Before you click away, this is not a joke post, Shelly is genuinely viable, at least around the 600-750 level, in Heist. I pushed from 650 to 700 with like 1 loss, then 700 to 750 with a 70% win rate. Pretty fun :)
Maybe I'll start playing Mortis in Heist...
Why? While Shelly doesn’t have good DPS against the safe, against certain brawlers she is a powerful defense, allowing the team DPS to go for the safe.
Build: The standard Shell Shock + Clay Pigeons build. Speed is a must; Damage or Vision both work.
What you want to do is stay closer to the back, blocking off the choke points to your safe. Neutralize threats as much as you can, and even if you can’t take everyone down, try to take out a main DPS, or slow them enough to buy your team time.
In another sense, Shelly is an “assassin” thrice a match: relying on the Super and gadget to take down enemies at range, and being useless the rest of the match. Well yes but actually no.
1. Cover Crowd
This is a map with safes to the left of the spawn, and 4 grassy lanes running up (and down) the map. Shelly’s best spot is above the safe, defending against both lanes near the safe. From this spot, you can see the entire leftmost lane, preparing for an ambush, and defend with ample preparation.
In a typical match, barely ever would I see the enemy safe. This is a very passive playstyle, and definitely not as flashy as Shelly supering your way into the enemy goal. But if it works, it works.
Moral: Don’t be afraid to play passively. Shelly, with her shotgun property, fares better when the enemies are walking towards you. As such, defense is easier for Shelly than offense.
2. Hot Potato
This is the map that I played on from 700 onwards; unlike Cover Crowd, which has a clear offensive and defensive lane, this map is symmetric, so area control is more important…
In theory, at least. In practice, except in very standard long-range wall-clear comps that turn the map into Purple Paradise, most comps involve someone running into the enemy defenses and placing down some turret – Nita, Jessie, or even El Primo or Bull placing himself onto the safe. At the 700 level, there are few such standard teams, and most of the lobby are Jessies and Nitas.
Shelly thus does the same thing she did previously: sit in the grass and mainly defend, especially against the heavyweights.
Of course, this has its counters: the wall-break comps mentioned above. There’s little I can do as Shelly in an open Hot Potato map, right?
Anyways, I’m too lazy to post a whole game here, so enjoy the guide :D