Sentry Gun

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The Engineer with a Level 3 Sentry

The Sentry Gun, also known as the Sentry Mechanical Firing Device, Sentry, Turret, or simply abbreviated to SG, is a building that can be constructed by the Engineer using the PDA, the Engineer's build tool. The gun itself is a tripodal device constructed of metal, team-colored paint, and a laser sight (when used with the Wrangler).

The Sentry Gun functions as an automated turret which fires at the closest enemy within its range and line of sight. Dealing constant as well as consistent damage with noticeable knockback and an immunity to critical hits, a Sentry Gun is the cornerstone of a successful defensive setup. On the other hand, they take a while to set up to full potential, and even a fully-stocked Sentry Gun can be destroyed with little trouble by a well-executed Übercharge or a Spy with his Sapper. Engineers must be on the lookout for such threats to ensure their Sentry Gun's survival.

Functionality

The Sentry Gun costs 130 Metal to build, 200 Metal to upgrade to level two, and an additional 200 to upgrade to the third and final level totaling to 530 Metal. With each upgrade level, the Sentry Gun becomes more powerful, gaining machine guns, rockets, as well as more health. The firing range remains constant regardless of level. The Sentry Gun's ammo and health may be replenished with Metal by the Engineer hitting it with his Wrench. Each bullet reloaded costs 1 Metal and each rocket reloaded costs 2 Metal. A destroyed Sentry Gun drops 60 Metal worth of scrap pieces, which can also be picked up by other classes as Ammo.

When placing a Sentry Gun, the limit of its range is represented by a 3D sphere of the team color with a radius of 1100 Hammer units. A Sentry Gun that is being constructed will have its health increase gradually until it reaches its maximum health upon completion. The Sentry Gun rotates 90 degrees to patrol the area but is capable of rotating 360 degrees to lock on to a target. This takes a brief moment, however, which may allow faster foes to slip past its range. The Sentry Gun can also be manually rotated to face a different direction before building commences. When the blueprint is shown, using the alternate fire button (default key: MOUSE2) will rotate the blueprints counter-clockwise by 90 degrees.

Sentry Guns will not fire upon enemy Spies that are cloaked. In general, Sentry Guns will not fire upon enemy Spies that are disguised; however, if the Sentry was firing upon the Spy at the time the disguise was activated, the Sentry will continue to fire upon the Spy until the Spy cloaks, breaks line of sight, or moves out of range. Sentry Guns will also not fire upon enemies in its range if there is a water surface between them or if the enemy is behind cover – this cover includes the Engineer's Dispenser. Sentry Guns are also unable to fire if an enemy Spy attaches a Sapper to it or while they are being upgraded/built.

Unlike most other weapons, the Sentry Gun's weapons do not gain criticals. It is possible, however, to make the Sentry Gun deal mini-crit attacks and damage if its target is coated in Jarate, under the effects of the Fan O'War, or if the Engineer who built the Sentry Gun is close to a Soldier with an active Buff Banner – boosting the damage of each bullet to 22.

Included in the Engineer Update is an unlockable secondary replacement, the Wrangler, which allows the Engineer to take direct control of his Sentry Gun by "marking" targets manually. Doing so shuts down the Sentry Gun's automated target-lock system, but diverts the excess power from the targeting system into speeding up its firing rate, effectively doubling the damage-per-second of the Sentry Gun. The Wrangler also provides the Sentry Gun with a protective shield which absorbs two-thirds of enemy fire while the Wrangler is active. A wrangled Sentry Gun has no maximum range. Once the Engineer switches away from the Wrangler, however, his Sentry Gun is unable to fire for 3 seconds while its auto-lock targeting computer reboots. It is still shielded during this time.

Since the Engineer Update, players are able to haul their buildings around. An Engineer carrying his Sentry Gun moves 10% slower and cannot fire or change weapons. However, a redeployed Sentry Gun retains its previous level and automatically sets up twice as fast. Engineers do not lose any Ammo or Metal by moving Sentry Guns (unless the Sentry Gun was picked up with the Rescue Ranger's alt-fire, which costs 100 metal for a Sentry Gun or a Combat Mini-Sentry Gun). If the Engineer is killed while hauling his Sentry Gun, it is automatically destroyed along with him and gives a notification in the kill icon area of the screen. Sentry Guns under the effects of a Sapper cannot be picked up.

