Community Engineer strategy

The Engineer is a unique class because of his ability to construct Buildings. He can get his teammates to the front lines faster with Teleporters, create a powerful Sentry Gun to ward off enemies and can build Dispensers to heal and supply ammunition to his teammates. The Engineer's low Health and average speed make it important for him to rely on his Sentry Gun, other Buildings, and his teammates for protection. While his ways can seem somewhat passive and methodical, Engineers are not to be underestimated. A talented Engineer can make it much easier for his team to hold its ground, keep up the pressure on the attack, and defend vital objectives such as Control points and Intelligence.

Quick Tips

• A team without an effective engineer is at an extreme disadvantage. The price of being a team player is sometimes boredom (guarding the flag). Try to wait for another player to pick up engineer before you switch classes.

• Always stay close to your constructions. Even an unguarded sentry gun is vulnerable to spies, demo men, and soldiers.

• The teleporter doesn't get you kills, but it's your most important contribution. Shuttling piles of teammates back to the front line quickly is more effective than maintaining a stationary, predictable sentry gun.

• Everything builds faster if you repeatedly strike it with the wrench to hurry it up.

• You can construct a building in safety, then right-click to move it to the battle. If you die while carrying it, though, it's destroyed. You can even carry buildings through teleporters!

• You can help other engineers by hurrying-along their constructions, or by repairing their existing buildings.

• Your shotgun and pistol are not useless. Peck away at the enemy.

• When another engineer has defense covered, experiment with offensive sentry gun, dispenser, and teleporter placements.

General

Building

• Striking placed Buildings with the Wrench will cause them to build twice as fast as when they are left alone to erect themselves. This effect stacks with each additional Engineers striking the building with their Wrench during construction.

• Crouching after jumping will allow the Engineer to stand on his Buildings.

• Alternate fire allows the Engineer to "haul" Buildings and move them to new locations to redeploy. While hauling a Building you will move slower (slightly slower than a Heavy) and you are unable to switch weapons. If you are killed while carrying a Building, that Building will be lost.
  • A redeploying Building will construct faster than normal without help from an Engineer, though you can still speed-build the structure even faster by hitting it with your Melee weapon. Once built, if the Building has already been upgraded to Level 2 or 3, it will then undergo the animations for deploying to those levels as well. Just as when building and upgrading a Building normally, you cannot speed-build or upgrade during these "upgrade" animations (your Melee weapon will make a duller sound if you hit a Building during these animations).
  • With the Jag equipped striking the redeploying building will cause it to redeploy even faster, so it is a good idea to always strike the building in order to maximize efficiency.
  • While it is possible to repair damage done while a Building is redeploying/unpacking, this applies only to damage it receives during the redeploying process. If a Building is hauled into its new location already damaged, then this damage cannot be repaired until it fully redeploys and is functioning. Basically, a Building that is redeployed begins with the same amount of health that it had before it was packed up and moved, and this health is the Building's maximum health while it is rebuilding.
  • If you are hauling a Building and you encounter any enemy whatsoever, immediately place your Building somewhere! Depending on who you encounter, you should then either run away or try to fight off the threat. Be extra careful hauling a Building through an area where you cannot build as this option will not be open to you. If you are going into enemy territory carrying a Building, it's essential to have another teammate around to cover you.
  • Get Soldiers with the Disciplinary Action equipped to boost your speed by hitting you. This shortens the time that you're vulnerable while hauling your Building. It also gives you a teammate to cover you.
• You can rotate the placement of a Building while the blueprint is out by pressing the secondary fire button. 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 or help conceal its location by preventing the two brightly lit panels on either side from facing outwards.
• 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. Also build near locations with ammunition pickups to speed up construction. Ask your teammates to leave the pickups for you and promise them a Dispenser in return.
• Your Sentry Gun can damage you. If an enemy runs through your Sentry Gun's line of fire and you get caught between the Sentry Gun and the enemy, your Gun will fire at you causing damage and possibly a humiliating death.
• If the game goes to Sudden death mode, make sure to build a Dispenser first to provide health for your teammates and Metal for yourself, as the Resupply locker is disabled and Health pickups are not available. But, Ammo pickups are available.
• Build a Teleporter entrance outside the Respawn area, and a Teleporter exit at a location of interest. Many Engineers often forget to place a Teleporter Entrance right when they spawn and have to come all the way back later to do so. 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 disguised enemy Spies can use them to gain access). Nothing beats a forward exit deep inside enemy territory. Care should be observed when placing your Teleporter; plant the entrances in obvious, but considerate places. Be careful about placing Teleporters on stairs to slow enemy movement, as under-fire teammates rushing back for health are just as liable to get caught on them as enemies are if not more so. See Teleporter Placement for more information.
  • Hiding your Teleporter Exit (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: Clever enemies will often camp unguarded Teleporter Exits killing anyone who comes through before they can possibly react. Teammates will often be upset when this happens, so you should take care to remedy this, and destroy or move your exit to prevent more teammates being killed.
  • Take the time after building Teleporters to inform your team of their position. Players may be hesitant to use them if they don't immediately see them or know where they lead to, so make sure they know everything about the Teleporter.
• All Buildings with the exception of the Combat Mini-Sentry begin their construction with almost no health. Avoid starting construction of a Building in an area that is under fire or within sight of enemies.
• The more Metal you can get when building in a hostile area the better. A dead player's weapon grants 100 Metal, which can considerably speed up the construction or upgrading of buildings. Good Engineers always keep an eye out -- or they make their own Metal by killing enemies themselves. Don't go after fallen weapons or enemies for Metal if it exposes you to mortal danger, but sometimes the reward is worth a few risks.
• Switching to a different melee weapon at a Resupply Locker will destroy all Buildings you own, even if you are switching between the Wrench and the Southern Hospitality or the Jag. Make sure you are using the melee weapon you want to be using before you start any Buildings.
• Be considerate when using the Metal from other Engineers' Dispensers. They may be relying on that Metal to build and repair, so don't leech from them unless your need outweighs theirs, or you are going to help them out. Communication is vital to teamwork, so ask before you take the metal.
• Keep a Sentry Gun's range in mind. Placing it in open areas makes it easy to take out with rockets and Sniper Rifle shots, even with the Wrangler. The bestSentry Gun location is in a small area where the range just barely covers the distance to the entrance. This makes it impossible to be out of range, plus close-range classes can't get close enough to inflict heavy damage to your Sentry Gun.
• Build in high places to allow you to have a full sight of the battlefield. If the battlefield is too open, it is a good idea to bring the Wrangler to allow you to kill enemies beyond the normal sentry range. Building in high places allows you to kill unaware enemies before they realise that they are being killed.

Advanced

• 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 microphone, to help communicate about the status and location of your Buildings, as well as call for help when they're being sapped.

• When more than one Engineer is building a sentry in an area, work together upgrading one sentry to level 3 before building the second Sentry Gun, as the level 3 sentry will easily out-damage two level 1 Sentry Guns.

• One Engineer can cover the buildings of more than one Engineer, leaving them free to set up Sentry Guns, Dispensers, and Teleporters on other areas.

• All enemy players including 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. See Dispenser Placement or the section on Spies for more specific information. Spies also cannot walk through Teleporters if you place them on stairs, although neither can teammates.

• Any teammate that is not doing something more important (such as a Medic building an ÜberCharge) can be enlisted to switch to Engineer for a brief time to help you build and can then switch back to another Class. They can be very helpful by upgrading a Teleporter entrance while the Engineer goes to place the Teleporter exit.

• 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 explosives or other "splash" damage and makes it easier for an enemy Spy to sap everything. In addition, remember that friendly Buildings block the line of sight and line of fire of friendly Sentry Guns. While building two Dispensers together does provide excellent healing, the Sentry Guns 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 support your team 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 too long 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 halt an enemy attack, 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 very little you can do to save your Buildings if the Demoman wants them dead—it's better to live to build another day than to go down with the ship. If you are using the Frontier Justice, staying alive is also important to preserve any Revenge Critical hits you may have collected.

• 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, and also stay near friendly players for protection during their periods of vulnerability.

• 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 Gun 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 their Buildings, Engineers are easily the weakest combat Class, having no advantage in speed, hitpoints, firepower, or any means of escape like the Spy's Cloak. While it is important to fight with your weapons to help your Buildings, do not overestimate how much damage you can cause—and how much you can withstand. 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 Gun after they die to it once or twice. They will either avoid it or begin to attack it in force with help from their team. During lulls in the fighting, relocate 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 to reduce the period of vulnerability if you rebuild is also desirable. 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. Worry about putting them in the perfect place later. A badly placed Sentry Gun or Dispenser is still better than no Sentry Gun 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 Gun 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 poor 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 Sentry 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, 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. The Dispenser should often be close enough to the Sentry Gun to provide an ongoing supply of health and metal to easily allow you to heal either building.

• You can crouch behind a level 3 Sentry Gun and use it as a shield against a lot of incoming attacks while you repair, however it is not a perfect shield. It is still possible to get sniped, and the splash damage from explosions can still reach you unless your Sentry Gun is directly between the explosion and you or there is some other intervening cover. Sentry Guns also do not block the fire from the Pyro's Flamethrower.

• If the enemy takes out the Sentry Gun of both you and your teammate, consider rebuilding one gun at a time, to get it to the highest level faster in your time of need. A level 3 Sentry Gun is much better than two level 1 Sentry Guns. However, two level 2 Sentry Guns is better than one level 3. The same goes for Dispensers and Teleporters.

• Building yourself into a corner (with a Sentry Gun and Dispenser on either side) may help protect you from Backstabs and sapping, since a Spy has to jump both onto the Dispenser and you to Backstab you, and with you swinging your Wrench, you are Spy safe. However, this is not a reliable defense for any non-Spy related attacks.

• Many Engineers often place a Sentry Gun and immediately run back to a supply room or large ammo pickup 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 Gun 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 Gun, leaving your Sentry Gun still at level 1 after using up a full Metal load. It is good to get into the habit of speed-building your Sentry Gun 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 Gun to the next level.

