Ok, maybe I DO get the mindset of Engineers…
So a while back you may remember me being slightly perplexed about where the fun comes from in playing Engineer… It’s always the same thing, I whined, while also muttering about how I’d rather be shot in the front lines than hang back for any amount of time. As an expected result of this, I got a lot of people disagreeing with me and giving reasons and suggestions as to why I was completely and utterly wrong. I read them all while sighing in relief about the fact there wasn’t a single “U suk lolol” to be seen, and being the professional that I am, I thought I’d take those thoughts on board. So over the past few weeks I’ve been picking Engineer more than I would of liked, binging on the class for hours at a time more than once. And you know what? I think I can see the appeal.
“Buildin’ a sentry…”
Now, let me get this straight – I haven’t become a massive fan of the Engineer, waving little flags around with his face on and honoring him at every opportunity. Indeed, it’s not a class I will truly enjoy playing, and I agree that I might ever hold a slight bias of hatred towards those who play him religiously. I still can’t play him truly defensively, either… Standing in the courtyard of 2Fort with nothing but a beeping sentry to keep me company and the possibility of only getting “Into the action” via clicking on the damn thing just makes me want to stick forks in my eyes. And even if the action does heat up and loads of people start shooting at my sentry, the apparent tension in keeping it alive or watching it die seems to elude me. I don’t even care if my contraptions survive, because for some reason I still feel no reward in what I might just have done.
So where do I see the fun in the Engineer now? Well, it comes from doing something I tend to do quite a lot, and that’s in ignoring the role the class is meant to be. Screw the defensive side of things, I cry! Let’s take my sentries to the attacking front line! By doing this, I find I remove the aspect of not truly being in the fight that I don’t like, while opening up a whole new set of challenges. Take, for example, the inevitable fight for the middle point in stages such as well. There’s something incredibly exhilarating in sneaking into the fight, kit in hand, and trying to set up a sentry before you get blown up into little tiny pieces. With the fight going on mere inches away, and the knowledge that if anyone spots you you’re dead meat, it’s hard not to get excited. And even if you do set up successfully, scurrying around for metal in order to keep your killing going is also pretty fun. I also feel its more rewarding than pure defence on the basis there’s a conscious effort in sneaking in, setting up and staying alive. It’s much trickier than building up a level three sentry at a control point where there is no carnage yet…
“I built that.”
There’s also something else that I do like to do when I play an Engineer, and this one involves no killing at all, even though I do it more when my team is attacking. What is it? Why, it’s the humble art of the teleporter, a device that a frustrating amount of Engineers seem to neglect. I throw down an entrance, and then move to somewhere relatively safe, yet close to the battle… Those one-way gates on Dustbowl are perfect for this, as you get the added bonus of watching the other team act all frustrated outside. Then I throw down a dispenser, get a sentry up for protection, and finally hit up the exit teleporter… And watch the teleportation counter fly. There’s something oddly pleasing about knowing you’re technically throwing your team members at the enemy without even giving them a break, and time after time I’ve seen that this is the sort of thing that can decide a battle… After all, there’s no point blowing up a sentry if there’s no-one with you to take advantage of the absence that creates. That’s also the reason I don’t mind not being truly in the fight, as in essence, I am creating the fight… Oh, and you also tend to get the occasional Spy and desperate player trying to take your gear down in the end, which is always something to look forward to. And getting 28 successful teleportations in a single fight once, without any faults or contraption destruction? I couldn’t help but feel smug.
So, what can I say? Turns out the Engineer isn’t as snooze inducing as I first thought. It’ll never be my first pick when it comes to class selection, but you never know… You might see me whacking away at a sentry some time, normally after you’ve just popped out my teleporter. Unless you can see me and you’re on the other team, but if that is the case, you can hopefully see a bunch of lead and rockets heading for your soft flash at the same time…
supremesonic on August 23rd 2008 in engineer, team fortress 2
Stumble it!
Sanns responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 8:57 am #
I’m glad you’ve found solace in the class.
