This build may be outdated
This build was created in a previous patch and may not perform similarly in the current patch.
by Deg4mp4 on 31/03/2023

DRAK-25 Plasma Carbine
Nishanka Boltshark X-80
Grappling Hook
Flare Gun
Light Scouting Suit
Loadout Guide
Solo haz5 escort or how to get used to not taking any damage
Skip to Gameplay Basics, you don't want to see that
As a solo player who likes to feel engaged in the gameplay by switching weapons and tools like a madlad, I couldn't help but notice the fact that scout and gunner are completely boring to play for me. It's just the thing that literally more than a half of a scout's arsenal are casual bang-bang-recovery kind of guns, even with overclocks, which you hardly ever switch for a reason. This build might not be the most effective one, but it definitely makes me happy playing scout like never before.
This builds is capable of doing 4 things I couldn't do before playing solo haz5 scout. 1 - escort. 2 - no bosco 3 - maximum 1 ammo pod per mission 4 - being able to kill a TOO big horde instead of running from it like a b for the whole game. It has crowd control, yet good single target damage which isn't overpowering all other abilities of scout like some people like to do. It's still pretty good in multiplayer with the help of nishanka and pheromones even though SBB doesn't normally work well in that scenario.
Main philosophy
"If you are taking any damage on a movement-inclined class, you are making it worthless." This is the thing I was always thinking about the scout's third weapon compared to all 3 other classes. Drills, a shield, and a platform gun are just much easier to realize in the mission. (Just being faster in terms of cave exploration doesn't seem like a real utility for me.) And it's not just about bugs; it's everything. You are the hardest one to kill no matter what the conditions, and you surely can go even further and become impossible to kill. Yet while playing Driller, I was always asking myself, "Why flee if you can just kill 'em all?" Indeed, this is the great downside of scouting in the face of crowd control, or, should I say, ammo- and time-efficient crowd control. Why be impossible to kill if your enemy is now also unkillable? Not killing a thing on Haz 5 and completing the mission are possible, but this way of doing things doesn't empathize with me. What DOES empathize with me is being able to not only have great mobility but also realize it with good crowd damage output, and this is where SBB come into play. SBB is not just an overclock; it's a trainer to make you better at playing flawlessly. It's good if you are doing things right and bad if not, and this dude really knows his job of punishing you for stupid moves, let me tell you. Its single target damage by itself is so good that it almost becomes an AoE considering how fast things die. And let me say, extra battery capacity only makes it better.
Gameplay Basics
Don't take any damage, try not to overheat, shoot things in minds. You can make a bind for singleshots to kill small targets more efficiently or maybe even get a macro with 2450 ms of shooting burst to get everything out of your drak in a moment without overheating. Small group - drak, solo praetorian - drak, warden group - just kill warden drak, trippleass, glueballs macteras - drak. Drak wasn't enough? You took damage like some greenbeard? Situation seems to be too intense to just carry it out with grappling hook and dash? Magnetic shaft on your ricochet nishanka with battle frenzy confirmed should do the trick. (+Security +Good ammo distribution +Synergy +Style) This isn't woking out still? Maybe its because where are 100+ bugs after you, dumbhead? Get your pheromones into action with chemical explosions ( +breathing room +crowd DESTRUCTION +target protection +extrastyle if you switch for bodkins to finish some remainings)
Important thing here is to know where and when using pheromones and Nishanka is appropriate.
With grenade it's kinda obvious - more than one heavy target and/or a big horde (If you have 3 grenades and you feel like restocking soon you can surely use it for something else)
With Crossbow its a bit harder because you have to find a line when you should go for battle frenzy to conserve you shields and not overuse it very much. Another thing is that you are better to use your bolts proportionally and keep their numbers in a relative equillibrium. Remember that chemical explosion can be used without pheromones! - Use it to wipe out small groups if you feel like you can do it (usually its when bugs walk in a queue or one of them is too ahead of them) without taking any damage.
Arrows switching is also really important, you should switch back to bodkins once you shoot chemicals imidiately because you expect it to reload with born ready a give you a speed boost later. These things come with experience.
Drak Damage is so great you can kill both crowds and heavy targets fast enough as long as you don't take any damage.
T1 B x0,75 heat per shot. It just appeared to be more rewarding and managable than A. Also you do want to use Drak for longer to give your Nishanka a chance to reload. RoF might go well in multiplayer since you will be only using drak to kill heavy targets because of the friendly fire
T2 B +2 damage. Even though you still can kill swarmers in one shot and grunts in 3 shots without it, it just feels nice for killing heavies and sabotage, dreadnoughts missions. Also, extra ammo in A haven't proved itself worth since Nishanka rates of consumption don't match really well in that case.
T3 B faster cooling rates. C is not working well for us since we don't want to overheat and A is just kinda useless (I feel like the accuracy is okay)
T4 A +chance to electrify. Works well with Nishanka magnetic shaft and in case you want to slow down the target. B is just for another kind of build. C which stands for armor shredding seems less effective than nishanka piercing with x1,25 multiplier
T5 B +RoF when passing 50% overheat. A just doesn't work anymore
Nishanka A weapon to support your drak when it doesn't work. Has a function of crowd mass murder.
T1 B Chemical explosions. Works as the only actual AoE for this build when bugs are in one place. Doesn't rely on duration of effect. Kills all the grunts leaving some easy-to-kill-with-bodkin targets afterwards
T2 A more damage. One shooting grunts is mandatory for bodkin as you can guess
T3 A. Who takes B wtf?
T4 A battle frenzy for kills. Super easy to perform and gives you space to regenerate your shields or preserve them, makes cave exploring even more efficient and fast
T5 B +25% to electrocuted targets. Great stuff this is... Especially when you know that you only have to shoot one electrocuted target to get multiplier for all 3 hits. A is useless with chemical explosion special. C is kinda overkill when you have battle frenzy.
Equipment Grappling hook 2113
Note: I feel like T1 A is too much and doesn't help you at all. Welcome to the gang long range GH cool kids
Flaregun 213
Note: Who cares anyway
Suit 2212
Note: T1B appears to be better at shield regeneration when you are careful even with SBB, yet C might be the actual best. T2B is good if you take sugar passive perk - you don't need shields anyway.
Grenade - Pis canister, a.k.a Pheromone canister
Note: A great tool to get the tension down and get some multikills with berzerker and chemical explosions. Obviously, it helps you to take no damage
Perks Recomended:
Berzerker - even more crowd control, fast mining, fast mactera kills, big rock spider bonkbonk
Dash - I don't like this one but I have to use it because of my skill issue
Born ready - Easy acceleration anytime you feel in danger Optional:
Sugar passive - this is really hard to use at times but sometimes it's worth it.
Resupplier - good for escort since you'll need to use pheromones as much as you can