43 replies to this topic

[ByteHacker]

Greeting Mechwarriors,

At the time of typing this post my palms are sweaty, knees weak and arms are heavy from a match I just finished in a shadowcat. When I first picked up the shadow cat a year back, I was excited because it was the first implementation of the MASC in a mech. However, the mech was rather lackluster and the paper thin armour made it difficult to pilot effectively.

With the new skill tree, I've dusted off the old shadowcat and decided to spec it up with points that I migrated over. To my surprise, it works absolute wonders.

The shadowcat is capable of hit and run tactics that is unfeasible on other mechs. The masc allows it to run at quasi-light-mech speeds and its 6 jump jets allow it to scale virtually any terrain. Paired with two PPCs, it is incredibly versatile and can hide on top of any ridge or building or elevation that one can see. Though its armour is thin, it more than makes up for it by NOT needing to be exposed to enemy fire by hiding in the back and sniping targets.
Often times, because of being detached from the frontlines and having ECM equipped. One might find themselves being the last survivor which I have been multiple times. When this happens, it becomes an exhilarating experience of being the last one hunted. All odds are stacked against you and your only hope of coming out on top is superior positioning, repositioning and also good aim.

The shadowcat is so nimble and elegant. At first glance a rather unthreatening mech compared to other big mechs such as the Kodiak. However, it packs a mean punch if left alone

Here's a snapshot of what is possible with sheer will, 11 dead teammates and a trusty shadowcat taken from my latest game.



If you're thinking of getting a shadowcat, I wholeheartedly recommend it. If you do, shoot me a friend request and I'll see you on the battlefield.

Edited by ByteHacker, 08 June 2017 - 02:09 AM.

[Scyther]

Heh, you gotta love those matches where, for a brief while, you lose track that "it's just a game" and it all becomes the mad dash to 'kill or be killed'.

It's hilarious when you have to stand up and 'shake it off' from the adrenalin hangover.

Great work in the Shadowcat!

[jjm1]

Nice.

Now do it with a gauss build.

[godmonkey]

*sigh*

9/10 the last mech alive on the enemy team is a Scat hiding somewhere peeping away with peeps in a futile effort to "win the game" when its already lost.

Garbage mech for a garbage playstyle

[meteorol]

ByteHacker, on 08 June 2017 - 02:08 AM, said:

Paired with two PPCs, it is incredibly versatile and can hide on top of any ridge or building or elevation that one can see. Though its armour is thin, it more than makes up for it by NOT needing to be exposed to enemy fire by hiding in the back and sniping targets.

Nice match.

That being said, the thin armor is not really the main problem the SCAT has. It's lacking tonnage for the hardpoints it has. If you go for ECM, it can do 2x ER PPC with 14 DHS iirc. Compared to the HBK IIC, which is slower and has less jumps, but can do 2x ERPPC with 18 DHS and a TC IV, or even 21 DHS if you skip the TC.

That's just a tremendously larger offensive potential for a 2x ER PPC medium. The SCAT would be a great ML boat, but it doesn't have enough energy hardpoints.

It's a fun mech for it's mobility, but if i want to kill enemy mechs effeciently, i usually bring other mediums.

[godmonkey]

meteorol, on 08 June 2017 - 03:21 AM, said:

Nice match.

That being said, the thin armor is not really the main problem the SCAT has. It's lacking tonnage for the hardpoints it has. If you go for ECM, it can do 2x ER PPC with 14 DHS iirc. Compared to the HBK IIC, which is slower and has less jumps, but can do 2x ERPPC with 18 DHS and a TC IV, or even 21 DHS if you skip the TC.

That's just a tremendously larger offensive potential for a 2x ER PPC medium. The SCAT would be a great ML boat, but it doesn't have enough energy hardpoints.

It's a fun mech for it's mobility, but if i want to kill enemy mechs effeciently, i usually bring other mediums.

someone with sense at least

[Bud Crue]

ByteHacker, on 08 June 2017 - 02:08 AM, said:

The shadowcat...hiding in the back...

Ah.

So that explains part of my problem with it.

[El Bandito]

Good job. Medium Snipers can be a blast to play.

[Paigan]

Bud Crue, on 08 June 2017 - 03:45 AM, said:

ByteHacker, on 08 June 2017 - 02:08 AM, said:

The shadowcat...hiding in the back...

Ah.

So that explains part of my problem with it.

That is both accurate and funny .

You know, even the name might give a hint. If it were a Mech for storming out in the open, it would be called something like "Sun Cat" instead of "Shadow Cat".

On a more serious note:
Low tonnage for weapons but high mobility and ECM of course means it's more suitable for hit&run strikes from the shadows. The name is just a funny coincidence, of course.

Edited by Paigan, 08 June 2017 - 03:52 AM.

[godmonkey]

meh not enough sinks and no TC for that sweet sweet speed bost for the peeps makes it meh. Hunchie 2c is a better choice by far sans ECM of course.

