Scout (competitive)

This article is for competitive play, based on the standard community competitive format. For the generic article on this topic, see: Scout.
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 Some or all info may be outdated.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.

Information

Health

Health State	Max Health	Overheal Max	Pill Bottle	First Aid Tin
Normal	125 hit points	185 hit points	+26 hit points	+63 hit points
Sandman-Equipped	110 hit points	165 hit points	+23 hit points	+55 hit points
Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol-Equipped	140 hit points	210 hit points	+29 hit points	+70 hit points
The Special Delivery pack	150 hit points	225 hit points	+31 hit points	+75 hit points

Speed

Movement State	Running	Backpedaling	Swimming	Crouching
Normal	133.33% (400 u/s)	120% (360 u/s)	106.67% (320 u/s)	44% (133.33 u/s)

Speeds written in "u/s" refer to in-game units per second. When running in a certain direction causes slowness, rapidly switching between diagonals usually improves speed.

Weapons

Main article: Scout weapons (competitive)

#	Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
1	Scattergun	Point-Blank: 104 512u: 6/hit, avg 6 hits 1024u+: 3/hit	Critical: 18 per hit (max 180) Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 141 512u+ Mini-Crit: 8/hit	Attack: 0.64s Reload Start: 0.76s Reload More: 0.56s	Affected by fixed weapon spread (1 extra pellet at center).
	Force-A-Nature	Point-Blank: 113 512u: 5.4/hit, avg 7 hits 1024u+: 3/hit	Critical: 16.2/hit (max 194) Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 152 512u+ Mini-Crit: 7.29/hit	Attack: 0.33s Reload: 1.64s	Banned or restricted in some leagues. Affected by fixed weapon spread (2 extra pellets at center, 1 extra at middle-right). Hits dealing at least 40 damage cause knockback based on damage and positioning. Reloading always consumes entire clip, even if 1 shot still loaded. Allows for triplejumps, quadjump and forcejumps.
	Shortstop	Point-Blank: 72 512u: 12/hit, avg 4 hits 1024u+: 6.34/hit	Critical: 36/hit (max 144) Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 97 512u+ Mini-Crit: 16.2/hit	Attack: 0.36s Reload: 1.01s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Affected by fixed weapon spread (4 close pellets: center, left, right, down). Shares ammo with Pistol/Winger.
	Soda Popper	Point-Blank: 104 512u: 6/hit, avg 6 hits 1024u+: 3/hit	Critical: 18/hit (max 180) Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 141 512u+ Mini-Crit: 8/hit	Attack: 0.315s Reload: 1.23s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time.[citation needed] Damage statistically identical to Scattergun Affected by fixed weapon spread(1 extra pellet in center). Reloading always consumes entire clip, even if 1 shot still loaded. After running 5200u, approx. 14 seconds, with weapon active, automatically activates 8 second mini-crit boost for all weapons.
2	Pistol	Point-Blank: 22 512u: 15 1024u+: 8	Critical: 45 Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 30 512u+ Mini-Crit: 20	Attack: 0.125s Reload: 1.36s	If unfired in the past 1.25 seconds, shot has perfect accuracy.
	Bonk	N/A	N/A	Drinking: 1.25s Invulnerability: 6s Total Recharge: 30s	Banned or restricted in some leagues. On-hit effects still apply when invincible. Recharge starts when invulnerability starts. Is useless underwater.
