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Usefulness of Engineer...?
mewmaster101
Member Posts: 1,239 Arc User
So i finally leveled a Federation Engineer and am having fun using a cruiser, but i keep hearing about how engineers are bad at endgame thanks to no real helpful team abilities. Is it true? I understand that they are not going to do as much damage as a tactical nor have the control of a science officer, but with so much survivability how are they not useful in taking hits while still doing some damage.
I am starting to use the Hilbert guides cruiser build (minus the skill build) will that be good for endgame solo and once in awhile an STF or PVP? I know about the A2B builds but i do not have the correct doffs yet to build it. I also have a max level tac officer and near max science officer as well.
Why are Engineers so hated here on the forums if the only major difference is 5 abilites, are they really that much of a difference in terms of usefulness.
thanks for your time
I am starting to use the Hilbert guides cruiser build (minus the skill build) will that be good for endgame solo and once in awhile an STF or PVP? I know about the A2B builds but i do not have the correct doffs yet to build it. I also have a max level tac officer and near max science officer as well.
Why are Engineers so hated here on the forums if the only major difference is 5 abilites, are they really that much of a difference in terms of usefulness.
thanks for your time
Post edited by mewmaster101 on
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It is not easy to be good with a cruiser, and a slight buff would be good, but they are not that bad.
On ground, they are powerful. Use mines and bombs, and you'll own. Not to mention the enemy neutralization kit debuffs are extremely appreciated in a team. The orbital strike is also awesome. Finally, the cover shield is a great tool, when used properly.
People that says engineer are useless, are usually the one failing with cruisers, and trying to make damage with turrets on ground. They fail, and blame the game for their own failure.
The other thing that makes cruisers feel somewhat redundant is that there's very few enemies that actually warrant tanking. The tactical cube at the end of the Conduit, the Crystalline Entity, a few others.
Don't get me wrong, I love my engineer, and I would not trade him for a tac, but you need to have a mentality that appreciates supporting your team, rather than being concerned solely with your personal DPS. When I throw BFaW w/ APB, I know that my teammates are crushing the enemy that much faster for my help. I know that when I heal a damaged ally with Aux2SIF, that she can fly more aggressively and stay in the fight longer for the help I've provided.
The only time I get annoyed with my engineer is when I'm flying my cruiser solo and taking longer to chew through enemy ships that an escort would destroy in a single pass. But there's nothing stopping me from having an escort kitted out for solo work (except, of course, time and money).
Actually no, the Engineer is 'useless' from a Space PvP standpoint. Where a Scientist in a Cruiser can do as much healing as an Engineer and do some more like debuffing which is really important in PvP.
They aren't 'bad' for healing, they can do just great, but the problem here is the Captain Abilities which are for tanking and in PvP tanking doesn't exist. The enemy can just ignore you.
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Far too many players think of PvP or even PvE as 1 vs. all enemies, but really the game is about teamwork, and this is where the engineer excels. With a well built eng/cruiser on your team your tac/escorts can deliver massive alphas and take massive hits which would cripple or kill them without an engineer's help. Buffing their shields or hull is a good place to start.
However, when you begin to synergize abilities you begin to open up a whole new can of whoop for the enemy. A minor example of this is the use off Engineering Team, Tactical Team, and Science Team by your team to clear de-buffs from teammates who can then concentrate upon what they are supposed to be doing. PvP'ers call this cross healing, in which the person subjected to focused fire can continue to concentrate on his primary mission while his teammates support him. A tac hit by an enemy science debuff, Jam Sensors for example, could use a BOff slot for Science Team, but the team as a whole is better served by having a science ship provide that service while the Tac uses his sci boff slot for more directly useful offensive abilities.
A team with one or two well built healboats is hard to beat once the concept of cross healing comes into play. You can out-heal the enemy's DPS!
Not only are Eng/Cruisers useful, they are essential in PvP. The reason they are so hated is because Tac/Scorts have a hard time dealing with them and their epic DPS builds often come up short when facing a team that understands how to synergize powers.
Now, get a Tac/Scort and a Sci/Sci who know how to work together and you can rip an Eng/Cruiser apart in short order. Back them with a healboat and you have a winning combination.
Engie. Escort.
Survivability goes up for the Escort. Rotate shields, Miracle Worker, EPS Power Transfer...
Other than that... its how you play Engie that matters. Engies have their advantages, just like Sci and Tac do.
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sure, eng unique skills will help you a bit to tank in space, but that is it.
eng unique ground skills are weak, except may be orbital strike which has long cd.
ground fight kits are nearly useless, mix of skills on them is such that of 4 skills 2 to 3 end up being useless.
my only engi exists on my account just because it was first character i've created back on days of release.
Actually I do quite well with my eng. in space, as for ground LOL you have no idea. Try learning the profession you will be surprised.
As far as end game stfs go, as an escort a good tank, lets me do what I do best blow things up. Example I start firing at a tactical cube in a elite stf, without any cruisers drawing argo, or tanking the damage it wont be long before I go boom. Destroying stuff at high speeds is fun do not get me wrong, but I would not dare say Engineer is useless at end game.
