Scouts are the most utilitarian ship in the game. They explore the map, monitor enemy movements, deploy sensor probes, and most importantly they are the only ship that can carry the nanite repair system.

At the beginning of every game, Scouts play an essential role in detecting alephs, asteroids and enemy presence. Should they run in an unescorted constructor or miner they should be able to destroy it alone if it's still early in the game. They must also support the constructors that are going in unsecured territory using their Nanite Repair System, along with other escort ships.

All game long, it is mandatory to have deployed probes to see the enemy's movements. Whether it is for spotting incoming threats, constructors or miners, probes are the eyes of the team. An unprobed sector can often result in being surprised by a full bomber run. Scouts, along with their probes, spy on the enemy, detect their stations, ships, including their utility ships, thus allowing for assaults on all of those while preventing surprise attacks.

Later in the game, scouts play a key role in supporting bombers as they travel in deeper space and enemy territory. Stations are always heavily defended, and Nans are often what makes the difference between success and failure. A team that always has quality Nans standing by usually wins. Nans are also used during heavy troop transport assaults to repair it as it captures the station. Nans are also essential in saving miners under attack.

Scouts are used in teleport probe assaults, as they are the ones deploying the probe which is central to the assault.

The number one priority of ANY scout pilot at the start of a match is finding alephs, and quickly find the enemy home sector.



Scouting The Map

Few things are as important as efficient, proper scouting for alephs, enemy bases and technology. Commander rely up on their opening scouts to locate strategically advantageous sectors as soon as possible, meaning you will need to know the best way to discover alephs.


Finding Alephs: You begin the game as a scout and exit base. Your commander will order you to a specific sector where you will begin your mission.

Upon entering the unscouted sector, press F3 and work from 3rd person view. Depending on the map, the sector may have 2-4 alephs hiding to find - you will eventually remember how many per sector as you gain experience on different maps, and you can always ask your commander how many there are.

In our example, there are going to be 2 undiscovered alephs we must find. The best rule of thumb is to remember that alephs are separated in geometrical shapes. 3 alephs in one sector will make a triangle, four will make a large square with only one aleph being in a quadrant of the sector at a time.

Initially upon entering the sector, in F3, look for large gaps between groups of asteroids - alephs are given a buffer from asteroids, which will result in their placement within the large empty pocks between asteroids. Right click on the map for those gaps and watch as the alephs appear. Talented players can even find alephs with an int using this deductive logic.


Low-sig Scouting:

If you are either a) seeking to get behind enemy lines or b) trying to avoid enemy ships in general, then you will need to learn low-sig scouting.

As previously covered, lowering your signature will make it more difficult for enemy scanners to find you. To lower your signature, make sure you have two empty slots in your cargo, then unload your shields and missles. As you approach the aleph to the unscouted sector, slow down so that immediately upon entering you can turn to fly toward the edge of the map, rather than bursting through the aleph toward the center of the map where the enemy is.

With your low-sig scout, skirt around the edge of the map occasionally turning the front of your scout to the middle of the sector. Remember, your front scanners are the most powerful, thus turning your ship to the middle of the sector will give you the best scan range.

Low-sig scouting is incredibly effective for miner o as the enemy likely won't realize you are tailing their miners, let alone sneaking up to attack one. Additionally, in squadgames, some commanders will send a low-sig scout to sit in the enemy's home sector or mining sector for the sole purpose of gathering intel. While not a glamorous job, the commander will rely heavily upon that scout to stay alive and provide timely reports.

These are some of the very basics - some call scouts the swiss-army knives of Allegiance, and with good reason! They serve a large variety of functions and can be true gamechangers. As a newer player who may not yet have great aim, get experience scouting as a foundation for your situational awareness.

Here is a video detailing finding alephs, and other general tips.