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So I’m an engineer, and my view may well be biased. I’m also perfectly happy to change my views if someone can give good examples, rather than just complain about how it ruins their class.

But why is it banned?

Zapping: 5 metal per zap, + 15 per projectile. Compare it with airblast, which is 20 metal per shot.
Both can reflect multiple projectiles, but zapping is less punishment should you miss.
Zapping removes projectiles, airblast can use the projectiles against the enemy.
Zapping is more spammable, but doesn’t reload metal while active.
Airblast will also move multiple players, and can solely negate an uber with one push.
Airblast is attached to a pyros primary weapon, with no downsides.
Airblast has other minor advantages, such as extinguishing afterburn.

Combine all that with an engineer having 50 less health than the pyro, and we still die fast to bullets. We also have no range weapons.

Okay: so lets combine it with the gunslinger. That’s 100 metal left now. Enough to soak up 4 soldier rockets, or 5 stickies if you have perfect timing. Soldier uses shotgun, and you still have no defence. Demo has more stickies, and you have no ammo.

Okay: let’s combine it with a level 3. No wranger. 1 charged sniper shot + 1 half charged, and the sentry is gone. 3 rockets and the sentry is gone. Heavy spamming for a few seconds, and it’s gone. But I can heal it during that time! Yes, but then I have no short circuit. In practice, you will still run wrangler with level 3s.

But it shuts down the demoman! Yes, it can. It can help to shut down what is widely regarded as the most powerful class, with no direct counters. Demoman spams stickies at you, they will explode unless you kill the demoman quickly. Spamming from a distance, there’s no defence. Spamming pipes onto the cart, pyro can airblast, but that’s the only defence.

But it shuts down kritz! Yes! It can help to shutdown a kritz soldier or demo. As long as you don’t miss, as you die in 1 hit with 125 health. And there’s no hitscan classes with the combo, which will kill you quickly. Alternatively, a kritz demo comes round the corner and you have no defence other than killing him. And he’s being healed.

But it can be spammed! Sure, a little. Much less if we build minisentries. Isn’t the other complaint about how easy it is to spam minisentries? We use short circuit once, and we can’t. <200 ammo, so we can only build 1.

On the other hand, it adds versatility and variety to the game and the engineer class. It gives players something else to think about, rather than relying on minisentries. It gives more incentive for engineers to help combo with pushes, or be able to defend against jumpers. And it doesn't have a 1-hit-kill combo attached to it, such as with the degreaser.

I may well be missing things, and am happy to be corrected if that's the case. Sure, it's an annoying weapon to play against. But then, it's annoying for me to die whenever I touch the cart as there's no defence to the sticky trap / soldier spam / pipe spam coming my way.

Are there convincing arguments I'm missing against the short circuit, other than demomen hate it and everyone hates engineers? And "I used it in MVM / a pub and…" arguments are void – competitive TF2 is not the same as a pub, and you don't have upgradeable resistance and ammo here.

Can pyros get sentry guns, then?

I don’t really feel like getting into a debate of how engineer completely shutting down demo/solly in 1v1, endlessly pushing cart resistant to spam, and, you know, without ever actually having to do anything but pressing m1 (don’t even have to time it, just hold m1) is complete bullshit, so I’ll stay out of that, but please.. just.. please.

tl;dr

I doubt the badmins will listen to you mate, but good luck anyways

Quoted from foxy_dave

[…]

Sure. Can engies get a 1-hit-kill combo that doesn’t require 600 metal and 2-3 minutes of setup? Or you mean minis, which then limits our short circuit spamming and goes down to 2 meat shots? And if we use short circuit once, we can’t build more minis.

What about pyro completely shutting down an uber with 1 airblast? What about demos completely shutting down *a team* with sticky traps on chokes? Pushing with resistance to projectile spam*, and still die to 2 scout meatshots, 1 charged bodyshot, or heavy spam in not very long. Holding m1 great, then you run out of ammo, have to change weapon to recharge, and get killed in 1-2 shots.

The classes are not meant to be the same, that’s the whole point. And yes, all classes have a hardcounter. For the demoman, it’s the sniper, and dealing with scouts and soldiers is hard too.

As soon as they change the weapon so you actually have to time the saps, I am all for allowing it. The firerate is still the problem

pyro + SC = indestructable sentry gun.

I hate highlander so i couldnt care less. If thats what you think would make for interesting games – enjoy LOL

Quoted from Scissors

[…]

The classes are not meant to be the same, that’s the whole point. And yes, all classes have a hardcounter. For the demoman, it’s the sniper, and dealing with scouts and soldiers is hard too.

As soon as they change the weapon so you actually have to time the saps, I am all for allowing it. The firerate is still the problem

They aren’t, you’re right. Engineer is a utility / help class. Short circuit is not a weapon in it’s own right, it is one designed to help out other classes / other weapons.

Genuine question: what is the pyros role (using them as an example)? Are they a defensive class, with airblast? Are they a close-range class, with flamethrower and axetinguisher? Are they a support class, with spychecking and extinguish? Are they a midrange class, with flare/detonator?

Demoman: Are they a defensive class with sticky traps and area denial? Are they an offensive class with sticky bombs and pipe spamming?

Quoted from Scissors

[…]

I think you hate highlander because you are so shit at the game that a single pyro can prevent your team from destroying a sentry gun :)

It’s probably more because highlander is a terrible idea for a competitive game mode than anything, but if you enjoy it then carry on.

Quoted from Candle

[…]

Can you and people that are retarded in the same way you are please stop making these kinds of posts on threads about highlander?
You literally have no highlander history on your profile, yet you have such strong opinions about it. Consider learning how it works and THEN trying to play it before making retarded posts which are caused by, I’m guessing, going into a game of highlander, getting destroyed because you know nothing about it, and then whining about in on the forums for the rest of your life.

Even in 6s, you’re struggling in div 4..

Shit, I regret feeding you now. Oh well.

Starting by this quote:

The first Short Circuit buff was actually pretty good… ’till I saw the attack speed buff…

JUST FUCKING REMOVE THE ATTACK SPEED BACK TO NORMAL AND WE HAVE A FUCKING BALANCED UTILITY FFS!

oh well… volvo won’t listen to us.