Anti-Scout strategy

“

Never send a boy to fight a man's war. Click to listen — The Soldier

”

The Scout is a very fast, maneuverable class that packs a high amount of firepower at close range, making him extremely effective in one-on-one combat. He excels in open environments, where his speed and double jump allow him to easily maneuver around a map, close long distances, and ambush the most vulnerable enemies. He can use his mobility to completely avoid damage, more than making up for his lack of health. Depending on his loadout, a Scout can bring along weapons with additional utility that help him pick off individual targets with even more ease. If you can restrict a Scout's maneuverability or keep him at range, he becomes far less of a threat.

General

Attributes	Anti-Scout strategy
Role	The Scout excels at taking alternate paths to avoid direct combat, ambushing vulnerable enemies, and accomplishing mission objectives. Keep an eye on routes he might take and report his location to teammates.
Health	The Scout is very frail and can usually be killed with two solid hits.
Speed	The Scout is extremely fast and can double jump. No class can outrun him without certain equipment, so always be prepared to fight. Carefully predict his movements to ensure your attacks hit, particularly when using projectile weapons. If he is airborne, wait until he uses his double jump before trying to land airshots. His maneuverability allows him to easily chase after any other class, but is less powerful in confined areas, where he has less room to dodge.
Power	The Scout’s weapons are devastating at close range but very weak far away. Thus, he must put himself in danger and actively enter combat to have any chance at killing enemies.

Weapon-specific

Main article: Scout weapons

Primary weapons

Weapon	Anti-Scout strategy
Scattergun + reskins	The Scattergun deals immense damage at point-blank range and will allow a Scout to stay in combat for a modest amount of time. Although he is faster than you, do your best to stay at medium range to minimize the damage you take while trading blows. It takes a considerably long time for a Scout to reload his Scattergun; if he uses most of his six shots, keep pressuring him into firing so that he cannot fully reload.
Force-A-Nature + reskins	The Force-A-Nature deals even more damage than the Scattergun up close, but must be reloaded every two shots. If the Scout insists on staying nearby, pick him off during his frequent reloading periods. The Force-A-Nature's knock back effects let a Scout easily reposition himself or disorient you by pushing you backwards for a follow-up shot, so avoid lingering near walls where you can quickly be cornered or hazards that you can be blasted into. The Force-A-Nature will also knock the Scout back if he is in mid-air. If he decides to attack while in midair, you can easily line up a counterattack.
Shortstop	The Shortstop has a tight bullet spread suited for medium range. By closing the distance, the Scout may find it more difficult to hit you. When the Scout has his Shortstop as his active weapon, he suffers extra vulnerability to knockback. Options to deal with him now include juggling him into the air or pushing him into an environmental hazard. The Shortstop has a damageless “shove,” which deals medium knockback at melee range. If you choose to approach the Scout, don't position yourself near an environmental hazard, such as a cliffside or sawblade.
Soda Popper	Like the Force-A-Nature, the Soda Popper must frequently be reloaded, which will often leave the Scout vulnerable. However, the Soda Popper reloads much faster, allowing the Scout to keep firing. The Soda Popper deals only as much damage as the Scattergun. The Soda Popper fires 50% faster; its second shots will fire almost immediately after the first. Avoid being hit by both shots by making a slight movement or changing direction after the first attack. You’ll need to quickly eliminate the Scout before he gains a full Hype charge, which gives him five mid-air jumps (for a total of six jumps) and make him nearly impossible to hit mid-air.
Baby Face's Blaster	The Baby Face's Blaster only holds 4 rounds per clip, giving it less raw offensive power. As the Scout deals damage, his movement speed will increase. It would be wise to lead him with your shots, even with hitscan weapons. Reduce the Scout's boost by dealing chip damage and forcing him to double jump. Each point of damage you land on the Scout will drain 4% of his boost - even a weak hit will slow him down to his base speed.
Back Scatter	The Back Scatter only holds 4 rounds per clip, giving it less raw offensive power. Back Scatter Scouts will tend to take alternate routes in order to catch you off-guard. Check your back often. Since the Back Scatter deals mini-crits from behind, try to keep facing the Scout to make sure he can't get behind you. The Back Scatter is 20% less accurate than the Scattergun, so keeping a distance will force the Scout to stay closer to you, allowing you to deal more damage to him.

