31 replies to this topic

[Triforceelf]

Hello all, I'm looking on some advice on what medium mech I should look into investing in first. I currently own a CTF-4X and a CTF-1X and enjoy both of them, but I'm looking into some other mech frames to get after I complete my cataphract stable with a CTF-3D. From my Battletech days, I recall that the Hunchback was a great frame with a lot of fire power, and the Trebuchet was a great LRM support mech that was decent at scouting as well, but things have changed so much in MWO that it's not much of a starting point.

What medium mech frames are good at which roles? I'm especially interested to know if the Hunchie is still the bane of Atlases everywhere with some AC20 goodness.

Thanks for any tips you can give!

[NRP]

Shadow Hawk

All other Mediums are varying degrees of inferior.

[Triforceelf]

Why is the shadow hawk such a superior mech? What role does it fulfill so much better?

[NRP]

It's a ballistic platform (every one can mount an AC/20), it's fast, it is very durable, and it has Jump Jets. It can fill any role.

[TheGreatNoNo]

Yea, most commonly it is seen fitting three AC2s and with the current meta it is the way to go but probably way too hot of a build for new players. I would suggest single ac20 with five tons of ammo and two medium lasers if you go with it, or the black jack 1 with three medium lasers, a xl engine, a ac20 with four tons of ammo. Black jacks seem to take more to bring down then a HBK.
A 4P works well if you have a team with you. Just get a heavier bro to run in yell something harsh are them and let him draw the fire, nothing says I love you like a 45 alpha to the back, just hold your aim! (Also it has 1.14 heat, so watch it!) Also if your in low Elo then go with a Cent AL with four medium lasers and two SRM6s with three tons of ammo but it becomes pointless in higher Elo due to leg only shots.

Really depends on your Elo and who you play with.

[Nikoliy]

For me the problem with shadow hawk is that its cannon is right beside the cockpit so every time you fire you get a flash some people don't mind but its really annoying for me. Check some youtube vids to see if it might be an issue for you. Other then the SH check out the trebuchet it also has JJ and is very maneuverable with a slim profile. I would skip the hunchback b/c its so obvious were the weapons are and they are easy to target.

[luxebo]

Shadow Hawk is the best all-rounder. Centurion is the best survivor or zombie (stay alive till you only have a CT, head, and leg.) Kintaro is a good missile boat/light hunter. Trebuchet is a good fast LRM carrier or skirmisher. Hunchback is a good variety mech with all kinds of different weapons for use. Blackjack is a good jump sniper or brawler. And Cicada is an enlarged light. What is your gameplay style? Judging from Cataphracts, I think you like ballistics more, so Shadow Hawk and Blackjack. Centurion and Hunchback have too easy to destroy parts for ballistics (unless skilled), and Treb and Cicada aren't good ballistic boats.

[Dan Nashe]

Shadowhawk.

Because it is the heaviest medium, best hit boxes, and it has a variety of weapons.
Brawler? AC20, standard engine, ER LL or 2 ML brawler/Striker? Check!
Light killer/light supporter/harasser? 2 ER LL, 350XL, 3 SSRM2,
Sniper? All sorts of options. AC5x2 + 1 ERPPC or ERPPC + Gauss rifle, or 2 ERPPC + 1 (U)AC5? Check?
Striker? UAC5, 2 LPL, or any other combination of weapons with a 300 XL for a lot of hitting power? Check!

Hit boxes? Amazing. If you roll damage (big arms) you will find it is incredibly survivable - I often lose 2 arms, a torso, and and a leg, and go internal everywhere before dying.

It has jump jets! Yay jump jets!
Gives you a lot of options.

And all sorts of other possibilities.

Edited by DanNashe, 31 December 2013 - 06:01 PM.

[Triforceelf]

The one thing I don't like about my phracts is the lack of jump jets, so perhaps a shadow hawk is a good choice to help alleviate that. I do like the trial blackjack though, so I might try that as well.

[Victor Morson]

This thread tells no lies. Shadow Hawk.

