Community Engineer strategy

The Engineer is one of the most versatile classes. He can get his friends to the front line faster with teleporters, create a powerful sentry nest to ward off enemies from entering and can build dispensers to heal and supply ammo. His low health and standard weapons make him only good for quick assaults to weaken the enemy or to lure them into a sentry trap.

General

• Striking placed buildings with the Wrench will cause them to build twice as fast as leaving them alone. This effect stacks with each additional Engineer striking the building with their Wrench during construction.

• Crouching (default: CTRL) after jumping will allow you to stand on your buildings.

• If you're planning on building a Sentry gun in a forward area, consider building a Dispenser first, to supply you with Metal to upgrade and repair the Sentry Gun.

• You can rotate the placement of a building while the blueprint is out by clicking the secondary fire button (default is right click). Changing a Sentry Gun's direction allows you to place them in corners and other odd spots. Rotating a Teleporter exit affects the direction one faces when exiting - an arrow on the blueprint indicates the direction (Remember that the direction one faces could mean life or death in some situations). Rotating a Dispenser has no effect on its function, but can allow you to cram it into a tight space.
• Help your fellow Engineers out! Wrench friendly buildings as you pass by to keep them repaired. Help a new Sentry Gun upgrade quicker if your Metal supply is high. On maps with a setup time, support fellow engineers to help your team have a forward level 3 base at start time. Strongly consider getting a mic, to help communicate about the status and location of your buildings, as well as call for help when they're being sapped.

• Be careful standing in front of your Sentry gun. If an enemy runs past and you get caught between the Sentry Gun and the enemy, your gun will fire at you; causing damage and possibly death.

• Disguised Spies cannot walk through opposing Sentry guns and Dispensers. You can use this for Spy checking by placing these buildings in chokepoints, such as doors and hallways. You'll know a disguised Spy if he jumps on top of these buildings when obstructed.

• Any teammate that is not doing something more important (such as a Medic building an Ubercharge) can be enlisted to switch to Engineer for a brief time to help you build and can then switch back to another class.

• Don't build right on top of other Engineers. In general, it is not a good idea to build your buildings, particularly your Sentry Gun, in the exact same location as another Engineer on your team. Clustering too many Engineer buildings together maximizes their weakness to explosive "splash" damage and makes it easy for an enemy Spy to sap everything. In addition, remember that friendly buildings block the line of sight and line of fire of friendly Sentries. While building two dispensers together does provide excellent healing, the Sentries and Teleporters are usually best if they are spread out to help your team control more of the map. Simple rule of thumb: "nearby" is good; "next to" is bad.

• Familiarity with the maps you play on is important. It's not only important to know effective building locations, but also to know how the combat tends to "flow" and what spots are the best place to fortify to best support your team either advancing or simply holding the enemy off. Teleporters and dispensers are sometimes the only things that can make certain routes of attack or points of defense viable, and as an Engineer, you need to know about this by knowing the map. Also, learning the names of some of the common locations on the maps you play on will make it easier to describe exactly where you have built up.

• Move fast! Many Engineers fall into a mental trap: because the Engineer is often behind the front lines and not attempting to get into the thick of combat, it's easy to be lulled into a false sense of security and take your sweet time setting up. Engineers have to move just as fast as the other classes to get their job done. Seconds can be the difference between getting a Sentry Gun up in time to stop enemies, or watching it get destroyed while building and having to retreat—or respawn.

• Stay alive! As important as your buildings are to yourself and your team, YOU are more important. While you are vulnerable without your buildings, your buildings are sitting ducks without you—and you can always make more buildings if you live. The key is to strike a balance between keeping your buildings safe and keeping yourself safe. Do not get single-minded. Expert engineers will know when to repair their structures, when to fight alongside their structures, and when to simply run away and attempt to rebuild. Keep your eyes and ears open and try to anticipate how the enemy will come at you and with what. For example, an invulnerable Demoman is usually grounds for instant retreat. Barring some excellent help from your teammates, there is nothing you can do to save your structures if the Demoman wants them dead—it's better to live to build another day than to go down with the ship.

• Engineers are extremely vulnerable while placing, building, and repairing their structures since these activities tie him down to a specific area and also force him to turn his attention away from his surroundings. Good Engineers try to minimize their vulnerability by looking and moving around even while repairing and building.

• If your buildings are under attack by explosives, try to time your repair hits in between enemy rockets or grenades to avoid getting killed, or build your Sentry near cover that you can use to shield yourself. If your buildings are under attack by multiple soldiers and demomen, it's likely going to go down AND take you alongside unless you have support from friendly Medics, other Engineers, or Pyros using the Compression Blast.

• Without the protection of your buildings, you are the weakest combat class: having no advantage in speed, hitpoints, firepower, or any means of escape like a cloak. While it is important to fight with your weapons to help your buildings, do not overestimate how much damage you can cause. Almost any other class will have an advantage over you in a one-on-one fight if your buildings are not involved. Do not be afraid to ask for help in dealing with a threat.

• Do not be predictable! You will find that most enemies will not continuously walk into your sentry after they die to it once or twice. They will either avoid it or come at it in force with help from their team. During lulls in the fighting, consider moving your sentry gun around to throw your opponents off and punish them for assuming that your Sentry Gun will always be in the same place. Help from other engineers is great to reduce the period of vulnerability while you rebuild. Awareness of what the enemy team is doing and where they are is important to be able to judge when it is a good time to move.

• A good rule of thumb when playing Engineer is to always have all of your buildings up, no matter where they are or how upgraded they are. Following this is dependent on how much metal you have available, but if your metal supply is abundant such as outside of a supply cabinet, build everything you can as fast as you can, and worry about putting them in the perfect place later. A badly placed sentry or dispenser is still better than no sentry or dispenser at all. Even teleporters that go nowhere can act as early warning of enemy attack, or Spy bait. Even in "safe" locations such as your team's spawn a level 1 sentry can be useful to place to cover you from spies or scouts while you build or upgrade a Teleporter or Dispenser. If you have the metal, there's no reason not to use it.

