Overview
The engineering tools explained.
Introduction
The purpose of this guide is to teach about all the engineering tools and showcase the common loadouts using these tools.
The armor kit now takes only 1 hit to apply, but triggers 6 seconds cooldown.
I’ll update the guide to reflect this once I know how it affects the meta.
Repair Tools
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Shifting Spanner
This is the best tool for rebuilding a component when it is completely destroyed. On the repair side of things, its ability to repair damaged components is low and requires repeated use, so it is only used to “top off” minor damage.
The shifting spanner should NEVER be your only repair tool unless you are a pilot (in which case you will only be using it in emergencies). An engineer bringing a shifting spanner will usually pair it with a rubber mallet, or sometimes with a failsafe kit.
Pipe Wrench
This tool provides intermediate rebuild power and intermediate repair power. It should be taken when your build only has space for *one* repair tool. For engineers, it is most often seen when an engineer is bringing a buff tool and a fire tool, and thus only has space for one repair tool. It generally should NOT be paired with the rubber mallet or shifting spanner.
Gunners will bring it when also bringing a buff tool.
The pipe wrench has 1 extinguish power. Ignore this when making your decision on which tools to bring. 1 extinguish power is just enough to get rid of the occasional nuisance fire on a gun, but it will not help you with larger fires, so the pipe wrench should never be seen as a replacement for a proper fire-fighting tool.
Failsafe kit
This tool is different from the others. It provides a relatively poor rebuild power for completely destroyed components. For repair, it repairs over time, rather than instantly. This makes it useful for negating pilot tool damage to the engines and makes it generally useful in PvE, where there is often a steady stream of low-level damage. In PvP, the lack of instant repair means that it is relegated to niche uses on certain ships, since instant repair is often critical in the heat of combat in PvP.
Engineers should pair it with a shifting spanner to compensate for the low rebuild power. Taking it as your only repair tool will put you in bad place when something gets completely destroyed.
Protip: The repair/second lasts longer than the cooldown triggered by this tool. It will keep repairing for 15 sec, even though the cooldown is only 8 sec. So, you can supplement the repair with another tool during the second half of the repair period to get a very high effective HP/s. Also, no cooldown is triggered if the component is at full health. So “pre-failsafe” key components right before entering combat.
Rubber Mallet
This tool provides absolutely miserable rebuild power. However, it provides excellent repair, bringing light guns and engines to full health in a single hit, and providing the highest effective HP/s if you were to repair continuously.
The rubber mallet should NEVER be taken without also bringing a shifting spanner.
Protip: Time your repairs. If the enemy is starting to shoot at your hull, don’t whack it right away with the mallet. Wait until roughly 250 damage has been dealt to the component. There is no overheal, so repairing early will lead to lost repair power while still triggering the full cooldown.
Fire Tools
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Fire Extinguisher
Relatively straightforward. It puts out all fires and has a short cooldown. However, it does not provide any lasting protection against future fires happening again. It is generally seen as the fire tool that is easier to use, because there is less scope for messing things up.
Chemical Spray aka “Chem”
It removes only 3 fire stacks per use, and has a longer cooldown than the extinguisher. Its main benefit is that it provides 25 sec of fire immunity to the component. While a component is under its effects, it will not gain new fire stacks. Chemical spray is only useful if you use is BEFORE the flames start coming your way. If the balloon has 20 fire stacks, it will burn down before you can get rid of the fire using chemical spray.
Protip: Work out a “chem cycle” on each ship. A chem cycle is a route that lets you fireproof critical components within the 25 sec duration. The balloon is the most critical, followed by the hull armor, then the main guns. Engines take fire damage at a very slow rate and fireproofing them is non-essential.
When to bring an anti-fire tool:
Engineers should in general have an anti-fire tool in their loadout. Sometimes, the crew will be set up such that one engineer does not bring such a tool and another engineer will come extinguish the relevant components. Unless the crew is specifically set up for this, do bring something to deal with fire. NEVER bring both anti-fire tools. That is overkill.
Gunners usually should NOT bring an anti-fire tool. It is absolutely essential that you have repair tools as a gunner, so that you don’t stand around like a headless chicken when everything is broken. A gunner can bring heatsink rounds if they expect heavy fires from the enemy ships. Note that fires on a gun are only critical when they reach 8 stacks and overheat the gun. One or two stacks can be safely ignored (or removed with the pipe wrench, if you brought one).
