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Over the long period of time that Team Fortress 2 has been out, there hasn’t exactly been a lack of guides to the game. Hundreds of people have tried their hand at explaining the nuances of each map of class, either by a complex wall of text or badly edited Youtube video. Even Ubercharged itself has dipped its feet into the realm of education, and only recently have we had guides to such things as how to be a good Demoman, or how to battle as the Medic. So, perhaps corrupted by the sheer mass of all this information, I want to get in on the action. Thus I present to you my guide on what is perhaps my favourite class – The Scout. After reading this you’ll be batting in heads and double jumping like the best of them! Or painfully dying 10 seconds into every respawn, but it’s not my fault if I can’t make you not be rubbish…

Know every tiny bit of every map

Now, map knowledge is important for any game and any class, but when you take into account the Scout’s increased agility and double jump ability, this knowledge takes on a whole new level. And no, I’m not talking about running across the roof of the bridge on 2Fort, or jumping into the raised area by the attacking spawn on Gravel Pit… Although they are useful techniques. No, I’m talking about using pallets of wood that look like simple map decoration to jump onto the raised area at the end of Dustbowl stage 2. I’m talking about jumping on the thin window ledge to get on the balcony of Well’s second point. Make what seems inaccessible before into something you commonly use again and again. Fool your foes by popping up in locations via methods they’d never consider. Perhaps even get accused of hacking due to your awesome skill and get booted off the server! Just make sure you do it! The exploration of the map, that is, not the hacking…

Always act erratically

Try saying that with a mouthful of crisps. I did, it’s rather difficult. This is a piece of advice that seems pretty obvious, but I always find it odd that many people don’t do it, thinking they can run head-first at you. But it’s not that hard to hit a target that is, in a way, standing still. It is hard to hit a target, however, which is bouncing all over the place and changing direction at completely random intervals. You see, it’s not erratic if you change direction every 2 seconds and create a little zig-zag, because any player worth their salt will just see what you’re doing and kill you anyway. No, I’m talking about strafing to the left, but then to the right, but only for a second… They think you’re changing direction, and in reality you’re just acting like a crab with a very specific goal in mind. Don’t forget that your double jump can allow confusion as you hop over your target (Or for extra points, on top of their head) or do my personal favourite and stop dead for an instant… After all, no-one expects a battling Scout to stop moving. Just make sure you do actually move in the end, because this does have a tendency to backfire…

Always try to attack from behind

It’s true that perhaps the rule “Attack from behind” is one that should apply to every class and not just mainly on the Spy and Pyro, because you obviously stand a better chance in a fight if the other person is unaware and not raining down explosive bullet hell on you. Still, it’s a rule that applies more to the Scout due to his main weakness of having low maximum health. It’s all well and good trying to fool your foes, but if you try and act clever when you’re in plain view of an angry Heavy you’re probably still going to end up picking lead out of your face. I also think that perhaps you have an advantage over the Pyro and Spy when doing this – If it all goes wrong, you don’t have to worry about your slow speed or the lack of a cloak, and can simply leg it before the opposing team can react properly. Your increased speed also means you can attack from behind a bigger number of times, and that’s always fun.

Forget the preconceptions of the Scout

Most people enter into playing the Scout on the basis he’s the best person for capturing intelligence or points. They run head first into the fight, thinking they can dance around on the point and then gloat about their victory before anyone gets there. In reality, you’re most likely to run towards a point and get ripped to shreds by a sentry. But then again, the Scout’s weakness against sentries is also a dangerous belief to have… Sure, it’s true there are better classes to take them out. But I’ve edged around many a corner and/or scuttled from cover to cover as the sentry tries to lock on, and as a result of this I’ve had times where I’ve taken down even level 3 sentries on my own. I’ve yet to do a fancy circle-strafe around a level one sentry to take it out, but hey, maybe you could. In reality, the Scout is a harassment tool – A class that can annoy and hinder all the others if played well. Heck, I don’t even try to capture the intelligence on 2Fort, I just lurk on the bridge and drop down to surprise eager attackers. Don’t play it how you’ve heard it should be played – Play it the way it actually should be played.

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