I'll capitalize player classes to make them easier to pick up on.
Repairing: Vehicles
The lighter armor a vehicle has, the faster it repairs. Jeeps repair quickly, APCs a bit slower than Jeeps, tanks a bit slower than APCs.
Vehicles that are on fire (usually five ticks of "health" or less) are close to exploding, but an Engineer's wrench puts out the fire and can save the vehicle from the brink of destruction. Remember, if it hasn't blown up yet, it's salvageable.
Do not repair a tank from behind the direction where it's shooting. In other words, if the tank's firing north, don't be repairing it on its south side. The recoil from the main gun moves the tank, and that can cause you damage, even in 1.03 where it's harder to run over teammates. Team damage isn't as bad as TKing, but it's still negative team points for the guy you're trying to help.
In-chopper repairing is something of a tender subject. Some call it stat-padding, others call it cheap, others see no problem with it. While repairing, you are exposed to fire, of course, and certainly not safe from death, but with the constant bullet-magnets that choppers make, there's rarely a time when you couldn't be repairing it. I'm sure there's a thread on this already, so if there's a debate, please take it there.
Naturally, the safest time to repair a vehicle is in lulls in the combat. Not always a luxury, of course, but unless the vehicle you're repairing is about 100 meters from where it spawns, keeping the one you have alive is usually faster than charging ahead and fighting with it until it explodes, then respawning and driving it aaaaall the way back to where the fighting is. Also, hey, you get repair points while someone's sitting in it.
Repairing Assets
Not too much strategy here; they turn yellow, you turn 'em white again. The Commander having assets is better than the Commander not having assets (though there have been a couple of times I wish I could take away a Commander's artillery privileges ). One tick of "health" is enough to bring an asset back to working order, though if you can spare the time, bringing an asset back up to full will ensure it survives artillery strikes and tap out Spec-Ops soldiers' C4 supply before they can blow up everything.
The shorter amount of time between when an asset goes boom and you arrive on the scene, however, means the more likely it is that there's still an enemy Spec-Ops soldier hanging around. The fact that they're at your assets means they're deep into your territory (unless, of course, your base is capped), and once dead, they have a long trip ahead of them if they want to try again--usually plenty of time to undo anything they might have managed, at least functionally.
Commanders seem to be quick to blow a supply drop on their own assets when they get C4ed to Kingdom Come. This is usually because there aren't any Engineers handy, true, but there have been many times where an order for a repair was not even issued; the Commander simply drops supplies onto his assets and is done with it.
Commanders, check your squads please, look for wrench icons, at least let them know you want something repaired. A good Engineer will want repair points, and he can get the job done a lot quicker than you can, even considering travel time, waiting for a supply drop to recharge four times. Also, supply crates are not equipped with shotguns to take out the enemy Spec-Ops soldiers that they're resupplying with C4--not to mention the other places your team might be able to make use of that crate.
Repairing assets is arguably one of the most effective ways for Engineers to get repair points. If a Commander asks for repairs on an asset, he's relying on you, an Engineer, to get the job done, and hey, finding opportunities to get repair points is tough enough as it is.
Repairing Bridges
Bridges, once destroyed, are quick to bring back into working order, as bridges--like assets--need only a single tick of "health" to be operational. Of course, the "healthier" the bridge, the more effort the enemy will have to expend in destroying it again. Bridges are usually double-edged swords, so check with your Commander for guidance before potentially opening up an avenue of approach for the enemy. A good strategy for dealing with blown bridges is to grab a Spec-Ops teammate, hop in a buggy, drive to the bridge, repair it long enough for friendly armor to get across, then let the Spec-Ops fellow blow the bridge again (it should only take one stick of C4 per destroyed section, if you just repaired to a single tick).
Mining
Ah, the AT mine. The bane of armor on both sides of the fight. This is really where good Engineers and crappy ones are set apart. The problem is that wherever your enemy would want to drive vehicles, your teammates will most likely want to drive vehicles as well. AT mines can be a roll of the dice.
Friendlies will see a red Jolly Roger icon over mines you and other Engineers on your team have placed. However, a friendly who runs over one of your mines will net you a TK. Aside from EA implementing some kind of giant freaking neon sign you can place that says "Hey high-speed, mines are here, DRIVE AROUND THEM!" AT mine TKs are one of the main reasons many Engineers are afraid to even use this weapon.
Mines do not arm immediately as soon as they leave your hands. There is about a two-second delay until they're capable of destroying something. Thanks to Col-Khadafi for mentioning this to me.
