Optimus said the Pillars could have helped the Autobots win the war..my question is, how?
And why didn't Sentinel just use them before he made a deal with Megatron?

(I might be thinking too far)

 

Maybe they could place some of the Pillars near the sun and then trick the Decepticons into charging toward a portal and into the sun? Or, maybe they could use it as the film suggested, a surprise military strike. Just think of it, the Decepticons could be on their bases with their guard down and then suddenly a bunch of Autobots appear and start blasting them to bits.

 

Transport materials from a planet with no life forms?

 

Transport materials from a planet with no life forms?

 

According to Optimus [as he clarifies to Charlotte Mearing], the Pillars would have been used to transport resources to refugees and to create safe-routes of sorts.

But Sentinel Prime probably had less "noble" intentions in his mind, and likely intended to use the technology for surprise attacks upon the Decepticon Army.

As for your second question: They didn't have time to use it, they were attacked before the technology could be properly used.

 

The Autobots could have used the pillars to transport their people to another planet. They were losing the war on Cybertron, the planet was a wasteland and it was only a matter of time before they were all annihilated. The trick was finding a suitable planet to escape to.

Sentinel loves Cybertron, more for being worshiped as a god. He knew that if the Autobots fled the planet he would no longer be a god just another refugee. Sentinel didn't like the idea of being downgraded to common folk and saw where the power laid...Megatron.

Of course to think that Megatron would share any REAL power with Sentinel after saving Cybertron, well...

 

Optimus certainly felt they could have won the war with it. He mentioned resources. As someone else said it was more than likely to bring back resources from an unoccupied planet or even energon to help fight the war. If all else failed it could transport refugees to another planet just before Cybertron became a barren wasteland. Sentinel being the "Einstein of his civilization" probably felt that they were past the point of winning the war and saving the planet. Cybertron didn't have much time. Only a deal with Megatron would save the planet. They would plunder the Earth and later he could try once again to defeat the Decepticons.

 

I think Sentinel lied to Optimus... 'cause according to Sentinel, the way to win: "a pact was made with Megatron" and stuff

 

*insert Balder's 3217th "THREAD WON"*

Simply put, they wouldn't have "won the war" through force and fighting in this case. The technology would've been used to eradicate the cause of the war. Like a war over famine. Supply food, remove war. More-or-less.

 

Autobots didn't know how he was going to do it, because they always trusted him and never asked that question, he was a legend for them, genius, "Einstein"... And he took advantage of it. In my opinion... there is nothing more despicable.

 

maybe it is jst that the decepticons didnt have this tech so the autobots had a big advantage over the cons

 

I agree with Russian that the Autobots couldn't really know what the pillars were actually for. Yet I think it's simply what we (almost) get to see in the film: moving Cybertron to a new place where resources are available so that even if the war continues, it wouldn't have drained Cybertron again. For a while.

 

That wasn't his original intent. He does say "a deal had to be made, with Megatron." and "Optimus I had to betray you." He even says they were never going to win the war. For the sake of Cybertron's survival he had to betray his beliefs. I don't think he had less than noble intentions, but he felt he had no choice in the end if the planet was to survive.

 

I meant his intents towards the Bridge while he was building it [presumably a good while before his backstabbing].

Also, you're missing the point of the post: I was explaining that Optimus intended to use the Bridge to create safe-routes and transport materials to refugees while Sentinel probably intended to use for military strikes.

 

Optimus was going to use the pillars to transport resources to refugees or for saferoutes, etc. Sentinel wanted to bring in a slave force to rebuild Cybertron. The Autobots would not have gone along with that plan so he made a deal with Megatron instead.