Personally, I’ve developed a new appreciation for the class in arenas. I drop a dispenser in the middle, I put a SG (L1) somewhere inconspicuous, and I start hunting with my shotgun. Sometimes I’ll upgrade my SG to L2, but never past there–by then, the other team knows where it’s at, and it’s not useful. It’s a sort of “three pronged attack”. Granted, no single aspect of this strategy is as effective as if I focused on a single technique, but that’s OK. If I can get a kamikazi shotgun kill on their medic and then allow my teammates to heal up with my dispenser even after our medic is down, that’s a team advantage in my book. Plus, it’s hella fun watching your SG earn kills even after you’ve died.
J3553 responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 9:23 am #
I don’t want stuff in my soft “flash”
Spellcheck FAIL.
Xeno responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 10:06 am #
You’re doing it wrong! Tele goes up first!
I love being a stealth engineer, sneaking past enemy lines (espcially on well) and setting up a senty with a friend, and watching those kills some steaming in as the enemy gets fired on from well inside their base.
Galenor responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 10:10 am #
“Screw the defensive side of things, I cry! Let’s take my sentries to the attacking front line!”
Aha! The good sir has seemed to discover an area of Engineering i truly enjoy: Offensive Engineering.
A tactic you could use a few times is what i like to call an ‘Annoyance Sentry’. My method of doing this is rushing to the front line: specifically, an area which has a heated battle going on. You slap down a L1 Sentry, ensuring it can’t be outranged easy, and leave it. Annoyance Sentries, for me, rarely get past L1, and NEVER go past L2; but it never needs to be. It’s a disposable thing that you plonk down where you know there’s a wave of people, and watch it as it mows down five people before someone catches on and finally nails it. Yes, they managed to overcome your little annoyance; but it’s made life much easier for your boys back at the point.
It’s another side of Engineering that many players neglect: as well as a proper, heavy fortified ‘Front Base’, you can have these little, but varying in location, Annoyance Sentries. Put them in awkward positions and watch as people blunder by and panic at the last second. Very fun!
It’s a good time to be an Offensive Engineer too: Heavys, brought on by the current update, will love your teleports and often shower you with praise
And a note: 2fort Engineering, despite me loving the class, is dull. Very very dull.
Arsenal IV responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 10:24 am #
whenever I play as Engineer, I just start popping random Lvl 1 sentries in weird obvious spots. Its funny how many people you can kill just by building one in water in 2fort.
GuiltyFish responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 4:25 pm #
Also Sentries find more targets in PC than in our Xbox games I’ve noticed after watching my friend play Engie on the computer.
Mr. Noobinator responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 5:20 pm #
well…have you ever become a ninja engineer in 2fort? building an engineer nest in the enemy’s intel room? that’s the main fun in playing engi =D
General Balls responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 5:55 pm #
This is what every good engineer does. Stick their Sentries close to where the fighting is, next to a dispenser. Give your teammates a relatively secure position to reload and reheal. It’s not going to do any good anywhere else, and it’s pretty boring sticking it in useless spots anyway.
Sonic, my man, you have finally learned how to play Engineer. Except, you know, teleporters go first.
Pulviriza responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 6:38 pm #
What isn’t good tho is 2 engies sitting in the intel room on 2fort so no-one can take the flag. Worse when both teams are doing it.
Mister Muffin Man responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 6:49 pm #
“Teleporters go first”, some of you say. Not necessarily. Look at Dustbowl stage 2, for example, when you’re playing offensive Engineer. You set up a little base in the tunnel with the one-way door. If you set up your teleporter first, you have to walk for ages in order to find more metal for a dispenser so that you can finally build a sentry to protect your teleporter. During this time, I can pretty much guarantee that if there’s a smart player on the opposing team, he’ll just march inn there and destroy your teleporter and you have to start over again. However, if you build a dispenser and a sentry first, it will be very hard for the defensive team to get to your teleporter at all.