[Bud Crue]

Paigan, on 08 June 2017 - 03:51 AM, said:

That is both accurate and funny .

You know, even the name might give a hint. If it were a Mech for storming out in the open, it would be called something like "Sun Cat" instead of "Shadow Cat".

On a more serious note:
Low tonnage for weapons but high mobility and ECM of course means it's more suitable for hit&run strikes from the shadows. The name is just a funny coincidence, of course.

Every time....every god damn time....I say to myself: "Try and stay back! Just a little. You don't have to always be out front. Stay back with the group. Play smart." Yet, I'd say 75% of the time where do I end up? Out in front. Doesn't matter if its a Shadow Cat or an Atlas, somehow I always seem to end up being the first moron in the circle, across the water, out in the open. Thank god for armor quirks or my stats would be even worse.

[godmonkey]

Bud Crue, on 08 June 2017 - 04:01 AM, said:

Every time....every god damn time....I say to myself: "Try and stay back! Just a little. You don't have to always be out front. Stay back with the group. Play smart." Yet, I'd say 75% of the time where do I end up? Out in front. Doesn't matter if its a Shadow Cat or an Atlas, somehow I always seem to end up being the first moron in the circle, across the water, out in the open. Thank god for armor quirks or my stats would be even worse.

aparently i'm not alone with this "problem". Agression wins games

[razenWing]

Wait, how were any of those "merits" mentioned brought on by the new skill tree? Hasn't the SHC had all those attributes all along?

It was always nimble
It was always low profile
It always had ECM
It's always paper thin armor

So... wtf? Nothing changed... Like the skill tree for you, literally changed nothing.

[John1352]

That's a really nice match, especially in a Shadowcat. It's a good counter for the big slow mechs that seem to be the go-to for solo queue. ECM saves you from most missiles, low exposure poptarting or ridgehumping limits the effectiveness of direct fire weapons.

Had an enemy fast light mech with C-SPLs run into you, you would have been in a lot of trouble, but as nobody brought any, you would have been able to safely flank and get nearly free damage on the enemies.

What does your skill tree look like?

[ByteHacker]

razenWing, on 08 June 2017 - 04:12 AM, said:

Wait, how were any of those "merits" mentioned brought on by the new skill tree? Hasn't the SHC had all those attributes all along?

It was always nimble
It was always low profile
It always had ECM
It's always paper thin armor

So... wtf? Nothing changed... Like the skill tree for you, literally changed nothing.

To elaborate, the new skills give some pretty nice weapon buffs that didn't used to exist like lower cooldown, lower heat, more range and higher projectile velocity. It also allows for more armour and more structure making it more likely to survive the fight. They may seem small independently, but when added together really do make the difference.

[ByteHacker]

godmonkey, on 08 June 2017 - 03:21 AM, said:

*sigh*

9/10 the last mech alive on the enemy team is a Scat hiding somewhere peeping away with peeps in a futile effort to "win the game" when its already lost.

Garbage mech for a garbage playstyle

Dylan Thomas' poem "Do Not Go Gentle into The Night" is a prime example of what it means to carry on even when there is no more hope.

Even though I know that there is almost no chance of me coming back from a game that's gone 2-11, there is still a chance nonetheless. If you don't try, you will never succeed. If I'm going to die anyway, I might as well die trying. This time I managed to go from 2-11 all the way to 9-11. There were definitely moments where I made a bad move costing me precious hit points. Who's to say that if I hadn't blundered on those mistakes that I wouldn't have won the game.

Lastly, I don't think it's fair that I should or any pilot should sacrifice themselves for the convenience of others. If you have a chance, you take it no matter how slim the chances are.

If I may add, "garbage attitude for garbage results."

[godmonkey]

ByteHacker, on 08 June 2017 - 04:38 AM, said:

If I may add, "garbage attitude for garbage results."

Hmm thats sort of the problem. Most Scatters have a really ****** sniper attitude where they make around 3-400 damage in a game and imagine that they contributed in some meaningful way.
Hint usually they don't.
Perhaps they killsteal a few mechs on the way and when the scoreboard is 11-3 they mostly run around like headless chickens drawing out the game even more. They don't share armor, they do not actively engage in a way that would benefit the rest of the team in any way.
Just look at the comp players nobody ever runs a scatter as it doesn't do anything better then the Hunchie 2c and that mech is just objectively better. Scatters are maybe okay to farm pugs with but when the going gets rough the scatters utility drops to nil.

[Yellonet]

Fantastic. It's amazing what can be done in an OP clan mech.

[godmonkey]

Yellonet, on 08 June 2017 - 04:56 AM, said:

Fantastic. It's amazing what can be done in an OP clan mech.

lulz. the scatter? OP? how exactly?

[Natred]

The shadow cat rewards positioning, skill, eloquence and precision.

My favorite builds for the shadow cat
2 large pulse
2 er ppc
2 large lasers 3 machine guns