Engineer: Difference between revisions

The '''Engineer''' is a [[Classes#Defense|defensive class]], whose specialization is in constructing powerful and potent [[Buildings|buildings]] that change the flow of a game. He has 125 health, 100% speed, and 200 metal, which is a currency earned from ammo sources and spent to construct and upgrade buildings. His [[Sentry Gun]] is a major threat to any enemy in its sight, capable of shredding any threat in seconds. His [[Dispenser]] acts as a constant source of health and ammo, shoring up his teammates and sustaining a forward position. His [[Teleporter]] can send his entire team to the front lines, dramatically increasing their response time. And, optionally, his [[Jump Pads]] are a more mobile movement option that opens up innovative means of travel. He is subpar in direct combat, but the power, durability, and immediate effect of his buildings means that he dictates the flow of the game around him, acting as the single biggest obstacle to a successful enemy push. By no means is he completely useless in a straight fight, as a Shotgun is still a Shotgun, but that is not what he typically brings to a fight. When successfully set up and maintained, an Engineer encampment can single-handedly win the game.

His weaknesses are his fragility, extremely slow setup time, predictability when using Level 3s, and punishing deaths. The Engineer is a weak class in direct combat, and though his [[Shotgun]] deals large amounts of damage, his low health and high kill priority means he will not survive a direct encounter. His buildings take a lot of time to set up, even when given optimal metal, and proactive enemies can spam out known encampment positions to impede the Engineer's progress. Since there are only a few viable Sentry spots for fully upgraded Sentries per map, meaning a defensive Engineer has little flexibility to change his tactics, meaning he is stuck defending his encampment in the same position each game. Since it's rarely viable to move an entire encampment to a different position, mobile scenarios are not his strong suit, including most offensive situations. He is usually stuck hauling a single upgraded building and destroying the other ones. And since the Engineer is the only class that can upgrade and repair his buildings, unless there are other friendly Engineers, a single death can lead to the rapid dismantlement of all his hard work, and with it, the chance of victory.

 

Despite haing many weaknesses, both obvious and not, the capacity of an Engineer to warp the entire game around his encampments makes him the most powerful defensive class in the game. His buildings are priority targets for any enemy to destroy, and the game simply cannot go on if there is a Sentry Gun defending an objective, and even Level 1 Buildings still offer incredibly support to teammates and annoyances for enemies. On offense using upgraded Buildings is generally not a good idea, unless there is a specific spot that the attacking team has difficulty pushing through, in which case he can set up shop there. Or alternatively he can follow his team with Level 1 Sentries and help take out enemies. On defense, he is impossible for a solo player to deal with when properly positioned, and requires a coordinated team effort to destroy entirely. While he is difficult to play optimally, and requires a lot of management of his buildings, the archetypal building spots are easy to pick up as a new player, and does not require sophisticated knowledge of the game's mechanics to be effective. This makes him appealing across a wide variety of skill levels, especially for those who don't mind building an empire, seeing it turn to rubble, and starting all over again.