Engineer (6v6)

Overview

The Engineer is considered an offclass in the 6v6 metagame. While the Sentry's poor mobility makes Engineer weak in transition plays, the sentry's aim neuters Scouts, its regeneration allows it to waste a lot of Uber, and once the sentry goes down, the Engineer can switch back to their main, acting as a disposable player. In large maps such as cp_warmfront, the Engineer's teleporters can be used to better hold second after a failed last push.

Usually, a team only runs Engineer only when they are pushed all the way back into last, and even that is rare. This is so as building a Sentry takes up a long time. However, a good side of this is that the opposing team will first have to focus their fire on the Sentry to get rid of it, thereby wasting a lot of the ubercharge.

Strategies + Tips

• Sentries are especially powerful against Kritzkrieg, as they are immune to critical hits. And players under the effect of a Kritzkrieg ubercharge are not invulnerable.

• If the Demoman is individually airbursting stickies at your sentry, you can Wrench your sentry until you're in danger of dying to the next sticky. If he's laying down multiple stickies, try to shoot them off, but get out of their explosion range.

• Don't be afraid to abandon the Sentry and go back to your main. As long as it's stalled for a bit of time, you've done your job.

• Make sure you have enough time to get at least a level 2 if you're going Engineer. Level 1s are too weak.

• If your sentry doesn't go down, you can push out with all six people and leave the Sentry to guard last, leaving you with more numbers pushing out, better able to win the fight on second, while keeping a guard on last.

• Forward holds with Sentries can be useful if you get into position in time. A Sentry can alert the Engineer to players with its perfectly accurate senses. Combined with a stickytrap, you can get stickytrap kills while remaining far away, perfectly safe.

• Try baiting your Sentry. People underestimate Engineers, prioritizing the Sentry, and often don't expect an Engineer to do anything but run. While the Engineer is fragile, the Shotgun is very powerful and you can get kills on distracted enemies, especially if they're softened from your Sentry.

• Try hiding stickytraps inside Dispensers. Dispensers are extremely low priority targets and people usually ignore them.

• When holding last, once you have a sentry upgraded, you can try using a teleporter system. Build an entrance near where the Medic is, but not so near that he'll accidentally walk into it. Put the exit on the other side of the point. When the enemy jumps in, the Medic can teleport and the rest of the people can jump to him, allowing him to milk or escape a No Uber vs Uber situation.

• On Attack / Defend maps, setup time mitigates the Sentry's build time. Have all non-essential classes suicide to give you metal.

• Be sure to get at least a Level 2 Sentry before worrying about Dispensers and Teleporters, unless setup time is involved.

• If it's allowed, use the Jag. It builds sentries around a second faster than the Stock, which can be a lifesaver, while hitting enemies is never important when you have a Shotgun and 200 ammo Pistol.

• When attacking with Engineer, keep your Sentry at Level 1, 175 upgraded. The more a sentry levels, the longer it takes to deploy, and with this setup you can deploy a level 2 as fast as possible.

Counters

• Try and spam down a Sentry before you push. This is not always possible because of placement, but because buildings always take base damage, two well-placed stickies or three rockets can snipe it before the push even starts.

• If you can't do that, focus the Sentry immediately. Sentries hard counter Scouts and you need your Scouts in the thick of the fight to win it.

• When Ubering to take down a Sentry, you don't have to Uber the Demoman. Because the Sentry always focuses the closest target, you can Uber your pocket Soldier instead while the Demo safely spams behind, not taking flashes.

• If you're running a Sniper, time your fully-charged bodyshot to hit as soon as a Soldier spam rocket does, and you can take it down without giving the Engineer a chance to repair.

When attacking a Sentry tanked by an Engineer, if you focus the Engineer, he'll either die or be forced to retreat, leaving the sentry vulnerable and maybe preventing a Scout or roamer from re-entering the fight.

See Also

• Engineer
• Engineer (Highlander)