Engineers, tactics and why I love the ACE

[Hellsfire123]

Its alittle like TFC, but you have to carry the ACE units around with you, and turrets suck lol.

I still have yet to hear this ringing noise that motion sensors give off. Even as a cloaker, ive never heard anything from nme sensors or my own. Is useful for the minimap though.

When i used Com Eng in beta i used to plant boomers just before i died, becuase clicking the "respawn" button would trigger them, often killing that bastard who got me. Does this still work?

[JakeLogan]

Excellent post

[gonnagetyou]

Not sure if Boomers still go off when you respawn. Never tried it. I've only had some limited success with Boomers. I usually use them to simply destroy terminals and what not. People have gotten a little more alert to the old Boomer in the door trick. I often find the door opening and then hear weapons fire as they blast away at the Boomer from out of range.

I'm eventually going to get the Infiltration Cert so I can use the two Certs together. Should be great fun when looking for something different to do.

[Entra]

Hey Sp3ctre! I'm a veteran tfc player here. I'd probably say there's more multitasking in planetside as an CE than an engy in tfc. Probably the greatest similarities I can think of is that your turret will face towards your body once it constructs and the usage of turrets is to either deter or surprise.
PS is a little more place and forget and restock/upkeep while you know tfc allows only one sg that needs your sole attention in matches.
Overall PS has weaker turrets but you can build up to 10 at once and you also have the ability to lay mines and motion sensors. Kind of like being an easier demoman. Just remember to look down when you set them.

(sorry for bumping an older thread but I had to share)

[1024]

Originally posted by Onizuka
too bad its 2:30 am and i was too tired to read past the first two paragraphs

it's ok, i read about 2 sentences. But it sounded good from waht i read. I hate reading online novels.

Good post

[CDaws]

Ok people you're going to love me for this, or not.

Damage spacifics for the the mines and spitfire turrets are as follows:

HE MINES: Damage

Vs. Infantry: 100
Vs. Vehicles: 500
Vs. Aircraft: 500


BOOMERS: Damage

Vs. Infantry: 250
Vs. Vehicles: 400
Vs. Aircraft: 400

Of course mines are a one time use because they explode.


SPITFIRE TURRET: Damage

Vs. Infantry: 15
Vs. Vehicles: 10
Vs. Aircraft: 10

On the turrets that is per shot. Damage delt by turrets is for a single bullet or hit.


This is straight out of the strategy guide, which I got just to see the damage for each weapon and vehicle per shot or hit and to find out what the later Command Ranks would be able to do. Hope this is usefull for the players that are CE or are thinking about getting the CE cert. IMHO it is well worth the 5 points to be a CE which I love being.

[Onizuka]

well that makes sense ranger. But crap those spitfire turrets are good.

the only way i can truely beat them is to get far away and destroy them with one hit with my pheonix.

[CDaws]

The spitfires have an auto fire range of about 50 yards. So as long as you are out of that range they won't shoot you if you don't shoot them. If you want to take them out, either hit them with a one big hit like a decimator or a few hits with rockets, nades, or bullets and have some cover to hide behind when you shoot because the will fire back when they get hit. You wont get hit as long as you are far enough away though.

[Knuckles]

- Should I, or should I not put up spitfires around an AMS?

They supply good defence, but at the same time they tend to draw attention to the location of the AMS... and that is b-a-d, right?

So, engineers (and to some extent mosq and reaver pilots) - should I or shouldn't I?

[Agathon]

Hello,

You post is terrific, and I read it all. I started as a combat engineer and then went to advanced medic as well. On EverQuest I played a Cleric. Support classes are my thing, and I enjoy the role immensely. Let me add my experiences briefly to yours please:

1. I used to deploy mines around my AMS's. This was a great tactic until someone set off a jammer grenade at a very crowded AMS of mine. I got over 150 grief for it by the time the hellish explosions stopped. Do NOT mine around your AMS! The mines will be used against you by intelligent enemies, and often you will get an idiot on your own team to use a jammer grenade as well. I suggest placing a sensor and a turret in the sphere, and then lay a mine field around the OUTSIDE of the immediate area. Do not place the mines close enough that they will do damage to spawning folks waiting at the terminal. There is also a bug with the placement of turrets and sensors in regards to buying things and deploying/undeploying the AMS. Do not place the turret or sensor on the tail or front end of the vehicle! This is a common cause of being unable to use those ends with your use button.