Where you place mines should depend on what you want those mines to do. If you want mines to act as a deterrent, place them in the open, in plain sight. If you want mines to blow up and kill people (called "mining for effect"), place them where they won't be seen.
If you're wondering why you'd want to make mines easy to see, know that sometimes deterrent mines are better if you want the enemy to try a different avenue of approach, or to abandon their vehicles and go on foot. Blowing up a tank is one thing, but having your opponent leave it for someone (maybe you!) to steal is priceless. Also, and especially in maps with serpentine, hilly routes like Kubra Dam, armor can be put to great lengths and ordeals to bypass AT mines. More time the enemy spends in transit is less time they spend shooting at your teammates and capping flags.
For mining for effect, look for grass. The taller the better! Grassy hills, or even gentle rises, are awesome spots for mines. Don't place the mine on the very peak of the hill unless the grass is thick enough. A better place is just over the crest, where seeing the mine before running over it would be just about impossible. In urban areas, blind corners are the best places for mines, and also amongst rubble scattered along the streets. Putting a mine amidst rubble in streets is actually excellent camouflage, since even if the enemy is scanning the street for mines, it's not common practice to slow down and investigate rubble more closely.
Mining bridges as deterrent is easy; place two mines spaced evenly across the center of the bridge, and only the narrowest of buggies will be getting through with a driver that has a reasonable amount of skill (or luck). Mining for effect is trickier, since there are no good hiding places where a vehicle is likely to travel. The best place for mining bridges in this case is not on the bridge itself but on the ramp on the opposite side of where the enemy would approach the bridge. The downward slope, combined with the limited FOV in most heavier vehicles, means a very slim likelihood that the driver will both be able to see the mine and react to it in time. Bridges are straight lines, and people have a tendency to punch the gas on straightaways. Buggies and jeeps hardly stop on a dime, so even seeing the mine in a lighter, more open-viewed vehicle may not be enough to save them, given the slope of the ramps on either end of bridges.
You can remove mines (anybody's mines, even the enemy's--haven't tried Claymores though) with the wrench. Approach a mine and "repair" it, and after the "health" meter is full, the mine will disappear and be added to your mine ammo (unless you're already full, in which case the mine will just disappear).
An enemy uncappable base is a prime spot for mining with abandon, especially hanging out the side of a transport chopper with a Support teammate on board feeding you more mines. Once you're done, though, get out of there, get back to the fight where you can be useful. Your mines will do the base-raping for you. And yes, putting a mine on the runway will destroy a plane trying to take off.
Blocking all the exits from capped flags is just plain stupid, unless vehicles don't spawn there. Place one or two in large, open areas of the flag area if you must, to make it difficult for the enemy to barrel in without giving much thought to steering. I still can't recommend this too much, however, as there will always be somebody on your team who will find a way to not notice the red blob in the middle of an open courtyard and drive over it.
Last-ditch efforts to destroy a vehicle that has invaded your personal space can be made by tossing mines at or onto a vehicle. The nice thing about mines is that they do stay where they are a few moments after you die, so even if you die getting the mines out there, the vehicle is still essentially "paralyzed", as any movement on its part will blow it up, unlike C4 where the Spec-Ops soldier has to be alive to use the detonator.
On that note, once you have mines placed where you want them, stay alive. Since mines disappear a short time after you get killed, you'll have to place them all over again.
Fighting
Engineers are awesome for CQB and defending infantry choke points, thanks to their shotguns. In a map such as Sharqi Peninsula, certain command points can only be captured by entering a building. On attack or defense of such a point, an Engineer would be a valuable part of the team. If an Engineer is not out in the field repairing vehicles and/or dropping mines, he is definitely the backbone defensive class, making a nightmare out of approaching in vehicles or hoofing it up narrow stairwells.
The shotgun is also well-suited to perforating Spec-Ops soldiers who are busy blowing up assets. It's pretty easy to get the drop on Spec-Ops fellows who have tunnel-vision on what they're doing, and the shotgun is about as good as it gets in killing folks nearby without giving them an opportunity to answer back.
A note on the Saiga 12k: if you've looked through BF2S's wealth of knowledge, you know it's half as powerful as the pump-actions. It's semi-auto for a reason, though; aim for the torso and let rip with three shots at least, more if the enemy is more than 20~ feet away. For the pump-actions, put the crosshair at about neck/shoulder level for the same range, and a single shot will usually take down a kit that doesn't have body armor. More thanks to Col-Khadafi on pointing this out.
