Buildings

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I built that.
The Engineer on his buildings

Buildings are machines that can be constructed by the Engineer using his Build Tool. These buildings include the Sentry Gun, Dispenser and Teleporter.

Engineer standing by his Dispenser

Overview

In order to construct a building, an Engineer must first have enough metal. He can then use his Build Tool to choose a placement for the building; buildings can only be placed on reasonably flat surfaces and must have enough horizontal and vertical space to operate. Once placed, buildings are erected automatically. The construction rate can be doubled by continuously hitting the building with any Wrench; multiple Engineers doing this simultaneously stacks the effect; and hitting the building with the Jag increases its construction rate by a further 30%. Once the building is fully deployed it will immediately begin operation.

Like players, buildings have health and are destroyed when it is reduced to zero. The health of a building increases from zero to its maximum while under construction, so it is easier to destroy a building that is incomplete. Players can focus their crosshair on a building to determine its current health just like other players, though weak buildings also display visible signs of damage such as smoke, sparks, and flames. Buildings are immune to critical hits and mini-crits as well as damage drop-off and ramp-up, so excluding splash damage, any attack on a building will deal a constant amount of damage from any distance. Buildings do not count for any on-hit effects such as damage display and hit noises, and will not activate the on-hit or on-kill effects of any weapon when damaged or destroyed (with the exception of the Widowmaker).

Buildings can be repaired, upgraded, and (in the case of Sentry Guns) reloaded by hitting them with a Wrench, if the user has sufficient metal. Metal priority goes to repair first, then to resupply, and finally to upgrades, with limits to how much metal can go into each task with each strike. Upgrading a building takes a total of 200 metal and increases its health by 20% in addition to improving its abilities; buildings can be upgraded twice to reach level 3.

Buildings can be disabled by the Spy's Sapper. If a Sapper is applied to a building, it will immediately cease functioning and alert the owner, in addition to being drained of health. Sappers can be removed by any Engineer's melee weapon or the Pyro's Homewrecker/Maul/Neon Annihilator, which will restore the building's operations. Buildings cannot be repaired, reloaded, upgraded, or demolished while being sapped.

Buildings can be downgraded by the Spy's Red-Tape Recorder. Buidlings with a Recorder attached will begin deconstructing themselves by going through any applicable upgrade animations in reverse before going through the building process in reverse, resulting in the building being reduced to a toolbox pickup. The process moves at half the speed of construction. If the Recorder is destroyed then the building will resume proper construction, though any levels lost will not be regained unless an upgrade animation is in progress.

If the Engineer wishes, he can destroy any of his buildings with the Demolish Tool. This instantly causes the building to explode as if it were destroyed by an enemy. The building's gibs can be picked up as ammo and/or reused as metal. Buildings being sapped cannot be demolished. The Engineer's buildings are not vulnerable to his other weapons or to his Sentry Gun (unlike the Engineer himself).

Buildings function normally underwater, though Teleporter Entrances cannot detect when a submerged player is standing on them, and Sentry Guns cannot see through the water's surface in either direction.

During setup time in Mann vs. Machine mode, buildings cost no metal to place and finish construction immediately as level 3, with Dispensers being fully stocked. Using a Buildings Upgrade Canteen will also instantly send all existing buildings to level 3, even if they are still constructing. Engineers can also upgrade the health and abilities of their buildings at an Upgrade Station.

Specifications

Building type Cost in metal Health points Scrap Metal
when destroyed
Build Upgrade Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Sentry Gun Stock 130 200 150 (450) 180 (212) (540) 216 (270) (648) 15 x 4 (60)
Combat Mini-Sentry Gun 100 N/A 100 (300) N/A 0 x 4 (0)
Dispenser 100 200 150 180 216 10 x 5 (50)
Teleporters 50 200 150 180 216 6.25 x 4 (25) Entry
6.25 x 4 (25) Exit