	Lugermorph	Point-Blank: 22 512u: 15 1024u+: 8	Critical: 45 Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 30 512u+ Mini-Crit: 20	Attack: 0.125s Reload: 1.36s	Statistically identical to Pistol.
	Crit-a-Cola	N/A	N/A	Drinking: 1.25s Mini-Crit Effect: 6s Total Recharge: 30s	Banned or restricted in some leagues. While active, causes Scout to deal and receive Mini-Crits on all attacks. Recharge starts when Mini-Crit effect starts. Useless underwater.
	Mad Milk	N/A	N/A	Effect Duration: 6s Refill Time: 10s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Affected foes grant self and allies 60% lifesteal on hit. Splash goes through doors and grates. Extinguishes fire on teammates. Reveals Spies (can't be removed by DR, unlike fire).
	Winger	Point-Blank: 25 512u: 17 1024u+: 10	Critical: 52 Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 35 512u+ Mini-Crit: 23	Attack: 0.125s Reload: 1.36s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time.[citation needed] If unfired in the past 1.25 seconds, shot has perfect accuracy.
3	Bat	Melee: 35	Critical: 105 Mini-Crit: 47	Attack: 0.5s	Lowest DPS of all non-unlock melee besides non-backstab knife.
	Sandman	Melee: 35 Ball Point-Blank: 15 Ball 512u+: 11	Melee Critical: 105 Melee Mini-Crit: 47 Ball Critical: 45 Ball Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 20 Ball 512u+ Mini-Crit: 15	Attack: 0.5s	Banned or restricted in most leagues. "Fleeing state" time based on target distance; stuns at max distance. Ball does not have damage fall-off, but does have damage ramp-up. Cannot throw ball underwater. Reduces max health by 15 (see above).
	Holy Mackerel	Melee: 35	Critical: 105 Mini-Crit: 47	Attack: 0.5s	Banned in some leagues for acquisition time. Statistically identical to bat. Globally announces hits on killboard (doesn't reveal Spies).
	Boston Basher	Melee: 35 Bleed: 4/hit (40 total)	Critical: 105 Mini-Crit: 47	Attack: 0.5s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. If swung without hitting an entity, prop, or world object, applies half melee damage and full bleed effect to user.
	Candy Cane	Melee: 35	Critical: 105 Mini-Crit: 47	Attack: 0.5s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Statistically identical to bat. 25% explosive damage vulnerability on wearer. Creates a small health pack on kill.
	Three-Rune Blade	Melee: 35	Critical: 105 Mini-Crit: 47	Attack: 0.5s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Statistically identical to Boston Basher.
	Sun-on-a-Stick	Melee: 26.25	Critical: 78.75 Mini-Crit: 35.4375	Attack: 0.5s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Always crits on burning enemies.
	Fan O'War	Melee: 3.5	Critical: 10.5 Mini-Crit: 4.725	Attack: 0.5s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Lowest damage of any weapon. Struck enemies suffer from mini-crits for 15 seconds. Striking another enemy transfers status.
	Saxxy	Melee: 35	Critical: 105 Mini-Crit: 47	Attack: 0.5s	Limited item from Replay Update. Statistically identical to bat. Enemies killed by weapon turn gold on death instead of ragdolling.
	Atomizer	Melee: 28	Critical: 84 Mini-Crit: 37.8	Attack: 0.65s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time.[citation needed] Grants triple jump Deals 10 damage to self upon every triple jump. Upon double or triple jumping, shows a purple cloud particle effect under feet.
	Conscientious Objector	Melee: 35	Critical: 105 Mini-Crit: 47	Attack: 0.5s	Statistically identical to bat.
	Unarmed Combat	Melee: 35	Critical: 105 Mini-Crit: 47	Attack: 0.5s	Statistically identical to bat.

