My Engineer change Wishlist (PvE) - traits and weapons

[SeTect.5918]

I will just write this like a balance patch.
All the suggested changes are for PvE only except the "rework", "remove" or "added effect" traits, but with a different balance of course.
All suggested cooldowns, durations, stacks and coefficients are for PvE only.

Specializations:

Firearms:

• Sharpshooter and Serrated_Steel are now put together in 1 trait.
  -> where the previous trait was, add a new trait which gives minimal passive defense or any other effect that doesnt boost damage any further (so it doesnt automatically lead to dmg nerfs)
• Sanguine_Array is removed. Add a skill which increases confusion damage and duration to make mace viable after its heavy nerf. Probably something like 33% more confusion duration and confusion deals something like 25% more damage.
• Juggernaut no longer gives its bonuses while wielding a flamethrower. It now gives its bonuses when swapping to flamethrower. ICD stays the same.

I felt like Sharpshooter and Serrated steel makes no sense to be seperated in 2 traits since (for example) guardians Amplified_Wrath and thiefs Potent_Poison also increase the duration in addition to another effect. Same for elementalists Burning_Precision which is the exact same effect just with burning instead of bleeding.
Sanguine Array needs to be either removed completely and replaced with something else OR a enourmous increase of might duration and/or stacks. The other 2 traits competing with it are just too good.
Kit camping is no good thing, especially if its just pressing auto attack like 90% of juggernaut users do. Instead we should get rewarded for swapping between kits.

Inventions:

• Automated_Medical_Response needs a lower cooldown and a higher health threshold. 120 seconds is a lot for PvE, 60-70 seconds would do better. Also 25% is a bit of a low threshold. if you dont run a lot of vitality, you have a base hp of 15922, 25% of that is 3981 hp. If you go below this threshold, you are lucky you are not dead already. I think 33-40% would be a lot better.
• Reconstruction_Enclosure 2.5 seconds protection is a bit low on a healing skill of 17-24 seconds imo.
• Experimental_Turrets needs a full rework or faaar higher boon duration and stacks. I mean 3 stacks of might for 10 seconds on an ICD of 10 seconds? Is this supposed to be any useful?
• Mecha_Legs give it a use in pve because traits that give 25% more movement speed are useless while you have swiftness or superspeed (which engi has almost perma in pve).
• Energy_Amplifier Honestly I always had the opinion that this trait has to be on alchemy instead. I mean Inventions has not a single trait that gives regen, yet it has a trait that gives 250 healing power on regen. In addition to its previous effect, add an effect to the trait that gives regen on XX.
• Bunker_Down having to run to the med kits is something no teammate would ever do. Even if you play solo you use it because you also have to deal damage instead of running around to the med kit every 2 seconds (bc of the 2 sec ICD). This skill should give a healing pulse instead, but just to yourself. This way it would be selfish, but it wouldnt have to compete with Medical_Dispersion_Field which is the main healing trait most heal engis use. The mines of this trait are now planted onto the enemy instead on the ground, they explode after 2 seconds automatically.

Alchemy:

• Backpack_Regenerator now triggers on kit swap instead of while wielding a kit, the base healing is increased to around 300. The healing coefficient is increased from 0.05 to 0.50 (With 500 healing power, this skill gives 300 base healing + 250 healing by coefficient = 550 on kit swap). This skill now has an internal cooldown of 3 seconds.
• HGH In addition to its previous effects, Tossing elexirs now inflict conditions based on the elexir (low stacks, low duration to not give a too big impact).

Tools:

• Streamlined_Kits now has a seperated cooldown for each kit, the triggered attacks are reworked and conditions have been added to the flamethrower (burn, 1 stack 1 second), bomb kit (confusion, 2 stacks 3 seconds) and grenade kit (bleed, 2 stacks 2 seconds) attacks. Med kit attack now grants protection and regeneration for each 1 second. I think 5 second ICD per kit would do fine. Swiftness on kit swap is reduced from 20 seconds to 2 seconds.
• Lock_On reduced the cooldown from 25 seconds to 10 seconds.
• Kinetic_Battery Required charges for activation is reduced from 5 to 3.
• Gadgeteer now also gives bonuses to the gadget toolbelt skills
  -> Launch_Personal_Battering_Ram in addition to its previous effects, it will now inflict 2 stacks of confusion for 6 seconds.
  -> Rocket_Kick now is an explosion and inflicts blindness.
  -> Superspeed_(skill) now also gives you quickness for 4 seconds.
  -> Mine_Field each mine inflicts 1 second of weakness. Each mine now grants surrounding allies 1 second of fury.
  -> Detection_Pulse now inflicts 5 stacks of vulnerability for 10 seconds. If your target was not in stealth, it will receive 2 proximity mines planted on it (Bunker_Down_(trait_skill))

Scrapper:

• Impact_Savant now also converts 2% of the condition damage into barrier. The conversation of power damage to barrier is increased from 5% to 7%.
• Spare_Capacitor has now an explosion tag on all 4 hits
• Function_Gyro_(tool_belt_skill) now has an explosion tag and inflicts 5 stacks of vulnerability for 6 seconds.
• Reconstruction_Field increased protection per pulse from 2 to 3 seconds.

