My main weapon is the Trac-5 default. I don't know if it's considered "the best", but it seems to be the best assault rifle combining damage and rate of fire. The HC1 Cougar does look appealing though with its better range and damage with a faster reload and burst option all traded for a lower rate of fire. My secondary weapon is the default pistol with the bursts. Personally I feel that if I want something that uncontrollable I would want ti to be full automatic for spray and pray tactics. So I am considering the T4 AMP which is just that and it would compliment a slower firing longer range assault rifle like the cougar. On the other hand I could say that the sidearm is only for dire circumstances where my main weapon is unavailable and I need quick and massive stopping power in a pinch where the NS44 Commissioner would come in handy. What do you guys think? Ability (weapon turret) is another thing I need to make my mind up on. Currently I'm still using the machine gun turret default. Luckily there's not too many options, unluckily though they all have their pros and cons making it hard to choose. The default is nice for laying down sustainable fire to keep enemy heads down for your allies to maneuver on them, but I rarely actually get whole kills with it and it leaves you a stationary standing target. The Anti vehicle turret has its obvious advantages because for most classes I've played you need to get very close to vehicles to destroy them with C4 and grenades. The spitfire has the obvious advantage of not needing to be manned allowing you to go off and do other jobs that need doing like repairs. My suit I think I'm going to be equipping with flak armor. My reasoning is that if I'm going to be working around tanks, vehicles, MAXs and turrets I want to be able to fend off the same attacks that they are taking with which is explosives so as to be more survivable in the environment of these heavy monsters. Would you agree with this choice? The Grenade slot I plan on keeping the fragmentation grenade. While the sticky grenade has obvious advantages I feel the more conventional frag with its bouncy tendencies is nicer for throwing it around corners where enemies are often concealed. As for my Utility I think I will pick C4 It works against both vehicles and infantry and is a far more aggressive weapon than the more defensively oriented mines and medical kits. The only disadvantage if you could call it one is that it needs to be manually detonated which means you need to time it with the movement of your enemies and you can't switch out to your weapon as quickly. For Melee I see no reason to switch from the default chainblade. For my implant I went with regeneration. I wasn't really sure what to pick here, but I figured advanced targeting wasn't necessary.
I have been a TR engineer for the duration of the game. You should be fine with the TRAC5. It's been a while since I have used it, as I Auraxium guns and shelve them, though I remember it being decent Enough. The amc in my opinion is a downgrade to the trac5. max out ammo pak. It's easy XP, drop them in a fight and collect the xp while assisting your team. The repair tool also helps you keep maxes up, as well as vehicles. Max out both ammo and repair tool. The turrets all have fair uses. Spitfire is ok supplemental, it gives you a distraction point for enemies. As engineer, a fun part of your job is playing with explosives. Claymores and Tank mines can provide lots of extra Xp. I highly recommend maxing out both, and further carting out the utility pouch suit for extra mines. This will dramatically increase your cert gain if you know proper placement. You can definitely skip the knife. It's fun sure, but it's really best for infiltrators. I'm BR100, have a huge portion of TR weaponry unlocked, and have 3000 cert banked- still have little interest in the knife. It's seldom used - not many smart people bring a life to. A gunfight.
The Trac-5 is a good place to start. It's a good medium range/versatile weapon. The alternatives will all sacrifice close range power for long-range precision, or vice versa. Keep in mind you also start with a shotgun for pure CQC. The default pistol is considered one of the best in the game. I wouldn't recommend the AMP, since it's similar to the repeater, but it's also worse in most ways. The Commissioner is definitely a strong alternative, since it has a much better effective range than the Repeater, and its high damage per shot makes it a great finisher. As for turrets, well, they're all bad. Even though tankers constantly complain that the AV turret is overpowered, it sucks in 95% of situations, and it's only overpowered in the other 5%--and even then only as part of a coordinated AV squad. For general use, I carry around the spitfire, since at least it's not a deathtrap, and it's actually fairly useful as defense against light assaults. Alternatively, you can carry the default turret and use it as deployable cover. Flak armor is a solid choice. I also like the grenade bandoleer. Stickies are much better than frag grenades. They actually go where you want them to, instead of bouncing harmlessly into a corner. sticking them to players is also hilarious. Tank mines are really better than c4 for engineer. You can deploy two tank mines and shoot them (or drop a sticky grenade on them) faster than you can deploy and detonate 2 bricks of c4. Those 2 tank mines will also destroy a non-deploy shield sunderer, whereas 2 bricks of c4 will only leave it burning (or less, if it was a blockade sunderer).
