Torchlight 2 Engineer Build for Elite Hardcore - WIP

In my ongoing experimentation with Torchlight 2, here is another work-in-progress Elite Hardcore build - this time for the Engineer. The first thing I'll say is that this probably isn't the safest Engineer build. He uses a two-handed weapon and attempts to balance tank and gank. If you want to play it safe then go for a one-handed weapon and shield with high vitality and tank skills.

Engineer Riff, Level 17 on Elite Hardcore

So here we are; up to level 20 or so I have kept Strength and Vitality as even as possible. Use enchanted gear if you need in order to buff these stats as high as possible. Once I hit level 20 I'll start putting points in Focus to improve skills like Flame Hammer.

Skill-wise I'm focusing on Flame Hammer, Seismic Slam, Heavy Lifting, Healing Bot, Bulwark, Forcefield, Aegis Shield, and Charge Reconstitution.

How's it going so far? Incredibly well. This build is so much easier to play than my Outlander it's ridiculous. I'm 3 hours and 45 minutes in and I've caught up with my Outlander (8 hours and 21 minutes) in the Frosted Hills. I begin to wonder if my Outlander is a poor build or if the class itself is just more challenging. Where the Engineer can simply run into a crowd and mow them down, the Outlander must skirt the crowd and kite every single enemy out while slowly dwindling their health away.