Human Engineer guide for Gold -- Use the turret! (66166)
Apr 22, 2017 2:09:29 GMT
SalMasRac, LemurFromTheId, and 21 more like this
Post by donkeyjote on Apr 22, 2017 2:09:29 GMT
I'm finding that in Gold pick-up games, a lot of folks running Human Engineers have no idea what they're doing and die too often. Since it's my favorite class, I decided to put together a list of tips/things I do, to share with folks who fancy that class or want to try it.
1. The Turret does NOT suck if used correctly. Two things: (a) It's not meant for damage, it's meant for aggro, priming+armor debuff (Flamethrower), and improving your power recharge speed (Omni-link); (
its recharge time is high, but you don't need to pop it at every occasion. You place it in a tough spot when dealing with large groups, folks coming from multiple directions, and strong enemies. Don't use it to kill small groups of easy enemies with no armor or shield that you can kill without a sweat, to then meet tough enemies in the next room while it's on cooldown! For evos, I go with Recharge Speed, and as mentioned above Omni-link and Flamethrower. When you relocate, destroy the turret.
[EDIT: I tested Turret damage and Omni-ink. Bullet damage works. Host or not, the rounds shot by the turret DO damage. Consistently. Same for the flames, that deal more damage. Omni-link cooldown bonus works, host or not, and is 20 to 25%. The cooldown of my Overload goes from 15s to ~11s. Re: the cooldown of my Cryo Beam: the hold attack goes from 11s to ~8.5s; the tap attack from 5s to ~4s. What I learned from this: allow yourself longer hold attacks with Cryo Beam when close to the turret, it's worth it!]
2. Yes, the Human Engineer can seem squishy at first, but it's not if you make sure your foes are constantly being hit by your powers. With Tech Sabotage (evo 6 of the Support Systems tree), enemies hit by your Turret, Cryo Beam, or Overload will deal 30% less damage for 8 seconds. Never engage without debuffing first.
3. Cryo Beam is an amazing power; just quit holding the button forever to leave your squishy self exposed for too long. This power is not meant to kill, it's meant primarily to debuff (defense debuff against armor, and damage debuff with Tech Sabotage), and control. For evos, go with Recharge Speed, Brittle Freeze (the armor debuff), and Cryo Trap. You don't need Radius, Brittle Freeze is too good to pass against armored foes, and if you want to debuff an upcoming group quickly, just jump, hover and Cryo Trap the area.
4. Overload is weak (low damage) and not worth the investment. With one point only, you can still hit 3 enemies with a charged attack. It's good as a detonator and for a backup stun if your Cryo Beam is on cooldown. Your damage in this game comes primarily from your weapon, powers mostly help you control the field, debuff, increase damage, or finish an enemy if your clip is empty.
5. Use Elemental Tech (evo 6 of the Offensive Tech tree) and elemental ammo. All enemies under status effect (frozen or chilled by Cryo Beam/Trap, burned by the Flamethrower, stunned with Overload, or affected by elemental ammo) will take 35% more damage from status effects. Since most damage comes from your gun, that means 35% more damage with your gun (the bonus affects the totality of your gun damage, not just the little extra damage coming from elemental ammo). That's massive and compulsory in Gold with this class if you want to kill stuff quickly.
Re: passive trees --we've already covered both level 6 evos (Tech Sabotage and Elemental Tech)-- here's the rest:
6. In the Support Systems tree, for evo 4 I go with Tech Radius instead of Tech Duration because in Cryo Beam I went with the armor debuff instead of Radius, and because it also improves the range of your Flamethrower. For evo 5, Advanced Construction is a no brainer (+20% shield and health, +30% turret health).
7. In the Offensive Tech tree, for evo 4 I go with Power Enhancement instead of the detonation bonus for a few reasons: (a) I went with Tech Radius instead of Tech Duration in the other passive tree, so I want tech duration here so enemies stay controlled/primed a bit longer; ( relying on combos for damage in this game is pointless. For evo 5, Anti-shield is the better option for two reasons: (a) we already have solid armor debuffs with Cryo Beam (50% native + 50% with Brittle Freeze evo) and the Flamethrower Turret evo (50%); ( it gives our rank 1 Overload a nice little shield damage bonus, and makes other powers a bit more effective against shields.
Finally, re: weapons, boosters, and the upgrade:
8. I forego sniper rifles because I like to quickly Cryo Trap an area while hovering, but you need high burst damage with this kit as you are definitely not a tank. My weapon of choice for this is the Falcon. It's great at short and mid range, and also at long range once you're used to it, and packs a punch. I use theSidewinder as a backup Talon for close range and as a backup. You have a few other options but these are my favorites for a strong mid range kit.
9. For the elemental ammo which is mandatory for this character (see point 5), Disruptor is a no-brainer for two reasons: (a) you already chill/freeze everything, and burn with your turret; ( you are a monster against armor and need a buff against shield. If you run out of Disruptor, any ammo will do of course, as the main reason for using this is the 35% extra damage on enemies affected by status effect.
10. For the second booster, it varies for me. I usually go with either Power Efficiency to lower turret recharge speed, or AR Damage. I prefer the latter.
11. For my upgrade I go with Combative Upgrade (+10% AR and pistol damage), which is far better than the Engineering Kit, since most damage comes from your gun.
That's it. For mooks, quick cryo debuff and shoot a few rounds. For slightly stronger foes, cryo debuff, overload, shoot a few rounds. For strong enemies and packs, toss flame thrower turret, cryo debuff, empty clip, charged overload to detonate. When running on low health and out of heal packs (should be rare once you get used to this kit), gamble-toss your turret toward your next location. Remember to destroy it if you move on. In general, play strategically, move a lot, be smart. This kit is a blast once you get used to it, more so than the Human Sentinel (which I love) because I really enjoy the high risk-high reward playstyle, and the fact that you need to think a little.