• Don't build Sentry Guns facing into hallways unless you have cover from your teammates, 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. (See Sentry Gun Placement for more help on where to place Sentry Guns)

• 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 Gun that it will not be destroyed when the Demoman triggers them, or may buy your teammates 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 you're fighting an enemy, and you're in a spot of bother, consider popping a Sentry Gun down in front of him. This wastes a valuable few seconds, but it can ensure your survival as your enemy has the decision of trying to finish you off before the Sentry Gun is built, or destroying the Sentry Gun but opening himself from your attack. This is most effective when using Combat Mini-Sentry Guns or if you're caught hauling a Sentry Gun, since in both these situations the Sentry Gun builds faster than normal and deploys at full health.

• Always build in unpredictable places, that way you will have the element of surprise, but be careful, if you stay with your buildings too long in the same spot, the enemy will build an ÜberCharge and destroy all you stuff.

• 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, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the Engineer class. Engineers are good at holding down areas, protecting objectives, and providing logistical support for allies, but are weak in other areas such as hunting down enemies and pushing into well-defended areas. 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 Gravel Pit 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 attempt to build them, it's time to think about switching to a Class that can jump right into the fight.

Spies

Spies are typically the worst enemy an Engineer can face and are usually considered to be the Engineer's "hard counter". No other Class can cause the Engineer so many problems with as little effort as a Spy. This is because of the Spy's ability to attack the Engineer's most valuable asset, his Buildings, without fear of being auto-targeted by the Sentry Gun, and often without giving the Engineer any advance warning of his approach. The ability to Sap alone makes the Spy more than a match for the Engineer in a strategic sense. Sappers shut down your Buildings immediately, leaving them effectively "destroyed" until you de-sap them. A Sentry Gun that gets Sapped right as other enemies attack you is usually impossible for a lone Engineer to stop.

As if that weren't enough, the Spy can even use your own Buildings against you by using your own Teleporters to Telefrag you, or by stealing health and recharging his Cloak from your Dispenser. For these reasons a Spy is one of the few one-on-one matchups that the Engineer often cannot handle alone in crucial situations even if he is skilled at Spy killing and protecting himself from Backstabs. However it isn't all bad. One of the reasons you are so often the target of Spies is because your Sentry Gun, if well placed, creates a "no free Backstab" zone for them. Strategically, this works to the advantage of your team even if it is hectic for you, since you cover them from Backstabs and force Spies to reveal themselves by attacking you.

With the release of the Mann-Conomy Update the Spy has gained some new tricks that make him even more dangerous to Engineers. Spies using Your Eternal Reward can now Backstab without dropping their disguise, which will make Spies using it much less afraid of attacking you or your allies within range of an active Sentry Gun. However it is important to note that only successful Backstabs result in an immediate disguising, a failed stab attempt will leave the Spy revealed for all to see, including a Sentry Gun. Just remember not to make yourself look like an easy target by facing in the same direction for long.

The bottom line is that containing Spies is a team effort. Where you as an Engineer are concerned, your best defense is having someone else on your team around to help you in case you are attacked. Try to never be isolated, and always communicate and call for help as you need it. Here are some more specific tips for dealing with Spy attacks.

• Spies can hide anywhere and can appear at anytime, as such you cannot rely solely on your Sentry Gun to protect you. Your best defense against Spies is your own level of alertness. Remember, it's usually never a matter of "if" but "when". Even while camping your position, stay moving to make yourself a difficult target for Ambassador headshots and Backstabs. Periodically Spy-check with your weapons or the Wrangler.

• As a rule, do not camp behind your Sentry Gun and crouch all the time. Only do this when it is actually under attack. The reasoning behind this is that all a Spy has to do is come in under his Cloak, jump onto your head where you cannot see him, and decloak. From here, he can stab you and sap all of your buildings. If he stabs you while he is above you, it still counts as a backstab. It takes practice to do this however, so follow this rule as other players' skills allow. But beware of this tactic as it can reduce all of your buildings to rubble very quickly.

• If you build a Dispenser behind you and a Sentry Gun in front of you, be very careful of staying in between them. A Spy can uncloak/remove a Disguise behind your Dispenser. This will keep them unseen by the Sentry Gun and teammates, or will make the Sentry Gun turn around and kill you. But, the Dispenser blocks the bullets/rockets from hitting the Spy. 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 Gun. Plus, remember that a Backstab can work even from as little as a 90 degree angle to the direction you are facing. Having just a Dispenser at your back will not protect you.

• Kill the Spy! A good Spy will often appear without warning, quickly sap your Sentry Gun, and start attacking you immediately with his Revolver or Knife. Especially if you are alone. If you come under attack in this way, don't worry about your Buildings, since a Spy can place Sappers faster than you can remove them. The first step is to identify the Spy if he is still disguised. It's important to not try to repair your Buildings before knowing where the Spy is or you will be setting yourself up to be Backstabbed. Empty your Shotgun into the Spy or suspicious teammates first. You're most likely a good enough shot to kill a Spy with this alone, but if you miss or the Spy somehow survives, don't reload. Switch to another weapon immediately to save time.

• A strategy for attacking Spies who recently sapped your buildings is to hit each sapped building once and then kill the Spy. Each Electro Sapper takes two hits to remove and by hitting them once, so you take less time removing them after the Spy is gone. You won't risk the living Spy sapping your buildings after you remove them, and you can plan how to kill the Spy while hitting the Sappers.

• You can "bait" an enemy Spy by leaving a Teleporter on the way to your position. If the area is quiet, few Spies will resist sapping it, which will alert you 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 Gun to stall a Spy briefly, as inexperienced players will sap everything in sight. The extra second could be the difference between saving your Sentry Gun or not, and it will also help you identify the Spy before your retaliation.

• It takes two swings of the Wrench to remove an Electro Sapper. Most of the time, you should save your Dispenser first, as it will break from an Electro Sapper faster than an upgraded Sentry Gun, 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 Gun first. On some maps your Teleporter can actually be your most important building as it allows your team to keep a constant stream of reinforcements going. Losing your Teleporter is especially annoying due to the fact that you will lose both ends of it, requiring you to travel all the way to your Spawn to replant your Entrance. Teleporters take the longest to die from Sappers, but you should still try to save them. Deciding which Building to save first always depends on the circumstances. Practice is the best guide.

• If possible, ask a Pyro with the Homewrecker to stay near your buildings when you suspect an imminent Spy attack; the Pyro can perform Spy checks using their Flamethrower and will be able to remove Sappers from buildings should you die or leave your buildings. However, don't use the Pyro as a replacement for staying near your buildings; a Pyro can kill Spies and remove Sappers, but cannot heal your buildings.

• While being in a crowd of your own teammates usually helps you defend against Spies more easily, it can sometimes be difficult to pick out which one of your "teammates" is actually a Spy placing Sappers. Even though placing Sappers will not break a Disguise, the disguised Spy will actually move its hand in a "placing" motion at your Building when it does so. This is subtle but you can use it pick out the Spy in a crowd. If you are letting your team deal with the Spy while you remove Sappers, keep your back to something!

• A creative Spy will often disguise as an Engineer to try to fool you and your allies into thinking he is an Engineer trying to remove Sappers when he is in fact the one sapping. They may even use the voice command warning about Spies to add to the deception. Watch for teammates who aren't swinging or firing their weapons, as a disguised Spy cannot attack.

• If you have Revenge Crits, try to save some of them for the inevitable Spy attack. Having a glowing Frontier Justice out can be enough on its own to deter a Spy, and if it doesn't, deter it with a Critical hit. While it's true that you might waste a shot on a Dead Ringer, don't be afraid to do it. A Spy who feigns death likely won't be attacking you for at least a short duration, giving you time to call for help.

• The Level 3 Sentry Gun can sometimes be more of a curse than a blessing against Spies due to its propensity to fire rockets that can easily kill you if a Spy is undisguised right next to you. A single Knife stab plus some untimely Sentry friendly fire can easily kill you, leaving your Buildings undefended until you respawn even if the Spy is also killed. Beware of de-sapping your Level 3 Sentry if a Spy is close to you and you are damaged -- instead try to kill the Spy and then de-sap, or wait for the Spy to be a safe distance away before de-sapping.

Medics

The Engineer and his Buildings face many threats on the battlefield, but three in particular are especially dangerous: 1) explosive projectiles from the Soldier and Demoman 2) Spies 3) Medics. Medics are dangerous for two main reasons. First, their ability to heal damage and Overheal can make even the fragile classes much more durable, and can erase any non-lethal damage they receive from wandering into range of your Sentry Gun. The second reason is ÜberCharges. One of the primary uses of ÜberCharges is to overrun Engineer positions, and because of this you will often find yourself and your Buildings the direct targets of invulnerable foes. While there is no "magic bullet" strategy that can allow you to counter them, knowing how to respond to ÜberCharges properly is still important. When executed properly, successfully fending off an Über can be one of the most satisfying experiences of playing Engineer. The most important thing to remember is that if you are a lone Engineer, a well-executed Über will usually overrun you, causing you to lose most of your Buildings and often your life. It's simple math: an ÜberCharge is a tactic involving at least two players (potentially more) and you are only one. Get help! As with Spies, dealing with enemy Medics and their ÜberCharges is a team effort needing contributions from every team member. That said, here are some important tips that an Engineer can use to defend himself.

