Your main skill focus for knifing should be Dampening, Range, and then Precision. Dampening first, and always.

Some other knifers swear by Kin Cats to move fast enough to get within range and attack before the enemy can react, but I don't find it works for me.

The cloak can be useful for getting into position or waiting for the right moment, but if you don't have dampening to go along with it you can still be spotted (you'll appear on the tac-net and the red chevron will appear about your head). Cloaks are also very difficult to fit unless you have scout to level 5, particualrly when fitting nova knives as well.

My normal knife fit looks like this:
Scout M/1
Assault CR
ZN knives
Flux grenade
2 x complex dampeners
2 x complex precision enhancer
Complex shield extender
Advanced cloak
Standard remote explosives

Though there's a fair investment in core skills to get that all on, and even then it comes in at under 300 HP.

I'd recommend fitting your knives and two dampeners first, and then seeing what else you can get on. Even if you stack HP you'll still die in seconds, so your main goal is to remain unseen, and hit hard when you get the oportunity. Surviving is optional.

The REs are for groups, or where you don't think you can take down your target in one hit (proto heavies).

Feel free to pop over to the Barbershop if you have scouterly questions, there's a lot of experienced scout players who hang out there who will be happy to help out.

o7

First, try out a flux grenade. Even standard ones can do some major shield damage, and they have a large splash area (even through walls for pesky uplinks). And if you can fit a Locus I believe you already have the skills needed for Flux.

If you have Engineering and Electronics at 2, I would skill those up to at least 4 before you start looking elsewhere. Those are super important.

For fitting a cloak, you need to get your minja up to lvl 4 at least to be able to fit one and still be viable. So long as you maxed your Dampening first.

Do you have uplinks skilled yet?

I doubt you are running out of ammo (I rarely ever do, especially with knives), and you can get boatloads of WP and SP by simply placing a few strategically located uplinks. Even if it is just 1 lvl, though at lvl 3 you can get Uplinks that allow 2 active at the same time.

tl;dr Given what you have said, in my opinion, your priorities should be Engineering and Electronics. After that you can start thinking about leveling your minja to 4 at least, possibly uplinks, and that lvl 3 CR you talked about is a good idea too.

The longer you delay a cloak, and continue learning where cover is and how to get around in cover, the more effective you will be when you do finally get a cloak.

Don't get Prototype knives...they will use to much PGU/CP on your dropsuit.

Skill into assault sub machine guns and the ARN-18 Cloak field. Also get rid of the shield extenders/armour plates. In my opinion if your not dead your alive, ever half alive. Use scout fits and dampeners. Also remote explosives are good for when an enemy is chasing you down....drop one by the corner then blow him up!

I recommend using scout series suit (caldari)
1 ARN cloakfield
2 Complex Dampeners and a Cardiac RegulatorOR 3 Dampeners
1 ZN-28 Nova Knives
1 Sub Machine gun (At least)

With this fit you cannot be scanned and no one can see you....also if you kill enough into scout suits with regards to CPU/PG output you can fit more advanced equipment on there.

Just search up in youtube Winmitar Assassin dust 514 by 'Cyrus Li Moody'. In the description he shows exactly what fit he is using

ADV huh?

M/1-Series Scout
ZN's
Scrambler Pistol, preferably assault
Sidearm damage mod
Shield extenders
Best damps you have
Flux (only if you can fit it, it's expendable)
RE
Stable uplink (for free warpoints) or compact nanohive (only takes level 2) or more REs maybe, or anything. Get 2 complex damps, need for cloak is arguable (I don't use cloak).

Upgrade to Ishukone knives asap. It IS worth it.

Here is a low sp version:

Low sp adv minja

Try that out. Should be possible with quite low sp. You might want to swap the 3xbasic shields with 2xenhaced shields and a precision mod, but that needs more sp.

(ok, I know this is a really old thread, but my comments might help any budding new knifers.)