For the Carbine, I'd highly recommend the T5 AMC. Cougar is nice too, but I enjoyed the T5 more and it's cheaper. I've found the AMR-66 to be the best support engineer weapon, it's main weakness is it runs out of ammo fast. But you are engineer. For those situations where you are inside, repairing maxes and providing ammo, no reason not to use the Barrage shotgun. I'd stick with the repeater for a pistol. It's a dependable side-arm. Similar to the underboss in terms of when it is effective (pull out in an emergency). Get the Commissioner if you are using a shotgun so you can be slightly less pathetic outdoors. Really, none of the pistols are worth the certs when the repeater is so good. Unless you have excess certs, just whack a laser on your repeater and call it a day till it's aurax'd. I use the AV turret. It can one hit infantry and it's nice to have when there is opportunity to shoot vehicles. I find myself rarely using the AI turret. If you get on with it, stick with it. I find it too hard to get it in a nice spot. AV turret can be placed, fired and abandoned. Flak is good. Consider stickies. They are worth it in my opinion. Bouncing a sweet frag is great. But so is sticking one to an enemy, or inside one of those regen fields. I prefer mines. But c4 as a normal carry with the option to switch out for mines when they needed is great. Advanced Targeting is nice if you decide to run AV turret. Otherwise, regen is probably your best bet. Deck out a Sunderer
Ditto to what sustainedfire said. The Trac5 is a perfectly capable carbine, and the Repeater is arguably one of the best sidearms in the game. No need to spend certs on those when you have many other things to upgrade. Ammo and repair tool aren't sexy, but they will rack up the certs much faster than other investments. Cert them early and profit faster. They will also get you more implant drops. Utility pouch upgrades can get expensive. I stopped at 4 AT mines. With that, you can lay out 2 traps of 2 mines. You will want the sticky grenade. One of your fun jobs is tossing 4 (you upgraded to carry 4 right?) AT mines under a deployed AMS. Unlike the "good old days", they won't detonate by themselves. Sticky grenade is the right tool for the job. Read up on the engy forum for other fun uses. Can't go wrong with flak armor. The resistance is situational, but it is a nice chunky resist.
Consider the Uppercut. It's situational, but it's a situation engineers find themselves in a lot: defending the confined areas of a base. Drop claymores around corners and then get ready with the Uppercut. One well placed Uppercut shot at point blank will kill anyone except a heavy with his overshield turned on. Obviously you need a different gun for longer range engagements but try the Uppercut for indoor defense and try to avoid fighting from more than literally point blank with it. Max out utility pouch for 3 claymores. It's a TON of cert points so not a priority but 3 claymores is ****. TR have the best anti-personnel mines. Use em. (Get the 2 points into Claymores right away. Use them frequently.) Get sticky grenades. I find them far more usable than regular grenades. Sometimes I even equip a bandolier just to throw more sticky grenades. They will stick where they land, including people's heads. They're a good option against MAXes. Try to land a sticky grenade on him and then run. It won't kill him outright but it does solid damage. You may also want C4. Drop all your claymores and then switch to C4. You can throw it into a window, around a corner or just drop it and wait for the first person to run by. They're another good MAX killer. If you drive a lot, max your repair tool. It's a great boost to your repair speed (so less downtime when driving a vehicle) and the max level repair tool can dissolve enemy tank mines. If someone drops mines on top of your parked vehicle, dissolving them with a max level repair tool is the only way to save your vehicle.