• Build where you can support your team and where your team can support you. Sentry guns provide high-volume firepower at decent range, but it is still supporting fire that is best served to cover your teammates and deny areas to enemy movement. Do not expect to be able to fight off entire enemy attack groups with just your Sentry Gun. An example of bad engineering strategy is to build in your Intelligence room on CTF 2Fort. It is very unlikely that anyone on your own team will be down there with you to support you and without your gun in a more forward location, enemies have a much easier time getting inside the base and causing havoc.

• Spread out your structures. Your buildings and especially your Sentry Gun will often be the target of enemy explosives. Spread out your structures enough so that the splash damage to them from such attacks is minimized, but not so far apart that it's difficult to defend them.

• If the enemy takes out the Sentry Gun of both you and your team-mate, consider rebuilding one gun at a time, to get it to the highest level faster in your time of need. A level 3 sentry is much better than two level ones. However, two level 2 sentries is better than one level 3, and the same goes for dispensers.

• Building yourself into a corner (with a Sentry and Dispenser on either side) may help protect you from backstabs and sapping, since the Spy has to jump both onto the Dispenser and you to get the back stab you, and with you swinging your Wrench, you are Spy safe. The same thing cannot be said about sticky bombs however.

• Many Engineers often place a Sentry Gun and immediately run back to a supply room or large ammo pack to get a full load of 200 metal while the gun builds itself, thinking they can save time and also return with enough metal to upgrade their Sentry to level 2. However this plan can be ruined if the Sentry Gun is damaged or even if it simply fires at an enemy, as you will need to use some of your 200 metal to repair or refill your Sentry, leaving your Sentry still at level 1 after using up a full metal load. It is good to get into the habit of speed-building your Sentry and then using whatever metal you have left over to upgrade it so that you ensure that your next full load of metal will be enough to get the Sentry to the next level.

• If the game goes to Sudden death mode, build a Dispenser first to provide health for your team-mates and Metal for yourself.

• Don't build turrets facing into hallways unless you have cover from your team-mates, as your enemies will see them ahead and have a chance to fire ranged explosive weapons (Rockets and Grenades being the most commonly used). Build them in the corners just outside the hallway, attempting to avoid places where Demomen can easily bounce grenades at your Sentry Gun.

• Build a Teleporter entrance outside the Respawn area, and a Teleporter exit at a location of interest. For the defensively-minded Engineer, Intelligence rooms and Control points are desirable (but be careful with building teleporters that lead into your own key areas, as enemy spies can now use them to gain access.) Nothing beats a forward exit deep inside the enemy territory. Care should be observed when placing your Teleporter; plant the entrances in obvious, but considerate places (do not place teleporters on the stairs, as under-fire team-mates rushing back for health may get caught on them).

• Hiding your teleporter exits (such as underwater) can help keep it from being destroyed. Just make sure your teammates know where it goes, as you do not want them to get lost. CAUTION: smart enemies will often camp unguarded Teleporter exits killing anyone who comes through before they can react. You will have many angry teammates if you fail to realize this and destroy your exit.

• Take the time after building Teleporters to inform your team of their position. Most players don't use them if they don't immediately see them, so make sure they know that one is around the corner.

• If an enemy Demoman is shooting Sticky bombs at or near your Sentry Gun, consider trying to shoot as many of them away as possible with the Shotgun. This may get enough grenades out of the way of your Sentry that it will not be destroyed when the Demoman triggers them, or may buy your team-mates enough time to take care of the Demoman for you. Note that this strategy is rather risky and may result in death. Another option is to attempt at taking on the Demoman with your Shotgun (or getting a teammate to do it) the moment he comes into sight - if the Demoman dies, all his stickies are removed with no damage done.

• If their are holes in the ceilings, try to build a sentry in a way that it can look down these holes. It gets some funny kills since most of the enemies won't be looking up for a sentry.

• If you build a dispenser behind you, and a Sentry in front of you, do NOT stand in between them. This will make it easy for a Spy to go ahead and uncloak/remove a disguise behind your dispenser, which will make the sentry turn around, kill you in the crossfire, but the Dispenser then blocks the bullets/rockets from hitting him. He can then disguise himself and sap them, or wait for them to run out of ammo, and do an embarrassing Knife kill on a sentry.

• If you're fighting an enemy, and you're in a spot of bother, consider popping a sentry down in front of him. This wastes a valuable few seconds, but it can signal your survival, as your enemy has the tough decision of trying to finish you off before the sentry is built, or destroying the sentry, but wasting time in doing so. NOT recommended when fighting Pyros or Heavies, as they can usually destroy the sentry before you can even switch your weapons back.

• Lastly, sometimes the best Engineer strategy is to know when to be an Engineer and when not to be an Engineer. This requires taking into account several things, such as the map, the game type, the composition of the teams (particularly the enemy team), and the time left in the mission. For example, in many Capture Point maps the front lines are moving quite a lot, which can easily leave the Engineer and his structures sitting in a part of the map where there is no action, and depriving his team of his talents where they are most needed. Also, while Engineering in Defense on a map like Dustbowl or Gravelpit is usually vital, if the time is running out and your buildings are all destroyed, or if your team is getting pushed back so far that your buildings are getting destroyed as soon as you put them up, it's time to think about switching to a class that can jump right into the fight.

Offense

• It may seem a disadvantage having an Engineer on your team depriving you of an offensive class, particularly on Control point maps. This is not the case, however, as the Engineer can be extremely useful on the front line. As mentioned elsewhere, Dispensers are important to save a long trip to the supply room and a Teleporter can save slower classed team-mates a lot of time getting back to the front line after being killed. As of the December 11 update, one Level Three Teleporter effectively has the efficiency of five of default, Level One Teleporters.

