Scrapper or Holosmith

[Game of Bones.8975]

I just hit Lvl 80 with my engineer and have to make the decision which line to master first: Scrapper or Holosmith.

I do 90% PvE and don't plan on using it for Fractals or WvW.

I'm just looking for a fun elite that I can solo, join a train, or PUG when I feel like it.

[Josif.2015]

@Game of Bones.8975 said:I'm just looking for a fun elite that I can solo, join a train, or PUG when I feel like it.

If you like playing the tank/support role, play Scrapper. But since you're playing what I assume is open world PvE and dungeons, play the Holosmith. You don't have to worry about being tanky in PvE, glass cannon damage is far better than sustain in PvE.

[Ardid.7203]

If you solo, Holosmith all the way. If you party, Holo too, but Scrapper could maybe be added. In the end, Holo is the safest bet, specially if you are deciding which to get first.

[alphaea.8017]

Don't let Engineer 2: Holosmith Boogaloo keep you from trying out Scrapper though. I've tried both on two different characters (Engi's will always be my favorite class) and I have a ton of fun with Scrapper.Plus, a Charr carrying this thing around is priceless https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Fix-r-Upper

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

Right now, holosmith is melting face everywhere it goes. Even if you're running around in the overworld, the sheer power and crowd control that the holoforge offers is amazing. You'll probably want to go with that.

Scrapper is more defensive and has different utilities. It is fun and easier to play, but the damage is lower.

[Thais.4639]

Holo is currently more flexible and better fits your "fun elite that I can solo, join a train, or PUG when I feel like it." Tons of damage, lots of CC potential in photon forge and its skills. Scrapper is also a lot of fun for tanking/healing/support, and IIRC has the best stealth uptime in the game, but has fewer general roles. Unless you specifically want stealth or support + tanking role, I recommend going holo first.

[Cifrer.6013]

Do you want it to play more similar to core engineer or something different?

Scrapper can be more similar to core generally while holosmith is fairly different. Most consider holo to be simpler in gameplay.

Personally I kind of dislike the visual effects of holo. I don't like the way it covers my character in a light honeycomb effect. It is a pretty strong spec though.

[broFenix.1632]

Just wanted to share my opinion: I love Holosmith spec, love that it's super strong DPS and gives me another kit to transition to making the class so much fun to play. And I love the visual effects of Holosmith, I think it fits very well with my Asura engineer that they invented a method to make holograms hurt like a truck and also must expel heat from the device as it's used. Perfect +1 Really my favorite character <3

[Nate.8146]

When HoT first released, I would have recommended Scrapper for its great utility and stuns. The 20s stealth gyro cooldown was awesome and having an army of gyros whip up electrical storms and stunning groups of mobs was a thing of beauty. Sadly, the specialization has undergone so many revisions that very little of its initial glory remains. I've tried to use Scrapper against the Awakened and I just can't do it. It's way to slow and just doesn't have the flair it once had. Holosmith on the other hand is god mode. You see 5 mobs and a champion you don't like? Then go over there and melt them. Don't wait for backup because you are the backup. It has lots of pretty lights and flashy effects too, so you'll be the star of the show.

[Chazz.6709]

Scrapper is really cool for support and that function gyros can be very handy :D i always liked to use it to rezz ppls , who are down , while i was more or less playing as power engineer and did my dps , but anet somehow buffed/nerfed scrapper at the same time. It's not good as it was once , since 20 sec stealth gyros was cool in pve , but oh boy those pvp/wvw/ pve non splitted changes , hitted us badly several times :( . Gyros got improved , but still their problem is the AI , which still sucks balls sometimes.fun class to play for sick skips , if they dont target your gyro or for some easier time in certain situations.

Holosmith is a class that adds alot of cc and sustain coming with it too. It's a class , which offers you alot of stuff , Stability , Barrier , cc , passive regeneration ( better than from scrapper) no ai and some group support.Also alot of mobility and some handy stuff , which makes holo faaar more superior in most situations in pve atleast, since it opens up alot of great trait synergies.

If it was hot as mentioned above i would really tell you to go scrapper , but now it got just hitted hard and somehow buffed. So it's now a tankier spec , that can be used as a healer , but due meta and other stuff no one wants you to be a engineer healer or rather asking you to go for holo to fullfill your cc duty.

it's a pity and sad ....

actually im curious about current benchmarks from scrapper ? anybody knows it ?

[Rysdude.3824]

Every time someone mentions pre-nerf Scrapper I wish I had a chance to have played it back then. The espec is so cool but as of today, just doesn’t hold a flame to holo

[Apolo.5942]

Depends what you want to do with it-Tank for a raid, scrapper.-Support for a raid, Scrapper.-Raw dps Holo-Solo world exploration, comes down to preference, scrapper has MUCH BETTER sustain, Holo Has much higher dps if you go complete glass.

[Dace.8173]

In PvE just for fun I tend to use Scrapper as its gyro's and the abilities are fun and the use of the hammer is rock'n. When I go into PvP or WvW I tend to swap to Holosmith as it is more competitive.

[Xae.7204]

@Chazz.6709 said:Scrapper is really cool for support and that function gyros can be very handy :D i always liked to use it to rezz ppls , who are down , while i was more or less playing as power engineer and did my dps , but anet somehow buffed/nerfed scrapper at the same time. It's not good as it was once , since 20 sec stealth gyros was cool in pve , but oh boy those pvp/wvw/ pve non splitted changes , hitted us badly several times :( . Gyros got improved , but still their problem is the AI , which still sucks balls sometimes.fun class to play for sick skips , if they dont target your gyro or for some easier time in certain situations.

Holosmith is a class that adds alot of cc and sustain coming with it too. It's a class , which offers you alot of stuff , Stability , Barrier , cc , passive regeneration ( better than from scrapper) no ai and some group support.Also alot of mobility and some handy stuff , which makes holo faaar more superior in most situations in pve atleast, since it opens up alot of great trait synergies.

If it was hot as mentioned above i would really tell you to go scrapper , but now it got just hitted hard and somehow buffed. So it's now a tankier spec , that can be used as a healer , but due meta and other stuff no one wants you to be a engineer healer or rather asking you to go for holo to fullfill your cc duty.

it's a pity and sad ....

actually im curious about current benchmarks from scrapper ? anybody knows it ?

There are a couple of viable conversion bruiser scrapper builds for PvP, but they are worse than holo.

[Jannie.2975]

I really fell in love with the Scrapper and I LOVE these Gyros over all!!!I cannot tell you how sad I am about how ANET has rendered the Scrapper basically useless in the long run and it does not feel nice when people hate what you play and keep asking you to change to the "glorious" holosmith. All that praise that holosmith receives and the spits and kicks that are left for the Scrapper, all that has made me hate the holosmith so much.I want to play my Scrapper and be strong with it and seriously, forcing a specialization to be a "tank", in GW2 that means "go into the trashbin you rubbish!"