• The four most common Übered enemies you will encounter attacking your position are Pyros, Heavies, Soldiers, and Demomen. Any one of them can take you out if they are invulnerable. See Engineer Match-ups for more information.
• One of your best assets when going up against invulnerable enemies is the strong "knockback" of your Sentry Gun. The force of the bullets and rockets hitting enemies will push back against their forward movement and slow down their attempts to get close. If your Sentry Gun fires on an enemy who is in mid-air, they will be launched skywards or blown across the map, which is not only amusing but usually means the end of that particular threat.
• One of your best defenses against ÜberCharges is to have advance warning of them. Do your best to keep tabs on which enemies are approaching your position. Ask for information from teammates on the lookout, and listen. If you hear a Medic say "I am fully charged!" then get ready! The Medi Gun of a fully charged Medic also glows and crackles, so look/listen for that. It pays to be actively looking around and paying attention to other important information such as the Kill reporter (See: Head-up display). Do NOT simply sit passively behind your Sentry Gun. Information is a weapon.
• Once you know that an Über is imminent, you have to make a decision: fight or flight! Do you attempt to hold your ground as best you can, or do you give it up for lost and retreat ASAP? Experience is the best teacher here, but these are a few important things to remember:
  • Do you have support? What kind of support is it?
  • Do you have somewhere to run to?
  • How important to your team is holding your current position? Will holding on as long as possible help the most, or will your survival?
• If you hold your ground, generally you are risking your life for the sake of trying to keep your Sentry Gun alive until the enemy Über has run its course, allowing your team to continue to hold down that area. If the enemy manages to get at point-blank range, you will most likely fail, particularly if you are repairing your Sentry Gun as it takes damage. Smart enemies will attempt to eliminate you first, and if you sit next to your Sentry Gun you make this easy. The success of this strategy depends on your Sentry Gun placement; some positions are much safer to repair from while under fire than others, usually ones that allow you to repair while around a corner. If you can hold your opponents at arm's length, they will do less damage to you (though not your Sentry Gun) than they would up close (See: Damage) and you'll have an easier time staying alive while repairing, especially if you are in range of your Dispenser. You can also switch to the Wrangler briefly to activate the shield, but keep in mind that this turns off the automatic firing, often putting you at risk if you want to aim at anything.
• Alternately, you can strike a middle-ground using the Wrangler to make a "fighting retreat" -- activate the Wrangler but keep your distance, and simply use your shielded Sentry Gun to stall your opponents as long as possible. This can also prevent your Sentry Gun from firing uselessly at invulnerable enemies. If you're lucky, your Sentry Gun might even outlast the Über, but if it doesn't at least you escaped to build again.
• Finally, you can make a "preemptive" retreat. If you know an Über is imminent or it has just deployed, pick up your Sentry Gun immediately and make a run for it. This is a risky strategy, since your slow speed while doing this can easily get you caught and killed. Not only are you abandoning your position without a fight, you are risking both yourself and your Sentry Gun anyway. Do this if you know you can find a good fallback position and you think that something else will occupy your enemy's attention if you leave, covering your retreat. If you want to get fancy, you can even make an "escape" Teleporter that leads away from the front line and make a quick and clean getaway—though this usually means your Teleporter will not be fulfilling its usual function of transporting your teammates into the fight.
  • Alternately you can leave your Sentry to buy time and instead flee with your Dispenser. This should only be attempted if you have a high level Dispenser or one that is well-stocked with Metal. Your Sentry will be destroyed, but you will have plenty of resources from your Dispenser to easily deploy another nest quickly in a safer location.
• Beware of the Kritzkrieg. While your Buildings do not take extra damage from Critical hits, you certainly do, and your life is your Buildings' life in most cases. Critical attacks are one of the major reasons it is never a good idea to simply hide behind your Sentry Gun without having vision of what is approaching your position, since a single Critical rocket can kill you instantly and clever opponents will try to eliminate you with the splash. However, if you are on the ball, your Sentry Gun position can be an excellent way to counter Kritzkriegs. There aren't many things that can survive a full clip of Critical Rockets or Grenades but a Level 3 Sentry Gun being Wrangled or repaired is one of them.

Pyros

To return to an earlier point, having support from your team is very important. For you as an Engineer your best friend is often an allied Pyro. Explosive projectiles, Spies, and ÜberCharges are your major enemies, and Pyros are excellent for countering all three! Pyros can keep Spies off your back (literally), de-sap your Buildings, Compression Blast away incoming Rockets, Grenades, and Sticky Bombs, and easily disrupt invulnerable enemies. In addition, you can be an excellent friend to Pyros. Pyros love to hunt down Spies and you are excellent Spy bait. Pyros also run out of ammunition and health often when spamming their flames, airblasting, and getting up close and personal to enemies, and your Dispenser can keep them recharged. Enemies often tend to collect behind cover just outside of your Sentry Gun's range, planning their attack—and this can play right into the hands of a cunning Pyro. Finally, Pyros in general do poor damage at mid to long range, and benefit greatly from having the cover of a Sentry Gun. Get your team's Pyros to work with you!

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 teammates a lot of time getting back to the front line after being killed. As of the December 11, 2008 Patch, one Level Three Teleporter has the efficiency of five 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 to half its build time. You then switch to the Shotgun and start blasting to distract enemies from its build time. When things get tough run away towards your Sentry Gun (hopefully it has survived, but listen for the 'Sentry Gun down' sound to be sure) and the Sentry Gun 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 take down a few opponents before its destruction. This also combats the tendency for Engineer-heavy teams to start Turtling.

• Setting up a base with a Teleporter, a Dispenser and a Sentry Gun 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.

• Forward Sentry Gun placement can be a real headache for the opposing team. Place a level 1 or 2 and quickly build it with your Wrench, or switch to Shotgun and blast away at some enemies. If you remain in the proximity of your Sentry Gun, you will get a few quick kills, especially if you lure the opponents around a corner hiding the Sentry Gun. The trick is not to become attached to a particular position: a soon as you have a couple of kills, move off to a new spot to set up your ambush point.

• Alternative means of offensive Engineering have become possible thanks to the Engineer update. Buildings can now be packed up and moved without destroying them, colloquially referred to as 'hauling' a building. This way, an Engineer can build a Level 2 or 3 building in relative safety, pack it up, and haul it to the desired location. This method is high risk versus high reward, as you are significantly slower and unable to defend yourself until the Building is set down.

• If you plan on hauling a sentry into position, it is best to leave it one strike away from being upgraded, as this will save precious time by allowing it to attack enemies without having to go through the upgrade animations.

• The ability to haul an upgraded Sentry Gun and have it rapidly redeploy in an offensive position where it can gun down enemies is a very effective tactic. Not only will you have a Sentry Gun in a place where it can really sink its teeth into the enemy, but you yourself can have a full 200 metal to build another structure or repair. Remember however that your Sentry Gun is very vulnerable during its "unpacking" animation, particularly if it is a Level 3 Gun. Consider instead using a Level 2 Gun that is 25 metal or less away from Level 3 to shorten this vulnerability and give you some options. A Level 2 Sentry Gun has the same "hitscan" (direct bullet damage) firepower as a Level 3 and will take less time to unpack and start firing, which is advantageous if it comes under fire while unpacking (though it does have less health). Having it almost fully upgraded also gives you the option to bring it to Level 3 yourself whenever you want to. (Note: A little known fact is that a Sentry Gun that is 25 metal or less away from the next level ignores ammunition refills to upgrade to the next level. Not counting repairing damage done to the Sentry Gun, it will never take more than one melee hit and 25 metal to take such a Sentry to the next level)
  • There is a risky tactic where you team up with a Medic and receive an ÜberCharge while you move your Sentry Gun into its offensive position. If you have a good Medic, you can use your invulnerability to act as a living shield for the Sentry Gun while it deploys. You will also reduce the damage the Sentry Gun will take until it finishes deploying and starts firing. Conventional wisdom states that Medics should rarely give their Übers to Engineers on an offensive push, but in this instance it can be a more devastating tactic than Übering other characters. Since it will almost guarantee the Sentry Gun's completion inside of enemy territory, it also works as an excellent diversion since constructing Sentry Guns tend to attract a lot of attention from the enemy.
  • Alternatively, have a Pyro accompany and defend you while unpacking with its Airblast.

• Normal Sentry Guns take a while to build. Consider using the Gunslinger to build a Combat Mini-Sentry Gun. A Mini-Sentry builds 4 times faster, though they deal half as much damage and cannot be repaired. While using a Mini-Sentry, it is best to defend it with your Shotgun from enemies. It's also good to distract enemies while your Mini-Sentry shoots them. Remember to stay close and fight alongside it!

• See the sections on the other Engineer unlockable weapons below for more information on how to play Engineer offensively.

Setup time

• Setup time serves two purposes for either team. For Medics, it is a time to build ÜberCharges, and for Engineers it is the only time to build a base with a guarantee of no interruption. For the defending (RED) team in particular, it is up to the Engineers to create the fortifications that the team will rely on to hold its ground as long as possible. Setup time is one of the primary advantages of the defending team, and games are often decided by how well the defending Engineers make use of it.

• To make the best use of Setup time, it is important to know ahead of time where effective spots to build are and the best way to set up your buildings the fastest.

• In general, a good use of Setup time will result in all of your buildings either built or nearly finished and your Sentry Gun upgraded to at least Level 2. However, depending on how soon you expect to see enemies near your buildings, you may wish to concentrate on upgrading a Dispenser or Teleporter before your Sentry Gun.

• Communicate with the other Engineers on your team so that you do not fight over available metal or build locations. As stated earlier, Engineers are not as effective if they all clump up their buildings in the same spot. Try to keep tabs on where the other Engineers on your team are building and adjust accordingly.

• As stated earlier, moving fast is essential. Sixty seconds is a very short amount of time in which to set up a good base, and even a few wasted seconds can be fatal in more forward build locations. It is often the most forward locations that are the most effective early on, so make good use of the time.

• Make sure you inform your teammates not to steal your ammo packs! They shouldn't need to be shooting their weapons during Setup time in the first place, but a rocket jumping Soldier might take what could have been 200 metal from you without thinking.

• In maps without class limits on Engineer, try to get some non-Medic players (Medics need to build Übers) to switch to Engineer temporarily to help you build your Teleporter or other buildings. Help from other Engineers is usually the only way to have all of your buildings in place and fully upgraded in just sixty seconds. After helping to build, the other players can suicide before switching classes, leaving additional Metal for the remaining Engineers in the form of dropped weapons. Though respawn times can slow their return to the front lines.

• As of the Engineer Update, it is now possible to move constructed Buildings around one at a time using the alternate fire button. Engineers may consider building either their Sentry Gun or Dispenser right outside of a Resupply locker to take advantage of the unlimited metal and then carry it with them to their eventual build location. This has the advantage of avoiding fights over vital ammunition boxes out in the field. But keep in mind that you will move much slower (slightly below a Heavy's run speed) while carrying a Building.
  • Another possibility is to start building your Teleporter entry and Sentry Gun or Dispenser outside of the resupply locker, then run and place the Teleporter exit where you want to locate your Buildings. Run back or suicide ("kill" in console if there is no convenient cliff to jump off), grab your Sentry Gun or Dispenser, and use your Teleporter to move it up.
    • This strategy works especially well when you have a teammate upgrade your Sentry Gun while you are placing the Teleporter exit.