• Another technique is to choose an approach and set a Sentry gun on your way in (hanging around to hit it with your Wrench will half its build time), you then switch to the Shotgun and start blasting to distract from its build time, when things get tough run away towards your Sentry gun (hopefully it has survived, but listen for the 'Sentry down' sound to be sure) and the Sentry will take care of your pursuers. In effect this gives you an extra player while assaulting any position. Placing a Sentry Gun while on the run takes practice as does getting a reasonable placement that will actually take down a few opponents before its destruction. This also combats the tendency for Engineer-Heavy teams to start Turtling.

• Setting up a mini-base with a Teleporter, a Dispenser and a Sentry near the front lines after capturing an initial control point can help your team maintain their position. A skilled enemy team can push you right back to your first spawn, forcing you to gain ground again even if you have already captured the first point.

• Cheeky sentry placement can be a real headache for the opposing team. Slap a level 1 down and quickly build it with you Wrench, switch to shot gun and blast away at some enemies. If you remain in the proximity of your sentry, you will get a few quick kills, especially if you lure the opponents round a corner hiding the sentry. The trick is not to become attached to a particular position: a soon as you have a couple of kills, move of to a new spot to set up your ambush point.

Being Sapped

• You can "bait" an enemy Spy by leaving a Teleporter on the way to your position. If the area is quiet, only few Spies will resist sapping it, which will alert you immediately that a Spy is coming. Another useful effect of this is that you can tell when an enemy is approaching and gauge their class based on the weapon icon shown at the top right of your screen in your building's death-message.

• As an extension to the above, if there's little need for your Teleporters in a map, place them both around your sentry to stall a Spy briefly, as inexperienced players will sap everything in sight. The extra second could be the difference between saving your Sentry or not, and it will also help you identify the Spy.

• It generally takes two swings of the Wrench to remove a sapper. Most of the time, you should save your Dispenser first, as it will break from a Sapper faster than an upgraded Sentry, and regenerating its Metal supply takes a lot of time. If you are staying in the same spot, saving your Dispenser first will always allow you to rebuild much faster because you'll have more metal available. However, if the Spy has removed his disguise nearby, or there's urgent need for offense, you should save your Sentry first.

Weapon Specific

Shotgun

• The Shotgun will always work in narrow corridors, such as the hallways in 2fort. If you're intending to babysit your Sentry gun, like most Engineers do, make sure to build it in a spot where you can bottleneck enemy players. You will be able fight on more even ground now that the Sentry Gun has softened them up for a Shotgun blast.

• Remember that the Shotgun has a pretty generous spread pattern. This makes it quite useful in rooting out cloaked Spies—fire in suspicious corners, or in their general direction when one is fleeing. Usually the spread will allow for at least one pellet to hit the Spy, giving you an idea where he went.

• While it reloads much slower than the Pistol, disguised Spies tend to instinctively dodge Spy-checking when done near buildings via Shotgun because of its damage. Don't hesitate to empty a couple of shells and a clip of Pistol ammo into a 'teammate' if you suspect a Spy, since you will have plenty of ammo to spare.

• The Shotgun is also great for killing demomen who like to spam grenades at you if your not in your sentry nest; for instance if you go to get metal. just dodge any pipebombs coming your way and dont chase him because you may go into a stickybomb trap. A few well placed body shots should take the pesky scot down.

Pistol

• While the pistol may seem innocuous in comparison to its bigger brothers, the shotgun and Sentry Gun, there are many situations where it will be a much more useful weapon. Shot-for-shot, the pistol will mostly outdo the Shotgun in accuracy and damage at long range. If you couple this with your 200 rounds of spare ammunition and a Dispenser, it is possible to ward off distant enemies. Pistol Spam can also be used for Spy-checking down narrow corridors, such as the long tunnel in Dustbowl 2.B. Take advantage of the critical hits since they can deal damage quickly at 45 health per hit, regardless of the distance between you and your enemies.

• Pistol bullets are surprisingly lethal at closer ranges. Each one can deal somewhere between 10 and 15 damage per hit, and a clip of them can give even the tougher classes a moment to pause. While it's not about to make an overhealed Heavy pull back, a couple clips of Pistol fire, which can be unloaded in less than six seconds, can still give foes such as Demomen something to think about.

• If one has to move through an area threatened by Snipers (to whom a yellow construction helmet is the equivalent of a very large 'shoot here' sign), the Pistol might be a better choice than the Shotgun. Not only is it already more powerful at range but it reloads quickly enough to allow for some self-made covering fire. Starting with the Shotgun and switching to the Pistol right after is not a bad choice either.

• Watch for retreating enemies and tag them with Pistol fire. An enemy that is falling back is usually injured, so a bit more damage can help bring them down. Be mindful of traps such as stickies and enemy sentry guns, however.

• If you find yourself in direct combat with a faster reloading class, switch to your Pistol. Your Shotgun's reload time will give your enemy a few vital seconds of unreturned fire.

Wrench

• When a Spy is repeatedly sapping your sentry in an attempt to destroy it, your Wrench serves two purposes. First, you can use it to swing at the opposing Spy (2-3 hits is enough to kill one, not including Critical Hits). After that you can quickly turn around (while the Spy is backing off) and repair your Sentry. Two strikes from the Wrench will disable a Sapper and halt the progressive damage it causes; you can then fully repair the sentry after the Spy is killed. A good strategy would be to hit the sentry a single time, and then change targets towards the Spy, kill him and then take off the Sapper with another swing.
• While the temptation to use the Wrench's high crit rate to club enemies to death is there, melee combat is usually not where the low-health Engineer shines. Unless an enemy does not see you coming, switch to something with better range.

• The game prioritizes repairing buildings over melee combat when using the wrench. This means that if there is an enemy, say a Spy, next to a friendly structure and you are using the wrench to attempt to kill the enemy, you will find that you instead hear the Wrench hitting the building near or even behind the enemy you are trying to strike. Switch to the Shotgun or Pistol to deal with enemies that are very close to one of your buildings to avoid this.

