17 replies to this topic

[Odwalla]

Hello everyone! As you probably already know, this weekends tournament/event is going to result in a 50% sale of the Stormcrow(SCR) and Shadowhawk(SHD). I think it's pretty obvious that everyone should be picking up the SCR. It's hands down, THE BEST medium mech in game at the moment.

There are maybe some situations where I would take a Griffin(GRF) or SHD over a SCR, but those situations are very few. But I wanted to have a discussion about the SHD for a moment and make the case for why EVERYONE should be picking that up during the sale as well as the SCR. Especially new players who are more limited by C-Bills than anyone else.

Why The Shadowhawk Rocks

The Shadowhawk is one of the most versatile mechs in the game. It can run almost every play style load out, excluding energy boating. It runs both Standard and XL engines very well. It has great hit boxes, high mounted ballistics and energy (2K) and is relatively cheap c-bill wise.

New Meta

A lot has changed since the Shadowhawk was the king of the mediums. The major changes that have challenged the SHDs dominance were the nerfs to jump sniping. The changes to Jump Jets and slowdown of PPC has shifted the meta away from jump sniping—which is what the SHD excelled at.

The SRM fix has also brought the rise of SRM brawling mediums, such as the Griffin. And with that, was also the introduction of clan mechs. The combination of these three things has made other mediums surpass the SHD in specific play styles. In the case of the SCR, it's just out right better with the only drawback being a lack of Jump Jets.

Shadowhawk Now

The shifting meta, in my opinion, demonstrates just how versatile the SHD chassis really is. Though jump sniping is not as effective as it use to be, the SHD still does it the best. Now that SRM brawling and long range energy vomit builds are really strong, you can do both ERLLas and SRM builds in the 2K variant!

The strength of the SHD comes in its mix of hard points and versatility. This is especially important for NEW players who aren't sure which play styles they prefer yet. You can (almost) do it all with the SHD and at a fair price.

Conclusion

Although the SHD is no longer the "King" of mediums and can feel a bit underwhelming when compared to Clan mechs, I still think the SHD is a must have if you're either new or enjoy playing medium mechs at all. I can't recommend it highly enough and you shouldn't miss this weeks sale!

Note: If you're only planning on getting 3 of the SHD variants, I recommend these three: SHD-2D, SHD-5M, SHD-2K

Shadowhawk Builds

With all that said, I wanted to share with you guys my favorite SHD builds! This is by no means a complete list, but this does show the difference in play styles you can run.

Variant	Build Name	Build Desc	Build Link
SHD-2H	ER-Sniper-Shadowhawk	2xAC5+ERPPC	http://cl.ly/Y5Dh
	Sniper-Shadowhawk	2xAC5+PPC	http://cl.ly/Y6Kl
SHD-5M	Sniper-Shadowhawk	2xAC5+ERPPC	http://cl.ly/Y60x
SHD-2D	Blue-Balls	2xPPC+AC5	http://cl.ly/Y5FB
	Mini-Heavy-Metal	2xERLL+Gauss	http://cl.ly/Y5TX
	Flying-4G	AC20+3xMLas	http://cl.ly/Y5Lq
SHD-2D2	Gauss-Sniper-Shadowhawk	Gauss+ERPPC	http://cl.ly/Y5wc
SHD-2K	Sniper-Streak-Shadowhawk	2xPPC+3xSSRM2	http://cl.ly/Y6Cp
	Brawler-Shadowhawk	3xSRM6A+3xMLas	http://cl.ly/Y5v2
	ERLL-Shadowhawk	3xERLLas	http://cl.ly/Y6Fx

Shadowhawk In Action

I have run the SHD a lot and have made a lot of highlights from my stream. Here's some of them if you want to see the above builds in action: https://www.youtube....uery=Shadowhawk

[Ghogiel]

tl:dr SHD are actually good and fun

[Mcgral18]

But...half price DoomCrow...


Perhaps the JJ thrust changes will be positive? The DoomCrow doesn't have access to those.

Edited by Mcgral18, 17 October 2014 - 04:19 PM.

[Ultimax]

Mcgral18, on 17 October 2014 - 04:19 PM, said:

But...half price DoomCrow...


Perhaps the JJ thrust changes will be positive? The DoomCrow doesn't have access to those.

As much as I love the Doom Crow and it's firepower, the Shadowhawk series has the flexibility so far to weather multiple meta shifts and has several key builds that Odwalla has outlined that are all excellent.

I was really surprised at how effective one build was with just an AC10 + ER PPC, and also the 2K with 3x LLAS/ERLLAS.

It might not be T1 according to PGI, but no IS Medium is.

