To Sentry or Not to Sentry?
Apreche2
Join Date: 2012-08-06 Member: 154849Members
Join Date: 2012-08-06 Member: 154849Members
In may of Strayan's videos he says to never use sentries. He says they are a waste of resources that are better spent on upgrades or other things. That's one of the people who works for the company that makes the game telling you that one of the things in the game is worthless and should not be used.
And to a large extent, I agree completely. How many kills do you see sentries getting? I've never seen a marine commander win who was building sentries early. At best I see someone win building them late, after all upgrades are finished. It just speeds up the end of the game when the marines were already on their way to winning with their full upgrades and proto lab.
Then again, on paper I do see some value in sentries. Unskilled players can be killed by them. Just like they will also step on mines that are really obvious. If you are in a public game a sentry really could completely defend an area against skulks. If the turrets are positioned well, no marines would have to spend time guarding that room until the aliens got an onos. Freeing those marines to fight elsewhere could be just what the team needs to win.
All that being said, are sentries actually worthless. If they are, why even have them in the game? They're just a trap to make commanders who don't know better waste their res and ruin their own team. If they are rarely a good idea to buy, they should be improved or removed from the game entirely. If they are worthwhile, how come competitive players never buy them?
And to a large extent, I agree completely. How many kills do you see sentries getting? I've never seen a marine commander win who was building sentries early. At best I see someone win building them late, after all upgrades are finished. It just speeds up the end of the game when the marines were already on their way to winning with their full upgrades and proto lab.
Then again, on paper I do see some value in sentries. Unskilled players can be killed by them. Just like they will also step on mines that are really obvious. If you are in a public game a sentry really could completely defend an area against skulks. If the turrets are positioned well, no marines would have to spend time guarding that room until the aliens got an onos. Freeing those marines to fight elsewhere could be just what the team needs to win.
All that being said, are sentries actually worthless. If they are, why even have them in the game? They're just a trap to make commanders who don't know better waste their res and ruin their own team. If they are rarely a good idea to buy, they should be improved or removed from the game entirely. If they are worthwhile, how come competitive players never buy them?
Comments
Imo, they worked fine in beta for a long while before the nerf bat smacked them. No one even complained publicly that I can recall. Lerk spores were made to be anti turret etc.. made things interesting and allowed marines to slow aliens from taking over a base so they could get there in time. Plus sentries were never an issue for aliens between bb, leap, spores, and the then aoe vortex and onos stomp.
I honestly don't know why they were ever touched besides new commanders spamming them..
Chances are if the enemy skulks are so noobish they can't take an unguarded sentry nest you would of won the game anyway. One skulk will find a gap in the sentry and bring the whole lot down, better skulks will do that faster. Never use sentrys as defense.
What they are good for is for offensive support. If your team are great at aim then spend your res on weapon upgrades, don't bother with this. But if your teams ok at aiming, enough to not get a foot into an area, then setting up sentrys can help with a push on an alien position.
I've seen this put to good use on Refinery where turrets have been put up in lava falls to assist marines pushing Containment.
This game director guy seems nice.
Instead, try this when you have a phase gate to defend:
Place the battery on the phase gate, then place all three sentries looking directly at the battery. This way, any skulks that want to attack the phase gate have to destroy at least 2, and typically all 3 sentries before they can attack it. That gives you a lot of time to react.
Interesting post. I will try this. Anyone else vouch for this tactic?
It was earlyish game, only skulks and one or two lerks with the alien comm spamming cysts as we built the Phase. Sentries in that specific situation worked perfectly; they were able to take out the alien's cara-armor and destroy cysts while providing distraction.
They do a shit ton of DPS and demolish skulks/fades. You can use them to lock skulks out of an area very very well pre-leap!
Which means extremely early game, they are very very good!
Unfortunately, they cost a robotics lab, a sentry battery, and three turrets to be useful. This is a very large investment (40 res) to hold down one area. This makes competitive players shy away from sentries in competitive games, because with the 40 res investment, you could have gotten Arms lab + armor 1, or IP portal + arms lab, or (etc).
They have nearly identical weaknesses as mines. While they are better than mines vs. lerks (Still have a big weakness in very large areas like crossroads on summit), they are extremely hard countered by bilebomb. If the aliens have bilebomb, do not even think about getting sentries. Once there is bilebomb in the game, you are basically giving the aliens free resources by building sentries.
Sentries are purely an early game strat, but they are misplaced because early game is when you need the resources the most.
you either like or dislike sentries. you either include them in your tactics or you don't.
I liked to build a few from time to time simply because they have this "show of force" effect.
you know when you're going to attack that area, there is something that can hit you continuously unlike other defensive methods like mines, so you tend to be a bit more careful.
The developers either need to remove them from the game or reconstruct/re purpose them into some sort of purchasable upgrade for individual marine players to place portable sentries or something that could be bought from the robotics, that would be interesting and useful if you asked me, right now they just are a confusing part of the marine's team arsenal that doesn't really seem to have a realistic competitive place in the current build's meta game or strategic play.
Awesome ! Can we also remove the whole robotic factory then ?!
@huhuh No, ARC's aren't the type of PvE he's talking about.
EDIT: They'remore EvE tbh.
Why should sentries be useful?
I think if the developers are admitting they are not and should not be, then just remove them from the game, I am tired of watching newer marine commanders hurt themselves inadvertently by purchasing them without the knowledge to understand why.
EDIT: While I never use them myself. I know of a comm that rushes robotics EVERY game, and sets up sentries in every major room immediately, has a decent win rate too.
I think it's right that they suck.
While not every strategy can be "the best", there is no reason not to use "the best" strategy, you know, if you want to win.
Hydras suck too, should they be buffed?
Also, mines and sentries are made useless by the same alien tech. Bilebomb, and lerk spikes.
Mines are one of the strongest early game marine techs. If you watch competitive games, mines get used excessively because they are very cost effective base defense against early game aliens.
A pack of mines on a phase gate makes it pretty easy to defend.
Yes. Anti cyst. That is all.
Somebody make this guy the new game designer.
+5000, but unfortunately UWE doesn't tend to easily come back on poorly thought-out decisions
There would be literally be 0 harm in bringing back the old sentries, heck this game may actually receive some much needed strategic depth.