Repairing: Vehicles
The lighter armor a vehicle has, the faster it repairs. Jeeps repair quickly, APCs a bit slower than Jeeps, tanks a bit slower than APCs.
Vehicles that are on fire (usually five ticks of "health" or less) are close to exploding, but an Engineer's wrench puts out the fire and can save the vehicle from the brink of destruction. Remember, if it hasn't blown up yet, it's salvageable.
Do not repair a tank from behind the direction where it's shooting. In other words, if the tank's firing north, don't be repairing it on its south side. The recoil from the main gun moves the tank, and that can cause you damage, even in 1.03 where it's harder to run over teammates. Team damage isn't as bad as TKing, but it's still negative team points for the guy you're trying to help.
In-chopper repairing is something of a tender subject. Some call it stat-padding, others call it cheap, others see no problem with it. While repairing, you are exposed to fire, of course, and certainly not safe from death, but with the constant bullet-magnets that choppers make, there's rarely a time when you couldn't be repairing it. I'm sure there's a thread on this already, so if there's a debate, please take it there.
Naturally, the safest time to repair a vehicle is in lulls in the combat. Not always a luxury, of course, but unless the vehicle you're repairing is about 100 meters from where it spawns, keeping the one you have alive is usually faster than charging ahead and fighting with it until it explodes, then respawning and driving it aaaaall the way back to where the fighting is. Also, hey, you get repair points while someone's sitting in it.
Repairing Assets
Not too much strategy here; they turn yellow, you turn 'em white again. The Commander having assets is better than the Commander not having assets (though there have been a couple of times I wish I could take away a Commander's artillery privileges ). One tick of "health" is enough to bring an asset back to working order, though if you can spare the time, bringing an asset back up to full will ensure it survives artillery strikes and tap out Spec-Ops soldiers' C4 supply before they can blow up everything.
The shorter amount of time between when an asset goes boom and you arrive on the scene, however, means the more likely it is that there's still an enemy Spec-Ops soldier hanging around. The fact that they're at your assets means they're deep into your territory (unless, of course, your base is capped), and once dead, they have a long trip ahead of them if they want to try again--usually plenty of time to undo anything they might have managed, at least functionally.
Commanders seem to be quick to blow a supply drop on their own assets when they get C4ed to Kingdom Come. This is usually because there aren't any Engineers handy, true, but there have been many times where an order for a repair was not even issued; the Commander simply drops supplies onto his assets and is done with it.
Commanders, check your squads please, look for wrench icons, at least let them know you want something repaired. A good Engineer will want repair points, and he can get the job done a lot quicker than you can, even considering travel time, waiting for a supply drop to recharge four times. Also, supply crates are not equipped with shotguns to take out the enemy Spec-Ops soldiers that they're resupplying with C4--not to mention the other places your team might be able to make use of that crate.
Repairing assets is arguably one of the most effective ways for Engineers to get repair points. If a Commander asks for repairs on an asset, he's relying on you, an Engineer, to get the job done, and hey, finding opportunities to get repair points is tough enough as it is.
Repairing Bridges
Bridges, once destroyed, are quick to bring back into working order, as bridges--like assets--need only a single tick of "health" to be operational. Of course, the "healthier" the bridge, the more effort the enemy will have to expend in destroying it again. Bridges are usually double-edged swords, so check with your Commander for guidance before potentially opening up an avenue of approach for the enemy. A good strategy for dealing with blown bridges is to grab a Spec-Ops teammate, hop in a buggy, drive to the bridge, repair it long enough for friendly armor to get across, then let the Spec-Ops fellow blow the bridge again (it should only take one stick of C4 per destroyed section, if you just repaired to a single tick).
Mining
Ah, the AT mine. The bane of armor on both sides of the fight. This is really where good Engineers and crappy ones are set apart. The problem is that wherever your enemy would want to drive vehicles, your teammates will most likely want to drive vehicles as well. AT mines can be a roll of the dice.
Friendlies will see a red Jolly Roger icon over mines you and other Engineers on your team have placed. However, a friendly who runs over one of your mines will net you a TK. Aside from EA implementing some kind of giant freaking neon sign you can place that says "Hey high-speed, mines are here, DRIVE AROUND THEM!" AT mine TKs are one of the main reasons many Engineers are afraid to even use this weapon.
Mines do not arm immediately as soon as they leave your hands. There is about a two-second delay until they're capable of destroying something. Thanks to Col-Khadafi for mentioning this to me.
