Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The Rundown

So, here we are...

I can feel it; a bunch of you little 'uns are gathered at my feet and say to me, "Papa Gwan? What is an Engineer? Why are they so special?" and I say to you, "Well, my son, an Engineer is thing of great beauty and grace, a fragile thing that needs love and tender care, lest it be broken and fall to ashes!"

Hah. Right. Actually, an Engineer is a long-rifle toting, ale guzzling, kevlar covered monstrosity covered in hair, and has a beard the size of Cincinnati. And don't forget the pipe! Lots o' smoking goin' on!

The Engineer is the Dwarf race's RDPS Archetype career in Warhammer Online. He is described as such by his developer's;
An explosion is the ultimate form of mechanical advantage, so it's no big surprise that the skills of the Dwarf Engineer extend well along these lines. From guns to grenades, he is a deadly ranged combatant who will pelt you with lead from afar and blast you to bits as you close in. He excels when fighting multiple opponents, as many of his explosive attacks are capable of devastating enemies who pack too closely together. The Engineer offers an outstanding blend of flexible firepower which makes him a truly deadly and clever combatant.
Somewhat accurate statement, though i have to say, not quite there. It is also stated by the Dev's that the Engineer is supposed to be a "Defensive RDPS career specializing in AoE and Area Denial." This is somewhat more accurate, at least the Defensive part.

My description is neither of the above. Sure, it may change later, I reserve the right to adjust my description as the class evolves, but for now, here is my take;
The Engineer is a "light AoE damage, highly survivable support career, specializing in Crowd Control and Area Denial mechanics."
Whew. Mouthful. But accurate in it's current incarnation(1.0.3) The Engineer, rather than being a strait DPS career like the Bright Wizard, has more to him; a plethora of CC mechanics, including Knockbacks, Knockdowns, Stuns, Inturrupts, Snares, and Roots. He can specialize further in Crowd Control by mastering the Tinkerer path. AoE damage can be boosted by mastering Grenades, while single-target spike damage can be increased with the Rifleman mastery path.

So, we have our description; what exactly does an Engineer do? That's hard to answer. The Developers of WAR really failed to give a design focus to Engineers. As a result, Engineers are kind of a "jack of all trades, master of none" kind of deal. Not pretty, but somewhat true! Does that mean that they can't excel in one area? No, it just requires lots of work!

Glad we got this one out of the way earlier, I will likely make a reference to out LAoEDHSSC-SCCADM-RDPS description/role often!

Cheers,
Papa Gwan

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