Pilots may occasionally bring an anti-fire tool on certain ships, dependent on nearby components.
Which one to choose:
Often when a pilot recommends a loadout with one or the other, they don’t actually care too much which one you take, so bring the one you feel most comfortable with.
The engineer responsible for the balloon may be given chemical spray, because fire on the balloon is so critical. On ships where the engineers are covering areas close to each other it’s not unusual to see one engineer with an extinguisher and one with chemical spray, so that each can cover the other’s weaknesses.
Concretely, chemical spray especially shines when faced with weapons with medium fire starting ability, such as the banshee, hades or tempest, or when the enemy is using incendiary rounds. It can save you the hassle of constantly having to babysit the balloon/armor. When faced with flamethrower assault, chemical spray is still useful, but the risk of an interrupted chem cycle leading to a rapid buildup of fire stacks means that relying on fire prevention alone becomes risky.
The extinguisher is a safe choice that requires less skill (ie. no need to manage chem cycles) and that can instantly deal with even catastrophic fires.
Buff Tools
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Dynabuff Industries Kit aka “Buff hammer” or “Buff Kit” or “Buff”
This is an enhancement tool. Hitting a component will fill up the left hand buff meter. Once it is full, the mater will be transferred to the right side and will decline until the buff runs out. Each component gets a buff to that component’s main ability. Engine buffs are fastest to apply and should be buffed whenever possible. Balloon should also be buffed. Buffing the hull is less important, but should also be done if you have time. Then buff the gun you are shooting. The buff hammer provides NO repair or rebuild.
A pilot may sometimes bring a buff hammer to buff the engines in between engagements.
An engineer bringing a buff hammer is either a “buff engineer” (dedicated to buffing balloon and engines and repairing these components) or a “gungineer” (basically a gunner in the engineer class, who should be buffing their own gun and shooting whenever possible).
An engineer will usually pair the buff hammer with a pipe wrench and an anti-fire tool, although occasionally they may forgo the anti-fire tool in order to be able to bring the mallet and spanner. In this case another engineer will be dedicated to firefighting. The buff hammer should NOT be paired with a mallet or spanner as the only repair tool in an engineer’s loadout.
Gunners should pair the buff hammer with the pipe wrench, and focus on buffing their own gun when in combat. When not in combat, they can buff other ship components.
Protip: “Prebuffig” is the act of filling a buff meter until it is one hit from completion. Always prebuff things so that the buff can be refreshed quickly later on. As a gungineer, prebuff your gun and refresh buffs during reloads.
(PvE exclusive) Armor kit aka “Crowbar”
The armor kit applies a layer of armor to any component. Any damage the component takes will first be subtracted from the armor, until the armor is gone, and only then will the component take actual damage.
Note that it shares the same buff meter as the Dynabuff Industries kit. Only one of these two buffs can be applied to a given component and applying one will cancel the other.
The armor kit is most commonly used to “tank” the hull on harder difficulties in PvE. Use on the engines and/or balloon is less common if the pilot is using tools that damage these components, since the armor will be rapidly eroded. It can also be used to protect critical guns from being destroyed, and to allow lochnagar rounds to be fired without damaging the gun itself.
Pilots should NOT bring the armor kit. Pilots have better things to do than run around applying temporary armor.
Engineers should make sure pair it with a suitable repair tool – most commonly the pipe wrench. Engineers should NOT bring both buff tools in the same loadout.
Protip: Prebuffing is also an important skill with the armor kit, so that you can reapply the armor as soon as it depletes.
In general, an engineer bringing a buff tool should first consult with their pilot and the rest of the crew. Often, a ship will benefit from the engineer having more repair/rebuild power, rather than bringing a buff tool.
In PvE the two buff tools need to be weighed against each other. If a ship is running both buff tools, the armor kit will be used mainly or exclusively on the hull, while the buff hammer will be used on the engines, balloon and guns.
Special Abilties (PvE only)
This section is about the unlockable special abilities in PvE only. You need to play matches as engineer to unlock them and they can be used with the 5 key.
Without further ado, here are the specials, in order of unlock:
Mechanized Rebuild Ability aka “Auto Rebuild Ability”
This is the first one you unlock and quite a solid choice. It should be used when many components on the ship are destroyed. Often it is used as a “panic button” to instantly rebuild the hull armor when it goes down.
