Combat Engineer

The Combat Engineer, also known as the Sapper for the Insurgent and Militia factions, is the squad's mine-laying, barricade building, bomb-detonating explosives specialist. The Engineer is equipped with magnetically-activated anti-tank mines that can be buried along vehicle approach paths to deter and eliminate enemy armor and transports. The Engineer can also be equipped with timed explosives such as C4 or TNT that will detonate 30 seconds after being placed, which can demolish anything from enemy Radios and FOB emplacements, to a vehicle wreck holding up a convoy, or even enemy vehicles themselves. They can lay barbed wire and sandbags and build structures 50% faster. Sappers can lay IEDs, triggered by cell phone, and decoy rocks. Engineers are most useful when building, defending, and eliminating FOBs. Placing IEDs at commanders drone is also the perfect association.

Key Numbers

FOB Radio 25% (staged)	9x digging with entrenching tool [derivation: 35 x 1/4 = 8.7]
FOB Radio 100% (bleeding)	33s digging/ 70x shovel animations
FOB Radio 100% with C4 (bleeding)	10s digging/ 6x shovel animations and C4 [derivation: 35/(300/50) = 5.83]
FOB Radio 100% with IED (bleeding)	1 IED without digging
Anti-Tank Mine	All mines appears the same damage. Within range of 5m = fully 800HP damage, then steadily decreasing damage up to 10m (because Splash falloff = 1). Infantry lethal radius: 10m When one mine is triggered, all others within 6m radius despawn. Each Combat can place max 10 mines on the map. If an 11th is placed, the first will gone.
C4 Explosives	Infantry lethal radius: 5m Within range of 2m = fully 500HP damage
IED Explosives	Infantry lethal radius: 16m Within range of 5m = fully 900HP damage

Activities

Overall, the Combat Engineer has different ways of playing. Either he plays in a team which is perfect if e.g. an enemy FOB is known and should be taken out as soon as possible. An experienced player should also be able to do a lot of damage alone by finding and taking out radios in the backline when there is no enemy contact. If there is no vehicle left at main just ask also the Pilot that he can fly you (a good Pilot can easy find enemy FOBs at backline). Sometimes it is also advantageous if the Combat Engineer teams up with the HAT player/ together with a vehicle if the AT player is planning a more static stay on e.g. map narrowing which is known that all vehicles will pass through. Anyway- if there is a vehicle left in the main it is always a good idea to give it to the Combat Engineer and let him doing his thing.

Spots

Always try to choose the right spots to place mines. Good tactics are at traffic junctions or at known transits. Think about: Since every driver has different tendencies, it is sometimes worthwhile to first look where e.g. a logistics track drives into the Main for resupply, since many drivers often take the same route back.

Bugged Placement

As a combat engineer, it is important to know the maps and how they are structured/ designed. For example, almost every bridge on either side of the mesh transition has a line where a mine can be bugged without seeing the trigger.

Triggering

Since Update V3.2 the mines will only explode when a vehicle drives directly over the mine with its wheels/ tracks. If two mines being set off simultaneously will both explode and both deal damage to the vehicle even if they are within 6m of each other.

There is a short time (about 0.4s) before the spine chilling *click* and the actual explosion. If you drive fast as F* over one mine- lets say by 80km/h- and surviving means because: -> 80km/h = 22.2m/s ; ignition delay assumed = 0.4s results in almost 9m travel; standard tire has 300HP => 250HP mine damage at 9m (tire has 17% or 50HP left). With MATV/ TIGR/ TAPV a mine only gives 640HP damage (0-5m). That means with 80km/h and 0.4s delay there is 390HP left at 9m.

The release width for tracked vehicles is about 3x the mine:

6m Despawn

When a mine is triggered, all others within 6m radius despawn. Only mines that are triggered are explode (= if triggered simultaneously, several mines within a radius of 6m also explode) This means that if a mine explodes next to another one, the second mine does not go off and does no damage to the vehicle, it simply disappears and does no damage. You won't have an observation mark available when laying mines in the field, so you can use your footsteps as a ruler. 6m is equivalent to 6 audible footsteps at walking speed while standing.

Limited Mine Placements

Each Combat can place max 10 mines on the map. If an 11th is placed, the first will gone. It is limited to each Player, means if you exchange the Combat role with other teamplayers, all of your mines will stay and the 'new' combat can place another 10 mines.

C4 / IED Damage

The damage also goes thru walls. The environment just absorb damage, e.g. wood has 3mm armor and is absorbing 30 damage.

Searching for Enemy Mines

As combat engineer you can easily see with the sandbag on load whether foreign mines have been bagged or placed.

IED & C4 Damage Graph

Mine Damage Graph