Holosmith:

• Overheat self-damage over time reduced from 796 to 400.
• Coolant_Blast Base healing increased from 4740 to around 6000
• Cauterize Cooldown reduced from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Self burning per condition reduced from 3 seconds to 1 second.
• Photon_Wall Cooldown reduced from 35 to 25 seconds.

Mechanist:

• Force_Signet increase the active effect damage.
• Mech usable underwater.

(yea i m not that much into mechanist)


Weapons:

Hammer:

• Rocket_Charge increase the damage to make to worth using over auto attack.

Rifle:

• Blunderbuss reduce casting duration from 0.5 to 0.25 sec

Pistol:

• Poison_Dart_Volley give it a 20% change for projectile finisher
• Static_Shot give it a 100% change for projectile finisher
• Glue_Shot i know its getting strike damage, but please give it a bit of poison in addition to that.

Mace:

• Mace_Blast (last hit of auto attack) now gives 1 second of protection to allies.
• Energizing_Slam increase confusion duration from 5 seconds to 9 seconds. Stacks increased from 3 to 6.
• Rocket_Fist_Prototype now grants fury (4 seconds) and might (3 stacks, 6 seconds) to allies around the impact. Burning stacks increased from 1 to 2.

Sword:

• Refraction_Cutter reduced cooldown from 9 seconds to 6 seconds. Projectile base damage increased from 147 to 200. coefficients increased.
• Radiant_Arc base damage and coefficient increased.

Harpoon gun:

• Scatter_Mines now inflicts 1 stack of confusion and 1 stack of bleed per mine, each 4 seconds.
• Capture_Line Base damage and coefficients increased. Bleed stacks increased from 2 to 4.
• Timed_Charge Burning stacks increased from 1 to 2.
• Net_Wall Base damage and coefficients increased.

Shield:

• Magnetic_Inversion Base damage and coefficients slightly increased. Allies around you gain fury.
• Throw_Shield Allies around the impact gain regeneration.

I guess the utility skills would need an own post, but thats about it for the weapon skills, traits and utility skills and toolbelt skills of the elite specs, but thats about my wishlist.

Edited November 5, 2023 by SeTect.5918

[Panda.1967]

On 10/28/2023 at 7:39 PM, SeTect.5918 said:

Bunker_Down having to run to the med kits is something no teammate would ever do. Even if you play solo you use it because you also have to deal damage instead of running around to the med kit every 2 seconds (bc of the 2 sec ICD). This skill should give a healing pulse instead, but just to yourself. This way it would be selfish, but it wouldnt have to compete with

Bunker down could be fixed with one very simple change… swap the location of the med kit and mine…

[SleepyBat.9034]

On 10/28/2023 at 7:39 PM, SeTect.5918 said:

Mecha_Legs I think like every class has one trait like that. I dont know if there is anyone who ever used it. You have so much superspeed or swiftness that the 25% movement speed boost is totally irrelevant. And i wouldnt use it just for the nondamaging-condi duration decrease.

Hands off! It's not a PvE trait and it's more useful than you'd think.

[WhoWantsAHug.3186]

Some of these suggestions are way to kitten OP. 10 sec ICD lock on.... wtf lol omega busted

[SeTect.5918]

2 hours ago, WhoWantsAHug.3186 said:

Some of these suggestions are way to kitten OP. 10 sec ICD lock on.... wtf lol omega busted

You get that i was talking about pve balance right? Lock downs revealed is 100% useless there.

The only other thing it does is fury and vulnerability and not even an immense amount of that, its very far away from being op.

[SeTect.5918]

On 11/3/2023 at 7:07 PM, SleepyBat.9034 said:

Hands off! It's not a PvE trait and it's more useful than you'd think.

Right, i actually didnt think about that, i will delete that right away.

Anyway, its still useless in pve. There shouldn't be traits only for 1 gamemode. Each trait should have a use in all gamemodes.

So maybe there is a way to make that one usable in pve?

[Coolster.2536]

On 10/28/2023 at 8:39 PM, SeTect.5918 said:

• Bunker_Down having to run to the med kits is something no teammate would ever do. Even if you play solo you use it because you also have to deal damage instead of running around to the med kit every 2 seconds (bc of the 2 sec ICD). This skill should give a healing pulse instead, but just to yourself. This way it would be selfish, but it wouldnt have to compete with Medical_Dispersion_Field which is the main healing trait most heal engis use. The mines of this trait are now planted onto the enemy instead on the ground, they explode after 2 seconds automatically.

