Scout
By: Diffusion

Trained since youth to be swift,
silent, and deadly, Scouts spend much of their lives deep in the wild,
apart from their brethren. After the alliance with the Beast Horde, they
learned yet more ways of the wild, and turned all their craft to defeating
the Hellbourne. Though many view them as aloof, none doubt the importance of
Scouts in the war against the daemons ,as the countless enemy corpses, dead
by a single blow, attest.

 

1. Contents

  • Contents
  • Section One
  • Introduction
  • Elements
    • Stats
    • Abilities
    • Summary
  • Gameplay
    • Skill Build
    • Item Build
    • Electric Eye Placement
    • General Gameplay
  • Section Two
    • Allies/Opponents
    • Specifics
      • Ganking
      • Pushing
    • Other Information
  • Credits
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Section One
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2. Introduction

Hello, Diffusion here. I believe I have gotten good enough to prepare a guide, which will most likely summarize a strong scout. I am aware noone likes large blocks of text in a guide, so I will be sure to put some screenshots when I get home. This guide is also meant to be played in non-em games, but can also be used in em games.
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3. Scout's Elements
  • Stats
    • Intial, Primary Attribute
    • Strength 20 (+1.7)
    • Agility 21 (+3.0)
    • Intelligence 16 (+1.4)
    • Movespeed: 315
    • Movespeed with Steamboots + Frostburn + Vanish = 522.
Scout has pretty crazy agility gain, which gives him one of highest base damages in the game. His movespeed is now unmatched thanks to a Wildsoul movespeed nerf, giving him the best treading in the game. His HP gain is mediocre as the game develops, as your HP will be pretty low compared to other agility heroes and tanks. Doesn't matter though, scout has permainvis. GG. All of Scout's skill scale to early/mid/late game because of the versatility his skills have.
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    Abilities

Vanish
  • The Scout slips into stealth mode. He is able to backstab opponents when attacking from stealth mode, dealing bonus damage.
  • Mana Cost: 30, Mana Upkeep: 2/3/4/5 per second when active.
  • Cooldown: 24/18/12/6
  • Details: Grants invisibility until deactivation. Increases movement speed by 25% and provides Unitwalking. Attacking from Vanish will toggle it off and apply a +300 attack speed buff that lasts for 4 seconds or until 1/2/3/4 attacks are performed.
  • Scout's bread and butter ability. The spell itself is better then Gondar's windwalk because you can basically stay invisible forever if you can overcome the tiny mana upkeep it requires. It also gives 300 attack speed for 4 attacks, which may allow you to kill squishy intelligence heroes instantly. (but beware, ambushing may result in their entire team popping out of nowhere and killing you while Vanish is still in cooldown.) You can use it to scout out opponents, as seen below. Try not to spam Vanish, or your original invis buff will cancel and vanish will return to cooldown. Recent update makes Runed Axe essential to overpowering the mana upkeep and keeping you invisible.

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Electric Eye
  • The Scout places an Electric Eye which provides sight in an area around the eye. Electric Eyes may be detonated to silence nearby enemies.
  • Mana Cost: 50
  • Places an eye in target position, enemies can only see it if they come in 150 range of it.
  • Cooldown: 30 seconds
  • Places an Electric Eye at target location. The eye gives vision and reveals invisible units in 800 AOE and has an unlimited lifetime. If enemy units get within a 150 radius of the Eye, it will be revealed to them. You may have 2/3/4/5 Electric Eyes active at any one time.
  • Electric Eye have a Detonate skill, which causes them to silence targets (including magic immune targets) in a 450 radius for 3 seconds, 10 second cooldown shared with all Electric Eyes. Eyes can be detonated either manually or by using a sub-skill, which Scout can use to detonate the nearest eye. This skill can be used while silenced and disabled.
  • This ability is basically free wards. They are as good as invisible if placed well, because if enemies cannot approach them, they cannot be killed. (Hilltops, cliffs, etc.) The electric eye is also an AoE silencer. Some consider it underpowered because a hero like nighthound has cloud, not taking into account that electric eye is also an information ward. Silencing opponents can turn battles into your team's favor very fast. Eyes can get you valuable information, as seen below.
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Disarm
  • The Scout's mastery of close range combat allows him to occasionally disarm an opponent, then take advantage of the opening with a devastating attack.
  • Cooldown/Manacost: None, passive ability.
  • Grants a 10/15/20/25% chance on attack to disarm your target for 1 seconds, preventing it from attacking and dealing +25/50/75/100% bonus damage. A hero cannot be Disarmed within 4 seconds of them being disarmed.
This is what makes scout devastating in one on one fights, the ability to comlpetely stop an opponent from attacking AND a powerful criticalstrike ability that helps you carry. It might even be considered the best passive ability in the game. This is another ability that makes scout a perfect late game hero.

