3 replies to this topic

[Graves24]

Hi,

this is my build for the Shadow Hawk 5M played in a long range supporting role.

The build itself is very cheap because you use the XL 275 engine the SHD-5M ships with and there are no major investments other than a few c-bills for the AC2's.

SHD-5M

My weapon groups are: 1 for both AC's, 2 for both medium lasers and 3 for my SSRM's

The idea is to use the shoulder mounted AC2's to peek over ridges and try to take pot shots at enemies who overcommit or don't look into your direction. Since the AC2's are mounted at your left side torso it is also advised to keep the right side of the mech protected behind cover (buildings, level geometry, large mechs [but don't block them!]). Don't underestimate the psychological effect of your gunfire, it will force enemies back into cover and you should always account for that when engaging. Make good use of the jumpjets to get into favourable positions to rain down fire on enemies.

The medium lasers and SSRM2's are used for close range engagements but keep in mind that even though we have decent armor on the build it is advised to use it to fall back into safe positions if you get into a sticky situation. Always let heavies and assaults take the punishment when an enemy mech shows up and try to flank it.

Some good positions on maps for this build:

Link for the maps: MAPS

ALPINE PEAKS: H9, F9, I6 and I10(corner) are my positions I always try to get to since you get good vision on enemy movement and have enough cover to avoid returning fire. This map is always very campy so don't peek for too long, take pot shots and go back into cover.

CANYON NETWORK: This is a very good map for our build, we have solid cover everywhere and plenty of ridge lines to play with. Just get into one of the numerous spots that isn't occupied yet. Also, we can make very good use of our jumpjets on this map!

CAUSTIC VALLEY: E4, D5 if southern team and C3,C4 if northern team. Pretty much the ridgelines aswell. Don't try to go into the middle unless your team already took it. Once you have it stay there and shoot down on enemies, there is alot of cover which hides both our legs and the right side of the mech.

CRIMSON STRAIT: Great map for us again. Hold the plattform at D4 if southern team, and use the buildings as cover for the northern team at B2. Sometimes enemy assaults push through the tunnel which allows us to ambush them at the other end.

FOREST COLONY: Avoid the tunnel aswell as the water area. Try to find a defendable position at either C2 or D4, make sure you can back off once enemy assaults/heavies are pushing in. You can try to use the jumpjets to hop on the hills at C2 to get a better position.

FROZEN CITY: If southern team position yourself at C3-C4 on that crashed plane thing and take pot shots at enemies moving up. The cover on the southern side is pretty good since it also negates LRM attacks. If you start north you will want to start skirmish at E3 since the C3-C4 area has little cover for you if you move up. B4 is also a really good spot and sometimes enemies try to push around that area.

HPG MANIFOLD: Move up to the center and try to stay on the middle ground unless enemies are pushing in. The main hub arena offers plenty of cover and most of the time you will want to have an edge over the enemy by taking the higher ground. There are certain position were you even have plattforms above you which will screen the LRM attacks for you.

RIVER CITY: If the enemy makes a push for your base stay inside of your own and blast them as they cross the river. There is a very strong position if you start at the eastern side at B4. It is a small tunnel entrance which you can use to peek over and shoot enemies on the opposing side. If you start on western side you should push up to C2 and take cover near the destroyed bridge.

TERRA THERMA: The central area is a very good skirmish area because we can use the steep ledges as cover with our shoulder mounted cannons. Do not to follow up people who jump into the pit because we can not take the inevitable punishment for it. Since the map is very winding it should be easy to find flanking positions. Avoid showing up behind large groups of enemies without proper support though.

TOURMALINE DESERT: This map is probably the worst map for our build. There is alot of natural cover for the enemy to hide behind and the geometry of these seem to block shots which should hit. Try to skirmish in the center and watch out for overextended enmies to shoot at. Flanking is pretty difficult and you will not always know where the enemies are because these pointy ridges break alot of lock-on. Make use of our jumpjets to jump onto these ridges but be prepared to instantly back off once they target their attention to you.

Have fun trying my build - it is also very beginner friendly

Edited by Graves24, 06 April 2014 - 10:23 AM.

[Escef]

Streaks without Beagle is kinda' meh, you won't be able to cut through ECM interference. I've seen people get good results out of running triple AC2 on the SHD-2H, and I expect twin AC2 will do fine as well. My first thought, though, is to dump the Streaks and medium lasers for an ERLL and 2 more jets. Honestly, however, I've had a lot of problems with the SHD-5M, never found a build that capitalizes on the differences between it and the other SHDs, or at least not a build that worked for me.

Good luck.

[zztophat]

Put the arm ammo in the CT, I've never lost a CT to an ammo explosion but I have lost side torso XL engines due to arm ammo explosions.

I don't like or use AC2s in the 'shawk, even my long ranged 5M. Various reasons but chief among them is that it is not conducive to my survival. When I am in a long ranged engagement I constantly move in and out of cover and for short ranged combat I like to twist to spread damage around; using the AC2 in either of these situations is highly ineffective.

In particular when running an XL the 'shawk must twist, it's a big medium but it is still a medium and a tremendous amount of it's survivability comes not from how much armor it has but from how it uses that armor. Mediums are mobile enough that they can dictate what facing they are being hit on, especially against a single target, when using a decent engine (and in this case the 275 works just fine). 'Shawk hitboxes are such that if a good 'shawk pilot does not want to get shot in a particular location it will be very difficult to shoot him there (unlike say, the jager which is a walking side torso or the dragon, jenner or catapult which constantly get punted in the CT, or assaults which often just cannot twist fast enough to completely deny their enemies the soft spots).

EDIT:
This is my sniperhawk configuration: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...125ca46b1cca20a

It used to have a 275 as well but I dropped back to a 255 so i could carry another JJ and more ammo.

I don't snipe from any extreme ranges, I snipe from the rear of my allied formation, where they are, I am. I get as close as possible without becoming the front line. I do this because long range shots tend to land on the mech silhouette but not on any particular component so the time it takes to take down a mech is much, much longer at extreme ranges. Also and perhaps more importantly: a group focus firing on a single mech > A single mech firing on a single mech. When you stick with your team you can focus fire more readily with your team, more importantly you can focus individual enemy components and vulnerable mechs.

Edited by zztophat, 06 April 2014 - 03:07 PM.

[DONTOR]

Good build, streaks, AC2s and MLs are one of the best combos for high damage IMO. Good write up on its uses aswell.
You dont need BAP for 2 streaks, as its is only about 4 tons for that whole system including ammo, once you get 3+ streaks then you need BAP as it is a major weapon system at that point.