You really need several load-outs depending on the situation. Jaguar is an excellent all-round carbine for close to mid range combat. I ran for quite a while with the Emperor pistol which I really liked, but I recently got myself the Underboss. For general outdoor and AV use I use the flak armour, Jaguar with 3.2x scope, crossbow with explosive bolts (great for finishing off damaged vehicles and annoys Maxes) with the AV turret. I think the AV turret is one of the best weapons in the game, it kills infantry with one shot and Maxes with 2. It's a little hard to get used to, but once you do, it's amazing, and very strong against tanks and sunderers. I also carry tank mines. When I'm indoors I run with the Jaguar with NV scope, Underboss, nanoweave, AI turret and claymores. Claymores are fantastic. I recently Auraxiumed clays and my clay kills are approaching 1600. Just use them well and you'll rake in the kills. I also have a 'Grenadier' load-out with the bandolier and the Trac 5-S with UBGL which is not that great but useful in some situations. I carry stickies with all load-outs because they're a straight upgrade to frags IMO and great for multi-kills and lots of fun. I have a long range load-out with the AMR-66 battle rifle which is a very under-rated weapon. The big advantage with clays and tank mines over C4 is that they stay there if you die, and they stay even if you change class. Regarding implants, advanced targeting is fairly good for AV use as you can see which vehicles are close to 'death' and concentrate on them. But I use mostly regen level 1. If you're driving tanks you may want to consider the one that lets you see mines, EOD HUD.
what I would really find convenient as a sidearm is a semi-auto handgun firing shotgun rounds. I think I'll just stick with the Trac-5 and the TX-1 repeater for the foreseeable future. Upon listening to all your advice I think I've made a few other decisions as well. 1. I'll get the sticky grenade at some point. 2. I'll get the anti-vehicle turret.
With engineer I play a guerrilla warfare style that has been super effective. It hinges around utility pouch. When you see a massive enemy zerg capturing territory with no resistance go to the next base in the lattice line and set up claymores and tank mines. Massive zergs that are willing to take empty bases are saturated with people who don't pay attention to where they step or drive. Sometimes you kill the same person three+ times in a row without ever even seeing them. They just keep falling into your traps. The AV turret or stationary defense turrets can sometimes be used from the next base to kill the tanks outside the base being captured. When the zerg arrives you can stick around a little while to spawn room hero or lob some grenades (GET STICKIES THEY ARE AWESOME). Although be mindful of your nanites if you don't have the Amerish bonus. Just keep retreating down the lattice until the zerg turns or your empire shows up with enough numbers to repel the invasion. Basically you are fighting the zerg with so much cheese people will think you are from Wisconsin (people think I am from Wisconsin for some reason). Your kills per hour will be ok, your KDR will be high due to the fact that you'll get about 2-3 claymore kills every 5 minutes, 0-5 tank mine kills (sometimes you hit a sunderer and it is SWEET), and your score per minute will be high due to all the vehicle kills, and a lot of the people falling into your claymores will be extreme meanace kills since they just got capture XP, point control XP, and maybe some kills in that life.
Also, skip the Amp. Its not very useful. Its the worst pea shooter in the TR arsenal. Extremely low damage, massive cone of fire- its shameful to ever be killed by the AMP.
Go to town with your favorite shotgun, four stickies and two bricks of C4. I recommend enemy MAX suits as your primary target. But you are ofc free to chuck those nades and your C4 into rooms cramped with regular infantry too! Any survivors must be punished as they deserve, with a load of finest buckshot to the face. The amount of hate tells you'll get will be prove of how effective this setup can be.
i'm taking this to be a new player thread, so i'm just going to give you the advice you really need. just play heavy assault a lot at first and follow large groups to get base capture points. use the certs you earn to upgrade your engineer repair tool and your heavy assault shield (Nanite Mesh Generator.) continue this, while also putting some certs into a vehicle, like the lightning. get the speed upgrade, the fire supression, stealth, ammo reserve, and reload speed. continue to use your vehicle and your heavy assault a lot while you get used to base layouts and keep upgrading both engineer and heavy. these three things will give you enough versatility to contribute to battles and gain exp, while you're learning. don't waste certs by spreading them out into a lot of low level upgrades, and don't expect one class (especially non-heavy assault) to be the one class you use from level 1 to 100. concentrate upgrades in a few things that will reliably gain xp for you, and when you feel that you're earning certs at a good pace, branch out into other classes and vehicles. as a side note your MAX will function pretty well for you without any upgrades, but it will want you to get secondary weapons. for example you want to get the second anti-infantry weapon and the second anti-air weapon at least. in fact, once you find it easy to get 1000 certs you should definitely get the second Burster (MAX AA weapon) and the 250 cert rocket launcher (Heavy) that locks on to air units.
