Serious Bracket Builds, Inc. – Shadow Hawk SHD-2H(P)

I was burnt out on Mechwarrior Online a bit ago, and made mention of it to the fine community over at the Mechwarrior Online subreddit. While there was some agreement and some condolences, a user named Jman5 of the RageQuit Corporation had this to say:

You can successfully run anything you want. But if you want to go against the grain, you need to be prepared to work harder than anyone else. It’s the price you pay for playing something non-optimal. You need to bridge the gap with effort and practice. People shut up about competitive builds when you have big games with non-competitive mechs/loadouts. Again though, the price of non-cookie cutter builds mean you have to work harder forging your own path to make it work. For many people it’s not worth it, but for people like me it is.

I’ve always been a fan of running builds that went “against the grain”, or those that weren’t optimal (right now, optimal is generally a pair of PPCs and a pair of (U)AC/5s, and some jump jets). But I had been running into an issue where I felt like a liability to the team. Jman5 convinced me that this isn’t the case. That you can run anything you want, as he said, but you’d have to make it up in your play. You have to work harder and play smarter, and then no one actually complains about what you’re running.

In this series on my blog and related videos, I want to demonstrate to other players that concept; that running builds that aren’t optimal is all right, so long as you put forth the effort and practice to make up the difference. And I’ll have video proof of each build I post as examples that it’s possible, so as to encourage others to try, experiment, tweak, and play something different from the norm, and enjoy it. Why? On a personal level, it’s more fun for me that way. And I really think that there are those like Jman5 and I who are exactly the same, but hesitant to try.

So without further ado, the first Serious Bracket Builds, Inc build, on the Shadow Hawk SHD-2H(P)!

DISCLAIMER: A “bracket” build is generally a build that has multiple engagement ranges and is not designed to be optimal at one specific range. I’m using it to encompass any build that is “sub-optimal” for the sake of having a fun name for the blog.

SHADOW HAWK SHD-2H(P) “Serious Variant” – SMURFY



The premise of the build is to take advantage of the crit-seeking abilities of the LB 10-X AC and machine guns, in order to destroy internal components quickly. A combination of the LBX and SRMs provides a wallop of a punch at close range, and the singular Medium Laser helps to pinpoint locations, harass lights, and generally put you on the assist board for additional C-bill earnings.

WEAPON GROUPS:

1) LB 10-X + MGuns

2) MLas

3) SRMs

As a medium, you’re not going to be as tanky as a lot of the mechs out on the field, but an XL300 ensures you still have plenty of speed for engaging and disengaging the enemy. Fantastic Shadow Hawk hitboxes allow you to roll damage very well, and a shield arm on the left lets you protect your valuable torso for as long as possible. The XL does make you more vulnerable, so twisting and taking the right opportunity to maximize damage and minimize exposure is important.

Personal Fun Rating: 4.5/5

Personal Recommendation Rating: 4/5

Recommended Skill Level: Intermediate – good knowledge of a map and identifying opportunities to take is important to maximize the Mech.

GAMEPLAY VIDEO: