Scout Rifles are currently the second-least used weapon type, ahead of only Sidearms that have been in that game for ~7 weeks, as opposed to just over 10 months. What I want to know is: why? They answer several problems and complaints that people seem to have at the moment
Snipers OP - Scout Rifles are the only weapons that can actually compete with Snipers at long range reliably, so why are they not used?
Thorn needs a range nerf - see above
Auto Rifle buff - Some of the high RoF Scout Rifles can be rolled with Full Auto to provide a weapon that fires faster than a Focus Fire Auto Rifle of the SUROS Impact/RoF denomination, while also dealing more damage and having more range, so why not use them? Good examples are the Deadshot Luna and the NL Shadow. Makeshift AR right there.
Thorn/TLW are broken with 2-shots - High impact Scout Rifles can score 3-hit kills that no one can complain about, hell, The Scholar can 2-shot. If you're looking for a counter, try MIDA Multi-Tool, the hidden talent of High-Calibre rounds and the speedy movements it allows for turn you into a someone that screams "You can't beat what you can't hit"
If you were to ask me (here we go, yet another opinion), I think the reason behind their disuse is the abuse of Shotguns. I shan't lie, there is no worse weapon to be caught using than a Scout Rifle if a Shotgun comes round the corner, ready to blow your head off. I'd be very interested to know anyone else's reasons and thoughts on the matter.
Perhaps, if nothing is going to be nerfed, a slight Scout Rifle buff is in order? The last one was in October and has shown no signs of increased usage
Edit 1: It's great to have found a plethora of Scout Rifle users like myself, and I've thoroughly enjoyed reading and debating the points raised here. For now, I'm going to sleep, so will be unable to reply to any of you for the next few hours (rest assured, I shall do my best to get back to you ASAP). Thank you all very much for keeping this post as active as it has been!
Edit 2: The answer I have been given many times now is "Why use them when Hand Cannons are available?". This is exactly the problem the Crucible faces at the moment. A Scout Rifle requires precision and nerve, but Exotic Hand Cannons can be put to stellar use by just about anyone, so there is no incentive to not use them - the bad players use them in hopes of raising their K/D by using something overpowered, and the good players use them so they don't fall behind to everyone else using the same weapons. Someone I used to be friends with, and now despise, has a K/D of 3.97 and 41942 kills with The Last Word, almost double the kills I have in Crucible full stop. From what I understand, he's ranked the 11th best player in the world (according to DestinyTracker). Combine those kind of stats with the sheer numbers of people using TLW/Thorn, it amazes me that this has gone on for so long.
Edit 3: Seriously, massive thanks to everyone who has kept this in the "Trending" section for the last 15-16 hours, stoking the fire of debate with each new point raised. I owe you all one :D
Edit 4: Out of curiosity, I'm wondering who has seen Datto's video that complains about the current state of Crucible ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHenCd2BWNQ for those of you who are interested and yet to see it). It sums up pretty much every non-Scout Rifle related thing I could say, and unlike myself, he's a big enough personality in the community to cause a change
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I use my 365 fang in crucible
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I rock my Vision of Confluence in PvP I love it.
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I used to be one of those people who used Thorn constantly. (A little ashamed of that, if I'm being honest.) then I switched to VoC in crucible. It's my new go-to crucible gun
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because scout rifles are for long range. all crucible maps are close quarters. not the weapon balancing fault, it's the map designers.
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I use the ship outta Mida when I play crucible. I'll even choose that over my Truth for the exotic I want to use. I honestly see no problem with people using whatever weps they want though....even Thorn.
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Because hawkmoon.
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Edited by SmilyYellowFace: 7/13/2015 3:35:28 AMCause they aren't the most effective at anything. They have bad TTKs, and the range advantage they provide is a boon on very few maps, and on those maps, in very few circumstances. They are, quite frankly, outclassed entirely by hand cannons and pulse rifles.
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Because the map rotation now encourage close - mid range engagement with confined area , try playing combined arm for a change, lots of open area and big map is encouraging more precision shot at longer range The reason maybe big map like first light, bastion is not popular maybe because we barely get into action coz of small team player, people like to get into action more when playing competitive, make it 8/10 ppl per team and maybe we get much more fun playing those map Learn from battlefield, 24 v 24 for 5 capture point or 12 v 12 for 3 capture point and you see action everywhere
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I have my most kills with scout rifles. Too many shottys though. Even though I'm guilty of that
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Because you can't quick swap between different primary weapons, only primary vs special Scouts are too niche to warrant locking down you weapon slot Now, if we could equip say, scout and auto? Or scout and HC? Usage might go up
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I use VoC in crucible
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I ascended B-line trauma. That thing is a BEAST.
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Because they require skill
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Map size, no maps aside from the combined arms maps are ideal for scouts, sad I love them
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Nah, can compete with snipers with pulse rifles too.
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Between Thorn range and sniper range, scout rifles only get about maybe 2 feet of space where there superior to both
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They are not the answer to snipers because snipers are great at long mid abd close range. They shoot slower than hand canons and have less impact. I think they need buffed with auto rifles. Mida is the only ok option
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Ttk... that is all
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I'm actually really good with them. I play differently with them. It's so easy to kill anyone at mid to long distances.
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The maps are too small
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I use VoC regularly.
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I use the MIDA Multi Tool all the time. As a Titan, my defense is practically maxed, recovery is super high, and agility is horrendous... How do I fix this? By using the Multi Tool! It basically works to maximize your movements and reaction times as well as make up for scout rifles overall slow rates of fire with it's exotic perk! As it says it fires on a 'hair trigger' this basically means every time you click that trigger, shots will be fired... Even at long ranges the Multi Tool is a machine, blasting out kill after kill with it's superb accuracy and open scope. It's long range capabilities also condone using shotguns over snipers for those of you noobs out there ;)
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Hand cannons do the same thing at range but are better at close range. Scouts will be useful when we get big team battles in large maps.
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I liked to use VoC, but you need 3 or 4 critical hits for a kill, so it's absolutely no match against the Thorn spammers and the high impact pulse rifles. Thanks to Bungie's ridiculous nerfs, ARs, Fusion Rifles and Scout Rifles are practically extinct in PvP.
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I love MIDA but can't compete with Hand Cannons in most scenarios
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Edited by AldomanX: 7/13/2015 3:07:27 AMThorn is more reliable against snipers, said isn't it?