I bought L4D last week before it came out, and I have been enjoying the game so far.  I have finished all 4 campaigns on Advanced but have not finished any of them in Expert (oh, I’ve tried… many times).  I will definitely keep you posted if I ever do complete one of the Experts.

I have decided to start my short quick tutorials on all 9 classes of TF2.  I try to start with “the obvious” and get right down to specific tactics.  This is my take on the game and might not be the “most pro” way of playing.  I will also try to update them as time goes by when gaming styles changes.  Feel free to leave your comments.  =)

Week 1: Scout

Before I start this, remember to watch the following 2 videos first.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRSW0Y1SgoA]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j59kujK004o&feature=related]

Some of this is repetition of what he mentioned.

Scout is a speed class that has the ability to run pretty much twice as fast as the other classes.  They also capture points twice as fast.

Scout is useful in most capture maps: well (both cp and ctf), badlands, and granary.  The attack/defend maps with open spaces is also useful, such as gravelpit.  I find it extremely difficult to do much in dustbowl or parts of gold rush and parts of basinwater because of the tight spaces in certain parts of the map.  Open spaces is essential for a scout to hop around.

Many scouts are afraid of confrontation because of the “weakness” of the scout hp and scattergun.  Actually, while the hp is low on a scout, it’s extremely difficult to kill one if they don’t let you hit them. Keep moving around as the scout (duh) and you will likely dodge much more than 50% of scouts.

Flanking is probably the skill that separates me from the average player.  Each class has the ability to use flanking to a certain advantage but scout is definitely one of them. Don’t fear sentries close range.  When a sentry is mid-ranged to far-ranged from you, you shouldn’t confront it.  However, open sentries are getting less common these days because of lobbing pipes and long ranged rockets and sniper shots.  Sentries are usually build in “surprise spaces” while covering as wide of a range as possible.  (More on this when I write about engineers). Back to my point, a scout can take out a level 3 sentry with 3 scattershots. You don’t even have to be too close because the hit-box for sentries are so large. Just circle around and a sentry and fire at it 3 or 4 times and it’ll explode. After that, the engineer should be a piece of cake.

Because I am an aggressive player, I like to always “ go for it”.  This is actually quite contagious, so beware.  Once you start constantly going for the enemy, your team will follow.  At the beginning of a round on blue that requires setup, demos usually lay stickies on the ground outside the door.  One of to help your team (assuming you lack medics with ubers) is to jump out there and take one for the team.  Because of the speed on the scout and the delayed response time of most players, you will not die.  Just head back to the spawn and heal yourself and you’ve saved your team from the stickies.

Don’t’s:

Don’t give away your position too early. If your target (like a sniper) doesn’t see you from mid-ranged, and there are no other people too close, don’t fire! Wait until you are close enough so most or all of your bullets from your scattergun hits.

Don’t circle around medics and spamming E for them to heal you if there are medic kits available, just take those.

Don’t take teleporters. Your teammates need it a lot more than you do.

Don’t camp. While camping for some classes are useful (demo and pyro), scouts aren’t made for camping. If you’re squished in some small area, the other class will probably kill you before you kill them.

Bottom Line: Keep moving and think “stealth”

I will add more later when I think of more stuff; but for now, I hope this helps.