56 replies to this topic

[RagEneT]

Well I am thinking of buying ShadowHawk

Now there are3 different variants
SHD-2D2
SHD-2H
SHD-5M

So, based on what I can tell, the SHD-2D2 seems to be the weakest and the worst. so buying it wouldn't be smart.
The SHD-2H seems to ba avarage on the overall stats.
SHD-5M seems to be the overall best choice based on the overall stats shown.

Also, from what I can gather, my first 3 mechs should be the same so I can get the most practise and short cooldown. Is that correct?

[mikelovskij]

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 02:18 AM, said:

Well I am thinking of buying ShadowHawk

Now there are3 different variants
SHD-2D2
SHD-2H
SHD-5M

So, based on what I can tell, the SHD-2D2 seems to be the weakest and the worst. so buying it wouldn't be smart.
The SHD-2H seems to ba avarage on the overall stats.
SHD-5M seems to be the overall best choice based on the overall stats shown.

Also, from what I can gather, my first 3 mechs should be the same so I can get the most practise and short cooldown. Is that correct?

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 02:18 AM, said:

Well I am thinking of buying ShadowHawk

Now there are3 different variants
SHD-2D2
SHD-2H
SHD-5M

So, based on what I can tell, the SHD-2D2 seems to be the weakest and the worst. so buying it wouldn't be smart.
The SHD-2H seems to ba avarage on the overall stats.
SHD-5M seems to be the overall best choice based on the overall stats shown.

Also, from what I can gather, my first 3 mechs should be the same so I can get the most practise and short cooldown. Is that correct?

Not much correct.
First of all you need to consider that the only real difference between the various variants is their hardpoints. Another thing is that the 5m costs much more but gives u an XL engine but i don't know how useful an XL275 is on a shadow hawk.
You will need to modify the stock builds a lot to make them viable.

The 2d2 is good for lrm boating, streak srm boating (light hunter) and also can build a meta Ac/20 + ppc build which is a good brawling build.
The other variants allow instead the use of 2AC5 that also allow xl engines to be used (while with the ac20 you don't have enough slots to use xl engines).
5m allows the use of more jump jets but in most builds you won't use them because you want as much weight as possible in the other more important things (weapons, armor, engine).

Other than this i don't know much the shadow hawk so other people would maybe help you more.

[Roughneck45]

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 02:18 AM, said:

Also, from what I can gather, my first 3 mechs should be the same so I can get the most practise and short cooldown. Is that correct?

You want 3 of the same mech so you can unlock all the pilot skills. You have to complete the basics on all 3 variants before you can start on the elites.

You can start with whatever Shadowhawk variant you like, they are all good.

[RagEneT]

Roughneck45, on 22 January 2014 - 05:32 AM, said:

You want 3 of the same mech so you can unlock all the pilot skills. You have to complete the basics on all 3 variants before you can start on the elites.

You can start with whatever Shadowhawk variant you like, they are all good.

I did not even know that. So I must get all 3 sets and then maybe upgrade all 3 sets. Sounds like a lot of cedit farming to me.

[Rushin Roulette]

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 02:18 AM, said:

Well I am thinking of buying ShadowHawk

Now there are3 different variants
SHD-2D2
SHD-2H
SHD-5M

So, based on what I can tell, the SHD-2D2 seems to be the weakest and the worst. so buying it wouldn't be smart.
The SHD-2H seems to ba avarage on the overall stats.
SHD-5M seems to be the overall best choice based on the overall stats shown.

Also, from what I can gather, my first 3 mechs should be the same so I can get the most practise and short cooldown. Is that correct?

Actually, its all up to what you do with the Mechs. I personally find the 2D2 to be by far the best of the bunch... but, and this is a very big but... getting it set up is very expensive with the XL360 or XL380 reactor costing far more than the initial mech itself for the light hunter setup (2MPL, 4 SSRM and a BAP).

EDIT: you will have to get all 3 variants SHD-2D2, SHD-2H and SHD-5M to be able to master the Shadow Hawk. You get the mech XP and have to unlock each of the basics of the 3 variants before you are able to got o the next level where you unlock the elite skills (This part also automatically doubles your basic skills btw.). Once all 3 variants have the elite skills all unlocked you can work on the master skill (only one skill atm with an extra module slot).

A tip to getting XP quickly is to take a TAG and a UAV with. You get extra XP whenever a teammate lockes and damages an enemy which you are covering with the UAV/TAG laser. The UAV has to be bought per round though which will subtract a little from your CBill income though.

Edited by Rushin Roulette, 22 January 2014 - 05:49 AM.

[Roughneck45]

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 05:41 AM, said:

I did not even know that. So I must get all 3 sets and then maybe upgrade all 3 sets. Sounds like a lot of cedit farming to me.

