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The Engineering Question......are they really Engineers?
Fadedbomb
Member Posts: 2,081
So, I've been hunting around for ability information for Engineers in GW2, but to my failure I've not really found any in-depth information as to what Engineers can actually do. Sure, they can equip guns....flamethrowers....throw grenades....and put down a "healing turret", but is that REALLY what you think of when you see the title "Engineer"?
For me, I've had "rare" experiences with the Engineer class through previous games. Yet, the most notable one that really "fit" the title of Engineer had to be in Anarchy Online. You had group buffs, ranged weapons, traps, and what REALLY set Engineers apart from other classes were their massive hulking pets.
So, the real question here is that if an Engineer so chose to could they have some form of mechanical assistance in any form OTHER THAN puny stationary turrets (such as the healing turret). I ask simply because video after video I see nothing but people randomly run & gunning with flamethrowers, hand-grenades, or what I assume to be rifles? Aside from the random Healing Turret I see in some videos the Engineer really seems like some sort of Alchemist WitchHunter type class from previous games of lore I've seen, played, and read over the years.
Engineer, to me, simply seems disappointing. Then again most people seem to almost completely skip over the Engineer as "not their type of thing" to do in a game like Guild Wars 2.
I assumed the lack of information was merely because GW2 is still in deep-beta, but I'm curious if anyone can shed some real light on what an Engineer's actual role is other than randomly throwing down Alchemy traps, Healing Turrets, and the ocassional FlameThrower applied to said face?
Thanks in advance 
!
-Faded
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
Comments
Hmm odd, when I think of Engineers I think of turrets, bombs, and flamethrowers. When I think of Hunters or Magicians I think pets, certainly not Engineers.
When I think Engineer I think Warhammers Engineer which I love. GW2 doesnt seem to far off from WARs, but has alot more devices and skills. See the list here. http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/List_of_engineer_skills
Have you watched the Yogscast Engineer Spotlight?
http://gw2videos.com/footage/yogscast-engineer-spotlight/
It gives a fairly good overview of what they do.
I actually see them as bearing similarity to the elementalist. The elementalist can change to four different attunements for each weapon that means they have a lot of versatility in combat (20 weapon skills with any one weapon).
And the engineer can equip a "toolkit" as one of their support skills that changes their first 5 skills as well. So if you equip three toolkits for support skills, that gives you:
5 + 5 weapon skills to use from your primary and secondary weapons (I think they can weapon swap?)
15 weapon skills from your toolkits.
So that's a possible 25 weapon skills available to you in any given combat...potentially a very versatile class.
They also have versatility in one of their ultimates. It's an elixer that turns you into the ultimate form of either the Necro, the elementalist...or something else that I can't remember. It's random, but it's definitely versatile.
Are you team Azeroth, team Tyria, or team Jacob?
Well I would consider the Engineer type you are looking for are the Asura's themselves. They are the smart race and have all of the big ass golems they Engineer. But as far as I can tell there is no class that uses those golems.
To me they seem just fine, steampunkish mad scientists with toys that go boom!
As a class they're already at the edge of being overwhelming with all the tricks and gadgets they have at their disposal. Imo adding some kind of robot pets to the mix would be pretty much over the top..
That's another thing I wanted to bring up. I've heard the Asura can either create a golem for them to drive (different from Siege Golems) that they can use in pvp or pve, or turn into one? Or how does that work O_o?
Thanks for all the info so far though
!
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
I have no clue how or if they are in the game either
. I know they can control them in the lore, not even having to get into one(mind control). Any info on how this plays out in the game from anyone would be appreciated. 
Engineer doesn't build shit
the engineer = a technician
Awww
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
A good place to start:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Engineer
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/List_of_engineer_skills
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/List_of_engineer_traits
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/List_of_asura_racial_skills
http://gw2.luna-atra.fr/skills_tool/?lang=en&code=
thye are not engineers, they are in fact, Aliens, hiding in charr skins in an imaginary world
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Golem_Battlesuit
uhhhhh!!!!!
^Exactly^
I just started following GW2 a couple months ago mainly just lurking the forums here and there and am interested, and from that skill list I think I might have just found me a class to start following...
I think of turrets.
That sounds more like the ranger. They get all of those things.
Engineers don't get any pets, but you don't have to take any turrets. They have a lot of options. Just look at the skill list.
I don't know what lack of information you're referring to. The wiki lists every single skill currently in the game.
Racial skills weren't in the last build at all. I suspect they're being reworked, but last we heard they would be useable in PvE and WvW but not in structured PvP. As far as I know, the racial skill summons a golem that functions about the same as a siege golem. It's not a persistent pet by any means. Also, the golems are magical, not mechanical.
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
They destroy things through the power of calculus and meticulous drafting!
I'm sure its not engineer, it is animated figure in a game. And I can make it jump of a cliff.
