Ever since the Engineer was revealed as the seventh profession for Guild Wars 2,

Ive been itching to get some hands-on time with it. At a very basic level, the

engineer represents much more in the world of Tyria than simply adding another

combat style into the mix. It gives us a very real sense of how much has changed

over the course of time since the Elder Dragons awoke and made a mess of things

for humanity and the other dominant races in the game.

Speaking of the other dominant races, the engineer also helps represent the

charr influence on the modern culture of GW2. Unlike the asura who have

contributed a great deal of magical technology to the other inhabitants of the

world, the charrs technological contributions are primarily mechanical.

With that said, it would have seemed a somewhat fitting choice to play the demo

as a charr engineer, however, I opted to play as a norn instead during my hands-on time with the GW2 demo at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 for a couple of

very important reasons.

The first, and most important, is that charr characters in the current demo

start at level 28, while selecting the norn allowed you to start fresh from

level one. You may be thinking it would give me a much better feel for the

intricacies of the engineer and its unique combat style if I dove right into

some near-mid level content and had more skills to play around with.

But if theres one thing Ive learned over the years in games media its that,

when it comes to MMO professions or classes, first impressions are king. Most

players can decide within the first few levels if theyll like a particular

combat style and want to stick with it, and I personally prefer experiencing

starter zone content with a new profession first when given the option to.

Its a tricky thing to balance, because you dont want to overwhelm new players

(or those new to playing a given class or even MMOs in general) with too many skills, or tactical

options when first logging in. But if you give them too few you run the very

serious risk of having them quit in frustration later on if theyve invested

larger amounts of time in a character only to have the flow of combat  one of

the most dominant gameplay activities in most MMOs, GW2 included  radically

change on them.

Crazy plot twists in the third reel might make for amazing cinema, but when it

comes to MMOs, the last thing you want to do is pull a bait-n-switch on players,

regardless of the gameplay mechanic involved. This is as true of combat as it is

for other areas of gameplay, such as presenting a 100% soloable leveling

experience only to funnel players into a 100% group oriented endgame. Thats one

of the biggest failings of the current generation of MMOs, at least those that

are based on the template.

Thankfully, ArenaNet is not building Guild Wars 2 as just another MMO based on

that aging template, and that's yet another significant aspect of what the inclusion of

the engineer in the game represents.

To a certain degree, the engineer plays almost like a very imaginative melting

pot of signature skills from various original Guild Wars professions. Even

though youll start out with some basic weapons and associated skills, switching

sets between a rifle or two pistols gave me a tangible sense of an old world

rangers divergent path based on the influence of technology.

While a ranger is still firmly rooted in the natural world and the beasts that

dwell within it, the engineer eschews nature for the sake of befriending a

single of its elements, namely fire. That sure sounds like how the charr would

advance tech to me. That's not to say that fire-based attacks are the only tools in the engineer's arsenal, but they are fairly dominant. The GW1 ranger as a point of reference can be most easily

seen in the skill Explosive Shot that fires a projectile that explodes on impact. This will be one of

the first weapon skills you begin the game with when using a pistol as your

primary weapon.

Switching to the rifle youll be able to use Net Shot, a ranged attack that

causes the immobilize condition which hinders movement and prevents dodging. This can help you keep some distance from your target, and then using the ability to right click a skill to set it as an auto-attack also helps you stay focused on

mobility, which is key with most professions in GW2's combat.

This will perhaps be one of the biggest initial differences in combat mechanics

for players who are used to traditional PvE MMO combat where you stand in one

spot and spam a skill rotation. Skill rotations are still a vital part of

combat, but as you progress that rotation can become far more interesting and

complex since each utility skill, weapon swap, and unique profession mechanic

factors in.

A way of thinking about the role movement plays in combat  and this extends to

the other professions as well, not just the engineer  is that you could liken

it more to how you might approach PvP combat rather than the boring PvE most of

us have grown accustomed to over the years. Thats not to say you cant approach

combat the way youre used to from other games, but it does become infinitely

more satisfying once you get into the more fluid, and dare I say graceful,

combat style of GW2.

Adding another layer of depth to the engineer, the various weapon kits you will

be able to slot as utility skills greatly expand the potential of the

professions available builds since the kits will replace your current weapon

skills with a set corresponding to the selected kit.

New engineers are gradually introduced to this aspect of combat, and the pacing

of progression in the early levels felt fairly natural during my demo run. In

fact, I was enjoying some of the dynamic event content in the area so much that

I had to force myself to run back and purchase new skills when they became

available.

As noted above, making a class fun to play straight out of the gates can be

critical to the long term success of an MMO, and so far it seems that ArenaNet

has squarely hit that mark with the engineer. As they progress, the engineer

will definitely be one of the more challenging professions in the game, but its

also one that helps illustrate exactly how much choice players will have when it

comes to adopting different roles or styles of combat.