A paranoid person's guide to playing Engineer

A place to discuss strategies and methods of playing
One_Medic_Army
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Re: A paranoid person's guide to playing Engineer

Post by One_Medic_Army » Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:39 pm

You'llNeverWalkAlone wrote:Soooo, you're saying the Jag is pretty much useless. Well that certainly helps.
Well, a second less time to set up a gun/dispenser can be helpful actually.
Plus the video didn't cover dropping the dispenser, hitting it once, then going off to do something else (like getting metal and setting up a gun).
The jag's effect speeds up building for the entire duration with just one swing, so if you find yourself dropping gear and doing something else nearby it can be handy there.

I'll still use it, since I've never run into a situation where the lower melee dmg really hurt (I have killed heavies with the jag, it still hurts people).
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Re: A paranoid person's guide to playing Engineer

Post by OmgOhnoes » Wed Nov 30, 2011 2:58 pm

My take on the different wrenches is this:

Jag - i almost always use it, seconds add up when you have to constantly put guns up. It can make the difference between someone running into a gun and having to deal with it and someone running into a engy trying to build a gun, taking out the engy easily and then turning their attention to the gun. The less damage is irritating but the wrench is usually your last resort; use your shotgun.

Southern Hospitality - I only use this if spies are being problematic. The main issue is on many maps the fire resistance hit means any pyro that's not even ubered can take out you and then your gear since you can't tank it. I know this, i play pyro a lot. The bleed damage isn't really what i like about it, but more so the bleed graphic. When you see it you know where they've went and any teammate who sees it is going to go after it as well.

Wrench - other than the damage above the Jag i don't see any reason to use this unless mandated.. like i said, even a portion of a second is the difference between wining and losing.
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Re: A paranoid person's guide to playing Engineer

Post by Boss Llama » Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:18 pm

You'llNeverWalkAlone wrote:It certainly can be helpful to be able to hear ambient sounds, including the dialogue from nearby people, but I find that the sound of gunfire and explosions drown out much of that. Unless no one else is around, I can't say that I can hear the footsteps. Do I just need to adjust my sound?
Possibly. It can be an advantage to have sound cranked, and it can be an advantage to have sound low. I prefer to have my game sounds reasonably low and my incoming voices reasonably high, because once you know what you're listening for, you'll be able to hear it at pretty much any volume your ears get used to. Footsteps don't occur on all materials, but things like wood are great for it.
The wrangler has been good for me for 2 things: the added protection when my gear is getting attacked (either during build or in an uber) and for hitting people who are too far away for the gun to target on its own. Other than that, I don't use it. I've gone to using the pistol when I have the mini, but when I use the regular sentry I'm usually in a defensive position and want the shielding. I've found that placing the sentry down and then switching to the wrangler allows me to protect it for that length of time it sets up. It inevitably draws fire, which hopefully gives my team time to deal with the attacker, and I still have a level one after the attack is finished.
A Wrangler is good for those things you describe, and its use then becomes a function of playstyle. I personally don't believe in putting a gun up in places where "out of range" is a possibility, as it's too great a vulnerability in most situations. In places where my team controls the "out of range" area (it's backwards or lateral from my gun) that's different, but having an out of range enemy position is just asking for trouble. The shield does also provide protection against an attack, but so does tanking the gun. I suppose that part is entirely preference, and a little luck regarding what class attacks you.
The idea of going on an empty server to check out the sounds is a great one, thanks.
You bet :-)

Something worth doing in the long run is putting some serious time in to playing the class(es) you want to improve at countering. My two primary classes are Pyro and Spy, born rivals. Putting in 400+ hours as spy has done more for my spy-hunting ability as Pyro than the 1100+ hours in that class by itself would. I know nearly every hiding place, nearly every route, and nearly every standard spy trick on most of the stock maps, because I spy there myself. Engy is my third class at only around 270 hours, but I feel like my gameplay as engy is somewhat better than my hours suggest, largely because I've extensively played two of the three best anti-engy classes. Any time you're setting something up, you should be asking yourself "how would I destroy this as an enemy?" Find spots where the answer is "I don't know."

Another important thing - if your SG gets destroyed, don't rebuild in exactly the same place. Predictability makes destroying an SG easy as heck. You don't have to totally relocate, just move a couple lengths to one side or the other, or closer to or farther from a wall. When the attackers come back, the split second additional time it takes them re-aim at the new location (most will come out immediately going for the previous spot) is enough for your gun to swing in to action and clear them out. I often will move my gun around even if it isn't destroyed, changing it's position a few meters after every enemy push, so they never know quite where it will be.
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Re: A paranoid person's guide to playing Engineer

Post by YoullNeverWalkAlone » Wed Nov 30, 2011 7:39 pm

I may have played less than an hour of spy. I was so bad and frustrated at my play that I stopped. I think I mostly felt like it wasn't helpful to my team for me to play spy and I switched to something helpful (same goes for why I don't play much sniper, I would like to, but it feels like s detriment to my team)

Most of what I've figured out about engi come from watching others play. Which can be limiting in many ways. I haven't quite figured out how engi's get set up quickly on Gorge on the roof near blue's second spawn, I'm not sure how someone got a SG under some stairs on one map, or how you can drop some items partly in the spawn.

My number of hours played in any of these classes is pretty small in comparison to many people around here. Thanks to the advice of many VIlluns, I've mostly been a medic which has allowed me to observe pyro, soldiers, demos and heavies more than some of the other classes. Engi appeals to me as well. More than almost any class it seems that map familiarity is key to be good at the class. I'm still learning the maps but I think I'll continue to play pyro as my 3rd choice to help learn about engi (and spy)
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