Infiltrator's Handbook - Scout Rifles Post GU07

[DrankTHEKoolaid]

Spent a lot of time with the scout rifles this weekend and I'm still underwhelmed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbRO6Uxqbs4

[Dragonskin]

Good overview and it pretty much confirmed what I thought looking at the stats changes on paper... they still aren't brought up enough to be useful. A side from buying the Eridani (VS) SMG instead of the Sirius... buying the Nyx is a big regret of mine.

[Koadster]

I found them better then they were but still underwhelming.

[Rasui]

I agree with pretty much everything you said. The scout rifles went from mostly useless to useable but not preferred.

[Neutral Calypso]

I find them reasonably effective at the ranges they are intended for.

I am starting to understand the proper usage for every weapon in the game, experimenting with different guns with different strengths and weaknesses.

The scout rifles exist in a peculiar kind of limbo compared to other options right now, with the automatic scout rifle being comparable to a longer ranged slower firing carbine and the semi-automatic scout rifle being comparable to a smaller mag-size battle rifle.

It really comes down to what range you are planning to snipe from.

Most people dislike the scout rifles because they don't fight as an infiltrator at the ranges they are best for. When using an infiltrator, most people are either up close and personal with an SMG or are off in the distance using a proper sniper rifle to eliminate targets.
Most players prefer different classes in that in-between place of medium-range.

To be entirely honest, I am not sure I can blame them too much. Sometimes one may prefer the mobility of a light assault or the defenses of a heavy for that range.
Then again, I also find most people don't pick the best weapons for that medium-range place either, preferring shorter range weapons and sneaking closer to the enemy rather than engaging from medium-range. So instead of, for instance, attacking with a T5 AMC or a battle rifle, they stick with something like shorter range carbine or LMG or even go all the way down to a shotgun and try to get closer to the enemy.

But eh, different strokes for different folks.

[Ruffdog]

Went for the SOAS in the pre-SMG days and liked it quite a lot, but I agree with the review: you can choose your engagement range as a cloaker and SMG is king.

I can't for the life of me understand why the silencers on SMGs and auto-scouts make the sounds frigging louder!

[Rolfski]

I disagree with your semi-auto scout vs semi-auto sniper comparison as you forgot to take one big factor into account and that is scope sway.

The lack of scope sway on the semi-auto scouts, compared with the higher fire rate, low recoil and unique compensator attachment to further the recoil even more, makes that you can do quick, deadly accurate, follow-up shots and actually have a decent chance at kiling your target at longer ranges. Something that is a lot harder to do with the semi-auto sniper and makes them merely hit marker machines. So I rather take that extra shot but actually have it land on target every day.

[ItZMuRdA]

Pretty much on point with my thoughts on them, though I have found it worthwhile to have a 3rd loadout for the semi-auto scout rifles at mid range, especially when coupled with a NS-44 Commissioner for those closer-than-desired engagements.