Tips on how to defeat Minisentries

If anyone hasn’t noticed yet, I’ve been making a bunch of articles based off my very old posts. I never realised how many threads I used to post on a regular basis. But one that stood out was a thread I made when the Gunslinger hatred first started up and really got going (and when _Star used to go around saying how evil they were), back in 2012. It was about how to defeat minisentries. Maybe it’s worth looking over some of these tips?

First things first, the Gunslinger DID receive some changes. The hitbox is larger and the minisentry itself no longer randomly regenerates health back to 100% if it takes damage while building. That’s good, right? Yes.

Now, let’s start with some basic (and obvious) tips.

Take out the Engineer first – This is both the simplest and the most complicated piece of advice I can give. Killing the Engineer means he can’t build a new minisentry, nor can he do anything else until he respawns. The problem is, an Engineer will try to shoot you back, and you’re often in a 1v2 situation. But if you’re fighting any Engineer with a sentry up, and that’ll be most of them, you’ll always be in a 1v2 situation. That is, unless you bring a friend along.

Use the terrain – Minisentries aren’t godlike, they don’t have infinite reach, and they can’t shoot through most things. Use your surroundings and long distances to avoid damage.

Back off and let someone else deal with it – Not everyone was meant to take out Engineers. Sometimes it’s better to just retreat and let your team mate do all the work. Heck, that’s what they’re there for, right? Worst case scenario, use team mates as fodder to distract the minisentry and its owner while you take them out.

Scout
Scout VS Engineer is generally a bad team up no matter what, assuming the Engy has a sentry nearby, since Engineer is a bit of a counter-class. A good choice here would be to take a pistol and spam at the thing from a distance. Bonk! Atomic Punch can be used to get past a field of minisentries if things are really bad.

Soldier
Soldiers shouldn’t have too much difficulty with Engineers, since two rockets should deal with a minisentry. The Direct Hit is very good against predictable sentries. The Black Box can help against an Engineer who sticks close to his mini-sentry, but the smaller clip size means you’ll struggle if the Engineer can plonk out a second sentry as you destroy the first. The absolute worst weapon to take is the Cow Mangler, as it’s not worth emptying your clip to disable the minisentry – you’re better off destroying it and wasting the Engineer’s resources.

Pyro
An enemy Engineer, being the master of area denial, is always going to be a problem for the close combat class. Unfortunately, Pyros don’t have many choices apart from going for long-ranged harassment with the Flare Gun and its variants. If you can, lure the Engineer away from his sentry and kill him before moving on to destroying the minisentry.

Demoman
Demomen eat Engineers. Unless they’re using the Short Circuit or something. A couple of stickies or some grenades under the minisentry will kill it fast. Demoknights though will have more of an issue since they lack the reliability of stickies and have no bullet resistance, so always keep a grenade launcher handy.

Heavy
Being immobile targets, Heavies shouldn’t really have much of an issue with minisentries, as long as they keep their eyes open. Your vast bulk means allies can hide behind you as you help them kill those baby sentries. Engineers who catch you by surprise will have the upper hand though, and 300 health doesn’t help against Engineers who stack FJ crits.

Engineer
Engineer VS Engineer battles are never fun, but as long as you get your sentry up first, you should be able to win. If you’ve had time to set up anything over a level 1 sentry, then those Gunslingers aren’t going to stand a chance. Just watch out for those Frontier Justice crits.

Medic
Medics should never try to take out sentries on their own. If you see a minisentry, run in the opposite direction immediately and get someone else to help you. If you so desire, you can attempt to snipe distant minisentries with the Crusader’s Crossbow, but it’s generally better to let someone else do all the hard work.

Sniper
Sniper VS Engineer isn’t a common match up, simply because both tend to hide behind their team, so a Sniper being caught by an Engineer won’t be a pretty fight. Luckily, Gunslinger Engineers are still vulnerable to quickscopes, so taking them out fast means you won’t be seeing another minisentry any time soon. It only takes two non-scoped hits from a Sniper Rifle to take out a minisentry, so once you’re out of range, killing that pest will be a piece of piss.

Spy
Engineer’s soft counter, minisentries mean free crits for those who run the Diamondback, and they make for a world of pain and irritation if you sap with a Red Tape Recorder, since Engineers can’t destroy sapped buildings and the RTR’s extra long sapping time means an Engineer can’t wait it out then build another one without eating harassment from you. If the Engineer has a Pyro buddy though, it’s better to wait until someone distracts them before going in.

It’s not that hard, when you think about it. Just really, really annoying.