Guild Wars 2 unveils Engineer profession

By Robert Purchese Published 19 May, 2011

"Masters of mechanical mayhem."

The Engineer has become the penultimate profession revealed for Guild Wars 2.

The Engineer uses gadgets, explosives (bombs, mines, grenades), elixirs (alchemic weaponry) and deployable devices (turrets) to gain the upper hand.

The Engineer uses one weapon set at a time but compliments this with utility and healing kits.

Weapon kits (Flamethrower, Elixir) sprout a new weapon for the engineer when activated. The Flamethrower kit, for example, produces a flamethrower that toasts all nearby enemies as well as burns them over time. It can also produce an Air Blast to defend against incoming projectiles and a Backdraft to suck enemies closer.

Backpack kits (Grenade, Bomb, Tool, Mine, Med) offer a set of specialised skills when activated. Activate a bomb kit and your Engineer will be able to use smoke, concussion and fire bombs.

When Turrets (Rifle, Thumper, Net, Flame, Healing) are placed that skill slot grants an overcharged ability. Place a Thumper Turret to damage all enemies in an area; activate the overcharge ability to knock them over as well. Turrets can be moved around.

A Tool Belt offers an extra set of skills above the normal skill bar. There's the option to self destruct turrets or to detonate all mines. Combine with a Grenade kit to allow a "grenade barrage"; combine with a Med kit to add self-healing.

Engineers can use pistols, shields and rifles.

The Engineer joins the Thief, Guardian, Necromancer, Ranger, Warrior and Elementalist as the known playable professions in Guild Wars 2.

The Engineer.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (13) Latest comment 1 year ago

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  • roquey Verified Lead Quality Assurance Tester and Compliance Specialist, Universally Speaking #1 1 year ago

    ok, now THAT wasnt expected.

  • mikeck #2 1 year ago

    I loved the Dwarf Engineer in WAR, so this is extremely welcome for me. HOORAY!

  • grouch666 #3 1 year ago

    Chaar enginner baby

  • grouch666 #4 1 year ago

    Engineer

  • Inmediasress #5 1 year ago

    This looks damn interesting.
    Probably the only AAA MMO worth looking into.
    The rest of the MMO market seems rather stale looking forward to the actual release.

  • wittynic #6 1 year ago

    This is straight out of Asherons call 2 - Alchemist class was all about potions, fire breathing, toxic combinations for debuffs, healing, while the tactitian could make turrets that sat stationary and did big damage (precurser to WoW totems) and walls to put up to defend groups, almost like temporary tanks. Both were really fun and interesting to play, so cannot wait to see what spin Guild Wars can put on it.

    I hope the final class is some sort of spell sword/buckaneer type character. Maybe they use a sword but have alot of magical effects they apply to it/ bit of a jack of all trades.

  • Ciszero #7 1 year ago

    It makes me very sad, seeing that this will be an official class in Guildwars 2. Im really dissapointed because i don't see this class fit nicely in GW2. It has the same feel as they did with the 1st of April joke "The Commando". I'm fine with rifles and a pistol, but this isn't Modern Warfare or Team Fortress 2, where you get flamethrowers, turrets and grenades. It has really ruined the picture I had of what Guildwars2 would become. My dreams are shattered. Thanks to some crazy idea to maybe get a few FPS gamers over to the world of Guildwars. Instead of focusing on the true Guildwars(MMORPG) players. Sure there could be an explanation on how a turret would work with magical enhancement, but still it doesn't fit Guildwars if you ask me. Come on, toolbelts, medkits, jumpshots? Its likesome twisted combination of Unreal Tournament, Call of Duty and other FPS games put into an MMORPG which represents beauty, magic, lore... Sorry to say this, but i really don't like Guildwars2 as much as I did before they introduced this class and makes me doubt if i'll play it. And as a bigtime GW1 fan, with all expansions & everything that really hurts....

  • Xardan #8 1 year ago

    Some of the news about this game is starting to make me worried for it. A lot of their ideas are commendable for being different but i am starting to think that they are trying too hard to be different.

  • DrMGinius #9 1 year ago

    Engineer is credit to team!

  • Haunted_Tree #10 1 year ago

    "One has to look out for engineers, they begin with sewing machines and end up with the atomic bomb"

  • Felwyn #11 1 year ago

    I lol hard at the complaints. This takes place 500 years after gw1 events and you expect no technological development?

    I think this new class is awesome.

  • c0Zm1c #12 1 year ago

    It's set 250 years after the first game.

    One more profession reveal to go. I hope it's a case of them leaving the best until last - the Mesmer.

  • dfinit #13 1 year ago

    Very much agree with #7. The Vanilla WoW approach about engineering was as much as I would tolerate as "gadget" in such a setting. Very carefully isolated by a fine sense of humor and kept "unique". Cataclysm bikes & co. is a desperate effort to fix the game and, if you look around, you'll see it went wrong and it's about to get worse.

    This engineer class is such a turn off that I'm actually in a state of shock. It's not the fruit of rich imagination. Nor innovation. Just, as someone mentioned, trying to hard to pump in more content that is actually needed. In the current state, is a design error. I'm not against the "engineer" concept. It's just that it feels very "alien".

    I remember a remark made by lead designer @blizzard, few years ago, being all excited about how well the WoW sandbox behaves and that they’re able to pour in any content because “it just fits”. Actually the only purpose of such strategy is covering market (Activision flavor?). And they are right: why all the effort to satisfy lore and visual coherence for the unadapted hard to please oldies who we’ll soon quit anyways with the growing kids and jobs taking all the time? We have the new wave of clients to attract. The awesome.

    I admit I'm rather old school but I feel strong about the coherence of design. It's also my job as an architect. And this is just way out any acceptable limits. GW2 lost much of my interest today.
    And to #11. We spent thousands of years just changing old rocks with new ones. And 500 is oh so rarely pure progression as fluctuations (regressions) are inevitable. Your remark is puerile. You must be awesome too.