The dispenser is one of the buildings made by the Engineer. It dispenses health and ammo to teammates. It can dispense supplies to unlimited teammates, but it has quite short range. It also dispenses metal to engineers, and cloak to spies.

It can be, depending on the situation, a liability or a lifesaver. A well placed dispenser becomes an "anchor" to the team, and is the foundation of an Engineer nest.

This is the basic idea of the guide:

A bad dispenser:

• Is hard to reach
  
• Is out in the open and visible to enemies
  
• Is neglected by the engineer
  
• Is never upgraded, even when the Engineer has more than enough metal
  
• Is right next to other dispensers when there are multiple flanks
  
• Always follows the same positioning, not taking into account the situation

A good dispenser:

• Is hidden from enemies
  
• Is near the battle and easily reached by teammates
  
• Is upgraded and repaired
  
• Adapts to different situations

Always remember these basic guidelines.

These are some facts about the dispenser.

General

• It never runs out of supplies.
  
• Spies can use enemy dispensers.
  
• It builds the slowest out of all the buildings.
  
• It costs 100 metal to build, and 200 metal per upgrade level.
  
• Instead of constantly supplying, metal comes in "bursts" of 40-60 metal at once.
  
• When finished building, the dispenser immediately supplies 25 metal.

Level 1

• 150 health
  
• Heals at 10hp/second
  
• Supplies ammo at 20%/second
  
• Supplies metal at 40/5 seconds
  
• Supplies cloak at 5%/second
  
  
• Invisibility Watch does not drain
  
• Dead Ringer drains slowly

Level 2

• 180 health
  
• Heals at 15hp/second
  
• Supplies ammo at 30%/second
  
• Supplies metal at 50/5 seconds
  
• Supplies cloak at 10%/second
  
  
• Invisibility Watch regenerates slowly
  
• Dead Ringer does not drain

Level 3

• 216 health
  
• Heals at 20hp/second
  
• Supplies ammo at 40%/second
  
• Supplies metal at 60/5 seconds
  
• Supplies cloak at 15%/second
  
  
• Invisibility Watch regenerates faster
  
• Dead Ringer regenerates slowly

Positioning the dispenser correctly is arguably the most important aspect of the building. It will greatly define how effective it is. It has three main points, preventing enemies from reaching it, allowing your teammates easy passage, and adaptibility.
1. Preventing destruction:

The dispenser is a very fragile building. Only a few rockets or grenades and it's destroyed, so an important part is preventing the immediate destruction of it.

You should place the dispenser away from your sentry, because splash damage could destroy them both in one strike. Placing it behind cover is also good. Look for corners just behind the front line, and place it there. A Demoman could, however destroy it with stickybombs if it's right next to a corner.

Do not place it in open ground, or in direct sight of the enemy. Try not to place it within the line of sight from a Sniper hideout, since with full charge, a sniper can one-shot a level one dispenser.

Remember to keep the dispenser behind the battle. If it's too close, it won't be of any use even if it doesn't get destroyed, since teammates would group up at the dispenser and be easily killed by the enemy team.

Remember that the Demoman is a designed counter for the Engineer. His stickybombs can easily clear your whole nest, and an ubered one can be very hard to survive. Remember that he gains a lot of power from height. Try to build your nest on high ground, so he can't get the height advantage.

The dispenser should create a "safe zone" where there is no major danger to your, or your teammates lives.

2. Allowing teammates to reach it:

Easy reachability for your teammates is also very important. The harder to reach the dispenser is, the more likely your teammates or you will die on the way there.

Place the dispenser near the action, so your teammates that are near death can join the battle without too much time spent on reaching the dispenser.

Do not place it too far away from your other buildings. Your "nest" should have all buildings near each other (but not too near, as covered above). When players see a sentry and a teleporter, they usually think that a dispenser is near. Make that true.

Try not to place it somewhere inaccessible for some classes, like on a high rock. Remember to make the way to the dispenser as straight as possible. Don't add unnecessary turns and corners to the path from the dispenser to the front line.

Keep the dispenser somewhere safe, preferably not near any environmental hazards, like cliffs or sawblades.

3. Adaptation

Always remember, these are only guidelines. They are not stone-written rules that can never be broken. Every situation is different, and the ability to adapt is very important for placing your dispenser, and the game in general. Knowing when to bend, or even break these rules is what separates good Engineers from bad Engineers.

For example, the time is running out in a round. Your team is preparing for the last push for the final control point. Do you stay still behind the front lines, following the rule of "staying well behind the front line" strictly? Or do you take the risk of moving your dispenser (and other buildings) near the front line, giving your teammates the ability to heal while pushing the point?

Adaptation (as almost everything else in this guide) can't be learned completely from just reading guides. The only way to really enhance it, is to play the game, and learn from your mistakes.

The different weapons and loadouts the Engineer has to offer, can change the way you treat your dispenser. Note that this is only focusing on non-stock weapons, since the entire guide is built around them.

