15 replies to this topic

[N0MAD]

Havnt played in a very long time.
Own only Hunchies and Cicada, Looking for a versatile Medium to buy.
Not spending real $ for it.
Suggestions pls.

[Modo44]

Shadow Hawk. A jumping mech which works well in virtually any role, and is relatively XL-friendly. The 2D2 is the most versatile, so that would be the first one to get. The others are better at specific builds, so buy two once you know which builds you prefer.

[Ursh]

Definitely the Shadowhawk. Flexible for missiles or ballistics, and the high mounted ballistics means that you can shoot what you see.

If you really like SRMs though, the Griffin is also pretty nasty currently.

I don't have experience with the Wolverine, but it's ballistic mount hangs at hip level, which is kind of a serious drawback compared to the Shawk.

A fourth option is the Blackjack, but it's harder to use than the heavier mediums due to lower armor and lack of lateral arm movement. In its favor though is that it's pretty small, allowing you to use bigger mechs for cover.

[Hastur Azargo]

Indeed, look no further than Shadow Hawk for ballistic/meta duty, or Griffin for jumpy SRM/laser goodness. Also consider Kintaro if you're ready for a drive-by SRM punching or boating streaks - it doesn't have JJs, but can equip more missiles, which also makes it a good choice if, like me, you're into medium LRM-boats.

Wolverines, much like Thunderbolts, suffer from being too bulky for their weight, and from the fact that one of their energy hardpoints is always in the head, and that means just one slot, so a medium laser at best. In lore that should have been a ball turret, but in our game that's just a fixed forward-facing mount.

[N0MAD]

TY all, confirmed what i had suspected and been advised.

[Karamarka]

Shadowhawk or Griffin, i see way more shadowhawks with jump jets than i ever see Griffins however.

[Denolven]

For future requests, consider taking a look here: Which mech you should buy

[dragnier1]

I would suggest the shadowhawk 5m if you don't have enought to buy the 2d2 and xl300 engine (the engine cost 4.9m cbills) as the 5m comes with an xl275 with a discount. You could reuse the engine on the 2d2 until you could afford the xl300 (unless you already own one).

Also, take a look at the clan mech release schedule as you can contemplate the nova and the stormcrow (i'll recommend the stormcrow even though i don't own one yet). You should have time to save up cbills if clan mechs interest you till its release.

[Koniving]

N0MAD, on 07 July 2014 - 11:10 PM, said:

Havnt played in a very long time.
Own only Hunchies and Cicada, Looking for a versatile Medium to buy.
Not spending real $ for it.
Suggestions pls.

Some solid mediums.
Shadowhawk as everyone said is a pretty good one. It's like a Hunchback with jumpjets and super limited torso twist and vertical aim. Use streaks to make up for the low number of arm weapons and to help deal with lights. 5M is the best one in terms of starting out.

Visibility from cockpit: Awful.

Griffin is a solid missile/energy mech with jumpjets and far more jump potential. 3M is a good introduction due to its XL engine and pre-upgraded nature.

Visibility from cockpit: Best you'll ever get from an IS mech.

Kintaro is a solid but jumpless mech. Its combination of arm-mounted energy and arm/torso mounted missiles gives it a great versatility. The use of missile doors on the center torso also increase its survivability. So long as you have a launcher in the center torso and the door is closed you get 10% extra damage resistance. My favorite build runs an LRM-20, 2 SRM-4s and 2 Streak-2s with some medium lasers and a tag. The KTO-20 is pre-upgraded.

