Scout (competitive)
The community competitive scene changes frequently. Some or all info may be outdated.
The Scout is the default utility class of the standard competitive lineup, valued for his objective-capturing and picking abilities.
Contents
[hide]Information
Health
Class | Health | Overheal | Quick-Fix Overheal |
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125 | 185 | 158 |
With the Sandman equipped | 110 | 165 | 139 |
Speed
Condition | Normal | Backward | Crouched | Swimming | ||||||||
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Baby Face's Blaster at 0% boost |
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Baby Face's Blaster at 50% boost |
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Baby Face's Blaster at 100% boost |
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Weapons
The Scout relies mainly on his Scattergun, which deals high damage at close range, but less damage at longer range. His speed allows him to quickly jump towards someone, deal damage, and then retreat.
Primary
Weapon | Kill icon | Ammo Loaded |
Ammo Carried |
Damage Range | Notes / Special Abilities |
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![]() Stock Scattergun |
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6 | 32 | Base: 60 Crit: 180 [6 damage × 10 pellets] |
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![]() Unlock Force-A-Nature |
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2 | 32 | Base: 65 Crit: 194 [5.4 damage × 12 pellets] |
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![]() Craft Shortstop |
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4 | 32 | Base: 48 Crit: 144 [12 damage × 4 pellets] |
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![]() Craft Soda Popper |
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2 | 32 | Base: 60 Crit: 180 [6 damage × 10 pellets] |
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![]() Craft Baby Face's Blaster |
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4 | 32 | Base: 60 Crit: 180 [6 damage × 10 pellets] |
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![]() Craft Back Scatter |
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4 | 32 | Base: 60 Crit: 180 [6 damage × 10 pellets] |
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Usage
The Scout is an ideal choice of guarding and using flanks against the enemy, as well as spearheading a push. His mobility, ability to 2-shot enemy Medics and other Scouts, and dominance when fighting the enemy Demoman makes him useful for picks in a variety of situations, as well as cleaning up heavily-injured enemies after Soldier bombs. A Scout is at his best when he has a full buff. His two time capture rate allows him to capture the objectives while his team advances and gains territory.
Common Tactics
The Scout is one of the most efficient classes in both flanking and attacking in competitive TF2. His speed, high damage output, and ability to easily dodge projectiles makes him ideal for approaching and killing key targets like the Medic and Demoman. A good competitive Scout always watches for weaknesses in the enemy team's defense while protecting his own team from enemy Scouts and Soldiers looking for an easy jump onto your combo. The agility of Scouts makes them efficient at hunting down and eliminating enemy Scouts, taking pressure off of their team's combo, as well as clearing a secure path for his team to advance into.
The Scout's greatest strength is his mobility. As the fastest class in the game, but also a mere 125 health, a Scout excels at dodging and should avoid situations that make it difficult or impossible to dodge incoming fire. Strategic use of the double jump to redirect his movement enables the Scout to confuse his enemies while attacking, as well as being able to reach areas otherwise inaccessible to other classes. The Scout should try to flank enemies whenever possible and attack ones that pay him no attention; although he is not very weak in a direct fight, getting the first Scattergun blast can be a critical advantage. Scouts are also commonly called upon to deal chip damage to opponents, especially when Medics and health packs are far away, in order to deny them crit healing. They can fire from long range with their Pistol or close in, fire a few Scattergun shots, and then make use of their speed to retreat. Another duty of Scouts is to chase down retreating enemies thanks to his superior speed and his ability to deal direct damage.
One way that the Scout can put pressure on the combo and the rest of the team is by backcapping; the threat of having Scouts rampaging behind them is something no team wants. Scout's speed means he can get to the next point quicker than anyone else. If the team doesn't have any teammates respawning, it's possible that the Scouts can make it back to the last point. Even when it's not successful, backcapping will give the Scout's team a chance to regroup and respawn by drawing opposing team members away from the main battle; it can be the difference between keeping control of the point and losing the point and possibly even the round.
During mid battles, Scouts have two main duties to fulfill. First one is to protect their combo from bombing Soldiers and to kill them fast enough so that the enemy combo won't be able to gain much space off the bomb. Second one is to follow up on their own Soldier's bomb and kill the enemies that remain. Both Scouts will initially have to play near the combo in order for this to work, and respond as soon as the bomb happens by either listening closely to the team comms or by spotting the Soldiers beforehand. For example, on Snakewater) middle usually you will have one Scout play top left, while the other will play on right roof, next to hut. If the top left or top right Scout calls that the enemy Soldiers are preparing to bomb, then both the Scouts will have to start walking towards their own Medic to protect him.