Building PDA

• When you're being attacked and you have your PDA out, quickly pull out another weapon. Don't be caught by an enemy when using this or you're an easy kill. Remember to use the handy key (usually "Q" on the PC) to switch to your most recent weapon. There are two PDA's, the Building PDA and Demolish PDA (The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions do not have a separate Demolish PDA). If a player chooses to construct an available building from the Build PDA, the player model will then hold a toolbox, and the player will see a template on the ground in front of them showing the orientation of the chosen building. While the template is visible, right-clicking adjusts the building's orientation by 90 degrees anti-clockwise, left-clicking starts the build and "last weapon used" cancels the build.

Dispenser Placement

There are different strategies around placing Dispensers.

• To assist the construction of a Sentry gun and other buildings. Unless you have a local supply of Metal, many times you will want to build a Dispenser before building a Sentry gun or Teleporter. Often a Dispenser is built so that the Engineer can Wrench his Sentry gun, repairing it from attacks, while the Dispenser provides him with Metal and slow healing. Since the Dispenser is solid to the Engineer that built it, careful placement of the Dispenser can also prevent or minimize displacement of the Engineer due to rocket or grenade explosions. This is especially effective during ÜberCharge rushes when keeping the Sentry gun up is crucial. If you are expecting incoming fire, such as from Scouts, build a Sentry Gun first and use the dropped ammunition from the Scout to build a Dispenser afterward.
• To slow enemy traffic. Members of the opposing team can't walk through your buildings so Dispensers can be strategically used to jam up doorways and stairs. (Hallways as well, to a lesser extent, but doorways usually won't have the clearance to crouch jump over them.) For example, a Dispenser built in the doorway to the top of the spiral stairs in 2fort can prevent a Scout from speeding by a Sentry in the area. Temporary Dispensers are especially useful in cases such as around your dropped Intelligence. In some cases it can limit the quick pickup by a Scout or Spy.
• Spy checking. Because the Dispenser is solid to enemy players, any player (other than the Engineer that built it) seen jumping a Dispenser is a Spy. Building a Dispenser in a location solely to detect Spies is typically not recommended since it most likely can be more beneficial elsewhere.
• To defend an area. Dispensers are useful in the (temporary) case of dropped Intelligence or around a Control point. It allows heavies and Pyros to defend and Spy check the area constantly with unlimited ammo (with the added bonus of slow healing).
• To reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Dispensers can be built in certain areas to allow the Engineer to reach or build on a higher location. On Gravel Pit, a Dispenser can be built below the tunnel exits from Blue spawn so that the Engineer can climb up into the tunnel and build. On Gravel Pit, the Dispenser is the first in a sequence of buildings that can be built to reach the roof of Control point B. NOTE: Since the Engineer's buildings are only solid to him and not his team-mates, this only benefits the Engineer unless he builds a Teleporter to allow team-mates to also get to the area.
  • In some places you can climb on top of your Dispenser select a Teleporter exit and jump up, placing the exit at the peak of your jump.

Other notes:

• Dispensers can block your Sentry's line of sight, so try not to build them in front of your Sentry whenever possible.
• You can use them as cover for your other buildings and yourself.

Teleporter Placement

• The most important tip with Teleporter placement is to inform your team where they are and where they go, especially if you have a mic!

• While many players try to be sneaky about placing Teleporters and try to place them deep in enemy territory, it's actually usually better to be more conservative. Building and upgrading a Teleporter is expensive, time consuming, and can be very risky particularly when placing the exit. Maintaining the Sentry and Dispenser can be tough enough without adding a Teleporter to that as well. All a Teleporter needs to do to be successful is eliminate most of the travel time to an area of importance. To put it another way, it's better to have a Teleporter remain active and take your allies 75% of the way to their destination, than to have a Teleporter go 100% of the distance but get destroyed because it's too close to the action.

• Remember that Teleporters leave a particle trail on the feet of anyone who uses it. This easily reveals to your enemies that you have an active Teleporter nearby. Unless your teammates actually have the presence of mind or spare time to wait for this to wear off (which would be impractical to expect), this is yet another reason to think conservatively when placing your Teleporter.

There are a few places where you can place Teleporters that almost always go unnoticed. These places are:

• On Dustbowl Stage 1 Cap 2, in the room with the grating.
• On Dustbowl Stage 2 Cap 1, to the right as you enter the Capture Point A building.
• On Dustbowl Stage 2 Cap 1, behind the office building.
• On Dustbowl Stage 2 Cap 2, in the long tunnel with the grating.
• On Dustbowl Stage 3 Cap 2, attackers need a Teleporter in the area before the long stretch to the Control point.
• On CP_Well - in the water, on top of the enemies one-way exit pipe.
• On CTF_2Fort - in the water, against the wall on the enemy side.
• In the middle Sniper nest on CTF_2Fort. Most Snipers avoid this area due to its lack of cover. Getting up there in the first place is difficult of course.
• Outside of the enemy base on 2fort, in one of the corners. Unless a firefight breaks out on their side of the map, most enemies don't bother checking these spots and walk on past.

• You can also place your Teleporter as a decoy. For example, You can put a Teleporter at the top of the spiral in CTF_2Fort. When it's destroyed, you know an enemy is coming from that direction. This is called "Spy bait".

• Always build Teleporters at the start of a match, especially if you're defending. Build the entrance and then quickly go to the supply closet and head to the capture point 1 to build your exit. After these two have been placed, you can then go ahead and build your Dispenser and Sentry. Teleporters get your team to the front lines instantly; if you want someone watching your back, get those Teleporters up or your Sentry will not be covered by your team-mates. You will often need support while your sentry is setting up and while it's only at level 1.

• Also remember that enemy players who walk over a teleport exit while you or your team-mate uses it will die (telefrag). This can occasionally be useful to kill disguised Spies who don't know this; once they learn about it, they then have to avoid the exit, being careful to jump over it, so the exit can be used as a somewhat less effective blocking construction.

