The turret doesn't seem to target and attack enemies 80% of the time. Is there something I'm missing?

All I've been playing is Engineer, and my turrets just mow down everything in front of them...

They do have limited multi-lateral movement so if you place them too high, too low, or too far off to the side they just won't be able to acquire any targets.

My turret always seems to be buggy. They'll be on the same ground-level as enemies, but will rarely actually attack, even when enemies are literally right in front of it. I've actually began using the turret as just a distraction/meat shield at this point.

All i play is Engineer and I have not had my turret fire once out of 50+ times I have placed it.

Depends on the level. Is it light? Medium? Heavy?

Both light and medium seem to be the same for me. Are you suggesting that the higher level the turret, the more responsive it is?

Turrets are fine the thing is that they move back and forth very slowly and only shoot when someone stands infront of the lazer for like a second. Basically it takes awhile to acquire a target. It's all about placement.

I've seen this with the AI bots, too. Before I took the plunge to play online, I played a few hours offline and was astounded by how unaware the bots were. It was as if their threat updates were processed every 10-20 seconds. There were times when I would simply walk past a group of enemies while pushing an objective and not get shot at once.

Fortunately, the human comrades/opponents provided a MUCH better playing experience - sitting in in-cap cam awaiting an allied Medic to dispense a syringe to me only to get curb-stomped was definitely the moment I knew I was playing against humans.

Too true. I was doing the Tower Defense challenge and I kept failing every time. I moved it to a different location and won that game. It's just where you place it.

its like "ifight4beans" said. That white lazer beside the barrel is the detector. if it crosses a bad guy the turret will shoot. side to side targeting area is just over 45 degrees strait ahead and the range of it is only about 50' after that its sketchy. but thats also how to beat a turret... if the barrels not point at you then it cant hit you i kill lots of turrets just by running at them and sliding past them at the last second.

I did the Tower Defense with light for the first time then the second time I tried with light and I got pwned...so I used heavy with a MG :celebration:

The turrents arent for killing, they are to damage an enemy so you dont have to use as much ammunition on them. SD said they would be like other games turrents and just do all the work for you.

The killing power isn't my issue. The detection is. I just tried playing around with the turret again, and same thing happens. Enemies cross in front of it, within 50', and it doesn't fire. At one point there were 4 (AI) enemies grouped up in front of it, about 5 or so feet away, and it didn't even sneeze. The 4 just stood there and shot at my turret until it went down.

I'm fine with a turret design that relies on the player more for kills, where a turret is more of a damage supplement. I'd just like to know if this is how the AI of the turret is meant to act or not. Perhaps I am just having consistent bad luck, who knows.

I know in my experience the light turret svcks horribly. The medium isn't great but it did seem to acquire targets better and did kill alot more enemies. I have yet to see the the heavy turret. It does seem to vary from situation to situation, and from room to room.

I know every time i put even the medium turret in a corner next to a wall, it almost never picked up any targets. It seems as if your targets need to be coming from the 35 degrees in front of the turret. If they come from the side it takes a lot longer to acquire them and if they come from behind, again it seems to never pick them up.

I will say that anytime i came up on an enemy light or medium, i get jacked up everytime. Their turretst NEVER seem to miss.

This might be based on platform...

What are you guys playing on? PC, Xbox or PS?

you obviously havn't played Hard...might as well just press join the reinforcements, because you only got less than 25% chance of not getting finished off.

PC here.

Engineering turrets require extremely well thought out placement.. I found the best chance of them being effective is in tight hallways where they will run in front of the turret setting it off like a trip wire.

They are a pest not a threat
Either place then on a spot where there is a lot of traffic and or on a narrow hallway .
Sadly they track really slowly, to the point that you can run past them almost unharmed
For ppl that play TF2 ... these are no the turrets you were looking for....

I use them to guard a hack point or a door .... only defence

That's the only problem I have with them right now. The slow tracking. I enjoy the idea of them being used as a pest instead of a main mechanic like TF2. I even like the idea of the turret only shooting once an enemy passes through or in front of it's sensor, but come on. At LEAST make it 100% responsive as soon as an enemy passes through the sensor, especially considering how easy it is to take them down.

I know as a light I can run past them without them hitting me. But when they are guarding a hallway they are annoying......

yea they lag to acquire targets. but the best way to use them are in hallways, small rooms facing the door, or against a wall where the enemy has to pass by. my favorite spot to put them is defending a command post.