Protection

[LelouchX]

And I see it as a waste of stims over this skill. I'm not made of money, and I don't PVP.

well, i tank with my engi because i don't like the com class, and i rarely buy stims. if you get force shield, max it out bc it will last longer. protection maxed out will just decrease your damage taken from every hit by 1, and that is nothing with what empathy does to heal you. i had this maxed before i respecced my build, to what i have posted on these forums, in slouch-o, and never noticed a difference in survival rate when i used it. force shield will give you mana regen (so you won't need stims as much) and increase your defense. If you aren't rushing mobs and trying to draw aggro like i do, you shouldn't need stims that often. i think i used about 10 stims before i started tanking in slouch-o. now i use 10 a night (on a bad night that is).

everyone is going to have different preferences with the wide variety of skills available to the engi. just offering my suggestions based on my experience, and i have used all skills available.