• If you have good coordination with the other Engineers on your team, there are some advanced techniques that can be used to get very effective setups. Such a procedure for the defending (RED) team might look something like this:
  1. Every Engineer plants a Teleporter Entrance outside of spawn. Then all of them remain in spawn except one.
  2. This one Engineer immediately runs to near the starting gates and plants his Teleporter Exit, and then uses available Metal to start and build his other Buildings.
  3. Meanwhile, the other Engineers that remained behind use the unlimited metal from the Resupply locker in spawn to quickly upgrade their Sentry Guns and Teleporter Entrances, as well as the Entrance left behind by the Engineer that planted his Exit. They are not building any Dispensers at this time.
  4. Once the first Engineer's Teleporter is active and fully upgraded, the Engineers that built in spawn teleport carrying their constructed Sentry Guns and 200 Metal each. They each spread out to where they wish to set up their bases and then plant their Sentry Guns and begin their Dispensers. They use available Metal to upgrade their Dispensers and finally plant their own Teleporter Exits when they are ready.

In this way, multiple well upgraded Engineer bases can be built very far forward near the starting gates on maps like Dustbowl, and the bases can go up even in areas without existing Metal pickups since most of the construction occurred in spawn. The time it normally takes to haul Buildings is drastically reduced through use of a Teleporter.

Weapon Specific

Weapon Combinations
Combo			Usage
Shotgun	Wrangler	Southern Hospitality	For a purely defensive Engineer. This combination allows the Engineer to hold positions against attack, albeit with high cost in Metal and upgrade time. The Wrangler provides important long-range ability and defensive options, although it increases the Engineer's reliance on having a functioning, upgraded, and well-placed Sentry Gun. Wrangling also makes it more difficult to repair and can leave you open to Spies and flank attacks. Teamwork and nearby support is therefore vital when working with this -- do not go it alone. This type of Engineer will try to preserve his Sentry Gun as much as possible and use your Shotgun to weaken the enemies or kill the Spy in range. The Southern Hospitality provides excellent defense against Spies and prevents them from escaping via invisibility, however your weakness to fire can make any sort of offensive pushing that much more risky.
Frontier Justice	Pistol	Jag	For a advanced supportive Engineer. This build allows you to deploy your buildings quickly with the 30% faster construction rate from the Jag. This can give you more time to walk around and help maintain the buildings of other Engineers. The Revenge Crits will become useful if your sentry happens to be destroyed. The Pistol provides an alternative firearm and is great for conserving your Revenge Crits. You can freely use the Wrangler instead for long-range offense with your sentry to keep your opponents at bay. Though this will distract you from your other buildings.
Shotgun	Wrangler	Jag	It follows pretty much like advanced supportive Engineer but there are small changes. You can use your Wrangler to dispatch Snipers quickly and weaken enemies at the long distance. But having no bonus health causes you to get easily killed. This can also be a good loadout for an Engineer who likes to try and build behind the enemy lines. The Jag helps build up the base more quickly and the Wrangler can help the Engineer build on some unusual locations.
Shotgun	or Pistol or Wrangler	Gunslinger	The Gunslinger geared toward an assault oriented Engineer, and thus, to maximize his firepower, is best to combine with a Shotgun. Typically, the Pistol maximizes the Engineer's personal firepower at close to mid-range and allows you to pincer opponents with Combat Mini-Sentry Guns, and gives opponents two targets to worry about. The Shotgun is for close range ambushing and for finishing off injured enemies. As the Mini Sentry is weaker and has less health than standard Sentry Gun, the Engineer must rely less on his Sentry Gun and more able use the Sentry Gun as a weapon alongside his other guns. However, using Wrangler allows a much longer range attack due to the high accuracy of a wrangled Sentry Gun, but will require the Engineer to have good aim in order to maximize the Shotgun's potential at longer ranges. This is especially helpful in fast-paced CP servers, where depending on the situation, the Engineer may set up the Sentry defensively to prevent a capture or offensively to prevent the enemy from interfering with a capture. When compared to Wrenches, the lower metal cost and setup time of the mini-sentry allow a base to be readily setup, which can be important in arena/KoTH games.
Frontier Justice	Wrangler	Jag	For the Engineer that likes to control his Sentry Gun. The Jag allows you to quickly deploy your Sentry Guns and the Wrangler will allow you to take manual control of the Sentry Gun. If the Sentry Gun is destroyed while you are off getting metal, at least you will be able to receive revenge crits. An important aspect of this set is that you should deploy your Sentry Gun somewhere secret, then slowly move it to the front lines while (hopefully) being accompanied by a Medic. The Frontier Justice is superior to the Shotgun in this set because you will receive revenge crits while using the Frontier Justice. You are also not required a large magazine size, since you will be spending most of the time defending yourself with the Sentry Gun than with a Shotgun.

Shotgun

• The Shotgun will always work well 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 after 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 the Spy's general direction when one is fleeing. Usually the spread will allow for at least one pellet to hit the Spy, giving you an idea of where he went.

• Disguised Spies tend to instinctively dodge buildings if shot at with the Shotgun. Don't hesitate to empty a couple of shells and a mag of Pistol ammo into a 'teammate' if you suspect a Spy, since you will have plenty of ammo to spare. Two to three Shotgun shells is enough to kill a Spy at close range.

• The Shotgun is also great for warding off Demomen, both inside and outside your Sentry Gun nest (such as when collecting metal or simply checking on an objective or chokepoint). The Engineer's relatively quick movement speed allows him to dodge grenades and hurriedly placed stickybombs with some ease, so long as you avoid predictable movement patterns such as walking in a straight line. Just remember not to chase him into sticky traps, and you should be able to scare him off with several well-placed shells.

• The Shotgun works well when paired with a Sentry Gun. If your Sentry Gun is not in any immediate danger, you can afford to stop tanking your gun for a minute and whip out your Shotgun to deal some extra damage against enemies.
  • You can also use your Shotgun to chase down and finish off enemies that have hidden in cover from your Sentry Gun. They will usually be too focused on the Sentry Gun to expect you coming, and they will have probably taken heavy damage from your gun.

• The Shotgun can be more useful to use than the Frontier Justice if, A) you prefer fighting alongside your Sentry as opposed to letting it get all the action, B) your Sentry Gun is not likely to get many kills and assists, or C) you need a more "spammable" weapon and don't want to have to wait for the "perfect shot", and instead want to simply blast away indiscriminately

Frontier Justice

• The Frontier Justice has a magazine size of only 3 shells, so marksmanship and use of cover to hit and run is key. Try not to fire as fast as you usually would with the regular Shotgun, as you will be relying less on cumulative spread damage and more on highly damaging direct hits.
  • Because of this, new players may want to consider practice with the regular Shotgun before using the Frontier Justice. Both guns have similar behavior when it comes to shooting because they have the same amount of pellets, damage, and damage falloff. Once they start racking up huge amounts of damage in two or three shots, the Frontier Justice's smaller magazine will become less of a trade-off for them. Turning on the option to see how much damage is being dealt in Options under the Multiplayer tab can help keep track of training progress.

• Revenge Crits you have available for use are visible in a counter in the HUD, and they will be lost if you die before using them, similar to the "heads" mechanic for the Eyelander. The maximum number of Revenge Crits you can have at once is 35. If you manage to gain that many, don't be shy about using them!

• You may rebuild a new Sentry Gun after your old one has been destroyed and still take advantage of the Revenge Crits.

• Remember that your Sentry Gun's current kills and assists are "future" Revenge Crits that are stored even while you are dead. This means that you can lay down a Sentry Gun, lay down some direct fire with your Frontier Justice or Pistol, and still have them stored if you end up dying in the process. Provided your Sentry Gun survives until you respawn.

• If you are confronted by multiple low HP classes at once, consider using a three-Crit magazine to severely weaken each of them. Then switch to another weapon such as the Pistol to finish them all off to avoid having to pause to reload. This may also cause some or even all of them to flee.

• Keep in mind that even doing Critical damage, you still have to contend with a Shotgun's spread, so make sure you're close enough to do maximum damage. That said it can still be effective at mid range due to the lack of damage falloff, but remember that you have fewer shots than the normal Shotgun.

• Using the accumulated Revenge Crits as a deterrent is also possible. By firing a single long range shot at a weakened enemy and holding your ground, you may be able to fool them into thinking you have more Revenge Crits to use.

• When moving up while playing offensively, destroy your Sentry Gun to give yourself the Revenge Crits and rebuild a new Sentry Gun. This will allow you to keep the Revenge Crits from the old Sentry Gun to support your team's push in, and in the event of your death while making your way there, your new Sentry Gun will hopefully remain with its potential revenge Crits intact. This makes the Frontier Justice an ideal weapon with pushes that can help move up a base much faster.

• Remember that your Revenge Crits will only be deployed upon a Sentry Gun's destruction. Sentry Guns that have gained kills and assists may be destroyed strategically to give you the Crits immediately. However, you should resist the temptation to build "suicide" Sentry Guns simply to build up Revenge Crits. You still want to keep your Sentry Guns active, and destroying a successful Sentry Gun to gain Crits can be a risky maneuver. However, this could be a viable tactic when combined with the more disposable Combat Mini-Sentry Guns granted via use of the Gunslinger.

• On the flip side, very passive build locations are unlikely to grant you many kills or assists and therefore will not grant you many Revenge Crits. If you have such a Sentry Gun, you may want to use the regular Shotgun as its larger magazine size is better for killing enemies such as Spies.

• If a Spy has destroyed your Sentry Gun and is attempting to escape, be wary of using the Frontier Justice to get revenge. If the Spy has the Dead Ringer equipped he could cause you to waste one of your Revenge Crits by triggering his feign death. Try to take into account whether you know that Spy has been previously using the Dead Ringer.

• Try to preserve your Revenge Crits for just the right moment, as they will become much harder to rack up from one Sentry Gun as more and more people try to avoid it or destroy it. This is especially important if you are using the Wrangler, as you will not have a secondary weapon to fall back on and preserve the Frontier Justice's Crits with (instead having to rely on your melee weapon).

• Consider not taking out the Frontier Justice until you're ready to fire. The team Crit glow on the Frontier Justice can easily make you a target for the enemy team, and indicate to enemies that they should begin dodging in an attempt to waste your shots.

• Revenge Crits enable you to support yourself on offensive pushes. Use Combat Mini-Sentry Guns or carry an upgraded Gun into enemy territory and plant it, and while it builds fight with your Revenge Crits to buy time for your Sentry Gun to deploy and join the fight. Then, once the area has been cleared build your Dispenser to help you repair and heal and your Teleporter to funnel reinforcements to you.

• Attacking Soldiers who have activated their Battalion's Backup with your Revenge Crits is unwise. Wait until their Buff wears off, switch to another weapon, or use your Sentry or Mini-Sentry to attack the Soldier instead.