Salvo Neutralizer Ability aka “Shield Ability”
The short cooldown means that this ability can and should be used repeatedly whenever there is significant incoming damage. Note that the shield will deploy in the direction you are looking. Also note that it does not protect against rams or mines.
Combustion Dampener Ability aka “Super Chem Ability”
It is an emergency fire suppression ability and is best used when the enemies or the boss or AA guns are setting too many fires to extinguish individually. The reduced damage taken is a nice bonus.
Advanced Dynabuff Ability aka “Super Buff Ability”
The buff is independent of any normal buff or armor kit, and stacks with those.
It should be used in critical moments, especially when fighting the boss, or when increased mobility is needed.
Static Turret Ability aka “Choppy”
Choppy can be used to distract enemies so you can kill them without being shot at. Especially on lower difficulties, choppy can also rack up kills on its own.
Component Disruption Ability
If you bring this, make sure to use it regularly. I have no specific comments, as it was previously never used when it still had 200 seconds cooldown.
Common builds
Below will be listed some common engineer builds (and variations thereof), as well as some less commmon ones, and also some example of builds that don’t work.
The Standard Engineer / Main Engineer
The Standard Engineer or Main Engineer brings a rubber mallet (for repairing damaged components), a shifting spanner (for rebuilding destroyed components), and an anti-fire tool of their choice. A fire extinguisher will put out all fires on a component and is a reactive tool. The chemical spray will make components immune to fire, but needs to be actively renewed to maintain fire immunity, making it a proactive tool. Some pilots may request that you specifically bring one or the other, but in many cases the pilot is fine with you taking whichever you feel most comfortable with.
This is THE most common engineer loadout. It gives your great repair power and also great rebuild power. When in doubt, or when specific instructions are lacking, the standard engineer loadout should be your default of choice. When an engineer is given “main deck” (ie, the hull and other critical components), they are generally using this loadout.
Variants:
A gunner may bring this loadout, without the fire tool. This will allow them to efficiently repair and rebuild their own guns and to help with other repairs in emergencies. Engineers can come help in the case of fires.
The Gungineer / Buff Engie
The Gungineer or Buff Engineer brings the Dynabuff Industries Kit along with the pipe wrench and fire tool. Although Gungineer and Buff Engineer share the same loadout, they fill vastly different roles on the ship.
The Gungineer is essentially a gunner in the engineer class. They have traded their 3 ammo choices for the ability to add +10% damage and reload speed to their own gun. A Gungineer should buff engines in between engagements, but should otherwise stick to their gun buffing and shooting it whenever possible. Sometimes they may be tasked with taking care of a nearby component such as the balloon on a Pyramidion.
A buff engineer who is not a Gungineer, will instead be tasked with buffing the engines and balloon and taking care of them with repairs as well. Typically, they will be assisted by a “Main Engineer” who will have the standard engineer loadout.
It is important to discuss with your pilot and crew before taking a buff kit. Don’t just take this loadout without first talking to your pilot!
Variants:
Sometimes a Gungineer or Buff Engineer will take a mallet and spanner and not take a fire tool. This requires another engineer to be able to cover the relevant components in the case of fires.
A gunner will often take a pipe wrench + buff loadout without the fire tool. In this case the pipe wrench will deal with occasional fires and engineers can come help with larger fires.
The Hullcamper (PvE only)
Your only job is to make sure that the hull armor is not destroyed. Your ship is probably doing a hell infiltration mission or some other insanity.
Stand by the hull with the crowbar and constantly refresh the armor buff. If the hull armor takes damage, whack it with the pipe wrench and then continue with the crowbar during the cooldown. If the armor goes down entirely, it is advantageous to have the “mechanized rebuild” special ability along as an emergency “panic button”.
Yes, some might say it is menial work, but we must all make sacrifices for the hell speedrun to be a success.
Variants:
Variations on this build will ditch the fire tool and pipe wrench in favor or either spanner-mallet or failsafe with either pipe wrench or spanner. In this case the main engineer will need to come extinguish the hull while you keep up the crowbar.
The Failsafe Engineer
“So when do I get to use the Failsafe Kit?” you ask.
Here I present to you the best failsafe loadout in my opinion. It is a variation on the standard engineer loadout, in which the failsafe replaces the mallet, and it’s weakness in rebuild is covered by the spanner.
