Hope this is is useful:
Engineer Guide
The self proclaimed practical problem solver of the team, the Engineer is a defensive class of Team Fortress 2, although you can do a lot more than just defend. Fairly weak in open combat, he comes into his own by using the tools of his trade to hold key choke points and provide team mates with faster access to the front line.
Weapons
Primary: The Shotgun
Ammo loaded: 6
Ammo carried: 32
Damage: up to 90
Critical: up to 180
The shotgun model is the same as the secondary weapon currently used by the Heavy, Soldier and Pyro. While it can be powerful at close range, the shotgun is significantly weaker over distance, causing little or no damage. Fully loaded, it holds 6 shots, but the slow reload time can be a problem in a fire fight.
Secondary: The Pistol
Ammo loaded: 12
Ammo carried: 200
Damage: up to 22
Critical: up to 45
The pistol model is the same as that currently used by the Scout. Although the damage is much less than the shotgun, the higher shot count and faster reload time mean this weapon is much more useful over distance.
Melee: Wrench
Damage: up to 85
Critical: up to 195
A truly multi-purpose tool, the wrench can be used to upgrade and repair your buildings, remove enemy sappers and is also a handy weapon. It will generally kill spies in 2 hits, or even faster with a critical.
It’s important to remember that your buildings will construct twice as fast if you hit them with your wrench. This benefit is scalable, so if you see another Engineer start to build you should think about helping him. After all, his sentry might just save your life.
Buildings
Sentry
A heavy calibre, tripod mounted, automated weapon. The level 1 sentry costs 130 metal to build and consists of a single, semi-automatic firing barrel. This will inflict up to 20 damage per shot, but only fires 2 shots per second. By hitting the sentry with your wrench you can upgrade it to level 2 for a further 200 metal. This upgrade replaces the single barrel with dual mini-guns, causing greater damage.
The sentry can be upgraded to level 3 for a further 200 metal. This upgrade features a multiple guided rocket launcher to support the dual mini-guns and inflict yet more damage. Each level upgrade also increases the health of the sentry from 150 to 180 to 210, meaning your sentry will last longer and kill more enemies …
“I told you not to touch the darn thing!†Both the bullets and rockets have a finite supply, so you need to watch the ammo level and reload with additional metal using your wrench.
Costing 530 metal to build and fully upgrade, the sentry is a significant investment. But positioned wisely and well maintained it can hold enemies at bay by protecting control points or denying access to key areas of the map.
Note – the sentry does not always have to face forwards. The direction can be changed by pressing ‘alt fire’ before construction.
Dispenser
An essential building, the dispenser costs 100 metal to build, but provides health, ammo and metal to the Engineer and any team mates in close proximity. With only 150 health and no current upgrade options, the dispenser is prone to damage but can be quickly repaired using your wrench.
As with all the buildings, enemy spies can’t pass through them, so it’s wise to position your buildings in a way which makes it difficult for a spy to back-stab you while you’re upgrading or repairing them.
Note – the direction of the dispenser can be switched by pressing ‘alt fire’ before construction
Teleport
The teleport is built in 2 parts, entrance and exit. Neither part will function until the other is fully constructed, and teleports only transport one way. Each part costs 125 metal to build, so 250 metal for a fully working teleport. This is more expensive than a dispenser plus a level 1 sentry, so certainly not cheap to build, but well worth it for supporting your team.
Positioned wisely, the teleport can provide a constant stream of reinforcements from your spawn point to the frontline, which is essential for the slower classes such as Heavy and Soldier. It’s important to remember that the spawn point can change on some capture maps and teleports should be destroyed and rebuilt at the correct spawn point to keep up with game play. The same is true of your sentry and dispenser, which will offer no help guarding a control point which is now locked.
Note – remember to set the direction of your exit by pressing ‘alt fire’ before construction. It can be very disorientating for teammates to materialise facing a wall
Playing the Engineer in general
This very much depends on your style of game play and the needs of your team.
Defence
The Engineer is a defensive class, so is quite at home building a sentry to cover a control point or guard the intel. This can work out OK if you’ve built your teleport exit in the same area and so have a constant stream of team mates coming through to support you. If not, then it won’t take long before a couple of your enemies get together and work out how to take you down.
If you want to be successful, it’s important to keep up with the game play. With a strong team, it’s too easy for the Engineer to get isolated guarding a control point or intel room that the enemy simply never reach. This can be boring for you, not much use for your team and you’ll soon have the constant attention of an enemy Spy looking to score some easy points. Better to keep repositioning your buildings with the game play so they have maximum effect and keep the enemy on the defensive.
Area Denial
Another approach is to cut off access to key areas. Many maps have key choke points and fully upgraded sentry can slow or even completely stop the enemy advance, giving your team mates a platform from which to attack. Again, teleport positioning is vital as you won’t last too long on your own when the rockets and bombs start flying.