Where you place mines should depend on what you want those mines to do. If you want mines to act as a deterrent, place them in the open, in plain sight. If you want mines to blow up and kill people (called "mining for effect"), place them where they won't be seen.
If you're wondering why you'd want to make mines easy to see, know that sometimes deterrent mines are better if you want the enemy to try a different avenue of approach, or to abandon their vehicles and go on foot. Blowing up a tank is one thing, but having your opponent leave it for someone (maybe you!) to steal is priceless. Also, and especially in maps with serpentine, hilly routes like Kubra Dam, armor can be put to great lengths and ordeals to bypass AT mines. More time the enemy spends in transit is less time they spend shooting at your teammates and capping flags.
For mining for effect, look for grass. The taller the better! Grassy hills, or even gentle rises, are awesome spots for mines. Don't place the mine on the very peak of the hill unless the grass is thick enough. A better place is just over the crest, where seeing the mine before running over it would be just about impossible. In urban areas, blind corners are the best places for mines, and also amongst rubble scattered along the streets. Putting a mine amidst rubble in streets is actually excellent camouflage, since even if the enemy is scanning the street for mines, it's not common practice to slow down and investigate rubble more closely.
Mining bridges as deterrent is easy; place two mines spaced evenly across the center of the bridge, and only the narrowest of buggies will be getting through with a driver that has a reasonable amount of skill (or luck). Mining for effect is trickier, since there are no good hiding places where a vehicle is likely to travel. The best place for mining bridges in this case is not on the bridge itself but on the ramp on the opposite side of where the enemy would approach the bridge. The downward slope, combined with the limited FOV in most heavier vehicles, means a very slim likelihood that the driver will both be able to see the mine and react to it in time. Bridges are straight lines, and people have a tendency to punch the gas on straightaways. Buggies and jeeps hardly stop on a dime, so even seeing the mine in a lighter, more open-viewed vehicle may not be enough to save them, given the slope of the ramps on either end of bridges.
You can remove mines (anybody's mines, even the enemy's--haven't tried Claymores though) with the wrench. Approach a mine and "repair" it, and after the "health" meter is full, the mine will disappear and be added to your mine ammo (unless you're already full, in which case the mine will just disappear).
An enemy uncappable base is a prime spot for mining with abandon, especially hanging out the side of a transport chopper with a Support teammate on board feeding you more mines. Once you're done, though, get out of there, get back to the fight where you can be useful. Your mines will do the base-raping for you. And yes, putting a mine on the runway will destroy a plane trying to take off.
Blocking all the exits from capped flags is just plain stupid, unless vehicles don't spawn there. Place one or two in large, open areas of the flag area if you must, to make it difficult for the enemy to barrel in without giving much thought to steering. I still can't recommend this too much, however, as there will always be somebody on your team who will find a way to not notice the red blob in the middle of an open courtyard and drive over it.
Last-ditch efforts to destroy a vehicle that has invaded your personal space can be made by tossing mines at or onto a vehicle. The nice thing about mines is that they do stay where they are a few moments after you die, so even if you die getting the mines out there, the vehicle is still essentially "paralyzed", as any movement on its part will blow it up, unlike C4 where the Spec-Ops soldier has to be alive to use the detonator.
On that note, once you have mines placed where you want them, stay alive. Since mines disappear a short time after you get killed, you'll have to place them all over again.
Fighting
Engineers are awesome for CQB and defending infantry choke points, thanks to their shotguns. In a map such as Sharqi Peninsula, certain command points can only be captured by entering a building. On attack or defense of such a point, an Engineer would be a valuable part of the team. If an Engineer is not out in the field repairing vehicles and/or dropping mines, he is definitely the backbone defensive class, making a nightmare out of approaching in vehicles or hoofing it up narrow stairwells.
The shotgun is also well-suited to perforating Spec-Ops soldiers who are busy blowing up assets. It's pretty easy to get the drop on Spec-Ops fellows who have tunnel-vision on what they're doing, and the shotgun is about as good as it gets in killing folks nearby without giving them an opportunity to answer back.
A note on the Saiga 12k: if you've looked through BF2S's wealth of knowledge, you know it's half as powerful as the pump-actions. It's semi-auto for a reason, though; aim for the torso and let rip with three shots at least, more if the enemy is more than 20~ feet away. For the pump-actions, put the crosshair at about neck/shoulder level for the same range, and a single shot will usually take down a kit that doesn't have body armor. More thanks to Col-Khadafi on pointing this out.
Last edited by 96D (2005-10-09 18:38:48)