The failsafe engineer is perfect for maintaining the engines of a pilot using kerosene, phoenix claw or moonshine extensively. The failsafe can out-repair kerosene and phoenix claw, but not moonshine (although it does allow moonshine to be used much more extensively).
The weakness of this build becomes apparent when you have rebuilt something and want to add a large lump of HP back to it to prevent it from being destroyed again immediately. The failsafe has no burst repair and performs poorly against large bursts of damage.
Thus, this loadout is one you will generally only see where there is also a main engineer who can provide a mallet where needed. Usually smaller mobility-based ships might have a failsafe engineer. It is also a more prevalent build in PvE, compared to PvP.
In PvE, feel free to take this, but in PvP you should make sure it’s ok with your pilot and crew first.
Variants:
There are also variations that replace either the spanner or the fire tool with a buff kit. But those are highly dependent on what the rest of the crew is bringing along, and are not viable on their own.
The Gunner
In most cases, gunners should take an engineer-styled loadout minus the fire tool. Heatsink rounds can be used if you expect many fire stacks from the enemy ships.
Mallet-spanner should be taken when you expect your gun to break frequently, especially if it is a heavy gun, since those take longer to rebuild and repair to full health.
Wrench-buff should be taken to improve damage output when you are manning light guns and/or are not expecting frequent gun breaks. In this case, you should buff other ship components when not in combat.
Bringing an extinguisher, chem spray, a failsafe kit, or an armor kit are situational for gunners, and not usually needed.
The Pilot
As pilot, your choice of engineering tool depends on the ship and specifically on which components are nearest to the helm.
Goldfish
Nothing is near the helm. In dire emergencies you can help rebuild the balloon or hull, but it’s a long way back to the helm, so only do this when your engines are destroyed and you are useless on the helm.
Bring a spanner for this case.
Pyramidion
In emergencies you can help rebuild the hull. For this you would bring a spanner.
Alternatively, some Pyra pilots bring a buff kit in order to buff their engines at the beginning of the match and in between engagements.
Junker
The balloon is directly above your head. You can get off the helm and look straight up to repair it. Bring a tool for the balloon. This can be a repair tool, fire tool, or even a buff tool. Whatever you expect to have time to use on the balloon.
Spire
The hull is only a short walk from the helm, so you can rebuild it while your engineers keep shooting, or you can help rebuild it faster with an engineer. Also, you might find yourself repairing one of the top guns.
So bring either a spanner or a pipe wrench.
Galleon
The balloon is only a short walk from the helm. Often the pilot will bring a spanner to speed up balloon rebuilds. In emergency tanking mode, the pilot may even help rebuild the hull, but that means leaving the helm unattended for a longer period.
So bring a spanner or some other tool for balloon maintenance.
Squid
In emergencies, the Squid needs to stay on the move to stay alive. You should never be leaving the helm, since the engineers will be able to get you a light engine repaired quite quickly.
Mobula
The only thing close the helm is the middle gun, which can be manned from below by jumping. You could bring a fire extinguisher, so that gunner or buff engineer manning that gun does not need to worry about fire.
Shrike
The heavy guns are literally next to the helm, and the main engine is only a short distance away. You should bring a tool to help repair and rebuild these guns and the engine.
Magnate
In an emergency, you can jump down and help tank the hull. Bring a spanner for this.
Judgement
The balloon is decently close to the helm, such that you could bring a spanner to help rebuild it in emergencies. Repair it from below.
Stormbreaker
The main engine is right behind the helm. Bring either a spanner to help rebuild it, or a failsafe to negate your own engine burn.
Crusader
Sometimes you might find yourself manning the rear guns, so a repair tool for those might come in handy.
Corsair
Nothing is close to the helm. If you jump down, it’s a long way back up, so you should avoid doing so except for the most dire of emergencies. A spanner I suppose. Or a buff hammer and buff your engines at the beginning of the match and in between engagements.
QUIZ: WHAT IS WRONG HERE?
Now time for a bit of practice. What concerns might you have if you saw someone with these loadouts?
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Alright, here are my answers. How did you do?
(note that some of these might be viable *with appropriate crewmates*; however, without context they are all concerning)
These were admittedly contrived examples, but there are real examples that are just as problematic. Take a look at these loadouts that people have run. I’m sure by now you can see why these are less than optimal.
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Conclusion
Thanks for stopping by! If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below.