Basic Scout strategy

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What have we learned? I always win! Click to listen — The Scout

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The Scout is the fastest and arguably the most mobile class in the game. Although frail, his speed and ability to double jump allow him to easily access alternate routes on many maps, making him extremely unpredictable and effective at ambushing. He counts as two players when capturing Control Points or pushing Payload carts, making him ideal for completing mission objectives quickly. When fighting, his high damage output and mobility make him one of the best classes in one-on-one combat. Because his health points are so low, the Scout relies on completely avoiding damage to survive; for example, his double jump lets him escape knock back and fall damage. To maximize damage dealt and minimize damage taken, a good Scout tends to weave around the outskirts of a battlefield, picking off important enemy targets. Weaponry that can slow or track players, such as Natascha or a Sentry Gun, are deadly to the Scout.

Primary Weapons

When fighting, don't rely on your mouse alone to track foes. Use your movement to keep the opponent centered on your screen, firing whenever your cross-hairs and opponent match up. This allows you to focus on moving efficiently and erratically, making you harder to hit, while at the same time making your aim smoother and more accurate via prediction.

Scattergun

At close range, your Scattergun can kill most classes in just a few shots. It is your best weapon for prolonged combat due to its reasonable magazine size and high damage output. The Scattergun's bullet spread is very wide, so switch to your Pistol for enemies that are far away.

Force-A-Nature

The Force-A-Nature deals heavy burst damage but must be reloaded often, making it best used as a hit-and-run weapon. Equip your Pistol when using the Force-A-Nature so that you always have a weapon to fire. You can use the Force-A-Nature's knock back on you or your target; an enemy launched into the air makes for an easy kill, while the self-inflicted knock back allows you to Force jump to even more unpredictable locations.

Shortstop

The Shortstop is a cross between the Shotgun and Pistol. While it deals less damage than your other primary weapons, its narrow bullet spread makes it reliable at longer ranges. The Shortstop reloads very quickly, allowing you to continuously fire shots. However, the Shortstop draws from the same ammunition as the Pistol; use a different secondary weapon to conserve ammunition.

Soda Popper

The Soda Popper is very similar to the Force-A-Nature, except without the knockback. Playing similar to the way you would using the Force-A-Nature should also work with the Soda Popper. Also, you build up Hype as you move with the Soda Popper out, and once your Hype meter is full, you will immediately begin to unleash Mini-crits for 8 seconds. Strategize your building up Hype so that you can unleash Mini-crits in an area with a lot of enemies, rather than in an area where there aren't any. Also, once hype is active, it is not exclusive to the Soda Popper. Switch to your Pistol or Bat to deal Mini-crits that way as well.

Secondary Weapons

Pistol / Lugermorph

The Pistol is a backup weapon, primarily used for finishing off wounded targets. It reloads much more quickly than any of your primary weapons and can be used to harass enemies or retreat. At longer ranges, use the Pistol to deal consistent damage.

Bonk! Atomic Punch

Bonk! Atomic Punch is a situational utility item that can be used to dodge or draw enemy fire. For example, you can use it to distract Sentry Guns, retreat safely, bait Demomen into detonating their sticky traps, or block chokepoints.

Crit-a-Cola

Crit-a-Cola is an item that rewards you for taking risks. You should drink it only before an ambush or to harass enemies at range with your Shortstop. The boost provided by Crit-a-Cola will not stack with the effects of other items such as the Buff Banner, Soda Popper, Fan O'war or Jarate.

Mad Milk

Mad Milk is a defensive item that makes fighting bulky classes easier. The healing provided will help you and your teammates tank any damage taken. It can be used to extinguish teammates as well as reveal cloaked Spies.

Winger

The increased damage compared to the Pistol makes the Winger more effective at picking off weak opponents. However, with a much smaller clip, you must be accurate with your shots. Also, when coupled with the Soda Popper's Mini-crits, it can be quite useful in finishing enemies if the Soda Popper didn't kill them.

Melee Weapons

Bat / Saxxy

Because you already deal so much damage at close range, you should only use the Bat when out of loaded ammunition. While it swings rapidly, it deals less damage than other melee weapons.

Sandman

Use the Sandman's ball to stun targets before moving in for the kill. It moves as an arced projectile, so lead your foe accordingly. Focus on stunning the dangerous foes, such as Heavies.

Holy Mackerel

The Holy Mackerel functions identically to the bat but announces each hit in the kill feed. A hit that triggers a Spy's feign death will appear as a hit, not a kill, allowing you to track down a Spy using the Dead Ringer.

Candy Cane

You don't need to use the Candy Cane itself to land the finishing blow on an enemy to have a health pack drop. Rather, any kill or assist you make will cause your victims to drop health packs, which can be used to heal teammates as they fight at the front lines. However, the increased vulnerability to explosive damage means that a direct hit from a rocket or grenade is now capable of killing you in just one hit. A Spy who uses the Dead Ringer to trigger a feign death will not drop a health pack.

Boston Basher / Three-Rune Blade

Be precise; swinging this weapon around wildly will kill you very quickly. You can use the self-damage to help a Medic fill his ÜberCharge meter and the bleed effect to track down Cloaked Spies, particularly those using the Dead Ringer. Damaging yourself will inflict a small amount of self-knockback that can be used as an additional jump in order to reach higher areas, albeit at the cost of a significant portion of health.

This weapon is very useful for flanking opponents: Hit them then jump over their head while shooting them is a great way to fight enemies with high health.

Sun-on-a-Stick

Never equip this weapon if there are no Pyros on your team. Against ignited foes, it will deal as much damage as the Scattergun at point blank range. However, both you and the Pyro excel in close range combat and can often finish off an enemy without the help of an ally. As a result, you might not be able to utilize this combo frequently. In Medieval mode, teaming up with a Pyro using the Sharpened Volcano Fragment can be very effective.

Fan O'War

The Fan O'War is best used on unaware opponents as it allows you to get a quick health advantage on them. A good strategy against most enemies is the tag them in the back with the Fan and them jump away while switching to the scattergun to finish them off on enemies with higher health jump then strafe.

Atomizer

The Atomizer lessens the Bat's already minimal damage, along with giving it a much slower swing time. The triple jump it allows also deals 10 damage to you for every time it's used. However, the weapon doesn't need to be active to allow the triple jump. If you plan on taking it into battle, use the bat itself as a finisher, and the triple jump as a method to escape others. Also, if used with the Force-A-Nature, you can now get a quadruple jump by using your three jumps then Force jumping.

Item sets

The Special Delivery

While the set bonus increases your survivability, the required loadout reduces your overall firepower, especially at close range.