SCAR-L

The Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (Light), or the SCAR-L for short, is a weapon featured in Phantom Forces. It was created by FN Herstal, along with the SCAR-H (Heavy), in June 2007; it was then given to soldiers in April 2009. The SCAR-L and SCAR-H were created together to satisfy the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

The SCAR-L is unlocked at Rank 16, and the advantages to switch to it versus the AK-12 are questionable due to having the second lowest RoF in class only to the AK-47, AKM, and AN-94. However, it does have its upsides, as it has a lower DDPS than the AK-12 and a longer overall range. The recoil is also a bit more docile on the SCAR-L versus the AK-12, and has slightly clearer iron sights.

Effective Range
The SCAR-L has good performance at medium range, and has average performance at long range.
 * 4-hit kill: 0-100 studs
 * 5-hit kill: 101-inf. studs
 * Auto: 250 studs
 * Burst: 250 studs
 * Semi: 400 studs

Offensive

 * The SCAR-L should be treated somewhat like the AK-12, but geared slightly more towards long-range combat.
 * When engaging at range, burst firing is your best friend; if you've learned to burst fire before, then you are golden when it comes to shot accuracy.
 * In CQC, placing every shot on your foe is a must; otherwise the enemy may have a chance to retaliate and kill you.

Defensive

 * Like the AK-12, the SCAR-L is pretty good at all ranges, so chances are that you'll encounter the user at ranges that are outside your gun's sweet spot, and will lose to it. Use a setup that allows you to engage your foe at all ranges- i.e. the Remington 700 and Glock 18, or the FAMAS and a VCog M9.
 * Try using the AK-12 to counter your foe's SCAR-L; so long as you stay in the close-middle range combat, the AK will have an advantage in DPS. However, beware engagements at longer ranges, as the SCAR-L will have the upper hand in range and recoil.

FactionGuerrilla
SPECAT SCAR-L

(This loadout is made by me because I imagined this is what a military soldier would use on their SCAR-L. It works too, so give it a shot if you have spare time!)
 * Optic: ACOG- I use an ACOG for use at longer ranges, and besides it's aesthetically much more pleasing on an American gun versus a Russian weapon.
 * Barrel: Flash Hider- The Suppressor just is junk on the SCAR-L because it hindered its range so much, so I ditched that for a better Flash Hider.
 * Underbarrel: Angled Grip- It gives a balanced statistic change to the SCAR-L, and will give you the advantage at range thanks to the reduced camera recoil.
 * Other: Laser- An Underbarrel-mounted Laser? Why not? This is the "Special Activities" division, so why not toss a Laser in just because?

In Conclusion
The SCAR-L is a weapon that can be useful at all ranges. It can engage PDWs at long range and at the same time best Sniper Rifles in CQC. However, if facing the respective guns on their home turf- i.e. PDWS in CQC- then the SCAR-L will lose more often than not. That said, its flexible ability is tough to pass up on when it comes to large maps with small spots; overall, the SCAR-L is an ammo-conserving weapon that can engage anything and everything.

Trivia

 * The magazine did not have the standard appearance of a STANAG 5.56x45mm magazine, but looked more like an extended SCAR-H magazine
 * That being said, the SCAR-H and SCAR-L are mostly the same model, except the minor magazine difference, beige coloring, and shorter barrel, which would mean the model used would technically be a SCAR-H CQC model with an extended magazine, rather than a genuine SCAR-L.
 * This has since been fixed when the rest of the SCAR family had been added, as the SCAR-L now looks like a genuine SCAR-L.
 * The SCAR-L, along with the SCAR-H, originally had an empty reload animation where the user would pull back the charging handle. This has now been changed so that the gun's bolt release is pressed.
 * The old SCAR-L/-H model had the entire bolt catch/mag release assembly missing on the left side of the gun. Again, that has since been fixed.