Building type Build time (seconds)
Initial construction Initial construction + boosted by
WrenchGunslingerSouthern Hospitality
Initial construction + boosted by
Jag
Initial construction + boosted by
Eureka Effect
Redeployed Redeployed + boosted by
WrenchGunslingerSouthern Hospitality
Redeployed + boosted by
Jag
Redeployed + boosted by
Eureka Effect
Upgrade
Sentry Gun Stock 10.5 4.2 3.75 6.0 3.5 2.333 2.1875 2.8 1.6
Combat Mini-Sentry Gun 4.2 2.625 2.442 3.231 2.333 1.75 1.667 2.0 N/A
Dispenser 21.0 8.4 7.5 12.0 5.25 3.818 3.621 4.421 1.6
Teleporters 21.0 8.4 7.5 12.0 5.25 3.818 3.621 4.421 1.6

Building construction speed = Default construction speed / (1 + sum of all boosts)

  • Default construction speed (Sentry Guns): 10.5
  • Default construction speed (Dispensers and Teleporters): Sentry Gun speed x 2 = 21.0
  • Redeployment boost (Sentry Guns): 2.0
  • Redeployment boost (Dispensers and Teleporters): 3.0
  • Mini-Sentry boost: 1.5
  • Stock wrench boost: 1.5
  • Jag boost: 1.5 + 0.3 = 1.8
  • Eureka Effect boost: 1.5 / 2 = 0.75
  • The first and second hits on a stock sentry gun will save 1.5 seconds, while all others will save 1 second. On dispensers, the first hit will save 2 seconds and all others will save 1 second.

Times assume wrench boosting is in constant effect. As the builder cannot swing their wrench until their weapon switch delay wears off, these values will be slightly slower in practice. Each additional Engineer adds their own personal wrench boost to the formula.


HUD

The building HUD is located in the top-left corner of the screen.
Main article: Heads-up display

The Building HUD provides at-a-glance information on the Engineer's buildings and any enemy Spy's Electro Sappers. The status of different aspects of the building is indicated by an icon.

Icon Description
Building icon Kills.png A number indicating the number of kills a sentry has followed by the number of assists in parentheses (Sentry Guns only).
Building icon Ammo.png An indicator bar representing the percentage left of ammunition (Sentry Gun) or metal reserves (Dispenser).
Building icon Metal.png An indicator bar representing the percentage of the building upgrade progress (Levels 1 and 2 only).
Building icon Rockets.png An indicator bar representing the percentage left of rocket reserves (Level 3 Sentry only).
Building icon Teleports.png A number indicating the number of teleports a Teleporter entrance has provided. Transforms to a recharge progress bar after a teleport.

Hauling

Prompt to haul a building.
An Engineer carrying a building.

Buildings can be packed up and moved by their owners by pressing the alternate fire button while looking at and standing next to them. This mechanic allows for redeployment without having to completely reconstruct the building, thus saving metal and time, and also preserving any score tallies a building may have. Packing up a building is instantaneous, and the Engineer will appear carrying the building's toolbox on his shoulder to all players, while from his first-person perspective he will still carry the toolbox as a normal building construction. Damaged buildings can be packed up, but buildings being sapped cannot. A building is capable of being hauled when a gray tab is displayed alongside the building's name on the interface (see right). In addition to an icon for the building and a hand, the tab also displays which key or mouse button alternate fire is currently bound to.

One building can be hauled at a time, and doing so will sensibly reduce the Engineer speed to 75% (225v), slightly slower than a Heavy, regardless of type and/or level of the building. Additionally, the Engineer cannot switch to any weapon or item until the building is redeployed. It is still possible to use Teleporters (either his own or a friendly Engineer's) - unless, of course, he is carrying his own entrance or exit.

If the Engineer is killed while he is hauling a building, the building is also destroyed, and the Engineer will drop a toolbox which will act like a large ammo crate if picked up. A special kill icon representing a toolbox will be shown alongside the Engineer's death.

