Welcome back everyone! It’s time for part 2 of the AETA Engineer’s leveling guide and today we’re going to start counting levels from 41.

The level cap is 80, and level 40 is a good time to reflect on how much you’ve enjoyed playing the your Engineer so far and maybe try something new out as far as a build is concerned.

Think about what you liked and what you didn’t. Analyze how you perform in groups and ask friends or guildmates if they’ve noticed you playing in any specific way. The content gets more difficult from this point on and you’ll perform better the more fun you have with a specific build. If you feel the need to change, do it now because all your traits are reset when you buy the second training manual anyways!

Read on for more, fellow Engineers!

Flamethrower Condition Build

My recommended leveling build! If you’ve made it to level 40 with this build, chances are that you’ve slaughtered all the ghosties in the Ascalonian Catacombs as a “Conditioneer”. Chances are, you’ve been running towards every dynamic event in hopes that the enemies are are nice and flammable. Chances are, you’ve melted at least 1,500 Thieves’ faces. It’s not your fault that they line up in a nice little cone pattern that’s perfectly flamethrower shaped, after all! Keep moving forward with this build if you enjoy a constant stream of AoE (area of effect) damage a few short seconds.

  • Levels 41 – 50: Pick up your next skill book so you can start dumping more points into your trait lines. It’s time to boost your damage again, so put 10 points into Firearms to pick up some tasty condition-damage as well as the Fireforged Trigger trait.

  • Levels 51 – 60: Drop 10 points into Explosions. You have to choose one of two traits at this point, and they’re both fairly good. If you land the Flame Blast explosion every time it’s on cool down, you should pick up the Explosive Powder trait to boost that ability’s damage by 10%. If not (or you just don’t like using that skill), grab the Enhanced Performance trait for a decent boost to power every time you use your heal skill.

  • Levels 61 – 70: Make sure to buy the next trait manual! Drop another 10 trait points into Firearms and nab the Juggernaut trait. Lovingly-dubbed the “Jugger-neer”, these walking masters of fiery-death have had a major change to this trait recently. We now continue to move at normal speed (it used to reduce our movement speed by half) in addition to gaining 200 toughness and a pseudo-permanent extra 5 stacks of might after keeping the Flamethrower equipped for 15 seconds. Taking Juggernaut shouldn’t change the way you play, but it will allow you to take a few more risks.

  • Levels 71 – 80: Drop your last few trait points into Explosives. Once you’ve actually hit level 80, I would recommend respecing your traits a bit, though! Neither of the grandmaster traits in the Explosives line really synergizes with the Flamethrower.

  • Now that you’re capped: Once you’ve capped out your traits, you will probably want to change your traits around a bit. Drop tools because having Speedy Kits at the level cap isn’t as big a deal as having it while leveling. Instead you’ll want to go Firearms (30), Alchemy (30), and Explosives (10). The condition damage mixed with the ludicrous survivability of Juggernaut and Backpack Regenerator will make you a fiery force to be reckoned with in PvP and explorable mode dungeons. This is especially true if you really start to utilize elixirs!

‘Nades and Bombs, the Pure DPS Build

So you’re level 30 and you’ve found that DOTs just simply aren’t your style, hmm? Well, it might be time to put all of your power into every strike for some immediate damage. This leveling build revolves around the age-old words of Sun Tzu: “Surprise! You’re dead!” I might be paraphrasing a bit, but it’s still inspirational, yes? Whether you’re just starting down the explosive-lined path that is this build or you’ve been with us all along, remember to keep your finger on the dodge button and don’t put all your grenades in one basket!

  • Levels 41 – 50: Grab the new manual, otherwise you’ll be limited to 10 traits per line forever! Drop 10 more points into Explosives and take the obvious choice: Short Fuse. This will alter your “rotation” a bit, but at the end of the day all this means is that you’ll have your escape grenades more often so you won’t need a rotation anymore.

  • Levels 51 – 60: Drop 10 more points into Inventions and pick up the Power Shoes trait. You could also grab the Elite Supplies trait here, but I feel that the extra movement speed in combat is essential for kiting while using bombs and grenades.

  • Levels 61 – 70: Purchase your final trait book so you can put 30 points into each trait line. Drop another 10 points into Explosives and take the aptly-named Grenadier trait. Congratulations, you now do 50% more damage when using grenades. Now go blow up something small and furry!

  • Levels 71 – 80: Your last 10 points are a bit anti-climactic, but are exceptional in group play. Drop your final points into Inventions and take the Elixir-Infused Bombs trait. The healing will be invaluable in dungeons, dynamic events, and group play in general.

  • Now that you’re capped: This isn’t really the “glass-cannon” build that I promised, but now that you’re level 80 you can take what you’ve learned and experienced and turn it into a new build. Dropping Inventions in favor of Alchemy or Firearms could be a significant boost in damage, if you’ve got the skill to avoid taking the extra damage!

General Leveling and Support Build

I know a lot of you want a build that has a nice balance of power, defense and style. This build has got the Right Stuff(™) and if you’ve made it to level 40 with the general leveling build, chances are you’re going to stick with it! You’re as powerful as a bear, hardy as an elephant, and you’ll hit level 80 in no time flat!

  • Levels 41 – 50: If you haven’t already, buy the trait book from the Engineer trainer. Our journey will be short-lived without it! Put another 10 points into the Firearms trait line and pick up the Rifled Barrels trait. The extra range is a small change that makes you a lot more survivable while soloing content.

  • Levels 51 – 60: Drop another 10 points into Alchemy and pick up the Potent Elixirs trait. This wont change your play-style at all, but it will increase your damage output significantly!

  • Levels 61 – 70: Buy another book. Seriously, can’t these things be part of the “Book of the Month” club or something? After you’ve got it, drop another 10 trait points into the Firearms tree to get the Hair Trigger trait. I love the idea of having Blunderbuss 20% more often!

  • Levels 71 – 80: Throw the last 10 trait points into Alchemy and grab the Cleaning Formula 409 trait for some added escape utility. I wouldn’t suggest taking the Backpack Regenerator like I did in the other two builds because you won’t spend nearly as much time wielding a kit.

  • Now that you’re capped: Go finish exploring the world. The thing is though, this build is really designed around playing solo. Once all the solo content has been experienced, you might consider trying out another build for some PvP or dungeons.

Let me give you a preemptive “Congratulations!” on dinging to level 80! Once you get there the work is not over, though. There will always be Zhaitan’s forces to mop up, WvW to dominate, and Thieves to crush. An Engineer’s work is never done, but we sure do have fun doing it, yeah? I hope you found this guide helpful, and I’ll see you next week!