204 replies to this topic

[Arclighte]

Hey guys, I was thinking of buying the shadow cat collection, as I have had good memories piloting them in mechwarrior four. but are they any good in this game?

[Trainee]

In my opinion, if you're not gonna move up to the Cauldron Born pack I wouldn't buy it. The Arctic Cheetah and CB are awesome, but until they fix some issues on the Cat it's not really viable in the current game.

I don't regret buying the whole pack, just disappointed in the Cat.

[NeoCodex]

It's basically played like a poptarting/hillhump 3L. If you enjoy that as a long range laser harasser, or want a good clan PPC-poptart sniper with ecm than it's a solid, and also fun choice. Just don't put ballistics on it. It can be tempting, but it's not worth it. I do enjoy my Shadow Cats. It's no powerhouse, but it does what a PPC Blackjack would do a lot better. Or a PPC Mist Lynx, if that is like your thing. I had fun with that, but now with SHC it's quadriple more fun. It's much better than the BJ, and certainly better than a PPC Jester. If these mechs feel like your playstyle than this mech is for you. Just remember that it's really tonnage starved, but is reasonably fast, agile and can jump well with very high mounts. So it's not for boating lasers, but having 2-3 big weapons on nice positions and that's it. There really aren't many mechs like this in the game.

Of course upgrading to EBJ is logical, you will never regret getting this one. It fits in the "hide and poak" metagame in MWO perfectly, the elevated mounts and that medium movement archtype... It's perfect. Just remember it's no TW, not nearly as durable or agile, you should stay at long range with this idealy, flank and poke, snipe, hide. It's the MWO meta hide and poak in an essence and if you play it this way you will do great. Don't buy it if you prefer brawling! Same goes for SHC.

Edited by NeoCodex, 06 August 2015 - 01:18 AM.

[Elkfire]

Depends on what you're looking for. It's nimble and jumpy with high mounted hardpoints, and MASC gives it great acceleration, but it suffers from limited hardpoints and limited pod space to mount larger weapons to make up for that. So it's definitely more of a sniper than a brawler. The post above goes into more detail about all of that obviously. In the end, I enjoy the mech, but I also acknowledge its faults.

[meteorol]

Honestly, no.

If you want a "good" mech, stay away from it. It's mediocre at best.
It lacks hardoints, has a lot of hardwired equipment hence little podspace to play with. It doesn't have enough podspace to use heavy weapons efficiently, and not enough hardpoints to use many light weapons.

It can jump crazy high and is very agile which makes it a fun mech to play, but sadly fun doesn't equal good.

[STEF_]

Do not buy it.

You remember MW4, I remember the god meta 12ersl scatter in mw3..... but the PGI's SHC I think is the worse clan medium right now.
Even worse than the ferret, imo

Edited by Stefka Kerensky, 06 August 2015 - 02:29 AM.

[JernauM]

The Shadow Cat is good but not amazing. It does well in its role, but the relatively small number of hardpoints is a limitation.

[Cyborne Elemental]

Some people do well in them, some don't.

Its a fast, agile ECM platform made for scouting and harassment, its not an in your face supertank, and it can't boat a ton of weapons.

I personally remember the S-Cat being pretty mediocre in MW4, it being the introduction mech you start the game with, it felt limited and underwhelming then, that isn't going to really change.

I think what gets people, is the locked 5 tons of MASC and JJ's that are permanent.

Think of it as a CIcada 3M with Jumpjets, and it is what it is.
If you thought it would be competitive with Ebon-Jag's and Timberwolfs, your going to be disappointed.

Edited by Mister D, 06 August 2015 - 03:04 AM.

[Paigan]

I play MWO for 9 months now, almost exclusively clans.
WHK, TBR, SCR, ADD, KFX, EXE (most others on the side like DWF etc.).

I'm doing WAY better in the SHC now than with all of the others.
And that with saying that I absolutely LOVE the Wubhawk. Ever since TT for like 15 years now.

ECM and agility plus smart playstyle instead of head-on brawling is what makes it so much easier and better.
The SHC does that better than any other clan mech (save for the ACH maybe, but I really like my MASC).

I picture everyone flaming that the SHC does not have enough weapon tonnage and hardpoints to be brainless brawlers, tbh.
You do NOT need maxed out weaponry to be effective and efficient if you play smart (already works, but still learning, of course).
Things like having 10 true dubs (not 8+2, etc) or the cranked up MASC agility matter more than most think.

Edited by Paigan, 06 August 2015 - 03:03 AM.