An Engineer is vulnerable to damage from his own Sentry Gun's bullets. For about the first 300 Hammer units of their flight, Sentry Gun rockets will pass through the Sentry Gun's Engineer without detonating, as if he were another member of the same team. However, if the rockets do strike another surface within this distance and explode, the Engineer is vulnerable to the resulting splash damage. Beyond this initial distance, the Engineer is fully vulnerable to his own Sentry Gun's rockets. (The knockback from Sentry Gun self-damage enables the Engineer to perform bullet and Sentry rocket jumps, especially with the aid of the Wrangler.)

In Mann vs. Machine mode, Sentry Guns can gain benefits from certain Power Up Canteens their owners use. An Übercharge Canteen will form a Wrangler-esque shield around the Sentry Gun, protecting it from attacks. A Kritz Canteen will double the Sentry Gun's firing rate. An Upgrade Buildings Canteen will instantly upgrade the Sentry to level 3. Sentry Guns can also be upgraded at Upgrade Stations to increase their health and firing rate, and the Engineer can even buy a Disposable Sentry Gun, allowing him to place a second Mini-Sentry.

Demonstration

Combat Mini-Sentry Gun

The Combat Mini-Sentries as seen on the Engineer Update page.
I love that little gun!
The Engineer on his Combat Mini-Sentry Gun

The Combat Mini-Sentry Gun is a more combat-efficient version of the standard Sentry Gun, and is a component of the Engineer's Gunslinger unlock. It is a smaller Level 1 Sentry Gun outfitted with a rotating light and glowing checkered paint. Like the Sentry Gun, it can be hauled. In the Gun Mettle Update, the Mini-Sentry was changed so that it starts at 50% health and gains health as it builds. Therefore, Mini-Sentry Guns are now more vulnerable during construction.

Demonstration

Advantages

  • Costs only 100 Metal to place (the normal Sentry costs 130 Metal). This allows an Engineer at a full 200 Metal to build both it and a Dispenser without needing additional Metal.
  • Constructs much faster than the original Sentry Gun. Hitting the Sentry will make it construct faster and when deployed after hauling it will be armed in 1.5 seconds.
  • Fires 50% faster than a Level 1 Sentry Gun.
  • Can rotate 35% faster than the default Sentry Gun.
  • Approximately half the size of a regular Sentry Gun, making it harder to notice and target.
  • More useful for Sentry jumping, as the firing rate and reduced damage combine to deal more knockback for an equivalent health loss.

Disadvantages

  • Has only 100 health, compared to a Level 1 Sentry Gun's 150.
  • Starts at only 50 health when first deployed and builds health up to 100 over the course of the build animation.
  • Cannot be upgraded. The owner and other Engineers can still refill its ammo and health.
  • Deals only 50% the damage per shot of the original Level 1 Sentry Gun. Therefore, DPS is overall 25% lower (48 compared to the normal Sentry Gun's 64).
  • Drops zero Metal when destroyed.
  • Once a Sentry jump is executed, not exceptionally useful as part of a base in the new area.

Sentry Gun Levels

Level Kill icon Health Cost
(Metal)
Weaponry Damage Ammo
1

RED Level 1 Sentry Gun.png

Killicon sentry1.png Without Wrangler shielding: 150

With Wrangler shielding: 450

130 Single barrel machine gun

Damage

  • Maximum ramp-up: 19.49
  • Base damage: 16
  • Maximum fall-off: 8.45

Attack interval

  • Without Wrangler: 0.225 seconds
  • With Wrangler: 0.135 seconds

Average DPS

  • Without Wrangler: 71.11 - 84.44
  • With Wrangler: 118.52 - 140.74
150 rounds
2

RED Level 2 Sentry Gun.png

Killicon sentry2.png Without Wrangler shielding: 180

With Wrangler shielding: 540

330 Twin-mounted Gatling guns

Damage

  • Maximum ramp-up: 19.49
  • Base damage: 16
  • Maximum fall-off: 8.45

Attack interval

  • Without Wrangler: 0.135 seconds
  • With Wrangler: 0.09 seconds

Average DPS

  • Without Wrangler: 118.51 - 140.74
  • With Wrangler: 177.78 - 211.11
200 rounds
3

