Woaw,that’s a long and precise answer, thanks a lot.
You pointed out some interesting explanations:
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Some gameplay balance are designed for midgame when PCs have 2 to 3 talents. If I play the one-shot with another group, I’ll try to play it with 3rd level PCs. This would probably be better.
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I don’t feel that the elemental limitation of Magiturges is that significant but I may be wrong since I don’t tried it enough.
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Even with the two points above, I still find the need for anticipation build in the Engineer very limiting. In my game, I like to take the player by surprise and that defeats the whole point of choosing the device beforehand. If I would stick to the mechanic, I would feel the need to provide some sort of mission briefing so that engineers have a chance to pick some adapted devices. They can’t have the same gears for a fight against a Wayward, an inquiery or a social hostage situation.
When I ran the one-shot I changed the engineer mechanic on the spot to offer them a better adaptation. I made a dichotomy: natural matter for magiturges and technogical one for engineers. Both can use magic on the spot but they are limited to their respected domain. Engineers become some sort of enchanters that craft magic items and alter the properties of human-built devices. In my game, an engineer turned a key into a key that can open any lock and create a false ID to free a prisoner.
Thanks again for your response and keep the good work going. We really enjoyed your game :)