Recently, Scout Combat Specialty in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has sparked heated discussion, with many players believing it's currently too powerful. Here, we'd like to share our personal opinions and explain this specialty in detail. Let's get straight to the point.

How Does It Work?

First, let's start with the basics and mechanics. Scout Combat Specialty requires a combination of the red (Offense) perk and the blue (Stealth) perk; its description is a combination of offense and stealth. When you kill an enemy with a bullet, you will completely disappear from the enemy mini-map for 5 seconds. Killing another enemy during this time resets the timer.

It's actually quite simple. Even if you're using an unsuppressed weapon, once you kill an enemy, for the next 5 seconds, even if you continue firing with that unsuppressed gun, you will completely disappear from the enemy mini-map.

In most cases, this seems perfectly fine, and it's not particularly powerful. This is because it theoretically only works when the enemy doesn't have reconnaissance aircraft like UAVs; you can equip your gun with a suppressor to hide your position on radar.

However, if there are UAVs in the air, you can use Ghost Perk, which allows you to remain radar-invisible except in specific areas. This is one of the reasons why Scout Combat Specialty is controversial.

Does Scout Completely Suppress H.A.R.P. Scorestreak?

It's worth noting that Scout, when activated, can completely suppress H.A.R.P. Scorestreak.

Specifically, if you have Ghost Perk activated, and an enemy uses H.A.R.P. Scorestreak, it won't appear as a real-time directional arrow on the minimap; instead, it will appear as a frequently updating dot. In other words, even with Ghost activated, the enemy can still see them on the minimap.

This is quite normal in Call of Duty games for Scorestreaks like H.A.R.P. or SR-71 Blackbird. However, what's unusual is that if enemies have both Scout Combat Specialty and Ghost Perk activated, yet they don't appear on the minimap at all, it simply won't work.

Is The Existence Of Scout Justified?

We believe opinions on the validity of this question will obviously vary depending on how frequently H.A.R.P. is used.

This is completely understandable, because at least in my opinion, Scorestreaks have always been sacrosanct in Black Ops series. Its key feature, and the reason it's more expensive than UAVs, is that it guarantees you can see all enemies on the minimap, which always allows you to easily control the battle.

Now, Scout Combat Specialty completely prevents you from seeing enemies, meaning that even if you activate H.A.R.P. Scorestreak, you can no longer be completely certain you can see all enemies; there will always be some doubt in your mind.

Therefore, I believe the key reason Scout is so controversial is that its design largely contradicts the original intent of high-tier scorestreaks. Not to mention it's the third most expensive scorestreak in the entire BO7 series, and I believe most players wouldn't want to waste their money on a questionable mechanic.

Initially, the only way to counter H.A.R.P. was to call them in games with counter UAVs or EMPs. However, in recent years, they've started allowing players to directly shoot down HARP.

Over time, the difficulty of H.A.R.P. has been gradually reduced, but most players aren't even entirely opposed to this approach, because as long as it's not too easy to shoot down, it's acceptable for the enemy to at least have the potential to shoot it down. This is fair, because players should always have some way to counter high-difficulty scorestreaks, not just sweep everything away in CoD Black Ops 7 bot lobbies. Otherwise, you're just cannon fodder.

That said, this doesn't mean that Scout Combat Specialty completely hiding your location is supported by players. As we mentioned before, this completely contradicts the meaning of H.A.R.P.

When using H.A.R.P., you'll feel a mix of doubt and false confidence, believing you have the location of all enemies, given you've summoned the third-highest number of streaks in the game. However, due to Scout's presence, you don't actually know the location of every single enemy. This false confidence often leads to your demise.

Some players argue that Scout itself isn't deadly; it can't directly kill enemies because you still need to eliminate them yourself. It simply allows you to confidently face anything because you know you can see all enemies on the minimap.

If enemies try to shoot down your Scout, or if they happen to have a counter-UAV ready, that's okay too; you still have countermeasures and can take some action. They consider this a fair and reasonable balance. Moreover, this state only lasts for 5 seconds after a kill, and to completely suppress H.A.R.P., you must continuously kill enemies. This is undesirable in the perilous Zombie Mode.

