Someone asked me why I would do a Scorch guide when she’s already so strong? They asked me why would I arm a legion of noobs with the power of Hellfire? Why? Because some men just want to watch the world burn!
A Rogue that gives new meaning to the phrase “Fiery Latina”, Scorch is too hot to handle for most players these days. I’m sure you’ve heard your teammates screaming about how strong Scorch is after they’ve gotten fried by a flank. How many times does Scorch have to fill you with hot lead for you to have had enough? Maybe you’ve considered turning to the dark side and trying her out for yourself? Maybe it’s time to stop answering the door and for you to be the one who knocks. You know what they say, if you can’t beat em - join em. Hopefully this guide will be the spark you need to light a fire under the opposition's ass.
Today we’ll be going over the entirety of Scorch’s kit and the proper way to use the best Duelist since Yugi Moto. Guns, gadgets, perks, and abilities. We’ll take a look at everything she has to offer to make sure you’re the melter instead of the meltee more often than not.
Every Rogue in the game so far has a description giving us a little bit of info about them. That is, every Rogue barring Scorch. The dev’s didn't put anything there probably because you only need two letters to describe her. OP. Well, that’s if you ask most of the community. I personally feel as though she is the best at what she does, Wolverine style. And what she does is duel. In a one v one, trying to engage a Scorch that has good aim is likely a suicide mission.
Unlike most of these guides, today we’re going to start with Scorch’s ability Overheat. This is her bread and butter and the reason most people are afraid to see a Scorch on the other team. Overheat gives you incendiary rounds and fists for 15 seconds, which means they end up doing damage over time. This will soon be reduced to 10 seconds in an upcoming patch, but even that will be more than long enough to do damage.This is an incredible ability that allows you to take just about anybody and anything down. Overheat can turn a fight that’s going bad in your favor just as easily as it can wipe an entire squad if they’re unaware. Combine this ability with any weapon in the game and you are a force to be reckoned with.
I can’t mention Overheat without mentioning her passive, Fireproof. It’s exactly what it sounds like in that Scorch is immune to fire. This means an incendiary grenade is useless against her. You can use this to your advantage by sitting on corners that the enemy has naded to try and create space. The most important thing about this passive, however, is that it makes Scorch immune to the opposing team’s Scorch. When two Scorch’s meet on the battlefield, it becomes a matter of gun game and positioning. IE Who is better. Remember this whenever you see a Scorch on the enemy squad as you don’t want to waste your ability pushing/shooting someone who can’t burn to death.
Now we can move on to the weapons and first up is what is arguably the best SMG in the game. This is the SL-C submachine gun and this thing is a monster. What it gives up in range, it makes up for in fire rate and pure damage. The range issue can be mitigated by burst firing the weapon for added control. The mag size isn’t bad and is more than enough to drop people but with the Tier 1 upgrade, the mag size gets even better by adding 10 more rounds. The Tier 2 upgrade improves the hipfire accuracy of the weapon, and with a run and gun character like Scorch you’re going to want this. ADS takes time and can slow your movement. Good hipfire accuracy takes these factors out of the equation entirely.
Tier 3 is also good, as it reduces recoil for even greater accuracy at length. Tier 3 also suppresses firing and that might be the most overlooked and important part of this upgrade. When you shoot, you appear as a red dot on the mini map which can alert a skillful player to your presence. This upgrade makes it so that you don’t appear on the map. This makes for some clutch flanks that the enemy will never see coming.
The other gun that Scorch has available is the Arbitrator shotgun. My favorite shotgun, and maybe my favorite gun period, that is in the game. As a Gears of War fan from back in the day, third person shooters are nothing new to me. I’m right at home behind waist high cover. Rogie Company has a different feel, yes, but using the Arbitrator takes me back to my wall bouncing, pop shotting, crab walking, hip firing days. This gun is strong but situational. It can blow people away in one well placed shot if they’re close enough, but on more spread out maps it becomes less than ideal. I barely aim in with it myself as the reticle is pretty spot on when it comes to the spread. Hanging on walls and letting the enemy come to you is the best way to use this weapon. That is, if you aren’t flanking. The reload speed and range arent the greatest in its base form, but thats to be expected of a shotgun.
The Tier 1 upgrade tries to do a bit about the reload speed but a gun this powerful should take a bit to reload honestly, it’s only fair. That being said the time reduced by. 6 seconds so that’s something. To mitigate this issue, there’s a perk that I’ll be going over in a bit. The Tier 2 increases hipfire accuracy and decreases reticle bloom. More accuracy with a shotgun is always a good thing. The better that you can predict and place your spread the more bodies that you’re going to drop, its just that simple. As a Gears player who rarely aimed in my shotgun when i would play that game, this Tier2 upgrade is a no brainer for me. Tier 3 increases the damage range and honestly I don’t see this as necessary. The shotgun is already a situational pick depending on the map, and if you need more range you should probably just be running with the SL-C.
