holosmith and power Mace Mechanist, and it’ll give easier access to immob for support Engis and a Blast Finisher for Dps Engis.

[Balance patch preview for Engineers]

Removing AAR from the mech makes me sad. It reminded me of the old Siege Rounds trait with the double Orbital Strike. Makes sense why they’re doing it, but it makes me sad nonetheless.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted 😞

[October 4 Balance Update Preview]

Also, can we stop with the on-heal traits on Engi? We have so many

 

Grenadier: Lesser Grenade Barrage on heal

Cleansing Synergy: Cleanse Conditions on heal

Reconstruction Enclosure: Gain Protection on heal

Soothing Detonation: Heal on heal with Med Kit

Speed of Synergy: Superspeed on heal for Scrappers

Now Reactive Lenses will be another cleanse on heal.

 

Seems overused on Engi to me.

[October 4 Balance Update Preview]

I don’t know if the Coolant Blast changes makes it worth taking over Engi’s other heals. They all have very good utility, and we can get condi cleanses through Alchemy + Inventions (which a lot of PvP/WvW Engi builds use one or both of them) and other heal skills. Since Holo is kind of a high-risk, high-reward spec, I really think Cauterize should be a skill that increases your damage. I think it either giving extra stacks of Afterburner or reducing your current heat are good ways to give Coolant Blast it’s own niche that competes with our other heals.

 

Making Gyros stationary is a really bad change. It’s probably fine for Medic Gyro/Defense Field, Purge Gyro, and Shredder Gyro, but it really neuters Blast Gyro, Bulwark Gyro, and Sneak Gyro. No one is going to stand in Blast Gyro for 3 seconds, waiting to get stunned, I don’t see how Bulwark Gyro would even work… and Sneak Gyro is now just a better Smoke Bomb. Plus they give Superspeed, a mobility effect, at the beginning of the cast on skills that encourage sitting inside of them…

 

I’m sad that mine field no longer removes boon, but cripple is fine on it. I like the Utility Goggles change though. It has potential to be a really good stunbreak. Not sure about putting Reactive Lenses on heal. None of our heals are instant cast, so you can’t really make use of the stunbreak.

[Balance patch preview for Engineers]

I don’t know if the Coolant Blast changes makes it worth taking over Engi’s other heals. They all have very good utility, and we can get condi cleanses through Alchemy + Inventions (which a lot of PvP/WvW Engi builds use one or both of them) and other heal skills. Since Holo is kind of a high-risk, high-reward spec, I really think Cauterize should be a skill that increases your damage. I think it either giving extra stacks of Afterburner or reducing your current heat are good ways to give Coolant Blast it’s own niche that competes with our other heals.

 

Making Gyros stationary is a really bad change. It’s probably fine for Medic Gyro/Defense Field, Purge Gyro, and Shredder Gyro, but it really neuters Blast Gyro, Bulwark Gyro, and Sneak Gyro. No one is going to stand in Blast Gyro for 3 seconds, waiting to get stunned, I don’t see how Bulwark Gyro would even work… and Sneak Gyro is now just a better Smoke Bomb. Plus they give Superspeed, a mobility effect, at the beginning of the cast on skills that encourage sitting inside of them…

 

I’m sad that mine field no longer removes boon, but cripple is fine on it. I like the Utility Goggles change though. It has potential to be a really good stunbreak. Not sure about putting Reactive Lenses on heal. None of our heals are instant cast, so you can’t really make use of the stunbreak.

[For HAM, can I take Explosives over Alchemy?]

You can (or at least used to be able to) play Power Alacrity Mechanist as a pseudo-healer with Mace/Shield. The recent barrier nerfs hurt it a lot since PAM doesn't use Healing Power gear. You might be able to get away with it if the other players in your group are good at avoiding damage or if you swap Diviner's gear for Harrier's or Celestial, or something.

 

I wouldn't really recommend using Explosives on HAM. Big Boomer and Rectifier Signet (all passive heals, actually) only heal if you take damage. You won't be healing much through them if you stay at max health, and you should always be at max health since you're a healer.

[Tools Rework Suggestions]

On 8/31/2022 at 11:26 AM, SleepyBat.9034 said:

So in other words your first statement was false? It does 1 thing better then the others. Mobility, but other then that yeah the other trait-lines are better.