Just call your engineer Mac Giver or Mr gadget and you'll be fine.
hehe
yeah, but on all honesty, it should be named the Technician or Mechanic. Engineer just sounds much better.
engineer = alchemist. explosives, potions, gadgets, healing turrets. thats how i see the prof anyway. i would have preferred if they kept the turrets out, kept the bombs/mines/grenades, and called it an alchemist
The engineer is an oddball.
They don't have a weapon swap. In fact, they have the most limited selection of weapons. Rifle, Pistol+Pistol, Pistol+Shield.
But they can actually have the most (or I think the least) skills available at one time (outside of elementalist using conjured weapons).
Their toolkits replace their weapon. All three utility skills and their heal slot can be toolkits, even not counting those skills themselves as skills, that's another 20.
They also gain an F1-F4 skill that corresponds with whatever is in the heal and utility slots as part of their "tool belt". So that's 4. And the elite.
So that's 5 (weapon) + 20 (healing + utility toolkits) + 4 (F keys) + Elite = 30 maximum.
But if they don't have any toolkits, then as far as I can tell it would just be 5 (weapon) + 4 (F keys) + 5 (right bar) = 14 minimum.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." -Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
Ahh I see, thanks for the correction cali
.
Are you team Azeroth, team Tyria, or team Jacob?
The engineer reminds me of the shaman from Wow that is why I am not interested in it. In Wow's shaman was versitile but did not get the gear/tweaks to improve the other talent tree until years after the game's release. Shaman got weaker and weaker the more I played in casual pvp. Shamans never really got a real buff, they tended to get nerfed before a big patch then buffed back up to the point they were before the nerf. I do not want to play a class that looks similiar to that again.
Anyways the skills tool is the best way to find info n engineers. Also check this forum for more info: http://www.guildwars2guru.com/forum/engineer-f53.html
You're not interested in the engineer because Blizzard had trouble balancing the shaman? It's one thing if you're reminded of the playstyle, but balance? Balance?
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
That's because it's not an engineer as a life profession, it's a combat/war field engineer. This isn't a great example because GW2 doesn't have dedicated healers, but it's the best one I can think of from a real world perspective. If you think of a doctor - a local, general practitioner, or a surgeon that works in a hospital, and then a field engineer - someone whose skill set has to be completely different, you'll start to understand what I mean.
You'll no doubt be able to build environmental weapons as a crafting profession, but the actual thing, the 'engineer,' is a field engineer. He doesn't sit in a lab all day toiling over an experiment which may or may not work. He instead learns how to use mass produced technology to his best advantage. This is the way of the charr, since they have a factory city and they can mass produce tools of war. In fact, if you're familiar with the lore you'll know that the charr are pretty much the provisioners for all combat engineers of all races. This is because they can mass produce.
So what makes a field engineer different than a commando? That would be a good question. Again, the answer is that the skill sets are different. A commando may be familiar with guns, but he'd lack the specific knowledge to use very specific guns. The act of modifying a pistol in battle to fire off a tazer shot (which we've seen) is different to just being able to fire a gun. Thus, the warrior (with a rifle) is closer to a commando. Though there are some 'command-like' elements to a field engineer.
What you have to look at it like is that the kinds of components and tools that an engineer has to use and construct on the fly and on the field of battle isn't something that most soldiers on the field of battle are going to understand. This takes very specific training. So, that turret the engineer has strapped to his back... well, considering that most people in our reality can't even figure out the controls of a VCR, if the people of the reality of Guild Wars are any similar they'd probably end up with an accidental case of modern art whilst trying to setup a turret.
(I've seen people perform accidental modern art whilst trying to set up a tent. It's hilarious.)
It's all about skill sets and what you know. It doesn't mean that those who aren't engineers are idiots - I haven't implied that here at all, nor will I. It just means that person A is going to have a different set of skills than person B. What I'm saying is that you won't pull a programmer from Microsoft out from behind his desk, sit him in a helicopter and expect him to automatically be able to fy the thing just because he's smart. Similarly, in Guild Wars, to use the tools that a field engineer uses, you have to have field engineer training.
You have to know how to mod your pistol, you have to know how to safely use a flamethrower without setting yourself on fire, you have to know how to construct that mass produced turret without it turning into a case of impromptu, serendipitous modern art. (Though perhaps serendipitous is not the best word, because whilst the accidental creations might look pretty, they'll also likely get people killed.) This is why, again, on the field of battle you have people with particular skill sets who don't deviate outside of what they know.
Because deviating outside of what they know can get people killed.
And there are these turrets, mines, flame throwers, gun mods, potions, and so on that a soldier has to be specially trained to use. And that particular tier of military training in the guild wars Universe is 'field engineer.'
That help?
Did anyone else think of Jim Mora when they read this?
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." -Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007