Bumrushing the sentry off the bat is super viable while respawn timers are low, especially if you stagger the attacks.
You can just send a stream of kamikazes at the sentry and so long as they keep the shield down they can chip through it, especially if they take back door routes.
This is especially true on monuments.
Or on Overgrowth if you are a full squad against randoms. Works especially well against them.
The only problems I have ever had with the sentry after the patch is when it just sometimes doesnât target the enemy player who is damaging it, or if it targets the player over the minions.
Otherwise it is completely fine now. The sentry does good damage against minions now, and still does good damage against isolated players diving the sentry without minions (given that they are targeted).
Players now have to protect the sentry instead of having the sentry protect the players. If players are just committing suicide at the sentry, then it should be easy to lvl up more efficiently than the opponents, and push back that much more effectively. If players are rushing you down, and you arenât stopping them, then clearly you are being outplayed. I have never had this issue, since with proper strategy you would still win.
Destroying the first sentry too early also has disadvantages. It increases the opponentsâ death timer, making it easier for the losing team to lvl up and push back harder (assuming teams are of equal skill and getting the same amount of kills). If the player (whose sentry is already destroyed) dies, then he comes back too quickly if it is early game.
Obviously teams that are outclassed are going to lose regardless of how fast their sentry was destroyed. In matches with teams of equivalent strength, I donât see this as being a problem.
The issue is that the Sentry often doesnât properly target, is incapable of damaging ranged characters at all, and bodyblocks your own team, providing cover for the enemy. In theory it should be no problem curbstomping divers but the buggy sentry bs gives the divers the advantage.
The sentryâs targeting priority is terrible and itâs attacks are pretty easily dodged.
I do understand what you mean when you say that the buggy sentry gives the divers the advantage, (as I have experienced this problem and dealt with it incorrectly in the past) but I disagree with you. If you build your buildables and / or use CC then it is very easy to assassinate lone divers with the sentry (given that the sentry is attempting to shoot the target). The sentry does very good machine gun damage, and its accuracy is quite high (given that you are targeted). Buildables are also very strong at dealing with divers in general. Stingers and shock turrets do high damage, and thumpers grant CC.
From a range, projectiles are effective at damaging the sentry, but there are viable strategies for dealing against those players shooting it. It is very viable to protect the sentry by fighting the enemy back.
Sometimes, the sentry doesnât target the enemy at all though, and that is what should be addressed (hence not making the sentry stronger). If it was always targeting the enemy like it should, then there shouldnât be any issues.
Yes, if it was always defending itself itâd be better. Itâs very annoying though in matches where the enemy sentry is a beast and yours is licking the windows. Also, while you can gank a lone diver, on Echelon and Monuments you can dive the sentry without any risk from either the sentry or the turrets. I was flabbergasted how quickly Toby can shred the sentry at lvl 1 by himself. It was dead before the enemy team, who was outplaying us, could get back to kill me. I could have even teleported. Thatâs just silly.
It would also be handy if friendly players could move through an allied sentryâs legs. That may sound like a peculiar thing to want, but on more than one occasion an allied sentryâs legs have inadvertently trapped me against walls, and thereâs often little you can do but wait for him move.