I can never get enough Scouts. I would level up 5 scout officers, and chop 4 Pathfinders if I could manage to find that many. I usually only end up with 3-4 of each, and I am happy to get them. The Scout is the most versatile soldier on the battlefield. They are great shooters that can also throw battle scanners, holo-target enemies, and run overwatches. Scouts are great, but also likely to be killed. To help keep my Scouts alive, I try not to use Lightning Reflexes unless it is an emergency, and I don’t take the very powerful, but also very dangerous, Concealment ability.
Holo-Targeting
Ranger
Battle Scanner
Hit & Run
Bring ‘Em On
Vital Point Targeting
Holo-Targeting
I always take this ability on my Scout and haven’t considered doing otherwise in quite some time. +10 aim goes a long way toward closing the gap between probable hit, and definite hit, and is useful throughout the campaign. Even more valuable once the Scout gains Hit & Run at Tech Sgt. rank, and is thus able to holo-target 2 enemies a turn.
Alternatives: Damn Good Ground or Lone Wolf
Damn Good Ground is ok, but with elevation, your Scout already has +20 aim. I generally prefer those abilities that help my soldiers when they are in a bad situation, or better yet, in every situation.
Lone Wolf is tricky to use. It is one more thing to worry about when positioning your soldiers, which is already complicated enough. This ability encourages you to spread out your squad, which is often dangerous. Usually I am most in need of bonus aim when fighting numerous enemies, which means my guys are probably clustered together in a cloud of smoke.
Ranger
Its only +1 damage but that is pretty great. It will often mean the difference between killing an enemy in one shot, instead of needing two. This is a must grab ability if you plan to take Hit & Run at Tech Sgt. rank, which is how I build my Scouts.
Alternatives: Low Profile or Dead Eye
Low Profile is a good ability because there is never enough cover for all your soldiers. Someone needs to take the half-cover. Still, I tend to keep my Scouts out of range with a Marksman’s Scope, and also field SHIVs and MECs which draw most of the fire.
Dead Eye is a great ability. You should have at least one soldier with Dead Eye. For me that is the Sniper. I also rely heavily on my Rocketeers for dealing with flying enemies.
Battle Scanner
Battle scanners are quite useful in many tricky situations. During battles they allow soldiers with squadsight to target enemies that are beyond visual range, and help locate dangerous aliens that are running around loose. Any pod that is spotted with a battle scanner will continue to be tracked until it is activated. On terror missions you can use battle scanners to get eyes on pods of enemies which keeps them from killing civilians. On the alien base assault, battle scanners are extremely useful in handling itchy trigger tentacle. One potential drawback is that sometimes they will backfire, and activate a pod. This only seems to happen when the battle scanner lands directly on an alien or very close to it. So be careful of that.
Alternatives: Flush and Aggression
Flush is a neat tool that can solve a few problems, and is worth considering on you Gunner builds.
Aggression is great on Hit & Run Scouts as exposed enemies will already be easy to crit, and Aggression will make it near guaranteed. On the other hand, exposed enemies are already pretty easy to kill.
Hit & Run
With Hit & Run a Scout will frequently get 2 shots per turn, which is fantastic. An added benefit is that Hit & Run grants another action, which greatly increases their action economy. In practice this means the Scout can move and then shoot twice, whereas an Infantry can only shoot twice. A few caveats: Hit & Run is incompatible with Lock & Load and does not work on flyers. It also may not work on inactive enemies, though I am not 100% sure of that.
Alternatives: In The Zone or Concealment
In The Zone is an awesome ability, and you should get it on your Sniper or Jaeger. It is far better to pair ITZ with Hit & Run, rather than having 2 soldiers with ITZ, as it conflicts with itself.
Concealment is another awesome ability, but a little too dangerous for me, especially given that I use officer Scouts. This is an ability that must be used cautiously, or not at all. The primary risk is that flanking the Scout will break Concealment, and numerous enemy types will run right at your squad. Instead I use motion trackers and battle scanners, which are not nearly as good as Concealment, but much safer.
Bring ‘Em On
Bring ‘Em On is a great ability that works really well on Scouts with Hit & Run as they will be targeting exposed enemies.
Alternatives: Tactical Sense On or Sprinter
Tactical Sense is a great defensive abilities, that usually doesn’t matter as MECs will draw most of the fire. It makes even less sense when your Scout is going to equip the Marksman’s Scope which mine do. Still, I never want to lose a high ranking officer, as they are very hard to replace. I sometimes take TacSense when I am short on officer scouts, to help them survive.
Sprinter is the skill to grab on Concealment Scouts. Otherwise its not a good choice.
Vital Point Targeting
+2 damage is pretty great. Scouts with Hit & Run will be shooting twice most rounds as well.
Alternatives: Extra Conditioning or Smoke & Mirrors
Extra Conditioning is a defensive ability on a soldier that shouldn’t be drawing much fire. Its good but not great. It would be worth considering when I am short on officer scouts, to help them survive.
Smoke & Mirrors doesn’t really make sense here.
Very interesting.
Was just thinking to build all my scouts on ITZ and the snipers on double - just the other way round.
Tho ITZ Snipers are awesome. Yet ITZ Scouts also. Probably better (and safer) the way you do it. ITZ Scouts - especially with Shotguns - are ridicullous, but also very risky. Hit&Run is kinda "safe".
-I like Sprinter (never can have enough movement) and also Low Profile very much, yet I agree: the DMG perks are in the end more effective. Sprinter tends to get you into trouble. If you go Marksmanscope no Low Pro needed.
-Still think Scouts need -Opportunist- possibility. Maybe I'll crank that in. Since Snipers in Long War can't interrupt.
-Not too keen on Holo. Like it more on Gunners whith double tab (+Executioner, Hyper-pupils).
Think I'll rework the Scout tree a little. Put Ranger in 1st tier so I can have a Low Pro/ Ranger Scout and put Opportunist in there somehow.
Extra Cond also grants +1 mob and +4 aim, just saying. Not purely defensive.
Thanks for the guide tho, I know I'm horribly late with my comments ... :-)