Scorch’s pistol is the A3 Salvo. A burst fire weapon that should be enough to finish a job if the SL-C or the Arbitrator can’t seem to finish the job. The thing is, those guns are so strong that they likely will finish the job, especially when combined with Scorch’s Overheat ability. You always have it, so its useful in that sense, but I rarely make use of this. The Tier 1 is a mag size increase which is always welcomed but not needed. The Tier 2 is the more useful upgrade that reduces hipfire accuracy. A lot of time pistols come out in a panic, so if you’re worried that you could whiff your shots with the SL-C or the Arbitrator, buy all means upgrade this.
Scorch’s prosthetic arm Rosie is her melee weapon and it’s pretty straightforward, Scorch smash. The Tier 1 upgrade is the most useful as it adds a lunge to her punch, though if you want to go full on Johnny Storm you can use the Tier 2 upgrade to make her fist always do damage over time. Pretty self explanatory.
The incendiary grenade is a fun tool in Scorch’s hands. It creates a lingering pool of fire to damage enemies or drive them away from certain areas. It can be used to block pathways and control points, but also to clear an enemy from a corner that they’re holding. I like to use these grenades with Scorch because, as she is immune to fire, you can push into your own grenade for an unexpected rush. This tactic becomes even more effective as you upgrade the grenade. Tier 1 increases the size of the pool and Tier 2 makes the pool last longer. Use these along with your passive immunity to fire to break the opposing team.
The EMP grenades are less useful than the incendiary’s in my opinion, but they still have their uses. The grenade is essentially a Glitch hack in the sense that abilities and gadgets are null and void for a duration. Equipment is damaged instead of destroyed, so its not as strong for pushes as Glitch’s hack however. The Tier 1 upgrade is the most useful if you’re into these, as it increases the duration of the EMP. The Tier 2 simply gives you another grenade.
Now we move on to the perks. The first is Berserker. This allows you to reload while Sprinting. This is good for a Scorch that is on the move. If you’re bunkered down and protecting/capping a point this isn’t going to be the most useful, but if you’re moving in for the flank or in the middle of a hectic battle this could save your life. Reloading can take some time depending on what gun you have and the ability to be on the move while doing so is clutch.
The second perk is Evade, which is good for any Rogue to have. When you’re damaged you move faster. Meaning you can get away faster. I don’t have to explain why this is good to have do I? Nobody likes to get shot and when you do, you definitely don’t want to stay where you got shot at/
Tenacity is the third perk and this allows you to take reduced damage from explosives. This is good is the opposing team has a Dima, or if you’re going for flanks and the other team is fond of Trip Mines. It gives you added survivability which is always a good thing.
Fourth we have Nimble Hands. In my Phantom video, I noted how for her this was an absolute must pick. Nimble Hands increases the weapon swap and reload speed. For Scorch, it is still a good perk to have but there’s another perk that I’d rather have over this, especially if I’m running with the Arbitrator.
The fifth is Headstrong and this is the enemy team’s worst nightmare. A Scorch that has even more health than before. This gives you an additional 25 armor whenever you spawn. Once you take some damage, this extra health is gone but until then you’re tankier than a normal Scorch. In a duel this is powerful, even more so against a team who has the aim advantage. Against Scorch, better aim doesn’t matter if I have more health and bullets that melt you when I do it. Unless you’re a complete potato, this should help you win some duels.
The sixth is my favorite perk of hers, Replenish. Replenish reloads your weapon and restores ammo when you down someone. When using the SL-C I’d rather have Nimble Hands than this, but with the Arbitrator this perk is amazing. Being that the Arbitrator has only 2 shots before you have to do a lengthy reload animation, this perk makes it so that as long as you down someone with a shot you can keep fighting. I’ve wiped a good amount of people in quick succession like this, and I think this perk is why I love the Arbitrator shotgun so much. Without this perk that gun is good, but with it this gun is godly.
Scorch is the definition of an assault character. Play smart, take it slow when need be, and don’t be afraid to switch it up when the head on approach is not working. She gets in and does massive amounts of damage at high speeds. She’s definitely intimidating. Seeing a Scorch on the other team can completely alter your gameplan and playstyle. The key to playing her, and playing against her, is to remember what your role is. Scorch’s role is to push hard and fast, whether that’s straight up the middle or as a flank is up to the player. You want to push for 1v1s as much as you can with her as more often than not, you’re going to win.
Guys I’m MrEMP and I’m signing off for EyeMakePlaysTV. Keep it locked right here so that eventually, you can make plays like me! If you wanna see make plays live go over to my Twitch channel