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THE GW2 BLOG KREWE LOVE THE ENGINEER!
Guild Wars 2 Engineer Profession
The seventh Guild Wars 2 profession to be revealed, the "Engineer" is enthusiastically described by its creators as "the master of mechanical mayhem!" 250 years have passed since the time of the original Guild Wars events and technology and engineering have understandably evolved, driven largely by the Iron Legion of the Charr and their thirst for machines of war. The result is the Engineer, or more precisely the combat engineer, as he specializes in developing gadgets which prove to be useful in combat situations.While the prominence of technology and hardware in Tyria is an important theme in Guild Wars 2, the technological revolution represented by the engineer is relatively new and is not widely embraced by all cultures, so you'll still see plenty of medieval weaponry.Engineers are adept in the use of all manner of deployable devices, explosives, alchemic weaponry and assorted gadgetry. They are very capable at controlling a specific area by strategically placing stationary "turrets" and mines, setting up defensive perimeters and supporting teammates. If a more aggressive approach is required, they have a wide array of bombs and grenades at their disposal with which to destroy foes.Engineers use a single weapon set at a time but also complement this weapon set by equipping special utility and healing "kits". These kits provide the engineer with special weapons and backpacks loaded with a full set of skills to replace their current weapon skills. The final, and arguably most versatile, piece in the Engineer's arsenal is a "Tool Belt" which offers a variety of additional utility skills. The end result is a character who will be unique and challenging to play but will certainly pull his weight in any party!
Below is a detailed video from Comic-Con 2011 with commentary from Colin Johanson, (Lead Content Designer for Guild Wars 2), explaining some engineer basics and exploring the various skills on the engineer's skillbar.
The Engineer's choice of weapons are :
Main Hand : PistolOff Hand : Pistol, ShieldTwo-Handed : Rifle
The shield of the engineer is a very effective defensive weapon, though it's substantially different to the shield of a Warrior. While a warrior can kneel down and block an attack, an engineer can absorb attacks and, courtesy of a special device on his shield, reflect those attacks back at his attacker! For example, if an engineer is attacked with chain lightning, he can absorb the spell then fly the bolt back at the caster.
The Engineer's rifle skills :
Jump Shot : A ground-targeted skill where the Engineer aims downward and blasts off the ground to fly at a foe, doing damage when the Engineer takes off AND when they land.
Net Shot : As the name implies, shoots out a net to immobilize target foe.
Overcharged Shot : Fires a blast that's so strong it knocks back both you and your target (in opposite directions).
Blunderbuss : A cone of shrapnel inflicts Bleeding on foes. The closer you are the more they bleed!
Hip Shot : Spammable, no-recharge skill which fires the rifle from the hip while on the move.
The short video below is from the Guild Wars 2 closed beta, in February 2012. The first 1:30 displays the contents of the hero panel, showing the various weapon skills, slot skills and traits available to engineers in GW2.
In addition to the weaponry, an assortment utility skills in the form of Kits and Turrets are at the Engineer's disposal. When the Engineer activates one of the kits, the first five skills on his skill bar are replaced by a new set of skills relating to the kits used. The kits themselves have no recharge time and you can swap between them at will. All of the kits add a skill to the tool belt, so you aren't sacrificing a skill. There aren't any restrictions on when and how often an engineer can switch between kits, because many of the engineer's kits tend to have a very narrow, specific effect.
Backpack Kits :
Tool Kit
Med Kit
Mine Kit
Grenade Kit
Bomb Kit
Weapon Kits :
Flamethrower
Elixir Gun
Turrets :---->
Net Turret
Flame Turret
Thumper Turret
Rifle Turret
Healing Turret
Turrets
Stationary devices that, once deployed, help control and defend an area. The net turret, for instance, fires nets which snare their target. The Healing Turret is very similar in power and effect to the ranger skill Healing Spring. The flame turret causes fire damage (I'm betting you guessed that already :D). For an extra kick, when a turret is deployed, the skill in that slot is replaced with its "overcharged" version. For example, an engineer can deploy a "Thumper Turret" to cause AOE damage, and then activate the overcharge version of that skill for a big thump attack that knocks down any surviving nearby enemies.If the battle lines move, the engineer can pack up and relocate any deployed turrets, much like the Ritualist can move spirits. However, this action will remove the turret and the option to overcharge it, resulting in a short recharge time before that turret can be re-deployed. Only one of each type of turret can exist at a time (again, like the Rit). While the engineer can adopt a play style that is superficially similar to the ritualist, the engineer is a much more versatile profession.When playing with others the engineer really shines due the cross-profession combos which are possible as turrets pump out a steady flow of projectiles from a stationary position. or instnce, consider the damage posibilities when firing a rifle turret through an elementalist's firewall!
