Diremongoose
iSpy
I don't know if you've noticed, but it's near-impossible to get the same critical chance in PvE than PvP, even with Ascended items. I've been trying damn hard though - and this is the best I can come up with so far.
Here it is
It's an unconventional build, to be sure, but it combines ends up having more damage with free healing power than more conventional rune choices - plus runes of Altruism are cheap.
Runes of Altruism with healing power on a DPS build - WTF?!
Explosives and Runes - interaction
Let's take a quick look at the options for the DPS Engineer. Explosives offer a very nice burn-on crit effect in general the other traits in the explosive line are quite uninspired for a DPS rifle build with no explosive kits. The extra power is nice but it can't justify a large investment in that line on it's own.
My previous builds would put 10 points into explosives just for the burn, but here's when I discovered a hidden gem - Enhance performance - 15s of might when you activate your heal skill. That's not amazing on its own given that you don't want to use your heal skill just for more damage - that's counter productive. Then I realised...Med kit. The true heal is the F1 toolbelt skill, while the pushing the heal skill just opens up the kit...activating the buff. I then combined that with the shiny new Runes of Altruism and suddenly...every 10s, using the instantaneous recharging med kit gives me 6 stacks of might and several seconds of fury! The weird crossover with boon duration and the different cooldowns on the two abilities results in 6-10 stacks of might at all times and, with med-kit stimulant and Elixir B, stacking permafury with very easy maintain.
Best of all, medkit can be activated while stunned or in the middle of a skill - I activate it when I'm knocking myself down with Overcharged Shot! The runes of Altruism also provide the might and fury to allies just like a shout - making the benefit to party DPS better than any rune set you care to mention.
Other traits
As for the other traits, just standard rifle traits - range, cooldown, damage. They work.
Elixirs - recharge and cleansing formula. I have looked into inventions because the traits appear to work better (toolbelt cooldown for more healing, increased critical damage), but I think that gadgets are simply inferior to elixirs. Utility googles are nice, but I'd rather have Elixirs B and U, especially with Boon duration from Alchemy - which makes might and fury that much better.
Weapon choice
A Berserker or Rampager weapon would be better for this build than a Soldier weapon, no doubt, but I have the Predator and I don't want to transmute it right now.
Sigil/Armor
Remember that Firearms gives condition damage, but most importantly, so does might (210 extra). That's why I'm using Rampager armor rather than berserker (that plus precision is the primary stat), and I'm forsaking the Sigil of Accuracy I used to use in order to return to the Sigil of Earth for additional bleeds. While I lose some direct damage by not having full berserker gear, the increased crit chance and better conditions should make it worth it.
How to play this build
Can you play an elixir/rifle Engineer? It's very simple. Shoot things. When you're on full health, run in, point blank blunderbus, jump shot, then roll away/use overcharged shot to blast away. Use your elixirs when you want DPS. Finally (the new part) spam medkit activation when you have a free second - such as in the middle of a stun, an overcharged shot, or the elixir drinking animation (it's that quick).
I leave the middle utility slot of the build open to change depending on the circumstances. As a Charr I like Battle Roar or Hidden Pistols (the toolbelt skill) for damage, but I often choose Elixir S in dungeons and fractals for a quick escape.
Oh, and one last thing. I have incandescent dust overflowing from my bank, so I've started using the ultra-cheap incandescent dust to make Quality Maintenance oil. It gives an extra 5% critical chance for almost-free.
Here it is
It's an unconventional build, to be sure, but it combines ends up having more damage with free healing power than more conventional rune choices - plus runes of Altruism are cheap.
Runes of Altruism with healing power on a DPS build - WTF?!
Explosives and Runes - interaction
Let's take a quick look at the options for the DPS Engineer. Explosives offer a very nice burn-on crit effect in general the other traits in the explosive line are quite uninspired for a DPS rifle build with no explosive kits. The extra power is nice but it can't justify a large investment in that line on it's own.
My previous builds would put 10 points into explosives just for the burn, but here's when I discovered a hidden gem - Enhance performance - 15s of might when you activate your heal skill. That's not amazing on its own given that you don't want to use your heal skill just for more damage - that's counter productive. Then I realised...Med kit. The true heal is the F1 toolbelt skill, while the pushing the heal skill just opens up the kit...activating the buff. I then combined that with the shiny new Runes of Altruism and suddenly...every 10s, using the instantaneous recharging med kit gives me 6 stacks of might and several seconds of fury! The weird crossover with boon duration and the different cooldowns on the two abilities results in 6-10 stacks of might at all times and, with med-kit stimulant and Elixir B, stacking permafury with very easy maintain.
Best of all, medkit can be activated while stunned or in the middle of a skill - I activate it when I'm knocking myself down with Overcharged Shot! The runes of Altruism also provide the might and fury to allies just like a shout - making the benefit to party DPS better than any rune set you care to mention.
Other traits
As for the other traits, just standard rifle traits - range, cooldown, damage. They work.
Elixirs - recharge and cleansing formula. I have looked into inventions because the traits appear to work better (toolbelt cooldown for more healing, increased critical damage), but I think that gadgets are simply inferior to elixirs. Utility googles are nice, but I'd rather have Elixirs B and U, especially with Boon duration from Alchemy - which makes might and fury that much better.
Weapon choice
A Berserker or Rampager weapon would be better for this build than a Soldier weapon, no doubt, but I have the Predator and I don't want to transmute it right now.
Sigil/Armor
Remember that Firearms gives condition damage, but most importantly, so does might (210 extra). That's why I'm using Rampager armor rather than berserker (that plus precision is the primary stat), and I'm forsaking the Sigil of Accuracy I used to use in order to return to the Sigil of Earth for additional bleeds. While I lose some direct damage by not having full berserker gear, the increased crit chance and better conditions should make it worth it.
How to play this build
Can you play an elixir/rifle Engineer? It's very simple. Shoot things. When you're on full health, run in, point blank blunderbus, jump shot, then roll away/use overcharged shot to blast away. Use your elixirs when you want DPS. Finally (the new part) spam medkit activation when you have a free second - such as in the middle of a stun, an overcharged shot, or the elixir drinking animation (it's that quick).
I leave the middle utility slot of the build open to change depending on the circumstances. As a Charr I like Battle Roar or Hidden Pistols (the toolbelt skill) for damage, but I often choose Elixir S in dungeons and fractals for a quick escape.
Oh, and one last thing. I have incandescent dust overflowing from my bank, so I've started using the ultra-cheap incandescent dust to make Quality Maintenance oil. It gives an extra 5% critical chance for almost-free.