Redeploying a building is similar to a normal construction, except that the building will construct itself at twice the normal rate, and the Engineer can speed up the process even further. Higher level buildings will have to cycle through all their upgrade animations before becoming operative, and cannot be packed up again until ready. Damaged buildings retain their health at the moment they were packed; they cannot be repaired during redeployment unless they take damage during it, and even then they can only be repaired up to what health they had before being packed (until they are fully redeployed). In Mann vs Machine, hauling does not slow you down and buildings redeploy themselves instantly.

The three phases of building redeployment (packing, hauling and redeploying) are accompanied by specific responses.

The Rescue Ranger has the ability to haul buildings from any distance (provided a direct line of sight) at the cost of 130 metal; it also forces the Engineer to take mini-crits while hauling buildings, whether via the long-range pickup or not. Buildings cannot be hauled while using the Eureka Effect.

Destruction

A building can be by destroyed by his owner using the Demolish Tool or by an enemy attacking it with any weapon, or using the Sapper. A building can also be destroyed if an Engineer is carrying a building and a player kills the Engineer. A destruction is worth one point to the destroyer and is recorded on the player's scoreboard. A destruction cannot be assisted unless the building has been sapped (in which case the Spy who sapped it will get the assist) or the building has been destroyed while hauling (in which case the assister will be the same as the one of the Engineer's death).

Destruction points are not awarded to Engineers who destroy their own buildings. Furthermore, destructions do not count during the Setup Phase in terms of the scoreboard, though any other events such as revenge crits will trigger as usual. Should an Engineer decide to use the Loadout to change his choice of melee weapons, all his buildings are immediately demolished the moment the new melee weapon becomes available (either by the Engineer respawning or by him reaching a Resupply locker). An Engineer's buildings are also demolished when a player switches from an Engineer to another class, from one team to another, or leaves the server.

When a building is destroyed by an enemy, the Engineer responds with one of three responses, alerting his nearby teammates.

Related achievements

Achieved.png General

Sentry Gunner
Sentry Gunner
Accumulate 10 sentry gun kills with a single sentry.


Riftwalker
Riftwalker
Kill an enemy within 5 seconds of you traveling through an Engineer's teleporter.


Controlpoint.png Foundry

Claim Jumper
Claim Jumper
Capture a control point within 12 seconds after exiting a teleporter.


Leaderboard class scout.png Scout

Closer
Closer
Destroy 3 teleporter entrances.


If You Build It
If You Build It
Destroy 3 enemy buildings while they are still under construction.
Gun Down
Gun Down
Destroy an active sentry gun using your pistol.


Leaderboard class soldier.png Soldier

Engineer to Eternity
Engineer to Eternity
Kill an Engineer as he repairs his sentry gun while it's under enemy fire.


Guns of the Navar0wned
Guns of the Navar0wned
Kill 5 Engineer Sentry Guns while you are standing outside of their range.


Leaderboard class pyro.png Pyro

Arsonist
Arsonist
Destroy 50 Engineer buildings.


Firewall
Firewall
Ignite 5 Spies who have a sapper on a friendly building.


Leaderboard class demoman.png Demoman

Blind Fire
Blind Fire
Destroy an Engineer building that you can't see with a direct hit from your Grenade Launcher.


Spynal Tap
Spynal Tap
Kill 20 Spies within 5 seconds of them sapping a friendly building.


Loch Ness Bombster
Loch Ness Bombster
Kill an enemy player with stickybombs within 5 seconds of them teleporting.
Cry Some Moor!
Cry Some Moor!
Destroy 50 buildings.


Tam O'Shatter
Tam O'Shatter
Destroy 5 enemy Engineer buildings during a single ÜberCharge from a Medic.


The Argyle Sap
The Argyle Sap
Blow up an Engineer, his sentry gun, and his dispenser with a single stickybomb detonation.


Leaderboard class heavy.png Heavy

Factory Worker
Factory Worker
Kill 20 enemies while being recharged by a dispenser.


Five Second Plan
Five Second Plan
Kill an enemy in the first 5 seconds after you exit a teleporter.


Leaderboard class engineer.png Engineer

(Not So) Lonely Are the Brave
(Not So) Lonely Are the Brave
Keep a Heavy healed with your dispenser while he gains five kills.


