I haven't completely ordered this well yet, so I'll shoot from the hip.
In this game, I believe that the engineer is one of the most underplayed and underappreciated classes. I'll break down being a great engineer into a few simple sections.
Part One - Repairs
Your first job as an engineer is to repair anything that you possibly can. Here are a couple things to keep in mind.
- Always check to see how many engineers there are on your team. If you're the only one, create your own squad so that if the commander orders you to repair something, the order won't be defered by a squad leader more concerned with capping flags or killing infantry. As a squad leader, if you get ordered to repair something by a commander, do so. Since your weapons are the jackhammer/shotty/mp7, you're pretty much a close combat soldier, so you should leave the infantry to the guys who will have a better chance than you will. If you're a dead engineer, you can't repair a UAV trailer which is vital to a teams success.
- On many maps, a good tanker or apc driver can turn the tide of war, so it is in your best interest to help these guys out. My advice would be to rarely drive a tank or apc except for one reason, which I will talk about later. Your best bet in this case is to join a squad with a tanker as a SL, this way if you die you can spawn on your armor quickly without having to have the commander waste a supply drop and risking have that supply drop repair an enemy after he's mowed down your buddy in the armor. There are 2 ways you can repair armor that is in combat.
1) Ride shotgun in the armor you're going to repair. When the armor gets into a fight, have the driver pivot the vehicle slightly so it's showing its broadside to the enemy. This way, you can get out and be behind the vehicle, using it as cover while you repair the vehicle as it is being shot. If your armor buddy is any good, there is no reason why you should lose a piece of armor this way, unless the odds are against you (such as 2 apcs, tank and eryx, etc.). I say turn the armor sideways a bit because if you don't and you get behind the tank/apc and it gets shot, the armor will roll back a bit if it's hit correctly and can possibly result in a TK for your friend. DO NOT go solo in armor and get out to repair it yourself. 4 out of 5 times while you're repairing it you'll be noob tubed or shot, etc., giving the enemy a freshly repaired piece of armor to use against your team. However, if you DO need to do this, drive to a secluded area, toss a mine about 5 feet in front of the tank, and get behind it and repair away. The mine is insurance against someone snagging your tank and drivin' forward while shooting you.
2) Ride along in your own little repair humvee/vodnik. Use the armor as cover from the large enemy armor so that way you're not cut down quickly. This way, if you're moving into an area with infantry and hostile armor, you can man the 50 cal rifle and cut down infantry with SRAW's etc., while still repairing your teammate. This is also advantageous because you do not lose your wrench stamina as you would if you were on the ground repairing it manually. Also, you can be a gunner in a helo such as the cobra. All too often I've been flying around in a helo and lost my helo spawn, thus not being able to repair my poor helicopter. This way, if you're an engineer in a gunner seat, the pilot can set down somewhere inconspicuous and you can repair them until your team recaps the helicopter spawn point.
If you should find that you need to use armor as an engineer, try to pair up with another piece of armor with an engineer behind the wheel of that. I haven't tried it, but I'm guessing 2 APCs full of engineers would be nearly impossible to destroy (if you don't count AT mines or c4). By being an engineer in armor, your job should be to help out other friendly tanks and apcs in combat - repairing them while you both fight. The only thing you need to watch out is to try to not "steal" kills - it can really piss people off.
Another interesting thing to note is that if you're in a vehicle as an engineer, the best place for you to be is in the 4rd or 4th spot - not the gunner. Humvees can be torn apart by GL's and LMG fire pretty quickly, but if you're in back repairing you can get repair points for repairing it while you drive around, and keep you alive long enough to get to the next CP. This also works for helicopters such as the blackhawk and the MEC/PLA transport chopper and is useful when taking fire from DPV's and LMG's.
Remember - you can't get a repair point unless there's someone in the vehicle you're repairing!
Part Two - Combat
Let's face it, the engineer class is not the run-around-kill-em-all class. If you're looking for lots of kills, go assault. However, do not underestimate the killing power that you wield.
