Guild Wars 2 MMO News, Guides, and Features at Ten Ton Hammer

Ten Ton Hammer: Here's hoping the wrench becomes the crowbar of a new generation! Will the various kits (backpack kits, weapon kits, and tool kits) be hot-swappable? Can an Engineer take on several different roles in the same fight, or will there be a longer cooldown on kit switching?
 
Eric Flannum: The kits are very easily swapped between and currently have no cooldown associated with them.
 
Ten Ton Hammer: Turrets seem to work much like Ritualist spirits in the original Guild Wars, with the important addition of Overcharge. Are turrets meant to last longer than one encounter? Does using the Overcharge special ability take out the turret?
 
Eric Flannum: A well placed turret should be useable for multiple fights. The overcharge ability does not take out or damage the turret in any way.

Ten Ton Hammer: Engineers make perfect sense for races like the humans and the Charr, who have been fighting for centuries. It’s harder to picture a Sylvari, fresh out of the pod, would go for Engineer. How do you reconcile these seeming inconsistencies with race and profession when ArenaNet has committed to the idea of no race-locked professions?

Eric Flannum:  I think it is easy to forget that there is a difference between talking about a race and talking about individuals within a race. Not every member of a race will fit in with what is commonly accepted as being “normal” for that race. Players in particular represent very exceptional members of their respective races. Although sylvari engineers may be rare, they do exist. Sylvari by their nature are very curious, and while this usually manifests itself in magical or natural studies, some sylvari are fascinated by machinery. You can use these same criteria when looking at remarkable individuals such as Norn Necromancers and Asura Warriors.
 
Ten Ton Hammer: At the mention of turrets and elixir guns, we couldn’t help thinking about the Engineer’s potential in PvP. Do you feel that the Engineer is distinctly suited to competitive play? Was that consideration a part of the profession design?
 
Eric Flannum: Part of our consideration for every profession is in how it would work in both PvE and PvP, so it has definitely been part of the profession design from the beginning.

Health Turret

Mine Pack

Rifle Turret

Players can look forward to swinging wrenches and sidestepping mines when Guild Wars 2 enters beta later this year. Ten Ton Hammer thanks Eric Flannum and the Guild Wars 2 team for taking the time to answer our Engineer profession questions.