Scouts and Grenades

[hissrad]

Would it be possible to add a grenade ability or something similar? Going through Trench Warfare and my Scouts are getting overwhelmed by the cultists. I've gotten past it but....grenades would be handy.

[Cory Trese]

Not in our plans. Perhaps not use so many scouts on that level?

[hissrad]

That's what I do, its just.....my Scouts don't get a lot of use. On Brutal it seems like they're dropping like flies. Probably gonna stop using them for this play through....at least for a bit.

[Cory Trese]

Depends on your play style I think. I use them on lots of levels, even on Ironman.

[hissrad]

Do you actually scout with them or treat them more like soldiers? Mine don't seem to do well scouting.

They are useful, the debuffs alone make me want to use them but...I seem to have better luck swapping them out for a Neptune/Hydra or a defensive Paladin. I'm still dragging one scout on every mission so I'll figure it out eventually.

[fallen]

hissrad - using them as fore-runners and vanguards generally. But it all depends on the Talents you are buying in with, and especially for Scouts, your Skill allocation. If you aren't using Stealth, don't expect results.

[bookworm21]

In my non-melee only playthrough I always take a crippling fire needler scout in the rearguard to slow down pursuers. I imagine it would pair well with berserks

[redartrats]

When I first started playing BF, I found scouts very useful with their Crippling Fire skill for slowing down enemies.

Nowadays, however, I find that Headshot is even better. My scouts max out to Headshot 10, then wear high crit% equipment and pump lots of points into Tactics and Focus. With this combo, they can crit every other shot, and high Focus give very high damage to their shots. Then I use them as snipers to take out annoying ranged xeno like spitters and lancers before they get close enough to shoot at me.

It's also possible to respec my scouts to do "real scouting": max out Stealth, then max out Overdrive and Null Field. Any remaining points can go into either Headshot (for taking out specific targets) or Crippling Fire (slow down any pursuers). Couple this with Captain's Pressing Need and Soldiers' Rallying Charge just before the scout sets off, and you can go really fast (esp. if you also invest in +MP equipment). Once deep in enemy territory, Null Field hides you from their eyes (but make sure to still keep at least 2-3 squares' distance from enemy units, otherwise some scitterings might still sniff you out).

Depending on the level, you may or may not need both Overdrive and Null Field. For example, in Narvidian Outer Hull, I usually deploy two scouts, one with both Overdrive 10 and Null Field 10, for hitting the pillers on the far S and far NE, and the other with only Overdrive 10 for running SE towards the entrance into the belly of the beast. I plan it such that my squad is also entering the central spawning area when the 2nd scout is passing through, to draw attention away from him. Since my 2nd scout is generally lower-level than my main scout, I compromise by not maxing out Null Field -- if the main squad draws enough attention, he usually doesn't even encounter any enemy units until already at the final two pillars. In the meantime, my 1st scout goes under cover of Null Field 10 to hit the NE pillar to open the final bulkhead at the same time the 2nd scout is heading to the bulkhead itself. Using this technique I can generally finish the level in about 60%-75% of the target number of moves.

Using scouts effectively is all about careful allocation of stat points, talent points, and equipment points.  You have to plan your strategy ahead of time and spec accordingly.   I find that the highest-level scout leviathan may not always be best for the job -- it adds stealth points but has poor deflection / armor; to be on the safe side I generally stick with lower-level high-deflection, high-armor leviathans, and just use respec to push more points into stealth.   Also, be extra careful where your scout ends his move; having lower armor in general means he's very squishy, so make sure to always run past dangerous places like spawn points where a xeno hunter may suddenly appear and take down your scout; never end your move in such places.

[fallen]

redartrats - great post, big +1! Love your strategies, that sounds like the perfect set of sniper or scout setups. Great wisdom.

[drspendlove]

I kept thinking a special grenade to aid in perceived stealth level would be neat for Scouts but then I'd have to put points into grenades for scouts when I don't have enough points for Gunnery, Stealth and Tactics as it is. So grenades for scouts seems like it would either have to be overwhelmingly over-powered or maintain too high of an opportunity cost to be worth the investment.