18 replies to this topic

[A Vieira]

With the upcoming Shadowhawk sale I was thinking of maybe picking some up and mastering this chassis. Since I was never much interested in these (I know, my mistake) I wanted to know from experience which 3 variants you guys think are a must have, or the ones to stay away from. I guess the 2H is a must have probably.

Shoot away!

Edited by A Vieira, 19 October 2014 - 11:36 AM.

[Spheroid]

5M for the engine and jets, 2D2 for the four missile hardpoints.

The H sucks, it is easily the worst hawk. I am going to complete my collection when I buy the 2D.

The 2K was very good until they nerfed PPCs, but it is certainly possible to create other good builds.

Edited by Spheroid, 19 October 2014 - 11:50 AM.

[Appogee]

2D2 is best. 5M turned out to be surprisingly effective. Equal 3rd place to the rest.

[Brizna]

5M, 2K and 2D2 are the best buys.

5M is a ballanced mech that comes with 275XL at 45% discount next tuesday
2D2 is a pefect SRM brawler
2K is the best energy sniper I can think.

[Inflatable Fish]

Brizna, on 19 October 2014 - 12:43 PM, said:

2K is the best energy sniper I can think.

if you're playing the 2K as a sniper, you're doing it wrong.

[Macksheen]

2D2 was my long time favorite, 2K now ... You can run either as a brawler, skirmisher, whatever ... Love them both.

[Brizna]

To be honest I don't have a 2K now, used to have one when I was a newb but sold it to make room for other mechs. The 2K seems to be most effective with 3xERLL though, what do you run on it?

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Brizna, on 19 October 2014 - 03:36 PM, said:

The 2K seems to be most effective with 3xERLL though

3 ASRM6 launchers,3 medium lasers,engine to taste,i recommend 300 XL for pugland,couple of jump jets.
Gets more consistent damage than specialist long range builds.

[ImperialKnight]

Inflatable Fish, on 19 October 2014 - 12:47 PM, said:

if you're playing the 2K as a sniper, you're doing it wrong.

agreed. the 2K is the best IS Medium SRM brawler. Even better than Griffins, with its 2 shield arms. i love dancing in my 2K, while chucking SRMs into enemy's faces

the 3xERLLas and dual PPC builds are just wasting the potential of the chasis

[PeeWrinkle]

I have all of the Shadowhawks mastered and if I were only getting three here is what I would buy (Although I'd just get all 5, you'll be happier in the long run that way! LOL):
2K: Possibly the best medium in the game. I also have builds with 3 LL, but they just run too hot.
2H: Yes the 2H gets knocked a lot, but it can be configured for the highest constant DPS and it really fits my play style (it is my favorite - Alternate Fun Build-Actually have a few of these with varying armor, ammo and engine size)
2D: The 2D and 2D2 I play the same, If you like steaks go with the 2D2, but if you like AC's especially the AC20 the 2D is superior because you can go with 3ML instead of just 2ML.

That leaves the 5M the odd mech out. I was never as good with this mech as I was with the other Shadowhawks. Now that said if you need an XL275 engine, I would get this one, especially if it is on sale. One thing I will caution (and I am sure you already know) is that the XL280 is the same weight. That means you will most likely want to by an XL280 if you don't have one already for any builds that would use the XL275, so it may not be worth going the 5M route.

If you do like the 5M, I tried several builds. Here are the two builds I did the best with while leveling: Mixed AC Build and AC20 Build. I Also have a build I call my Mini Victor because I run a Victor with an almost identical load out. Didn't use this until after I mastered it, so I have not played it a whole lot, actually I only realized I could do it about a week ago. It's been great so far.

Most of my best builds use the following engines (I have multiple builds per chassis): XL 280, XL 300, XL 320, XL 330, STD 250, STD 260 so I would not let engine rating be a deciding factor. Most likely you will be buying a few anyway.

Hope that helps.

[Dagon Zur]

The formula:

(5M or 2H) + (2D or 2D2) + 2K

I would pick 2H, 2D, 2K

I choose 2D over 2D2 variant because you can run 1balistic+2energy on same side of the mech (GAUSS+2ERLL, AC10+2PPC, UAC5+2PPC), for better convergence and minimum exposure.

[TercieI]

Dagon Zur, on 20 October 2014 - 04:29 AM, said:

The formula:

(5M or 2H) + (2D or 2D2) + 2K

I would pick 2H, 2D, 2K

I choose 2D over 2D2 variant because you can run 1balistic+2energy on same side of the mech (GAUSS+2ERLL, AC10+2PPC, UAC5+2PPC), for better convergence and minimum exposure.

Nailed it.

I'd go 5M over 2H, but other than that agree 100%. I have all five, will probably pick up a second 2K in the sale.