Not really. It’s Rocket Boots that have the mobility, not Tools. Gadgeteer makes Rocket Boots better, but they’re already really good without it. Inventions also gives you 25% movement speed without needing to swap into a kit every 20s, while also reducing the duration of movement-reduction effects. Mobility also doesn’t have high value in endgame PvE since most bosses don’t move around significantly. If anything, speedrunners would use it to travel between bosses quickly and then switch to a different build, but that’s a niche scenario.

 

On 8/31/2022 at 11:26 AM, SleepyBat.9034 said:

I don't see why it should be a DPS trait-line, we already have two. I think it should be Utility/Evasion/Mobility trait-line. One that would pair well with Explosives, Inventions, and Alchemy.

Most classes have 3 “DPS” traitlines. Ranger has Marksmanship, Skirmishing, and Beastmastery. Warrior has Strength, Arms, and Discipline. Thief has Trickery, Critical Strikes, and Deadly Arts. Mesmer has 4 with Dueling, Domination, Chaos, and Illusions. Now Tools doesn’t have to be a DPS traitline, it’s just already set up to be one and I see no reason to change that, plus Alchemy + Inventions already have OP Utility. Evasion/Mobility could be interesting, though I think it needs Defense (which Alchemy/Inventions already do) to make it worth taking. Look at Retribution on Revenant vs Acrobatics on Thief. Some PvP/WvW Revenant builds use Retribution, but I couldn’t find any Thief builds that used Acrobatics, despite both being Evasion-focused.

 

On 8/31/2022 at 11:26 AM, SleepyBat.9034 said:

I think these changes are a step too far.

The biggest offender are your proposed changes to Utility Goggles, I do not think making it into a Ammo stun-break is a good idea, especially when they are already quite good and you have a passive Lesser Utility Goggles and acts like a first charge already. We heard when Anet was showcasing the Armament skill type for the Bladesworn that they did not make the stun-break into a ammo skill because those have a history of being excessively strong. I think it's more balanced to have a single stun-break with a 24-30 second cooldown then 2 with 32-40 second cooldown.

I’m trying to make Utility Goggles more competitive against our other Stun Breaks. Elixir U has 2 stun breaks and gives 2 stacks of Stability to ignore the next 2 CCs. Elixir Gun has heals, condition cleanses, and some cleave. Rumble is a Blast Finisher and gives Stability. Spectrum Shield reduces incoming damage by 50%. Shift Signet is a condition cleansing teleport. Utility Goggles cures Blind and gives Resistance, Protection when traited. I’d take Goggles over Superspeed or Bypass Coating (and Rumble in most cases), but not over the rest. We have many ways of getting Protection through traits and other utilities, and not so many other ways of on-demand condition cleanse or Stability, which makes those stun breaks higher value. There’s also the fact that you need Tools to get Protection and Inventions for the Protection synergies, but Inventions is weak without Alchemy. Now you’re at 3 traitlines. If you want an elite spec, you gotta drop one and which one do you drop? Tools. If you’re core, you’d probably want Explosives for better damage and sustain over Tools, which only has Gadgeteer going for it. By giving Goggles ammo, you can do some interesting things like burning one ammo for Resistance, Protection, or a Condition cleanse, while saving the other for a stun break, or burning both your stun breaks and being SoL for 30+ seconds. Is it strong? Yes, but so are a lot of our other stun breaks. 

 

On 8/31/2022 at 11:26 AM, SleepyBat.9034 said:

I think what they need to do for Slick Shoes is make it knockdown more then once per opponent. I think Invigoration Speed does need to be moved/changes because it lets Alchemy get too much access to evasion which is a major part of the Tools trait-line. I think a 33% base line Toolkit cooldown reduction is too much when the old trait was 20% and Toolkit already has short cooldown utility skills such as a block and pull. The Lockon changes could also increase Fury duration. I would like to see them boost the duration of Quickness gained from Kinetic Battery by 1-2 seconds instead of adding more ways to proc Kinetic Charge. As for the stat increases from Steamlined Kits I think they're unnecessary for a Utility/Evasion/Mobility based trait-line.