Backpack Kits
When activated, these special utility kits equip a backpack that replaces the engineer's current weapon skills with a more specialized set of skills. For example, equipping a Med Kit puts a backpack on the engineer that allows them to distribute Med packs on the ground for your allies to use. Equipping a bomb kit gives the ability to deploy bombs that explode with fire, smoke or concussive effects.
Med Kit
Bomb Kit
Mine Kit
Flamethrower Kit
Elixir Kit
Weapon Kits
Are utility skills that equip a new weapon in the engineer's hands when activated. For example, the Elixir gun kit provides the ability to fire chemical potions which can do damage to the enemy or assist allies. The Flamethrower kit creates a short-range AOE weapon with skills like "Backdraft" to suck enemies into range of the weapon's powerful attacks. "Immolate" will damage nearby enemies. "Napalm", burns and blinds foes with a wall of fiery napalm. "Flame Jet" sprays multiple enemies with fire while you're on the move. "Flame Blast", fires a napalm ball that rolls towards enemies then explodes. "Air Blast" knocks back and interrupts enemies. Versatile indeed!
Eric Flannum explained a little more about the way kits are used."All engineer kits (including weapon kits) are equipped in the second five skills slots and behave in the same manner as any skills equipped in those slots. As with all skills, they are affected by a player's attributes, so they are indirectly affected by gear."
Tool Belt
The Engineer's tool belt is a unique and vital cog in their skills arsenal and is displayed above the weapon skill bar. Utilising the engineer's F1 - F4 keys the tool belt offers a matching skill for every heal and utility skill in slots 6 - 9 of their skillbar.
To give an example... if an Engineer equipped slots 6 - 9 with Flamethrower, Rocket Boots, Elixir H, and Slick Shoes, his tool belt would have the following skills :
F1 - Incendiary Ammo: Your next three attacks cause burning.
F2 – Rocket Kick: A kick that causes AoE fire damage.
F3 - Throw Elixir H: A ground-targeted skill that throws Elixir H at the target area, randomly granting vigor, protection, or regeneration to allies in the area.
F4 – Super Speed: A very short but powerful speed boost.
With this combination of skills it's possible to hit F1 to load Incendiary Ammo, fire off a few rounds, swap to the flamethrower, use Super Speed to chase down your foe, then finish them off with a Rocket Kick.
Another example... when used in conjunction with the grenade kit, the tool belt allows a grenade barrage (all grenades can be thrown while moving too!) When used with the med kit, it adds a self-healing skill. The tool belt can also add a detonation option to all mines or a self-destruct skill to turrets.LOTS of great utility value all in one tool belt!
Elixirs
In his backpack, the Engineer has an assortment of elixirs. The Elixir gun can use these elixirs but the Engineer can also equip an elixir as a utility or healing skill. One note of caution though : all elixirs have a random, unstable component. For instance, when Elixir B is consumed the skill slot is replaced by a random buff from a selected number of buffs that exist in the game. Elixir X is an elite elixir. When the engineer drinks it, he gets one of a handful of useful elite skills from another class.
Utility Skills
In addition to the above tools, there are also a number of utility skills at the Engineer's disposal. One such skill is "Slick Shoes", which leaves an oil slick behind the Engineer as he flees, resulting in pursuing enemies slipping and falling if they step on the slick.
All of the engineer's gadgets are skills, so they take up a skill slot and use energy but require no ammo or inventory space.
Some of the skills available to the Engineer in Guild Wars 2 are shown in the videos below.
A Norn Engineer using the "Absorb" skill.
Don't mess with an active "Rifle Turret"!
Here's a video showing a Charr using the guild wars 2 skill "Jump Shot" in action.
"Glue Shot" + explosive barrel brings some overgrown bulls to a sticky end.
The Guild Wars 2 Engineer will be challenging to play and will best suit players who enjoy planning carefully and thinking through situations. When built properly the engineer is a great support character, but no more so than most of the other professions. The GW2 Blog Krewe are really looking forward to playing this innovative profession!