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Marksman Shot
  • The Scout uses his crossbow to perform a devastating ranged attack on a single target unit, damaging and slowing it.
  • Mana Cost: 125/175/250
  • Cooldown: 50/40/30 seconds
  • Range: 1500/2000/2500
  • After a 2.25/1.75/1.25 second channel, deals 250 + 10/20/30% of targets maximum health in Magic damage. Applies Wounded target unit for 4 seconds. Vision must be maintained on the target during the channel time, or the cast is canceled. Wounded slows the target by 20%/30%/40%.

    This is a very versatile ability. It can be used to intiate, slow, and kill. (kill steal? ^^) It has a pretty ridiculous cooldown for an attack that deals damage in % of maximum health. The only downside is that if the targeted opponent moves out of vision range, the spell will stop channeling. Magebane blink does not stop channeling. As long as your in range, he will still fire. Predator's stone hide will reduce the damage dealt by this ability to 0, so make sure you time it perfectly.





Summary


Scout's initial abilities make him the hated hero that he is. Windwalk with nearly no upkeep after items are farmed, so it's basically nighthound, on movespeed steroids. Disarm is a very powerful ability that makes scout so dangerous in a one on one fight. When a hero is disarmed, they cannot attack, which means you can completely disable an enemy carry if disarm goes off. Electric eye is also a must-use ability. This allows scout to keep control of where tablets are (runes in DotA) and also allows scout to anti-creep-spawn his lane, by placing an eye in the trees to prevent the spawn of creeps for pulling. All these skills build into late game, making scout a strong hero throughout the game.
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4. Gameplay

Skill Build
(In order of Level)
  1. Electric Eye
  2. Vanish
  3. Vanish
  4. Disarm
  5. Vanish
  6. Marksman Shot
  7. Vanish
  8. Disarm
  9. Disarm
  10. Disarm
  11. Marksman Shot
  12. Electric Eye (Initiating combat)
  13. Electric Eye
  14. Electric Eye
  15. Stats
  16. Marksman Shot
  17. Stats
  18. Stats
  19. Stats
  20. Stats
  21. Stats
  22. Stats
  23. Stats
  24. Stats
  25. Stats
This build utilizes electric eye early. While it is totally awesome to get electric eye at level 22 and annoy your teammates, it is also awesome to get electric eye at level 1 and annoy your enemies by denying them the basic creep pull (more experienced players will know how to pull over camps). The other parts of this build are clearly self-explanatory. Electric eye level is up to you for extra scouting information around the map.
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Item Build

This is assuming you picked scout, so you will have less gold then you have in a game where you might have randomed scout.
Start Off




he startoff item build is a safe build designed to keep you alive early game. Runes of Blight will support you before you get Lifetube, Totem is to fill up space and offer attribute boost, and Logger's Hatchet is for Last Hitting. No bottle is used in this build because it requires a lot of running back to the river. In a non-em game, scout needs to gain all the xp and gold he can in his starting lane. Buy these items fast, and rush either top or bottom (top for legion, bottom for hellbourne) and place ward at river and at the standard creep pull spot (positions are in the electric eye placement section below).


Midgame (15:00)



This is where you should be at somewhere around the 15 minute mark. If you are being denied really badly, try switching lanes. With the loggers hatchet, you should be able to get sustainer, at least. Upgraded boots don't really matter until end game. Why no Bracers? Because everything you get can be bought in parts, so you might as well get your core build done ASAP. Set your steamboots on either Agi or Strength.

WHY PHASE BOOTS IS A CRAP ITEM AND SUCKS HORRIBLY ON SCOUT: Scout does not require phase boots to chase an opponent, as he already has Vanish. Steamboots can be toggled to strength to save your life, Phase boots cannot. Phase Boots also removes vanish when activated, which slows you down drastically. Steamboots also gives attack speed now. For a lower price, Steamboots is a much, much better deal. Only noobs get Phaseboots, don't be a noob.

Midgame (25:00)


This is where your powerhousing begins. With Runed Axe and Vanish, you can kill creep lanes within seconds and continue on straight to luxury items. It also provides you with the mana regeneration you need to beat the mana upkeep for Vanish, giving you permanent invisibility. When you are not in Vanish, you can spam vanish as a lane pusher because Runed axe will provide you the mana regneration to do so.


Lategame (45:00)


This is where you should be, or even more at the 45 minute length. You should be right clicking squishy heroes, playing it safe, and keeping your gold income up. If your team isn't pushing, you should be farming. If your not being pushed, you should be farming. Use Vanish to escape and be aware if opponents have wards, eyes, or dust. Frostburn is now a viable item as opposed to the previous Hack And Slash. You can get it before or after shieldbreaker, but I suggest getting it before.