If you want to make the mech the best it can be endo steel and DHS upgrades are a must, and yes, those c-bills can add up. Having all the skills for a mech makes a world of difference though, so I would strongly recommend you focus on those skills till you complete them.

Make sure you use your cadet c-bill bonus wisely. Your first mech purchase and upgrade choices are probably the most important decision you have to make in MWO.

Edited by Roughneck45, 22 January 2014 - 05:59 AM.

[RagEneT]

Can somebodey use http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ and make ShadowHawk builds so I can see what are the items and upgrades and weapons ect that I need to get to have the best possible build for the mechs.
(And somehow this is my last allowed post for the day)

[Modo44]

2D2: AC10+3xSSRM2+2xML, XL300, Endo Steel, Double Heatsinks
Good for anything from chasing lights to blowing up big stuff. Start with the AC10 at 500+m, finish with MLs and streaks up close. Expect to run out of ammo -- this is by design, to fit all those weapons with good speed.

2H: 2xAC2+AC5, XL280, Endo Steel, Double Heatsinks
Long range fire support. Follow a bigger mech, preferably assault, and shoot what he shoots. It is easy to kill, but the assault you follow is the more dangerous target.

2M (and others): AC20+2xML, STD250, Endo Steel, Double Heatsinks
This is the standard build that you can put on any Shadowhawk. The AC20 is absolutely deadly on this highly mobile mech. The only downside is the short range. Take fewer jump jets on the 2D2 to keep arm armor high on both sides.

Both XL builds can use the XL275 that comes with the Shadowhawk 2M. This should save you a lot of Cbills.

Edited by Modo44, 22 January 2014 - 07:03 AM.

[Koniving]

SnagaDance, on 22 January 2014 - 12:55 AM, said:

4,9 million C-bills even.....

Use those trial mechs to try and find what you like. After my first 25 matches I bought an Awesome. Mostly based on the way they are on the BattleTech TT game. Big mistake. Clearly not a mech for the rooky pilot.

Awesomes are a bit hindered by their bulk, even if the animation makes them very difficult to headshot while moving at full speed. Sadly "heat scale" (ghost heat) really hindered most of its possible weapon combinations. Still there's merits to be had for them if you just casually ignore ghost heat but fire less often. In turn you make each shot count, and you'd be surprised at how well it performs. Just don't find yourself on the front line.

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 06:43 AM, said:

Can somebodey use http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ and make ShadowHawk builds so I can see what are the items and upgrades and weapons ect that I need to get to have the best possible build for the mechs.
(And somehow this is my last allowed post for the day)

On it; will edit this shortly with a few builds.

The Drill
This is a brawling build that uses a few little principles.

Spoiler

It uses Endo Steel to gain some extra tonnage at the price of potential slots.
1) Front-focused armor; this mech is not meant to run away.
2) It abuses the Artemis enhancement to enhance a streak missile's lock-on speed for free. (Devs fix this!)
3) It uses Artemis to tighten the SRM spread (at the cost of 1 ton per missile, slightly more expensive ammo; lucky you there's no repair and rearm).
4) It does not put ammunition in the legs -- which is something usually done -- because the legs are the first thing to go when a player 'bunny hops'.
5) The concept of Crit Buffering is put to use. What this means is when weapons hit a section without armor, there's a "crit damage roll" to see if it can do additional damage to your inner components (heatsinks, ammo, etc). If there's an empty space, there's a reroll (increasing the likeliness any single object will be damaged).

Therefore, if the ER Large Laser is the only thing in the right arm, it is the only thing that takes damage -- BAM it's gone! But, with the two double heatsinks in there, there's only a 1 in 3 chance. But as items are selected by 'slot' and not by object, it really is a 6 in 8 chance that the heatsinks will take any damage given. Blam! Your ER Large Laser will probably survive until the arm is gone; it's protected! The same goes for your ammo and other weapons. It's heavily protected by the cluster of objects. Even so, MGs and LB-10x, will absolutely devastate you so avoid fighting mechs with them. Try not to fight AC/10 or AC/20 for extended periods. Get in, shoot, get behind someone.

