| “ | A timeless classic. Sticks to any surface and explodes shortly after an enemy enters its trigger area. And if it fails to find a target, it can be safely disarmed and retrieved. Note: proximity trigger requires a few seconds for calibration. |
| — Item Description |
About
The Proximity Mine is an unlockable throwable for the Engineer. It is a spherical mine with a large ringpull at the top. When thrown onto a surface, several nodes will expand out of the holes on the device which act as motion sensors. The mine projects a yellow circle which traces along the shape of the floor, representing the radius in which it will detect enemies and create an explosion (similar to Satchel Charges).
A much more strategic Throwable compared to the others, the Proximity Mine excels in area control. It can stick to any surface it is thrown upon, making it useful for guarding tight chokepoints or obscure areas which are hard to get an effective angle on. When a creature crosses the detection radius, it will explode. Each mine is able to detonate four times before disappearing, giving one mine multiple uses. The resulting explosion is large in radius and high in damage; one mine can deal 440 damage in its lifetime.
Due to its defensive playstyle, this is an excellent grenade to bring to Point Extraction and Salvage Operation where it can be used guard the team from oncoming threats. It won't always kill when it explodes, but it is excellent for weakening enemies as they approach. You can also throw some out when a Swarm is announced to shut down chokepoints and guarantee lots of damage to oncoming enemies. Prox Mines also have a moderate Fear Factor, with creatures on the edge of the explosion fleeing if they survive the blast.
Although the Prox Mine is very powerful it has some noteworthy flaws. The long arming time makes it ineffective in active combat, and it will often be faster for another teammate to use their grenade to clear a horde than wait for the mine to arm (thankfully, mines can be disarmed and recovered by holding the Use key on them when they are armed). There is also a delay between explosions of a few seconds. Most notably, small creatures like Glyphid Swarmers are not able to set off the motion sensors on the mine and will slip by undetected. Finally, the mines will despawn after three minutes once they have detonated for the first time, so their usage must be carefully considered to prevent a "set it and forget it" strategy.
 Unlocked through a level cap.
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| Requires Engineer 10
Purchased for: |
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Usage & Strategies
Proximity Mine Demonstration
- Set up the Engineer's Sentry Gun in conjunction with the Prox Mines to take out smaller enemies who can slip by the mines, or to finish off weakened foes.
- You can also throw them around the Minehead in Point Extraction, where the automated guns on the Minehead will finish off small foes.
- Works best with utility which can manipulate enemy movement, such as the Repellant Additive modification for the Platform Gun or the Pheromone Canister.
- You can have more than four mines in existence at once if you collect more mines at a Resupply Pod and throw them out.
- Allied Dwarves cannot trigger the mine, but they can be damaged in the resulting explosion.
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