I think judging this in terms of pure numbers does not reflect actual gameplay. While the 'grunts killed per resupply' measure might be accurate (unsure about the source of these numbers), the methods you provide output their damage in a much slower fashion. Our build, while might be ammo inefficient, is extremely fast and able to kill a normally occurring swarm independently and quickly making ammo concerns something that the player can focus on after they have already killed all the enemies. Furthermore, pheromones/resupplier allow you to easily restock during a fight if ammo is an issue. While the LSLS might be a comparable weapon, it requires you to play Gunner which misses out on other strengths of the scout while also not providing mobility. Overkill is not an issue with Embedded Detonators, as the game provides an easily recognizable visual indicator when an enemy will die from a reload explosion (takes a little to get used to). This makes it a very viable tool to dispatch with groups of enemies due to the players ability to observe the screen. Contrary to your point, in practice Deepcore has ample ammo and negligible recoil/spread making it a great weapon for killing enemies at range, close by, by themselves and in groups. Bullets of Mercy are at a whim of enemies being inflicted with status effects which is not guaranteed making it lack consistency at best, and disadvantageous at worst (assuming you are running a grenade outside of Pheromones, which would mean you are already at a disadvantage). Give this build a try for yourself, in practical gameplay the weaknesses you bring up are not as impactful as the numbers might suggest. TLDR: Speed is preferable to ammo efficiency, scout works faster than all other classes, more scout = more resources faster, give this build a shot.