Buildings

Changes

Increased building speed of Dispensers & Teleporters by 100%

Setting up support structures for the engineer was often very difficult in faster game modes, so simply matching the sentry build speed should help to allow engineers to keep up.

Pomson 6000

Does not require ammo

Fires a projectile that passes through teammates

Projectile cannot be deflected

Deals only 20% damage to buildings

Changes

Firing speed, reload speed, & clip size increased to match stock shotgun

33% faster projectile speed

Improved hit detection

Projectile passes through teammates

Uber and Cloak drain removed

Removed more frustrating abilities in favor of making the weapon more viable to fire at mid-range combat.

Panic Attack

Alt-Fire: dump entire clip at 33% faster firing speed

+50% bullets per shot

This weapon deploys 50% faster

Fires a wide, fixed shot pattern

-15% damage penalty

-34% clip size

Successive shots become less accurate

Changes

Reduced damage penalty to 15%

Added -34% clip size penalty

Added Alt-Fire: dump entire clip at 33% faster firing speed

This intends to merge the old sneeze gun design with the current version. The damage was upped slightly to make it more effective in close range and perform better as a side-grade, with the alt-fire replicating ability to quickly sneeze out the current clip with a still worsening spread as a trade-off.

The Wrangler

Take manual control of your Sentry Gun with increased firing speed

Wrangled sentries gain a shield that reduces damage by 50% and repairs by 66%

Take 80% less self-damage from your sentry gun’s attacks

Sentries are disabled for 3 seconds after becoming unwrangled

Changes

Added 80% less self-damage from your sentry gun

Reduced shield resistance from 66% to 50%

The shield is one of the most problematic aspects of the tool for how much more tankiness you get with little effort. However it can’t be fully done away with due to the nature of putting yourself in a more vulnerable and preoccupied state while using it. The aim here is to reduce it enough to compensate for the vulnerability of taking manual control while opening up newer movement and positioning options.

Short Circuit

Uses metal for ammo

Per Shot: -5 metal

Alt-Fire: Launches a projectile-consuming energy ball for 50 metal

Blast against surfaces to jump!

No reload necessary

No metal from dispensers while active

Changes

50% less self damage from projectile

+100% primary fire damage bonus

Orb causes self damage from hitting surfaces rather than enemies

Reduced alt-fire cost to 50 (from 65)

No metal from dispensers while active

Projectile lifetime reduced to 0.5s

Aim is to make the weapon less spammable and cover less ground, giving a better opening for projectile classes to counter the engineer. To make up for this, its movement tech is expanded upon to introduce a mixup when fighting projectile classes.

Southern Hospitality

On Hit: Bleed for 5 seconds

+300% dispenser range

No random critical hits

-10% slower move speed while hauling

-20% slower upgrade rate

Changes

Fire damage vulnerability removed

Added +300% dispenser range

Added -10% slower move speed while hauling

Added -20% slower upgrade rate

The wrench didn’t have much identity, so the intent here is to make it better for more static holds centered around a boosted dispenser, with slower hauling and upgrading to require more considerate building placement and setup time.

The Jag

Construction hit speed boost increased by 30%

+15% faster firing speed

-25% damage penalty

33% slower repair rate

-33% damage penalty vs buildings

Changes

Increased slower repair rate from 20% to 33%

The slower repair rate is largely not felt due to the increased swing speed, so this should help make the weapon more specialized instead of being a straight upgrade most of the time.