35 replies to this topic

[Killing Strangers]

Come give us a try , and stay out of those pugs my friend .....http://www.deathshandbrigade.net/......if your a pro , awesome, if your new, no problem we will help you with a smile, only 1 main rule, no ******* ...lol

[BahamutSin]

I will throw my .02 in here though so far the only SHD I have played is my 2H (p). I am usually a light pilot with the occasional foray into the medium realm and I <3 this mech. So many weapon options I spent like 3 hours in the testing grounds with different loadouts before I ever dropped into a real match. I am part of an awesome Mech Corps (Seraphim) but most of my early morning / day matches are PUG's so that is the experience this is written from. Everything below is totally from my own Point of View and it is what seems to work best for ME. The important part (IMHO anyways) is not to find the *bestest build ever* but to find the one you can play that is (Absolutely in this order):

( A ) Not a hinderance to your team (Overheating every time you fire (or within 5 seconds of firing) is a perfect example)
( B ) Fun (Really, you should enjoy it. It is a game after all)

This seems to be my stable build and the one I have actually dropped with.

Endo, 11 DHS ( Both taken because..well...who wouldn't? (Theoretically))
XL 300 (88 Normal, 97 when speed tweaked)
2 JJ (For getting un-stuck on random rocks, fading into the scenery)
Armor
16/18 Head
34/36 Left arm (Shield arm)
45/52 Both Legs
Rest of Armor Maxed
1x UAC/5 (3/t Ammo)
3x SSRM2 (2/t Ammo)
1x ERLL
Target Info Gathering (I want to know as fast as possible what section I can / should shear off)
Adv. Zoom (Plinking at a distance and calling out what I see for the team)
Will take seismic when I get the third slot

Beginning (Milling around / Herd Phase)
I hang just outside of the main group plinking away at targets of opportunity with the ERLL and UAC. With the shoulder mount being as high up as it is "peek-a-boo" around a corner suits this well. Also keep an eye for flank attacks and lights.

Middle / End (Chaos Phases) l will (in this order):
(1) Look for any team member getting harrassed by a light (scare it away or kill it)
(2) Target any enemy that is pounding a friendly so I can (hopefully) distract them and we can finish it off together. Addendum to above: Sometimes this backfires and the pilot you saved runs away leaving you with a slightly cold feeling in the pit of your stomach.
(3) Target any moderately damaged enemy mech (Esp. if it is already targeted by a friendly)

What I won't do (In any order)
(1) Lead the charge. Best to leave that for the Heavies / Assaults. Or that Kamikaze guy so he can drain some LRM ammo from the enemy team.
(2) Go anywhere without at least one friendly 'Mech within about 500m and LoS.
(3) Attempt to singlehandedly attack a shiny new 'Mech that is a not a light.
(4) For the love of all that is still good in this world I will not (and you, pretty please, shouldn't either) chase a light 'Mech across Hell's half acre (You will probably die cold and alone if you do)

A little on my play experience...

Pretty manoeuvrable mech especially for a large medium. She has enough speed to get out of (and into) some tense moments. The amount of builds is what I find truly fun about this mech. You can build it to suit just about any medium build. Sniper, Missile, Brawler. Options for all. =)

One of the great joys of this mech is rocking an enemy's cockpit (Someone mentioned this earlier as well). Constantly hammering someone with chain ssrm's / UAC will make people want to back off, twist, run away, or start random chain firing everything they have in a panic even though the damage you're doing isn't all that spectacular. Psychology is a grand thing.I try to stay on top of them and a little off of thier mid to avoid wild fire (and try to pay attention that I don't walk into the enemy group he / she is trying to back up into) until they are dead. If they turn and run I just keep hammering them until they are out of range or dead. Try not to chase.

There have been some gut wrenching moments when I realized a terrible thing has happened: I 'round that corner like I know what I'm doing and come face to face with something that possesses a lot more firepower than I do. Somewhere in the split-second time of my brain saying 'uh-oh' and the enemy pilot smiling my 'Mech is in full reverse. Logic should tell me that my reverse speed is worse than the forward speed of...just about everything and this won't work to avoid death but I've done it (/shameonme), at least one person who reads this has done it, and we have died. Trying to walk around the giant 'Mech of death in front me torso spinning rarely works either. The only way out I have found (better ideas welcome) is reverse for about 2 seconds while chain firing (Don't alpha, you need the stream (just don't cross them )) to blind the enemy, then charge (Must have Kinetic Burst) and use your jump jets to fly over the head of the enemy 'Mech. You will get shot a couple times but you will most likely survive while leaving the slow 'Mech a little confused.

Maybe this will give the OP and others something to think about. Hope it helps someone out there =)

[Eaerie]

JJ's are your friend. When jumping over that huge mech in front of you plan your route BEFORE you hit the ground. You have a couple seconds while in the air to decide where to go and have a good view from the air to make a plan. Turn your legs to the direction you want to be going when you land. If at all possible do not continue in a straight line, it just makes it easier for the enemy to track you.

[Schmandwerk]

A piece of advice on all those fancy AC/20 builds though. While this weapon does deliver it's punch on actually everything you run with it, it's not as easy as people say to get into safe situaitons to use it.