If there’s a big ammo pack right by you, of course, there’s nothing wrong with building the teleporter first, since you’ll be able to get up some protection fairly quickly.
supremesonic responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 7:03 pm #
@J3553: Hahaha, that is indeed epic fail. I have half the mind to leave it there so everyone can laugh at me.
Also, my experience of putting the teleporter first normally ends up with a Soldier/Pyro/Whatever running round the corner and trashing it. Which is an annoying event I tend to try and avoid.
RukuBites responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 7:11 pm #
I just started playing Engy this way today. It is much more fun being aggressive, though sometimes you are still forced to hunker down and protect your point.
Play of the day today was killing off a spy who was protecting his sapper on my level 3 sentry - I was half a second away from blowing it up for relocation anyway, so I just killed him and let the turret die.
Mr. Noobinator responded on 23 Aug 2008 at 10:44 pm #
oh, and never make a tele exit on the cave which u can access from inside the building. snipers will just leave a dot there and drink a cup of joe while pressing ‘enter’ whenever someone pops up.
those kind of engineers should die even though his sentry kills everybody who comes into the point.
BathrobeAssassin responded on 24 Aug 2008 at 2:49 pm #
“Offensive Engineering” is only one day older than “Defensive Engineering.” Meaning, it took a day or so before everyone found out that you can build Sentrys where you like. Old news.
Really, every class is enjoyable if you can use your damn imagination with them.
Slipstream responded on 25 Aug 2008 at 5:34 am #
I just plain hate being the Engineer. I don’t know why, but it’s more satisfying to destroy buildings than to build them.
Nevertheless, the Engineer is a vital player to defense and some cases of offense.
I, however, do not believe we need half a dozen Texas inbreds hiding behind each other’s dispensers on Dustbowl. Especially the ones that just hold down the mouse button to tank it.
…
Okay, I still dislike the Engineer, despite my attempts to forgive him for being around every damn corner of Goldrush. Just give me a butterfly knife, a sapper and a good dose of psychological warfare and I’ll have fun.
Unlike the Engineer, who spends twenty minutes watching his sentry before falling into a coma.
(Yeah, go on, send me some hate mail, start a petition, spam speeches, do whatever you like. I sure do love it when you just help prove my point.)
jarj102 responded on 25 Aug 2008 at 1:15 pm #
I play the 360 and I think the demoman should have the dynamite like in the trailer and that would help take out turteling engies
hihihi
Sanns responded on 26 Aug 2008 at 2:12 am #
Try hiding your teleporter exits in houses, around corners, etc. Also, don’t feel like you need to wrench on it to build it faster unless it’s practical to do so (e.g., your teammates are covering you and/or your team is in desperate need of a TP).
Yoyoto responded on 28 Aug 2008 at 9:56 pm #
I haven’t finished reading this but I just got to the part about the teleporter, finally someone who understands my joy, when I play engie I really don’t care about kills, and if I’m on defense I don’t build sentries I help others who then tell me to so they can return the favor, not the point, the One thing I really love is building a base close to the front lines and having the teleporter count get past 20, especially when I see teammates protecting me, my favorite spots have to be on dustbowl as red in the longer tunnel to the right when leaving spawn, and in the hidden area under the first cp infact when I’m done reading I’m going to go play there!
John responded on 29 Aug 2008 at 1:00 am #
This is a nice guide to basic offensive engineering:
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=NYsZ3tLpVMs
skyeslipstream responded on 12 Sep 2008 at 5:07 pm #
Nonetheless, I still find myself falling to sleep every now and then as the Texan…
No, seriously, I once nearly fell asleep as I was playing a game as an Engineer.
Maybe a personal thing, but I’m sure anyone who had to spend twenty minutes defending a sentry can sympathize how damn BORING it is.
Kilroy responded on 23 Sep 2008 at 11:21 am #
When I do play as Engineer, I always make sure I build it semi-near to another Engineer’s sentry, so that the other engineer can sort of babysit my sentry. I’m rarely around my sentry unless we’re being attacked.