• Be sure not to stand on your own Teleporter exit if you have set up a forward base; doing so may allow an enemy Spy to telefrag you, leaving your base defenseless against his sappers. If time and configuration permit, be ready to use your Wrench on anybody who comes through your exit whenever you aren't tanking your Sentry.

• On CTF maps, your team can benefit from teleporters providing a quick means of getting back to the spawn/supply rooms enabling those with low ammo/health to get back to the fight without a respawn penalty. However, a Teleporter going from the spawn to the front line is generally more helpful to the team, so don't do this unless there are other Engineers with teleporters set up. Two engineers can provide a two way passage between the front and the resupply area. Upgrading multiple sentries with the advantage of the resupply room makes a big difference. Likewise any team-mates with low health and ammo can resupply and return quickly.

2Fort

• Ideal places to put Teleporters while defending the Intelligence room are on the spiral stairs and the bottom of the long straight stairs, to warn of incoming enemies and bait enemy Spies.

Sentry Placement

• There are three types of Sentry placements - the bad ones, the decent ones, and then there are the ones that win games. Below is a list of 'game winning' Sentry placements. Note that there are many more Sentry locations that are 'good' or 'decent', but the ones listed here are typically very hard to destroy.
• Many of these spots can include your Dispenser and Teleporter too, and will increase your Sentry's survivability and staying power if you do so (it will rarely negatively effecting these factors, unless the presence of said buildings reveals the Sentry's location or similiar, or prevents the Engineer from moving adequately).

General Strategies

• As a rule, do not camp behind your Sentry and crouch all the time. Only do this when it is actually under attack. The reasoning behind this is that all a Spy has do to is come in under his cloak, jump onto your head where you cannot see him, decloak. From here, he can stab you and sap all of your buildings. If he stabs you while he is above you, it counts as a backstab. It takes practice to do this, so follow this rule as other player's skill allow. But beware of this tactic as it can reduce all of your buildings to rubble very quickly.
• While there are many well-known "spots" for sentry guns, the general rule of thumb for good sentry placement is a location that maximizes the sentry gun's range while minimizing its corner weakness. In other words, any location where approaching enemies will receive fire from the Sentry Gun at close to it's maximum range but will be unable to fire back from outside that range. Remember sentry guns do not have damage falloff at range, so this also limits the damage your gun will receive in return from enemy fire.
• Team up. During set up time a pair (or more) of engineers can quickly get a single Sentry Gun up to level two or three before the opposition leave their base. One level three Sentry is much harder to take down than two level ones. During Set-Up phase on Gravel Pit you can assist a friendly Engineer to build a Teleporter exit and maybe even a sentry inside the tunnels in front of the BLU spawn door.
• One Engineer can babysit the gun of more than one Engineer leaving them free to set up teleporters and dispensers on other areas.
• During setup time, the whole team can spawn as engineers and help build the structures of team members who will remain as engineers while they respawn as other classes in the spawn room. If, rather than returning to their spawn room, the other players suicide before switching classes, this will have the added advantage of providing additional Metal for the remaining engineers, though also slowing their return to the front lines due to respawn delays.
• If there are buildings just outside your spawn room, you can switch to Engineer, use your starting 200 metal to upgrade something, then return to the spawn room and either become your playing class or switch to something else, then back to Engineer and repeat the process.
• Remember that if your sentry can shoot at enemies in a certain area, anybody in that area can shoot at the sentry. If you intend to keep a sentry up for extended periods of time, look for spots where your sentry will be useful, but relatively safe. An example of this is on the crates at Granary's center point: People must fire upwards at a sentry on the crates to destroy it, giving it a degree of protection, and the sentry guards the control point.

2Fort

• On the ledge in the ramp room. It is important to place it no further out that the middle of the ledge (if you place it at the corner the Sentry can be shot from the battlements without triggering it) and as close to the edge as possible, not at the corner, otherwise it cannot see down to the ground to fire upon incoming hostiles. By being up on the ledge, you cover the entire room, and there is only one way to destroy it without putting the attacker in range of the Sentry. To destroy it, the attacker must come up from under it, and splash damage it from below, or clip the corner of the Sentry with their weapon. If the Sentry is placed at the junction of the right side ramp and the top ramp, then it blocks the movement of enemy Spies into the hay room and has a shorter arc to turn in, to lock onto enemies.
  • Note: On the Xbox 360 and PS3 version, Soldiers can use their rockets from below to damage the Sentry gun on top. This is an exploit, although it still must be warned against as many a Soldier who knows the Sentry Gun's position can simply blow it up from the bottom of the ramp room.
• Across from the Respawn area in the corner of the hay room. Place a Dispenser in the corner against the wall separating the grate doorway and the room. Then place the Sentry against the wall (use right click) by the Dispenser facing the doorway to the spiral. This Sentry covers the grate and battlements, which if the previous Sentry was placed, not only protects the hay room, but also prevents access to the only other entrance to the intel.
• In front of the fire extinguisher on the spiral. This is very important if you want to eliminate Scouts coming from the second floor trying to grab the Intelligence that use the Spiral. Since your placing the Sentry in front of the fire extinguisher, this is the mid point of the Spiral. So this spot isn't visible from the entrance of the Spiral. Build a Dispenser sideways on either side, then place the Sentry in front of the fire extinguisher wall. This is a uncommon yet good way of taking out opposing Scouts. Soldiers and Demoman who rocket/sticky jump to the top floor and enter from the Spiral will also be surprised.
• The 'mid' point in the sewers. It's very important that you build it facing the short pipe, and not the long stretch. Don't build it in the corner facing both pipes (it can be splash damaged there). Instead you want to build a Dispenser against the wall in the corner (facing the long pipe) and then build the Sentry in front of the Dispenser (angled so it is facing the short pipe). What you end up with is a Dispenser flat against the wall with the long pipe in it, and the Sentry up against the Dispenser, but facing the short pipe. There is no way to get enough splash damage on the Sentry from this position to blow it up easily, and it locks down the sewers. This can also be used offensively by building it in the enemy base. Of course, you must still watch out for Spies, who over such a short distance will be fully cloaked and be able to come right up to you before decloaking. If your back is visible, they will be able to backstab you with surprise. The Sentry will then kill them, but without its Engineer, it is much more vulnerable.
• In your Intelligence room, in the 'short' corner (the corner between the two doorways). The placement of this Sentry is very tricky to get perfect, but if you do, it's very hard to take down. To place this Sentry correct you should to put it as far into the corner as possible (use right click) and at a 45 degree angle. Next you want to place your Dispenser in front of the Sentry, but rotate it so that the short side of the Dispenser is what block's the Sentry's field of view. The Dispenser should be placed just off center, so as to not block the line of sight to the Intelligence or either doorway. An alternative is to place the Dispenser out of sight behind the desk it is much more vulnerable but often goes unnoticed.
• Under the enemy grate. This is a very unlikely position to attain and hold. However, if you can get a gun built here, it is possible to jump onto your gun and then jump up to place a Teleporter exit on their grate. If you end up in a game where the enemy is turtling in their ramp room but otherwise letting you walk in their front door, you could utilize this strategy to surprise them.

