Anti-Engineer strategy

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The Engineer is a defensive support class who primarily helps his team with various buildings. He has mediocre weapons and low health, relying on his Sentry Gun for protection. By himself, an Engineer is a low threat who will usually run at the first sight of trouble. His primary purpose is to construct Teleporters and Dispensers in order to help his team either advance or hold a strategic location. Generally, Engineers build a "base" consisting of a Teleporter Exit, Dispenser, and Sentry Gun where his teammates are brought into the battle and return to be supplied with health and ammunition. The Gunslinger and Frontier Justice, however, allow an Engineer to assume a more offensive role which can make him much more dangerous than usual.

General

Attributes	Anti-Engineer strategy
Role	Engineers are high priority targets. A team without a Sentry Gun or Dispenser is at a disadvantage. His Sentry Gun is quite vulnerable when you stay out of its range and the Engineer is not there to protect it. An Engineer away from his Sentry Gun is far less useful, so if you take down an Engineer away from the main front, the enemy is probably trying to keep his buildings alive. Use this opportunity to destroy the buildings.
Health	The Engineer has very little health compared to most other classes. Away from his Sentry Gun, he has little to defend himself. Use this to your advantage. The Gunslinger will give the Engineer 25 more health, together with a weaker, faster-building Sentry Gun.
Speed	The Engineer runs at the same speed as the Pyro, the Sniper, and the Spy. If he's out in the open, he shouldn't be too hard to kill. Their speed falls to lower than a un-spun Heavy while they carry pre-constructed Buildings -- take the opportunity to destroy both.
Power	The Engineer is a mediocre fighter without his Sentry Gun. Work as a team and he should be dispatched in no time. An Engineer using an offensive loadout can be a mediocre threat, being able to quickly set up mini-Sentry Guns to aid him in combat and utilize the use of revenge crits to quickly dispatch high health classes or a small group of low health classes in a few shots. One should fight him with a bit more caution if he has revenge crits, and you should take out any mini-Sentry Guns before they can become a problem.

Weapon Specific

A list of useful tidbits about the Engineer's tools, and how to counter them.

Primary Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Engineer strategy
Shotgun	Shotguns have a wider spread the further you are from your target, so avoid aggravating an Engineer at close range. Engage the Engineer at a distance, preferably out in the open or away from his buildings, where you have the advantage.
Frontier Justice	An Engineer that dies before his Sentry Gun is destroyed will not receive the Revenge Crits given by the Frontier Justice. When a Sentry Gun is destroyed, the Engineer will try to counterattack with his Revenge Crits. Kill him quickly to make sure he does not get his chance. If the Engineer does use his Revenge Crits, try to stay farther back from him to prevent getting hit by all of the critical pellets. The smaller clip size of the Frontier Justice gives you more openings to counter-attack his onslaught.
Widowmaker	The Widowmaker can only shoot 3 times when the Engineer has maximum metal, thus causing him to switch to another weapon. Dodge his shots, and take him down when he's out of metal. If there are any sources of ammo nearby, collect them first to ensure the Engineer can't refill his metal supply.

Secondary Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Engineer strategy
Pistol / Lugermorph	The Engineer uses Pistol at farther range due to its more accurate shots. Close the gap between the Engineer and you in order to make his initial shots less accurate; kill him quickly, or he may adjust his aim. The Engineer also has a massive supply of ammo in his Pistol, so don't think he'll run out of ammo any time soon. An Engineer with a Pistol cannot target opponents with the Sentry Gun at longer ranges. Use this to your advantage and pick off the Engineer and his buildings from a distance.
Wrangler	Be on the lookout for enemy-colored targeting lasers as you venture into enemy territory; this is a sure sign the following area is being actively guarded by Wrangled Sentry Guns. Either wait for your team to attack en masse with an Ubercharged Medic, or find an alternate entrance where you can catch the Engineers off guard. A Sentry Gun controlled by the Wrangler will be covered in a shield that provides a 66% damage reduction. Killing the Engineer or forcing him to change weapons (such as switching to his Wrench to replenish the Sentry Gun's health and ammo) will disable the Sentry Gun for a few seconds, making it unable to attack enemies before the shield disappears. This will provide you and your team an opening to destroy it. Make sure to kill every Engineer nearby, as they may be willing to repair the Sentry Gun of their fallen comrade and keep it alive long enough to reactivate. A Sentry Gun is often better at tracking down opponents by itself than if its Engineer Wrangles it. Ambush the Engineer and kill him, leaving his Sentry Gun vulnerable. An Engineer using the Wrangler is capable of "Sentry Jumping" by firing a Level 3 Sentry Gun's Rocket at his feet; this allows him to set Buildings up in unlikely places. As the Wrangler gives a Sentry Gun unlimited range, an Engineer may build his Sentry Gun where he can lay down suppressing fire; doing this often leaves the Building out in the open, requiring constant attention from its builder. Killing the Engineer and concentrating fire on his Sentry Gun from a distance should destroy it quickly and easily.
Short Circuit	The Short Circuit destroys projectiles (ie: rockets, grenades, arrows), as a result, one should use weapons that fire bullets instead of projectiles. The Engineer can effectively destroy Sticky Bomb carpets lain around his buildings, as such, you should ask other teammates for additional firepower, or work with a Spy and have him sap the buildings to disable them, then finish the buildings off before the Engineer (if he's still alive) is able to remove them.

