Team Fortress 2/Scout

The Scout is the fastest and most agile class in Team Fortress 2. They have low health to compensate. Scouts are most effective in maps with few chokepoints, like Fastlane or Badlands. They can also be effective defenders in maps with wide open spaces like Gravelpit or some parts of Dustbowl.
 * Health: 125
 * Speed: 133%
 * Type: Offense
 * Special Ability: Double Jump, captures points two times faster than other classes

Weapons
The scout is well suited for hit'n'run attacks. He can stay in combat for some time if needed, but it's not advisable.

Primary Weapons

 * Scattergun - Clip Size: 6 - Reserve Ammo: 32 - Reloads one at a time.

The scattergun is like a shotgun only with a wider spread, so it doesn't do a lot of damage at long range. It has a slow reload, so when your clip runs out, either run away or change weapons. In close combat, the scattergun is lethal, killing your target in a few shots. This, however, also puts the Scout in danger.

Secondary Weapons

 * Secondary Weapon: Pistol - Clip Size: 12 - Reserve Ammo: 36

The Pistol deals less damage than the scattergun but is more accurate. Because it reloads much faster than the scattergun, it is an effective backup weapon and finisher. Although it is better than the scattergun at long range, neither of the scout's weapons do much damage at a distance, so you're normally better off just closing in.

Melee Weapons

 * Melee Weapon: Baseball Bat

The Scout's bat does less damage than other melee weapons, averaging around 40 damage per hit and 105 damage on a critical hit, however, it attacks nearly twice as fast as other melee weapons.

Using the Scout
The Scout's speed is his main advantage, so especially with capturing missions he can reach the control point fastest. On most 2-way CP maps Scout rushes work extremely well attacking-wise if you can get there before the enemy. Even if you die before taking the middle point, you will slow them down a fair bit.

Learning to aim at speed as well as controlling the Scout's airborne movement is also important, so that you can land point-blank blasts with your scattergun without being in enemy fire for too long. Jumping over the heads of players is a good tactic, but most of the time you can outrun any pursuers and circle around them. The Scout double-jump ability also allows them to exploit paths that are unavailable to any other class, such as running across roofs or the tops of large objects, putting them largely out of harm's way.

The Scout's low health means that he can't take much punishment before he dies, and because of his speed he quickly becomes a target for anybody nearby, and even his speed can't outrun enemy fire. In particular one Pyro ambush with a flamethrower spells almost certain doom for a Scout unless they are very close to a health pack or water. It's a good idea to stick behind cover as much as possible as a Scout, and always keep something solid between you and the enemy.

Defeating Scouts
Scouts have low health, so good aim with any high-damage weapon such as a Soldier's rocket launcher or the Heavy's minigun will quickly dispose of a Scout, as will about a second or two of exposure to the Pyro's flamethrower. Ambushes are often the only way that you can land a hit on a Scout with the short-range flamethrower, but even a small lick of fire will continue to eat away at the Scout, often leaving them with little health, or even killing them. The Scout's scattergun has a slightly greater potentially-lethal range than that of the flamethrower, but the Pyro has more health. Demoman can be good against a scout if they have sticky bombs set. Heavies are good if not taken by surprise.

Sentries are also effective against Scouts, because unlike players they have perfect since aim, and can kill a Scout on full health in next to no time, especially upgraded ones. Failing that, use another Scout; if they have good aim and can surprise them, they can deal a lot of damage and leave the weakened Scout for disposal by someone else.