Shotguns are the bane in pubs. There are people everywhere, around every corner, and if you have a shotgun, then all you have to do is crawl around in the various indoor or CQC areas and you are guaranteed to piss some people off.
I can’t stand shotgun Auras and Proxies. They’re incredibly annoying and deadly, and as such I’m forced out of CQC to stand a fighting chance. It is incredibly hard to track at point blank, compared to mid range.
As for the SMG is better than shotgun argument, that is indeed quite competitive sided. In a pub, the sheer number of players and chaos means that any Proxy or Aura can get an easy flank or corner kill off amidst the chaos if they know what they’re doing. You can use SMGs in a pub all you like, but there are many situations where they will fall short as you get overwhelmed by a lot of players.
Overall, it doesn’t really justify a nerf. I feel as though the Ahnuld is the best shotgun, still providing solid power, and allowing you to keep distance. The Rehmburg and Hollund encourage an almost suicidal tactic, or a campy type thing that is far too effective indoors (Bridge last point, Rehmburg Aura is insane).
All I ask is make there an actual punishment for jumping and firing with shotguns. If you jump and fire with an SMG and land, you pretty much disadvantage yourself.