Secondary weapons

Weapon	Anti-Scout strategy
Pistol + reskins	While the Scout might use the Pistol to harass you from a distance, its damage is minor and its ammunition pool is meager. Keep your distance to take advantage of his weak long range capabilities. Scouts will tend to use the Pistol to finish you off after firing all their Scattergun shots. Try not to take too much damage in the first place, as it is very difficult to dodge all twelve shots.
Bonk! Atomic Punch + reskins	Bonk! Atomic Punch helps a Scout get past dangerous areas, such as chokepoints or Sentry Gun nests. He can’t fight while under its effects, so impede his movement by body blocking him or using knock back. Absorbing damage under the effect of Bonk! Atomic Punch will greatly slow down the Scout for 5 seconds once the effect wears off. Attack him while he’s invulnerable to prevent him from escaping when his invulnerability ends - two solid hits will slow him to half-speed and allow you to easily kill him.
Crit-a-Cola	Although the Scout will deal guaranteed mini-crits, he will be Marked-For-Death for 5 seconds every time he fires a shot. Use this to retaliate against his attacks.
Mad Milk + reskins	The healing provided by Mad Milk will let an accurate Scout stay in a fight for a prolonged period of time. If you’re covered by it, prevent him from healing by putting more effort into dodging his attacks. Scout can use Mad Milk to extinguish fire. As a Pyro, you can force the Scout to waste it by harassing him with a flare gun.
Winger	The Winger functions similarly to the Pistol and should be treated the same way; keep at a distance so it can only deal minor damage. This gun also gives the Scout a +25% bonus jump height when active, so be prepared to cover additional routes he can take.
Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol	The Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol fires faster and grants health-on-hit, but has a smaller clip size. If the Scout resorts to using this, his health may be low. Try to put more pressure on him - the healing the gun provides is barely enough to tide him over until he reaches a health pack - it won’t save him from a solid hit.
Flying Guillotine	The Flying Guillotine is ideal for picking off weakened targets but recharges relatively slowly - every five seconds. Move erratically so that the Scout misses. Long-distance hits reduce the Guillotine's recharge time. Do your best to avoid getting hit.

Melee weapons

Weapon	Anti-Scout strategy
Bat + reskins	A Scout that insists on using the Bat could easily deal more damage at close range with any of his primary weapons, actually giving you a slight advantage in melee combat if you can keep your aim steady.
Sandman	Keep moving to avoid getting hit by the Sandman's stun ball. Being hit will slow you down, and the duration of the slow increases with range. If you are struck by the Sandman's baseball, retreat towards your teammates so that they can protect you. Keep your aim on the Scout as he may go in for close combat. The Sandman reduces the Scout's health by 15, making killing him significantly easier - a point-blank rocket attack can instantly kill him.
Holy Mackerel + reskins	The Holy Mackerel functions similarly to the Bat but announces each hit in the kill feed. Hit announcements can be used to determine the whereabouts of a Scout. Dead Ringer Spies should be wary of the Holy Mackerel, as the hit announcements can give away the fact that they used the Ringer to escape.
Candy Cane	A Scout who causes health packs to drop from your dead teammates has the Candy Cane in his loadout. He is 25% more vulnerable to explosions, so a direct hit from a rocket or grenade will kill often him instantly. Try to steal the small health kits dropped by teammates that the Scout killed, preventing him from using the benefit of the weapon.
Boston Basher + reskins	Evade a Scout that is attacking you with the Boston Basher so that he damages himself instead. A creative Scout might use the weapon's negative attribute to propel himself to high locations at the cost of a significant amount of health.
Sun-on-a-Stick	The Sun-on-a-Stick does increased damage to burning enemies. If you are set on fire, you should be try to extinguish yourself and killing any Scout trying to take advantage of the weapon’s benefit. The Sun-on-a-Stick grants a passive 25% resistance against fire damage. A burning Scout may deploy it to reduce damage, though this prevents him from attacking as he retreats.
Fan O'War	If you are marked for death by the Fan O’War, the Scout will likely try to chase you down with his primary weapon. Adjust your one-on-one tactics to his chosen weapon and try to move to your teammates for help. A Scout may use the Fan O'War to identify which enemy his team should focus fire on; take cover until the mark wears off if there are too many enemies.
Atomizer	While a Scout will rarely use the Atomizer in actual combat, the triple jump greatly increases his mobility. Take note of any alternate routes he may take. The Atomizer can also mini-crit while airborne. This doesn’t deal much bonus damage, though - deal with the Scout as if he were fighting with the stock Bat. Scouts can only triple-jump once they deploy the Atomizer. The Atomizer deploys slower, preventing the Scout from using it in combat. If he deploys it while in combat, he may be planning to retreat. Beware of ambushes from Scouts who combine the Atomizer with the Winger - they may appear from unexpected places.
Wrap Assassin	While a Scout will rarely use the Wrap Assassin as a melee weapon, the projectile it launches can inflict the bleed effect on you. Bleeding can be negated by any source of healing.

See also

• Double jumping
• Team strategy