Hey guys, I felt inspired to make a video going over my thoughts on shotguns in Planetside 2. Are you a noob for using a shotgun? Are you not a noob for NOT using a shotgun? Does it take skill to use a shotgun? Is it just a cheese weapon? Let me know what you think!
Shotguns have always been very high risk vs reward weapons. If your going up against even a slightly competent player in cqc missing even once with either a pump or semi auto shotgun can equal death, auto shotgun is a bit more forgiving. Cheese wise, they do have a ridiculous TTK when your in range and since many fights happen in cqc, id imagine this is why people rage against them but when your out of that range your shotgun has a serious disadvantage with your sidearm would becoming the clearly better choice TTK wise.
Not a fan of OHKs, but at the same time using a shotgun means you're making a big trade-off in ranged capabilities. Same with bolt actions, it works because of requiring a headshot.
I use them without slugs when I'm tanking so I can hop out and skeet-shoot C4 fairies. Other than that, they aren't useful in too many situations. I much prefer my Warden. Even with slugs, I have a hard time getting many kills with my shotty outside of slapping distance.
So... shotguns are bad because it's a CQC OHK*? What about snipers picking people off from halfway across the world? Isn't that 4nubz too? How about when you SMG lamers sit around 30-50m and shoot people in the head before they get close? I believe Iridar is right in that the fundamental problem isn't that people hate shotguns -- it's that people don't like adapting/changing to their opponents. Unfortunately, that's the mindset of a scrub. Most weapons in this game are going to be useful for most engagements. However, there's a few classes of weapons which have optimal conditions that are heavily skewed toward certain situations. That's a good thing, assuming they're balanced (and, in the case of shotguns, considering the incredibly low TTK in this game, I would argue a OHK from a shotgun within 3-5m is probably legit). This, like virtually every other topic on the matter, just boils down to "get good." If you got one-shot by a shotgun, why did you let them get that close? If you got picked off by a sniper or rocket, why were you standing still? LA dropped C4 on your face? You were probably in a cluster, or near a MAX or tank. Evaluate the situation and try to mitigate it in the future. Or rage on the forums. Whatever.
The only problem is the whole close quarters OHK + clientside hit detection. - Shotgun user rounds a corner and shoves a load of buckshot from their pump action into a guy's face, killing him. - That guy's client hasn't yet registered the fact that the shotgun user has rounded the corner... Shotguns are the perfect way to take advantage of this. Shotguns are not overpowered, they are not "noob weapons" or whatever. They are just very good at exploiting the weaknesses of clientside hit detection.
I second both of these. As Ceiu said, players HATE being forced to play in a defensive manner they are not comfortable with. Similar to how Fighters have to learn and stay away from the strengths/styles of their opponents, meanwhile ensuring their opponent is subjected to your own style and strengths. Most players aren't seeking to improve themselves, but to find ways to make the game better for themselves, without inputting any effort; which comes through nerf requests/demands. I do agree that some nerf/buff requests are legit, and often times someone with a good head on their shoulders can pull statistics together to argue for a change. However, most are due to the players refusing to change their comfortable playstyle to adapt to the situation.
I find SMGs way more "noob" friendly than shotguns. It rather bothers me when people say you don't have to aim to use a shotgun, if the game used Payday 2's model for shotgun damage that would be true. However in this game you have make sure your shot is dead center mass before you click that mouse button or enough pellets are going to miss and result in doubling your TTK (based on going for a 2 shot blast from a semi-auto). With an SMG as long as your crosshair is mostly in the body you are going to hit your target. Mean you can just hold down the fire button and waggle in the direction of your enemy and likely kill them. With the way lag works in this game you can also do the same with fast killing weapons (SMGs, CQC carbines). Quite a few times I just suddenly hear a single bullet hit me and I go from full to dead to a high dps weapon. It's why I am for increasing the the TTK in this game.
Great point I should have mentioned this This is also true, getting the jump on someone and landing a couple of headshots with an SMG often kills them faster than they can react due to the lag
Shotguns are really the only way you can power through a heavies shield, you want to talk of noob abilities then look no further than the I-Win button
People always forget this game is all encompassing. Why not just get rid of all the weapons and make everyone the same class and give them the same gun. No vehicles or maxes and let people go head to head. Its the only way to balance the game completely.
I don't consider shotguns noob weapons. Having very short range is a huge factor in this game. So many shotgun users are easy farming when in route from one location to the next. Shotguns are unforgiving, miss and you usually die to hipfire spray and pray. I don't use shotguns much myself, but I have played with the Jackhammer a bit and I think it demonstrates the weakness of shotguns. It has a burst fire mode with a downtime at the end. Run around with it in burst mode. Sometimes you'll find yourself rounding the corner and killing 1 guy right out even if you dont hit the head. Other times you'll miss and die without even doing any damage to the other guy. THEN you factor in getting to the location alive while being fired at from range and the prospective gets more daunting. Add to that shotguns are amazing against groups of enemies if you can hit the 1st 1 or 2 heads, but if you miss the head they are not good AT ALL. Whereas with the chaingun or lasher you can just open up sans aiming into a crowd and injure or kill everyone. So, powerful, but not noobish imho.
[Shotgun----S.M.G.------Carbine----------A.R./L.M.G.-------B.R.-------Scout Rifle-----------Sniper Rifle] ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Close Range Far Range Shotguns actually have a disadvantage compared to snipers because if you miss your most likely going to be destroyed. Call me crazy, but I think most shotguns should be revamped to behave more like real-life shotguns and have a much tighter spread, and reduce damage a little bit. The pump action ones could remain to be viable at point blank only.
Shotguns are fine and fun to play. The things that need a nerf are the SMGs and LMGs. Way to powerful. Don't mind my 6k kills with the GD-66 Claw while saying this.
Shotguns have a slightly lower TTK than other weapons. At the same range with a Carbine, you can kill someone almost as fast. In fact, not hitting an enemy properly for whatever reason will be the death of you easily, as suddenly the enemy can kill you as fast/faster than you can kill him due to the time between shots. Just about the only real advantage that the Shotguns offer, is their incredible DPS per magazine and their unload time. With a Carbine it doesn't happen often that you kill 3 people in one magazine due to firing some shots while your enemy is already dead etc, while with a shotgun and the right playstyle you can get 3 or even more much more easily, especially since you can see if your enemy is dead between shots meaning less ammo wasted. This is one of it's strengths: When dropping on a group of people you can kill a bunch, if not almost all. Which is why this is one of the few weapons actually used by people who want to be outnumbered. Everyone else Zergs about, keeps distance, runs with Medics and works hard to keep up a good KD. A shotgun is about much more strategy, not just using cover but avoiding being seen until it's too late for your enemy. And using enemies who are tunnel-visioning is perfect for this as you can come in from the side or back. Who tunnel visions? The people in frontlines and standoffs. Shotgun is OK as it is. A Sniper rifle is made for long-range shots, LMG's can be used for short to medium range, and have a lot of staying power at medium range. SMG's are wonderful CQC weapons with great accuracy, and Shotguns pay almost all range they have and get incredible DPS per magazine and TTK's in return.