Primary weapons:

Frontier Justice:
If your sentry is destroyed, your dispenser will likely be destroyed soon, so with the revenge criticals, you can protect your dispenser from being destroyed, and possibly rebuild your nest much faster. You could be slightly more aggressive with your dispenser placement.

Widowmaker:
This can have a major effect on your dispenser. Since damage dealt is returned as metal, your dispenser can have a much lower priority for your metal. Remember, even if you have lots of metal and good aim, you should still build a dispenser. The healing and ammo it provides to your teammates is more important than the metal it provides you.

If your aim isn't that good, the dispenser can give you extra ammo at the cost of potential buildings/upgrades.

Pomson 6000:
Doesn't have a major effect on your dispenser. Close circumstances can be tougher with the long-range-intended aim, so placing your dispenser slightly farther from your nest could be a good idea.

Rescue Ranger:
This can have a major effect on your dispenser. The long-range pickup is useful when you're advancing your nest forward (see "Adaptation" in 2.0).

The repairing bolt can create a whole new strategy. You could move your dispenser much farther from your nest, and in case of an assault, run to the dispenser and fire the bolts at your buildings, preventing your, and possibly the nests death. Be creative, it's a versatile weapon.

Secondary weapons:

Wrangler
This has a major effect on the sentry, but not so much on the dispenser. It's intended for killing disguised and cloaked spies and enemies outside the sentry's range.

You're likely to use more ammo on the sentry compared to auto-pilot, so remember to stay near your dispenser in case it runs out.

Short Circuit
This can have a major effect on your dispenser. It generates a field that slightly damages enemies and destroys projectiles. It also has a con that prevents you from gaining metal from dispensers while it's active.

It uses metal as ammo, so try not to over-use it when you're still building your nest. It can save your dispenser from enemies, so use it in dire circumstances.

Remember that if you have no dispenser, ammo packs, dropped weapons, resupply lockers, and payload carts are your only sources of ammo for this weapon! If you spam it too much, you can find yourself out of metal, waiting desperately for that ammo pack to respawn.

Melee weapons

Southern Hospitality
Doesn't have a major effect on your dispenser. It's good for dealing with spies, but you get very vulnerable to pyros. Fall back if a pyro assaults your base (even more so if he's ubered), since he can kill you very quickly if he manages to get close enough.

Jag
It raises the construction rate of your buildings. It is useful for aggressive bases, since the quicker you can get your dispenser up, the quicker you can start getting metal.

Eureka Effect
Can have a major effect on your dispenser. This is a special weapon. You can teleport to your spawn or your teleporter with it. It could be useful to quickly get to, or out of your base in case of a major push or an uber.

It comes with much slower upgrade and repair rates, so it is only really useful for offensive bases, where you don't intend to upgrade beyond level 1.

Remember, when you use the Eureka Effect, never have a dispenser/sentry near the exit teleporter. They should be placed to lead the enemies away from it, meaning they are more disposable compared to other melee weapons.

The Gunslinger creates a completely different strategy for the dispenser.
It replaces the sentry with a non-upgradable, non-repairable mini-sentry. It builds much faster and costs 100 metal, the same amount as the dispenser. It also gives you 25 extra health. It's intended for aggressive, attacking engineers, supporting pushes.

The mini-sentry does not allow for a nest as much as a normal sentry does. It is fragile and expendable. The dispenser is mostly placed quickly along the side of a push, hoping it would stay alive long enough to build.

Normal positioning rules still apply, to some extent. Just popping down the dispenser in the middle of the battle isn't a good idea. If you think you need to build it, you need to strike a balance between the battle and the back lines.

You should place your dispenser a bit more aggressively, if you're pushing. If, however you are using the Gunslinger to distract and annoy the enemy team (a perfectly viable strategy, depending on the situation), you could place the dispenser in your base, and leave it there. The dispenser isn't in danger, it still supplies ammo and health to your teammates, and you don't waste metal trying to build it and it immediately getting destroyed.

In short, place it a bit more aggressively, place it in your base, or just don't place it at all. The dispenser works better in a nest than unsupported by a normal sentry, and in the battle.

The engineer is partly a defense class, and partly a support class. Knowing how to work as a team with other engineers is very important.

Dispencer placement:

Multiple dispensers can be a great support to your team, but only if they are positioned correctly. The general rule is, don't cramp up the buildings together. If you see an Engineer building in another spot, take a look at his base. Is it still weak and limited? Is it fully upgraded? Does he have a dispenser in there? Take these into account when placing your dispenser.

Since there are (usually) many routes you can take to the battle, having dispensers in two or more of these passages will benefit the team greatly. If a teammate is forced into a specific route, such as he is being chased by a Pyro, having a dispenser, or even a full nest there can mean the difference between life and death.

If you have all the dispensers in one nest, they become much more inefficient, depending on the situation. Generally, if a teammate gets to a dispenser, they are safe. They do not need multiple dispensers to save them. If they're all in one place, the teammates (and the dispensers) bunch up together, which is not what you want when facing a push. A single critical rocket could kill all of them.