It’s important to become familiar with map layouts and key areas so your buildings are as effective as possible. Given the time and metal needed to build and upgrade, you may need to compromise on where you build initially. If you advance too far then you will likely be killed and your buildings destroyed before you can secure the area. If you don’t advance far enough then your teleports will be little use and the enemy will have time to regroup and counter attack.
Attack
I know the Engineer is a defensive class, but in the right circumstances he can be useful in attack. By sneaking behind enemy lines, the Engineer can establish his base and enable his team mates to bypass the front line by teleporting directly into enemy territory. With your sentry and dispenser built, you can hold off the enemy for a short period allowing your team mates to capture the point or escape with the intel. Just remember to build your teleport entrance before you go sneaking into enemy territory as your buildings won’t last long on their own.
Building Positions
It’s important to remember that the sentry has a limited range. You should always try to position your sentry where it can’t be easily targeted by long range classes such as Soldier or Sniper. Given time, even a Scout with a pistol will destroy a level 3 sentry from a distance.
Even at 210 health, a level 3 sentry won’t last long unless you are around to maintain and repair it. And remember, if you can’t limit the line of sight to your sentry you’d better make sure you stay low, or a Sniper will make short work of your head, before destroying your buildings from a safe distance …
“Standin’ around like a bloody idiot!â€
Building close to another Engineer
This can have some real benefits. As mentioned before, buildings construct twice as fast if you hit them with your wrench, and this benefit is scalable, so the more Engineers working on a building, the faster it will be constructed. Another Engineer can also maintain your buildings if you need to temporarily move away to rebuild a teleport or maybe find more metal. You can make use of 2 dispensers if they are close enough, and create a wall of buildings to protect you from spies. Having more than one level 3 sentry located together can slow an ubercharged enemy to a crawl, preventing them from making any progress before their charge runs out and they get shredded.
However, this can also have some serious drawbacks. If the engineers don’t work together you may find he is leeching metal from your dispenser without first building his own. This lack of metal means it takes much longer to establish your buildings, leaving you vulnerable to just a few well placed shots. You can also become a magnet for enemy attention. An enemy Spy or Demoman will look to score some easy points by destroying grouped buildings, and it’s easy to get in each other’s way when trying to repair them.
The biggest issue is that can be a real waste of resources. With 2 of you covering a single area, the enemy will just find another route around. Much better that you cover different approaches to keep the enemy pushed back on all fronts, or limit the damage of a sustained assault.
Helpful Teammates
Any of your team mates can help keep the enemy pushed back while you get your buildings established, but some are more useful than others when it comes to holding the line. A Heavy can be useful to help keep the enemy pinned back, and he can use your dispenser as a source of infinite ammo. A Pyro is a must for a Spy rich environment, and like the Heavy, the dispenser will provide infinite ammo.
Spies
Spies are the natural enemy of the Engineer. After all, the sole purpose of their sappers is to destroy your buildings. It’s important to be aware of the players around you and learn how to spot spies. When cloaked they are virtually invisible, but their cloak will slip if they bump into objects or other players.
Their disguises have a number of limitations:
- - They will only show the primary weapon of the disguised class, so look out for players not armed as you would expect, such as a Medic with a needle gun instead of healing with his medi-gun
- They can’t fire their disguised weapon ... have you ever known a friendly Pyro who doesn’t try to burn everyone?
- They will be assigned a name from your team. This will match with one of your teammates for their disguised class, or will be random if no-one on your team is in that class
- They can’t move any faster to match their disguised class so slow scouts are a sure giveaway
- They can’t pass through your buildings so if anyone but you is standing on your dispenser …
- They will behave differently from the rest of your team. Sure, they’ll hang around in the same area, but they can’t pass through buildings or other players, can’t fire or switch weapon, and will ultimately try to get behind a player or get close to your buildings ... and they just can’t help calling for a medic for some reason
There’s no friendly fire penalty towards your teammates so if you suspect someone is a spy then blast away. If you have a strong suspicion then alert your teammates so they can help with the search and avoid being back-stabbed. And stick close to your buildings as you’ll need to react quickly to remove any sappers.
If a spy does attach a sapper to your building don’t panic. If you have support from your teammates, then alert them and remove the sapper, but be prepared to defend yourself, as a spy with any sense will always sap your sentry before trying to kill you. If you are alone, then you should worry less about your buildings and more about killing the spy as he can attach sappers more quickly than you can remove them so it’s only a matter of time before your sentry is down and you are vulnerable.
Key Points
- - Always try to position your buildings where they will be most effective, but least vulnerable to long range attack
- Build your dispenser first, it will help you build quicker and attract supportive teammates looking for health and ammo
- Remember that you can change the direction of your buildings by right clicking before construction
- Maintain your buildings
- Support other Engineers
- Keep up with game play
- Always look out for spies
… and get a headset to communicate with your teammates, it will make the game much more fun