WHY NOT GET LIFE STEAL?: Scout isn't designed with a tank or one that absorbs damage. His role in the game is to deal as much damage as he can and get out ASAP. Late game, with good teamplay, when he gets out, all your opponents are probably dead. There are a lot more DPS items more worthy of your item slots. You have the income to get them thanks to runed axe. The only place I would suggest lifesteal in is in a one vs one game, but this guide is focused more on the standard five on five.

Other Items


These items would be considered your luxury items. This is where you have gold but might not know where to spend it. Wingbow is the only one I'll pick out of this lineup. Its Damage bonus isn't as great, and only provides strong evasion. I believe scout is better off using savage mace or Doombringer as DPS items. The reason brutalizer isn't in the regular build is because Scout's initial attack speed and damage from Vanish should be enough to kill an opponent. Brutalizer is not necessary, but can be used if you have the gold for it. Shieldbreaker is also a great item to get on scout. Reducing armor and dealing massive damage is a great way to kill opponents. (^^ Obvious) Nullfire blade is also a great option and can be substituted in the core build in place of slash if a certain "Pest" is annoying you. (haha) It also helps with chasing if your initial flurry is unable to kill an opponent. Shrunken head is now a must in higher level games, as heroes like puppet master can completely disable your late game power. (image not shown)

Codex


WIN. You get three things in one. First off, you get the most awesome pubstomping, killjacking lazer stick in this game. Second off, you can continuously upgrade this item to make your killsteals even more secure. Third off, it has great synergy with Marksman Shot, where it acts as a followup to eliminate squishy heroes in a heartbeat. Please also note that ONLY GET THIS ITEM IF YOUR TEAM IS WINNING BY ALOT. There isn no reason to build this item if the game is close. You should be getting carry items if the game is close to ensure victory. This item is still to be bought after runed axe, as runed axe is the primary farming item for scout.
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Electric Eye Placement
Top River


Bottom River(Cut down tree with axe to get there)

Legion Creep Pull Spot - OUTDATED


Hellbourne Creep Pull spot - OUTDATED

[Screenshot]
Other Tactical Locations






General Gameplay

[LEVELS 1-7]

Most of this stuff is self-explanatory. Basically, early game you lane. If your playing legion, you should be top, if hellbourne, bottom. This works to your advantage so you can place wards and stop the opposing team from pulling creeps. Always play safe early game. Scout has relatively slow attack early game and is not a great chasing hero if you don't have boots. You should never be getting hit by towers or taking unnecessary damage.

Denying/Last Hitting: Scout's damage early game is pretty good for last hitting. With your axe, you should be able to net a couple of denies, if not all of them. This can be harder to do against a ranged hero, just pull the creeps to you by right clicking an enemy hero and then backing off.

Staying Alive: Staying alive early game will support your late game a lot. If you have enough gold to get something, I suggest you get it. This way, when you die, you lose less gold if you've already spent it.

Chasing: Early game, scout's movespeed for chasing without boots is pretty mediocre. NEVER tower dive early game, unless you know for sure you can get out with 50% of your health. The cooldown for Vanish is also significantly longer to escape after netting a kill.

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[LEVELS 8-16]

In early midgame, you should continue farming while your teammates are running around. Scout is a strong lategame hero but he takes a while to farm up his items. be patient, and make sure your getting those crucial last hits. You can also level an extra eye (3 eyes total) to have one eye to intiate a fight.

In late midgame, you should be hunting/ganking with your team. At around level 11, you should engage or finish with Marksman shot and deal huge damage with the bonuses you get from runed axe. Disabling teammates synergize great with scout, to unleash large amounts of damage while the opponent cannot move or cast. Time your silences correctly in larger team fights. Remember, you can cast silence while disabled. So in a situation where tempest is sucking everyone in and your ward is up, hit "E" asap and silence him.

Chasing: You are much faster now. Unless they have allies backing them up, chase them the crap down! Steamboots + Slash give you a permanent 522 movespeed. Most heroes without blink will not be able to outrun you.

Last Hitting: Doesn't matter once you have runed axe, nearly everything is going to die to your epic splash damage. Be sure you are still gaining income throughout this phase of the game though.

Survivability: If you attempt to run in alone into the enemy team, you could be caught dead even with Vanish on. Be sure to check if an opposing hero has purchased a bound eye to keep yourself alive.
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[LEVELS 16-25]
In lategame, you should be pushing alone with a Homecoming stone at all times. Your DPS is high enough for you to push quickly and deal damage to towers. Be aware at all times. As a scout hero, you are an important element on the team endgame. If your team is losing, a perfectly timed backdoor can turn the tide to your team. (Or.... theres no such thing as backdoor since your coming in the front xD) When you are aiming a tower, make sure your safe for a short while, then spam vanish and quickhit the tower. The faster it goes down, the quicker you get out.