6) A weapon for every situation. The ER Large Laser is your only 'reach out and touch' weapon. It's also handy against fast targets. The SRMs + Streak can be devastating to a large enemy but is about useless against smaller, faster ones. Switch to just streak + MGs + ER LL to take care of them and aim directly at the target; do NOT lead regardless of what the particle effect for the bullets suggest; MGs work like lasers in that they hit instantly. Thus, the MGs' lack of heat and the ER LL's high heat both compliment each other when it comes to close range.
7) AMS protection -- it has an anti-missile system which will attack LRMs, SRMs, and Streaks to reduce the damage dealt to you.
8) BAP -- Enhanced sensors and ability to counter ECM at close ranges, allows the Streak to continue functioning even with an enemy ECM jammer nearby (must be within 150 meters to counter).
9) Not maxed jumpjets. This build doesn't have maxed out jumpjets. The reasoning is that if you bunny hop too much you will easily perish. Use it to dodge a shot, to escape, or when you are too close for comfort against a really powerful enemy.
10) External heatsinks. Though it was capable of mounting 2 additional heatsinks inside the engine, it is chosen to use them to buffer the ER LL to prevent its premature destruction. This is a difficult choice to make, as doing so means you cannot also include Ferro Fibrous armor due to not enough slots left; but that really isn't necessary for this mech.
11) Pack mentality. This build by itself can be a threat. Two or three of them that are identical are overwhelmingly powerful if they focus the same target. Even if they are not identical mechs, being accompanied by other mechs with a similar focus will change the mech from 'threat' to 'nearly unstoppable'.
12) Common engine; this XL engine is commonly used in some light mechs, some mediums, and many heavy mechs.

Eternally Cold Surgeon
This cut 'em up and run build has a few design quirks.

Spoiler

1) Uneven armor allocation; half-turtleback. When approached, an enemy will almost always focus the cannon first. Thus it is heavily protected on the front side but not so much from the rear. Between this and your left arm, you should be able to take a fair bit of damage although ideally you do not want to be the focus of enemy fire. Meanwhile, the rear-right side is also heavily protected to allow you to escape a bad situation at full speed while sacrificing little on your body and a lot from your useless right arm. This is so you can rush in, hit things, and get out.
2) Weapons of mass Crit Seeking. Since this mech is a second-line mech designed to push through your team's first line when enemies are weakened, the weapon selection is designed to rapidly find very weak armor and to devastate internals as quickly as possible. The streaks are great at taking out legs on lights and peppering enemies. The Shotgun can find weak points quickly and devastate internals. The MGs can provide more focused damage.

"I am but a surgeon; let the nurses prepare my patient and then I'll come in to practice medicine." ~ Koniving.

3) Eternally cold / Heat Neutrality. This mech is almost impossible to overheat, even on the hottest maps. Endurance is key to getting in, rapidly taking kills and getting out before anyone can focus you.
4) BAP -- see the previous design.
5) Crit buffering -- see the previous design.
6) Common engine. See previous design.
7) Sacrificial arms; the sole purpose of the arms is to be sacrificed to enemy fire.

Those are the only two designs I'll share for now. I'm sure many more will be sent your way.

Edited by Koniving, 22 January 2014 - 07:42 AM.

[100mile]

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 05:41 AM, said:

I did not even know that. So I must get all 3 sets and then maybe upgrade all 3 sets. Sounds like a lot of cedit farming to me.

You have 2 things you need to keep track of in this game...
1)obviously you need to have enough c-bills or if you are lucky enough to have extra real money laying around you can buy mechs or buy premium time and convert XP. None of which will make you a better player per se...except maybe the converting of XP and that just means you get where the free player will get faster...

2) Most important...XP...At the top of your game screen you have 3 tabs...Home/Mech lab/Pilot lab...click on pilot lab...
on the right you will see 4 more tabs marked w/ an L,M,H and A...that's light, medium,heavy and Assault...it's set to default on the light..under it you will see a list of light mechs...if you owned one and you clicked on it it would give you the list of variants you owned and how much XP you have built up on each one...
So lets say you own a Raven..you click on it and then click on the variant you own..look to the left and you will see 8 boxes under basic and 4 boxes under elite and 1 under master....All of them have a a number under them..this is the amount of XP it takes to unlock these skills...
Once you have enough XP to unlock all 8 basic boxes then you buy your next variant and do the same thing and then you buy your 3rd variant and do the same thing...once you have all 3 variants basiced up then you work on getting all three of them Elited...you follow the same process by earning enough XP to unlock the elite boxes then you can master 1 or all three if you like....by earning enough XP to master one...
Important note...Once you master a mech in any weight class you no longer have to elite the mechs you get to make one eligible to master in that weight class...you only have to basic them...

[Roughneck45]

Shadowhawks are very versatile and can use many different loadouts. My personal favorites all use Endo steel, Ferro, double heat sinks, and standard engines.

When deciding how to build them it usually comes down to what you want your main armament to be, either ballistics or missiles with energy to support.

AC20 + PPC builds are the meta, and if you have the aim they are lethal. Streak builds are also strong, with medium lasers supporting and good speed.

Some of my favorites.