Scout Bug

However, Scout Combat Specialty does seem to have some bugs, which is likely the main reason why many people frequently encounter this problem and have begun to hate it so much.

Many players have noticed that they are holding H.A.R.P. and are killed by players using Scout, but when they review the game replay and check the kill information, they find that the player did not kill any enemies in the past 5 seconds. Yet, they still completely avoid H.A.R.P.

In fact, many people have even noticed that players who have just spawned are completely invisible. They haven't killed any enemies recently, they just died and respawned.

We are currently unclear what triggers this bug. But in short, Scout Combat Specialty seems to be constantly on, not just briefly off for 5 seconds after a kill. In my opinion, this may make the problem more serious and more widespread. Without this bug, we probably wouldn't see so many complaints about it.

Final Thoughts

Finally, we feel that this bug must be addressed first when discussing Scout Combat Specialty. Scout should function as described: after a kill, Scout ability should last for 5 seconds, and if no further kill is achieved within 5 seconds, Scout ability should immediately expire.

Meanwhile, H.A.R.P. Scorestreak should also be taken seriously. Aside from something like Counter UAV that completely hides the minimap, I don't think anything should allow you to completely dodge H.A.R.P. attacks.

Of course, these are just my personal opinions. Do you think the current Scout Combat Specialty setup is reasonable? Do you think Scout should allow you to completely dodge an enemy wielding H.A.R.P.? See you next time!

Whether in PvP or PvE, skills in ARC Raiders are incredibly useful, but the total number of skill points is limited, and some advanced skills require a significant investment of points in the same skill tree to unlock.

With Expedition about to begin, some players will choose to reset their levels, items, and skill points from scratch. To avoid wasting skill points, you need to choose the most effective skills from the three skill trees.

Mobility Skill Tree

Mobility Skill Tree greatly enhances movement and survivability, which you'll need most during exploration. Therefore, prioritize investing in this skill tree. It's recommended to invest 16 or 17 points to gain core benefits, then move on to other skill trees. It's not recommended to invest more than 17 points in this tree to pursue high-end skills unless you have a very large number of skill points.

Priority Investing Skills

• Marathon Runner: Reduces stamina consumption for running, climbing, vaulting, and rolling.
• Youthful Lungs: It can directly increase maximum stamina, and it's the only skill in the game to provide this effect.
• Carry the Momentum: After rolling while sprinting, you can continue sprinting for a short time without consuming stamina.
• Calming Stroll: Quickly restores stamina while walking, useful for efficient map traversal or recovering stamina after taking cover.

Secondary Investment Skills

• Nimble Climber: Only slightly increases vaulting speed at level 5, usually requiring only 1 point to unlock the skill tree.
• Slip & Slide: It's only effective when sliding downhill, and even at max level, the improvement is minimal due to low usage frequency.
• Sturdy Ankles: Reduces fall damage; while useful, it's not essential and depends on how often you fall from heights.
• Effortless Roll: At level 3, it grants an extra roll. At levels 4-5, it reduces the stamina consumption per roll.
• Crawl Before You Walk: Increases crawling speed when knocked down, very useful while waiting for rescue or using Survivor Mark III.
• Vigorous Vaulter: Prevents the penalizing long animation when vaulting obstacles with zero stamina.
• Off The Wall: Increases the backward jump distance when hanging on an edge. It's useful in certain terrains, but not very practical in everyday situations.

Advanced Skills

• Vaults on Vaults on Vaults: Completely eliminates the stamina consumption of vaulting. It requires an investment of 36 points in Mobility Skill Tree to unlock.
• Vault Spring: Allows jumping at the end of a vault, maintaining momentum and covering greater distances. Also requires a 36-point prerequisite skill investment.

Survival Skill Tree

After investing in Mobility Skill Tree, it's recommended to switch to Survival Tree for better survival and logistical capabilities. Initially, invest 15 points for Suffer In Silence and Good As New, then invest more points later to unlock Security Breach.