Dischord

• This taunt is rarely effective with serious playing. However if you time it correctly the taunt may be effective in some situations.

• It can be used against distracted players. However the sound of the guitar chord can reveal you to the enemy.

• Hiding behind corners and taunting can with luck, kill an enemy player passing by.

• The taunt can still be used during Humiliation.

Pistol / Lugermorph

• 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 magazine 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 mags 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 also throws Snipers' aim off every time they are hit, and it reloads quickly enough to allow for some 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 an enemy with more loaded ammo, switch to your Pistol. Your Shotgun's reload time will give your enemy a few vital seconds of unreturned fire, which can be circumvented by switching to your Pistol. Preferably after you have expended your loaded shells.

• The Pistol's effectiveness at mid-range makes it the most reliable weapon to use in conjunction with the Gunslinger's Combat Mini-Sentry Guns, as the Combat Mini-Sentry Guns also do good damage at a similar range. This enables you to wear opponents down quickly while staying at a reasonably safe distance.

Wrangler

• When you have the Wrangler equipped; consider the "when to use" and "when not to use" aspects as the ability to hug the back of your gun while repairing it will occasionally prove more valuable and tactically sound than its increased fire rate and shield while Wrangled.

• While using this device to aim your Sentry Gun, remember that you cannot switch weapons to repair your Sentry Gun if you also wish it to keep firing. A way around this weakness is to ask another Engineer on your team to repair your Sentry Gun while you aim it. This allows you to continue to Wrangle for long periods even while under fire.

• With the Wrangler it is possible to aim and fire your Sentry Gun at enemies outside of the Sentry Gun's normal target acquisition range, meaning that it is possible to fire at enemy Snipers or Soldiers attempting to hit you from long range. However in order to do this you must yourself be exposed to the return fire from such enemies, making this a risky tactic. Consider asking a Medic to heal or even ÜberCharge you to negate this weakness. Though hitting a Sniper will throw off his aim you can't necessarily count on this to save you.

• Similar to the Sniper's rifle, the Wrangler creates a laser dot on the surface of where you aim it. Hide this dot to surprise your enemies, or reveal it to deter them as the situation calls for it, however keep in mind that the laser beam will inform your enemies of your Sentry Gun's location (note that it does not necessarily reveal your location).

• The Wrangler has a small amount of "sticky-aim" that makes it easier to lock on to enemies, especially distant enemies.

• Use the Wrangler to Spy Check randomly for cloaked Spies during quiet moments, and use it to target and kill Spies that are still disguised. This is especially important since Shotgun rounds and/or Revenge Crits are too valuable to use for random spam and you do not have the Pistol which is your default Spy checking weapon.
  • If you happen to control a level 3 Sentry and you are wary of a Spy around your area, fire a couple of bullets until you can show the Spy's silhouette. Then predict which direction he's going to and fire a single rocket instead. If the Spy is still alive, repeat. Doing this if you think the Spy is nearby might not be a good idea as he might try to backstab you

• The Wrangler is entirely useless without an active Sentry Gun, and is more and more useful the more powerful your Sentry Gun is and the better it is placed.

• Using the Wrangler doubles your Sentry Gun's firing rate. In addition to increased damage, this also causes your Sentry Gun to quickly drain its ammunition reserves, necessitating regular refills in order to keep it firing, particularly the bullets. Make sure you have enough metal available to also make repairs. A completely empty Level 3 Sentry Gun requires 240 Metal to completely restock with ammunition -- 200 Metal for the bullets, and 40 for the Rockets.

• As a general rule of thumb, switch to the Wrangler to take out slower moving and more durable foes such as Soldiers, Heavies, and Demomen. The doubled firing rate will carve through their hitpoints fast enough to kill them even if they are being healed by a Medic. Since these classes are often the greatest threat to your Sentry Gun, having the Wrangler's shield active will also help preserve it more effectively than simply repairing, particularly in the case of a Demoman placing Sticky Bombs as he will need to place twice as many to take down a level 3 Sentry Gun at full health, and you can also have your Sentry Gun shoot the stickies (the Level 3 Sentry Gun's rockets are best for blasting away Stickies). Remember that you should dodge as much as possible if they switch their aim to you.

• In a quiet period after a battle, switch to the Wrench and repair, and then to one of your own guns such as the Frontier Justice and let your Sentry Gun take care of itself for awhile. Switching modes often prevents you from becoming too preoccupied with Wrangling and getting Backstabbed and keeps your enemies guessing (as well as giving your trigger finger a rest).

• Use the Wrangler to counter opponents attempting to take advantage of a Sentry Gun's corner weakness. This is when an enemy is popping in and out of cover and firing faster than your Sentry Gun can react on its own. When this happens, take control! Level 3 Sentry Guns are great for this thanks to the splash-damaging rockets, but even the bullets can punish enemies dodging around corners because you can react faster than your Sentry Gun's auto-target.

• The Wrangler is a powerful defensive as well as offensive tool. The shield provides the Engineer with a much safer way to protect his Sentry Gun when it is under fire as it allows the Engineer to keep his distance from his gun unlike with repairing, which forces him right next to the Sentry Gun and exposes him to lethal splash damage. However, if you have to stand right next to your Sentry Gun in order to aim at attackers, you lose this advantage. Make sure you have room to work with to give yourself good firing angles while you Wrangle.

• You can use the Wrangler as a purely defensive measure to help your Sentry Gun survive just by switching to it for an instant. You can then switch back to a repair tool or weapon. The energy shield will last for the duration of the Sentry Gun's deactivation period. Do this only if you can afford to be without the Sentry Gun's firepower. A Sentry Gun that is unattended by an Engineer does not last long once it comes under attack, particularly from Soldiers and Demomen.
  • If you ever have to leave your Sentry Gun's proximity for any reason, having the Wrangler activated can make sure the Sentry survives until you can return to it.
  • If you are being attacked by an Übered Heavy, you might want to consider using this trick as the damage reduction of the shield may allow you to "keep pace" with Heavy as he damages your gun while you repair it; and may sometimes mean the difference between losing the Sentry Gun or killing the Heavy-Medic pair.

• As mentioned earlier, the Wrangler is one of the Engineer's most powerful tools for countering enemy Übercharges. Get used to using the Wrangler when you come under heavy attack.

• You can also use the Wrangler to prevent your Sentry Gun from being distracted by invulnerable enemies such as Scouts using Bonk! Atomic Punch or ÜberCharged enemies. Keep in mind though that the simple "push" of your Sentry Gun's fire can also prevent such enemies from accomplishing their goal by disrupting their movement.

• Experienced players will listen for the telltale beeping sound of a Sentry before entering certain areas such as Intelligence rooms. However, a Wrangled Sentry is silent -- use this to turn the tables on approaching foes (remember not to reveal the laser beam!).

• Although the Wrangler's three second deactivation is a disadvantage in most respects, it can be used strategically to ambush opponents by keeping your Sentry Gun deactivated until the right moment (by fleeing from an otherwise unseen Sentry Gun, luring the enemies in front of it so that upon reactivation is can instantly attack them).
  • The deactivation can also be negated to a degree should you want to continue using the Wrangler after reloading the Sentry Gun. To do this, simply switch to your Wrench or Gunslinger, whack the Sentry Gun a couple of times and then switch back to the Wrangler and the deactivation will be cut short.
  • The deactivation can also be interrupted by hauling your Sentry Gun. While this is useless in terms of cutting down its inactive time (due to having to redeploy the Sentry Gun), this means that should your Sentry Gun start taking heavy fire or run out of ammo while being Wrangled, you can quickly switch to another weapon, pack it up and move out to keep it alive.

• Don't keep switching back to the Wrangler accidentally when you do not need to use it, as the Sentry Gun will deactivate and stop protecting the area. Avoid using the quick-switch button and instead use the specific weapon Hotkeys to be safe.

• The Wrangler makes you and your Sentry Gun much more vulnerable to flanking. Even enemies that are usually easy prey for a Sentry Gun such as Scouts and Pyros can get close to you while you are Wrangling and potentially finish you off. If you want to Wrangle for long periods, make sure you are in a location that has limited avenues of attack, and that you have nearby support or a system of early warning. Otherwise limit your Wrangling to short periods when you really need it.

• While it is often best to stand near or behind your Sentry Gun while your aim it, it is not strictly necessary. You can move forward or even retreat and still be able to use your Sentry Gun's fire to protect you as long as you stay within an area you know your Sentry Gun can cover. However if you do so, you may run into one of two problems. Either you will 1) have no line of sight to an area your Sentry Gun can shoot or 2) have line of sight to an area your Sentry Gun cannot shoot.

• Be careful of making Sentry Guns in locations that are only useful if you Wrangle them but will otherwise be too far away to see much action. One of the Sentry Gun's strengths is the ability to attack on its own allowing you to do other things—depriving yourself of this advantage limits your options and forces you to Wrangle at the expense of being aware of your surroundings. Long-range Wrangling can make you less vulnerable to certain threats such as Übers but more vulnerable to others, mainly Spies and Snipers.

• You cannot use the Secondary Fire button to pack up your Buildings with the Wrangler, since it already has a Secondary Fire option.

• It is possible to use both the bullets and rockets from your Sentry Gun to propel yourself across the map. This is known as Sentry jumping. It is possible to use this technique to quickly catch up with your team, build in locations normally out of reach such as rooftops, or even to quickly build Teleporters. With practice, it is even possible to carry buildings with you on such jumps, including the very Sentry Gun you used to launch yourself! Using these jumps will drain most of your health especially after fall damage, so use this technique with that in mind.

Wrench / Golden Wrench / Saxxy

• When a Spy is repeatedly sapping your Sentry Gun 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 Gun. Two strikes from the Wrench will disable an Electro Sapper and halt the progressive damage it causes; you can then fully repair the Sentry Gun after the Spy is killed. A good strategy would be to hit the Sentry Gun a single time, and then change targets towards the Spy, kill him and then take off the Electro Sapper with another swing.

• While it may be tempting to use the Wrench's high Critical hit rate to club enemies to death, 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.

• The Golden Wrench is exactly the same as the stock Wrench other than the fact that when a kill is made, the body turns into a statue of gold/australium. This is purely cosmetic and has no effect on gameplay.

