Why the shadowcat is one of the best clan mechs ever designed.

[@jumpinghunter9152]

The arm is there most likely so that ShCat could run up to an objective with MASC, grab objective (for example a data core), and then jump away with Jump Jets. That's more or less a gamemode core mechanic in tabletop, so this is my guess.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

it also is for punching in MW5 clans

[@kryptonianguest1903]

That arm is in case you need to pick something up. Including a tree with which to hit another mech (yes, there are rules for that).

[@Spartaner251]

Or the arm or leg of your enemies/friends that laying around haha

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

Are there rules to allow you to pick up other mechs and use them as a club? I like to imagine an Atlas and Kodiak beating each other down with urbanmechs or locust as clubs.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

@@Spartaner251 or to attach an omnipod left laying around maybe.(Clan and Is omnipods are interechangable since the IS ones were developed from salavaged clan omnis)

[@joelaugustin6407]

Bummer that you need two arms + hands for a clubbing attack...

[@wartang]

​@sheilaolfieway1885 you can pick up arms and legs from a downed mech.

[@Phoenixshamwow]

The in lore reasons for why the IS has hands/arm actuators is 1. to pull double duty with assisting in logistics/clearing in base (and you can use them in melee as well) and 2. to help it kill any infantry that are swarming it. Even something without hands but with arms (like a Marauder) can use said arm to get up without hands, but hand help with the previous issues. Thank you for coming to my Text talk.

[@Phoenixshamwow]

*Tex talk. Ty so much autocorrect for ruining the pun

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

if I remember correctly in advanced rules Battletech mechs with fully functional hands can grapple in melee combat

[@mechcommander7876]

@@brothersgt.grauwolff6716an Atlas with TSM can pick up a Locust or Flea and use it as a club.

[@sharlin648]

The Shadow Cat's design is one of those really well designed Clanners that exemplifies their general Mech design which then poses this kind of challenge for IS pilots. If you can catch it, you have no hope of killing it and if you can’t catch it, it will shoot you to pieces from long range’ Because if you're an IS light or fast medium, yes you can probably catch it, but it WILL kill you. And if you can't, well their guns out range most of yours and its fast enough to control the range and engagement. A lot of the TRO 3058 'mechs were generally very good designs, yeah there's some odd weapon choices i'd change but I can also see them being there for balance reasons too, but the Shadow Cat and Grendel are some of the finest Clan mediums of any era.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

I have often likened the Timber Wolf to a predator. It has solid long range firepower with the LRMs, and if you try to get close you will get annihilated. If you try to match it in missiles it will outrun the archers, catapults and longbows. If you try to engage with an Atlas you will just be plain outgunned and won't be able to run away. A battlecruiser mech I think we can describe it as, but with the technological edge to actually make the concept work.

[@dylantrapp5629]

You think the Shadow Cat's arm is useless? I can't wait until they cover the Fire Moth's "arms".

[@thorveim1174]

at least the Firemoth has an excuse: making the side torsos more accessible for elementals. keeps the arms out of their way, which makes sense since the firemoth is pretty much designed as an elemental transport and little else.

[@NemFX]

Those arms are a very useful ladder for elementals, and lets the mech fire over cover

[@wellhello1575]

clan engineer: "So, which do you want the focus to be - power, speed or armor?" Sessu Katayama: yes.

[@Talon1124]

Ah, my favorite Clanner medium, unironically. I love the little thing.

[@fix0the0spade]

In the lore mechs have manipulator arms in case they need to move debris, pick up objects (or Elementals in Clanners case) or occasionally for really crazy shit like hanging onto the side of a Dropship and firing at enemies gangland style (again, Clanners). Since the Clans don't do too much melee (except Ghost Bears) lots of Clan designs have tiny little grabbers instead of hands like IS mechs often have.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

There's one problem with the picking elementals, clan omnimechs have build in handholds and power ports for elementals...

[@WolfHreda]

In MWO, I've permanently removed the hand actuators from my Stormcrow, because those tiny little claws look so dumb.

