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« on: May 13, 2014, 05:47:27 pm »
In my experiences (though limited) as a primary and secondary Engineer, I've figured out some of the more important key-notes about the job.
First and foremost, pre-game communication. If possible, try to talk with the other engineer(s) and captain about what's expected of the crew. If you can come up with a basic game plan, such as which engineer stays on the top deck and which stays below, and at what point should everyone panic and swarm around the hull, then things will, usually, proceed much smoother.
You also need to know the basic stats of components for the ship. For example, the Squid has very little armor, which means a Rubber Mallet isn't as effecient as the Pipe Wrench. When you know how many hits from your spanner it takes to rebuild a part, then you can get yourself into a rhythm (Hit 4 times, on the fourth hit, immediately swap to mallet, hit with mallet, keep hitting with mallet, unless armor drops below a certain point, then switch to spanner again).
Learn your cooldowns. Rubber Mallet heals an incredible amount of health. But it has a 9 second cooldown. The bad part about that is, of course, the 9 second wait time. The benefit, however, is that you can hit one component, and have time to run over to two over components, and make it back with time to spare. Developing a kind of repair circuit will make those moments when you're being pelted by grenades a little less stressful.
Carry a spy glass. No, really, carry a spy glass. Just because there's nothing to repair doesn't mean there's nothing to do. Spot enemy ships early and often. Not only does it make the captain and gunner's jobs easier, it makes the jobs of your ally ship's captain and gunners easier.
Know your role. The Engineer is around to make it so the rest of the crew doesn't have to panic (as much). A gunner should carry a spanner or pipe wrench with them at all times, sure, but that doesn't mean you're forbidden from ever repairing their guns. Being an Engineer also doesn't make it a crime, punishable by death, to hop on to a gun. One gunner can only do so much. But, regardless of how much fun it is to climb onto a Lumberjack or Hwatcha, you must never forget about the rest of the ship. Those big indicators aren't just there for decoration.
Have a thick skin. This is the same with all classes. You will get yelled at. You will get blamed. Learn to deal with it. This community can get pretty excited and competitive, but at its heart, most of the players are pretty cool dudes. I remember I was engineering, and the captain was yelling (more like talking loudly, but whatever) at me to repair the hull. I explained I was using the rubber mallet, and it's cooldown is insane. The captain, being the cool dude he was, realized that cooldowns were out of our control, and appologized, and we went on to die in a massive fireball, because Pyramidions are scary.
Know when it's OK to panic. I usually gauge my Panic-o-Meter by how many components are broken, how many are on fire, how many Hwatchas and Lumberjacks are being fired at the ship, and how damaged the hull is. Once the panic sets in, there's really only one course of action. Have two people dog pile onto the hull, and slap it with spanners and mallets/wrenches, while a third person runs around, trying to keep the main engine, at least on side engine, and the balloon in working order.
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