"u" stands for "units of distance." "+" stands for "or more." "s" stands for "seconds." "Reload Start" refers to how long it takes for 1 ammo to be reloaded after beginning to reload, and "Reload More" refers to how long it takes for each additional ammo to reload after the first. Damages and times are approximate and determined by community testing.

Usage

The Scout is ideal to guard the flanks against the enemy. His mobility, ability to 2-shot enemy medics and Scouts, and advantage when fighting enemy demos make him useful for picking in a variety of situations. A Scout is at his best when he has a full buff.

Common Tactics

Scouts are perhaps the best class for flanking and ambushes in competitive TF2. Their speed, absurd damage output at close range, and their ability to easily dodge the projectiles fired by Soldiers and Demomen make them ideal for flanking the enemy team and killing the Medic and Demoman. A competitive Scout should always keep an eye out for opportunities to rush in and cripple the enemy team, but without forgetting to cover certain areas of the map to prevent the enemy Scouts from doing the same. Due to the speed and mobility of Scouts, they are good for hunting down and eliminating enemy Scouts, taking pressure off of their team's combo and Demoman.

The main advantage of the Scout is mobility. A Scout can avoid being damaged from the enemy by dodging, so a Scout should try to avoid being caught in a situation where they can't dodge. Use of the double jump in midair to redirect his movement. Scouts should try to flank enemies whenever possible; although not the worst class in a straight-up 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. 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 due to their superior speed and their ability to deal direct damage.

One way that the Scouts can take the pressure of the Combo and the rest of the team is by back-capping; the threat of having Scouts rampaging behind them is something no team wants. Not only that, but the Scouts are quicker than any other class so they can get to the next point quicker than anyone else. If the team doesn't have any team mates respawning then it's possible that the scouts can make it back to the last point. Even when it's not successful, back-capping will give the Scouts 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. They either can protect their Combo from the enemy Scouts, or they can be aggressive and try to flank and kill the opposing players, especially Medics and Demomen. Normally, the Scouts will try to do the best of both worlds, one Scout will play passively whilst the second Scout will wait for an opportunity to attack the Medic and Demo. Due to their speed, they can also easily switch roles or focus on either defense or offense as the situation calls. Having both Scouts playing offensively can allow them to swarm exposed enemy players or have them clean up damage enemies in a main battle. For example, on Badlands middle, what usually happens is that one Scout will go and watch Valley, and the other will watch the small house; if one of the Scouts calls that both scouts are going one way then the other Scout will go and help out.

Due to the vast majority of alternative weapons being banned in most leagues, almost all Scouts use the standard Scattergun and Pistol. In leagues where they are allowed, the Boston Basher and Three Rune Blade are used by higher level Scouts to help their Medics build Ubercharge while they are waiting to attack or defend a point.

5-CP Push Strategies

Scouts will generally be one of the first classes to arrive at the middle point of most 5-CP maps. On some maps, like Badlands 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 few seconds before the Soldiers and Medics of both teams arrive.

In order to avoid the early stickies on those maps the scouts can go a different way and skip the choke points where the stickies are normally placed. For example, on Badlands, when they rollout, one scout should go choke via main, and the other scout should drop down into valley instead of going through house with their combo. 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.

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 are distracted by your combo. Once the scouts are in close they can deal a lot of damage and mop up any remaining enemies.

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. Gravelpit 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 defending Demomen like to place on the entrances; when Scouts try to capture point A on Gravelpit the defending Demoman normally puts stickies on the entrance. By using the Bonk, a scout can get through the door without dying.

Capture-the-Flag Strategies

Whilst the scout normally isn't the class that retrieves the enemy intelligence, he's normally the class that caps it due to his mobility. The scouts job in Capture-the-Flag apart from guarding the flanks, is to capture the intelligence, and if necessary, offclass to counter the enemy.

The normal utility that's used is the Sniper due to his ability to take out the medic and stall the push. A Heavy can also be used when you are are at an Über disadvantage or need the extra firepower. Finally, an engineer can be used to defend the intelligence, the only problem with this is that it's extremely defensive and can lead to a defensive mentality within the team and result in the team turtling.

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. Many teams choose to have a Scout come in at a delayed time, after their ÜberCharge is usually about to finish to receive the remaining charge and overheal to clean up the remaining hurt enemy players. The pocket Scout usually watches flanks and calls them out to his team if someone comes behind them.

There are also certain times (usually on the last control point) where the enemy team is using a Pyro where ÜberCharging in a Soldier would result in your Über being pushed back and it quintessentially being wasted. On the other hand, Übering in a scout would allow the scout to fire his shots at the Pyro and having no fear of his shots being blasted back at him.

Freelance Scout

The Freelance Scout is the Scout who tends to move around the map and get behind the enemy team, compared to the Pocket Scout. The Freelance Scout's main job is to get behind the enemy team, and pick major classes (generally the medic). They tend not to stick with the team as much as the other classes, however if they are needed they will help the team out.

A good strategy for the Freelance Scout is when your team pushes in with an ÜberCharge, you can get behind the enemy team while they are running away and focused on your Übered teamates. Overall, the Freelance Scout is the best at picking key classes, and flanking the enemy team.

See also

• Scout weapons (competitive)
• Capping (competitive)
• Scout
• Classes (competitive)
• Standard competitive lineup