Gunslinger

• This item is for Engineers with an aggressive inclination. The added 25 hitpoints and the fact that your Combat Mini-Sentry Guns deploy quickly means that front-line duty is no longer something to shy away from. When played properly, a Gunslinger-equipped Engineer has fighting ability similar to classes such as a Scout or a Soldier; he has more health and mid range damage than the Scout and more foot speed than a Soldier. While having generally less firepower than either, a Gunslinger Engineer additionally can bring his Dispenser and Teleporter to bear to heal himself and support his team. Gunslinger Engineer can be played effectively on any map, but excels in smaller games with fewer players (especially fewer Medics; see below) such as standard 5 Control Point maps, some Payload maps, Arena, and King of the Hill.

• Any Engineer is always weak without a Sentry Gun to deal extra damage and serve as a distraction. Being alone and without a Sentry is a situation to avoid at all costs. Always put up a new Combat Mini-Sentry as soon as the old one is destroyed or becomes useless. Like the Scout, the Gunslinger Engineer does best in areas with room to maneuver and make pincer attacks with the Combat Mini-Sentry Gun. Tactical retreats are often necessary to refill Metal and Health and rebuild the Combat Mini-Sentry Gun. Dispensers should be placed conservatively in areas farther from the combat zone to ensure that you always have a place to recharge.

• It can be useful to bind "deploy Sentry" to a single key command. This allows for quicker placement of Combat Mini-Sentry Guns.

• The Gunslinger is less effective for Engineers that wish to set up solid entrenched positions. Combat Mini-Sentry Guns lack both stopping power and durability, which may be exactly what you need in some situations. If the enemy team has a lot of Medics, the relatively small damage of Combat Mini-Sentry Guns can be very ineffective at killing enemies getting constant healing.

• Keep in mind that while Sappers can be removed from your Combat Mini-Sentry Guns, the damage dealt by them cannot be repaired. Since destroying and moving Combat Mini-Sentry Guns is often important, being sapped delays your ability to Demolish and rebuild.

• Psychology can work to your advantage when using Combat Mini-Sentry Guns. Despite their low damage, many players, especially those playing lighter classes, reflexively retreat when they come under fire from any Sentry Gun, which can create a very valuable diversion for you or your teammates. If your enemies do retreat from your guns, don't let up! Keep up the pressure by rebuilding or moving your Combat Mini-Sentry Guns after them.

• Avoid idle Combat Mini-Sentry Guns. They are so expendable and fast-building that defensive placement is a waste of their potential. Unless you are occupied building/repairing your other structures and need cover, your Combat Mini-Sentry Guns should be constantly going up where they can harass the enemy. It can be helpful to think of a Combat Mini-Sentry as not a "trap" or "nest" as a normal Sentry Gun might be, but more of an actual Primary Weapon that you "aim" by "building at" the enemy.

• Furthermore, because Combat Mini-Sentry Guns cost less metal to build, remember that you can initially deploy both it and a Dispenser before going to look for more Metal. Don't be afraid to drop one down at any time you feel threatened or suspect that there might be danger around the next corner. Just be sure to keep a watch on how much Metal you have and make sure to have enough Metal to rebuild another Combat Mini-Sentry Gun.

• The aggressive play the Gunslinger encourages can make stopping to spend a minute or more making and upgrading Dispensers and Teleporters an unwelcome delay in your attacking. While you should not neglect making Dispensers and Teleporters altogether, if the situation calls for it don't be afraid to spend less time upgrading and more time fighting. Remember, without the heavy firepower and durability of a Level 3 Sentry Gun, your other Buildings will be less protected from destruction, wasting the time and Metal you put into upgrading them in the first place. If you find yourself getting caught up in "base making" you probably shouldn't be using the Gunslinger at all. It may be better to use your Teleporter and Dispenser similarly to how you use your Combat Mini-Sentry Guns—leave them at Level 1 and don't be afraid to lose them and rebuild new ones. Alternately you can leave them with a friendly non-Gunslinger Engineer to take care of and upgrade for you.

• Attempt to use your Mini-Sentry Gun to pincer your opponents by planting it and then attacking. The Engineer is the only class with the ability to attack from two places at once and this is of great effectiveness when used strategically. Your opponents will have to choose between attacking either your Sentry Gun or you, and unlike with the normal Sentry Gun, Combat Mini-Sentry Guns are not as vulnerable upon starting construction and will quickly start damaging your foes if they choose to ignore it. Use your Shotgun or Pistol to attack the same target your Sentry Gun is attacking to deal a lot of damage to that target quickly.

• The Mini-Sentry is quite useful against enemies with limited weapon clip sizes such as the Soldier and Scout, since they will use up some of their already limited clips destroying the Sentry Gun, making it much safer to move into point-blank Shotgun range. The damage from the Mini-Sentry, plus 1-2 well-aimed Shotgun blasts (or just one Revenge Crit), can finish off most enemies. Against Pyros and Heavies or fully-loaded Demomen, it can be wiser to try to wear them down more with several Mini-Sentry Guns and Pistol fire before going for the finishing blow -- but enemy Medics can make this tactic unlikely to succeed.

• Picking up the fallen weapons from dead players is crucial to keep up your supply of Combat Mini-Sentry Guns. Also try to recycle all the Metal pieces from your destroyed guns. The Metal from 2 destroyed Combat Mini-Sentry Guns grants 56 Metal, halfway to being able to afford a 3rd.

• For melee combat, the Gunslinger is most useful on servers that have random Crits disabled. With random Crits enabled, even a normal Melee Weapon such as the Wrench will likely Crit at least one out of three hits anyway, and potentially Crit multiple times. Also consider the practicality of going for melee attacks on enemies, since almost every Class can deal lethal damage in return at close range.

• While it may seem like a good idea to use the Gunslinger in concert with the Frontier Justice, remember the Combat Mini-Sentry Guns are weaker and may not result in as many Revenge Crits. It can be easier to build up Revenge Crits without the Gunslinger equipped and then switch to it later to go on the attack. Knowing good ambush spots is also important when using the Gunslinger/Frontier combo.
  • On the other hand, the constant building/demolishing cycle of the Mini-Sentry lends itself well to using Revenge Crits, whereas a normal Sentry Gun typically doesn't get destroyed nearly as often (so while it might earn more kills than a Mini-Sentry, there is a higher opportunity cost for destroying a high level Sentry Gun). An offensively placed Mini-Sentry can also rack up a lot of kill assists (worth 1 Revenge Crit, vs. 2 for a kill).

• If on defense, consider teaming up with another Engineer that is maintaining a regular Sentry Gun. Gunslinger Engineers benefit from having some "breathing room" to reload and restock their health and ammo and "vanilla" Engineers are perfect for this, plus you can mutually assist each other in repairs, removing Sappers, or upgrading.

• It is almost always faster and safer to demolish and rebuild a Mini-Sentry than it is to reload it or haul it. Also, demolishing a Mini-Sentry will give you access to any Revenge Crits that you may have earned during that Sentry Gun's lifetime. However hauling a Mini-Sentry short distances can still be useful since it will redeploy twice as fast as a new one would take to build, which for a Mini-Sentry is nearly instantaneous.

• In general, avoid using the Wrangler with the Gunslinger unless you have plenty of available Metal, since if you run out of Combat Mini-Sentry Guns your only backup gun will be one of the Shotguns, which use up their magazines fast, reload slowly, and do poor damage at range. Wrangling Combat Mini-Sentry Guns is a great way to offset their low health and damage which can in turn help you gain a few Revenge Crits if you are using the Frontier Justice, however Combat Mini-Sentry Guns are still weaker than even a Level 1 Sentry and if you ever found yourself in a position without one active you would have very few other options for damage, particularly at mid or long range.

• When using the Gunslinger, place Combat Mini-Sentry Guns near often visited health kits, like those around Control Points, such as the one under the bridge on Gorge. Enemies already low on health will flock to these health kits and promptly be gunned down. It's encouraged the use the Gunslinger here as the standard Sentry Gun is too impractical and expensive to use simply for ambushes.

• The game's scripting prioritizes repairing Buildings over melee combat. This means that if there is an enemy next to a friendly structure and you are using a melee weapon to attempt to kill him, you will find that you instead hear the sound of hitting the Building near or even behind the enemy you are trying to strike. Switch to a Shotgun or the Pistol to deal with enemies that are very close to one of your Buildings to avoid this.

• If you're attempting to keep your Mini-Sentry hidden, using yourself as a distraction while it helps you take down an enemy may prove useful if you feel you have enough health to spare and can risk being an enemy's target.

• Remember that a Mini-Sentry has a much smaller profile than even a level one Sentry Gun. Dropping one in the chaos of a firefight can prove beneficial as it can be overlooked in the confusion, assuming it survives the crossfire. Hiding Mini-Sentry Guns in dark places can also work, but has limited effectiveness due to the flashing beacon on its top.

• Dropping a Mini-Sentry behind you is a great way to delay pursuers.

• A Mini-Sentry is disposable, since it is easy to build one and can not be repaired or upgraded. Unless managed very carefully, a Mini-Sentry will not last long. Do not expect many kills from one Sentry Gun, expect many kills from a variety of Mini-Sentry Guns.

Organ Grinder

• This taunt isn't very effective with serious playing.

• With correct timing you might be able to kill a distracted enemy, so keep in mind that it takes some time for the Engineer to spin his hand up.

• You can use the stunning effect of the taunt to stun ÜberCharged enemies and waste their über time.

• This taunt is also effective during humiliation.

Southern Hospitality

• The positive effects of the Southern Hospitality make it nearly as versatile as the normal Wrench, only granting a few situational weaknesses. As such, try to use it in place of the normal Wrench unless the enemy team has more than one actively attacking Pyro, as the lack of random Crits does not matter if you do not rely on them . You can also compensate for the possible lost damage by inflicting the Bleed status on someone, and then wearing them down further with the Shotgun.

• Even though camping Engineers rarely encounter Pyros without having a nice, big Sentry Gun in between to win the argument, this equation changes if you want to push into enemy territory and build there. If you are carrying the Southern Hospitality and meet a Pyro in enemy territory where you will not have a Sentry Gun to hide behind, you're in trouble. If you want to have the flexibility to build offensively at the front line, as well as defensively behind the lines, take the regular Wrench.

