Hello and welcome, miner! My name is Mira, I am a veteran miner with many hours of experience under my belt and Scout is my main and favorite class. This is my first ever guide on steam, I apologise in advance for any formatting errors and mistakes with editing. My goal with this guide is to help new recruits to master the basics so they can also enjoy my favorite class in Deep Rock Galactic, The Scout!

The Scout is an incredibly useful class. You are the most mobile of all classes, your weapons pack a decent punch and you are the only class in the game that carries IFGs, a special grenade that slows down Glyphids to a crawl while also increasing the damage they take (If you have it upgraded). Its usefulness is undeniable.

So how to play this class, you ask? Experience is the best teacher, but I hope to help shorten this path. First things first, when you first start the game your weapon and upgrade options will be limited; that's fine, the starting weapons are great to get a good understanding of the class. As you level up, more options will be available, and the class can shine even brighter. Let's look at the weapons you'll have at your disposal.

• Deepcore GK2
  Your starting weapon, a decent assault rifle with decent firepower. Good ammo capacity but better with upgrades. Good range, too. I prefer the other weapon, but sometimes I go back to this one. As with all weapons, you should always aim for the fleshy spots of the glyphids both for maximum damage and to conserve ammo. This is a good all around weapon and perfect for beginners. However, most of this weapon's upgrades are pretty bad (in my opinion), and its performance falls off considerably in haz 4 and 5. It's damage is very low and the worst offender for those difficulties.
  
  
• Jury-Rigged Boomstick
  Your starting secondary weapon. The boomstick is simply amazing. It one-shots most glyphids if you hit the weak points at close range. Needless to say, don't try to use this at long range, but you still deal decent damage at medium range. The ammo capacity is a bit lackluster and can run out quickly, but if you manage it right, it's the best secondary weapon for the Scout in my opinion. "Fear the Boomstick" is a great crowd control perk.
  
  
• M1000 Classic
  It's a Garand rifle, with great damage and potential, but requires skill and good aim to use properly. It one-shots almost all glyphids if you hit the weak spot, and if it doesn't, then it two-shots them. You should always aim for the weak spot whenever possible, as this weapon doesn't carry much ammo at all and it's very easy to run out. My favorite weapon and one I use in almost every mission.
  
  
• Zhukov Nuk17
  Your other choice for secondary weapon. A dual submachine gun with fast rate of fire and runs out of ammo incredibly quickly if you're not careful. It's also not very accurate so don't try to shoot at things that are far away. This weapon has great damage (more than the assault rifle primary weapon) and is a good choice just as the boomstick is, I'd say it's up to preference.
  
  
• IFGs
  The Scout's grenade. After a brief delay, it creates a static electric field in an area for a few seconds, which slows down all ghyphids nearby and increases the damage they take if you buy its upgrade (Damage increase seems to be bugged at the moment? Needs verification. In the upgrade window it says 0% increase despite having the upgrade). This grenade is incredibly useful during waves as it gives your team a lot of breathing room to move around, kill glyphids and revive anyone if needed. You are the only class with this grenade, never forget to use the IFG.
  
  
• Flare Gun
  The Scout's support weapon. When fired, as the name suggests, it shoots a flare that sticks to any surface, creating bright light that illuminates a big area around it. Another very useful tool that helps your squad tremendously. Whenever you see a large pitch black area, use this on the ceiling, unless it is way,and I mean way too high up, then shoot a pillar or wall nearby. It also helps to spot cave leeches on the ceiling. Whenever you are fighting a wave, shoot this closeby so your team can see the incoming enemies better. Your team will appreciate it, even if they don't say anything.
  
  
• Grappling Gun
  The reason The Scout is the most mobile class in the game. When fired, it pulls you to whatever surface fired upon, allowing you to traverse the terrain quickly and effectively. It has a good range, too, with upgrades. This tool is very useful in all situatons, from mining to kiting enemies and surviving waves. A well known combo is with the engineer's platform gun, that creates a platform under minerals on the walls for you to grapple to and mine.

