The Scout armor, more commonly referred to as light armor or light, is the smallest, fastest, and least durable armor in Tribes 2. It is also by far the most versatile armor and can be used for almost any task. Even though it is the least durable armor, this vulnerability proves not to be a significant drawback when compared with the massive benefit of being able to move much faster than the other armors.
Dueling
When it comes to dueling, the armor you are using is nowhere near as important as what weapons/pack you are using - and neither is more important than the dueling tactics you employ. As a result, it's not really correct to say that any armor has an advantage over another. Even so, most players choose to duel almost exclusively in light armor - this includes playing in Arena as well. It is widely believed that light armor is the best armor for dueling, but you will quite often find players who can use medium armor or heavy armor and take out multiple lights at the same time. You'd have to ask each player on an individual basis what their reasons are for preferring light armor, but the closest thing we can give you to a general answer is that most players just naturally feel more comfortable with the maneuverability of light armor. Specific tactics and analysis of light armor in dueling situations is beyond the scope of this section and should (will?) be discussed in a dueling tutorial/page.
Capper
- Main article: Tribes 2/Roles/Capper
Light armor is by far the most used armor for cappers. In Base, all of the armors move rather slowly, so you may find cappers who don't use light armor. In Classic, capping is done almost exclusively by light armor users in all but a small handful of situations. Using light armor allows you to reach very high speeds much more easily than using any other armor, which makes up for the lack of durability. If you are moving faster, then you are harder to hit, and will therefore usually take much less damage.
Light offense
- Main article: Tribes 2/Roles/Light offense
While heavy offense is generally better for destroying most base assets due to use of the mortar and missile launcher, light offense is still very useful for quickly destroying the weaker, deployable base equipment of the enemy team. Lights can make it to the enemy base much faster and more easily than any other armor, which in turn allows them to destroy deployable turrets and deployable station more quickly, especially through use of disc spamming. Additionally, LOs can find themselves dueling a lot of enemy defenders, and most players find it easiest to duel when wearing light armor. If need be, though, light armors can also destroy inventory stations and generators by using hand grenades, mine-discs (in Classic), plasma rifles, and sometimes any of their other weapons depending on how damaged the base asset is to begin with.
Light defense
- Main article: Tribes 2/Roles/Light Defense
Most defense is played in light armor for any of a few reasons. Only lights can use the laser rifle, which is a great defensive weapon against enemy cappers. Only a light armor can hope to match the speed of an enemy capper and chase him down. Also, players spawn in light armor by default, so many players will begin defending their base immediately after they spawn without even going to an inventory station. In Classic, lights can also play as a light on flag, because the use of mine-discing allows them to kill any enemy capper instantly when they try to touch the flag.