This is getting changed in 1.8 due to changes in scout skills and profile.

Combine this with scanner changes, and you have a great reason to let this thread die right now.

Pretty sure you only need a Comp and an Adv damp on your suit to get under a 28 DB scanner.

50DB(Med Base) * .9(-10% from lvl 5 profile damp) = 45DB

45(with prof damp skill) * .75(Comp damp mod) = 33.75DB

33.75(with skill and damp) * .8(Adv damp mod) = 27DB

Pretty sure you only need a Comp and an Adv damp on your suit to get under a 28 DB scanner.

50DB(Med Base) * .9(-10% from lvl 5 profile damp) = 45DB

45(with prof damp skill) * .75(Comp damp mod) = 33.75DB

33.75(with skill and damp) * .8(Adv damp mod) = 27DB

Basic and ADV dampeners are useless as you need the profile dampening skill maxed out to avoid an ADV scanner using an ADV dampener ( on a medium suit)

To avoid the 28DB scanner you need 2 proto profile dampeners in your low slots

Medium Suits :-

Honestly it should be 1 Basic dampener and lvl 1 dampening to avoid a basic scanner

lvl 3 dampening and 1 ADV dampener to avoid an ADV scanner

lvl 5 dampening and 1 complex dampener to avoid a proto scanner (the 28DB)

Scout Suits :-

Should avoid basic scanners by default

lvl 1 dampening and 1 basic dampener to avoid an ADV scanner

lvl 3 dampening and an ADV dampener to avoid a Proto Scanner (the 28DB)

lvl 5 Dampening and 1 Complex dampener should avoid ANY scanner available (the 15DB)

Right now Dampeners are far too UP v scanners .. they are more of an SP sink, they make you sacrifice 1/2 low slots which is HP/speed

This is why so many Medium suits especially Cal Suits brick Tank .. dampeners force you to sacrifice way too much to counter scanners and with scouts having so few slots using 2 of them up to avoid the best scanners available is just silly and is 1 reason scout suits need some love

[I accidentally posted this is rookie training grounds by mistake]

Actually after doing the maths even at max proficiency in dampening an ADV dampener on a medium suit will NEVER avoid an ADV scanner .. the max DB you can get is 36DB ... an ADV scanner detects 36DB ... lol

Definitely just going to stick with using the scanner instead of dampeners ...

Gal scout, two enhanced damps. I never get scanned.

AFAIK the scanner mechanic is being reworked so that a scan will be a snapshot and not the 360-¦ thing we have now. This will balance quite a few things.

Other than that, I think scanner vs dampeners is fine right now.
Scouts can avoid basic scanners without any skills into dampening (will be able to avoid ADV scanners without skills in 1.8) and a medium suit with lvl 5 dampening and 1 complex dampener can avoid a ADV scan.
If you really want to get below proto scanners with a medium suit you have to use 2x complex dampeners. The resulting lowered HP is a fair price for not getting scanned - in a medium suit!

Fittings made for flanking - which is the reason why you'd not want to get scanned constantly - are and also should sacrifice lots of HP. If you are running with the pack using a dampened suit you are doing it wrong.

The reason why dampening is so CPU intensive is because when you use it, it makes an entire class of enemy equipment useless (when applied to you). Scanning and being unscanned imparts a huge advantage over scanning and still getting scanned, and it should and does require sacrifice to obtain.

In pubs, most people only run ADV scanners so you'll only need one complex dampener to evade them. If the numbers were fudged so that proto scans could still be evaded by only one dampener, then they'd slowly fade to uselessness as people realized that evading 99% of the scanners out there only required one slot.

But as some have said, the scanning mechanic will change making them far less effective than they are now. So I think that dampening will also have less importance in the coming build; when it's harder to fire off effective scans, the need to always run dampeners goes down.

The reason why dampening is so CPU intensive is because when you use it, it makes an entire class of enemy equipment useless (when applied to you). Scanning and being unscanned imparts a huge advantage over scanning and still getting scanned, and it should and does require sacrifice to obtain.

In pubs, most people only run ADV scanners so you'll only need one complex dampener to evade them. If the numbers were fudged so that proto scans could still be evaded by only one dampener, then they'd slowly fade to uselessness as people realized that evading 99% of the scanners out there only required one slot.

But as some have said, the scanning mechanic will change making them far less effective than they are now. So I think that dampening will also have less importance in the coming build; when it's harder to fire off effective scans, the need to always run dampeners goes down.

i can use one advanced and one basic to avoid advanced scanners on my medium suits, so it's fine.

Also, scouts are being changed for 1.8 as stated.

Also, guys - you don't need an Adv and basic dampener to avoid Adv scans. Two basics does it just fine on a medium frame.

I don't think anything good will come out of allowing proto scans (except the Duvolle Focused) from being dodge able by using a single slot alone. This just makes it way too easy to dampen all of your suits with little sacrifice, and if it were that easy, everyone would run one and scanners would be useless (except for the Focused which everyone complains about despite no one actually using it).

What are the downsides to using a scanner ?

I still think it should be as I mentioned above, 66 CPU for 2 complex dampeners 2 lost low slots which is lost HP/Speed and leads you to have to drop a sidearm/grenade/equipment is a far major cost for using them than using a scanner

If the mechanics of them don't change then the CPU cost of them needs to be reduced

PS I should say that after starting this thread and using 1 enhanced and 1 basic on an ADV suit I've been getting 20+ kills in Skirm/Dom solo .. I know how to use a dampened suit I just think the balance is wrong as it takes far more work to dampen your suit than to just equip a scanner

Honestly even though I use a scanner religiously on my logi you shouldn't be able to fire your weapon for as long as the scan is active EG your pressing the trigger to keep the scan up as soon as you release the trigger then the scan ends .. if it had a downside like that then we'd have some form of balance

[quote=Zerus Ni'Kator]Basic and ADV dampeners are useless as you need the profile dampening skill maxed out to avoid an ADV scanner using an ADV dampener ( on a medium suit)

You'll actually new a complex damp with complex skills to avoid the adv scanner in a med frame:

50 GÇó .9 GÇó .8 = 36

36 dB with complex skills and adv damp. So, you're still going to get scanned.

Just sayin.

You are right about the proto though. It takes two complex to get below with a med frame

Downsides, pretty simple. They have quite some fitting costs. You lose an equipment slot. To scan you have to put away your weapon, which makes you defenceless for a few seconds. When someone uses a dampened suit it leaves you with a totally useless tool. And not only the scanner user himself will be unable to see you but his whole squad as well.

The point is if you make it so that having 1x complex dampener makes a medium suit invisible to proto scanners, scanners will become absolutely useless, because most people would run dampeners. The way it is now on the contrary makes you think twice if you want to sacrifice your slots in order to make your medium suit invisible to scanners.

Scouts on the other hand, should become invisible for proto scanners with just 1x complex dampeners.