Train

Starting Out

Lets start with a brief explination of what an engineer is and does. The engineer is a Team Fortress class that is based more upon brains than brawn. The engineer uses the spanner, railgun, and super shotgun. In addition, he can build the ammo & armor dispenser and the dreaded sentry gun. I will explain all of the weapons later.

Binding Keys

There are a few keys that all engineers should have binded. (use the[bind x "command"] command in the console)

bind x "build"     
bind x "dropammo"  
bind x "discard"

bind x "detdispenser"
bind x "detsentry"   
bind x "reload"    
bind x "id"	   
bind x "saveme"	   
bind x "inv"       
bind x "+gren1"    
bind x "+gren2"

Basic building command
Turns metal into ammo for teammates
Drops all the ammo you don't use (rockets)
in a backpack (not recommended if you have a lev 3 gun)
Detonates dispenser like a mini detpack
Detonates the sentry
Will reload the shotgun
Tells the name and team of the player in front of you
Shows medics and engineers that you need help
Shows how many grenades you have
Press down to prime gren1, release to throw
Same drill as above but with an EMP

Basics to Building

Building is the basic command used by the engineer. To build, you use metal (in the cells ammo slot). Metal can be derived from armor or cells. The engineer has a choice of two objects to build:

The Dispenser

The dispenser dishes out ammo and armor to all players in the game. When walking up to it, the players have the option of choosing to withdraw ammo or armor. The goods in the dispenser slowly regerate with time. It depends on the server but usually these cost 130 metal to build but will take more depending on how much ammo goes in. Often, the dispenser can be used as a wall for the sentry gun. It can protect it from harmful soldier and pyro rockets. I usually put the dispenser in front of, but a step away from the gun, to avoid the sentry from getting in the radiusof the rocket blast. The dispenser can be used in many other ways. In TF 2.6, the aliases detdispenser & detsentry have been added. This can be extremely useful. If you see and enemy trying to stock up on your goods, hit the binded button for detdispenser and watch the fireworks. Also, the dispenser can be used as a makeshift wall to slow down opponents in small passageways. The only downside is your dispenser must be constantly watched; if not, its intirely too easy for the other team to restock on their way to an attack run. REMEMBER: Everyone can use the dispenser so don't put it in a spot where an invader can make a quick pitstop before stealing your key.

The Sentry Gun

The sentry gun is the most lethal part of an engineer. They are startionary guns that pound opposing players full of shells, when they enter its zone. This is one of the best and easiest ways to get frags in TF. The keys to using a sentry gun are placement and upkeep.

Starting out

If you've played TF at all, you know that a good engineer and his gun can make a killer combo on defense. You use the build command to make the gun. Hit the gun with the spanner (axe) to bring up the upgrade menu (see right). When first built, your gun is a piece of shit. It has a pathetic refire rate and hardly hurts enemies. The sentry gun can be upgraded to level 3 in which it has a killer firing rate, constantly fires shells, and shoots rockets every 3 seconds. MAKE SURE TO ALWAYS UPGRADE YOUR GUN TO LEVEL 3!!!! Without, doing this, your is scrap by the first attacker. You can get the upgrade menu by getting close and smacking it with your spanner. On the menu, it has many different commands to operate the gun. This a ver 2.5 screenshot so not everything is perfect; I will try to get a new one soon.

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Puts ammo in gun (use this alot)
Upgrades gun until lev 3
Repairs gun by using metal
Dismantles gun and gives you 135 metal
Nothing
Rotates Gun 45°

Placement

Placing the gun is critical to its lifespan and impact in the game. Your gun should be hidden if possible. Try to get it above ground to make it harder for grenades and pineapples. If you can't get it high, at least make it in the shadows. You want the attackers to think, "Where the hell's that sentry?!?!?!" Also, your gun has a 60 degree attack range. Make sure you face the OPPOSITE way you want your gun to point. Make it face towards where the enemy's are. If not, you'll just sit there wondering why your gun isn't shooting.

Fighting

Most ppl think that while playing, engineers have no chance 1 on 1 against the other classes of TF. Well, they're wrong. I can rack up just as many kills with my weapons as my sentry. Engineers have many advantages at their disposal.

Basic Advantages

First of all, there are some basic advantages that the engineers have just by the setup of the game. Most attackers are never 100% while in your base; since there's no stockup points, some are wasted by 1 or 2 hits. Also, almost always, the defense out numbers the attackers so a single enemy is easy prey.

Railgun

Although it does not seem like it, the railgun is indeed a powerful weapon. Its quick refire rate and almost unlimited ammo make it a gun to reconded with. A good strategy for it is to circle strafe around the attacker pumping him full of rails. This usually can get you a kill or at least weaken the opponent. The rails go though guys so if you see 2 baddies together you might be able to smoke two birds with one stone. Some newbies won't even pay attention to the engineer who gives them a quick ticket to their demise.

Double Shot

The super shotgun is another powerful weapon of the engineer. After filling an enemy up with rails, I usually finish the job with a few buckshots at close range. The shotgun only has 8 shots before reload so make sure to use them wisely and force reload while you're not fighting.

Grenades

I believe the least used but most powerful weapon engs overlook is grenades (bind keys to "+gren1" & "+gren2"). These are primed when the key is hit and thrown when released. You can hold a grenade for seconds before it explodes. The engineer's 2 grenades are normal (1) and EMP (2). You have a total of 4 for each. Learn how to use grenades because its is one of the main things that separates newbies from veterans.

Normal Grenade

The normal grenade is a powerful weapon that is like a pineapple but twice as powerful. It is also kewl because it blends in with the most ground textures. This can easy take out an opponent if they hit it just right... A good tactic is to throw the grenade and then distract them with rails until you see the gibs fly. With a little practice, you can get learn to hold the grenades for a perfect amount of time so they detonate in the are.

EMP Grenade

The EMP is the engineers specialty grenade. It stands for Electro Magnetic Pulse Grenade. What it does is detonate all ammo laying on the ground or being carried by a player. Imagine a poor little demoman minding your own business as every single one of his pineapples explodes before in his face. KABOOM!!! In 2fort4 its pretty deadly to toss one in the resupply if an enemy broke in there to pick up some easy frags. EMPs only work on senties if they have rockets in them so that means lev 3 guns. You'll be wasting some good killing power. But, EMPs can take out detpacks (i think) & pipebomb traps; this can come in very useful if you got some good aim...