If you wanna actively participate in fights on crimson, caustic valley, arctic region and even river city (if the whole team decides to go splishy splashy in the sea) and not just hide behind a rock to pop and AC/20 some poor suicidal sod it's better to try a lower caliber.

As you - this is to the OP - are desparate enough to ask the MWO forum for help i expect the worst case scenario in the same ELO hell as myself.
That means especially on those maps you got ER-PPCs and gauss pummeling you, AC/20 Yolos (which certainly love to get an easy medium to kill), truckloads of ECM spiders, ravens and locusts all wielding ER lasers. Those are not as easy to hit as everyone tries to tell you.
Do not forget you need to run a standard engine to fit in that bulky piece, which will cost you some additional weight and therefore speed.
AC/20 on chassis below 60t is a bit overrated and i've seen my share of dissapointed people failing to experience this weapons glory. This will frustrate you so you'll lose confidence. You need confidence to push like a bloodraged viking, which is the way to go imho
Also i check mechs for AC/20 and when playing in a premade lance (2-4) we always focus those.
I really recommend a lance on voice chat when running the AC/20 SHD. This is an additional set of eyes and ears helping you survive and get in place for wicked AC/20 action. But if you're all alone out there.... good luck, mate...

The MGs, LPL, SSRMs, BAP - build was a thing i made out of instinct, like some posters above and it runs fast and fancy allowing you to even scout and spot a bit and "go left" to mess up some overconfident lights on every map. You can rip the heart out of cored assaults, tear catapults to shreds in a way you start to feel sorry for them (i once almost cried a little ), and if you chainfire the streaks, it's shakeytime in groupfights. You also get rid of the little sh*ts your whole team is usually chasing and contribute to the battle. Throw in adv. sensor range and you can even spot in maps where you're out in the open, while beating the cr*p out of other scouts.

Also AC/5 galore, everything about ~500 range with advanced zoom is rewarding and fun to play. Make use of your jumpjets and speed.
For some reason the SHD feels less agile than a quickdraw - beats me, try it out and check the turning radius! So hit&run on groups can indeed be pretty fatal. Also hiding for a nasty AC/20 surprise is only fun as you pull the trigger. Think about the time you spent hiding behind that rock/building/atlas before.

The 2D2 also proved to be a very relaxing and fancy LRM boat (2xLRM15, 2xLRM5, TAG, ML or something) for ~250m medium range support. Play this while being stoned, to grind or to calm the nerves between tough battles.TAG assists en masse, precise LRM hits, they joy of blasting an unlucky locust on 600m:D
Also other lighter mechs WILL want to shoot that stupid LRM SHD, charge and follow you into their utter demise if you stick close your team

Think twice before running AC/20 builds on a versatile chassis like this one. It's not a heavy, it gets cored faster than you might think.

Try those ways-of-the-hawk and regain the fun playing it!

Edited by Schmandwerk, 23 October 2013 - 05:03 PM.

[xengk]

Jaegerwulf, on 22 October 2013 - 08:54 PM, said:

hmmmm not sure i like the idea of moving that slow.... so anyone know of an existing thread or threads where I might read up on 'guerilla' tactics that might work with the shadowhawks?

If you want something speedier, I also run this mix PPC+AC/10 2H build
SHD-2H
1x PPC
1x AC/10 w 2t ammo
3x SSRM2 w 1t ammo
BAP
DHS
Endo Steel
XL 275
304 armour

Goes 81kph on default, almost 90 with speed tweak. A single JJ for occasional poptarting.

You can also check this section for more thread on shadowhawk and discussion on medium mechs.
http://mwomercs.com/...um-mech-guides/

[mailin]

I am really enjoying running the Shadowhawks. The amount of difference in these builds is pretty amazing considering it's a medium. I once got down to just 16% left and I was still trying to take out the enemies (I realized later I had 3 kills and 7 assists that match). At one point I had 4 mechs trying to take me out. The really funny thing about it was that after I was dead the person who killed me was complaining about me using a lag shield. I responded, in a medium with ~40 ping? The Shadowhawks are just downright deadly if they can stay alive.

[scJazz]

Just to add a neat point...

Last night I realized that the fact that the Shadow Hawk is fairly tall was working to my advantage. I had been shooting over the heads of my team mates for several matches when it dawned on me. Being tall is not a bad thing

[Sadistic Savior]

scJazz, on 24 October 2013 - 06:42 AM, said:

Just to add a neat point...

Last night I realized that the fact that the Shadow Hawk is fairly tall was working to my advantage. I had been shooting over the heads of my team mates for several matches when it dawned on me. Being tall is not a bad thing

You can thank the Shadowhawk's high torso hardpoints of that. You can basically hit whatever you can see directly. The torso hardpoint is right next to the cockpit on the top of the torso.

[scJazz]

Sadistic Savior, on 24 October 2013 - 07:36 AM, said:

You can thank the Shadowhawk's high torso hardpoints of that. You can basically hit whatever you can see directly. The torso hardpoint is right next to the cockpit on the top of the torso.