Remember that scout himself is also a relatively squishy hero when left out in the open. He is weak to slows if he is unable to get Vanish off, and nukes can kill him almost instantly. Scout is always a solid pick if your good at him, no matter what rage QQers might say about him.

Supporting your team: No matter how weak you are, your electric eye silence is always strong. Be sure to detonate in range of 3+ opponent heroes. This will help your team get in safely and initiate combat.

Survivability: If you attempt to run in alone into the enemy team, you could be caught dead even with Vanish on. Be sure to check if an opposing hero has purchased a bound eye to keep yourself alive.
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Section 2
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5. Allies/Opponents

Good Allies
Disablers
Scout is a strong DPS hero and being able to completely disable an opponent for a pretty long amount of time will guarantee a death for the enemy team. These guys are the ones that make scout the high Kill/Death ratio hero Scout is.


Support



Anything keeping you alive is a good thing. Accursed has his shield and Jeri and Demented have their heals. Accursed can shield you, and you can engage. Jeriziah can shield you, and you can engage. Its pretty much self explanatory. Support heroes are the only things that give Scout players wins instead of high k/d losses.
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Bad Opponents
Slowers

Slowers are really bad for a scout being chased. If you cannot turn Vanish on, your pretty much dead. Arachna has permaslow, and her ult gives sight even if your invis. When these heroes are alone, they may seem relatively squishy, but when followed up by support, you need your teammates with you. It's all about staying alive.

Disablers

These heroes completely prevent you from moving. I don't know for sure, but this might be a bad thing. Your pretty much dead if their team can follow up. Otherwise, if you escape their grip, run like hell.

Stunners/Stoppers

Your health pool isn't exactly the biggest thing you have. (YOUR CROSSBOW IS, HAR HAR) Pestilence can use his ult and true sight you for a long period of time, Pebbles can toss and stalagmite for large amounts of damage. Legionaire can suddenly blink in, Taunt, spin a few times, then ult you. All these heroes can deal huge amounts of damage to you in short amounts of time. It's best to stay away from them to stay alive.

Tanks

Any hero you might have trouble killing on your own. Legionaire is one tough beast, he can tank you and counter with spin. Zephyr usually farms out helm of the black legion and has cyclones spinning around him. He can attack you and deal massive DPS with cyclones while tanking/returning your damage. Best to stay away from until team fights. Aramadon is one of the toughest. He can tank nukes, hits, and return large amounts of damage with spines. A very tough opponent to handle. Try getting more damage to prevent this.

Nukers


These heroes are able to kill you almost instantly early game. Stay aware incase they have bound eye, which can instadeath you if you run in to scout/engage. Silence works great, and they tend to be squishier later game. Geomanter's Bane is also a great item to confuse them with.


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Specifics

Ganking: Scout is very mobile hero, so moving to another lane should be quick. But when middle is coming to gank a hero for you, you should know what to do. You need to time your Vanish perfectly, as scout has now been nerfed to higher mana upkeep for vanish. You should run up to your opponent, drop a ward behind them, and attack them. With help from the mid hero, you or you're ally should be able to get a kill.
Disabler allies: Your ally disables an opponent after the silence wears off, this gives your more time to attack and do damage.


Slowing allies: They should slow about a second after you silence. During this time your opponent will realize he is about to die and foolishly attempt to run back, you can continue to get hits off until he runs into tower. By the time he gets to his tower, you should have determined if you can get the kill or not.



Stunners: Stuns are usually short, so the idea is to do the most damage as you can during the time an opponent is stunned. Blowing silence after the stun can help you deal more damage. (This prevents opponents from casting spells that might slow you down or stun you.)



Engaging with Marksman Shot: This is risky, depending on where your opponent is and what his reaction time might be. If he or she runs into the fog during your channeling, the gank is autofail. If they take the hit; however, your ally will be able to attack while the target is slowed and you can run after the target yourself too.
Pushing: Scout can push extremely fast with Runed Axe. But when pushing alone, you aren't helping your team. This should be done only in standstills where both teams are reluctant to do something, thinking crossing the river will simply get you ganked and killed. Scout is very fast, he can transfer lanes quickly. As I mentioned before, always carry a homecoming stone when pushing.
When your team is pushing, he is better off scouting ahead, or in the woods. Scout is squishy, and if your team is pushing, you could be caught off guard and picked off quickly. But if your scouting ahead/keeping an eye on the blind spots of your allies, you can help them pull of a successful push and possibly countergank them when they are trying to gank you.
7. Other Information


Runed Axe is an effective way of decimating creep lanes fast.





Keep Your income steady by farming when everyone is missing.



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8. Credits

Written by Diffusion, all images used are either from HonWiki or Heroesofnewerth.com. Special thanks to S2 for creating an awesome game.

Liked my guide? Nominate me for premium!

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END OF GUIDE