 

Slick Shoes was nerfed so it couldn’t hit more than once per target, and I don’t think reversing it solves anything. Throw Mine, Personal Battering Ram, and Slick Shoes are all Gadgets that hard CC. Slick Shoes only hitting once makes Personal Battering Ram better CC, and Throw Mine is also good Power damage. Undoing that change just makes Personal Battering Ram the worst CC gadget, and there still isn’t a good Gadget for Condition builds. Power Wrench reduction is 33% in PvE and 20% in PvP/WvW, I used the PvE value since it’s the default. Engineer used to have a trait called Synaptic Overload, I just thought tying that in with Kinetic Battery would increase QoL in open world since Engineer has a lot of launches and knock backs, while also making it a bit more competitive with my changes on Streamlined Kits and Gadgeteer by making it build stacks quicker.

 

On 8/31/2022 at 11:32 AM, SleepyBat.9034 said:

I can tell that you've never used it so you shouldn't talk about how "underwhelming" it is. Anyone who has actually used it knows it gives Resistance, not Fury. It also gives good Protection, especially when paired with Lesser Utility Goggles. Trust me, Resistance is quite underrated.

It used to give fury before they changed it in 2019 

[What's wrong with the Tools trait-line?]

Where's the "all of the above" option? I'd also argue that Tools has weak synergy with itself, alongside weak synergy with other traitlines.

 

I wrote up some ideas on what I'd like to see in a reworked Tools traitline to better compete with Explosives and Firearms in PvE

 

 

[Help needed with Engineer leveling build or advice 1-80 and becoming Mechanist]

The build looks decent, it’ll probably do what you want if you practice and know what all your abilities do and when to use them. 

 

Personally, I would use shield over off-hand pistol for blocks or CC, but you can get away with off-hand pistol if you know the Champion/Bounty’s abilities. I would also use Iron Blooded over Purity of Purpose for higher defenses. It’s not necessary, but it’ll allow you to tank more damage when you make mistakes.

 

For a tip, the build uses Trailblazer’s gear. The easier way to get exotic armor is from farming Verdant Brink in Heart of Thorns (Heart of Maguuma). You can use the map-currency there to buy Bladed Armor and select Trailblazer’s stats. Trailblazer’s weapons are a bit harder to get, but you can use Celestial as a substitute and not lose out on much. Refer to this page for more information about getting level 80 gear

[In your opinion, what talent tree schold be reworked cuz it's underperform/is chosed by you the rarest compare to other talent trees?]

Definitely Tools. Outside of some niche pvp builds, no one uses Tools. Anything Tools can do, Explosives and Firearms does it massively better. It also doesn’t help that Tools is the gadget traitline and gadgets aren’t good. The traits themselves are also kinda weird and don’t really synergize with anything.

 

I recently wrote up some suggestions on what I’d like to see in a reworked Tools specialization, and since the devs are looking at shoring up the core experience, I hope we’ll get to see some changes in October.

 

2 hours ago, Yaki.9563 said:

I think tools is pretty decent though the grandmaster traits kind of stink. The problem is it is overshadowed by firearms and explosions, specifically AAR, because of their passive dps increases. I voted for inventions because I see no reason to ever use it unless I want Mecha Legs.

Tools has been overshadowed by Firearms and Explosives since 2015, long before AAR was meta.

[Holosmith in the Balance Update Preview - ANet please consider a further buff]

I'd also like to see Crystal Configuration: Storm buffed, since none of the major Master tier traits affect Holosmith's dps

[August 23 Balance Update Preview]

On 8/11/2022 at 10:59 AM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Ranger pets and spirits will now also have a locked defiance bar in PvE, making them immune to crowd-control effects. This quality-of-life improvement will ensure that their skills are available for use when needed and that pets will perform more consistently in all PvE content.

Doesn't this mean a ranger can never be CC'd with Shared Anguish in PvE? Probably doesn't matter in 99.9% of cases, but sounds insanely broken in the 0.1% of cases.

[Tools Rework Suggestions]

On 8/6/2022 at 9:41 PM, Alcatraznc.3869 said:

-Goggle (I never know how to spell that) is a pretty underwhelming skill. It's a breakstun that gives fury.... very meh. The toolbelt skill is nice against Thief and mesmer but that's about it.

