Last Updated on by Samuel Franklin
This Torchlight 2 Engineer build details playstyle, skill trees, stat point allocations and equipment decisions for a Flame Hammer and Emberquake build to defeat end game content. This results in a durable and flexible Enginner that is equally powerful for solo and group end game levels of play.
Table of Contents:
– Build Overview
– Skills
– Stats/Equipment
– Class Overview
Engineer Build Overview
For a Flame Hammer or Emberquake Engineer build use the following skill and stat allocation with details of all decisions included on this page.
Skills (at level 100):
- 15 Flame Hammer OR Emberquake
- 15 Seismic Slam (Emberquake builds only for levelling)
- 15 Force Field
- 15 Healing Bot
- 15 Dynamo Field
- 15 Fire and Spark
- 15 Immobilisation Copter
- 15 Fire Bash (if using a shield)
- 1+ Onslaught
- 1+ Charge Domination
Stats (at level 100 no equipment):
- Strength: 250 (3 per level)
- Dexterity: 150 (1 per level)
- Focus: As required
- Vitality: 100 (1 per level)
Engineer Flame Hammer / Emberquake Build Skills
The blitz tree is the most popular Engineer build variant with players using either Flame Hammer or Emberquake as their main attack.
- Flame Hammer: Available at level 1 players can utilise a Flame Hammer build throughout the game although at the highest levels of end game progress Flame Hammer will be slightly outclassed by Emberquake. The majorit of damage from this ability comes from the splinters that are created so fire damage boosts and Focus are an important factor.
- Emberquake: Available only at level 42 Emberquake is best for players that want to beat new game plus mode as it is only unlocked at the end of a normal playthrough. Players should use a Flame Hammer build until this point before using a potion respec or can max Siesmic Slam as an alternative leveling option which also offers crowd control stun.
Always focus on maximising your main attacking skill (Flame Hammer or Seismic Slam/Emberquake) then ensure they grab at least 1 point in the support skills and then focus as required based on what you feel your character is lacking.
Force Field is particularly powerful for bosses and champions so level as required for survivability. This should be balanced with other utility though such as the healing provided by your Healing Bot, the charge generation of Dynamo Field and a single point in Onslaught for the movement it provides. When you reach level 42 Immobilisation Copter provides an all around solid debuff to enemies that can make hitting your skills easier while reducing enemy damage output. Further utility can be provided through Charge Domination with a single point a fantastic investment while additional points are only useful if you are finding your charge mechanic difficult to manage.
Fire and Spark is ideal for Engineer 2H builds (two handed weapon) and adds passive damage boosts. For shield users the Fire Bash skill can be used instead but does require activation to deal its fire damage.
Engineer Flame Hammer / Emberquake Build Stats
Your choice of stats are equipment influenced and also requires a balance of stat points to maximise your offence and defence.
- Strength: With the boost to critical damage and weapon damage you’ll want to invsest as many points as possible here for the damage boost. At the end game (level 100) this means approximately 1,000 strength total with equipment so while invest slightly more than half your points here (3 per level).
- Dexterity: Adds some important survivability (dodge chance) and further maximises damage (critical chance and fumble recovery). Approximately 250-300 with equipment at level 100 will be sufficient although I recommend front loading some of this investment to around 50 as this stat dramatically improves your early game power.
- Focus: Any points you have remaining can go into focus given it is a damage boost to our fire magi that is a large source of overall damage output. The mana is also nice for some of our heavy mana draining abilities although Healing Bot provides good recovery already.
- Vitality: If you’re using a shield you’ll want around 100 to 150 points with equipment here to reach the maximum block level possible (75%). This number isn’t too different for those using 2H weapons either as you’ll need enough health to survive going toe to toe with enemies. Like dexterity front loading some of this can be useful so don’t be afraid to investment 2 or 3 points from your first few levels here until 50 before reducing this to adding 1 per level.
Engineer Overview
The Engineer fills the role of melee fighter archetype in Torchlight 2 and is presented as a durable fighter that is battle hardened. Coming from a guild of technology experts they are responsible for building much of the industrial areas in the wider world and are drawn to the adventure in Torchlight 2 for the mines and ruins that may be unlocked as a result.
Not afraid of getting into the fray with enemies the Engineer can be found wielding large melee weapons, cannons or a traditional shield and single handed weapon. Unique to the Engineer is their version of the charge mechanic where you can build charges with certain skills or passives and then consume those charges for additional effects of specific skills. They are a flexible Torchlight 2 hero with the best Engineer build heavily influenced by your party size with defensive builds shining in multiplayer. While a solo Engineer will want a build that focuses on the offensive or summon options of the class instead.
This is reflected through their 3 skill trees:
- Blitz: This tree is focused on your melee attacks with various skill attacks that have you slamming your weapon down with great force and elemental enhancement. Passively this tree can boost your effectiveness with large weapons through attack speed, charged attacks and electrical surges on stunned targets. Builds in this tree will generally focus on Flame Hammer, Seismic Slam and Emberquake with Onslaught and Storm Burst providing movement utility in this skill tree.
- Construction: The summoner focused tree of the Engineer which opens up some opportunities to utilise mechanical summons that provide tanking, healing and direct damage. Using only summons themselves are not an effective build unfortunately due to the limited time summons are active that is shorter than their cooldown. This tree also offers talents that requires a cannon weapon equipped and enhances your ability to deal damage with this weapon archetype. In terms of passives you’ll find added durability, elemental damage increases and improved charge generation. Healing Bot is a staple of all your Engineer builds in Torchlight 2 as it is a highly effective addition to you and your team while the Fire and Spark and Charge Dominations are another great passive to specific builds that utilise fire damage or charges. With this skill tree players can also create a cannon based Engineer build with Blast Cannon or create a summon build for fun that leverages Spider Mines and other summons.
- Aegis: The third Engineer skill tree is focused on the traditional tanking role in a party and provides you a range of abilities to protect allies and soak up damage for the team. This tree assumes you’ll be using a single handed weapon and shield with passive effects to turn your armour into damage, provide further damage mitigation and some potential to heal yourself. This tree offers plenty of utility for a number of builds with skills like Forcefield to absorb damage, Dynamo Field to generate charges easily and Immobilisation Copter to weaken enemies.
Read our other Torchlight 2 class guides for Embermage, Berserker and Outlander.