[@fix0the0spade]

@@sheilaolfieway1885 When I say 'pick up' you should really be thinking 'grab and throw' or moving the wounded quickly. Even Clanners go back for their wounded, well, some of them do.

[@KillerOrca]

​@@sheilaolfieway1885 It's more like "get off my cockpit you fucking asshole, a-YEET" to an enemy Elemental

[@8-7-styx94]

@@fix0the0spade except Smoke Jaguar...jerks.

[@kylerook7003]

First vid of yours I’ve listened long enough into the actual outro to hear the hardspace shipbreaker music. Absolutely fantastic game and a soundtrack I actually listen to at my own work

[@thorveim1174]

note for the active probe: its also almost vital on the tabletop for missions where your enemy gets to hide units into the scenery: it becomes one of the only ways to find such hidden units without bumping into them or waiting for your opponent to decide its time you find out your direwolf's back is now in short range of a King Crab... (and bonus point thats its a mission trype that is maybe the best at reflecting Clan vs Sphere... the guy on the offense gets double the points meaning the clans arent outnumbered and get to likely field a full star as a result without having to face an entire army, and the sphere gets to use deception and trickery to gain the upper hand against an otherwise superior enemy)

[@CWS-i3n]

This helps explain why Steiner forces targeted the Shadow Cat instead of the Vulture in the opening cutscene of MW4.

[@wellhello1575]

the Vulture (mad dog) is also a brutal mech. MW4 cemented them as my favorite medium and heavy clan mechs respectively.

[@CWS-i3n]

@@wellhello1575 Oh, make no mistake, it's a beast. One of my favorites from 2, 3, and 4 and looking forward to taking the controls again in Clans.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

Oh the Vulture is a fierce predator as well. I do love fielding it. Now if there was only a clan that wasn't utterly idiotic...

[@michellequinn1940]

For sure. Vulture was always my favorite in MW4, second was a toss-up between Shadowcat and Bushwhacker

[@wellhello1575]

@@michellequinn1940 Bushwacker is my favorite inner sphere medium. with the Griffon as a close second.

[@aircraftcarrierwo-class]

I was first introduced to these little bastards in Mechwarrior 3. Quickly became my favorite medium once I salvaged one. One of the few 45-tonners capable of punching well above its weight.

[@Trevguyzero]

I choose to think it's the Trogdor arm effect. It's there entirely to make it look imposing and make you wonder exactly WHAT it's there for.

[@Gillymonster18]

I love the shadowcat…so much that I actually gave it a functional arm. Not much different, just an actual shoulder and elbow.

[@paganhorde4463]

The twin large pulse laser (c) is my favorite. No other weapons, just plenty of heat sink to fire every turn. Its a... how to loose friends in tabletop kind of mech

[@Spartaner251]

the little high five arm is to shove more Ultra AC ammo into the other mechs of the Star

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

And who doesn't love an Ultra AC? The Clans I suppose, but nobody asks them.

[@8-7-styx94]

Cause Hunchback 2Cs need a backpack buddy ;)

[@emptyarthaus9535]

I love the Shadowcat. Its one of my favorites. Whoever designed knew what they were doing.

[@darkpalidin]

This was my first exposure to mechs - I received the Shadowcat K'nex set for my birthday. Thought it was pretty neat but didn't put a ton of stock into it until I saw MechWarrior 3 at Sam's Club a few months later. Once I got a Shadowcat in there, I used it right up until the last mission or two. It's always going to be special to me.

[@TimberWulfIsHere]

One the the best clan mechs for hardpoint locations and mounts, has ecm, has excellent mobility and speed which is amplified with masc and jjs. Pair that with decent armour for a 45 ton mech and you have a complete package.

[@evanwalters-noto9513]

I think Steve and you are close on the use case for the arm, I would also include making rude gestures and maybe tossing the odd elemental at an inner sphere mech like gimli at helm's deep

[@BumpHeadRacing]

this gives me a HEALTHY amount of MW4 Vengeance nostalgia

[@empoweredshemphoward]

This was meta back in mw3 multiplayer. Hands down my favorite clan medium mech.