[Widowmaker1981]

NeoCodex, on 06 August 2015 - 01:07 AM, said:

Of course upgrading to EBJ is logical, you will never regret getting this one. It fits in the "hide and poak" metagame in MWO perfectly, the elevated mounts and that medium movement archtype... It's perfect. Just remember it's no TW, not nearly as durable or agile, you should stay at long range with this idealy, flank and poke, snipe, hide. It's the MWO meta hide and poak in an essence and if you play it this way you will do great. Don't buy it if you prefer brawling! Same goes for SHC.

It is exactly as agile as the Timberwolf, with the exception of its better movement profile, so not sure what you mean there (JJs maybe?) It is far less durable though, that its true.

[PurpleNinja]

Yes and no.

[NeoCodex]

Widowmaker1981, on 06 August 2015 - 03:05 AM, said:

It is exactly as agile as the Timberwolf, with the exception of its better movement profile, so not sure what you mean there (JJs maybe?) It is far less durable though, that its true.

Yes, the torso speed twists are the same, but apart from jump jets there is also no lower arm actuators, and a little narrower torso pitch. The whole chassis is also wider, so if you maximize on weaponry and put it in arms, convergence suffers (lack of actuators doesn't help either), on top of feeling more fragile as you stated, which is because of the width of the components.

This all contributes to a broader sense of "agility", which in close quarters Ebon Jaguar sure doesn't feel nearly as much as adaptable and sturdy as the Timberwolf, if anything, it feels a little stiff. It still happens to me that I bump with the arms in the terrain or even shoot my cover while zoomed, it almost makes it feel like piloting an aircraft carrier sometimes. Which is surprising, considering it has the same stats on paper as the Timberwolf, but the way it is designed it does not fare as well in close quarters.

And i love it because of this. I love the fact that it feels completely different, and is obviously designed to fill a different role, and that it also delievers and excels in it.

Edited by NeoCodex, 06 August 2015 - 04:55 AM.

[LordBraxton]

Its a fun mech but a 1 trick pony in the worst way. You can mount 2LPL or 2 ERPPCs and snipe away with super jump-jets and masc agility... but youll always be fragile and weak, even for your weight. If you want to do anything besides poke\harass, don't get the Scat.

[Anarcho]

Dont listen to the haters... its a good mech! PPC poptarting excelence! Im having fun with a 2xml and 4xsrm4 too, jump in k8ck some ass and jump out!

[Aiden Skye]

I'm having fun with it. Works best playing aggressive support

[0bsidion]

Anarcho, on 06 August 2015 - 05:02 AM, said:

Dont listen to the haters... its a good mech! PPC poptarting excelence! Im having fun with a 2xml and 4xsrm4 too, jump in k8ck some ass and jump out!

You shouldn't hype it up, it's a niche mech, which means it isn't going to work well for some players. There's a difference between being able to do good in a mech and a good mech. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it. It's my new favorite medium. But it's not for everyone, otherwise there wouldn't be haters.

[MechWarrior5152251]

Ironic. It is the only really viable pop tart having good jump and ecm....

[Bishop Steiner]

JernauM, on 06 August 2015 - 02:38 AM, said:

The Shadow Cat is good but not amazing. It does well in its role, but the relatively small number of hardpoints is a limitation.

what is it's role?

Everything it can do, something else does better, sadly.

Still, it's fun to drive, if not so much to fight in. And looks great. And who knows what the rebalance might bring.

I don't regret buying mine, but I can't say I'm impressed.

MechWarrior5152251, on 06 August 2015 - 06:05 AM, said:

Ironic. It is the only really viable pop tart having good jump and ecm....

Nova is still a better poptart. If you need ecm to do it, well, that's a you problem.

Anarcho, on 06 August 2015 - 05:02 AM, said:

Dont listen to the haters... its a good mech! PPC poptarting excelence! Im having fun with a 2xml and 4xsrm4 too, jump in k8ck some ass and jump out!

keep drinking the koolaid! Makes it that much easier for me, when I hunt down the dual ppc Scats. Thing can't maintain any volume of fire once pressured. It's only useful as long as it's ignored.

[GreyNovember]

Put it this way.

I'm not afraid of it, regardless of my weight class.

Even if I have an open component, I trust my opponent either can't plant his PPC or LPL on the exposed with enough accuracy for it to matter. Rarely do I run into an SRM build.

[KhanJames]

If you have a good setup there good. especially when you take ecm and masc into account. with the ecm great sneaky sniper and a decent missile boat (large lrm style not multi lrm5 style). so not Timberwolf or ebon jag (tier owning) level but a solid mech, you just have to find a setup you use well.

And yes i would say throw the extra 20 for EBJ well worth it. Lasts longer than a timber wolf currently because people will always target the assaults & timbers first. I almost always do better with the EBJ (timber i get 3-600 usually EBJ closer to 4-600) plus i feel like it has slightly better pod/weight use. Executioner not really worth it IMO its what similar to the gargoyle but better pod/weights and masc.