I now reveal my top-secret WvW Engineer build, the Zergbusting Gadgeteer.
|| Goal ||
The objective of this build is to carve out a role for engineers in blob fights through crowd control and boon stripping.
|| Build ||
Pistol/Shield (Restoration/Luck sigils)
Healing Turret, Rocket Boots, Throw Mine, Slick Shoes, Charrzooka
2 Forceful Explosives
0
4 Cloaking Device, Power Shoes
6 Self-regulating Defenses, Protection Injection, Automated Response
2 Speedy Gadgets
Soldier Gear (Melandru runes)
Saffron Bread
|| Guide ||
Overview: This build is not for everyone; it has relatively low DPS and the ways in which you support aren't as straightforward as granting boons or clearing conditions. Your role is to stay close to the pin and analyze when you need to bust the head of the zerg with a mine, heal your allies, or dive headfirst over the enemy line and wreak havoc.
Weapons: Pistol/shield is chosen over rifle for the multifunctional shield skills. Shield 4 is a reflect, knockback, and quick blast finisher. Shield 5 is a ranged projectile shield, melee stun, and piercing linear daze projectile. The pistol skills are not worthless, however- #1 is AoE, and poison, blind, and confusion can all be utilized within a blob.
Heal: Even in a gadget build I can't justify AED. Dropping water fields on pin provides this build a third avenue of support. You can easily double blast the field with four blast finishers, and triple blast with a bit of planning.
Utilities: The grandeur of Rocket Boots is well known, and they work particularly well with this build. Throw Mine is your bread and butter- an unblockable AoE knockback, boon strip, and blast finisher on a 14.5 second CD that sticks to walls and can be remotely detonated. Slick Shoes acts essentially as a draw-your-own static field. Not only is it too unblockable, but because it lasts a fixed duration, every increase in speed linearly increases the length of the oil trail. Slick Shoes, Rocket Boots, and the Super Speed toolbelt skill create a synergetic triumvirate that allow you to single-handedly lasso a zerg.
Toolbelt: The water field from Healing Mist can't be called out over comms due to its one second duration, but the plethora of blast finishers allow for a quick splash heal with shield #4 or rocket boots. Rocket Kick is underrated; it applies AoE burning and the 300 range mini-leap has situational value. Each of the 5 mines dropped by Mine Field is an AoE boon strip; this should be activated often but requires anticipation. Super Speed has infinite uses, and the defensive aspects of this build obviate the need to hold it in reserve as a stun break.
Elite: This build is absurd, you say. Kits are everything you got into engineer for in the first place, and you’d rather uninstall than be stuck with pistol/shield. Then may I interest you in a rocket launcher kit? Yes, you only have 15 charges, but the cooldown begins as soon as you unsheathe. Let’s examine each skill individually: Fire Rocket offers more damage and range than your pistol auto-attack. Rocket Spray releases five missiles at a random deviation: straight ahead, left 30 degrees, or right 30 degrees. However each delivers 400 knockback, and this can be very potent at close range. Heat Seeker is kind of silly with its Killshot-esque windup, but it is effective against fleeing foes and NPCs. Rocket Jump is a PbAoE knockdown and leap finisher, so it goes well with Healing Mist. Fire Rocket Barrage drops 5 burning AoE projectiles on the target area; it’s generally why I reached for my Charrzooka in the first place. And you thought Asura were the master engineering race, silly bookah.
Traits: Even in a gadget built I can’t justify Gadgeteer; survivability is higher with this trait combination. When you increase the radius of mines by 33% with Forceful Explosives, you increase the blast area by 78%. Cloaking Device turns becoming immobilized into an opportunity by dropping from your enemies’ sights, then cleansing and repositioning with Rocket Boots. The 25% movement speed bonus of Power Shoes needs no justification. Self-regulating Defenses lets you evade heavy pressure and reset yourself at 7k health; your Healing Turret should simultaneously recharge thanks to a minor trait. Another minor trait to note is the first in the Alchemy line, which grants a nice bundle of retaliation. Protection Injection provides 4s of protection in this build on a 5s CD, procs often in blob conditions, and is part of a larger strategy of weathering conditions and stuns rather than removing them. Automated Response makes this build essentially condition proof while under 10k health. Taking Speedy Gadgets is obvious.
Gear: Soldiers gear provides great survivability while also making sure you don’t hit like a pillow. Dire gear would give this build more roaming potential, but I did some math and most of the skills scale pretty well with power, the exceptions being Static Shot and Rocket Kick. Melandru runes provide baseline condition and crowd control defense. These are supplemented by Saffron bread, which reduces condition duration and damage received while CCed. The Restoration and Luck sigils are the least defined parts of the build, but you’re essentially limited to on-hit, on-kill, stacking sigils, or sigil of force with Soldier gear. Restoration gives you sustain within the blob, while the Luck sigil randomly grants all boons- most importantly stability (the wiki is wrong).
Summary: Clearly I don't think I've discovered an engineering secret sauce, but I've yet to see anyone propose this combination of utilities. This build offers great potential for “advanced tactics” and it’s a lot of fun.
