What is so good about the scout?

[NightRaven]

I havent really used them, but everyone is inlove with them. If they are being used to throw knives or shurikens, then no thanks.

 

How are they being used?

[kermix]

I don't know about everyone else, but I use mine as ninjas. In the right situations, particularly outdoor night missions, I've had a pair of Scouts take out most of the sentries around a map (upwards of 12) with silenced pistols without being discovered by more than one person at a time, if that. It was a much longer mission that way, but it was fun. It might have been a bit of an exploit, since most enemy AI will not move or "wake up" if they can't tell where the damage is coming from, but the trick was getting them close enough to have a reasonable chance-to-hit without being noticed.

 

A single scout with silent weaponry (either a silenced firearm or melee/throwing stuff) who is either very stealthy or very fast can do more damage than you might expect to an unaware opponent. They can also run up on anyone who has wasted all their AP on a long burst. Start a campaign with a Scout and try the intro mission a few times and you'll see what I mean.

 

Initially, your Scouts may not look very fast or sneaky. And they're not very likely to survive a full-auto anything at close range, as other classes have much higher Strength and therefore VP. But if you just keep practicing with them and give them the right perks, you can have a handy little assassin or two on your hands, and possibly one that uses far less ammunition than the rest of your crew.

 

Right now I have Kate and Elf with Hide skills above 60, which make them pretty good for night mission recon, and Matt has about 71 AP, which makes him good for running up, spotting a faraway enemy, and running away. But he's also very handy with a knife, and can quickly take out some damaged opponents with time to find cover.

[thecyke]

i find the scout comes into his own in clearing buildings. his high action points means he can often put 4 shots into an enemy, do a little dance, recite a poem and then slip back behind cover (not quite, but you get the idea!).

 

and also, to be honest, he often becomes the most expendable team member if my snipers are carrying high wounds and i need to check out an area. i'm not saying i will sacrifice him, i'm just saying he'll be the one to go into the hazard zones..

[Paingod]

I'm thinking on my next run through, I'm going to have a drastically different team than I have now.

 

Right now, I've got one of each class. I try to use them all equally, even going as far as splitting them up into smaller teams during missions so they all see some action... But my Sniper and Scout are the two I fall back on if I need prompt service delt to foes.

 

Next run, I'm probably going to abandon the Sniper, if only because he's abusive. I've had just him clear out entire missions easily. One head shot, 125 damage = one dead foe, from further away than they can see me. Having a 120 Shooting and 70 Snipe is pretty nasty.

 

I wouldn't call my scout abusive, but Elf is very good. I've used just her to clean out entire random missions, using the Machete, low-AP throwing knives (9-10 in one turn), or her silenced SMG for emergencies. She's got fairly high interrupt to go with her stealth, almost ensuring a safe first-round kill.

 

I'm tempted to either use a team of strictly Engineers and Medics, or go with a two or three man hit squad (Scout, Scout, Engineer) next time... On hard(impossible), again.