RED Level 3 Sentry Gun.png

Killicon sentry3.png Without Wrangler shielding: 216

With Wrangler shielding: 648

530 Twin-mounted Gatling guns and rocket salvos Gatling guns

Damage

  • Maximum ramp-up: 19.49
  • Base damage: 16
  • Maximum fall-off: 8.45

Attack interval

  • Without Wrangler: 0.135 seconds
  • With Wrangler: 0.09 seconds

Average DPS

  • Without Wrangler: 118.51 - 140.74
  • With Wrangler: 177.78 - 211.11

Rockets

Damage

  • Maximum ramp-up: 150
  • Base damage: 100
  • Maximum fall-off: 52.81

Falloff is calculated from the distance of the Engineer to the target, not from the Sentry to the target

Attack interval

  • Without Wrangler: 3.06 seconds
  • With Wrangler: 2.25 seconds

Note: Can be reflected with the Pyro's compression blast

200 rounds

20 rocket salvos

Combat Mini-Sentry Gun

Red Mini Sentry.png

Killicon minisentry.png Without Wrangler shielding: 100

With Wrangler shielding: 300

100 Single barrel machine gun

Damage

  • Maximum ramp-up: 9.74
  • Base damage: 8
  • Maximum fall-off: 4.22

Attack interval

  • Without Wrangler: 0.18 seconds
  • With Wrangler: 0.09 seconds

Average DPS

  • Without Wrangler: 44.44 - 55.56
  • With Wrangler: 88.89 - 111.11
150 rounds
Disposable Sentry Gun

Red Mini Sentry.png

Killicon minisentry.png 100 Without Gunslinger: 130

With Gunslinger: 100

Single barrel machine gun

Damage

  • Maximum ramp-up: 9.74
  • Base damage: 8
  • Maximum fall-off: 4.22

Attack interval: 0.225 seconds

Average DPS: 35.56 - 42.22

Note: Only available in Mann vs. Machine as an upgrade and cannot be wrangled, repaired, or have its ammo refilled.

150 rounds

Related achievements

Achieved.png General

Sentry Gunner
Sentry Gunner
Accumulate 10 Sentry Gun kills with a single Sentry Gun.

Leaderboard class scout.png Scout

Gun Down
Gun Down
Destroy an active sentry gun using your pistol.

Leaderboard class soldier.png Soldier

Engineer to Eternity
Engineer to Eternity
Kill an Engineer as he repairs his sentry gun while it's under enemy fire.
Guns of the Navar0wned
Guns of the Navar0wned
Kill 5 Engineer Sentry Guns while you are standing outside of their range.

Leaderboard class pyro.png Pyro

Arsonist
Arsonist
Destroy 50 Engineer buildings.

Leaderboard class demoman.png Demoman

The Argyle Sap
The Argyle Sap
Blow up an Engineer, his Sentry Gun, and his Dispenser with a single Sticky bomb detonation.

Leaderboard class engineer.png Engineer

Texas Two-Step
Texas Two-Step
Use your shotgun to finish off an enemy recently damaged by your sentry gun.


Deputized
Deputized
Get 10 assists with another Engineer where a sentry gun was involved in the kill.


Best Little Slaughterhouse in Texas
Best Little Slaughterhouse in Texas
Rack up 5000 kills with your Sentry Guns.


Doc, Stock, and Barrel
Doc, Stock, and Barrel
Repair a sentry gun under fire while being healed by a Medic.


Rio Grind
Rio Grind
Perform 50 repairs and/or reloads on a Sentry gun being Wrangled by another Engineer.
Uncivil Engineer
Uncivil Engineer
Provide an enemy player with a freeze cam of you and the sentry that just killed them.


Frontier Justice
Frontier Justice
Have your sentry kill the enemy that just killed you within 10 seconds.


If You Build It, They Will Die
If You Build It, They Will Die
Haul a level 3 sentry gun into a position that achieves a kill shortly after being redeployed.


No Man's Land
No Man's Land
Use a sentry gun to kill 25 enemy players that are capturing a point.


Patent Protection
Patent Protection
Destroy an enemy Engineer's sentry gun with a sentry under control of your Wrangler.

Leaderboard class medic.png Medic

Midwife Crisis
Midwife Crisis
Heal an Engineer as he repairs his sentry gun while it's under enemy fire.

Leaderboard class sniper.png Sniper

De-sentry-lized
De-sentry-lized
Destroy 3 Engineer Sentry Guns.

Leaderboard class spy.png Spy

Constructus Interruptus
Constructus Interruptus
Kill an Engineer who is working on a sentry gun.
Joint Operation
Joint Operation
Sap an enemy Sentry Gun within 3 seconds of a teammate sapping another.