Shotguns - lovlingly reffered to as shottys (yeah, I call 'em that) - are your best friend in a tight jam. The jackhammer is a useless upgrade - it fires too fast, is too innaccurate, and takes too long to reload to help in a CQC situation. The pump actions shotguns are by far the best close quarter weapon in the game (short of the GL - but that's being changed in 1.2). With one blast to the chest, an enemy will go down quickly from a pump action shotgun. The downside to this is they take a while to reload, so make sure when you shoot you're right on target - taking an extra second to make sure you're on target can save your life. Be sure you're handy with a pistol. Keep your pistol out if you're in an open area, since you're more likely to see an enemy from a distance and your pistol is more accurate with distance shots.
Mines - AT mines are almost always friendly fire magnets. People usually neglect to see the skull and cross bones, or just don't care, run over it, and punish you. However, there are ways to eek out effectiveness from these little beauts.
First, never waste a mine by putting it in the open. If you can see the mine easily, so can the enemy, and they can either blow it up or drive around it. Your best bet is to put these in areas of shallow water, in high brush (such as bushes and high grass), and behind things such as train tracks and bumps in the road. If you know high traffic areas of the map that you're on, put mines around sharp corners so that enemies can't see them until it's too late.
If you manage to be stealthy enough and don't feel like driving enemy armor or vehicles, toss a mine in front of it but not underneath, this way it only blows when it moves. Also, if you toss down mines and see a vehicle close to them, toss a grenade - the nade will make the mines blow, taking out the vehicle and it's passengers. Also, if you're near armor and can't get in front of it, toss a nade on top of the tank or apc - it'll blow anyways. And remember - your wrench can pick up these guys too if you miss.
Knife - your knife is also a good tool as an engineer. If you run out of ammo for your shotgun - remember; as an engineer you have one of the longest sprinting distances in the game - if you feel the need, knife your foe!
That's about it for my guide - if I missed anything let me know, and if it's good enough I'll edit my post and add it in!
In this game, I believe that the engineer is one of the most underplayed and underappreciated classes. I'll break down being a great engineer into a few simple sections.
Part One - Repairs
Your first job as an engineer is to repair anything that you possibly can. Here are a couple things to keep in mind.
- Always check to see how many engineers there are on your team. If you're the only one, create your own squad so that if the commander orders you to repair something, the order won't be defered by a squad leader more concerned with capping flags or killing infantry. As a squad leader, if you get ordered to repair something by a commander, do so. Since your weapons are the jackhammer/shotty/mp7, you're pretty much a close combat soldier, so you should leave the infantry to the guys who will have a better chance than you will. If you're a dead engineer, you can't repair a UAV trailer which is vital to a teams success.
- On many maps, a good tanker or apc driver can turn the tide of war, so it is in your best interest to help these guys out. My advice would be to rarely drive a tank or apc except for one reason, which I will talk about later. Your best bet in this case is to join a squad with a tanker as a SL, this way if you die you can spawn on your armor quickly without having to have the commander waste a supply drop and risking have that supply drop repair an enemy after he's mowed down your buddy in the armor. There are 2 ways you can repair armor that is in combat.
1) Ride shotgun in the armor you're going to repair. When the armor gets into a fight, have the driver pivot the vehicle slightly so it's showing its broadside to the enemy. This way, you can get out and be behind the vehicle, using it as cover while you repair the vehicle as it is being shot. If your armor buddy is any good, there is no reason why you should lose a piece of armor this way, unless the odds are against you (such as 2 apcs, tank and eryx, etc.). I say turn the armor sideways a bit because if you don't and you get behind the tank/apc and it gets shot, the armor will roll back a bit if it's hit correctly and can possibly result in a TK for your friend. DO NOT go solo in armor and get out to repair it yourself. 4 out of 5 times while you're repairing it you'll be noob tubed or shot, etc., giving the enemy a freshly repaired piece of armor to use against your team. However, if you DO need to do this, drive to a secluded area, toss a mine about 5 feet in front of the tank, and get behind it and repair away. The mine is insurance against someone snagging your tank and drivin' forward while shooting you.
