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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Nice emblem <3
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Team MIDA right here :D
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The scholar is deadly in the right hands
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I wish gheleons demise had a bit more fire rate.
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All I use are scouts, and hand cannons, Gheleons Demise, The Scholar
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I got the mida from my first vog run (way before any DLC) and just started using it, and it destroys
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Saw a YouTube video where this guy used his mida/sniper on shores of time, blinking to create distance between, got 40+ kills. Was really good to see. I've always loved my Multi Tool. Also I love my nl shadow too.
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Tl:DR Cause thorn
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Scout Rifles aren't seen all that much in PVP due to exotic hand cannons being so OP/broken. Also many maps don't favour mid-long range gun play.
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Got scholar this week My favourite new pvp weapon
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Maps aren't big enough to justify them really. Mida works well because it shoots so fast. I have seen people use them a lot in combined arms playlist though since that has the big maps.
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The mida is fun to use
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I have a full auto Shadow NL I use. Occasionally I amy use the Mida, but not very often.
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I have a Gheleons Demise that I re-rolled with: Red Dot OAS, or Quickdraw IS Full Auto Hand Laid Stock or High Caliber Rounds or Armor Piercing Rounds Third Eye Unfortunately I still find that I get out shot by the exotic hand cannons.
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I have a perfect roll on my gheleons demise. Check out my titan. The problem is that thorn has more rate of fire [b]and[/b] burning, while also having all the other benefits of thorn. I love using gheleons, but scouts just can't compete with hand cannons on almost all of destiny maps. But I've had some great moments of wrecking hand cannoners with scouts. I also have the SUROS-scout roll that you had talked about.
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Wait wait scout rifles are only ahead of sidearms? So wait there are more people using auto rifles than scout rifles? Are you sure about that....
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Scout rifles are my favorite weapon class in the game in both pvp and pve
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I love scout rifles, but most maps are not ideal for them. Mid to long range encounters are where they excellent, so I find myself camping around the same spots to rack up the kills. Widows court is probably the most action heavy scout rifle map. Shores of time is Ok too. Otherwise, it's hand cannons all the way for ttk.
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I use a scout rifle and it is called thorn.
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The answer to this is simple hand cannons range is way way to high
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I almost always run scout rifles on PvE. For PvP, I prefer pulse rifles, autos, and hand cannons.
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Why use scout rifles when you can use thorn and hawk moon that has the same range as them and takes less bullets to kill
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I like vision/MIDA. My first 365
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TTK and close quarters.
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I've been using Mida Multitools in trials... This week in wrecking with it. (Because of the map)
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I use MIDA all the time. I have bounced between using Hawkmoon, Vex, Thorn and settled on MIDA. I will fully admit I run with MIDA and a Rangefinder Matador for in tight, but if possible I prefer to fight from a distance with MIDA staggering the Thorn using bastards.