Priority Investing Skills

• In-Round Crafting: One of the best skills in the game, allowing you to craft critical items like bandages and shield chargers directly on the map.
• Looter's Instinct: Significantly increases the reveal speed when looting items, improving efficiency and safety. It is recommended to max out at level 5.
• Looter's Luck: Has a chance to reveal twice ARC Raiders items at once when looting, with a trigger rate of approximately 25% to 33%.
• Broad Shoulders: Increases maximum carry weight by 2 points per level, comprehensively improving carry capacity in each match. A worthwhile investment in the late game.
• Traveling Tinkerer: Allows you to create traps and directly craft Raider Hatch Keys using materials found on the map.
• Security Breach: Allows you to break Security Lockers on the map; requires 36 skill points invested in Survival Skill Tree.

Secondary Investment Skills

• Agile Croucher: Increases crouching movement speed, and level 5 increases speed by 10%.
• Revitalizing Squat: Increases stamina regeneration speed while crouching to the same rate as while standing, which is useful for stealthy players.
• Silent Scavenger: Reduces the distance noise travels while looting; its practicality is limited since looting itself is not very noisy.
• Suffer In Silence: Reduces noise emitted when severely wounded; can sometimes be a lifesaver in PvP and PvE, but is not commonly used.
• Good As New: Increases stamina regeneration speed while receiving healing. Its effect is short-lived and may be occasionally useful.
• Three Deep Breaths: While it doesn't increase stamina regeneration speed, it shortens the time between running out of stamina and being able to act again.
• Stubborn Mule: Reduces the impact of being overweight on stamina recovery. Being overweight is a dangerous state, so investing too much in this is not recommended.
• Old Raider's Scraps: Has a chance to give you double the amount of items when looting, but the exact probability is unknown.
• Minesweeper: Allows you to defuse nearby bombs and mines, but since most mines in the game have proximity fuses, they detonate as soon as you get close.

Conditioning Skill Tree

Conditioning Skill Tree provides specific combat and defensive buffs. If you're not focused on PvP, you can invest in this skill tree last.

It's recommended to max out Gentle Pressure and Proficient Pryer first, then invest in Used To The Weight. Then select Unburdened Roll and A Little Extra to unlock Loaded Arms. Remaining skill points can then be invested in Fight Or Flight.

Priority Investing Skills

• Loaded Arms: Halves the weight of all equipped weapons, greatly improving carrying capacity and overall experience. Requires an initial investment of 18 points in this skill tree.
• Gentle Pressure: Reduces the sound range of breaching doors and opening crates by 4 meters per level, up to 20 meters at max level.
• Proficient Pryer: Significantly increases breaching door and crate opening speed, approximately 1/3 faster at max level than without the skill.
• Fight Or Flight: Restores a significant amount of stamina when attacked by other players.
• Unburdened Roll: After your shield breaks, the next roll does not consume stamina, extremely useful in combat.

Secondary Investment Skills

• Used To The Weight: Reduces the movement speed penalty from shields.
• Effortless Swing: Increases your maximum number of melee attacks.
• Downed But Determined: It can prolong the time it takes for you to bleed to death after being knocked down, giving you time to wait for the evacuation elevator.
• Turtle Crawl: Reduces damage taken while crawling down, occasionally a lifesaver.
• Flyswatter: Allows you to deal extra melee damage to drones at very close range, but its use is limited.

Not recommended.

• Blast Born: May reduce the hearing impairment caused by explosions, but its usefulness is minimal.
• Sky-Clearing Swing: Primarily effective only against Wasps and Hornets, possibly ineffective against Rocketeers, etc.
• A Little Extra: it has a chance of obtaining extra basic materials when breaching doors or dismantling ARC units, but requires too many skill points.
• Back On Your Feet: Only restores your health when it's around 5% and only lasts 15 seconds, making its recovery effect very poor.

The above is about ARC Raiders recommended skills from the three skill trees. The expedition will begin soon, and if you plan to reset your progress, you can allocate your skill points according to the skills listed above.