Photo-Feature: An Engineer and his Friends

The man seen above is an Engineer. (The dead man at his feet, as you should really recognize, is a Spy. They tend to be rather rude to one another. We will discuss this later.)

An Engineer is a grumpy sort. He runs hither and thither, repairing this, building that. He hasn't much time for people. His priorities lie elsewhere - with his friends.

An Engineer takes pride, of course, in building his own friends.

He might start here - with a lovely, adorable, tiny Level One Sentry Gun. A pleasant pet for any up-and-coming Engineer.

He might continue to build something like this, a rather larger, more powerful Level Two Sentry Gun. (This one's in rather poor shape. Pish-posh to the Engineer who built it!)

Eventually - if our Engineer is skilled, dedicated, and lucky - he might own something like this, a large, powerful, and somewhat deadly Sentry Gun Level Three. Admire its twin vulcan guns, its top-mounted quad-firing rocket launcher! Here, an Engineer maintains his sentry, assisted by a friendly Heavy. Certainly a Heavy is no friend like a good Sentry - but he can help! A wise Engineer recognizes this. A wiser Engineer places himself in a situation like this:

For, after all, the only friend better than a Level Three Sentry is two Level Three Sentries. (In this particular position - a cramped tunnel with no back entrances or close approaches - they are remarkably deadly.)

The Engineer - and especially his machines - have many enemies. The Sniper, who can fire from further away than the Sentry can see, whittling away at its delicate internals with high-caliber rounds. The Demo-Man and Soldier, blasting away at the Engineer's machines with powerful explosives. The Heavy and Pyro, both enormously destructive at close ranges. The Spy, of course with his electro-sappers specifically designed to disable and destroy the Engineer's machines. Even the Medic, whose Ubercharges are employed to destroy the Engineer's beloved Sentries more often than they are used for any other purpose. So many people are jealous of the Engineer's craftsmanship!

He calls out - come on! Show me your moves! He is unafraid.

He has friends.