2) Ride along in your own little repair humvee/vodnik. Use the armor as cover from the large enemy armor so that way you're not cut down quickly. This way, if you're moving into an area with infantry and hostile armor, you can man the 50 cal rifle and cut down infantry with SRAW's etc., while still repairing your teammate. This is also advantageous because you do not lose your wrench stamina as you would if you were on the ground repairing it manually. Also, you can be a gunner in a helo such as the cobra. All too often I've been flying around in a helo and lost my helo spawn, thus not being able to repair my poor helicopter. This way, if you're an engineer in a gunner seat, the pilot can set down somewhere inconspicuous and you can repair them until your team recaps the helicopter spawn point.
If you should find that you need to use armor as an engineer, try to pair up with another piece of armor with an engineer behind the wheel of that. I haven't tried it, but I'm guessing 2 APCs full of engineers would be nearly impossible to destroy (if you don't count AT mines or c4). By being an engineer in armor, your job should be to help out other friendly tanks and apcs in combat - repairing them while you both fight. The only thing you need to watch out is to try to not "steal" kills - it can really piss people off.
Another interesting thing to note is that if you're in a vehicle as an engineer, the best place for you to be is in the 4rd or 4th spot - not the gunner. Humvees can be torn apart by GL's and LMG fire pretty quickly, but if you're in back repairing you can get repair points for repairing it while you drive around, and keep you alive long enough to get to the next CP. This also works for helicopters such as the blackhawk and the MEC/PLA transport chopper and is useful when taking fire from DPV's and LMG's.
Remember - you can't get a repair point unless there's someone in the vehicle you're repairing!
Part Two - Combat
Let's face it, the engineer class is not the run-around-kill-em-all class. If you're looking for lots of kills, go assault. However, do not underestimate the killing power that you wield.
Shotguns - lovlingly reffered to as shottys (yeah, I call 'em that) - are your best friend in a tight jam. The jackhammer is a useless upgrade - it fires too fast, is too innaccurate, and takes too long to reload to help in a CQC situation. The pump actions shotguns are by far the best close quarter weapon in the game (short of the GL - but that's being changed in 1.2). With one blast to the chest, an enemy will go down quickly from a pump action shotgun. The downside to this is they take a while to reload, so make sure when you shoot you're right on target - taking an extra second to make sure you're on target can save your life. Be sure you're handy with a pistol. Keep your pistol out if you're in an open area, since you're more likely to see an enemy from a distance and your pistol is more accurate with distance shots.
Mines - AT mines are almost always friendly fire magnets. People usually neglect to see the skull and cross bones, or just don't care, run over it, and punish you. However, there are ways to eek out effectiveness from these little beauts.
First, never waste a mine by putting it in the open. If you can see the mine easily, so can the enemy, and they can either blow it up or drive around it. Your best bet is to put these in areas of shallow water, in high brush (such as bushes and high grass), and behind things such as train tracks and bumps in the road. If you know high traffic areas of the map that you're on, put mines around sharp corners so that enemies can't see them until it's too late.
If you manage to be stealthy enough and don't feel like driving enemy armor or vehicles, toss a mine in front of it but not underneath, this way it only blows when it moves. Also, if you toss down mines and see a vehicle close to them, toss a grenade - the nade will make the mines blow, taking out the vehicle and it's passengers. Also, if you're near armor and can't get in front of it, toss a nade on top of the tank or apc - it'll blow anyways. And remember - your wrench can pick up these guys too if you miss.
Knife - your knife is also a good tool as an engineer. If you run out of ammo for your shotgun - remember; as an engineer you have one of the longest sprinting distances in the game - if you feel the need, knife your foe!
That's about it for my guide - if I missed anything let me know, and if it's good enough I'll edit my post and add it in!
Last edited by TehSeraphim (2006-01-26 00:07:27)