[Heketon]

Feh. I still like my Hunchbacks and my Blackjacks. A Shadowhawk is just too...trendy.

[CMetz]

When it comes out for C-bills I highly recommend the WVR 6-R. My current favorite build is 340XL, AC10, medium laser, 3x SSRM2. It sounds under-armed. In actuality, its beauty lies in its simplicity. Its easy to use, almost heat neutral, has jump jets, and is mobile. Its also quite a damage soak. It takes quite a bit of pain before it dies. Anytime you drop into a new class you want to start simple and stay mobile.

[Arnold J Rimmer]

Heketon, on 31 December 2013 - 10:31 PM, said:

Feh. I still like my Hunchbacks and my Blackjacks. A Shadowhawk is just too...trendy.

Space hipster.

[John E]

shadowhawk, you can be in any role you want and you have jump jets

[Turist0AT]

Triforceelf, on 31 December 2013 - 06:12 PM, said:

The one thing I don't like about my phracts is the lack of jump jets,

Thats what 3D is for

Edited by Turist0AT, 01 January 2014 - 05:19 AM.

[Unnatural Growth]

The Shadow hawk is a great med chassis. About the only negative thing I can say about it is the lack of peripheral vision out of the cockpit. May be harder for a "newer" player to deal with. I didn't get the Sabre package, so I haven't played with the Wolverine or Griffin, but their cockpits are much more open from what spectating I've been able to do. I got into a "mostly" one on one battle with a Griffin recently, and the damage soak was pretty even. He had to stop fighting me to kill my team mate, and I had to stop fighting him to turn and kill an enemy Cataphract, and by the time we got back to killing each other I had a friendly Locust come in and steal the kill of the Griffin from me. But I was nearly gone too, most all armor gone and red all over.

The hit boxes on the Shadow hawks are amazing. I still get surprised by how much damage I can take, for a medium, and survive. Overall it's a great chassis if you can cope with the narrow field of view in a battlefield situation. It has JJ's, high mounted ballistic weapons, each variant carries ballistic, missile, and energy hardpoints for build versatility, and runs an XL engine very well.

The Hunchback is also a very good medium platform. It can't tank damage as well as the 'hawks, it doesn't mount JJ's, and it's not as XL friendly as the 'hawk chassis. The first thing you have to do in a non-SP variant hunchie is to reallocate all but 2 armor pts on the right torso to FRONT. So it's 46 front/2 rear. That will stop you from losing your hunch most of the time. They aren't as hardpoint versatile, as not every variant has every hardpoint type. It has a very good torso twist since getting "buffed" a few months ago, which adds to it's mobility. I still have the -P and -J variants, they can both put out some serious damage numbers. Run them as an assault mech support and stay with your friendly assault mech, fire on what he fires on and drive off enemy light mechs that try to circle him and you'll do very well in a Hunchie.

[Redshift2k5]

I like to boil it down to "How fast do you want to go and what guns do you want to bring when you get there?" The Shadowhawk is solid generalist but may not be capable of carrying the exact build you're looking for.

you can't really go wrong with a Shadowhawk unless you specifically want to run 6-9 medium lasers, or want arm-mounted ballistics, or want a Hero mech as part of your 3 minimum variants.

[SnowdogJJJ]

I am going through all the mediums and so far they are all fun to pilot. I stared with a hunchback but it would say ( as others have):
Shadow hawk
Centurion
Both fun and survive a brutal beating.

[Bhelogan]

I'll vouch for the SDH as well. By far my favorite medium. I like the close range brawler builds like this:

SHD-2H

A couple of average game play videos so you can see how it runs:




Note: you can also see the muzzle flash issue others have talked about. It's pretty distracting with the MGs

Edited by Bhelogan, 01 January 2014 - 08:28 AM.

[Bront]

Very first mech?

Shadowhawk 5M. You get an XL engine you can use in the other shadowhawks, it comes stock with DHS, and it's mostly playable out of the box with a build that's functional. Value wise, it's the best starting mech in the game at the moment. Get the other 2 later.