[@cesarespinozaspain]

It's a baby Warhound Titan,, How Adorable !!!!!!!

[@Ishlacorrin]

You are fairly close, about 2/3 the height, 1/4 the weight, twice the speed and depending on config close to comparable firepower.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

Ah, Shadowcat my beloved. My first favourite Clan mech. It is remarkably fast, it has jump jets, carries a gauss rifle and only weighs 45 tonnes. This thing makes the assault mech as a concept all but obsolete. It is what sold me on cavalry mechs.

[@JB-pu8ik]

They're fantastic for deploying Battlearmor into useable range in tabletop matches too.

[@thomasrose4523]

I never used to have much stock in the Shadow Cat, but after this video? That completely changed.

[@TheOntos]

That hand is to flip you off at a distance.

[@stormycatmink]

I was one of the few in my gaming group back in the 90's that understood and could leverage the concept of high mobility, flexibility and accuracy. Shadowcats were one of my favorite, or for heavier mechs, the Timber Wolf. Targeting computer and pulse weapons, or the favorite gauss rifle.

[@therealbahamut]

"When you're talking about an ERPPC for BACKUP, you know you're talking about a clan mech." Tex.

[@maevethefox5912]

Sci talking about Orks is gonna be so good. ....also I would unironically spend way too much money on anime gacha catgirl battlemechs. I'm 100% certain the Canopians have released that game in universe.

[@thorveim1174]

oh god I just had this pictures in my mind... orks looking a clan Piranha after witnessing how much dakka manages to come out of such as small package...

[@Frank-py3hk]

Thanks!

[@NemFX]

Hey. I'll give you a reason. The arm helps with BALANCE. It is there to try and offset the weight of the gun arm, so that when the mech is moving, it doesn't get pulled to one side. I actually think it's ergonomics and comfort for the pilot.

[@Sealhunt]

Whenever I listen to your wonderful insanity, I'm never wasting my time, I'm kicking boredom in the Johnson and SMILING.

[@hydraden810]

I love the FTL soundtrack in the background. Please do a video on the FedCom Civil War.

[@ghoulbuster1]

Shadow Cat is a perfect example of why lowering weight can add up to make a very dangerous machine. The same can be said to the Timber Wolf and incubus.

[@EricDKaufman]

@9:15 ..... Canopus? Fun for the whole family!

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

I've recently run a Shadow Cat in a Invasion era Smoke Jaguar Star and it rocks

[@calebsmith4530]

My favorite mech in Online. I’ve used full ballistic, full energy, full missile support, brawler, harasser… all on one chassis. It’s fantastic

[@Kokuyous3ki]

One of the most plausible looking mech, ever. I want a Brigador crossover though just because for looking at the reaction on the faces of claners when they see the Treehouse.. or hear its horn. :)

[@Xeno426]

A functioning actuator hand is useful for Clan mechs because otherwise, it's a +1 on attempts to swipe off swarming battle armor for each actuator missing or damaged. Granted, its speed makes it a poor target for Elemental swarms in the first place, but they're still useful. It's also useful for grabbing things, like a bit of *isorla*.

[@tsiefhtes]

MW4's starting mech loved that thing. The Shadow cat d model is basically a 65 ton thunderbolt with lrm switched out for streak srms to brawl better.

[@VickyAmaru]

There's a scene in Mercenary Star where a commander orders a MechWarrior piloting a Dervish to pull an allied 'Mech out of a swamp and needs to be reminded that the Dervish has no hands.

[@techpriest3440]

Slight correction, clan ER LL’s actually outrange Gauss Rifles. Yeah, clantech is some real fucking busted stuff.

