Guild Wars 2's explosive seventh class: The Engineer

Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 fans, did you love the Commando class? Were you disappointed that it was all an elaborate joke? Did you love the idea of detonating bombs, flinging grenades, and setting mines in Guild Wars 2?

Well, this is going to be a good day for you, because ArenaNet has announced the seventh profession: the Engineer. While it's not the Commando class per se, the Engineer is described as "a master of mechanical mayhem" and looks to be the class that will fulfill all of your most explosive gameplay wishes.

Ready to check it out in depth? We've got five skill videos right in a row and a rundown of the Engineer's abilities, so follow along after the jump and let's take a look!

Let's start with the video, which shows five skills one after the other: Rifle Turret, Glue Shot, Jump Shot, Grenade Satchel, and Absorb. They look great, but even more importantly they illustrate the versatility of the class. Whether you want to snare, defend, get the jump on a pack of unsuspecting foes, or simply deal a ton of damage, there's something in the Engineer's arsenal to do just that.

The Engineer looks to have more cool -- and deadly -- toys than Batman and a skill set designed to make the most of them. He can wield a rifle, dual pistols, or a pistol/shield combination, but that only skims the surface of his bag of tricks.

Fans who have been following GW2 development will remember that player skills are partially dictated by the weapon the player is currently wielding. If you're wielding a rifle, for example, you'll have five rifle-based skills. Engineers are going to take this a step further thanks to Backpack Kits: "When activated, these special utility kits equip a backpack on the engineer's back, which replaces the engineer's current weapon skills with skills from the backpack kit. For example, a bomb kit will put a bomb backpack on the engineer, allowing [him] to deploy a variety of bombs including smoke, concussion, and fire." There are five types of backpack kits to suit your playstyle, including a med kit for heals.

What if slinging bombs isn't quite your thing? Fear not, because the Engineer's pretty versatile. Weapon Kits are another new element -- they're utility skills that equip a new weapon (and set of weapon skills) when activated. Flamethrower, anyone? That's right, the Engineer can equip a flamethrower as a short-range AoE weapon, and it comes with a pretty impressive set of weapon skills. AoE-flee is less of an issue thanks to the Backdraft skill, which sucks fleeing enemies back into range. Air Blast is another handy skill, one that will deflect incoming ranged attacks.

Want to take more of a stationary or support role? Bring on the turrets! Turrets are exactly what you're imagining: "a variety of immobile allied devices that will help defend and control area." Turrets are stationary, but make no mistake: They're no less useful. Turrets can damage, snare, and even heal depending on which type you use. There are five kinds of turrets: Rifle, Thumper, Net, Flame, and Healing.

But wait, there's more! When you deploy a turret, "the slot for that turret toggles into an overcharge skill. The Thumper Turret, for example, is a turret that does AoE damage but can be overcharged to do a big thump attack that knocks down nearby enemies." Finally, turrets can be packed up, moved, and re-deployed as a battle moves and progresses, so you're not left behind.

Since Engineers' smarts don't begin and end with machinery, elixirs are part of the class' lineup. Engineers have a talent for alchemy and a mastery potions of that can heal, buff, and more. Even better, you can fire them into the battlefield or to your allies with a gun. What's not to love?

There's a wild card involved here, though. Alchemy by its very nature can be a little unpredictable, so you'll have to expect the unexpected: "Elixirs all have some random component to them. For example, Elixir X is an unstable formula that when consumed gives the engineer a random Elite power from another profession."

All in all, the Engineer sounds like an incredibly versatile and formidable class -- arguably even more so than some we've seen for Guild Wars 2 previously. Want to see more? Check out the gallery below of the Engineer's arsenal, and keep an eye out for our exclusive interview with ArenaNet on the Engineer!
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