A second look at shocktrains

I run a level 8 and level 9 ST on a level 3 Rogatka. In games that last about 5 minutes, I'll usually do between 500-700k damage. Using the same Rogatka with Orkans I would usually do around 400-500k. If you can consistently keep lock on a red and keep popping out and firing every time you reach full charge, nothing in the game deals more damage than Shocktrains. You don't have the "Holy crap!" effect with two like you do with three, but you still can do a ton of damage once you get good with them.

I have been on the receiving end of those.

That's one of the things about running a sniper build. Sure, it's easy in the sense that there is no aiming. But a lot of the skill comes in when you have to know the spots to camp, how to lure your enemies out, not wasting shots (esp. something like a Treb Fury with 23s reload/charge up time), battling other snipers and not dying, finding targets, understanding terrain and environment, and taking the impossible shots. 

Doesn't it suck though in running Shocktrains that you're not a instant kill type setup like a bot with Orkans or say a Butch with Trebs. Both of those deal huge damage in a short period of time. Whereas Shocktrains take a long period of time over the course of a game.

I have two from the event and currently leveling and 8000 components on my way to a third so I can put on a Bulg or Haechi.

Well, look at it this way: 3 mk2 maxed shocktrains would do 252% (quick math without calculator, so not exact) of the damage your current load out is doing. So around 55k per hit instead of the 22k you get now. That’s a huge difference.

Edit: At 22k per hit, you cannot realistically take on a lance - with a bit of ground to back up, lances are very easy to take down in a triple shocktrain build. The ability to avoid being chased around the map is a big deal as well.

It happens with Tarans sometimes. My pointer is square in the middle of the bot, and it does no damage, no red X indicator flashing either. Sometimes, I have to move my gun away from the target or jiggle it a bit, and then aim at them and it works again. Today, I had a game where 4-5 shots missed, so that was unbelievable. Bot died, so wasn't able to see how long it lasted.

This has been reported before as a major issue recently, so it's going to have a huge effect on something like the Redeemer. You can clearly see if some dmg is not registering. But I think it's half the shots hitting.

It might be a bug. Or it might be a quirk in the system. I don't know which. Kinda like when the WW bots switch weapons, you have to wait for the gun model to get into position before firing. Same with the targeting system, so maybe it is getting stuck since the auto-target controls the height of the gun. So if you're switching targets from a jumping bot to one on the ground quickly, then it takes time to point at the proper height. The situation you describe is slightly different, so maybe the guns have some default mode where the guns would miss, so it takes time for the 2+ guns to point inward too. 

Frontal armor on lance, gareth, galahad, bulg and rhino offer protection from straight on hit from ST. The way to get them is to ricochet off of unprotected bots to hit vulnerable flanks. Tough to do while keeping 500m while hovering without landing near something that can kill you and avoiding sniper fire but I am getting the hang of it. Cool thing about shocktrain in a hover is that you can see the whole field and how it impacts them.

I got two shocks I want to put on bulgarisa what should I put on the 3rd one

Shocktrains are many things, but one thing the are not is a sniper weapon. They are most definitely midrange.

I got lvl7 shocks i won from the event,and i think they are decent.They actually do almost the same damage as zeus (i am talking about burst not dps),on a griffin in a combination with two aphids.This build played well actually doesnt do much better then a lvl 7 rdb.I do my damage in the first two or three min of the game then i ditch or suicide.But i think without the third shocktrain,my zeus carnage is better.But i still need to play more with shocks to say something deffinite,because i am still learning it and trying to find a build that will work.I tried it in combo with pins too,and its cool,but i think the best i got out of them was on a fujin with a tulumbas lvl7.I am matching them up with other lvl 7 stuff i have,because shocks are lvl7.I would really apreciate if someone would try them on a griff with two gekkos because i dont own them and i will not spend 1500gold for something i dont know will work,or maybe someone allready knows a build that is actually good,so i dont have to test any more,and start investing seriously.I dont own a hover,but i have over 5000 components and if the shocks work on hover i will get the rest.Please guys give us some concrete info on the 2 shocktrain matter as long as its not get the third and put them on haechi or bulgasari.Thank you

Shocktrains are absolutely game breaking. This weapon...
1) should have been a heavy weapon, like other sniper weapons
2) had a longer reload time
3) had a chain effect of 50 meters vice 150. It is intended to kill tightly clustered enemies, not arc all over the map
4) not go thru physical shields, and thus offer some sort of smart defense option (supposedly fixed in 3.5)

Instead, the devs made this a medium weapon to compliment new, over powered assualt bots, and game balance and skill went curbside.

I'm not one to jump on the 'give us everything quick and free' bandwagon. I understand games need long-term goals and I am a businessman first, gamer second, so I can sympathise with revenue goals. That said, the player base complaints about the shocktrain are 100% accurate. This weapon never should have been introduced in its current form, and getting game balance back, or creating new weapons worth using for end-game meta is now a meaningless task.