Feb 25, 2009, 12:45 PM
My verdict on the scout update
Force-A-Nature:
I give it a resounding "MEH." It does a tad less damage than the scattergun from close range. From medium to long range the difference in damage seems notable though I'll have to test it a little more. What obviously makes it inferior to the scatter is the reload time and knockback. I may have said this in a previous post but I don't want knockback as a scout. If I'm running up to someone to fight them point blank, I want them to stay point blank. This also means if you want to use the gun effectively, you have to fire both shots immediately or else your target is going to be too far away to take any decent damage on the second shot. Even if you get both shots on a moving target, you're still probably going to have to pistol him/her down to get the kill.
The reload time is brutal. I'd often times find myself in a position where I'm reloading and I needed to be shooting. The pistol just doesn't do it sometimes. If I stun someone with the Sandman, I need to run up to them before I shoot them to get the kill. If I were to have the scattergun out in the same situation, that kill would come much faster because I can start shooting immediately and not have to worry about wasting my shots. I also can't kill Sandman stunned heavies with the Force-A-Nature. However, I will say it's really hilarious to stun a fatty and then launch them with the FAN.
I feel like this gun can really be useful if applied in the right situations. It's great in tight tunnels where you can duck back and forth and hide when you reload. It's great in any kind of a spam war since FAN makes it hard for the enemy to advance. It's still really lacking in the damage potential department but it may just take a ton of practice to get both of those shots dead on. Regardless, unless I'm just dicking around, I'll be sticking with the scattergun; more shots, less vulnerable, and better synergy with the Sandman.
Bonk Energy Drink:
It's fun but it sucks. Bullets don't hit you but you get knocked back from them still. You can't shoot. You can't capture. You're slow as hell when it wears off. It's useful for booking ass in a bad situation, but, hey, you're a scout. You're already faster than the other classes and if you're fighting other scouts I don't think they're going to let you chug a tasty beverage. You're probably better off just shooting and maybe dying than drinking this thing anyway. Yes, you can get by sentries but I don't see how that's very useful since you're really just going to run into a bunch of dudes once you run past the gun anyway.
You might be useful as a decoy when your team is destroying a sentry. I haven't really tested it on CTF maps either, but with limited application and the FAN and Sandman begging you to keep your pistol, any scout worth his mettle is going to toss this thing.
The Sandman:
This thing is ridiculous. If you stun anyone accessible by you or your team, they'll be dead. It stuns people who are ubered. It has infinite ammo, albeit a slow recharge, and you can pick up a ball to negate the recharge. From medium range, it's enough time for a scout to get the kill. From long range, the stun lasts a huge amount of time (something like 5-7 seconds?) Yes, you have to give up the double jump to equip it which hurts your mobility, but you're trading it for what essentially is a guaranteed kill and the ability to stop kritz and ubers in their tracks. The Sandman has a permanent home in my setup.
Force-A-Nature:
I give it a resounding "MEH." It does a tad less damage than the scattergun from close range. From medium to long range the difference in damage seems notable though I'll have to test it a little more. What obviously makes it inferior to the scatter is the reload time and knockback. I may have said this in a previous post but I don't want knockback as a scout. If I'm running up to someone to fight them point blank, I want them to stay point blank. This also means if you want to use the gun effectively, you have to fire both shots immediately or else your target is going to be too far away to take any decent damage on the second shot. Even if you get both shots on a moving target, you're still probably going to have to pistol him/her down to get the kill.
The reload time is brutal. I'd often times find myself in a position where I'm reloading and I needed to be shooting. The pistol just doesn't do it sometimes. If I stun someone with the Sandman, I need to run up to them before I shoot them to get the kill. If I were to have the scattergun out in the same situation, that kill would come much faster because I can start shooting immediately and not have to worry about wasting my shots. I also can't kill Sandman stunned heavies with the Force-A-Nature. However, I will say it's really hilarious to stun a fatty and then launch them with the FAN.
I feel like this gun can really be useful if applied in the right situations. It's great in tight tunnels where you can duck back and forth and hide when you reload. It's great in any kind of a spam war since FAN makes it hard for the enemy to advance. It's still really lacking in the damage potential department but it may just take a ton of practice to get both of those shots dead on. Regardless, unless I'm just dicking around, I'll be sticking with the scattergun; more shots, less vulnerable, and better synergy with the Sandman.
Bonk Energy Drink:
It's fun but it sucks. Bullets don't hit you but you get knocked back from them still. You can't shoot. You can't capture. You're slow as hell when it wears off. It's useful for booking ass in a bad situation, but, hey, you're a scout. You're already faster than the other classes and if you're fighting other scouts I don't think they're going to let you chug a tasty beverage. You're probably better off just shooting and maybe dying than drinking this thing anyway. Yes, you can get by sentries but I don't see how that's very useful since you're really just going to run into a bunch of dudes once you run past the gun anyway.
You might be useful as a decoy when your team is destroying a sentry. I haven't really tested it on CTF maps either, but with limited application and the FAN and Sandman begging you to keep your pistol, any scout worth his mettle is going to toss this thing.
The Sandman:
This thing is ridiculous. If you stun anyone accessible by you or your team, they'll be dead. It stuns people who are ubered. It has infinite ammo, albeit a slow recharge, and you can pick up a ball to negate the recharge. From medium range, it's enough time for a scout to get the kill. From long range, the stun lasts a huge amount of time (something like 5-7 seconds?) Yes, you have to give up the double jump to equip it which hurts your mobility, but you're trading it for what essentially is a guaranteed kill and the ability to stop kritz and ubers in their tracks. The Sandman has a permanent home in my setup.
![[Image: hell-met.jpg]](http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/Big-Chief/hell-met.jpg)
