How do I deal with turrets as a Scout?

Question

Playing as scout I try to flank my enemies. My biggest problem is turrets.

I cant get close enough to take them out with a scattergun, but I cannot ignore them as they kill me so quickly.

What should I be doing about these turrets that block my path as a scout?

Answer 1

Here's what you can do to sentries as a scout if no engineer is around:

• Pistol them down from outside their range (best way to deal with minisentries)
• Approach them from behind then edge them (sentries need a while to turn around, use that to your advantage)

Here's what you can do to sentries as a scout if their engineer is around:

• Approach them from behind in order to get the sentry to kill its engie.
• Pick off his dispenser, forcing the engie to multitask (creating an opening for spies, e.g.)
• Bonk past the nest altogether and go for their unguarded teleporter entrance at spawn.
• Wait for a damage class to come by and drink bonk. Tank the sentry while the damage dealer stays safely behind you. (Countered by the wrangler, but again that creates an opening for spies.)

Answer 2

As a Scout, you aren't supposed to deal with sentries. Each class has its counters, and the Scout's high speed and mobility are easily countered by the computer-controlled Sentry.

The best way to get around sentries is to drink Bonk! Atomic Punch while your team is distracting the sentry. Rushing in without team support will cause the Sentry to push you away. Invulnerability does not protect you from knockback.

However, if you absolutely need to take down a sentry, you will need to take advantage of the fact that sentries take full damage from weapons (no loss of damage from distance). Your pistol could take down a Sentry due to its accuracy, but only if the Engineer is not repairing it.

Additionally, many maps have alternate routes you can take. For instance, on the third stage of Dustbowl, there is a tunnel you can take to get behind any sentry guns.

So it is really difficult to take out sentries as a scout. Try alerting your team to its presence, or switch to spy/soldier/demo and take it out yourself.

Answer 3

Your strategy is highly dependant on the map type that you're playing. For instance, if you're playing 2Fort, my suggestion would be to ignore the sentries, pound back a Bonk, and make a run for the intelligence. Actually, there are only a handful of cases where I wouldn't do that. On cart maps, your goal might be to get behind Red's line, and Bonk can help you do that. The only time I would take on a sentry as a scout is when it's in the wide open and is unguarded, which will give you room to maneuver around the sentry while taking minimal damage. Sad to say, but that doesn't happen very often against good engineers.

Answer 4

A few additional ways to deal with sentries as a Scout that are more situational.

• If a sentry is in the process of being built, run up to it and blast it with your shotgun/FaN/Shortstop. They're much more vulnerable and easier to deal with when not fully set up.
• Kill the Engie first. Even if it's in the process of being built, it might be a better investment to kill the Engie and let a soldier/demo/other heavy damage class clean up the sentry.
• For a Mini or a Level 1, you can strafe around it if you catch it from behind and fire your gun at it to take it down. This takes a lot of skill and the proper orientation for both you AND the sentry so that you can approach it from behind or the sides and run around it, but can effectively take it out.
• Or if you can't strafe it, and it's level 1 or a mini, make a team sacrifice and run the corner to take it down (If you can't pick it off with your pistol), overwhelming it with damage.