ATTACK Engineer build

[kamikazees]

Tired of your Engineer being pushed around and people needing buffs, and with barely any damage output? Then try the Aggressive Tactical Target Aggro Control Killer (A.T.T.A.C.K.) build! This is an offense-focused Engineer build, perhaps not optimal for the generally supportive Engineer class, but it does ensure that your skills will not become useless if a second Engineer joins the party. This build will get you to level 30 (or 31), but play carefully or you may not make a whole lot of friends along the way.

This build can be accomplished without respects. I'll set forth the build first, then how to level it, how to use it and a suggested skill map. Your comments appreciated:

A. THE BUILD

3 - Wither
6 - Leech
6 - Empathy
1 - Revive
0 - Force Shield
0 - Suppression
0 - Protection
6 - Transferrence
1 - Pain
0 - Sonic Boom
6 - Decay

NOTE: For more boss damage but less self-healing, drop Leech to 3 instead of Wither. Personal preference choice.

B. HOW TO LEVEL IT

2. Wither (1) (auto)
3. Leech (1) (auto)
4. Empathy (1) (auto)
5. Empathy (2)
6. Revive (1) (auto)
7. Empathy (3)
8. Empathy (4)
9. Empathy (5)
10. Empathy (6)
11. Leech (2)
12. Leech (3)
13. Leech (4)
14. Leech (5)
15. Leech (6)
16. Transferrence (1)
17. Transferrence (2)
18. Transferrence (3)
19. Transferrence (4)
20. Pain (1)
21. Transferrence (5)
22. Transferrence (6)
23. Wither (2)
24. Wither (3)
25. Save Point (1)
26. Save Point (2)
27 Save Point (3)
28. Decay (1), (2), (3), (4)
29. Decay (5)
30. Decay (6)

C. HOW TO USE IT

This build is simple and very effective. It relies on "multitool" skills to heal, damage and deal with the enemy. Empathy, Leech and Transferrence are the healing skills. Empathy and Transferrence for the party, and Leech for the Engineer. Leech, Transference, Wither and Decay are the damage skills. Leech, Wither and Decay for single targets, Transferrence for mobs and Pain for high hp targets. Pain is also the crowd control.

But why no love for Sonic Boom, you ask? Although this skill damages, it has such a long recharge (30 seconds) it is usually better to invest elsewhere. And what about Force Shield and Protection? This build draws more aggro than the normal support Engineer. Force Shield will not last long enough to be useful, and Protection does not Protect enough to be useful.

D. SUGGESTED SKILL MAP

1. Empathy
2. Wither
3. Decay
4. Leech

5. Empathy
6. Revive
7. Transferrence
8. Pain

1, then 2, 3 and/or 4 are the main attacks (depending on what you need). 5 makes sure you always have Empathy ready. 6 is your res and buff. 7 is your aoe and heal. 8 is your crowd control.

So what do you think?

[GigaBits]

Looks good, I'll resist the urge to respec.

I went for 1 point suppression and it has really shined on numa. Also, running into an engi not constantly trying to cast protection over mine would be nice.

One thing, i understand your reasoning behind dropping whither, and u probably know the numbers better than I, It seems like it would be the better dmg dealer than Leech. If the heal/dmg dot does more dmg than the straight up dot why would u ever need both. Anyway, why not drop leech for whither, at least go 6/1 instead of 1/6 for an attack focused build.

[kamikazees]

...Anyway, why not drop leech for whither, at least go 6/1 instead of 1/6 for an attack focused build.

You are right that Wither does more outright damage than Leech. In fact, you will do 50% more straight damage with Wither than with Leech, assuming the target lives through Wither (6 ticks vs 4 ticks).

I found 2 problems with Wither in practice. One, it hardly ever lasts its full duration, 10 seconds. On Numa Prime, only Vular and Guardian reliably last that long. Leech has a duration of 6 seconds, almost half as long as Wither. Many more enemies can be hit full force. And 2, as an attack Engineer you draw more aggro. Without the armor buff of Protection, you have to pot more to stay alive. If you Leech enemies, when they start pounding on you they are still taking damage (before they die!) and you are being healed. That's a win/win to me, but I certainly think your point is valid.

[bronislav84]

As the levels go up this could possibly be merged with the more support focused build, but for now it looks decent on it's own.

My only issue is no Suppression or Force Shield. Suppression + Pain = Unrestricted boom. And Force Shield gives m/s.

[Ebalere]

As the levels go up this could possibly be merged with the more support focused build, but for now it looks decent on it's own.

My only issue is no Suppression or Force Shield. Suppression + Pain = Unrestricted boom. And Force Shield gives m/s.

This is an attack engi build, not a pot saving defensive regen build, hence, force shield is not needed at all. I could argue that suppresion isnt need either, as it isn't an offensive skill, but your point is true, although personally the points that would be in suppression could be spent in better skills.

[Dosumn1978]

Tasty build! Meh Likey!

[bronislav84]

As the levels go up this could possibly be merged with the more support focused build, but for now it looks decent on it's own.