Melee Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Engineer strategy
Wrench / Golden Wrench	This weapon is primarily used if you surprise him in his sentry nest. Fire at him while keeping your distance, and you should have the advantage.
Gunslinger	It is obvious when you are facing an Engineer equipped with the Gunslinger; his gloved right hand has been replaced with a robotic prosthetic! The Gunslinger must connect three times to score a Critical Hit. If you can't avoid being struck by an Engineer with the Gunslinger, at least prevent him from hitting you two more times in a row. Also be careful assisting a teammate being attacked by this Engineer, as he may have already scored two consecutive hits and may strike you with the third. When a Engineer with the Gunslinger equipped is on the prowl, check for hidden Combat Mini-Sentry Guns in corners or at different elevations, as he would most likely use them either for distracting you while he attacks, or for getting Revenge Crits with the Frontier Justice.
Southern Hospitality	The Engineer is more susceptible to burn damage when using the Southern Hospitality. The Southern Hospitality is incapable of scoring random critical hits, which gives you a minor advantage should you go toe-to-toe with an Engineer using this weapon. Bleeding damages over time; try not to engage an Engineer equipped with the Southern Hospitality in melee combat if you are at low health. As a Spy, take extra caution approaching Engineers equipped with the Southern Hospitality; if struck by it, you will not only take continuous damage, but you will drip blood, even while cloaked.
Jag	The Jag deals 25% less melee damage, but is still capable of critical hits. An Engineer using the Jag can set up Buildings considerably faster then the other wrenches. Watch out for Engineers with this weapon on the frontline, as it allows them to deploy a Level 1 Sentry Gun in under 5 seconds.

Buildings

Building	Anti-Engineer strategy
Sentry Gun	Of all Buildings, destroying a Sentry Gun takes highest priority. An Engineer behind his Sentry Gun is protected from splash damage at the front, but can easily be damaged by splash damage to the side, or from behind. Sentry Guns can be damaged from around corners without giving them a chance to fully lock onto and fire at the attacker. Engineers that switch to their Shotgun or Pistol to dispose of Stickybombs placed at the base of their Buildings are vulnerable to damage from other sources. Low level Sentry Guns are slow to turn. If approaching the gun from a blind spot, you can run around the gun, damaging it without taking damage yourself. A full-health, level 3 Sentry Gun cannot be destroyed in one hit by anything other than a cluster of Stickybombs. Coordinate your attacks with your teammates to destroy it faster than it can be repaired. Don't assume you know where a Sentry Gun is, even if you've encountered one previously. With their ability to haul buildings, Engineers can repeatedly move a single Sentry Gun between numerous key points. Sentry Guns can damage their Engineers. If fired upon by a Senrty Gun, try to use its Engineer as cover.
Dispenser	Dispensers are easier to destroy than other buildings, as Engineers are often more preoccupied with repairing their Sentry Gun. If destroying a Sentry Gun isn't possible, destroying a Dispenser can make it more difficult for an Engineer to maintain his Sentry Gun. Dispensers have the second highest priority when destroying an Engineer nest that's nearby the enemy base. Teleporters aren't as useful due to the proximity of the spawn, especially when the other team is on defense. You can use an enemy Dispenser as cover from an enemy Sentry Gun; Sentry Guns do not fire at ally Dispensers.
Teleporter	Teleporters have the second highest priority when destroying an Engineer nest far from their spawn (e.g. offensive forward bases on maps such as Gold Rush or Badwater Basin), as this will severely limit the opposing team's reinforcements; any Dispensers can then be destroyed with little resistance. Teleporters that won't go down are most likely being repaired from the other side. Out-damage the repair rate to successfully destroy them. A Spy that continuously places Sappers on an unguarded Teleporter that's being repaired from the other side will eventually destroy both ends. Try not to stand on a functioning Teleporter Exit as you damage it; you risk dying by telefrag. On some maps, Engineers like to use "dummy" Teleporters as an early warning system. If you see a teleporter in an unusual place (especially if it is inactive), you may want to leave it alone to avoid losing the element of surprise.
Combat Mini-Sentry Gun	Do not underestimate Combat Mini-Sentry Guns. They have less health and power than the standard Sentry Gun, but have a faster build time and a higher rate of fire than a Level 1 Sentry Gun. Deployed strategically, they can be used to either finish you off or distract you from incoming attacks. When you see one, destroy it as soon as possible. Combat Mini-Sentry Guns are deployed with full health; this can make destroying them as they are being built problematic. It may be better to finish off the Engineer building them before eliminating the Sentry Gun; after all, he can quickly deploy another if the previous one is lost. If an Engineer is dropping a Combat Mini-Sentry in a place where his teammates frequent and/or is near an ammo source, destroying it may be pointless; he can easily replace it, and may even be doing this deliberately to distract you. Focus on the Engineer and/or his teammates until your own arrive and drive them back.

See also

• Sentry Gun
• Team strategy