The Trac-5 is a pretty competent weapon (between it and the Barrage, you're fairly well set for most engagements anywhere except open fields), but I prefer the AMC for my particular playstyle. I would also recommend unlocking at least one tank mine to fend off the newest trend in PS2- Wraith Flash run-overs. (Seriously, Sunderers seem to draw them like moths to a flame; tank mines make for excellent flyswatters.) Concentrate on certing up your repair tool more than your ammo pack- the game limits the amount of XP you can gain from resupplying over a period of time, and smart placement can overcome the limited range of lower-ranked packs. Unless you can find a good protected spot, using the anti-infantry turret in the open is an invitation for any Infiltrator worth his/her scope to pop your dome. One tricked I learned from a Wrel video is that it can serve much better as limited, placeable cover. Think about getting the anti-vehicle turret as soon as is feasible, as it also often one-shots infantry, and can be dismounted once fired if you're sure the rocket will hit the target. The Spitfire... is extremely situational, and while I've managed to get good enough placement on occasion to score a few kills, it's far too fragile and slow-firing to be very effective.
I like to write long walls of text, I'm gonna try to keep this real short, though. I want to preface by saying I don't enjoy lots of infantry combat in this game, so my setup and gear selection is purely for vehicle/anti-vehicle play. Repair Tool 4 : Do this ASAP. I personally go straight for rank 5, then ignore rank 6 until I have other things out of the way. Rank 6 is a nice bump up, and lets you defuse mines, but it's steep at 500 certs when you're just starting out. Flak Armor 1 & 2 : Helps you survive explosions, of which there are many. The first ranks are cheap, 4 is almost as effective as 5 for infantry (as a vehicle player), so I usually cert 2 or 3 ranks then ignore it until I actually want rank 4. Sticky Grenade : Arguably the best 100 certs you can spend on your Engi. I recommend sticking them on to medics and tank-mine traps, but I trust you to find your own happiness here. Tank Mines 1 : (Rank 1 gives you two mines) Dirt cheap, very effective vs ground vehicles. C4 Pouch 1 : Gives you one stick of C4 Utility Pouch: Save yourself some certs. That second rank of C4 pouch costs 500 certs. The first rank of Utility Pouch, which does the same thing, costs 200 certs. Take the 300 certs you saved, put them into something else. Note: I personally like to play other kits w/ C4, so I use them unless I need LOTS of C4. I typically cert Tank Mines 1 & 2, then C4 Pouch 1, then Utility 1 & 2. This gives you a choice between 4 AV mines, or 2 C4, saves you some certs compared to the normal unlock, and helps you advance the Utility Pouch line so you can carry even more explosives later. Foregrip for Trac-5. I played this game for ~16 months before putting a foregrip on my carbine. I made a mistake, learn from it. Ammo Pack ~3: I like to go about halfway up here, I usually stop at the one that costs 300(IIRC) certs. Increased duration and radius = more resupply points. Options/Infantry stuff: Grenade Bandolier: As many ranks as you want, it's fun and useful, especially for infantry combat. Revolver Sidearm: Blow up mines in one shot. I don't know if the other pistols do or not, actually, I haven't used a default pistol on an engi kit in months. MANA - AV: Still very useful, even if only as a shield/distraction. Certing the timer yields dividends. Crossbow + Detection Bolts: Surprisingly useful for engies. I have two friends that bring this when we play Harasser or Valkyrie and spam bolts for drive-by spot-assist ribbons. Your team will appreciate it. Implants: Enhanced Targeting: The default, is cheap to run and extremely useful for vehicle gunners. Awareness (T3): Spots enemies who damage/kill you. If you're piloting/driving a vehicle that doesn't have a pilot/driver weapon, this is the perk you should be running, IMO. Kill every last lock-on HA who's bothering you! Safe Landing (T3 or 4): Useful for flying as an Engi, playing a non-Squad Logistics Valkyrie from a rumble seat, etc. Also saves you from those obnoxious vehicle ejection deaths. There's one more I recommend having on hand, but it's not coming to me atm. OH, also, if you want to play only Engineer: Get the AMR-66 Battle rifle, run HVA, foregrip and a 6x scope. Take Hold Breath 3 or 4 as your implant. Pretend your a sniper. Make actual infiltrators rage. Does wonders for your long range engagement abilities, until you save up enough to get your sniper turret (MANA-AV, lol).
