Scouting is sending a unit/units to enemy base and get information. Main purposes for scouting are:
- to know which side the enemy is playing
- to see whole base (structures, units, base tier)
- to see where the defenses are
- to see radar for using support powers
- to learn base's weak spots
Scouting units
A good unit for scouting is
- cheap (Buzzer 200$)
- fast (Attack Bike)
- versatile and can get there by the shortest way (Venom)
- stealthed (Stealth Tank)
Although, every good scouting unit is either cheap or fast. Versatile units are usually more expensive, but they are harder to take down and get information fast.
GDI
GDI's units aren't suited for scouting, but some units work well as scouts. GDI although have Radar Scan, which is the main scouting tool for GDI.
- Rifle Squad: Better than nothing. Rifle Squads can be trained instantly while Barracks has been constructed, but it lacks of speed and is a bit too pricey (300$) for its purpose.
- Pitbull: GDI's main scout unit. It is fast enough to be a scout vehicle and price isn't too bad. Detects also stealh, which is good.
- Hammerhead: This is what means "versatile". Hammerhead is all-terrain scout which has an infantry slot for garrisoning. Excellent scout, it's fast, powerful and sturdy but expensive (1500$).
Nod
Nod units' nature seems to be either fast and cheap but weak or efficient but expensive. Nod has the best scouting units because of good stealth capabilities and that Nod has many fast units.
- Militia Squad: Militia Squad is 100$ cheaper but weaker and slower than GDI Rifle Squad (which is already quite slow). Almost instantly available but it's too slow to be a proper scout.
- Attack Bike: A better version for scouting than GDI Pitbull. Attack Bike is weaker and easy to take down, but it costs only 600$ and has a lighting-fast speed.
- Shadow Team: Ah, is there any better scout than Shadow Team? Shadow Team is almost perfect scout: it's stealthed, it can fly and it can put explosives inside to the buildings (in KW it can also beacons for Specters). Shadow Teams are quite cheap to be such good scouts. Bad thing about the Shadow Teams is that they do no damage at all to the vehicles.
- Venom: Venom is like Attack Bike - weak but fast, but differences are that Venom flies and costs 300$ more than Attack Bike.
- Stealth Tank: Stealth Tank is stealthed and more powerful version of Attack Bike. It is mostly used at hit-and-run tactics, but why not as a scout. Downsides are Stealth Tank's high price and late availableness.
- Reckoner: Reckoner's scouting tactic is based on its bunker deploying ability - by loading a Reckoner with a Black Hand and a Militia Rocket Squad, sending them to enemy base and deploying to bunker state you get precious information about the base and you maybe destroy something important. This costs 2200$ (which means you can get an Avatar) but it's worth it.
Scrin
Scrin has only few usable scouting units in TW, but in KW there is the Ravager. Scrin has Tiberium Vibration Scan, which shows radar on all Tiberium Fields, but it doesn't show the base.