User:Ekko/Sandbox/Versatility and Things

So, this is another speculation/thought-exercise, focusing on the subjects of versatility, adaptability, and engineers.

Engineers are supposed to be really versatile: it's their "thing". They get only one weapon set, but have backpack kits that allow them to totally replace their weapon skills to compensate. This versatility comes at a price, however: engineers "trade" the skill slot that the kit is equipped in for another functional weapon set (compare to the elementalist, which has 4 effective weapon sets and retains access to all 5 of its nonweapon skills). To make up for this, they get a toolbelt skill that interacts with it (detonating mines, throwing a bunch of grenades, etc.).

In this rambling, I'm going to argue/muse/suggest/spread butter on the idea that (almost) all engineers should select one or two backpack kits, but not more.

Versatility is good. This is generally true and specifically true in Guild Wars 2, with its "controlled chaos" combat and the strong development focus on it. But versatility is only good if it is USEFUL: we don't want to be like 8-Bit Theatre's Red Mage, missing out on an opportunity to use an ability because of a vain focus on versatility as a goal.

On the topic at hand, adding a second set of skills that just does something you're already capable of (or don't need) is significantly less valuable than adding a set of skills that does something you can't already do.

Consider the engineer who takes, say, two pistols as his weapon set and equips four backpack kits--the med kit, flamethrower, mine kit, and elixir gun. At any given time, the engineer has access to only 5 really effective skills (toolbelt skills probably aren't that awesome--Detonate All Mines is the means that mines do damage, not an added ability, for example; elite skills have too long of a cooldown to count here), but has a total of 25 potential skills. An engineer with 2 backpack kits (let's say the flamethrower and med kit) can use 7 skills at any time, with a total of 17 potential skills.

Right now, it looks like a matter of preference--greater overall versatility vs. more at-the-moment options. But, consider the marginal value of those extra two backpack kits:

All engineers can do ranged combat with their actual weapons. Rifles have some close-range AoE, pistols have some long-range AoE. All engineers, therefore, have ranged attacks down pretty well and have some AoE right off the bat. Conversely, a major goal of successful engineering builds should be the ability to deal with close-range situations.

The flamethrower kit is a mainly close-range AoE weapon. Mines and bombs are as well, in function, because they provide a means of attacking groups of enemies that get near to you. Having more than one of these isn't all that helpful--you get a little extra versatility because you can pick which close-range attacks you have, but that's not much.

The elixir gun is a mix of ranged AoE and healing/support. The med kit is a healing/support kit. You see the overlap, I'm sure.

Engineer #1 has two options for ranged combat (pistols and elixirs), 2 options for close combat (flamethrowers and mines), and 2 options for support roles (elixirs and the med kit).

Engineer #2 has one option for ranged combat (pistols), one option for close combat (flamethrower), and one option for support (the med kit), but has two extra utility skills to use in any role.

For me, at least, Engineer #2 is the clear winner; she has less-to-no redundancy.

Now, let's think of an engineer who selects no backpack kits, an engineer that wants to focus on "normal" utility skills and their weapon of choice. There are, I think, three major ways to do this (with the skills we know about now):

1. The Self-Buffer: The engineer has a number of utility skills that apply boons to herself, which can create a (at least partly) self-sufficient character. Pick any weapon of your choice (I'd recommend a pistol-and-shield for the defensive edge, but that's a personal preference), and slot in Elixir H, Adrenaline Shot, Elixir B and any other utility skills. Now, you can apply a wide range of buffs to yourself to augment your ranged damage, but you'll have to be careful about melee--you don't have much/any capacity to deal with it.

2. The Runner: Engineers also have a bunch of mobility-boosting skills, which can provide a means of "dealing" with close-range combat that would otherwise be dangerous--not being in melee range. A rifle is a good weapon here: Net Shot, Overcharged Shot, and Jump Shot all provide mobility for you or restrict it for your enemies. Slot in Slick Shoes and Rocket Boots, take a healing skill that won't tie you down (so, not a turret--Elixir H is the only one that we currently know of that meets that and isn't a kit). If enemies get near you, hit them with Blunderbuss and get away.

3. The Turret-Master: This is fairly straightforward; take as many turrets as you can. This lets you take shots at enemies from afar while being covered by your turrets against enemies that get too close. Net Turret and Thumper Turret are probably good choices to snare/damage melee enemies, but the actual turrets are up to you, as is weapon choice. This does, however, largely lock you into a specific area--you move out of range of your turrets' support if you try to run too far from AoEs or other things.

All of these are viable options for an engineer--there's nothing wrong with any of them. The only problem is that there's not actually a reason for them to not use a backpack kit of some form. The self-buffer's problems with melee can be solved by a flamethrower, which can leverage the buffs into tons of AoE damage. The runner can drop mines or bombs in the midst of enemies and get out quickly if it takes one of those kits, or take a medkit to provide some highly-mobile support to their team. The turret master should probably take the tool kit, which offers some melee attacks in the form of a wrench, but is also designed to provide supports to her turrets.

That, I think, is my major point--most, if not all, engineers should take at least one backpack kit: the marginal benefit of the extra weapon set outweighs the marginal loss of one utility skill. Similarly, there is a point where that marginal benefit no longer exceeds the marginal cost: the third backpack kit is probably not worth it.

Oh, and the grenade kit? I'm not entirely convinced of a reason to take it instead of, say, dual pistols. Maybe if you really needed a shield or rifle for a particular area/group/build but still needed to provide ranged AoE, but I don't see that happening too much. Then again, we definitely don't have enough information to make real judgements here.