Hey there...I'm not a hardcore engineer player, but ever since Arena came out I've been playing Engy in it almost constantly.
So far I've noticed that some maps are more favorable for an engineer than others.
Lumberyard, for instance, is a brutal map for an engineer, it offers minimal worthwhile building points right at the start of the match that can't be quickly overwhelmed by the other team before you even get something built.
In order to play an Arena Engineer you must realize that your buildings are screwed. I mean like...remember Independence Day, when the people looked up and watched the alien ship open up and have that pretty light beam down on them? Yeah, that screwed.
Everything and everyone is going to gun for your stuff as soon as they know about it.
Therefore you must have the mentality to not care if your stuff gets blown up. If you sit around watching your stuff non-stop, trying to keep it alive against insurmountable odds, you're going to die horribly. I have watched many engineers do this, they try to "Gun-hump" and it just doesn't work because you don't have the time, initially, to do this.
~~
What level should your sentry gun be during Arena?
I'd say at least half the time it's going to be a level 1. The rest of the time a level 2. If you have a level 3 sentry it means one of three things.
- Your team is already winning.
- You're too far back defensively.
- The other team is a bunch of cowards who are turtling.
A level 1 sentry is good enough to take out, or scare away, most enemy players. The key goal here with an Engineer in arena is to create a "defensive bubble". This will be used, if your team is paying attention, to protect them. They'll use it as a back wall, they'll know it's there and know they can concentrate forward instead of worrying about their six. Medics especially are going to find this very useful, as it'll make spies and scouts all the harder to properly use against them. On top of that, a level 1 sentry might not kill them, but it'll hurt them. Hurting people in Arena is far more effective than in a normal match.
If you have the metal and your team isn't suffering horribly, whack your sentry a few times and get it up to 2. At level 2 your gun is able to just brutalize most players. Scouts flop over, pyros weep and everyone else retreats or dies.
If you're lucky your opponents will waste an uber, or crits, trying to take your sentry gun down. If they do this run for the hills immediately, build elsewhere and harass them anew.
Personally I recommend checking out:
This linkAssault engineer is what you want to be in Arena.