I feel a lot of people simply don't have a clue how to use the abilities properly.
Sure I might be missing out on a little DPS by not going Tac-escort, but I like the increased survivability of an Eng-escort. Since cruiser tend to be less DPS and more tank I find the Tac-cruiser combo helps boost the damage a bit.
Basically it all just comes down to personal preference and gameplay style.
also try to learn _other_ professions to be able to compare.
also engineers pwn when soloing ground combat.
i do pretty much all of med difficulty rep missions solo on my Engineer.
and as always there is practically nothing in the game that is so knife edge that it actually demands the kind of min maxing some people are obsessive about indulging in...
it's actually a very enjoyable "mid range" "class" for just puttering about in general and the real "usefulness" of an Engineer is that you enjoy playing him.
i have 3 tac captains (across the 3 factions) but my Excelsior Engineer (who likes to muck about with shield penetrating damaging weapons and abilities) and is still "my main"...
The Engineer is without a shadow of a doubt the #1 on ground if you aren't one of those shockingly awful fabrication players whom make up 99% of the Engineer players.
Enemy Neutralization kit is by far the strongest offensive kit of all three classes and also the most potent when it comes to debuffing the strongest enemies on ground in PvE.
the force field dome alone is awesome when it comes to doing stuff the game thinks you really shouldn't be able to alone...
+1 to that as well.
This guy has said it perfectly, nothing is hard when you run and eng on ground.
Bleed Green and Gold
transphasic bomb? by the time you need to place it and activate i'd probably do more damage with just basic attack.
mines? wow... by the time you need to run in to melee range and placing them i'd chop the stuff with my falchion. at least i have an excuse for being in melee range.
fuse armor? sure, a _great_ help. lolz.
weapon malfunction? not a big deal. those 5 sek without weapons a boss still doing his raw damage. besides which weapons do you want to disable on a species 8472 or giant scorpion for example? they don't have any.
well, think again and look closer to http://sto.gamepedia.com/Tactical_Kit_-_Squad_Leader
along with all the skills, buffs and debuffs a tac character has its a piece of cake to chew everyone and everything. and the best of it - everyone on the team profit from them.
Enemy Neutralizaton kit is not as good as it once was because they fixed the Bomb so that it no longer explodes when a enemy gets near it and then allowing you to place a new Bomb right away. You have to manually detonate it and then wait to place a new Bomb. Mines are nice.
Fire Team Kit Mk XII is better then Enemy Neutralization kit.
Ambush increases stealth and all your damage for 15 seconds.
Plasma Grenade does nice amount of damage and can cause enemies to scatter. When they scatter they tend not to attack as much.
Battle Strategies increases all your damage, gives a chance to expose enemies that attack you and removes any tactical debuffs on you.
Suppressing Fire reduces targets speed, reduces the damage the target does and a chance to root the target. Each effects the target for 6 seconds.
Motion Accelerator increases run speed and melee attack of you and nearby allies as well as immunity to Stun,Root and Run speed debuffs.
Depends on your play style and preference to be honest. As an engineer is swab between neutralization X and fabrication XII. First one is usually superior in confined spaces and the second one is superior on open terrain.
Personally i prefer engagements from longer range and fabrication suits that perfectly.
On the ground engs are pretty nasty, enemy neutralization is the kit for 9/10 missions. It packs a load of firepower into one kit with nothing that isn't useful. The fab kit is nice when you are holding ground like in the Nukara interior mission, but that isn't commonplace.
In space you have two choices, sci or cruiser. In a sci ship you can get over the major power burdens they are hit with by using eng traits and do well, in a cruiser you can make a crazy high agro machine capable of tremendous power, healing and high levels of damage thanks to reduced power drain. An eng escort is ... bleh, nothing special.
The key is to design yourself to serve a purpose instead of just doing something.
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A Engineer in a Escorts can combine good damage that escorts provide and gives nice survivability.
Engineering Bridge Officers and Engineering Duty Officers are quite useful for Tactical Captains.
Tactical Captains last much longer in battle and can Tank quite well thanks to Engineering Bridge Officers and Duty Officers.
What do I win :P
Anyway, I have a Fleet D'Deridex and skill points set up for tanking, and it works really well. the damage output is not terrible either, but I am still grinding rep for some of the better shields, engines, consoles, etc. I can say this; If I can tank like this in my current gear, I will be un-pop-able when I get the better rep gear.
Ground combat is ridiculous also. I run my self and another engie BOFF, two Sci BOFFs, and a Tac. I use the support drones and Quantum mortar and phaser turret, and my team will absolutely cut through ground groups like butter. I feel much stronger actually on my engie than my tac when it comes to ground combat.
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They get bored pounding on me and go play death match with the dps. While they are trying to have fun I play the objectives on capture and hold. Made some pretty sweet comebacks
I have both a tac and engi I love, and honestly, on ground, I prefer my engi 100% more. The damage of a fully buffed tac is quite impressive, that's true, but it take a long time to have enough. However, in space, I prefer my tac.
Honestly, on ground, I think they both do an incredible job, in their own kind of way. The tac is more about buffs/debuffs, and the engineer burst damage/support. In the end, they work best together. As it should be.