The Extinguished Gentleman
The Extinguished Gentleman
Have dispensers you built extinguish 20 burning players.


Circle the Wagons
Circle the Wagons
Repair 50,000 damage to friendly buildings constructed by other players.


Uncivil Engineer
Uncivil Engineer
Provide an enemy player with a freeze cam of you and the sentry that just killed them.


Get Along!
Get Along!
Manage to get to, and then remove, a sapper placed on your building while you were several meters away.


Deputized
Deputized
Get 10 assists with another Engineer where a sentry gun was involved in the kill.


Frontier Justice
Frontier Justice
Have your sentry kill the enemy that just killed you within 10 seconds.


Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger
Haul buildings 1 km over your career.


Best Little Slaughterhouse in Texas
Best Little Slaughterhouse in Texas
Rack up 5000 kills with your sentry guns.


If You Build It, They Will Die
If You Build It, They Will Die
Haul a level 3 sentry gun into a position that achieves a kill shortly after being redeployed.


Patent Protection
Patent Protection
Destroy an enemy Engineer's sentry gun with a sentry under control of your Wrangler.


Fistful of Sappers
Fistful of Sappers
Destroy 25 sappers on buildings built by other team members.


Rio Grind
Rio Grind
Perform 50 repairs and/or reloads on a Sentry gun being Wrangled by another Engineer.


Silent Pardner
Silent Pardner
Upgrade 50 buildings built by other team members.
Breaking Morant
Breaking Morant
Kill 10 Snipers with a sentry gun under the control of your Wrangler.


Built to Last
Built to Last
Help a single building tank over 2000 damage without being destroyed.


How the Pests Was Gunned
How the Pests Was Gunned
Destroy 50 enemy stickybombs lying in range of friendly buildings.


Drugstore Cowboy
Drugstore Cowboy
Have dispensers you created dispense a combined amount of 100,000 health over your career.


Building Block
Building Block
Have a sentry shielded by the Wrangler absorb 500 damage without being destroyed.


Land Grab
Land Grab
Help a teammate construct a building.


Pownd on the Range
Pownd on the Range
Kill 10 enemies outside the normal sentry gun range using the Wrangler.


Death Metal
Death Metal
Pick up 10,000 waste metal from pieces of destroyed buildings.


Search Engine
Search Engine
Kill 3 cloaked Spies with a sentry gun under control of your Wrangler.


Doc, Stock, and Barrel
Doc, Stock, and Barrel
Repair a sentry gun under fire while being healed by a Medic.


No Man's Land
No Man's Land
Use a sentry gun to kill 25 enemy players that are capturing a point.


Battle Rustler
Battle Rustler
Teleport 100 team members into battle.


Doc Holiday
Doc Holiday
Have a dispenser heal three teammates at the same time.


Leaderboard class medic.png Medic

Medical Breakthrough
Medical Breakthrough
Assist in destroying 5 enemy Engineer buildings with a single ÜberCharge on a Demoman.


Midwife Crisis
Midwife Crisis
Heal an Engineer as he repairs his sentry gun while it's under enemy fire.


Leaderboard class sniper.png Sniper

De-sentry-lized
De-sentry-lized
Destroy 3 Engineer sentry guns.


Leaderboard class spy.png Spy

Sap Auteur
Sap Auteur
Destroy 1000 Engineer buildings with sappers.


Sapsucker
Sapsucker
Sap an enemy building, then backstab the Engineer who built it within 5 seconds.


Joint Operation
Joint Operation
Sap an enemy sentry gun within 3 seconds of a teammate sapping another.
Constructus Interruptus
Constructus Interruptus
Kill an Engineer who is working on a sentry gun.


The Man with the Broken Guns
The Man with the Broken Guns
Backstab an Engineer, then sap 3 of his buildings within 10 seconds.


Mvm navicon.png Mann vs. Machievements

Undelete
Undelete
During a wave, use a canteen charged with 'Instant Building Upgrade' to build a new sentry gun within 3 seconds of your previous sentry gun's destruction.
Real Steal
Real Steal
As an Engineer, escape with your sentry as a sentry buster is about to detonate.