• The presence of Bleeding on this weapon makes it an excellent anti-Spy tool, allowing you to prevent their escape should they try to make a quick getaway.
  • The inability to randomly Crit, however, makes killing Spies a lot more difficult in a short space of time, as you will not be able to possibly kill them in a single hit. Instead, hit them repeatedly with the Southern Hospitality (thus doing more average Wrench damage and resetting the Bleed timer each hit) or hit them then switch to your Shotgun or Frontier Justice to finish them off. You can also make the Spy Bleed to reveal him to your teammates, and leave them to deal with the Spy.

• This weapon is a smart option for Medieval Mode, as it is one of the most damaging melee weapons and fire damage is relatively uncommon, negating the weapon's trade-off. However, be careful of Pyros wielding the Sharpened Volcano Fragment, as well as ignited arrows from the Huntsman.

• While not a common occurrence on some maps, be very careful of ÜberCharged Pyros. The 20% increase to fire vulnerability the Southern Hospitality grants means that you will be killed much quicker than before unless you retreat as soon as possible. If you have the chance, try to haul your most valuable building to a safe location when you are expecting an ÜberCharged Pyro to rush in, to save the trouble of rebuilding it upon the charge wearing off.

• Fire from the Flamethrower is not blocked by your Sentry Gun. Don't camp behind your Sentry Gun unless you have a good field of view of incoming enemies. Despite their weakness to Sentry Guns, some Pyros will charge in anyway and you don't want to give them a cheap kill by being too close to your Sentry Gun if they get in range. In other words if a Pyro comes, avoid contact with him and let your Sentry do the work.

• Never try to take on a Pyro with the Southern Hospitality either, as their Flamethrower's aptitude for close range makes it all the more deadly to you and upon escape, any Afterburn you suffer will only be amplified. Instead, try to take care of them at mid to long range with your ranged weapons.

Jag

• Use the Jag while making a push when you need to get Buildings built fast.

• Try to avoid melee combat due to the damage penalty. Usually Engineers aren't using melee combat except in desperate situations or against Spies. If your team is good at Spy checking, however, the loss of damage won't matter much.

• The Jag's faster construction rate only applies to Buildings you are actually speed-building (whacking), and does not affect the speed at which you upgrade. To get the most out of the Jag, make sure you hit constructing Buildings as often as possible. Thirty percent faster construction might not seem like much when you try it out. For example, it only shaves off about one "whack" from the build time of a Sentry Gun (6, as opposed to the usual 7), but seconds DO matter for the Engineer.

• Where the Jag really shines is in the construction of Dispensers. 30% off the build time of a Dispenser is not only significant in terms of game time, the faster a Dispenser is finished, the faster it can begin supplying you with Metal which in turn can speed up the rest of your upgrades and Buildings. Get in the habit of hitting your Dispenser all the way to completion as soon as you plant it.

• The Jag is also useful in situations such as rebuilding a destroyed Teleporter Entrance while still having a surviving Exit -- being able to speedily rebuild the Entrance means you can teleport back to your other Buildings a few seconds faster -- and seconds matter.

• The Jag is a great weapon for "helper" Engineers who are only being Engineer temporarily to help other Engineers such as during the Setup phase or to build or upgrade a new Teleporter Entrance at spawn. If you are helping another Engineer, use the Jag to speed up their Dispenser's construction since a faster Dispenser means faster Metal.

• If you aren't planning to be building lots of Buildings or moving your Buildings up, it's best to stick to the Wrench or Southern Hospitality. Keep in mind that even if you don't PLAN to be rebuilding your Buildings a lot doesn't mean you WON'T be doing so.

PDA

• There are two PDAs, 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.
• 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 quick-switch key (usually "Q" on the PC) to switch to your most recent weapon.
• While the template is visible, pressing secondary fire adjusts the building's orientation by 90 degrees counter-clockwise, primary fire starts the build and the quick-switch key cancels the build.
• Use the Demolish Tool if you have the Frontier Justice equipped. If your Sentry Gun has outlived its usefulness (be it positional or it is completely out of ammo and there is no point in repairing it), destroy it to gain revenge crits (if it has any). This strategy is normally used as a joke and is rarely seen used seriously in gameplay.
• It's also a good idea to use the Demolish Tool if you know there are enemies attacking your buildings and you can't save them. They would have have been destroyed either way, only this way robs the enemy team of extra points. However, be sure not to prematurely destroy your Sentry Gun, because sometimes there is still a chance that it will survive.

Class-Specific Strategies

Heavy

• Position your Dispenser in a location that is not only convenient to yourself, but also allows a Heavy to infinitely fire their Minigun at enemies incoming to your position.

Pyro

• If you have the Southern Hospitality equipped, you are 20% more vulnerable to fire damage. You will die quickly to even the Degreaser, so avoid Pyros at all costs.
• A Pyro can shoot their flames around corners and through gaps. So avoid placing Buildings near a corner where a Pyro can stay out of your range but still destroy them.

Demoman

• A smart Demoman will arc his grenades over your Sentry Gun so don't rely on it to provide a shield from him.
• If you have a revenge crit left don't be afraid fight the Demoman since the critical shot will kill him instantly at close range.
• If a Demoman has an advantage, and he keeps firing stickybombs at your buildings, it's better to run away than constantly repair your buildings and get killed.

Buildings

Dispenser

General Strategies

• The primary use of the Dispenser is to provide logistical support to yourself and your team. Dispensers act as unlimited health and ammo pickups that can be used by any number of teammates at once (making Dispensers more and more essential the greater the number of players on your team). Dispensers take time to build and are expensive and time-consuming to upgrade, but once they build up a good supply of Metal, they enable Engineers to keep their Buildings repaired almost indefinitely except under the most concentrated attacks. The Sentry Gun can secure an area from immediate attack, but it is upgraded Dispensers that can truly fortify a location.

• These are some other strategic uses for Dispensers:
  1. 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.
  2. 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 Gun 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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).
  5. 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 BLU 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 teammates, this only benefits the Engineer unless he builds a Teleporter to allow teammates to also get to the area. Also, the Sentry Gun is actually slightly taller than the Dispenser and can give the Engineer a little more height when standing on it. 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 Gun's line of sight, so try not to build them in front of your Sentry Gun whenever possible.
• You can use them as cover for your other Buildings and yourself. This generally not recommended since Dispensers are not as expendable as the Sentry Gun and it is difficult enough to repair a Sentry that is under heavy fire without adding a Dispenser to that as well. However in some one-on-one engagements such as against Scouts you can crouch and use the Dispenser as a shield and repair while it heals you and then attack once you regain health.

Teleporter

General Strategies

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

• When playing on a CP map, in most cases a teleport should be the first thing you build. At the start of the match, drop all your buildings outside the spawn, restock your metal to 200, then find a spot near the Control point that is hidden from sight and provides cover for teammates teleporting in and drop your exit. This will give your team the advantage, and if you should die you can quickly pull your buildings through to support.

• Also communicate when and where your Teleporter is being Sapped, and if it is destroyed ask for temporary help to rebuild it ASAP, as a Teleporter is often crucial to the team's success.

• Enemy players such as Spies and Scouts will often try to sneak past your team and attempt to destroy your Teleporter Entrance, which is often not guarded by your Sentry Gun. If this happens repeatedly, you might consider moving your Sentry back to your Spawn to cover it, along with yourself. This can be less of a trade-off if there is another friendly Engineer who can pick up the slack on the front lines and cover the Buildings back at the Exit. Often you can get away with doing this only temporarily, since once you have denied several attempts to kill your Teleporter Entrance the enemy will usually stop trying, and you can move back to the front lines.

• If your Entrance is destroyed and it would be a very long walk back to spawn to rebuild it, one shortcut is to commit suicide, either with the Wrangler or more easily by typing the command "kill" into the Developer Console. This is not always an attractive option, since you leave your Buildings unattended and you'll also lose any active Revenge Crits from the Frontier Justice, but it can save a lot of time.

• Place Teleporter Exits so that your teammates will instantly have a good idea of where to go when they use it (Alt-fire also rotates the Teleporter by 90 degrees). It's a good idea to place Teleporter Exits in corners facing outwards, to minimize the ability of enemy Spies to camp behind them and stab anyone coming through.

• Speaking of Spies, take caution in repairing sapped Teleporter Exits. Particularly sneaky Spies may attempt to Telefrag you by waiting upon Teleporter Entrances. The moment the Electro Sapper is removed, the Spy will immediately appear at the Exit, killing anyone unfortunate enough to be within his model hitbox. A good way to counteract this would be to firstly not to stand diectly on top of your Teleporter Exit while unsapping, but instead directly behind if possible or on it's left or right side, then rushing foward and hitting the first player that comes through it with your Wrench. In the event that it's an enemy Spy, you'll have gotten a solid blow on him before he can even catch his bearings.

• While many players try to be sneaky about placing Teleporters and try to place them deep in enemy territory, it's often better to be more conservative. Building and upgrading a Teleporter is expensive, time consuming, and can be very risky particularly when placing the exit. The key to a Teleporter's success is to 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.

• While most of the time you will use your Teleporter as a way to reach the front lines from the spawn point, Teleporters can also be used as an escape route to fall back quickly. This has become a more useful technique with the introduction of being able to pack up and haul Buildings. If you have a well established base but your Sentry Gun goes down and you are about to be overrun, you can pick up your Dispenser to preserve your Metal supply and take a Teleporter that leads to a "fallback position" where you can build another base and reestablish a new line of defense (obviously this only applies if you are, in fact, defending). The Teleporter is safe and fast and can give you enough time to rebuild. However, this is definitely situational. Never use your Teleporter for this if your team needs a Teleporter that goes to the front lines and is lacking one. However there are situations where your Teleporter is either not needed or not being used, and in these situations feel free to make "escape Teleporters." As always, inform your team of what your Teleporter does.

• If you don't need to use the Teleporter to advance forward, then it can be used as an effective block similar to the Dispenser. Build a Teleporter in front of your under-fire buildings, which can absorb damage in place of your Sentry Gun or Dispenser, without getting in the way of the building. Explosives and stray bullets will often hit your Teleporter instead of your more important buildings, which can be repaired via the other Teleporter from a safe distance.

• In common situations where you can't build a Teleporter for your team, Teleporters can also be used as bait by placing one close to your base. An enemy will often destroy or sap the Teleporter, notifying the Engineer to prepare for an incoming enemy.