Honestly, I feel Bunker Down is in the wrong place. It's this hybrid damage/heal skill in an entirely defensive traitline. I'd like to see it rolled into Grenadier (also make the Velocity increase baseline) or Big Boomer and replace it with a different trait, like maybe Explosions or Blast Finishers grant Regen to allies.

On 10/28/2023 at 8:39 PM, SeTect.5918 said:

• Mecha_Legs I think like every class has one trait like that. I dont know if there is anyone who ever used it. You have so much superspeed or swiftness that the 25% movement speed boost is totally irrelevant. And i wouldnt use it just for the nondamaging-condi duration decrease.

I think Mecha Legs is fine as is. It's a QoL skill for solo PvE. I've found it useful in some builds.

On 10/28/2023 at 8:39 PM, SeTect.5918 said:

Rifle:

• Blunderbuss reduce casting duration from 0.5 to 0.25 sec

Reduce aftercast on Rifle Burst so it's DPS is the same as the old 3-shot Rifle Burst (as it was supposed to be after the November 29, 2022 Balance patch)

On 10/28/2023 at 8:39 PM, SeTect.5918 said:

• Sharpshooter and Serrated_Steel are now put together in 1 trait.-> where the previous trait was, add a new trait which gives minimal passive defense or any other effect that doesnt boost damage any further (so it doesnt automatically lead to dmg nerfs)
• Sanguine_Array is removed. Add a skill which increases confusion damage and duration to make mace viable after its heavy nerf. Probably something like 33% more confusion duration and confusion deals something like 25% more damage.

Pistol:

• Poison_Dart_Volley give it a 20% change for projectile finisher
• Glue_Shot i know its getting strike damage, but please give it a bit of poison in addition to that.

+1

Personally, I'd like to see that Confusion trait in Tools rather than Firearms, so some DPS builds have a reason to take Tools over Explosives, but I want it either way.

On 10/28/2023 at 8:39 PM, SeTect.5918 said:

Mechanist:

• Force_Signet increase the active effect damage.
• Mech usable underwater.

(yea i m not that much into mechanist)

• Delete Mechanical Genius. It's a terrible balancing mechanic that forces boring gameplay. Instead, replace it with something functionally similar to Mesmer's Compounding Power so players are rewarded for using Mech Commands in a thoughtful way (and it's a significant DPS loss to leave them on auto)
• Delete Crash Down (Mech F4) and replace with a GTAoE ability that repositions the mech (also give Stow Pet button so we can still hide the mech)
• Make Shift Signet's boon sharing baseline so it isn't borderline mandatory on DPS builds
• Make Rocket Punch a Mech Command skill so it triggers toolbelt traits (in lieu of an F5 ability)
• Give back the ability for the Mech to trigger Explosives traits 😋

[SeTect.5918]

7 hours ago, Coolster.2536 said:

Honestly, I feel Bunker Down is in the wrong place. It's this hybrid damage/heal skill in an entirely defensive traitline. I'd like to see it rolled into Grenadier (also make the Velocity increase baseline) or Big Boomer and replace it with a different trait, like maybe Explosions or Blast Finishers grant Regen to allies.

Maybe into grenadier but i always found big boomer quite useful since its both the best damage skill in Explosions and it gives defense (200 hp per sec).

7 hours ago, Coolster.2536 said:

I think Mecha Legs is fine as is. It's a QoL skill for solo PvE. I've found it useful in some builds.

Yea i edited the OP already not to remove but buff that skill (in pve only). I mean if you play scrapper you have perma swiftness already and if you choose a specific trait you have perma superspeed. On holo you get swiftness on holo forge 2 and on mechanist you have a signet which is mandatory on almost all builds that increases movement speed. So my idea would be to give it a small additional bonus like boons if chill, cripple or immobilize is inflicted to you.

7 hours ago, Coolster.2536 said:

Reduce aftercast on Rifle Burst so it's DPS is the same as the old 3-shot Rifle Burst (as it was supposed to be after the November 29, 2022 Balance patch)

I think since rifle is used in almost all "1-button" builds, the AA damage shouldn't be increased any further, more like the damage of the other skills it has.

7 hours ago, Coolster.2536 said:

+1

Personally, I'd like to see that Confusion trait in Tools rather than Firearms, so some DPS builds have a reason to take Tools over Explosives, but I want it either way.

Thats a good idea, but Tools is so unefficient in terms of condi right now. Would probably need tons of buffs aside from that. I think streamlined kits is the only one that currently supports condi in Tools, and we all know how trashy streamlined kits is.. 

Edited November 5, 2023 by SeTect.5918