[@WolfHreda]

This is one of the few 'mechs where I think making room for improved jump jets would be worth the tonnage. You would need four tons in order to upgrade to IJJs and give it seven of them. Anyone who's played tabletop can tell you, a jump of seven is a ludicrous tactical advantage. The reason being, it's the first bracket at which jumping gives you a better defensive modifier than the accuracy penalty you incur by jumping. Side note: TSEMPs and Mech Tasers suck. I don't believe in robbing players of their agency, and I believe even less in dedicating that kind of heat and tonnage to a weapon system that _sometimes_ works. In a comparable weight bracket? The Snub-Nose PPC and the Plasma Rifle, both much more satisfying weapon systems that are more fun for everyone involved.

[@charlescrocco7896]

Being from the MW2 and MW3 period, this is why I learned how to master the Firemoth and Jenner

[@8-7-styx94]

Growing up my brother and I were both huge mechwarrior fans, and while my favorite clan mech was the Warhawk('Masakari') my brother's was always the Shadowcat and I could never figure out why. Now 30 something years later it finally makes sense. Thanks.

[@thepiratemongoose8965]

The Warhawk would be a lot better if someone with a functional brain stem had come up with the standard armament. 4 ERPPCs gives you great alpha, but if you ever use it you're gonna shut down and/or explode. Swap them out for large pulse lasers and you have something absolutely terrifying in tabletop. Unfortunately the Clans are written to be as stupid as possible in the lore, which is why they hardly ever use LPLs despite them being the best weapons available in the setting.

[@LegendStormcrow]

The arm is for squeagying enemy oils off its face. That or stealing enemy intel as it double jumps away like the scout from TF2.

[@apfligher9891]

Ah, nostalgia of the old days of MW4. Fav loadout of the ERPPC, Lt Gauss, and 2 lrg lasers. 45 tonner that could punch way above its weight.

[@ricardomachado6718]

just plain beatiful mech

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

Good video! I just wanted to add something about the 45 ton bracket, mainly because it's my favorite tonnage. I don't think 45 tons is cursed. 40 tons definitely is, but not 45. To me, 45 tons is where mechs start being good at their jobs, as long as they remain focused on that job. For example (aside from the shadow cat) you have good troopers like the Vindicator or Wyvern, nimble but tough scouts like the Phoenix Hawk or Ice Ferret, solid supporting fire like the Blackjack or Hellspawn, and even some close-range brawlers like the Hierofalcon or Hatchet man. Plus when you look at it, you realize there's a lot of classics in the 45 ton slot. In short, 45 tons isn't cursed, its where the potential starts to shine.

[@ewfisher89]

My go-to mech in MechWarrior 3, I took on EVERYTHING with that little mech.

[@wordwyrd]

I used to use the shadowcat in the vr pods version, and virtually everyone else was rocking an atlas or another assault mech. Virtual never came in third, and never once lower.

[@silverheart302]

17:15, I would love to see the omni pods pushed to their most extreme, if possible. I can't be sure if I'm right about this, but I think in extreme cases, clan technicians only need a few minutes to exchange an omni pod

[@RiverWilliamson]

"What's with the hand, I'm stumped" My guy...

[@Kenneth_A_H]

I think I'm in love with this mech.

[@Kenneth_A_H]

The high five arm killed me

[@besiege8246]

I have enjoyed the Battletech videos you've made. I'd love to see Battlemaster sometime, but 40k sounds fun, too.

[@Aaron4309]

Oh, you actually did this one next. Thanks!

[@Dracounguis]

One of my favorite Mechs. That and I like the Nova Cats. Even have an official Nova Cat Bloodname from a tournament I won in 1999! 😆 I've always preferred mobile speedy Mechs over the big slow assault Mechs. The only real downside of the Shadowcats are their battles values. If you are using that system to make your forces, the Ice Ferret D will always win that slot in your roster for the speedy recon Mech. It's like 1400 versus 2100 points. I've seen a friend routinely take down Clan Assault Mechs with an Ice Ferret D.

[@KageRyuu6]

Having a single functional hand actuator makes it easier to stand back up should your mech fall over. Not to mention it is possible to reload a friendly mech in the field, among a myriad of other non-melee-oriented uses.