• Placing Teleporter Exits in locations where they have an increased chance of causing Telefrag kills against enemies can also be a legitimate possibility depending on the map. Usually this will mean placing an Exit in a narrow area where there is no room to step around the Exit, forcing any enemies rushing through the area without destroying the Exit to be at risk of a Telefrag should one of your teammates use the Teleporter while they are passing over it.
  • One example of this would be on Dustbowl Stage 1 Point B on the stairs leading from the sliding doors to the Control Point -- enemies are often under fire and simply trying to move quickly through onto the point, and won't usually stop to destroy a Teleporter Exit which can easily result in telefrags.

Map Specific

There are a few places where you can place Teleporters that often go unnoticed (Take this with a grain of salt. Good players always check for Teleporters and know the hiding spots). 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 Well - in the water, on top of the enemies one-way exit pipe.
• On 2Fort - in the water, against the wall on the enemy side.
• On Badwater Basin Final Cap, a Sniper's building overlooking the area has several corners to place an Exit in, this is a great way to flank defenders,\ or hold back attackers.
• In the middle Sniper nest on 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.
• On Gravel Pit on offense if you manage to sneak past point A you can build a teleporter in the pathways rarely used before A and B are capped or on point C

• You can also place your Teleporter as a decoy. For example, you can put a Teleporter at the top of the spiral in 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 Gun. Teleporters get your team to the front lines instantly; if you want someone watching your back, get those Teleporters up or your Sentry Gun will not be covered by your teammates. You will often need support while your Sentry Gun is setting up and while it's only at level 1.

• Also remember that enemy players who walk over a Teleporter Exit while you or your teammate 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 Gun.

• 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 Sentry Guns with the advantage of the resupply room makes a big difference. Likewise any teammates with low health and ammo can resupply and return quickly.

2Fort

• The usual place where Teleporters get serious use on 2Fort is leading to the sewers where Engineers build to support either offensive pushes into the enemy base or defend against such pushes from the enemy team. Usually only one Teleporter is necessary for this task. Other Engineers can make their Teleporters useful by creating a Teleporter that leads from the sewers back to the main base spawn area, creating a two-way system that can allow players to switch from attacking to defending as the need arises. This can also allow the Engineer(s) who build in the sewers to refill their metal supplies by going back to base and visiting the Supply Cabinet, then going straight back.
• 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.
• Another somewhat passive though interesting use of Teleporters is crossing the Battlements (Sniper deck), usually from the right (directions when facing the enemy base) side to the left side. This allows anyone on your team who spawns from the right Spawn area cross the battlements without being exposed to enemy Sniper fire. Friendly Snipers can use this to their advantage in their duels with enemy Snipers by changing positions quickly, safely, and without being noticed. This also allows teammates who spawn from the right side of the battlements to quickly reach the top of Spiral Ramp to cut off any enemies attempting to escape with your Intelligence that way. Finally, a Teleporter system on your Battlements can provide early warning of enemies attempting to invade that area, such as Scouts, Soldiers, and Demomen. Enemies that appear there often catch your teammates by surprise, so being able to warn them can save quite a few of your allies.

Sentry Gun

General Strategies

• As of the Engineer Update, many new options for Sentry Gun placement have opened up thanks to the ability to move constructed Buildings, place Combat Mini-Sentry Guns, and use the Wrangler to extend Sentry Gun firing range.
• When playing offensively, consider the differences in performance of the Sentry Gun at each level. As a rule of thumb, Sentry Guns gain increased firepower and health at the cost of re-deployment and turning speed as they level up. On that note a Level 2 Sentry Gun can be a superior choice to a Level 3 Sentry Gun as it deploys faster, has only a small health difference and uses the exact same Chainguns.
• The difference between an excellent placement and an average one can sometimes be very little -- a matter of inches, or an angle that is off by a few degrees can determine whether a Sentry Gun can effectively cover a certain approach, whether it will give away its location to enemies too easily, whether it will take too long to rotate into firing positions, and so on. This does not mean that Engineers should take a long time to adjust their Sentry Gun blueprint before placing it -- doing so is a hallmark of inexperienced Engineer play. However observe how certain placements perform and if the gun demonstrates any weaknesses in that position try to place the Sentry Gun so it will be more effective in the future.
  • Example: perhaps the most common Sentry Gun placement on the map 2Fort is right outside the main spawn room overlooking the courtyard. Many Engineers place their Sentry Gun facing the courtyard, however experienced Engineers place the gun facing the Battlements instead. Enemies such as Soldiers and Demos that jump up to your battlements appear there often, and if the Sentry Gun does not face that direction it will have to turn almost 180 degrees to fire at them -- plenty of time for them to shoot and dodge back into cover. Scouts can also run right past and make it down the spiral ramp before the Sentry Gun can even react. A Sentry Gun placed facing the battlements however will lock on and shoot instantly as soon as an enemy enters from battlements, and the rockets will usually cause damage even if the target ducks back into cover. Also, this Sentry Gun is still perfectly able to shoot down enemies entering the courtyard, as such enemies are not able to abuse cover and they are forced to take stairs that slow their progress and give the Sentry Gun ample time to turn to face them. The difference between the two Sentry Gun placements is nothing but the direction they are facing, but it makes an enormous difference in the Sentry Gun's effectiveness.
• A good rule of thumb for Sentry Gun 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 likely receive fire from the Sentry Gun at close to its maximum range but will be unable to fire back from outside that range. This is because Sentry Guns do not suffer from damage falloff at range. While this does not always limit the damage your Sentry Gun will take in return (damage falloff due to range does not apply to damage done against Buildings), it does reduce the damage you will take while you maintain the Sentry Gun, and it also reduces damage from short-range and/or high spread weapons such as the Scattergun, Flamethrower, and Minigun. Making good use of the Sentry Gun's range also gives the Sentry Gun a bigger field of fire and it gives you more warning of approaching enemies (and incoming projectiles), while denying the largest area to your enemies, one of the Engineer's primary roles.
• Sentry Guns are usually best built on high ground, particularly Level 3 Sentry Guns due to the rockets being able to maximize their chance of causing damage. However you should avoid choosing an elevated spot that allows your Sentry Gun to be seen by enemies from beyond its ability to fire back. The best Sentry Gun placements allow a Sentry Gun to shoot at enemies at the same time or even a little before enemies are able to see and shoot back at the Sentry Gun and high ground can help achieve this as the diagram below-right demonstrates.
  • High ground is also great because it makes the Sentry Gun harder to hit with splash damage. As long as it is not built with its back to a wall, most projectiles will arc either too high or too low to hit hard, and the precision aiming required forces enemies to take the Sentry Gun's full weight of fire to try to take their shot. Conversely low ground creates the opposite effect, effectively "funneling" even stray projectiles such as Grenades right into the Sentry Gun. Avoid low ground positions such as pits and valleys.
  • High ground is also very useful by making it more difficult for Spies to get into Electro Sapper range. High ground placements reduce the number of routes Spies can use to get close, making it easier for you and your team to discover and remove potential Spy threats before they get a chance to disable your Sentry Gun.
• Build in an area that is open (but not too open) and gives you some room to work -- this allows you to dodge and gives yourself good angles for using the Wrangler while keeping a safe distance from your Sentry Gun if it is under fire. If possible, have a wall or other cover near to the Sentry Gun that you can use as cover while you repair, but try not to have an obscured view of what is attacking your Sentry Gun.
• Avoid "gimmicky" Sentry positions such as looking down holes in ceilings, in the middle of narrow hallways, or around sharp corners. Sentry Guns can certainly get kills in such positions, but while these positions can surprise the enemy temporarily, they aren't terribly effective since they won't seriously interfere with your opponents' movement. High level Sentry Guns take a lot of time and resources to make, so building them in areas where they will be useful only rarely is a waste.
• Great Sentry positions will allow the Sentry Gun to put suppressing fire on a number of key areas and also allow it to act as a first line of defense for your team. A Sentry being repaired or Wrangled (or both) is excellent at absorbing damage that would otherwise be directed at your fellow teammates.
• Sentry Guns should not therefore be viewed as a "last line of defense". Building with this mentality is flawed, because while an Engineer and his Sentry can fend off most lone opponents fairly effectively, as little as two enemies can overwhelm an unsupported Engineer position, even if the base is well constructed and the Engineer is skilled.
• Don't build yourself into a corner if you want to be hanging around your gun repairing -- you deny yourself a line of retreat and ensure that you get damaged as much as your Sentry Gun. Sentry Guns right around corners can catch enemies off guard (once), but if you build such an "ambush" Sentry Gun, don't sit right on it. Leave it on its own and maybe support it offensively with your own weapons, and then move it or rebuild it once it becomes ineffective.
• In addition to building on high ground and in a moderately open area, you should build the Sentry Gun such that it covers narrow areas in the map called "choke points" or "bottlenecks". This maximizes the area your team has to work with and minimizes the maneuvering room for attackers. This forces the enemy team to bunch up in narrow hallways and doorways, making them easy prey for your Sentry Gun's rockets or the splash damage from your team. Sentry Guns are at their best when they force enemies to fight from a disadvantageous position.
• Take note of where other Engineers have set up their Sentry Guns and set up yours to create overlapping fields of fire that can catch opponents in crossfire. Being within sight of another Engineer on your team makes it easy for you to help one other repair during times when either of you is dead or occupied. It also concentrates your team's defense and prevents your team from spreading too thinly. Two Sentry Guns that are spread out yet still covering the same choke point combined with adequate Spy-checking can be an absolute nightmare for the enemy team to deal with and forces them to either come with everything they have or not come at all.
• After building a Sentry Gun, stand behind it and build a Dispenser behind your position; if a few enemies or an ÜberCharged enemy comes, you can kneel behind the gun for protection and continually repair the damage done to it while having your metal replenished by the Dispenser behind you. This strategy works well wherever enemies are forced through a bottleneck while approaching the gun or have no line of sight to the Dispenser, but does not work well in open areas where the Dispenser can be targeted from the side or from above.

Figure 1. Dustbowl, Stage 2, Point B example of excellent Sentry placement. Both Sentries A and B are on high ground in open areas covering chokepoints, with double coverage of two major chokes. Both Sentries are nearby and face each other making it easy for each Engineer to watch the other.

Figure 2. Illustrates the advantages of elevated placement. Sentry is in the open covering a chokepoint, is able to lock on and begin firing an instant before approaching enemies preventing abuse of cover and maximizing Sentry damage. Attacking Demomen in particular will have poor attack angles.

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See also

• Team strategy