AC20 + PPC
SHD-2D2
Can replace PPC with a large pulse for brawling.

Dakka Hawk
SHD-2H

Balanced
SHD-5M

Edited by Roughneck45, 22 January 2014 - 07:15 AM.

[Koniving]

Just a note, any time a quoted post is edited, it draws the attention of the people you quoted. I couldn't get the link to stay for the second Smurfy build, after a few tries I realized I was copy/pasting the wrong link; I was trying to put the HTML code version in the link-thingy which already does the code, thus is why it wasn't working.

<.< So it's gonna say I quoted you like 50 times.

[Hauser]

If you're going to buy Shadowhawks, you best start with the SHD-5M.

The XL275 engine is great and be reused in the other Shadowhawk builds*. It also comes with DHS and Endo preinstalled.

I'm running this right now. SHD-5M. Jump in, unload, jump turn, unload, jump out, repeat.


*Note when buying you're better of with the XL280 but this one comes wit the mech, waste not, want not.

[RagEneT]

So I built my own MECH based on ShadowHawk.
Tell you what - shooting that ERPPC is so satisfying! You can feel the punch! And and AC/20 oh what a blast!

One thing I do not understand though - I checked all 3 variants in Pilots Lab. They are all the same unlocks for the 3 variants of ShadowHawk so why do I have to fully unlock them all?

[Roughneck45]

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 09:47 AM, said:

One thing I do not understand though - I checked all 3 variants in Pilots Lab. They are all the same unlocks for the 3 variants of ShadowHawk so why do I have to fully unlock them all?

All mechs have the exact same tree right now. You have to unlock each skill for each individual mech variant.

Once you complete the basic skills for each variant you can move on to the elite skills. Once you've unlocked all 4 elite skills for a mech you will be able to unlock the module slot AND all of your basic skills will be DOUBLED.

I put that in caps because that is really why you want to complete the skill trees. Having the basic skills doubled is amazing.

Edited by Roughneck45, 22 January 2014 - 10:41 AM.

[Modo44]

The 3 mech requirement is part of the free to play model used in MWO. Buying and unlocking all 3 mechs will take a lot of time, so you have an incentive to buy things that will speed it up with MC (real world money). Similar systems exist in other games. No need to pay, but it will take a while to get a mech fully kitted out.

[RagEneT]

Still I do not understand - what do I unlock after fully getting all 3 mechs unlocked? I do understand why you want to do it on some mechs, but why on all 3 varants of the same mech? Why not just unlock fully the variant I like the best?

[Mechteric]

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 11:03 AM, said:

Still I do not understand - what do I unlock after fully getting all 3 mechs unlocked? I do understand why you want to do it on some mechs, but why on all 3 varants of the same mech? Why not just unlock fully the variant I like the best?

- The Elite XP unlocks come after unlocking 3 variant basics, the most notable one being Speed Tweek (increases mech top speed by 10%!!!)
- The double basic unlocks. When all Elite skills are unlocked for a variant, all of your basic unlock effects are doubled (e.g. double the effects of heat containment, acceleration, deceleration, etc)
- why? Because they needed a grind system to keep people playing and encourages the choice of paying to speed that up (because thats how free to play games keep running, someone has to pay or the game ceases to exist)

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 22 January 2014 - 11:09 AM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 11:03 AM, said:

Still I do not understand - what do I unlock after fully getting all 3 mechs unlocked? I do understand why you want to do it on some mechs, but why on all 3 varants of the same mech? Why not just unlock fully the variant I like the best?

You need the Basics done on 3 variants of one chassis (CN9-A, CN9-AL, and CN9-D for example) to move unlock the Elite skills for that chassis.

You need the elite done on 3 variants of one weight class (CN9-A, HBG-4SP, and SHD-2D2 for example - or three of one chassis) to unlock the Master skill for that chassis.

After finishing the Elite skills (whether you unlock Master or not) the Basic skills double in effectiveness.

[Roughneck45]

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 11:03 AM, said:

Still I do not understand - what do I unlock after fully getting all 3 mechs unlocked? I do understand why you want to do it on some mechs, but why on all 3 varants of the same mech? Why not just unlock fully the variant I like the best?

Unlocking the basic skills for all 3 will allow you to unlock the elite skills for the one you do want.

It is their system to increase the grind, so that if you want to have the best skills for a certain variant you MUST have purchased, used, and invested in the basic skills of the variants you don't want.

RagEneT, on 22 January 2014 - 09:47 AM, said:

So I built my own MECH based on ShadowHawk.
Tell you what - shooting that ERPPC is so satisfying! You can feel the punch! And and AC/20 oh what a blast!

Glad you like it. The best news is that that build works on any of them, so leveling should be enjoyable for you.