Building up a frame with XT drivetrain, it seems nowadays the rear derailleur doesn’t require a loop of outer cable, it can be fed almost straight pretty directly without minimal outer cable.

I’ve noticed the derailleur now has an extra pivot/plate? I’ve just fitted a new chain to my Heckler and used the Shimano method of largest sprockets and allowing 2 extra links, but the chain is about as tight as I wanna go in the big ring/big sprocket but very slack when on the granny ring/11t. Does this have anything to do with the derailleur setup?

Been away from mountain biking for a while…just realised I have one of those shadow rear mechs