[@Richy0326]

The arm is clearly there so that it can pet other cats. Also, Active Probe is a sorely under appreciated bit of kit in both tabletop and MWO.

[@shade8816]

Starting mech in MC4 story. At least they replaced the arm with a second gun arm in that game.

[@alexs5814]

The S-Cat is cool. I like the design and it's genuinely quick to go around when playing MW:O. I always expect it to have chameleon armor but M.A.S.C. is still amazing.

[@bthsr7113]

I can't say why the CLANS saw need for the hand, buuuut it does mean that you can yoink something before cheesing it, which has been cited as an important reason for hand actuators on pirate mechs and raiding missions.

[@kentyannayon3741]

It's a Clan mech, that's supposed to be used as a sniper. The arm is for flipping the bird if someone sees you before you aerate their cockpit with the gauss rifle. So, it's the birdie arm.

[@wreckedsine7453]

I'm new to MechWarrior. So words, and stuff are going WAAAY over my head :). However, one thing I understood was "Madcat". That's a name I haven't heard since OG Xbox days with Mechassault. I did talk with a buddy of mine and he told me MA was just a console attempt. So I can probably look at a few of these mechs and call em by an elder name...or something. Either way! Looks kool

[@JB-pu8ik]

The two cultures fighting with one another -- the Innersphere, and the Clans have different names for the same mech. Madcat = Timberwolf, Masakari = Warhawk, Daishi = Direwolf, Ebon Jaguar = Cauldron born, Mad Dog = Vulture, etc. When the clans invaded, the folks in the innersphere had no clue who these people were or what those mechs were, so they came up with their own names, which largely stuck. As a franchise, the lore is pretty fun, awful, and engaging, and there's quite a lot of it. The only comparable game universes I can think of in that regard are DnD and Warhammer -- also great late 80s - Early 90s nerdy table top franchises. Tex Talks Battletech is a pretty fantastic channel for doing some of the deep dives into the stories behind the games.

[@Daikael]

Yay, the funny arm mech

[@Sethry406]

For the algorithm! And I can agree, I never once saw someone use a Shadowcat on tabletop. Or a Bushwacker for the IS folks. Both are beasts in the MechWarrior games but just kinda didnt work as well ir appeal to folks on the table for whatever reason.

[@JB-pu8ik]

Shadowcats were fantastic in tabletop, but when they switched to BV2.0, they were just too delicate to field for their cost. 1 for 1 they are fantastic mechs; but the clanners rarely fight 1 for 1 if you're fighting someone with similar resources/battle value.

[@ChuJungyin]

Just ran a Shadow Cat A in a Tukayyid scenario earlier today. Dealt an enormous amount of damage against a ComGuard Thug. Didn't get a chance to finish it because we hit closing time at the friendly local game store. Meanwhile my Warhawk Prime took out the ComGuard commander with a PPC headshot.

[@Attaxalotl]

There are spheroid exceptions to the 45 ton curse, like the Phoenix Hawk! the 6/9/6 do-everything skirmisher!

[@limbo8497]

Something I don't think the comments have brought up, yet, is that mechs with hands can pull double duty in helping move cargo and shit. Picking up a large crate or something.

[@izaakburningham3188]

If this was a Command mech of sorts, I could see the hand being used for issuing orders and commands, doing hand signals like militaries do nowadays

[@mechwar31]

The little hand is for fastball pitching elementals at enemy mechs.

[@thatguyinthecorner94]

I like the shadow cat just because it looks neat and goes fast. It looks like a really angry Cicada. Maybe that's why they gave it a hand, so it can do the one thing a cicada can't and flip you off while running away. And also carry a heavy weapon, the cicada can't really do that either... That or you use the tiny hand like a lance when the gauss runs out and smack them with it on 140km/h swipes.