Gravelpit

• Control point A
  • Just in front of the little hut to the right (if you're facing the BLU Respawn area) of the point. You should aim it so that it faces the edge of the map, and thus pans from the point to the start of the hill. The advantage of putting a Sentry here is that it's very hard to hit with splash damage because it's uphill. You can also put your Sentry in the hut. The only way to take it out is by using a Demoman (or a skilled Soldier), or ranging it from the C side of the point, and this is where the next Sentry comes into play.
  • The left (if you're facing the BLU Respawn area) corner of the Control point. You should build it just outside of the Control point, but with the Sentry's back to the Control point (just before the corner of the Control point). The sole purpose of this Sentry is to cover the previous Sentry. You should build it so that you can stand inside the relative comfort of the Control point and still be able to heal the Sentry. This also protects the Sentry from splash damage. Note that this one has a slight weakness to the ramp entrance of the Control point due to the tracking time required to shoot from that direction.
  • On defense, build a Dispenser along the wall where the tunnel from the attacking team comes from. You should be able to jump, crouch, jump, crouch into the tunnel normally only accessible by the other team. Once the Dispenser begins building itself, you should rather find a small Ammo pack for just enough Metal for a Sentry. Four Engineers would just about completely halt the other team. Experienced enemy Spies would be able to sneak around and still cap spots if team-mates don't defend there. Well-placed, or lucky if you built your Sentry in a good position, grenades and Sticky bombs from a Demoman would cripple the Sentry in a short while. Heavies or Soldiers with Medics would dramatically hurt here as well.

• Capture point B
  • Behind the rocks by the left BLU Respawn area, facing directly away from the Respawn. By putting a Dispenser against the rocks, and then placing the Sentry against the Dispenser, you create an encampment that covers from the left side of the rocks, to the entrance of Capture point B. The rocks protect it from attacks from the Respawn area, and the angles make it hard to hit from the right point without being in range (though it is possible).
  • Under the left stairs leading from Capture point C to Capture point B (facing the way to Capture point C). Don't build it right against the wall, but rather build it such that the Sentry is pointing to the back entrance of Capture point B (with line of sight), and so that you can hide under the ramp with a Dispenser and repair it.

• Point C
  • On either ramp leading up to the tower (the big metal ones). The trick to making this Sentry deadly is in its position. You want it facing the tower, and back against the rock wall (use right click, and the Sentry should be at roughly a 45 degree angle). You also want to put it about 2/3rds of the way up the ramp, not at the top of the ramp. The idea is to build it such that when it's fully upgraded only the guns and Rocket Launcher are visible. This allows the Sentry to attack, but minimizes what is visible (due to the height difference, and the little wall at the entrance from Capture point B). One of these on each ramp, blocks all access to the tower, and can even hit people at the top.
  • On either of the second landings of the tower (in the corners). The ramps up to the 3rd landing protect it from the middle entrance to Capture point C, and it's in range to attack most people from the side entrances (except Soldiers). As long as you sit there and spam repair the Sentry, it should stay up with anything less than two Soldier's hitting it (or one Soldier who gets a pair of Critical hit Rocket's).

Well

• In the rafters over the first Control point. This is by far the longest set up, but if you get a Teleporter into the rafters, they'll have one hell of a time getting that first Control point. There are two ways of doing this:-
  1. Jump in front of the cabinet on the second level (right side) and drop a Teleporter exit on top of it. Next build your Sentry on top of the cabinet, just before the rafters, then jump up.
  2. Alternatively jump onto the trolley at the side of the cabinet on the second level (right side) and then up on the cabinet (you have to get timing right and make sure you're on the left side of the trolley). Next build your Sentry on top of the cabinet against the wall, just under the ledge. Jump on top of the Sentry and then onto the ledge.

Once you're up there, rebuild the Teleporter exit so you don't have to go through that procedure again. If you build the Teleporter exit all the way in the corner, it's not visible and almost impossible to destroy (barring the Demoman's Sticky bombs, but he will have to know exactly where it is). From here, you have several good Sentry positions. Just watch the line of sight to the Sentry, and just about everything is a good spot.

Note that some people consider this an exploit.

• On the little catwalks on either side of the second Control point. Build the Sentry in the corners further away from the point (where the Health pack spawns). If you build them close to the Control point, a Demoman or Soldier can splash damage them. By building them on the side of the opening further away from the Control point, you not only gain more attack area inside the Control point, but also cover it from most splash damage.