P.S. WIth all the complaints about this character and the turret, we might even see a few buffs after the rebalance! I'm all for it, especially once they release Platinum!
1. The Turret does NOT suck if used correctly. Two things: (a) It's not meant for damage, it's meant for aggro, priming+armor debuff (Flamethrower), and improving your power recharge speed (Omni-link); (
its recharge time is high, but you don't need to pop it at every occasion. You place it in a tough spot when dealing with large groups, folks coming from multiple directions, and strong enemies. Don't use it to kill small groups of easy enemies with no armor or shield that you can kill without a sweat, to then meet tough enemies in the next room while it's on cooldown! For evos, I go with Recharge Speed, and as mentioned above Omni-link and Flamethrower. When you relocate, destroy the turret.[EDIT: I tested Turret damage and Omni-ink. Bullet damage works. Host or not, the rounds shot by the turret DO damage. Consistently. Same for the flames, that deal more damage. Omni-link cooldown bonus works, host or not, and is 20 to 25%. The cooldown of my Overload goes from 15s to ~11s. Re: the cooldown of my Cryo Beam: the hold attack goes from 11s to ~8.5s; the tap attack from 5s to ~4s. What I learned from this: allow yourself longer hold attacks with Cryo Beam when close to the turret, it's worth it!]
2. Yes, the Human Engineer can seem squishy at first, but it's not if you make sure your foes are constantly being hit by your powers. With Tech Sabotage (evo 6 of the Support Systems tree), enemies hit by your Turret, Cryo Beam, or Overload will deal 30% less damage for 8 seconds. Never engage without debuffing first.
3. Cryo Beam is an amazing power; just quit holding the button forever to leave your squishy self exposed for too long. This power is not meant to kill, it's meant primarily to debuff (defense debuff against armor, and damage debuff with Tech Sabotage), and control. For evos, go with Recharge Speed, Brittle Freeze (the armor debuff), and Cryo Trap. You don't need Radius, Brittle Freeze is too good to pass against armored foes, and if you want to debuff an upcoming group quickly, just jump, hover and Cryo Trap the area.
4. Overload is weak (low damage) and not worth the investment. With one point only, you can still hit 3 enemies with a charged attack. It's good as a detonator and for a backup stun if your Cryo Beam is on cooldown. Your damage in this game comes primarily from your weapon, powers mostly help you control the field, debuff, increase damage, or finish an enemy if your clip is empty.
5. Use Elemental Tech (evo 6 of the Offensive Tech tree) and elemental ammo. All enemies under status effect (frozen or chilled by Cryo Beam/Trap, burned by the Flamethrower, stunned with Overload, or affected by elemental ammo) will take 35% more damage from status effects. Since most damage comes from your gun, that means 35% more damage with your gun (the bonus affects the totality of your gun damage, not just the little extra damage coming from elemental ammo). That's massive and compulsory in Gold with this class if you want to kill stuff quickly.
Re: passive trees --we've already covered both level 6 evos (Tech Sabotage and Elemental Tech)-- here's the rest:
6. In the Support Systems tree, for evo 4 I go with Tech Radius instead of Tech Duration because in Cryo Beam I went with the armor debuff instead of Radius, and because it also improves the range of your Flamethrower. For evo 5, Advanced Construction is a no brainer (+20% shield and health, +30% turret health).
7. In the Offensive Tech tree, for evo 4 I go with Power Enhancement instead of the detonation bonus for a few reasons: (a) I went with Tech Radius instead of Tech Duration in the other passive tree, so I want tech duration here so enemies stay controlled/primed a bit longer; (
relying on combos for damage in this game is pointless. For evo 5, Anti-shield is the better option for two reasons: (a) we already have solid armor debuffs with Cryo Beam (50% native + 50% with Brittle Freeze evo) and the Flamethrower Turret evo (50%); ( it gives our rank 1 Overload a nice little shield damage bonus, and makes other powers a bit more effective against shields.Finally, re: weapons, boosters, and the upgrade:
8. I forego sniper rifles because I like to quickly Cryo Trap an area while hovering, but you need high burst damage with this kit as you are definitely not a tank. My weapon of choice for this is the Falcon. It's great at short and mid range, and also at long range once you're used to it, and packs a punch. I use the
9. For the elemental ammo which is mandatory for this character (see point 5), Disruptor is a no-brainer for two reasons: (a) you already chill/freeze everything, and burn with your turret; (
you are a monster against armor and need a buff against shield. If you run out of Disruptor, any ammo will do of course, as the main reason for using this is the 35% extra damage on enemies affected by status effect.10. For the second booster, it varies for me. I usually go with either Power Efficiency to lower turret recharge speed, or AR Damage. I prefer the latter.
11. For my upgrade I go with Combative Upgrade (+10% AR and pistol damage), which is far better than the Engineering Kit, since most damage comes from your gun.
That's it. For mooks, quick cryo debuff and shoot a few rounds. For slightly stronger foes, cryo debuff, overload, shoot a few rounds. For strong enemies and packs, toss flame thrower turret, cryo debuff, empty clip, charged overload to detonate. When running on low health and out of heal packs (should be rare once you get used to this kit), gamble-toss your turret toward your next location. Remember to destroy it if you move on. In general, play strategically, move a lot, be smart. This kit is a blast once you get used to it, more so than the Human Sentinel (which I love) because I really enjoy the high risk-high reward playstyle, and the fact that you need to think a little.
P.S. WIth all the complaints about this character and the turret, we might even see a few buffs after the rebalance! I'm all for it, especially once they release Platinum!
