Well i have 1 build i run myself that is very good on most maps and well, has served me well.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1665d5243c765f8
Basically 2 ERLL for mid-long range, and 3 SRM-4 for close range finishing. The reason i feel its better then many other builds (some of which i used to run quite alot) is that there is not a single map where it cant do its fair share of damage. If you get a longer range oriented map, the 2 ERLLs run cool enough and are very reliable at dealing damage provided you can aim and or have zoom module (not my thing, but its there for those that find it beneficial). The SRM-4s are imo the best SRMs because of decent spread, and higher DPM for the mass. It doesnt quite get the alpha strike of larger mechs, but well, its a shadowcat, what do you expect. That said, if you can get behind something, it dies pretty quickly.
Now i know many of you guys like the 2 LPL version which would be a close second if not for the following reasons. For one, 2 ERLL and 4 heatsinks is better in the majority of situations due to much better continuous DPM and the LPL utterly sucks at beyond ~1000m (there are plenty of maps where you will be shooting at those ranges anyway, and the ERLLs actually make you a threat). The LPLs have only 2 advantages, the shorter beam duration (from my experience insignificant given you can keep your cursor on a moving target if using ERLL), and they have slightly better heat efficiency/DPS (the extra DPS is situational, but the worse cooling due to having 4 less heat sinks is bad. Ofc my build doesnt get that many heat sinks due to the SRMs, but it is still not exactly a super hot build (if you dont alpha all over that is), and it actually lets you be a threat to lights and anything that gets up close (its funny how many lights underestimate shadowcat and assume it to be a pure sniper, charge head on, and get SRM'd in teh face, then run away provided they arent dead).
A few more tips:
*Dont use both ERLLs and SRMs at the same time unless you are sure of a kill or are on resting heat and have a way to get out of there if the enemy does indeed turn around and you can overpower em.
*Take advantage of this thing's amazing mobility (JJ+Masc+decentish base speed) to both flank and try to avoid enemy fire and also dish out constant damage. While im not a fan of forced masc (id honestly rather have 2 more heat sinks or more ammo), It actually gives you superior agility to many lights, and very few can outrun you once you are in their face.
*Dont be afraid to chase lights (just dont chase them into the enemy team), with masc you can stay on their tail for some time, and even if you hit them with half of your SRMs every volley, it wont take much to bring em down.
*Try to conserve HP early on, ERLLs dont require short range, so if you cant engage them withotu being shot, stay around 1000m where very few weapons (dont long range trade with ERLL/ERPPC/Gauss) can hit you, and use your high health late game to get in someone's face.
Finally, for a champion mech, it has to be friendly to new players. ECM, while seen as a crutch by some, is a very good thing to have. It makes you less likely to be instantly focused on, it gives you the ability to shield the team if needed, and well, its only 1 ton, id rather have 1 less heat sink/1 less ton of ammo then forego the ECM. Really the only time ecm is a bad idea if if you are running ballistics. Not to bash anyone who brings ballistics on the s-cat, but the mech is just not able to run any ballistic weapon effectively due to the weight cap. You get 15t (16 without ECM and assuming full armor) to play with TOTAL on this mech, a gauss rifle (not bad weapon on a sniper mech, just not this one) is great fun and deadly, but you get at most 4 tons of ammo or other equipment. In this case, you could bring 2 ERMLs and 2 tons of ammo, or cut down some of the already mediocre armor protection to get an extra ton or so of ammo, but either way you are gonna have terrible DPM, and as soon as people realize what you have, they will just rush you, and at that point id wager that a semi skilled light pilot running nothing but a few small lasers could tear you apart.
Another thing is that most newb friendly mechs need to be useful on most maps. My build solves that problem with the ERLL and SRM combo. The ERLLs let you do some solid damage on every map at long range, and the SRMs are there for bad situations, self defense, or the map thats super short distances and you might as well be able to brawl some.
All in all, i think its a good well rounded build that allows new players to be useful at most ranges/map layouts, has ECM (dont really need to go into much detail as to why thats good to have for new players if the mech even supports it), and finally it plays to the mech's strengths. Great long range since armor is (lets be honest) pretty useless, and it has those nice high up weapons, and it also has a alternative weapon to use its very good mobility coupled with ECM to flank stuff and splat them with SRMs.
That said, my second vote would go to a dual LPL build since thats also a great option (despite my personal distaste of pulse lasers in this game which i feel arent worth the extra mass compared to regular ERLs). It has better DPM, its accurate, and it has plenty of potential. And ofc im against any lurmcat builds. WHile it can mount them, you get only 3 hardpoints max, and you just dont have the tonnage to bring a serious complement of lurms. I do run lurms occasionally on my cat, but they are at most a harassment and annoyance tool, not intended to do serious damage. 1-2 lurm5s aint much, but if you dont want SRMs and you dont want heat sinks, well whos to stop you from being one of the most annoying mechs on the map, not only are you probably sniping at very long range (annoying in of itself), but you have lurms to double the amount of rage quitting.
Ohh, and i have to say the shadowcat is my main mech, i know its kinda bad compared to alternatives, but it looks amazing, and well, it actually suits my playstyles well.
Edited by panzer1b, 08 February 2016 - 11:32 AM.
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Vlad Striker, on 06 February 2016 - 11:04 AM, said:
