I think shotguns do not need a buff/nerf

(heyo) #1

I had very lengthy post written about this earlier, but an internet outage deleted the draft for some reason. Therefore, I will elaborate if people ask for specific details

I have played with shotguns and their respective mercs for a considerable amount of time (I’m no veteran, but I am level 21) and I have to say shotguns are in a good position.

I have also read many great posts about how to change shotguns for the better. However, shotguns are a niche weapon and buffing/nerfing its attributes (especially range) will make it more akin to SMGs in terms of effective range. Depending on how they are used, this could make shotguns OP or useless.

The way I think about shotguns is how sniper rifles are right now.
What do I mean?

Well, if we think about a sniper rifle, it is only effective at long ranges. Of course, you can try to use it in CQC, but the slow rate of fire will get you killed almost certainly. Regardless, if you are in sight of the sniper and you have, say, an SMG and you are 100 meters away, then a competent sniper should kill you 9 times out of 10. Therefore, the general philosophy is that you should not try to take on a sniper from long range unless you have a sniper rifle yourself.

Similarly, if you run into a tight indoor area, then a shotgun user should win. Shotguns should always win in CQC situations and so the only way to combat shotguns is to be mindful of your surroundings and range (abilities will help as well).

What about abysmal offensive capabilities of the shotgun?
Well, a shotgun is primarily a defensive weapon.

All the mercs that use shotguns (Rhino, Aura, Proxy, Fletcher) are (supposed to be) defensive mercs. Shotguns, in this case, should be used in tandem with the mercs’ abilities. For example, Auras should tend to stick around their healing station so that they become more tankier. Without the station, Aura is a squishy merc that can be taken out with literally every offensive merc’s ability.

Overall, shotguns are powerful, but they have glaring shortcomings. A decent player can take out a few enemies easily with a shotgun, but a prolonged fight will definitely spell out death for the shotgun merc. Shotguns are best used for ambushes and protecting corners.

That’s why I think shotguns are pretty good as of now.

Please let me know about your ideas because there might be things I overlooked.

Thanks for reading this post.

(Chilled Sanity) #2

Shotguns are based on luck in some situations; You sometimes can kill an enemy from retarded ranges buuuuut sometimes you cannot even kill the fletcher right by your chin that is shooting at you with a revolver, they are unreliable yet sometimes too effective

(hoyes) #3

I agree with @Bröd in the fact that the shotguns are not consistent, and this is probably due to their pellet spread being wide at further ranges. I do think they are good at close range, but i would not be opposed to decreasing their pellet spread so they are more useful at range in a trade off for decreased fire rate to make them harder to use against higher hp mercs would be welcomed imo.

(geronimoooo) #4

Sometimes I can kill 3 people with 3 bullets even when they are spread appart and distanced from me for a few meters. Thats when my friends start yelling what a bs is shotgun.

Other times, I sneak up on someone, get literally an inch from them, shoot, and dont even take half the hp from them and they kill me.

Shotguns cant have the one shot ability removed as that is what happens irl, so its quite realistic. Their range is also quite limited already and their spread is high. So there is no fix to the weapon that would keep it a realistically behaving weapon while not making people go nuts when you get a shotfun in face.