[PeeWrinkle]

Dagon Zur, on 20 October 2014 - 04:29 AM, said:

The formula:

(5M or 2H) + (2D or 2D2) + 2K

Exactly! Dragon Zur is right on the mark here. Never fear, if you make the wrong choice for you, you will just end of with 5 mechs in your garage that you enjoy playing.

It will be interesting to see what the updated quirks for the Shadowhawks are and if it will have any impact on build design.

[A Vieira]

Thanks for all the help you guys, and for taking the time to share some builds.
Peewrinkle, I have some XL280 and XL300 that I use in other builds, but the sale price could make me buy one. Let's see how my C-Bills are at the time, maybe trying to get 3 Shadowhawks and a Stormcrow if I can.

On another note, see how they're pushing for mediums? Maybe trying to get some people out of their Heavies and Assaults and change the balance on queue.
As for the quirks, don't think they'll change much on Shadowhawks. Aren't they all on Tier 2? I think the big changes will be on Tier 4 and 5.

More opinions are always welcome!

[ExplodedZombie]

Spheroid, on 19 October 2014 - 11:49 AM, said:

The H sucks, it is easily the worst hawk. I am going to complete my collection when I buy the 2D.

I would love to know your reasoning. I freaking love this mech.
AC10, 3 SRM4, ML, (2MG or 1t ammo, extra JJ)

[IllCaesar]

If you plan on keeping them long term, get the 5M. While it appears to be 2 million more C-Bills than all of the others, it comes with DHS and ES. The difference between the 5M at purchase and the 2K with DHS and ES upgrades is a mere 50,000 C-Bills. The reason to get the 5M is because, at relatively the same cost of other Shadowhawks, assuming that you're going to upgrade them all, you get an XL engine. Basically, you get the XL275 for free. Hell, that XL engine costs more than any of the other Shadowhawks do without the sale discount. Its not the best, but you can pull off the most popular builds with it easily.

The 2K is great because of its very high placed energy weapon mounts. The 2D2 is great with either SRM22 potential or SSRM8 potential. I've run this on my 2D2 with moderate success. I prefer my 2H, as not having to worry about ghost heat.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...cbe98d1362ed5df

ExplodedZombie, on 20 October 2014 - 06:25 PM, said:

I would love to know your reasoning. I freaking love this mech.
AC10, 3 SRM4, ML, (2MG or 1t ammo, extra JJ)

Ditto. I run mine, a Phoenix variant, with SRM16 w/ 5t ammo, 3MG w/1t ammo, and a LL with a STD260 and JJs. Gives me an entire shield side to protect my main armament if needed, weapons that can take on just about anything, whether via a direct brawl or by outmaneuvering them. It does really well, especially against all the whales that are on the loose. Doesn't cost 5 million for the XL engine and its far more durable, just got to stick closer to the pack. No worries about balancing ghost heat out either. Killed two Dire Wolves and a Timber Wolf in one match with it the other day.

Edited by MarsAtlas, 20 October 2014 - 06:53 PM.

[Brizna]

Ok, so since they are out on sale I bought the SHD-2K, striped it clean and made cheap and fast 3xSRM6+3xMLas, 320XL, 5Tons ammo, no artemis since I just wanted to see if srming was better than sniping as I assumed.

And jessus christ!!! I bow to you 2K brawling builders, 1st game(*) on the mech and got 2 kills, 9 assists and 1046 damage... I'm gonna tweak it tomorrow with artemis, that's a given

(*)That claim is a bit cheaty, I had used 2K to master the 5M so the 2K was elited from way back before I sold it. But still the mech config was completly new to me.

[Superlag]

SHD-2H 2xAC5
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...69d0d6e76c83907

SHD-2H 3xAC2
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0f43aa61ed0ac0c

SHD-2D2
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...6b90e2da9dff203

SHD-2K
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7360db092bf0fa8

Edited by Superlag, 24 October 2014 - 06:42 PM.

[ShadowbaneX]

I'm fairly...consistent with my Shadow Hawks. If it works...

SHD-2H. AC/10 (3t), ER LL, 2xSRM4.

SHD-2D. Picked this one up during the sale. Similarly equipped, AC/10 (3t), ER LL, 2x ML, SRM4 (1t). Had a few 700 damage matches with this thing tonight...I'm beginning to wonder if I dropped in to a lower Elo bracket...:-\

SHD-2D2. Light Hunter. LB-10/X (3t), 4xSSRM (2t), 2x ML.

Still haven't really found a SHD-5M build I like. I know there's AC/20, but that just always seems wrong to me. I really wish it had a 20-tube LRM launcher, but even then, it's probably not enough to be worthwhile. Anything less than 30 LRMs just isn't worth the tonnage unless you're a brawler than wants a plinking weapon.

Need to get the 2K going at some point. I bought it during the sale as well but haven't had a chance to take it for a spin. I'll probably do the 3xML, 3xSRM6 build.