Mvm navicon.png Mann vs. Machievements

Real Steal
Real Steal
As an Engineer, escape with your sentry as a sentry buster is about to detonate.
Undelete
Undelete
During a wave, use a canteen charged with 'Instant Building Upgrade' to build a new sentry gun within 3 seconds of your previous sentry gun's destruction.

Update history

September 20, 2007 Patch
  • Fixed Sentry muzzleflashes not drawing unless sentry was near the map origin.

October 25, 2007 Patch

  • Engineer buildings now explode when the Engineer dies during sudden death.

November 7, 2007 Patch

  • Fixed a bug in scoring Engineer building destruction.

December 20, 2007 Patch

  • Sapped buildings now take slightly less damage from the Spy who sapped them.
  • [Undocumented] Fixed model exploit in stage one allowing Sentry Gun/Teleporter to be placed behind chain link fence on Dustbowl.

February 14, 2008 Patch

  • Added server log entry for buildings destroyed by their owner.
  • Fixed Sentry Gun shadows being clipped.

February 28, 2008 Patch

  • Changed Engineer buildings to detonate when a player disconnects instead of blinking out.
  • Fixed Engineer being able to detonate buildings that are being sapped.

April 29, 2008 Patch (Gold Rush Update)

  • Mapmakers can now place Engineer buildings directly into a map, with an option for them to be invulnerable.

August 13, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed Sentry Guns firing at a fully cloaked Spy if they're still the closest target.

April 28, 2010 Patch

  • Killing yourself with your own Sentry Gun no longer increments the Sentry Gun's kill counter.

April 30, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed the Engineer being able to build more than 1 of each type of building.

July 8, 2010 Patch (Engineer Update)

  • Added the ability to haul or move your Sentry Gun, along with having the Wrangler control the Sentry Gun
  • Added a laser light to all sentry models.
  • [Undocumented] 'Wrenching' a Sentry Gun now upgrades, repairs and restores ammunition all at once per Wrench hit, prioritizing repairs and upgrading if not in possession of enough metal.

July 9, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed an exploit that allowed Engineers to build level 2 or 3 mini Sentry Guns.

July 13, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed an exploit where Engineers could create level 3 mini-Sentry Guns.

July 19, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed an exploit that allowed team kills with Wrangled Sentry Guns.

October 18, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed a Sentry Gun exploit that let Engineers build multiple Sentry Guns.
  • (Supposedly) Fixed Engineers being able to build level 3 mini-Sentry Guns using the Wrangler.

October 19, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed another Sentry Gun exploit that let Engineers build multiple Sentry Guns.
  • Fixed Engineers being able to build level 3 mini-Sentry Guns using the Wrangler (for real this time).

December 17, 2010 Patch (Australian Christmas)

  • Sentry Guns no longer track Your Eternal Reward Spies after they backstab someone.

January 7, 2011 Patch

  • Updated Sentry kill icons.

January 10, 2011 Patch

  • Combat Mini-Sentry is given a kill icon.

January 19, 2011 Patch

  • Fixed the mini-sentry HUD not playing the alert sound when the sentry is sapped or low on ammo.

February 3, 2011 Patch

  • Engineers who hit teammate's Sentry Guns with their Wrench now get kill assists from that Sentry Gun.

March 10, 2011 Patch (Shogun Pack)

  • Fixed the "Best Little Slaughterhouse in Texas" Engineer achievement not counting Wrangler and Mini-Sentry kills.

May 5, 2011 Patch (Replay Update)

April 17, 2012 Patch

  • Fixed being able to place buildings in nobuild zones.

June 27, 2012 Patch (Pyromania Update)

  • Fixed sentry sometimes spawning in shielded mode while the Wrangler was equipped, but not deployed.

August 10, 2012 Patch

  • Fixed Sentry Gun sometimes placing wrong, being rotated into the ground and pointing upward.

March 19, 2013 Patch

  • Fixed a bug where Sentry Guns would not rotate to face their target under some circumstances.

May 13, 2013 Patch

February 7, 2014 Patch

  • Fixed the Mini-Sentry range-sphere not accurately displaying the range for the sentry when it is being placed.
  • Fixed a UV/skinning problem on the level 1 Sentry Gun.

May 15, 2014 Patch

  • Fixed a bug that would cause the Sentry Gun’s health to look overhealed when it wasn’t.