[@Kanas83]

love of the Shadowcat mostly for Nova/Spirit Cats

[@aaronmaclean3889]

It's for the extra weapons that are hand held But is underutilised in the clans

[@themadatheist1976]

I will never forget the shadow cat getting own'd in the intro of MW4 vengeance......

[@Grizabeebles]

My favourite thing about Inner Sphere mechs is that they're almost unequivocally *not* the good ones. They're what's left after 300+ years of (often nuclear) intersteallar wars. The Clans, on the other hand, have no such excuse for all their waste and jankiness.

[@alecseusalec3418]

I think this arm was made this way to add space for elementals to land on.

[@Gamer-1990s]

Did not expect to see a Red alert 3 tesla tank in the images

[@thecommenter9678]

Clan heavy medium lasers, they are the best bang for your critical slot/tonnage. BAP!

[@jhwheuer]

The designated survivor.

[@TheRealHusk]

I love your videos, and congrats on the success so far, btw I’m a year late but yeah you should play battle tech (the PC game, or mechwarrior 5)with your best bud and explain lore of the mechs while you play.

[@michaelkimberling7307]

Just finished painting this one. The Clans will use melee if necessary. They just see it as primitive and barbaric to use a finely tuned multimillion C-bill machine in melee. After all, that’s what they have elementals for. To the clans It’s kind of like using a pneumatic nail gun to physically beat the nail into the wood like it’s a claw hammer, instead of shooting it into the wood. Can you do it? Yes, Should you do it? No. Especially when you have the proper tool on hand In the case of elementals. Hands can also do lots of things like picking something up and beating your opponent to death with it. Or grabbing cargo containers during a raid. The clans aren’t against just grabbing things and running off with it if they really need to. As much as they might protest to the contrary.

[@arbhall7572]

the arm is for microgravity environments, when you are defending a position like a star ship, in space combat. To pick up executives, or sensitive intel. Theres a hundred reasons to have it, but mostly its for the things they didnt think of.

[@rmcdudmk212]

The shadow cat is one of my favorite clan boy mechs.

[@clydemarshall8095]

Don’t lie to us Sci. We know Steve isn’t here because you misplaced the key to the basement. You’d better get a locksmith on that before he starves.

[@GenStallion]

5 minutes in and I now dub it the Abrams of the clans.

[@kryptonianguest1903]

Looking forward to piloting a Shadow Cat in MW5: Clans soon 😀

[@herrbrain6700]

12:34 oh, now you've done it. The Orthodoxy is coming fir you.

[@liamalbers6635]

The hunchback orthodoxy is going to get em

[@Akabans999]

1:41 final bos of fiction is Xeelee sequence

[@brasscog8890]

It's to point a big finger and say I see you, Pikachu. Then Alpha Strike

[@vulture8298]

God, that monster slapped in MechWarrior 4 I already liked it in MW 3, but for some reason I had it comparatively early in the campaign in MW 4. And that thing f**ed so hard, it's not even funny. Took a good while before I even considered replacing it. Engagements often went like _"Oh, what's this? you want to close the distance because you got fed up with being hit with 275 pounds of FU?_ _That's an interesting thought but JUMP JETS GO PPFFOOOOOOOMM!!"_

[@Kaiju-Driver]

This one sounds fun!

[@Marxon1134]

Gives me nightstar arm vibes

[@EvelynNdenial]

YES! my precious poptartcat

[@EvelynNdenial]

and i fully understand the power of mobility and firepower, i solo'd enough matches in MWO when i got a good map and was in a flow state.

[@kevinbartoe7881]

Ironically enough I'm reading the clan invasion trilogy

[@R4V3-0N]

I don't think the arm is "small", it's just raised and held out to the side. Playing with the rigs and stuff it seems more than fine to help prop itself back up again.

[@scottycheesecake]

Shadowcat is my favorite mech so I approve

[@SgtNuker]

If the ShadowCat is a Sith, then the Urbie is R2D2. ... Oh the image that comes to mind.

[@ieatmarmalade1239]

We better be getting Nidvember after Orktober 👀