• Behind the first set of boxcars (between Control point 3 and Control point 2). If you build the Sentry about half way down the boxcar, it can't be splash damaged unless a Soldier Rocket jumps over the boxcar, or a Demoman throws grenades at it. This one works wonders as an Offensive Sentry as well.

• Against the wall facing Control point 3, in the enemies Sniper nest. Why the other team? Because it will take them longer to notice, and it's very unlikely that they'll come from your side when attacking the Control point. They'll either be jumping or Rocket jumping up to the Sniper nest (which is covered by the Sentry), or coming up the closer ramps (also covered by the Sentry). Just make sure it's all the way against the wall, and in front of the doorway (use your secondary attack to rotate it).

Hydro

TC_Hydro, due to its changing nature and layout, has no 'perfect' Sentry locations. There are however, a few very good ones, which are listed below:-

• On the metal landing at the flooded Control point (the one with the Control point on the raised area, with water all around).
• Behind the truck at the outside Control point (the one with the raised Control point on the little bridge).
• Under the stairs at the radar dish.
• At the end of the raised platform at the Control point inside the base.
• Under the Control point inside the base, at the back on the ground floor where the turbines are. If you position the Sentry on the corner of the alcove and a Dispenser behind you, you will be saved from most of the splash damage while using the Metal from your Dispenser to repair your Sentry. You wouldn't think it but the Sentry range does cover the Control point and the stairs. This is quite difficult for the enemy to take down if someone is covering you from the top rails, if they aren't, a Demoman or Soldier can take it out from above.

Dustbowl

• At Stage 1 - Point A, you can build a Sentry on the little landing inside the Control point. The only way to destroy this Sentry is to come from the mines, or with Sticky bombs.
• Also at Stage 1, but this time by the BLU Respawn area (same side as the Control point). You can build a Sentry on the back side of the little hut (facing the trench) and have it cover both the right (if you're facing BLU's Respawn area) and center entrances'.
• At Stage 1 - Point B, if you build a Sentry to the left (if facing the point) of the Control point, you can cover both the stairs, and the Control point while being very hard to splash damage.
• Also at Stage 1 - Point B inside the mine room, next to the one-way door. This will cut off two access routes for the enemy, and because of the Health that spawns, you'll be very hard to kill.
• When attacking Stage 2 Point A, put a Sentry in the dugout area. This will prevent enemy Pyros and other classes from rushing in and spawn camping.
• When defending Stage 2 Point A, put a Sentry nest on top of the Large Shed. Have another Engineer build a Dispenser up there to make it so you always have enough Metal for repairs. Build a Dispenser next to the ladder and have a Pyro stand next to it, constantly flaming the ladder. This will prevent enemy Spies from coming up there and sapping the nest.
• Stage 2 - Point A - Build a Sentry on the house to the left of the BLU Respawn area. While not invincible, it's a very hard spot and attack from the BLU Respawn area.
• Build a Sentry inside the Control point building on the second floor, but under the roof, at a spot where it can see both the stairs and the outside.
• Build a Sentry at the Control point building in front of the narrow hallway leading to the BLU Respawn area.
• Stage 2 - Point B - On the ground, facing the Control point in the left (if facing the BLU Respawn area) corner. It covers the Control point, and is hard to take out from most paths (the exception being the long path by the rocks).
• When Attacking Dustbowl Stage 3 Cap 1, build a Dispenser and Sentry right in between the two double grating doors. This will prevent enemies from attacking and will help refuel your allies who've been wounded.
• When defending Dustbowl Stage 3 Cap 1, build a Dispenser and Sentry on the loading docks. The Sentry will pin down the enemies coming through the double grating doors.
• Stage 3 - Point A - From RED Respawn area, there is a path that leads to an opening overlooking the first Control point, by building a Sentry here, and a Dispenser behind you, you can wedge yourself far enough back to not be hit by splash damage, but still repair the Sentry. The only way to take this Sentry out is with a Demoman, or multiple Soldiers.

Granary

Due to the layout of Granary, there are fewer 'good' Sentry placements. The few that are very good are:-.

• On the balcony of the Control point 2.
• By the machinery at the Control point 2.
• On the containers at the Control point 3.
• Under the ramp/pipe at the Control point 1.

• When placing Sentry guns on the containers at Control point 3, try to place it so that the gun can fire into the door at the top of the enemies' ramp room. This way, Soldiers cannot use this as cover to dodge in and out of to get a straight shot on your gun. This also covers both entryways, and makes it hard to splash damage without getting right underneath it.

Badlands

• Facing the window, overlooking the central bridge control point. As a level one, your sentry has just enough space to fire shots at the control point, without exposing too much of itself to be easily destroyed. Best if used when your team is already making an assault on the control point, often at the beginning of a match.