Not a bad fit, though I would swap the armor rep for one of the following:
Kinetc catalyser (honestly, it's a lot of sp but they are much better than they sound, this would be the best option in my opinion, but they take a lot of pg).
Reactive plate, great scout tank option
Ferroscale plate,
Range amp, also great on scouts (and logis)
More damps, make sure you don't get scanned.

You don't need armor reps with such low armor compared to shield.

I like your equipment selection but you could swap for a cloak. Despite what some people say they are good if you learn to use them well (remember people can still see you and will notice you if you stay in line of sight for too long). Advanced cloaks might be what you need though, standard can be quite tricky. This causes fitting issues, though your current equipment is quite resource intensive anyway.

Having said this, you can knife without a cloak, many of us did this before1.8 and it will probably make you a better scout for doing it. Losing the uplink and remotes would be a shame.

I would suggest making a fit with one of the nano hives that rep armor. It does more for your armor repairing, and once you lay the uplinks, that suits usefulness is diminished.

I have 3 separate Uplink fits, that I always try and switch out for a better fit once I am done dropping the uplinks.

I would first get your CR sharpshooter to 3 because that helps out a ton when using that weapon. Levels 4 and 5 have less significant a benefit. Then I would go dampening, electronics, engineering, and shields.

Having a KDR above 1 at this point is more a matter of getting more SP and less a matter of skill, unfortunately.

Dampening from 3 to 5 should be first priority.

Then shields or range. If you run around cloaked enough, I would go sheilds first as the Range nerf to cloaked scouts will eliminate any advantage of range.

If you knife a lot, its best to put the knife in the first slot so you can just switch to that from cloak.

I also wouldn't mess with the side arm damage mod at this point. Basic gets you next to no benefits. Get dampening to 5, shields to 3, and then you can throw on an enhanced shield extender instead of the side arm damage mod.

Personally this is what I use:

M/1 scout (they're good since they give you the damage boost)
Basic Combat Rifle (I just have good skill into it)
Ishukone NK (ZN-28 work just as fine if you have good skill, but it will be harder to kill heavies)
Complex Kin Cat (Just to run faster and doge bullets)
Enhanced Profile dampener (only good scouts that sill against you will be able to see you so just one is fine)
As much shields that you can fit since this will be most of your health
locust or flux grenade, does not matter for me
Advanced cloak
MLT nanite injector

For this suit only fight some one if you know you can kill them.
Your shield is all of your life, if you run out of shields you will most likely die so I don't care to put on any armor.

Always remember Nova Knifes are an assassination weapon only do stealth kills. If you run at some one just swinging your knifes they will just kill you. and if you don't kill them the first hit just hit them again or spray them with your gun.

Hope this is helpful because it works well for me.

Its not just you...

The nerfs to shotguns scouts have hit knifers harder because they were too broad.

I have seen one person start using a Minmatar Assault as a knifer with greater effect than he used his Minmatar Scout.

My suggestion would be to try other roles that you can live with, significantly change your tactics by being super picky with your targets, or maybe try the Min Assault for knifing instead.

I won't lie, I am sort of at a loss myself, though others seem to not be having the same problems.

Precision yes. After that, I would even recommend holding off for awhile and saving SP until you get a fuller idea of how things play out, that being said, here are my other recommendations.

Proficiency I wouldn't get above 3 right now. Levels 4 and 5 are awfully expensive for what little you gain there. Seriously think about skilling Minmatar Assault to 3, unless you are opposed to FotM.

Do you have any skill into KinCats? Those can be fun and helpful as well.

Also consider trying out MDs, PLCs, and Flaylocks, particularly if you are still seeing a lot of shotgun scouts. Those are good at dispatching them, since Knives are very difficult against shotguns.

Proto Minjas have 3 slots each side.

I say Minmatar Assault because of the EWAR changes. Now that you can essentially play an assault like a scout, you can dampen near as well, and since you were going to get scanned in short ranges no matter what you did as a scout, you might as well have more HP to do it with.

Plus, as an assault, you have more slots with which to adjust your suit. So you can be nearly as dampened (or more so depending on a scout's fitting), be nearly as fast, and have 2 or 3 times the HP.