Update history

September 20, 2007 Patch
  • Fixed Sentry muzzleflashes not drawing unless sentry was near the map origin.

September 26, 2007 Patch

  • Fixed bug with placement of Teleporters that could result in players being unable to move.

October 5, 2007 Patch

October 9, 2007 Patch

  • Demomen grenades now collide with players and Engineer buildings after the first bounce, but still won't explode on contact.

October 25, 2007 Patch

  • Engineer buildings now explode when the Engineer dies during sudden death.
  • Fixed scoring problem where destroying a buildable added a phantom point, not attributed to any scoring bucket but still included in total score
  • Fixed some edge cases where grenades could go through player or buildings
  • The Engineer's "build X" commands will now behave properly when bound directly to keys.

November 7, 2007 Patch

  • Fixed a bug in scoring Engineer building destruction.
  • Engineers no longer earn points for using their own Teleporters.
  • Fixed exploit that allowed players to teleport with the intelligence.

November 21, 2007 Patch

  • Fixed building bone merge cache from dormant entities. Fixes weapons in SourceTV attached to wrong bones

December 20, 2007 Patch

  • Sapped buildings now take slightly less damage from the Spy who sapped them.
  • Fixed the teleporter's player shaped particles not drawing.

February 14, 2008 Patch

  • Added server log entry for buildings destroyed by their owner.
  • Fixed Sentry Gun shadows being clipped.

February 28, 2008 Patch

  • Changed Engineer buildings to detonate when a player disconnects instead of blinking out.
  • Fixed Engineer being able to detonate buildings that are being sapped.
  • Fixed potential client crash for players being healed by a Medic or Dispenser.

April 29, 2008 Patch (Gold Rush Update)

  • Teleporter effect no longer shows up on invisible or disguised Spies.
  • Fixed "times used" entry in Teleporters maxing out at 32.
  • Mapmakers can now place Engineer buildings directly into a map, with an option for them to be invulnerable.

December 11, 2008 Patch

  • Teleporters can now be upgraded to level three. It will recharge faster the higher level it is.
  • The Engineer's Dispensers can now be upgraded to level three. It will give out metal and heal faster as it is upgraded.

December 15, 2008 Patch

  • Added teleporter sounds for level 2 and 3 Teleporters.

January 28, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed teleporter entrance/exit effects being drawn when they don't have a matching teleporter entrance/exit.

February 24, 2009 Patch (Scout Update)

  • Added new sounds for upgraded Teleporters.

May 21, 2009 Patch (Sniper vs. Spy Update)

  • Spies can now use enemy Teleporters.

May 29, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed Spies not being telefragged when standing on an enemy teleporter exit with the Dead Ringer enabled.

June 23, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed Teleporters not being buildable in some places where they should be (such as within the pit at the end of Badwater Basin).

August 13, 2009 Patch (Classless Update)

  • Fixed Sentry Guns firing at a fully cloaked Spy if they're still the closest target.
  • Engineers wrenching a teleporter will repair the other end as well, and remove Sappers from both if they exist.

August 31, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed being able to burn buildings that are in the water while standing outside the water.
  • Fixed teleporting Spies getting stuck in enemy players standing on the exit.
  • Fixed server log not listing telefrag kills as weapon "telefrag".

April 28, 2010 Patch

  • Killing yourself with your own Sentry Gun no longer increments the Sentry Gun's kill counter.

April 29, 2010 Patch (119th Update)

  • Fixed Teleporters not reverting to level 1 when their other side is destroyed.
  • Fixed Teleporter exit using the wrong particle effect.

April 30, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed the Engineer being able to build more than 1 of each type of building.

July 8, 2010 Patch (Engineer Update)

  • Engineers can now pickup & move their buildings.
  • Fixed a server crash related to carrying buildings.
  • 'Wrenching' a Sentry Gun now upgrades, repairs and restores ammunition all at once per Wrench hit, prioritizing repairs and upgrading if not in possession of enough metal.