My only issue is no Suppression or Force Shield. Suppression + Pain = Unrestricted boom. And Force Shield gives m/s.

This is an attack engi build, not a pot saving defensive regen build, hence, force shield is not needed at all. I could argue that suppresion isnt need either, as it isn't an offensive skill, but your point is true, although personally the points that would be in suppression could be spent in better skills.

Ok feel free to blow money on pots if you're rich. I'd prefer to save money and would never build a fighting Engineer without Suppression and Force Shield for m/s. Not that we have points. Just saying.

Build is still decent and I love the acronyms on both.

[WhoIsThis]

As the levels go up this could possibly be merged with the more support focused build, but for now it looks decent on it's own.

My only issue is no Suppression or Force Shield. Suppression + Pain = Unrestricted boom. And Force Shield gives m/s.

The problem with suppression is that your team mates are hammering away at the targets, which undoes suppression.



Thoughts on suppression:
+ Suppression now combos with force hammer
+ Works well with pain and arguably transference
- People in parties are going to unload every skill they have, so it's probably not that useful in groups; only in solo


Edit:
Gonna go with
Page 1:
Empathy 6
Transference 6
Leech 6
Pain 5 (to be 6 at 26)

Page 2:
Revive 1


Only to buff mana regen OR when somebody dies do you need to flip the page is a secondary benefit.

Thanks for the ideas kamikazees.

[bronislav84]

That's the only problem with it, yea.

[WhoIsThis]

With the level cap, decay may be worth maxing out, as it seems to do the most damage per "tick" or "pulse".

[Singleteddy]

This is an offense-focused Engineer build, perhaps not optimal for the generally supportive Engineer class

But at least you have a point in Revive. I was in several high-level runs last night (with my Engineer) with other Engineers w/o Revive. What's up with that?

[GigaBits]

IMHO, every engineer should have 6 empathy, 1 revive, and 6 transference at least. Not having these three skills will hinder your teams.

In regards to the post above, all I can say is not every player reads the forums and not every player is going to be "good". Politely let them know what you think and move on, if it is making the game less fun for you, find a new group

[kamikazees]

I've edited this build to reflect what I think is the current state of the game for attack Engineers. I wouldn't pump Decay all the way up just yet, but I've decided to include it in the build. Let me know what you think.

[LegalShet]

I'd personally dropp wither before leach...
leach does damage and keeps me alive
numerous times it has kept me alive when i had to play "commando" cause our tank wouldnt.

my skills as followed:
5 5 6 1
0 0 0 6
1 0 5 0

Pain on hard hitting mobs as suggested above...
i didnt find a need to max out wither or leach.
as i find them doing there job with just 5.

[GigaBits]

Question: do we know beyond doubt that wither pulls more aggro than leech. We've all seen how much aggro empathy alone can pull, would it not be moreso for an attack and heal skill like leech. I hate to keep beating a dead horse, I just keep seeing upsides to both skills. Personally, the double whammy of wither then decay is serious dps as long as the enemy survives, which is getting a bit longer as the enemies get harder. And I've never needed the extra heal from leech.

KK, thanks for keeping us updated! I like your outlook and descriptions of things. Can't remember if I posted on the UBER thread but keep up the good work!

[kamikazees]

Question: do we know beyond doubt that wither pulls more aggro than leech. We've all seen how much aggro empathy alone can pull,...

Thanks, GigaBits! I cannot tell that Wither pulls any more aggro than Leech. In fact, I pull aggro more often with Empathy and Transferrence than I do with Wither and Leech. Maybe because they are single target skills, and although they do a lot of damage, their damage per tic is not that high?

[WhoIsThis]

If decay has been confirmed to debuff armor, then it suggests that it is very much a team friendly ability, so perhaps debuff now should be chosen over wither.

[Kindread]

This is my exact build except I only go with 1 point in Pain as the damage increases with each skillpoint is minimal. I agree with Gigabits that the 616 is a must for any engineer so I have that. The only other difference is that my Wither is maxxed at 6 along with Decay. I only put 3 in Leech. It doesn't seem very effective to me and it's an effect that can easily be replaced by a stim if needed. My build is all about how effective I can be for the group. It's not about efficiency as efficiency doesn't directly help the group as much as it helps the self. It takes 6 points to get Protection up to where it gives +50 armor or 1 pt damage reduction. I'd rather use the points elsewhere. In regards to force shield, I don't any points there because it only gives one point regen. Placing 4 points would give. 2 regen but those effects are easily replaced by a sip of the power stim. Hence I do not spend any points on any regen and maximize my effectiveness by investing in damage skills.

[Racosai]

i agree with WhoIsThis. A debuff for an engineer? BINGO! It is Perfecto!

[Addictux]

Lol this was unexpected although i'm kinda confuse but is it possible to be both Atk eng and def eng?? Like i did on my comm not thinking of doing the same on opera lol anyways i want a good skill build up for attk and def eng more or less i wanna try to aggro same on opera.