Due to the vast majority of unlockable weapons being banned in most leagues, almost all Scouts use the standard Scattergun and Pistol. In leagues where they are allowed, the Boston Basher/Three-Rune Blade are used by higher level Scouts to help their Medics build ÜberCharge while they are waiting to attack or defend a point.
5-CP Push Strategies
Scouts will generally be the second to arrive at the middle point, after the Demoman and sometimes the roamer. On some maps, like Snakewater Demomen can arrive a couple of seconds ahead. On these maps, Scouts should beware of enemy sticky traps early on, as they are needed at the mid-fight. There will be a few seconds before the Soldiers and Medics of both teams arrive.
In order to avoid the early stickies on those maps the Scouts can delay their entry or go a different way and skip the choke points where the stickies are normally placed. For example, on Snakewater, when they rollout, one Scout should go through catwalk, and the other Scout should take the main exit out of Saw, after waiting out for a second. In general, Scouts should never be in a choke point if they can avoid it, this is simply because they are too fragile and can easily die due to the constant spam of rockets and Demoman explosives.
Scouts usually push on the flanks. This is for two reasons. Firstly they make sure that the enemy Scouts don't manage to sneak behind and start a back-cap, and secondly, it allows them to get in close whilst the enemy is distracted by your combo. Once the Scouts are in close they can deal a lot of damage and mop up any remaining enemies who were damaged by his team's combo. The essential role of the Scout, in his team's pushes, is to finish off the injured players and make sure no enemy makes their way behind his team.
Attack-Defend Strategies
On attack-defend maps, Scouts are still useful for the offensive team as they provide faster cap time, are very effective at dealing direct damage, and can keep pressure at the attacking points, but on defense Scouts are generally switched off to a utility class because there is no need for their mobility seeing as the point cannot move. Commonly used utility classes are the Engineer, Sniper and Heavy, with the Pyro seeing occasional use, and the Spy rarely at all. Gravel Pit is a good example of where utilities are commonplace, quite often defending teams choose to run an Engineer and a Sniper (known colloquially as using a Dignitas Lineup). These classes are generally seen as more effective at defending the point from a single strong push then Scouts are.
However, Scouts on the attacking side can also offclass, although it is generally a single Scout that temporarily offclasses at a time. Sniper or Spy are particular favorites because they can kill the enemy Medic with ease and crush a defense. After all, trying to defend against an ÜberCharge is a very hard thing to do. Another use that Scouts have an attack is to take the damage from the stickies that the defending Demoman likes to place on the entrances; when Scouts try to capture point A on Gravel Pit the defending Demoman normally puts stickies on the entrance. By using the Bonk!, a Scout can get through the door without dying.
Pocket Scout
The Pocket Scout is a term used to describe a Scout who tends to push in with the combo when pushing into the enemy team and sticks by them. Many teams choose to have a Scout come in at a delayed time and flashed second, often after their Demoman jumps in with the ÜberCharge, in order to first catch any kills in front and to then allow the Medic to get to their Demoman, to flash him after getting in deep through choke.
The Pocket Scout will, at all times, be expected to position themselves near the Medic to protect him against bombing enemies and other dangers.
Flank Scout
The flank Scout is the Scout who either spots or pushes through the flank in order to secure combo's positions on the sides. Their main job is to make sure there are no stranglers left behind and that all the unchecked positions are clear in order for the rest of the team to not get collapsed on after the push. Usually, under a stalemate situation, the Scout and the roamer can initiate a fight with the other flank players, to either get picks and more advantagous positions for themselves or to divert enemy combo attention, so that their own team can push through a choke.
If the situation allows for it (such as the enemy team being too busy pushing the choke), flank Scouts can try and push through open positions in hopes for a backcap. In case that the pocket Scout dies, it is flank Scout's job to get to their combo and fill in that role until the combo Scout respawned and is available.
As a Flank Scout, when your team pushes in with an ÜberCharge, delay your attack on the flank by a moment to increase the likelyhood nobody contests it. This allows you to get behind more easily and catch any enemies running away from your ÜberCharged teammates.