Great point but I was using my arm mounted ERLL Even then shooting over friendlies

[Rift Hawk]

Jaegerwulf, on 21 October 2013 - 07:33 PM, said:

I have been mostly playing my SHD-2H(P) in order to both progress towards all the elite skills, and earning the c-bills to upgrade my other PP mechs with dhs and endosteel.

I am finding that no matter what I do I quite often die much more quickly than ever.

I try to play "follow the atlas/other asaults" only to find that in a lot of my (PuG only) matches the assaults don't do much assaulting. so I try to play follow the pack, but then I get frustrated and I can't get any good shots in through the inevitable bottle neck and get cored by lights from behind.

and of course going off on my own is a forgone conclusion.

I have also tried asking in team chat if there is a plan. inevitably I get response like "don't Die" and "kill stuff".

So what does one do to try to make the most of pugs? (especially in terms of earning c bills)

Playing a medium in this game can be absolutely frustrating sometimes. Mediums make great fire support mechs but its hard to fill that role when your team either doesn't engage and just peaks a hill the whole map or they attack from a very poor tactical position. You find a good team now and again and work miracles in your medium but most of the time you don't.

As for the shadow hawk, the only useful builds I've managed to find for my playstyle have an XL engine. That presents another problem as the shadow hawk is so big in this game. Your best bet is to just play around until your find a build that works for you. Use the team as meat shields and take your damage where you can get it.

[MavRCK]

Good luck - we all get frustrated playing in and with pugs. When I catch myself getting more frustrated than usual - I take a break!

That said, playing your shadowhawk is a good idea in pugs because its jumpjets and ability to run PPC / 2AC5 or 2PPC / AC5 will let you play a game of sniping and hit / run. You don't have to engage fully unless you want to.

Be patient. Play it safe. Be disciplined (that's my greatest difficulty). You'll get the feel of the mech, the shots and start to carry the game despite playing in pugs!

GL HF.

[rdmgraziel]

I generally use mine with a 300 XL engine.

1) Torso twist when you're under fire; your arms work as fine shields most of the time, so take hits there when you can.
2) You've got a really high position ballistic slot, use it to your advantage and shoot over hills/ridges and use your jumpjets to poptart with larger ballistics (AC10 or AC5) frequently.
3) You've got jumpjets, abuse the hell out of them. Jumping lets you shoot over people, over hills, lets you turn faster, helps you overcome obstacles and allows you to spread damage more readily while under fire (since it'll throw people's aim off). For the latter part, don't just hold the button down, you're trying to make them miss by not knowing where you're going to be next. There's an art to it that's hard to explain, so just practice.
4) Stay mobile.
5) Back up heavier 'Mechs or anyone under fire; you have the speed, armor, and firepower to help them out, but don't wander into a bad situation if they're completely doomed and far from the team.

Anything else depends entirely on your loadout. I focus on the autocannon on all but the 2D2 (which has a focus on 3SRM6 with an AC5 for poke) so I play it as a mobile poptart striker/brawler backed up by SRMs, but I'm more vulnerable to lights since I've focused on messing up heavier targets. You could instead focus on Streaks or medium to small LRMs. Other than single ERPPC builds, you probably want to avoid anything bigger than a medium laser for your energy slots; there are better mediums for energy shenanigans.

[Eaerie]

I use my -2H as a vulture. Run LPL, 3 MG's, 3 SSRM2's probably not optimal but it is fun and with JJ's can get around and chase down lights, damaged mechs heading to cover and just be a general pain to the enemy.

[Bhelogan]

I'll vouch for the LL, 3x MG, 3xSSRM2 with BAP build. I run it with an XL320. Against lights, you can do 1v2 or 1v3 sometimes and come out on top. Against larger mechs, charge straight at them, jump over them, then hit them in the backside. This works best if you have a lance mate with you. The enemy will have to have their back to one of you two. Due to the large size, it is also easy to hide behind assaults, but jump up over them (or buildings) to launch SSRM volley, and get a few MG shots and LL shot off. Your also fast enough to do some short range scouting early, which will help you avoid running into situations when outnumbered or not. I tend to do equally well in this mech whether pugging or dropping in 4 man groups, as it is pretty versatile. Toughest situation for it is in sniping matches. Here again your speed helps, as you can close the gap quickly, preferably towards an isolated target.

[Nemesis Duck]

I was using the 3x MG, 3xSSRM and ERPPC build which was fun for a bit but it's not producing consistent results. With 3xMG I'll lose a target at close range because the screen is filled with muzzle flash. I liked this build because it was challenging but the muzzle flash is just too much. I'm going to modify my H to be similar to my other Shadowhawks with UAC5 + ERPPC. The build doesn't look like much but it force feeds ...

I agreed the 3xMG + 3xSSRM tears apart lights, it's a good build if you want to guard your assaults.

Edited by Assmodeus, 24 October 2013 - 08:56 AM.

[Rift Hawk]

Best build I've found runs an XL 275, Bap with 3 streaks, LL and AC/10. 318/370 armor and 2/3 JJ. It only goes 81 so you really have to pay attention to whats going on around you. If you get in too close with heavies or assaults your down fast. Its good against other mediums and lights up close but you want to use range against larger mechs.