As the scout, your job is more about supporting your team in all aspects of the mission, from combat to mining and traversing the dark caves of Hoxxes IV safely. At the start of a mission I always like to fire the flare gun at the ceiling or wall at least once to light up the starting area so your team can spot any incoming waves that can happen as soon as you leave the drop pod (Happens mostly at high difficulties), and to spot any minerals lying around.

After the starting area is all mined and clear, you will most likely have to dig through dirt to move to the next area (Unless it's a point extraction mission). Use your regular flares (Default F key) to light up corridors and save your flare gun ammo for bigger, dark areas, as if you use it all the time you will run out of ammo quickly. It's important to know when to use it and when not to. Try to find your balance. However, it's also important to never forget to use it. I have played with several other scouts that never used their flare gun and it was always to hard to see things in the dark caves whenever I played other classes. Remember, your team needs you!

If you have an engineer in your team, he'll most likely shoot platforms under minerals for you to grapple to and mine safely. Try to coordinate with him so your mission can be a lot easier. If there is no engineer on your team, then getting those minerals on the walls can be a bit trickier, but sometimes you can try to cheese it and grapple above the minerals so you can land on them.

Combat

As The Scout you don't quite pack as much firepower as the gunner, but that's ok. While the gunner is busy dealing with the majority of the wave, your job as The Scout is to kill priority targets. I can't emphasize this enough. The Scout works best on the move. This means using your grappling gun to move around and support your team from a distance, not staying with them the whole time. Throw an IFG on your team to help them then grapple away to another safe area so your team has less glyphids chasing them. From this safe area, use the short window of time you'll have to snipe priority enemies, such as the Web Spitter, or the much more dangerous Acid Spitter then either grapple back to your team or another safe area away from this first one when the chasing enemies reach you. If you are using the M1000, you can kill bloat bombers and praetorians in 2 or 3 shots (depending on difficulty), something no other class can do. Remember to hit the weak spots!

Keep in mind that staying on the move doesn't mean to act reckless. There are many situations where grappling away can mean your death, and if you're too far from your team they won't be able to revive you. Sometimes the cave layout won't allow you to grapple away and in this case it may be better to just stay around your team and keep an eye for those pesky spitters (Normally the ceiling or walls). Remember that it's ok to make mistakes. As you play, you'll develop your game sense and do better. Try to judge the situation to determine when you should do what. I recommend using the "Iron Will" perk so you have enough time to grapple back to your team for a quick revive in case something bad happens and you start to go down.

This game is about teamwork. Dig together or dig your own grave. Contrary to what many people may think, the scout is not a lone wolf, and he requires his team to support him, just as his team needs him for support. If someone goes down away from the team or in tricky areas to reach, you are the best one to revive them. Throw an IFG if necessary then use your "Fear the Boomstick" or "Precision Terror" weapon perks to scare away nearby glyphids for a much safer revive. The "Field Medic" perk helps a lot.

This is it, mission complete. You're all running back to the escape pod when suddenly you hear a familiar "Dwarf down!". One of your teammates got caught. This is more of a personal opinion, but I never leave anyone behind, even if it costs the whole mission. The gunner's shield is the best tool for a safe revive, but if that's not an option, the above strategy works wonders in a pinch.

"Don't leave me here!" This line breaks my heart every time. Work with your team so everyone can make it back safely. You are all brother in arms and should care for the other's safety. Use all the tools at your disposal.

Leave no dwarf behind!

This is the first one I write, ever. I appreciate any and all constructive criticism. I hope this guide helped you get a better understanding of how to play The Scout! I might update it with weapon builds and a little more in-depth use of them if people so desire, but I'd say this helps get a good grasp of the class for those that are just starting out.

Thank you for reading my guide! Say hello if you ever see me playing on your team, it's always appreciated!

Together we can do it!

Rock and stone!