The flank Scout is also usually the player on his team that "offclasses". Offclassing consist of switching to an unconventional class such as a Sniper, Pyro, Engineer or Heavy. The flank Scout usually does this when his team is defending the last control point to either build a Sentry Gun, push back the enemy ÜberCharge as the Pyro, deal a lot of damage as Heavy, or get game changing headshots as Sniper. The Sniper is usually the most common offclass as he is effective both offensively and defensively.
Anti-Scout classes
Although it mostly depends on skill, some classes are designed to have an advantage over others. Many classes have an advantage over a Scout, but also disadvantages.
The Scout
The opposing Scouts are just as dangerous as the enemy Soldiers. In every match, it is highly likely you will run into the opposing Scouts. What makes Scout vs Scout battles very hard is that you are as equally as fast and mobile, and you can also not escape a Scout like you can with other classes. Your dodging and aiming skills will be tested when contesting another Scout. Use health packs, overheal, and your team's other Scout to your advantage. A skilled Scout usually tries to control the area around the health pack so the other Scout cannot run to health and finish you off. When you are about to watch the flanks, always go for a buff from your Medic and try to bring your Scout or Soldier buddy with you on the flanks to outnumber the other Scout. Higher skilled Scouts usually isolate the Scouts and deny them the space to escape to their team.
The Soldier
A Soldier is a Scout's arch-enemy as a Soldier's ability to deal splash damage renders a Scout's double jump ability borderline useless. If engaged at dangerously close ranges where the Soldier's primary will deal self-damage, it is recommended not to commit, but to ask for an overheal as well as help from your teammates to kill them instead. Soldiers are most dangerous in narrow corridors to a Scout due to multiple reasons:
- The Scout cannot maneuver in narrow areas.
- The Soldier shoots straight, high-damage projectiles, meaning direct hits on a Scout become much easier, and are likely to kill the Scout in 2 shots or less.
- The Scout has no option but to simply head-on charge at the Soldier meaning the Scout is unlikely to do any serious damage before being killed.
A Scout's best hope is to get the Soldier into an open area where the Scout can get the height advantage and pick away at the Soldier. A good thing to keep in mind while fighting a Soldier is to keep count of his ammunition - a Soldier constantly reloading will make an easier target to bait rockets out, to make an easier kill.
Pyro
Although Pyro is usually seen most often in last hold situations, where their job is to stall out a potential ÜberCharge, it is important to understand Scout's role against them. If the combo spots one before the push, it is primarily the Scout's job to take the ÜberCharge and to focus fire on them. This ensures that the rest of the push can go on as planned. Usually this is done with both Scouts being flashed simultanously, until the Pyro is killed.
Heavy
The Heavy has the largest health pool in the game and is extremely dangerous at close range. Fighting him head-on is suicide no matter what class is being played due to his extremely high damage and large health. This makes it very hard for a Scout to deal with one that is aware of the Scout's existence. In competitive situations, the Heavy is also likely to have full overheal, as well as a few teammates surrounding him, making it seemingly impossible for a Scout to even get decent damage on the Heavy.
If the Scout gets close, he will have to do three point-blank shots to kill a non-overhealed Heavy. This means to kill a Heavy, the Scout will have to get to close range and risk getting found out and killed by the Heavy's teammates. Compare this to the Heavy, which takes much less effort to kill a Scout. Higher-skilled Scouts will usually avoid Heavies at all costs, but if they have to engage either spend the ÜberCharge and focus fire a Heavy with their team, or confuse their aim by changing positions and using cover. Using your superior movement to outmaneuver him is a key part to dealing with them, if you have to.
Engineer
An Engineer without a Sentry Gun isn't much of a threat to a Scout. With his primary being a worse Scattergun, similar HP, and slower speed, the Engineer without a Sentry Gun becomes a worse Scout. However, this doesn't mean the Engineer isn't a dangerous class by himself, especially if he has the Gunslinger equipped. What makes the Engineer a good anti-Scout class is his Sentry Gun; a high-damage, high-health, and perfect-aim auto-turret capable of acting as a wall to a Scout. Due to the nature of a Sentry Gun, a Scout cannot dodge the Sentry's bullets, meaning the Scout's speed and double jump will not help him at all. His low health means that the Sentry Gun can finish him off in seconds. His short-range and low firepower makes him completely reliant on his team to destroy it.
Usually an Engineer will encountered in a last hold situation in which case you, as a Scout, will have to rely on your projectile classes to destroy Sentry Gun before commiting to the push with the rest of the team.
See also
- Scout weapons (competitive)
- Capping (competitive)
- Scout
- Classes (competitive)
- Standard competitive lineup
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