Edited by Ultimatum X, 17 October 2014 - 04:32 PM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Odwalla, on 17 October 2014 - 04:10 PM, said:

Hello everyone! As you probably already know, this weekends tournament/event is going to result in a 50% sale of the Stormcrow(SCR) and Shadowhawk(SHD). I think it's pretty obvious that everyone should be picking up the SCR. It's hands down, THE BEST medium mech in game at the moment.

There are maybe some situations where I would take a Griffin(GRF) or SHD over a SCR, but those situations are very few. But I wanted to have a discussion about the SHD for a moment and make the case for why EVERYONE should be picking that up during the sale as well as the SCR. Especially new players who are more limited by C-Bills than anyone else.

Why The Shadowhawk Rocks

The Shadowhawk is one of the most versatile mechs in the game. It can run almost every play style load out, excluding energy boating. It runs both Standard and XL engines very well. It has great hit boxes, high mounted ballistics and energy (2K) and is relatively cheap c-bill wise.

New Meta

A lot has changed since the Shadowhawk was the king of the mediums. The major changes that have challenged the SHDs dominance were the nerfs to jump sniping. The changes to Jump Jets and slowdown of PPC has shifted the meta away from jump sniping—which is what the SHD excelled at.

The SRM fix has also brought the rise of SRM brawling mediums, such as the Griffin. And with that, was also the introduction of clan mechs. The combination of these three things has made other mediums surpass the SHD in specific play styles. In the case of the SCR, it's just out right better with the only drawback being a lack of Jump Jets.

Shadowhawk Now

The shifting meta, in my opinion, demonstrates just how versatile the SHD chassis really is. Though jump sniping is not as effective as it use to be, the SHD still does it the best. Now that SRM brawling and long range energy vomit builds are really strong, you can do both ERLLas and SRM builds in the 2K variant!

The strength of the SHD comes in its mix of hard points and versatility. This is especially important for NEW players who aren't sure which play styles they prefer yet. You can (almost) do it all with the SHD and at a fair price.

Conclusion

Although the SHD is no longer the "King" of mediums and can feel a bit underwhelming when compared to Clan mechs, I still think the SHD is a must have if you're either new or enjoy playing medium mechs at all. I can't recommend it highly enough and you shouldn't miss this weeks sale!

Note: If you're only planning on getting 3 of the SHD variants, I recommend these three: SHD-2D, SHD-5M, SHD-2K

Shadowhawk Builds

With all that said, I wanted to share with you guys my favorite SHD builds! This is by no means a complete list, but this does show the difference in play styles you can run.

Variant	Build Name	Build Desc	Build Link
SHD-2H	ER-Sniper-Shadowhawk	2xAC5+ERPPC	http://cl.ly/Y5Dh
	Sniper-Shadowhawk	2xAC5+PPC	http://cl.ly/Y6Kl
SHD-5M	Sniper-Shadowhawk	2xAC5+ERPPC	http://cl.ly/Y60x
SHD-2D	Blue-Balls	2xPPC+AC5	http://cl.ly/Y5FB
	Mini-Heavy-Metal	2xERLL+Gauss	http://cl.ly/Y5TX
	Flying-4G	AC20+3xMLas	http://cl.ly/Y5Lq
SHD-2D2	Gauss-Sniper-Shadowhawk	Gauss+ERPPC	http://cl.ly/Y5wc
SHD-2K	Sniper-Streak-Shadowhawk	2xPPC+3xSSRM2	http://cl.ly/Y6Cp
	Brawler-Shadowhawk	3xSRM6A+3xMLas	http://cl.ly/Y5v2
	ERLL-Shadowhawk	3xERLLas	http://cl.ly/Y6Fx

Shadowhawk In Action

I have run the SHD a lot and have made a lot of highlights from my stream. Here's some of them if you want to see the above builds in action: https://www.youtube....uery=Shadowhawk

Great eval, though it overlooks what the SHD also did great which is flanking and skirmishing. Lasers, acs and streaks, or srm4s are still great, and even in the height of the Poptart Meta, rather usable.

I was killing Comp Team members in poptarts with my SHD-"D", with 4 SSRM2, UAC5 and 2 Mediums since the day PHSX pack was released.

SHD is probably a step behind the SC, but even slightly nerfed, the JJS are a huge factor.

[Livewyr]

The only thing the Shawk has over the SCR is Jumpjets. (The Doomcrow can mount everything- with the XL engine.)

That said: It is my favorite IS medium.

[FupDup]

Livewyr, on 17 October 2014 - 06:05 PM, said:

The only thing the Shawk has over the SCR is Jumpjets. (The Doomcrow can mount everything- with the XL engine.)