July 9, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed an exploit that allowed Engineers to build level 2/3 mini Sentry Guns.
  • Fixed a bug that allowed sapped buildings to be picked up by the Engineer
  • Fixed a bug where Wrangled level 3 Sentry Guns would still fire rockets when they were out of ammo.
  • Fixed a bug where players would go into reference poses when switching classes while carrying a building.
  • Engineers can no longer pick up buildings while stunned or in loser state.
  • Fixed an issue where Wrangled sentrygun effects wouldn't be attached to the sentrygun.
  • Fixed a server crash in the player death code, related to building carrying.

July 13, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed a server crash related to carrying buildings at round start.
  • Fixed players picking up buildings before a round has started.
  • Fixed an exploit where Engineers could create level 3 Mini-Sentry Guns.

July 19, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed a problem with not being able to pick-up buildings in Arena mode.
  • Fixed an exploit that allowed team kills with Wrangled Sentry Guns.
  • Fixed a bug where Teleporters could be given more than their normal amount of health.

October 8, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed a Sentry Gun exploit that let Engineers build multiple Sentry Guns.
  • Fixed Engineers being able to build level 3 mini-Sentry Guns using the Wrangler.

October 19, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed another Sentry Gun exploit that let Engineers build multiple Sentry Guns.
  • Fixed Engineers being able to build level 3 Mini-Sentry Guns using the Wrangler for real this time.

December 2, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed Engineers being able to destroy sapped buildings by issuing the command directly in the console.

January 10, 2011 Patch

  • Added the mini-sentry kill icon.

February 22, 2011 Patch

  • [Undocumented] Several particle effects, including critical rockets, pipes, and stickies, were altered to appear brighter. These changes do not apply to ATi graphics card users and some others.

March 10, 2011 Patch

  • Fixed the Best Little Slaughterhouse in Texas achievement not counting Wrangler and Mini-Sentry kills.

April 17, 2012 Patch

  • Fixed being able to place buildings in nobuild zones.

May 10, 2012 Patch

  • Fixed a bug that allowed buildings to be built in nobuild/respawn volumes.

October 17, 2012 Patch

  • Fixed floating arrows on carried objects.

December 12, 2012 Patch

  • Fixed missing HUD sounds for Engineer building status panel.

February 22, 2013 Patch

  • Fixed buildings not always being downgraded at the same rate by the Red-Tape Recorder.

April 3, 2013 Patch

  • Fixed buildings destroyed by the Red-Tape Recorder not always displaying a death notice.

Unused content

  • The Repair Node was a building that was considered as an addition to the Engineer Update, but was scrapped during development.

Bugs

  • A redeployed level 2 or level 3 Sentry Gun will attempt to target enemy players during the brief instant between reaching a level and starting the animation to upgrade to the next level. If the Sentry is directly facing an enemy, it may even be able to fire before the upgrade animation.
  • If an Engineer changes classes, his buildings simply vanish; this is inconsistent with the behavior of the Engineer changing his melee loadout, changing teams, or leaving the game, where his buildings are destroyed.
  • If a building is packed up while it takes damage, then redeployed, the building HUD may report it as damaged even after it is fully repaired.
  • The metal cost of repairing a building during redeployment is not affected by how much health can actually be replenished, making it easy to waste metal while attempting to speed up redeployment.
  • Buildings are not affected by gravity or physics; if the floor underneath a building is removed, the building will remain floating in the air, and moving platforms will pass through them.
  • Heavily damaged buildings may still show signs of being damaged (such as sparks and flames) that remain present even when the building is fully repaired. Hauling the building may remove them.
  • Picking up and moving a Sentry into spawn will cause the Sentry to explode.
    • Picking up a Sentry that has been built too near to spawn can also cause the Sentry to explode.
  • When a building is first upgraded to level 3, it spawns with 1 extra point of health, for a total of 217. When it is picked up and replaced, or rebuilt, it keeps this extra point of health. However, if it takes damage and is then repaired, it repairs to its base health, 216.

Gallery

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