2. Placement of mines, turrets, and sensors needs to be done more intelligently by engineers. I often see turrets and sensors placed out in the open where they can be seen for miles away by the enemy. Uhm, folks, this makes them USELESS. If they can be seen from afar, a sniper or heavy weapons guy will jsut take them out as they safely approach. If not them, a vehicle will just run them over with minor damage inflicted upon themselves. By the lousy placement of such things, I cannot place my things correctly in return without getting grief. Always place turrets and sensors where as the enemy approaches or scouts from afar they cannot be seen. Just think as the enemy. Where will they be attacking from? Where will their snipers be looking down from? Remember that a sniper can take out a turret from a distance with only a couple shots! Place the turrets and sensors then on the inside of walls or behind the raised top out walls. You'll see these raised points on the top wall every once in a while between Phalanx Turrets. Placing them there means the enemy has to get close before they can destory them. Also place them behind rocks and trees so approacing troops do not see them immediately. Lastly, do not forget to defend the center of the base on top and on the walkways. Gal's often drop people there, and often engineers entirely ignored that area.

3. Last night I blew three people up at once with a boomer inside. Use them inside folks for the best effect. They have exponentially greater power in a hall. I was alone in a cc that was hacked by our team. The enemy gun fire was coming closer and closer, and the red kills on the list were spamming our kills out easily. I took out a ACE and placed a boomer at the edge of the door. When the enemy came through, two in reinforced armor and one cloaker, I detonated the boomer as they began to fire at me. BOOM! I killed them all in a second flat. Sadly, I wish I had place two boomers, because two more guys came in right after them! hehehe It was a wonderful moment though to get three folks in one boomer deployment. Just image the damage you could inflict on a zerg'd back hallway with multiple engineers working together!

4. Mines are great all around, but I would suggest people not only place delaying fields in obvious places but also place mines in less obvious places. Use the same logic used for turrets and sensors, but think of it in the reverse. If the enemy is going to be approaching from the south, place the turrets and sensors on the north side of trees, rocks, and walls. However, place mines on the SOUTH side of said objects. As the enemy advanced using cover as they will, mines will be waiting behind the rocks, trees, and walls they plan to hide behind. I've gotten tons of kills this way. Don't place such mines in clear areas either. Use them in grassy areas or around corners to make detection more difficult.

Anyway, I hope my strategies help folks, and I don't mind spreading my tricks to help the masses.

P.S. Knuckles, put one inside the sphere on one side of the AMS (not on the end or front of the AMS though due to a bug). Otherwise, I would then surround the AMS if in an open field with mines only. If you are in a wooded area, you can mix in turrets around the outside area of the cloaked section, but do not use an obvious pattern. Make it random and try not to point the enemy at the AMS. I don't deploy turrets around an AMS in a field, because they do draw too much attention, but they are fine in the woods imo.

;-)

Good luck,

[Knuckles]

Good post, Agathon.

A little word on placing turrets out in the open: Sometimes You have to. There's simply no spots to hide/shield the spits, so You must place it right there... Visible and all. What I do on thiose occasions is that I place a few mines around it, in case a vehicle will try to run it over.

But I do clench my teeth when seeing "newcomers to the trade" (don't want to call them noob engies ) placing turrets and motion detectors out in the open, when there are numerous spots to hide/shield them, improving both their damage impact and life time.

[Nitsch]

I put mines in obvious places sometimes just so i can tell if troops are incomming. Placing a mine by the backdoor then glancing at your map on occasion will let you know if someone is trying to sneak in.

[Hellsfire123]

A good tactic for mines is to place them just inside the ams bubble. no one ever sees them in time, and after exploding they are easy meet for anyone armed. What i hate is when people ring the outside of the ams with spitfires. Why not just put up a sign saying "WE'RE OVER HERE!". Also, alot of engs place spit fires behind bunkers. Bad idea, as they dont shoot over the bunkers for the most part. i can litterally just walk up to it an blast it with lasher/shotgun without getting hit.

Also, if you find an enemy ams, plant mines around the spawning areas, and then either hack or destroy it. Get tons of kills liek this

[Happy lil Elf]

Ummm, Ranger? Ever see the official strategy guide for Evercrack? A strategy guide for an MMO game is about as useless as a woman who can't cook

[Agathon]

Hellsfire,

The reason people put them behind things is so the enemy doesn't see them until the thing the turret is behind is passed. This is a good tactic since a seen turret at a distance is a useless turret 99% of the time.

Please see my post about AMS's and friendly mines. It is BAD. Don't place mines within the AMS sphere of cloaking, or an enemy or friendly with a jammer grenade will cause havok and lots of grief for the engineer.

8-(