-Slick shoes honestly is decent. A hard CC with decent duration and the toolbelt skill is a breakstun that gives superspeed. 

-Rocket boot is good as it is.

Utility Goggles give Resistance, not Fury (and Protection when traited), but yeah, very meh compared to it's alternatives. I think it's actually decent when viewed in a vacuum, which is why I think giving it ammo and having it cleanse all any condition instead of just blind would make it compete better with the likes of Elixir U.

Slick Shoes is decent, but 3 of the gadgets are CC, and I feel you'd take PBR and Throw Mine in more scenarios than you would Slick Shoes. Which is why I'd make Slick Shoes into the "condi" gadget so condition builds have a reason to use a gadget.

On 8/6/2022 at 9:41 PM, Alcatraznc.3869 said:

I like kits giving additionnal stats, though I would give the grenade buff the the bomb kit and the bomb buff to the grenade kit. It would make more sense.

Honestly, you could switch their buffs and it'd probably still work out the same. The reason I gave Grenades power and condition damage was because it's a staple on both condition and power builds, and while Bomb is used on multi-kit condi builds, if you were to camp Bomb Kit, it's because you're playing Power.

[This accidental nerf made it even weaker than Grenade Kit's first skill!]

On 8/2/2022 at 10:23 PM, lorddarkflare.9186 said:

I do I agree that Pistol is still very bad and needs to be updated (particularly Pistol 1 and Pistol 5).

If we're talking about buffing Pistol 5, I think it'd be great if we swapped Glue Shot with Acid Bomb on Elixir Gun. Acid Bomb actually does a surprising amount of Power damage, but isn't used as such since Elixir Gun is a "support" kit. If we swapped these two abilities, offhand Pistol suddenly becomes good for both Condition and Power builds and Elixir Gun still retains value as a "support" kit with immobilize and cripple.

[Tools Rework Suggestions]

Since the Devs listened to my previous suggestion about adding explosions to Jump Shot, I'm back again to offer my suggestions in order to bring Engineer's least used specialization up to snuff in order to better compete with Explosives and Firearms for DPS builds. The Devs also having recently said that they're looking to make specialization buffs in the August 23 patch and with a larger balance pass in October, I figured now's a good a time as any to post my suggestions and hope some changes can be made.

First, let me list what - in my opinion-  issues with the Tools specialization are. Tools is a traitline that does nothing. There's no argument you could make for Tools that the other traitlines don't do better. Want more damage? Explosives has 3 damage mods and Firearms has 30% Crit chance and a ~20% damage mod, while also buffing condition damage vs Tools' one 10% damage mod. Want to provide boons? Alchemy has concentration and makes elixirs better and Inventions has Experimental Turrets. Tools? Nothing. Want more defenses? Alchemy and Inventions has increased heals, barrier, condi cleanse, and protection vs Tools' auto stun break and increased endurance (which competes with making your auto stun break give protection). The only reason you take Tools is for Gadgeteer, and really only if you're using Rocket Boots. Gadgets having niche uses also hamstrings the viability of Tools.

Tools, clearly, is a DPS traitline with some defensive traits. My goal with these changes is to close the damage gap between Tools and Explosives and Firearms. With the way the damage mods work in Explosives and Firearms, I view these specializations to be more sustained DPS. Tools then should focus more on a bursty DPS playstyle in order to offer a different way to play when compared to the other traitlines. I also want to add a reason to use Tools for condition builds as well as rework one of the gadgets to be a "condi" gadget as well as make them more generally useful.

Without further ado, here are the changes I would make to the Tools traitline (and Gadgets) to make them more competitive:

• Utility Goggles now has 2 ammo and cleanses 1 condition, instead of curing blind.
• Slick Shoes renamed to Sludge Shoes.
  • Spray toxic sludge behind you, poisoning and confusing foes.
• Static Discharge also applies 1 stack of Confusion for 3 seconds.
• Invigorating Speed moves from Alchemy to Tools and replaces Power Wrench.
  • Invigorating Speed now grants 5 seconds of Vigor when you gain Superspeed, instead of Swiftness. ICD is removed.
  • Acidic Elixirs replace Invigorating Speed in Alchemy.
  • Tool Kit has 33% reduced cooldowns baseline.
• Lock On: Controlled Analysis now grants 10 stacks of Might for 8 seconds.
• Technical Jargon replaces Takedown Round.
  • Technical Jargon increases Confusion duration by 33% and increases strike damage against confused targets by 10%.
• Excessive Energy increases Critical Chance by 10% while under the effects of Vigor, in addition to its previous effects.
• Streamlined Kits swaps places with Adrenal Implant.
  • Streamlined Kits also increases your attributes while wielding a kit, in addition to its previous effects.
    • Grenade Kit: +120 Power and Condition Damage
    • Bomb Kit: +120 Power and Ferocity
    • Med Kit: +120 Healing Power and Concentration
    • Elixir Gun: +120 Vitality and Toughness
    • Tool Kit: +120 Precision and Vitality
    • Flamethrower: +120 Condition Damage and Expertise
    • Elite Mortar Kit: +75 to All Stats
• Gadgeteer now affects Gadget toolbelt skills, applying its effects to the respective toolbelt skill, except for Static Shock and Superspeed which now have unique effects. Increased the amount of Burning on Personal Battering Ram.
  • Static Shock: Transfers 1 damaging condition to your target
  • Personal Battering Ram: Inflicts 2 stacks of Burning for 4 seconds
  • Launch Personal Battering Ram: Now is an explosion and inflicts 2 stacks of Burning for 4 seconds
  • Rocket Kick: Increases range to 400 and gain Superspeed for 2 seconds
  • Sludge Shoes: Inflicts Slow for 5 seconds when it inflicts foes with conditions
  • Superspeed: Gain Resistance for 5 seconds
  • Detection Pulse: Gain Protection for 5 seconds
  • Mine Field: Plant a sixth mine at your location
• Kinetic Battery now also gains a stack of Kinetic Charge when you launch or knock back a foe.

I think with this Tools is more in-line with Explosives and Firearms, and at least has some compelling arguments to use it over the other two. With Tools buffing confusion, condition Mechanists will likely use it over Explosives, while condition Holosmith will still prefer Explosives. Having the additional damage mod also brings Tools closer to Firearms' Modified Ammunition in organized encounters. Power builds will be incentivized to use their hardest hitting toolbelt and utility while camping a kit and while the target has confusion to deal heavy burst damage. With the crit chance, power builds could also run Tools + Firearms with Dragon's gear for higher burst damage (will anyone actually do this? Who knows, but more reasons to run Dragon's can't be a bad thing). It would also be possible to reach crit cap on Tools + Explosives builds, albeit with Accuracy Sigil or +Precision Runes/Gear. Buffing Gadget Toolbelts also makes them more appealing to use, since some of them are actually pretty good, just too niche. Rocket Boots and Personal Battering Ram will probably still be niche picks, but they are pretty strong in their niches. Throw Mine might be able to compete with Grenade Kit for the DPS utility in certain situations and Sludge Shoes should see play on condition builds, even if only on Confusion-favored bosses. Superspeed having Resistance will also make it a good kiting tool in PvP/WvW. I also buffed Kinetic Battery a bit since I felt Streamlined Kits and Gadgeteer buffs would overshadow it. I also added Invigorating Speed to Tools to give Kinetic Battery a bit more synergy with Vigor and make it a bit more QoL in open world farming. Putting might on Lock On was also to increase QoL since Engineer doesn't generate a lot of Might for itself very easily. Lastly, I replaced Invigorating Speed with Acidic Elixirs because it sounded interesting, and maybe someone would use it in a roamer build. Or maybe Protection Injection is always better in every scenario.

These are my ideas on how to make Tools a useful traitline, primarily in PvE but it also doesn't get used that much in PvP/WvW either. If you have any ideas of your own, please share them! Let the Devs know what you want to get out of the Tools specialization!

[RIFLE IS THE FUNNEST THING EVER]

Machine gun rifle go BRRRR!

I thought when Anet said Rifle Burst was going to be 2 bullets and a grenade, they meant Thief's Double Tap for the bullets and a hip shot for the grenade (like how you'd expect someone to use a grenade launcher), but nah! They went full machine gun blitz! XD

 

I do think the animation could be increased to 1 second, or something (and rebalance the damage to match). Rifle seems stupid strong in PvP and WvW. Legit blowing people up.