Playing as a scout in Battlefield games can lead your team to either hate you or love you. Let's focus on the latter outcome with these gameplay tips and ideal loadouts!
Scout class basics
There are a few things every prospective scout should know before playing this class.
Know the sweet spot of every rifle
Every single-shot rifle in the game has a sweet spot where a hit above the waist is a one-shot kill.
If you hover your cursor over a rifle in the customization menu, you'll see a chart pop up that shows you where the sweet spot is. Where the line reaches the top is the distance you'll do the most damage, measured in meters.
To get a sense of distances in the game, take a look at objectives while you're on the field. There is always a number noted. Play around with this until you get a good idea of how far away you like to play, and choose a suitable rifle.
Use flare guns to spot
One of the scout's most important duties is spotting enemies. This helps mortars find their targets, and it also helps infantry come up with a plan of attack. Use your flare gun with spotting ability to reveal enemies; just shoot it into the air, and anyone close will show up on the minimap.
Use K bullets to your advantage
These armor-piercing rounds are not very effective at completely blowing up a tank, but they sure can be annoying to someone who is trying to repair their vehicle. Say your team is focusing fire on light armor and it retreats in order to repair. As a scout, you can continue plinking away, causing damage that must be repaired, as your team catches up to finally disable the tank.
Set traps
If you're in a great spot that has few entrances, don't forget to put up a high-explosive tripwire bomb behind you — not too close, or you'll suffer the same fate as the enemy who trips it. Tripwire bombs can be picked back up and reused if unexploded. Take advantage of this when switching positions.
They are also available in incendiary and gas variants, so set other traps for the enemy. If you know the enemy will soon arrive at a chokepoint on the map, set a gas or incendiary trap to cause panic as they advance.
Relocate
Due to your lack of powerful close-quarters weaponry, you must take a different approach to playing. Due to the current lack of hardcore mode, the soldier you just killed will be able to see where you are located. For this reason, it's always smart to switch positions between kills. Don't go overboard — if there are multiple targets in front of you, do your best to take them out. If you kill someone and see a lull in the action, you can expect that soldier to relay your position to teammates. Relocate, kill again, and move on.
Consider throwing up a sniper decoy in the spot where you just were. Anyone who shoots at the sniper decoy will automatically be spotted, and you'll even be able to see a red outline of their entire body no matter where they are on the battlefield.
Play smart
If you're a veteran of the Battlefield series, you've probably been in a game where your team is trying desperately to take a final objective while ten friendly snipers sit in the hills contributing diddly-squat. While the scout class is a needed addition to the team, pay close attention to scores and times — if the round is soon coming to an end and your team is close to taking an objective, consider helping them out with a different play-style or different class entirely.
Scout class ideal loadouts
There are plenty of rifles and gadgets available to the scout — choosing the correct combination for the way you play will make an enormous difference to your team and to the scoreboard.
Aggressive trapper
Running around in the thick of things, setting traps and causing havoc can be a ton of fun, especially on maps with chokepoints and not much open room for scopes.
Rifle: The SMLE MKIII Carbine has a 10-round magazine and the best hip-fire rating of all its variants. It also has a close range for its sweet spot, as well as a glass optic. Remove the bayonet for a quicker aim-down-sight (ADS) reaction.
Pistol: The Mars Automatic holds 11 rounds and does more damage than almost all other pistols in the game. For close combat, this is your best option.
Gadgets: Take any variant of a tripwire bomb, and also take the flare gun with a flash cartridge. This will blind enemies, who then won't be able to see your trap!
Grenade: Smoke grenades will be your best choice as you are trying to cause as much havoc possible in a single spot.
Overlord
If you play with an especially tight-knit group, your squad will likely want one of you to play as a sort of director. You sit back, spot enemies, predict counter-attacks or flanks, and pick off stragglers.
Rifle: Gewehr 98 Sniper. Long range, fast projectile speed, and a bipod make this your best option.
Pistol: You'll probably only need your pistol for close encounters, so the Mars Automatic is your best bet.
Gadgets: Take the flare gun with a spotting projectile for when enemies are bunched together. You can also take the sniper shield to protect against counter-sniping, or you can grab the K bullet to help your team remove armor from the battlefield.
Grenade: Smoke grenades will help you get away if you start getting fired at.
Lone wolf
Defending a conquest objective by yourself can be a ton of fun, especially when the objective is set back from the others and has an open-field approach. This also frees up the rest of your team to focus on other objectives.
Rifle: Take whatever you're most comfortable with, as you probably won't have much backup. Something that can be used for long- and close-range combat is ideal. I personally love the Russian 1895 Infantry for this type of role.
Pistol: Use whatever you're most comfortable with. When you get surrounded, you want to be able to do the most damage possible.
Gadgets: The sniper decoy will be your best friend. Pop up a few fake heads here and there to make it seem like you have backup and to spot anyone looking at it. A high-explosive tripwire bomb will also ensure no one sneaks up behind you.
Grenade: Use gas grenades to cut off access points and to cut off enemy soldiers' use of gun sights. You're already hard to hit; why not make it harder?
How do you play?
What's your go-to loadout for the scout class? How do you play with this loadout? Tell us in the comments section below!
