Shadow (2024)

Information

Shadow is a rare scout mech, unlocked after Ares. Its tied with Killshot for the highest base speed of any mech, which can be enhanced with its stealth ability. It may have the lowest HP out of any mech, hitting Shadow won’t be easy. Not only does it have a very low profile, high speed and great manouvrability, it has the ability to disapear from the opponents radar, disabling aim assist when trying to target Shadow. It will still be visible with an yellow or orange aura around him, but HP, statusses and the target square will not be shown. Shadow is not a heavily used mech, but with the right playstyle can be just as good as some of the more established staples like Panther.

Upsides

Shadow is hard to hit, and what you cant hit you cant kill. Shadow is a master at sneaking around unnoticed, easily capturing enemy beacons or taking out your opponents backline. It cant be targetted by javelin racks and rocket mortars when in stealth, and disc launchers projectiles wont track him. Shadow is also great at escaping situations it cant handle, due to his great speed and the difficulty of hitting him when he is retreating. Its also quite easy to get backdamage with Shadow, making up for his lack of damage output due to his low energy.

Downsides

Shadow is incredibly vulnerable when his ability is on cooldown, even more than most mechs. His ability also doesnt protect him from AoE damage, like disc launchers and shotguns, which is a big downside in the current splash based meta-game. He also cant be played as a brawler mech like Ares or Killshot, while still profiting from being up close, which can lead to alot of situations where a Shadow is effectively worthless. His ability also gives almost no advantage against sniper weapons like longarm, since they dont have aim-assist anyways.

Strategy

Using:

While using Shadow it is important to avoid all face to face confrontation, since in most cases the opponent will win. Instead use shadows element of suprise to your advantage, by flanking enemies that are occupied with your teammates. Never try to engage when the ability is on cooldown, as Shadows extremely low healthpool can get shredded be almost anything when not in stealth. Engaging mechs with weapons like carbines and missile racks is your best option, as these are easily evaded if they cant pinpoint you down. On the other hand weapons with big splash radiuses and weapons that deal damage without travel time should be avoided as much as possible. Your opponents AI will always have a hard time hitting you, so fighting them is your best bet.

Countering:

There isnt anything specific to countering Shadow except waiting for the stealth to wear off. Alternatively, slowing down or stopping shadow entirely with for example Panther or Zephyr can give you an easier time hitting it, while Guardian can crash it out of its stealth mode. Arc torrents, disc launchers, stasis beams and sniper weapons wont have much trouble hitting a shadow from stealth, and Killshot can dash a shadow without much effort, even being able to one-shot an underleveled Shadow outright.

Builds

the are the most optimal builds for Shadow:

• Javelin racks: This build lowers some of Shadows downsides, since coming close isnt necessary with it.
• Arc torrents: Massive damage and provides even more trouble aiming at the Shadow, since the electric status shakes the screen.
• Shotguns: Comparible to the arc torrents, except it trades the electric effect with more AoE, being more effective at taking out rival Shadows