Gunner/Engi - Shoot or Repair?

[Cray]

Imagine situation like this:

You are an engineer/gunner. Your ship is just engaged in tense combat. Enemy is approaching, both ships (yours and theirs) are firing. You are on the gun too, firing. But there is DPS incoming and your primary role as engi to repair the ship, keep it in the air.

So that's the question to experienced GOI engies - by what criterias you judge the situation to decide: stay at the gun and keep damaging enemy ship or leave the gun and run to the hull/balloon/etc.?

Yeah, I know. The obvious answer is - do as your captain says.
Some of them prefer the aggressive tactic, when in combat everyone should mount the guns. Someone more careful and command engies to stay at designated repair point. It's ok. You should follow the captain orders. Keep calm and bring-that-motherf*cker-down!/fix the hull.

But often captain is too busy with something, or he/she thinks that you know the priority, or captain is simply not experienced and decision is completely up to you. And that decision can change the tide.

I just start playing the GOI. Started as gunner but quickly switched to engi cause it feels more crucial to the team. I have the feeling that knowing when and why I must gun/repair in combat situation is important to being the good player. That's why I ask.

Thanks for possible answers.

[HamsterIV]

First rule: Obey the captain

If the captain is not talking then:
With the standard 2 engineer 1 gunner. The gunner always shoots. There should be a dedicated engineer on hull (often know an the Main Engineer) and a roving/gunning engineer. The main engineer should be able to tell if the hull is going down too fast and needs help. The 2nd engineer should keep shooting until the primary engineer calls for help.

If your crew is not organized or communicating then you are pretty screwed, and I would jump down and fix the hull to be on the safe side. The main engineer is the most important roll next to the pilot. Sometimes it is even more important, like if the pilot doesn't know what they are doing. If you are the most experienced player on a ship of newbies do everyone a favor and take primary engineer. It will give the newbies a chance to learn the game and hopefully expand the community. It is hard to learn anything if your ship dies 8 seconds after enemy contact.

[Captain Smollett]

Ok, I sort of disagree here.

Prioritization is so situational that it is extremely hard to generalize, however if I must.

In an all out gun fight, I agree that main engi stays on hull, and gunner stays on his gun, however generally speaking, the gungineer should also stay on their gun.  If two ships are firing at each other, and on one ship the engineer jumps off their gun, if they're lucky, to wack the hull three times, while the other ships gungineer stays put firing.  The ship with the engineer still shooting will get a way bigger boost to dps than the ship that decided to have their gunner jump off to help on a rebuild will get to repairs.  Eventually the ship that kept shooting will win the fight.

Unless it's a goldfish, I never have an engineer come to help on the hull, way too much is lost.  If it really seems like it's necessary, I myself will leave the helm to do so.  I'll also usually forsake, balloons, engines and anything else that's broken to continue shooting so long as guns are still in arc.  Windows to make kills are very short in this game, and the first ship to take advantage of these small windows of opportunity will win the fight.

[RearAdmiralZill]

This all really depends on the boat you are on, what position you are at on that boat, and the captain's word.

Pyra- One engie stays down on main deck, one on top. Top engie handles the balloon and the front guns. In your example, he better be shooting. If you are the bottom engie, you are repairing. The only real time I like side guns manned is when I'm not under fire, and you have a good opportunity to better our situation.

Goldfish- Unless I call for a side gun, you are repairing. 9/10 times, my front gun is getting the arc priority. I'll call for the gun to be manned if i wish it, otherwise, youll lose arc pretty fast to the front gun, and you'll of done nothing but turn the gun.

Galleon- Again, depends if you are on top or bottom. Top is always repairing unless we aren't under fire or I call for all guns to finish them off. Bottom engie needs to watch the turning engines, his guns, and fires. A good gunner can repair his own gun, and if special needs arise, i'll be the one to relay that.

Squid- You are repairing unless I call for the side gun to be manned. They are pretty high maintenance when you start using pilot tools, especially the engines.

Spire- Top engie shoots and watches balloon and main engine, bottom is repairing hull, turning engines, and main gun on occasion (usually fire).

Junker- This is probably the most confusing boat for an engie in this context. It depends heavily on the loadout, but a more general way of doing it is, the top side guns are first come first serve. If I call for port guns manned, if one engie gets there before you, you just got the repair job.

This is all pretty general, but hopefully it helps.

[Malarosa Agresti]

I feel that if the Galleon is a gunners ship, then the Junker is an engie's ship.  The systems are spread out in such a way that it works very well with having engie's in specific stations, able to fire 2 or 3 guns and only breaking from that when the need arises.  I love my junker but I only fly it when I'm confident my engies aren't going to roving together as a single unit, all headed to the balloon while every other system is going out.

[Captain Smollett]

Every ship I fly, I assign specific engineering responsibilities for components to specific crew members.  When additional help is needed on a component I'll usually call the crew member to move to where they are needed, and as far as the balloon on a Junker goes. That's the captains job on my ship with additional support from the top deck engi when balloon locked or when it's caught fire.

[Cheesy Crackers]

Yeah obey captain is first
But generally when im captain i like to keep the engi on the gun but still close to hull/balloon/ whatever might need repairing. Usually keeping engis near 2 vital spots (Like in spire / pyramidion the hull and balloon are seperated)
So yeah I generall like to keep an engi on the guns but near what needs repairing, once we start taking fire then repair. if theres time (Like we disabled the engines / their guns) then hop back on the guns. I like to keep at least 1 gun firing at all times

[Gambrill]

Me and my posse stick to the junker. As engi I'll stay up top and focus on turning engines hull and top guns with a look at the balloon. My pilot will just look up and smack it with a wrench if it needs it unless under heavy attack. Bot gunner will look after main engine unless again.. heavy attack then I'll rush there. While the other randomer.. if engie, supports by general maintenance or if gunner gets priority of top guns.

[SnipeVortex]

I captain a Junker.

when i have a responsive crew that knows the layout of the ship i like to have, my gunner on the lower deck guns and my eng's doing the upper deck work. so 1 can run between the hull armour and the front rocket because generally, theyre both not needed at the same time and another will be looking after the top gatling guns while repairing the balloon if im to busy and sorting out the secondary engines. I'll also find that if its getting to critical, i'll position the ship so that i can jump onto the gatling guns if i need to for a round, to let my eng repair.

I'd much rather have my engineers repair and keeping us alive most of the time then risk it. Though as a captain i will do my best to put us into a blind side of the enemy to allow us to get as many guns as possible going.

The only time i'll order my gunner off the gun is when the heat is getting to much and we need to run, so i call for everyone to repair the vital systems, so i can get us behind a obstacle, usually by the time we get thier we're good to go again.

The big thing is to listen/ask the captain what he wants, we all vary