That said: It is my favorite IS medium.

Well, the Shad is also better at ERLL sniping due to higher, asymmetrical mounts (2K variant).

[Lyoto Machida]

Nice writeup for sure. This makes me want to dust off my SHDs and take them out for a spin.

[Bishop Steiner]

FupDup, on 17 October 2014 - 06:47 PM, said:

Well, the Shad is also better at ERLL sniping due to higher, asymmetrical mounts (2K variant).

Better ballistic sniper, too. Between high shoulder mount and PP-FLD, two things notoriously lacking on the SC.

[Macksheen]

I still like the AC10 2xPPC as well. Mucho fun.

I run the 2k as 3xERLL and streaks

[Lukoi Banacek]

SHD are fantastics Mechs and are used pretty often in comp play still (especially in tonnage/tech restricted leagues like MCW). Lot's going for them. Nice write up Odwalla.

[Odwalla]

Mcgral18, on 17 October 2014 - 04:19 PM, said:

But...half price DoomCrow...


Perhaps the JJ thrust changes will be positive? The DoomCrow doesn't have access to those.

Yeah, I mean if you can only pick one over the sale, I'd probably recommend just getting the SCR. It would also be the better savings. I was mainly making the argument that if you have the c-bills and don't have the SHD yet, it's still a REALLY good mech and a "must have" for medium pilots.

I also think it's the BEST starter mech for new pilots who are more worried about c-bills than someone who has already built up a bank.

[Greenjulius]

I climbed to number 6 in the tournament with the Shadow Hawk 2H (2xAC5, 1xAC2) and 2K. (3xERLL)

These mechs are dynamite. I can get consistently good games in them. I will pick up the DoomCrows for the crazy value, but if you plan on playing IS in CW, Shadow Hawks are a priority.

[SpeedingBus]

Personally I would take a LL over a PPC not only does it run cooler you can add more ammo for AC5s which is your main damage anyways or you could even get a bigger engine as well.

Also dear god if your trying to kill a light mech its a nightmare especially if its a close game and near the end of match.

[Odwalla]

Greenjulius, on 18 October 2014 - 11:37 AM, said:

I climbed to number 6 in the tournament with the Shadow Hawk 2H (2xAC5, 1xAC2) and 2K. (3xERLL)

These mechs are dynamite. I can get consistently good games in them. I will pick up the DoomCrows for the crazy value, but if you plan on playing IS in CW, Shadow Hawks are a priority.

Hell yeah! I actually got #1 in IS Mediums during the first Worthy Adversary tournament: http://mwomercs.com/...t=201408faction

I specifically only played the Shadowhawks and Griffins with a lot of different loadouts but the SHD was my most consistent best performer for the tournament. During the tournament, I actually kept track of every match I played, how I did, the score and the build I was using. You can see all my data for that here: https://docs.google....4GaM/edit#gid=0

Edited by Odwalla, 18 October 2014 - 11:45 AM.

[MadPanda]

It's an IS mech, so new players certainly shouldn't be getting it over stormcrow. Every IS mech comes with additional fees which are DHS (1.5m cbills) and endo (800k cbills). Not to mention if you want to swap out the engine which you almost always want to do, and if its an XL engine that you got your eye on, well, hope you got the cbills cuz it ain't gonna be cheap.

In this economy the stormcrow is the best pick for value.

[Odwalla]

MadPanda, on 18 October 2014 - 11:51 AM, said:

It's an IS mech, so new players certainly shouldn't be getting it over stormcrow. Every IS mech comes with additional fees which are DHS (1.5m cbills) and endo (800k cbills). Not to mention if you want to swap out the engine which you almost always want to do, and if its an XL engine that you got your eye on, well, hope you got the cbills cuz it ain't gonna be cheap.

In this economy the stormcrow is the best pick for value.

During the sale, yeah you'll SAVE more getting the SCR. But the SHD just costs less all around. All IS mechs do because of the ability to swap the engine around. With clans, you HAVE to buy the XL that comes each variant. And MOST good SHD builds run the XL255 or some STD engine (which obv are cheap).

But like I said (a few times) in my OP, the SCR is the best medium in the game atm. You should DEFINITELY get it during the sale if you have the c-bills. My only point is that if you don't have the Shadowhawk yet, it's ALSO a must have. And I'd personally recommend it over the SCR if you're new and still learning the game and are limited in the c-bills department.

[Chemie]

missing the light killer:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...707fdaaf4ef5631

also your AC20 build is not optimal; add ferro, lose CASE and bigger engine:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7071d6768b52e3e