Badwater Basin

• At the first point, sentries can be placed behind both sets of rocks with health and ammo kits on defense to ambush unsuspecting scouts or charging enemies, as well as outside the exit to the tunnel and on the cliffs to hit attackers from above. Sentries and dispensers can also be put in the overhang next to the point to provide a safe zone from demomen firing over the hill and it is so cramped that spies will have a hard time backstabbing you and taking out your buildings. However, it is easily grenaded or stickied from the angle towards the tunnel exit, and if possible ask a Pyro or heavy to guard your equipment from soldiers, demomen and pyros.
• The roof is the primary area for defending with a sentry at the second point, as it oversees the entire section of tracks leading round the corner and onto the capture point. However, it can be easily attacked from behind by rocketjumping soldiers, demomen firing stickies around corners and enemies hiding behind the air duct system that divides the sides of the roof. Sentries can also be put in the alcove next to the capture point that has stairs going to the roof for good cover, on the ground floor ledge to the left of the tracks next to the point for a surprise tactic, and anywhere on the ground floor and out of sniper view to halt sudden enemy charges down the main corridor. In terms of teleporters, it is best to put them over the far side from spawn (the side with the roof) so teammates can bypass Sniper hotspots, and once again out of harm's way (this is especially important if they capture the point, as the forward spawn/shortcut from spawn is blocked and teleporters are the only way to get back).
• The third point has a gully with a full health and ammo kit for easy building, and is an excellent place to build as it prevents the cart being pushed any further without an uber. That said, it is easy for enemies to drop down from the above walkway and sap/destroy your buildings from behind, so caution is needed to prevent this (if they drop down with an uber, leave your sentry and build again/somewhere else when it is safe to do so). The balcony on the building overlooking the gully is another good spot, but requires constant maintenance as Soldiers and Snipers can pick off your sentry from the upper far right due to the sentry's range not reaching, and as the sentry is facing outwards it leaves your back open to spies if you are not careful. Sentries can be built either side of the capture point to attack enemies on either side, and if both spots are used are great for confusing ubers, but they can be easily destroyed with Sticky bombs.
• The last point only has a few 'safe' places to build that provide good defense, namely in the shadows underneath the walkways and overhangs. These spots are good because they keep your buildings hidden from view until the enemy rounds the corner, either of the main spots (underneath the main overhang and underneath the windows)being able to fire at attackers dropping down from above/out of the windows. Alternatively, a sentry could be built on the ramp the cart descends down to prevent their uber lasting into the main area, but it is easily destroyed by demomen or spies (it also leaves your back open to attacks from the windows).
• On offense, sentries should be put down after each area to prevent the attackers being pushed back, and teleporters should alwaus be kept running as a priority due to how large the map is. Until the third point is captured, BLU team uses their original spawn and so the exit will needed to be moved up after every capture along with the sentry, until the last point where the Teleporter entrance will need to be moved up and a final sentry will need to be put in the building at the 3rd point, aiming out to stop scouts and ubers harassing from behind. A sentry could also be put up at the beginning of the round outside the entrance to the tunnel, to prevent back attacks.

Gorge

• In the first yard, you can put a Sentry up behind the wall next to the hut with health and ammo. This will prevent enemies charging directly through to the main point area, but it is susceptible to Soldiers and Demomen jumping over the wall to take you out.
• The upper floor windows also are a good spot to build a Sentry as there is a metal pickup right next to the ideal spot. This configuration means friendly players can be safely teleported to an area out of the BLU team's and only far away enemies can attack your Sentry if you are defending. On offense, this setup allows you to keep the RED team from coming up behind your team via the upstairs room and walkways.
• At the point itself, putting a Sentry in the windows to the right on defense will let it oversee the entire bridge area and remain semi-hidden. This spot has a large weakness however, in that unless you point it away from the point it can be ambushed from the right side if you allow the BLU team to sneak along the walkway. To counteract this, ask for a player or two to stay near the sentry and prevent anybody coming along the right.
• Sentries can also be put up behind the crates or concrete blocks on the RED side of the bridge. These are especially useful to the team as they are behind cover and will often need a Dispenser to survive, but can be destroyed fairly easily by BLU Ubercharges.
• You can build Sentries anywhere on the raised walkways spanning the corridors between the points as a form of area denial, as they will be able to attack both the ground and first floors. This is especially apparent when you build a Sentry on the walway above the main door to the last point, as it prevents the RED team pushing back in and secures a safe zone for your team's healing/teleports.
• The last point has an overhang which is the perfect place for a Sentry and Dispenser, as it remains out of sight in the shadows and can be built up without the enemy's knowledge so they will be surprised when they push. This tactic works even better when multiple sentries are built, but be warned of Ubercharges and projectiles being fired down from the upper right walkways (being the only area that BLU can see under the overhangs).
• The corners adjacent to the main entrance to the last point also server as good Sentry hiding spots, either killing any weaker classes rushing directly for the point or slowly whittling down otherwise distracted heavy classes if left at level 1 or 2. The shadows of these corners also hide the Sentry further.

Junction

• The point area itself on A is a good Sentry spot as it watches over the entire area of A, with its only blind major blind spot being the lower BLU spawn (though if you use your Pistol or send friendly players to lock it down, this threat can be temporarily eliminated via deterring the enemy).
• The raised ledges around the B point provide good Sentry spots, covering the main open area outside the BLU spawn doors. However, building it too far to the left will make it vulnerable to attacks from the corridors going to A and C, so make sure your team is defending those well or that A has not been captured.
• The main Sentry placements in C are at the top of the stairs either side of the point, and on the walkways overseeing the many entrances to the zone. The further to the left you shift your Sentries, the less likely they are to be attacked from the B doors and windows, but the easier they are to kill with Ubercharges and Demomen arcing grenades (they also get further away from the point). As you shift your sentry to the right more, however, it becomes less likely to let enemies in through the bottom right and central doorways but will be more open to long range rockets and grenades from the far left doorway and windows.
• At C you can also put a Sentry on the top right ledge, overseeing the entire top level of the point. This is good for covering the point itself as it can see into the point room (to a degree) and prevents enemies from running up to the point from one side, but it can be easily rocketed from the far left or even directly below it like other far right sentries.

Pipeline

Section 1

• The elevated wooden platform to the right as you go towards the middle offers metal and a higher position to build a Sentry on. This place is also fairly close to the spawn, allowing your teammates to protect you.
• The elevated platform beside the final point is a bit cramped but offers a railing to protect your Sentry as well as a good view of any attacking players.

Section 2

• Building anywhere above your spawn where it can cover the many doorways is ideal, protecting your base while keeping enemies from flanking your teammates.
• Building a Sentry nest in the center of the map in the tunnel is difficult but very effective if it is fully upgraded. This is a good spot for a Teleporter as well, keeping your team near your cart.
• You can attempt to build a Sentry nest somewhere above the enemy spawn. It can be difficult for them to find and your team has easy access to their base.

Section 3

• A Sentry near the end of the track at the top of the map is difficult to destroy due to its location. This will allow for a Teleporter to bring your team closer to your cart.

See also

• Engineer match-ups
• How to play the Engineer