Scout Side: Freedom Guard Type: Infantry Movement Type: Foot Ground Weapon: None Anti-Air Weapon: None Range: N/A Damage: N/A Hit Points: 66 Sight Range: 12 Movement Speed: Fast Cost: 300 Requirements: Training Facility Built At: Training Facility

The Scout serves as the eyes of the Freedom Guard war machine, bearing no armaments and relying on camouflage to avoid detection by the enemy.

Scouting

Scouts can morph by using the “Morph” button on the “Special” sidebar, or select the Scout and press i. Target a tree, bush, or rock to turn into that terrain feature. Scouts can only emulate certain types of terrain; watch the cursor to find a valid target.

Enemies will not automatically fire on a stationary Scout that is morphed. However, if an armed foe sees the Scout move, the illusion is broken and he will happily open fire. Should your Scout come under attack, try to flee outside the sight range of the enemy and then stop (press the s key). This should be sufficient to cut off the assault provided you did indeed get out of their line of sight. Scouts are fairly fast, so they can outrun most units.

Watch out for wandering trees!

Because of this, Scouts are best used in situations where they can remain motionless. Park morphed Scouts around the map at strategic locations to keep an eye on your enemies’ movements. Be sure to keep them off to the side of the beaten path so that a tank or a Shredder doesn’t wander by and accidentally flatten them. Also, look for high ground which may grant the Scout a better vantage point as well as protection from tanks and other vehicles that cannot scale cliffs.

Scouts make excellent spotters for Hellstorm Artillery. Put your potential target just at the edge of the sight range of the Scout and then bomb away. Remember that your Scout cannot be seen moving or she will be attacked; however, the Scout’s sight range is longer than that of most other units in the game, so if your foe is just at the edge of the Scout’s vision, in most cases the Scout is still safely outside the sight of the enemy.

Ironically, a Scout’s camouflage can work against you as much as it does your enemies, in that it can sometimes be difficult for you to find your own Scouts. One solution is to hotkey all of your Scouts to a specific number key, then when you need to find one, hit the hotkey to highlight all of them in rectangular boxes.

Countering

Obviously, keep an eye out for trees and rocks that move. If you suspect a Scout is around, you can use the Attack command (found at the top of the screen) to instruct a unit to shoot at the ground. This will hit a Scout that is hidden there if you target the correct location. This is even easier if you use for this a unit that deals splash damage, such as Hellstorm Artillery. In most cases it’s only necessary to hit a hidden Scout once in order to uncover her, because usually the Scout will automatically flee as soon as she takes damage, thereby revealing herself for any of your units nearby to pursue.