This, of course depends on the map. If there are very little flank routes, bunching up the dispensers can actually help. Since a teammate can be supplied by infinite dispensers at the same time (see 6.1), having more dispensers in one spot can double, or even triple the amount of healing and supplying done.

If the dispensers are scattered around, however, the bunching up reduces, and if a push comes up, the team has two or more flanks from which to attack from. This can greatly enhance the power of your defense.

"Dispenser hogging"

"Dispenser hogging" is when an Engineer builds a dispenser, another Engineer comes to it, takes all the metal from it, and uses it to build his base, never building a dispenser themselves, and leaving the other Engineer without any metal.

Remember that taking metal from another Engineers dispenser is completely fine, as long as you don't hog it. Try to leave some metal left there. You don't want the other Engineers nest destroyed just because you took all the metal, and he didn't have any for repairing.

If another Engineer hogs your dispenser, you could try informing them politely (see below). If they don't listen, try to take ammo packs or dropped weapons for metal. If you see that he's clearly doing it intentionally, ask him to stop. If that still doesn't work, prevent them from taking the metal from your dispenser. In my opinion it's not worth vote-kicking someone for just that, unless they are insulting or otherwise annoying everyone.

Communication:

Communication is important as well. If a player who is new to the Engineer builds a dispenser with the bad traits (see 1.0), inform them politely. Use words like "please", and remember to thank them if they follow your advice.

Try not to get angry, everyone was a noob at some point. Remember that the entire point of the game is to have fun. Guide them on where to place their dispenser / how to use it correctly, etc. You'd be surprised how many people are very grateful for advice like this, you might even get a few new friends. Getting a mic can also be beneficial, since people pay more attention to voice rather than chat.

Mann vs. Machine changes the dispenser strategy quite a bit. It serves a more important role than in normal gameplay.

Upgrades:

First of all, there is an upgrade, "Dispenser Range". This increases the range at which your dispenser will heal and supply. It is one of the most important upgrades (in my opinion) for a good team. The longer the range, the more mobile your team is while still getting healed and supplied, and the farther you can place your nest from your dispenser.

Upgrading your building health can also be useful for your dispenser. You can stay in your base longer without having to go repair the dispenser.

The "Building Upgrade" canteen can be useful when having to build a nest quickly.

Placement:

The point of the dispenser is to supply your team, rather than yourself. Since everyone is blasting away constantly, ammo gets low quickly. Particularily the Heavy empties his minigun often. The dispenser allows the team to keep fighting constantly.

Your sentry is going to fire almost constantly at the robots, so it will run out of ammo much quicker than in normal gameplay. Keep this in mind when placing your dispenser. There is an ammo pack in almost every popular spot for a nest.

You can place the dispenser much more aggressively since the robots prefer to target humans rather than dispensers. A good team will defend the dispenser, not just let it destruct.

Here are some general tips that didn't fit into the other sections:

Spies can't resist sapping an unguarded dispenser. You can use them for an early-warning system.

Dispensers can be used to block a hallway, since enemies can't go through them. Works well with Spies and Scouts. If placed on a thin stairway, it can be impossible to go through without destroying it.

A friendly Pyro can create a "firewall", since the dispenser can resupply his ammo faster than he fires it. Especially useful with some good airblasting skills. A Heavy can be used the same way, spraying the area with bullets.

An Engineer can stand on a dispenser he built, and jump from there. This is often used to reach places normally out of bounds for an Engineer.

Sentry guns can't shoot through dispensers, keep that in mind when designing your nest.

The screen in the dispenser shows how much metal is stocked.

A dispenser can give ammunition and heal through thin walls.

Spies can stand on dispensers and charge their cloak from there safely. If you suspect a Spy is about, check above the dispenser too.

Since dispensers immediately supply 25 metal when finished building, the net loss of building one is actually only 75 metal.

Here's some trivia that may be useless in-game:

For a short time after the WAR! Update, Spies were able to build dispensers through the use of the console command 'build 0', although they could not upgrade them.

Per the Sentry gun's instruction manual, the dispenser is a "Dispense-O-Matic 9000 Provisions Dispenser".

A fully-built dispenser of any level pays homage to the Nail Gun, the Scout's cancelled primary weapon with an ammo belt of nails hanging out of the bottom tray.

By staying within the healing range of a dispenser, it is possible to stay underwater indefinitely.

In the console version, you can't upgrade dispensers.

The dispenser resembles a '50s gas tank. This may have been inspired by them.

A teammate can be supplied by an infinite amount of dispensers at the same time, and a dispenser can supply an infinite amount of teammates at the same time.

Thank you for reading this guide. This was my first guide I have written, so I hope it is good! I am Finnish, so I may have made some spelling mistakes, forgive me if I have.

My main source was the official TF2 Wiki. I also looked up stats and more from /r/tf2 at reddit.

Special thanks to:

/u/SileAnimus on reddit, for helping me with the Eureka Effect.

/u/KyKyber on reddit, for helping me with placing multiple dispensers together.

sp, for a small tip.

Winter Clap, for a small tip.

I wont add 'Festive' to my name, for a small fact.



Please rate and comment, so I can improve this guide! :)