Visibility from cockpit: Really solid. There's a horizontal bar in the way of left and right sides which are iffy. Kintaro's arm range is great enough to shoot beyond directly behind itself (so with arms, it can reach and shoot things beyond 180 degrees in either direction; literally meaning you can shoot behind yourself and just reach over to shoot a bit further without having to twist around). (Edit: Words were missing)

Wolverine is a bit of an underdog because people haven't really been willing to try it. However, being the shortest 55 ton mech with the smallest side torsos makes it seem nearly invincible provided you keep it pretty fast or don't go solo-brawling against a lot of enemies. I personally enjoy this mech more than any of the other 55 ton battlemechs. A combination of LRMs or Streaks or SRMs with good medium lasers will make any build pretty solid. The light nature of its optimal weapon systems makes it easy to run a standard engine. And the ballistic variant works great with a combination of streaks, AC/10 and an MG. Its incredible ability to jump to immense heights is also quite enjoyable considering that its best trait is vertical combat (super bunny hop brawling! Not to be confused with poptarting.) Wolverine is likely to get a hero soon as noted thanks to NGNG's requests for Wolverine builds for a hero.

Visibility: Great in all directions except down. Remove the head energy weapon. Wolverine is the only IS mech aside from the Battlemaster that could compete with Griffin's visibility, though it falls short of the Griffin and surpasses all other mechs.

Edited by Koniving, 08 July 2014 - 10:41 AM.

[N0MAD]

Thanks guys, got the D2, mounted a ER PPC, 3x SRM4, 3x JJs (no sniping)did ok i suppose considering i hadnt played in near a year.
Average 1 kill, 2 to 5 assists 200+ damage.
I need a good build, and i will invest in Armor and DHS.
Suggestions pls

[Kitane]

Griffins are imho easier to grind than Wolverines, WVR-6K is a very weird variant with 4 energy hardpoints on a single arm and no JJs. Weird machine and at least for me it was one of the most miserable and useless experiences I've ever had in this game. Nothing worked, not even remotely. Other two variants were sweet, sweet rides, though.

All three Griffins and other two Wolverines are brain-dead easy to use and pretty effective even against Clan scum.

Shadowhawks are average. They are good, they have wonderful shoulder mounted ballistics, but they feel sluggish, clumsy and fragile compared to Saber mechs.

edit: too late

Edited by Kitane, 08 July 2014 - 05:13 AM.

[N0MAD]

Kitane, on 08 July 2014 - 05:12 AM, said:

Griffins are imho easier to grind than Wolverines, WVR-6K is a very weird variant with 4 energy hardpoints on a single arm and no JJs. Weird machine and at least for me it was one of the most miserable and useless experiences I've ever had in this game. Nothing worked, not even remotely. Other two variants were sweet, sweet rides, though.

All three Griffins and other two Wolverines are brain-dead easy to use and pretty effective even against Clan scum.

Shadowhawks are average. They are good, they have wonderful shoulder mounted ballistics, but they feel sluggish, clumsy and fragile compared to Saber mechs.

edit: too late

I will be buying other Mediums.
TY.

[Modo44]

Focus on 2 weapon types for best results. A pair of LLs or PPCs plus a gun or lots of missiles (as long as they are all of one type) will work. For an easy time, you can do AC20+2xML with the stock standard engine.

[Pastor Priest]

Did you get the 2D2 or the 2D? As has been suggested, either can make an excellent brawler, but the 2D is the best SHD for that, IMO. Once you have the cash, you can shove in a STD 270, AC20, and three medium lasers. It is literally a jumping HBK 4G, but better.

[Xeno Phalcon]

I preferred Griffin (GRN-3M to be specific) prior to upgrading to my Warhawk, Shadowhawk is more diverse but the griffin has a outstanding torso twist range (Elited you can basically check your own ass out nearly) but its has limited energy points, no ballistics but boats missiles well making it a outstanding SRM mech these days.

Fourth week of August you can pick up the clan made Nova for c-bills, but you wont see the powerful Stormcrow until late october.

[Kjudoon]

Griffin and Shadowhawk are the only two I'd recommend. Both can be made into very good ballistic (SDH only), laser or LRM mechs. The Wolverine has bad hardpoint placement in comparison and is limited to being only an SRM boat and is generally a good brawler for those into short range.