Less QQ. More LOL.

There's one of these that you just about have a point on: the first. There are places where the map isn't quite as solid as it looks, yes. However, here's the thing: you can't hide them completely anymore. Used to be they'd sink out of sight; now they just sink to half their depth. Also, the little bastards have lights on them that glow.

Before you assume that the things are functionally invisible, (1) check your surroundings thoroughly, looking for lights that are out of place. They're little and yellow-- but not so little as to be unnoticeable; (2) don't just look behind the objective; the blast radius is currently (I think) four meters, and people have gotten sufficiently used to checking for them that we've started putting them in other places; (3) as of tomorrow, when 1.4 goes in, try using an active scanner-- it should theoretically reveal their locations.

If you just can't find them, try hucking a warp grenade at the objective. That's pretty reliable.

Your other two points are ... well, how to put it? Try using them and see what you think. It takes an advanced RE to get the arming time down to two seconds from five. Heavies waddle fast enough to get clear, as a rule, if they realize what's going on. The throw distance is also pretty short; if I'm trying to plant a remote on you, I'm virtually picking your pocket.

The primary touchstone for something OP in this game is that it becomes ubiquitous. Remotes aren't, and they're about to take a minor whack with the nerf bat (active scanners).

Give remotes a go, and see if you still think that they're overpowered; otherwise, you're speaking as the victim, which, you must admit, makes your ability to judge fairly a little suspect.

you can use RE to kill red line snipers and LLAVS, actually really well. tower FG i doubt it but i bet it'll be funny to see.

I don't think of RE use at objectives as a "cheap" kill. Running people over in an LLAV is a cheap kill.

You seem like a fair-minded guy. So ... look.

You have your approach to the game, which seems to be more or less direct and up-front. You're here for a good, straight fight: who shows the better battlefield tactics, who's got the better aim, and so on. Skill versus skill, sportsman-like. I may be making that sound a little naiive, but that's more or less the upshot, true?

I'm a dedicated scout, which means I'm playing an entirely different game. Spending any significant period of time in somebody's crosshairs gets me shredded to a fine mist. Consequently, I'm a vicious little bastard who hates straight fights and makes most kills from ambush. Playing fair isn't the way I succeed at the game; for me, the game is one of trickery and stealth. "Cheap" kills are normally the only ones I get because 90% of my defenses consist of my wits.

Hell, I recently promoted my nova knives to my light weapon slot. (The other is an SMG for flanking and emergency use.)

There aren't many of us around anymore. Those who survive mostly do so because we fight dirty. The ability to do so is precious to us, and 1.4 is introducing further quiet nerfs to our play style: in addition to the active scanner buff, better auto-aim isn't good if you depend on agility to get through a firefight.

It's fair enough to resent being sucker-punched, but understand that what is sucker punching you when you run afoul of an RE trap is typically the opposite of an LLAV murder taxi. We're mortal (hell, we're downright fragile), and most of us die an awful, awful lot.

And, incidentally, we're usually the vanguard of those who are, as you say, playing for the objectives. Scouts are prolific hackers, and we're the most likely to drop in at an objective without fighting a battle (with lots of RE-cooking-off explosions), first. In other words, we're among those most commonly killed by remote explosives. We get kind of good at looking for them, as a result ... and then we leave our own when we go.

At this point, arguing for taking away our tools seems pretty indistinguishable from arguing for the extinction of the role. I know that's not what you're saying, but sucker-punches are pretty much what we do, whether with RE, with a shotgun, or with the point of a knife. Take that away, and you've got us running assault suits.