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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Because hand cannons have the same range as scouts. Crazy huh? :-(
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Got the scholar adept last night will be using that bad boy soon
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Edited by InverseCloud: 7/13/2015 8:28:31 AMI havent always used them in the crucible but recently due to my prediction of the meta change I've been practicing. -The dead shot luna is amazing it is very much like the old auto rifles i remember. -The mida is an amazing counter sniper paired with a medium rof shot gun you are very much a force to be seen. -The scholar may be a bit slow for some of the more medium engagement maps but still very powerful. -Zero point is a really good gun to run honestly I've been leveling mine and noticing good promise. If the exotic hand canons get the nerf hammer like the auto rifles did i can see a lot of the pvp focused players switching to avoid that fit the VOC style. From what I've read scouts fit in typings of high rof like the dead shot luna, to mid rof like the VOC/zero point, to low like the scholar. They all have lots of uses and can be the better choice in many situations.
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Mida is my go to weapon in pvp and pve
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I use them depending on the map. I switch between that and pulse rifles. CQC maps- bad juju or red death Long range maps- VoC
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They will be useless as long as hand cannons can outgun them at ridiculous ranges.
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23> Body damage maybe 40 Headshot damage. Way to low with that low RoF
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Because most maps are catered to close quarters engagements.
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Because HC are OP right now
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I use them ..i have over 9000+ kills with them check my stats
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Yep, I tried using SR in crucible, unless you surprise them then you pretty much can't kill anyone. Slow rate of fire means most of the time you are outgunned at med range.
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Just finished a flawless card with the MIDA. Love this gun.
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Have a ghelon's demise with full auto and crowd control Has better stats than word of crota + full auto ;)
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Most of the maps are too small for scout rifles. They are definitely not underpowered though.
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Instead of my usual TLW/Sniper combo i used my adept scholar and a shotgun and it worked unbelievably well. Had to adjust my playstyle to suit it but once i got used to it, it really wrecked. 3 shot headshot and the range and accuracy is immense so i would say 7/8 times out of 10, the snipers on widows court didnt have a chance. Used this strat on my invis bladedancer and flanked with my matador and it carried me flawless twice without using mercy both times. All in all, scholar is my new go to pvp weapon.
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Maps.
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I have a Zero Point LOTP that I rolled for Full Auto. Solid weapon.
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MIDA and RDM for life!
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Because they require a f*uck tonne of skill
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Mida and Ghaleon are my go to weapons.
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I use the scholar, cause I still need like 400 more kills to get to 10k and so I can receive my 5 of grimoire xd
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I feel Scout rifle take more time to kill. Handguns can kill quicker and auto rifle are useless, pulse rifles can be deadly from afar. But that's just my opinion there still are some legendary slayers out there that will whoop your ass with Scout rifles.
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I do great with the VoC
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The problem is that Scout Rifles are supposed to dominate at long range! But Hand Cannons do that! We need to nerf the range on Hand Cannons to the ground!!!
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The problem is that Scout Rifles are supposed to dominate at long range! But Hand Cannons do that! We need to nerf the range on Hand Cannons to the ground!!!
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It's not that hard to camp with a scout rifle.. I wish they were better. Me personally, I love hawkmoon. I'm a hand cannon, really a sniper. But I love the skilled weapons such as hand cannons and scout rifles in previous fps games. Auto rifles are cool, but the easiest to use. They would overrun crucible, although I do wish they had a slight buff to be relevant. One thing cod has over destiny is that you see a bigger variety of guns.