June 18, 2014 Patch

  • Sentry bullets are now affected by damage falloff outside of sentry scan range.
  • Sentry bullet damage has been changed so it calculates damage based on the Sentry Gun's position, not the Engineer's.

September 10, 2014 Patch

  • Fixed Mini-Sentry collision hull and hitbox being scaled smaller than they should be.

January 7, 2015 Patch

July 23, 2015 Patch #1

  • Fixed Sentry Guns shooting over the head of Spies using the Box Trot taunt.

July 23, 2015 Patch #2

  • Fixed Sentry Guns having unlimited ammo.
  • Fixed Sentry Gun model being set to level 1 after a Sapper is removed.

December 17, 2015 Patch (Tough Break Update)

  • After removing a Sapper from a Sentry Gun, there is now a 0.5s delay before the sentry is active again.
  • Sentry Guns brought into a respawn room no longer detonate outside of Mann vs. Machine.

December 18, 2015 Patch

  • Fixed a bug with Sentry Guns being disabled for 5 seconds instead of the desired 0.5 seconds after a Sapper is removed.

August 29, 2016 Patch

  • Fixed mini-Sentry Guns not having full health when they are built quickly during the setup time on Mann vs. Machine maps

Bugs

  • The player has the ability to build the Combat Mini-Sentry Gun, while having any wrench equipped, by holding out the blueprints for the Sentry with the Gunslinger and then quickly switching to a wrench. The player will build a Mini-Sentry (it will still cost 130 Metal). This cannot be done vice versa (equipping the Gunslinger while having normal Sentry blueprints out.)
  • Sometimes, when an upgraded Sentry is moved, it will fire a bullet between upgrade stages if pointed directly at an enemy or Wrangled.
  • Rarely, after removing a Sapper, all of the Sentry Gun's ammunition, including rockets, will be completely gone.
  • A Wrangled Sentry does not play its rocket-reloading animation.
  • Wrangling a Combat Mini-Sentry Gun might result in it remaining in the Wrangled state even when the Wrangler is not the currently active weapon. Switching back to the Wrangler corrects the problem.
  • After the Mini-Sentry finishes its building animation, it sinks into the ground slightly.
  • Sentry bullets are affected by ramp-up and falloff.
  • Occasionally, after being built, a level 1 Sentry will be frozen in animation and not fire any bullets.

Trivia

  • The original Sentry Gun designs were created by Radigan Conagher in 1890.[1] The original and current designs are visually identical.
  • The Sentry Gun makes a number of beeps every time it reverses its rotation. The number of beeps corresponds to its upgrade level, where a Level 3 turret makes three quick beeps. Additionally, the higher the Sentry Gun's level, the louder it is. A Level 1 Sentry Gun is slightly harder to hear than a Level 3 Sentry Gun; this fact can help attentive players find guarded areas.
  • The Sentry Gun's alert noise sounds slightly different when being targeted; slight clicks can be heard along with the regular beep.
  • Feign deaths produced by the Dead Ringer will not be added to the Sentry Gun kill/assist counter, but will contribute to the Best Little Slaughterhouse in Texas achievement.
  • Valve ordered and received a full size motion-tracking model of a Level 1 Sentry Gun from Weta Workshop.
  • In the Steam menu, right-clicking Team Fortress 2 and selecting "View Player Manual" will open a PDF of the Sentry Operating Manual.
  • The Sentry Operating Manual uses the recycling sign to tell players they can reuse metal from destroyed equipment. The problem is that the sign itself wasn't created till 1970, when caring about the environment became a concern among college students and later to all kinds of people.
  • The cover of the Sentry Operating itself is more like that of the late 1950's to early 1960's, whereas the game itself takes place in July of 1968 (The Calendars). By that point the font of "Sentry" was outdated and was no longer being used. Industrial (upon which the game is heavily based) used a very basic font even before that.
  • The Sentry Operating Manual is in color, which would be wrong for an industrial manual as most aren't in color, especially during the 20th century.
  • Any damage done to a Sentry Gun does not suffer from range falloff, with the exception of any scatter based weapon.

Unused content

Unused Sentry kill icon
  • An unused alternate kill icon for the Level 1 Sentry Gun exists in the game files, shown on the right.
    • Judging by the fact that this icon shows a laser similar to the one caused by the Wrangler, it is assumed Wrangled Sentry kills would have used alternate icons similar to the one shown.

Gallery

Merchandise

Main article: Merchandise

References

  1. Loose Canon comic, page 8, Retrieved 2010-10-18

See also

External links