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 manueverability, you can easily dispose of him.

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 constantly report his location to teammates.
Health	The Scout is very frail and can be killed in just a few good shots.
Speed	The Scout is extremely fast and can double jump, so carefully predict his movements to ensure your attacks hit, particularly when using projectile weapons. If he is airborne, wait until he exhausts his double jump before trying to land airshots. His maneuverability allows him to easily chase 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 at long range. Thus, he must put himself in danger and actively enter combat to have any chance at killing enemies.

Weapons

Main article: Scout weapons

Primary weapons

Weapon	Anti-Scout strategy
Scattergun / Festive Scattergun	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 may take while trading blows. It takes a considerably long time for a Scout to reload his Scattergun; if he uses most or all of his six shots, keep pressuring him into firing so that he cannot fully reload.
Force-A-Nature	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 in close combat, pick him off during his frequent reloading periods. The Force-A-Nature's knock back effects let a Scout easily reposition or disorient you for a follow-up shot, so avoid lingering near walls where you can quickly be cornered or hazards that you can be blasted into.
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.
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, so beware. You’ll need to quickly eliminate a Scout with a full Hype charge, as his speed ensures that you won’t be able to escape from his Mini-Crits.
Baby Face's Blaster	The Baby Face's Blaster is more accurate than the Scattergun, allowing the Scout to fight more effectively at medium to close range. However, it suffers from a damage penalty and takes as long as the Scattergun to reload. Dealing damage will allow a Scout to build up Boost, significantly increasing his speed until he jumps. With no Boost, the Scout runs considerably slower. Force him to jump, or try to predict his movements if he insists on staying grounded. Try to pick off the Scout as he leaves his respawn area, where he is at his slowest.

Secondary weapons

Weapon	Anti-Scout strategy
Pistol / Lugermorph	While the Scout might use his Pistol to harass you from a distance, its damage is minor and its ammunition pool is meager. Keep a distance from him to take advantage of his weak long range capabilities.
Bonk! Atomic Punch	Bonk! Atomic Punch is designed to help 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 or using knock back.
Crit-a-Cola	While Crit-a-Cola will allow a Scout to deal Mini-Crits to you, you can deal Mini-Crits right back at him. He’ll often consume it when preparing for an ambush, so stay alert and pick him off first.
Mad Milk	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, you’ll either need to retreat or take him out very quickly.
Winger	The Winger functions similarly to the Pistol and should be treated the same way; keep a distance so it can only deal minor damage.
Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol	In combat, the Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol functions similarly to the Pistol, but is overall weaker. It increases the Scout's maximum health and makes him immune to fall damage, allowing him to safely descend from higher elevations. Look out for attacks from above.
Flying Guillotine	A Scout can pair the Sandman with this weapon to deal critical hits that can kill low-health classes in addition to the bleeding that can take care of the remaining classes but the Heavy. This can prove deadly to your team.

Melee weapons

Weapon	Anti-Scout strategy
Bat / Saxxy / Conscientious Objector / Festive Bat / Frying Pan / Freedom Staff / Bat Outta Hell	A Scout that insists on using the Bat can easily deal more damage at close range with any of his primary weapons, actually giving you a slight advantage in melee combat so long as you keep your aim steady.
Sandman	If you are stunned by the Sandman's baseball, retreat towards your teammates so that they can protect you. Keep your aim on the Scout so that you can immediately retaliate once the effect wears off. Utilize cover, and keep moving to avoid getting hit by the Sandman's stun ball from long distances; if struck by one from a far enough range, you will be stunned in place for 7 seconds. Without teammates to protect you, you are effectively helpless for this duration.
Holy Mackerel / Unarmed Combat	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. Spies should be wary of using the Dead Ringer when hit by the Holy Mackerel; it will show a hit, not a death, in the kill feed, which can compromise their cover.
Candy Cane	A Scout who has the Candy Cane in his loadout is 25% more vulnerable to explosions; use rockets, grenades, and/or bombs to dispatch him quickly. Try to steal the small health kits dropped by teammates that the Scout aided in killing while having the Candy Cane in his loadout.
Boston Basher / Three-Rune Blade	Continuously 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 unusual locations; however, this will often cost the Scout half his health, making retaliation against him easier.
Sun-on-a-Stick	The Sun-on-a-Stick does less base damage than the standard Bat. If you are set on fire, you should always be trying to extinguish yourself, retreating from and/or repelling any Scout that may try to pick you off with this weapon.
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 accordingly and try to move to where your teammates are so they can help. A Scout may use the Fan O'War to identify which enemy his team should focus fire on; take cover or retreat until the mark wears off, preferrably while having teammates cover you for the duration.
Atomizer	While a Scout might never use the Atomizer in actual combat, the triple jump greatly increases his mobility. Performing the third jump costs 10 HP, however, which can expedite killing him. Beware of ambushes from Scouts who use the Atomizer and the Force-A-Nature together; the combination allows them to reach even greater heights.
Wrap Assassin	While a Scout might not use the Wrap Assassin in direct combat, the projectile it launches can inflict the bleed effect on you. Bleeding can be negated by any source of healing.

Item set effects

Main article: Item sets

Set	Anti-Scout strategy
The Special Delivery	This item set increases the Scout's survivability, particularly in large firefights. A Scout using this set is best keeping a moderate distance, where he can readily harass enemies with both the Shortstop and Mad Milk. He is restricted to only using the Shortstop as a strong source of damage, so close the distance, where he may find it more difficult to hit you.

See also

• Double jumping
• Team strategy