Anti-Engineer strategy

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The Engineer is a defensive support class who primarily helps his team with various buildings. He has mediocre weapons and low health, relying on his Sentry Gun for protection. By himself, an Engineer is a low threat who will usually run at the first sight of trouble. His primary purpose is to construct Teleporters and Dispensers in order to help his team either advance or hold a strategic location. Generally, Engineers build a "base" consisting of a Teleporter Exit, Dispenser, and Sentry Gun where his teammates are brought into the battle and return to be supplied with health and ammunition. The Gunslinger and Frontier Justice, however, allow an Engineer to assume a more offensive role which can make him much more dangerous than usual.

General

Attributes	Anti-Engineer Strategy
Role	Engineers are high priority targets. A team without a Sentry Gun or Dispenser is at a disadvantage. His Sentry Gun is quite vulnerable when you stay out of its range and the Engineer is not there to protect it. An Engineer away from his Sentry Gun is far less useful, so if you take down an Engineer away from the main front, the enemy is probably trying to keep his buildings alive. Use this opportunity to destroy the buildings.
Health	The Engineer has very little health compared to most other classes. Away from his Sentry Gun, he has little to defend himself. Use this to your advantage. The Gunslinger will give the Engineer 25 more health, together with a weaker Sentry Gun.
Speed	The Engineer runs at the same speed as the Pyro, the Sniper, and the Spy. If he's out in the open, he shouldn't be too hard to kill. Their speed falls to lower than a un-spun Heavy while they carry pre-constructed Buildings -- take the opportunity to destroy both.
Power	The Engineer is a mediocre fighter without his Sentry Gun. Work as a team and he should be dispatched in no time.

Weapon Specific

A list of useful tidbits about the Engineer's tools, and how to counter them.

Primary Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Engineer Strategy
Shotgun	Shotguns have a wider spread the further you are from your target, so avoid aggravating an Engineer at close range. Engage the Engineer at a distance, preferably out in the open or away from his buildings, where you have the advantage.
Frontier Justice	An Engineer that dies before his Sentry Gun is destroyed will not receive the Revenge Crits given by the Frontier Justice. When a Sentry Gun is destroyed, the Engineer will try to counterattack with his Revenge Crits. Kill him quickly to make sure he does not get his chance. The smaller clip size of the Frontier Justice gives you more openings to counter-attack his onslaught.

Secondary Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Engineer Strategy
Pistol / Lugermorph
Wrangler	The Wrangler shield provides the Sentry Gun with 66% damage reduction. Killing the Engineer will disable the Sentry Gun for a few seconds, making it unable to attack the players before the shield disappears. Engineers using the Wrangler often don't check their backs. Try flanking the Engineer and killing him to disable his Sentry Gun.

Melee Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Engineer Strategy
Wrench / Golden Wrench	This weapon is primarily used if you surprise him in his sentry nest. Use a primary weapon and you should have the advantage.
Gunslinger	The Gunslinger must connect three times to score a Critical hit. Avoid getting hit multiple times in a row by an Engineer wielding the Gunslinger. When a Engineer with a Gunslinger is on the prowl, check for hidden Combat Mini-Sentry Guns in corners, as he would most likely use them either for distracting you while he attacks, or for getting Revenge Crits with the Frontier Justice.
Southern Hospitality	The Engineer is more susceptible to burn damage when using the Southern Hospitality. With this weapon, the Engineer can never score a Critical hit, so the Engineer can have an unfortunate day in a sticky situation. Bleeding damages over time and trails blood until the effect goes away. You will be heavily injured and spotted more easily if you get hit by the Southern Hospitality.
Jag	The Jag has reduced melee damage, but is still capable of Critical hits. An Engineer using the Jag can set up Buildings considerably faster then the other wrenches. Watch out for front line Engineers with this weapon, as it allows them to deploy a Level 1 Sentry Gun in under 5 seconds.

Buildings

Building	Anti-Engineer Strategy
Sentry Gun	Sentry Guns are the highest priority building when deciding which to destroy. An Engineer behind his Sentry Gun is protected from splash damage at the front, but can easily be damaged by splash damage to the side. Sentry Guns can be damaged from around corners without having a chance to (fully) lock on to the attacker. Engineers that switch to their Shotgun or Pistol to dispose of Stickies placed at the base of their buildings leave them vulnerable to damage. Low level Sentry Guns are slow to turn. If approaching the gun from a blind spot, you can run around the gun, damaging it without taking damage yourself. A full-health, level 3 Sentry Gun cannot be destroyed in one hit by anything other than a cluster of Stickybombs. Coordinate your attacks with your teammates' to destroy it faster than it can be repaired. Don't assume you know where a Sentry Gun is, even if you've encountered one previously. With their ability to haul buildings, Engineers can repeatedly move a single Sentry Gun between numerous key points.
Dispenser	Dispensers are easier to destroy than other buildings, as Engineers are often preoccupied with repairing their Sentry Gun. If destroying a Sentry Gun isn't possible, destroying a Dispenser can make it more difficult for an Engineer to maintain his Sentry Gun. Dispensers have the second highest priority when destroying an Engineer nest that's nearby the enemy base. Teleporters aren't as useful due to the proximity of the spawn, especially when the other team is on defense.
Teleporter	Teleporters have the second highest priority when destroying an Engineer nest far from their spawn (e.g. offensive forward bases on maps such as Gold Rush or Badwater Basin), as this will severely limit the opposing team's reinforcements; any Dispensers can then be destroyed with little resistance. Teleporters that won't go down are most likely being repaired from the other side. Out-damage the repair rate to successfully destroy them. Beware of telefrags when attacking a teleporter exit. On some maps, Engineers like to use "dummy" Teleporters as an early warning system. If you see a teleporter in an unusual place (especially if it is inactive), you may want to leave it alone to avoid losing the element of surprise.
Combat Mini-Sentry Gun	Combat Mini-Sentry Guns have less health than normal Sentry Guns, but have a faster build time and a quicker rate of fire than a normal level 1 Sentry Gun. Therefore, try to destroy them as quickly as possible. Do not underestimate a Combat Mini-Sentry Gun. They can be used to either finish you off or distract you from incoming attacks. When you see one, destroy it as soon as possible. Combat Mini-Sentry Guns are deployed with full health; this can make destroying them when they are being built problematic. It may be better to finish off the Engineer building them before eliminating the Sentry Gun.

See also

• Sentry Gun
• Team strategy