Most effective shotgun for slugs?

A good quote is buried somewhere in there, but it needs to be a bit more clearly expressed. With a bit less eloquence, perhaps.

Ah my greatest curse.

And then in real life, my speech basically boils down to "Uh, dur, potato".

Lets try something like this...

Much better Gonna repost.

Can't really say that one's definite superior option, though i can say that in my opinion PA shotgun slugs are one the worst loadouts available in the game (slow RoF + dramatic damage drop over range).
My personal preference goes to the auto shotgun slugs, as it benefits more from slugs than others (its buckshot is highly penalized in spread & damage, slugs are the same accross the board). Accuracy will suffer however.

With "range" being relative to a non-slug shotgun.

Oh make no mistake, I agree, I will never argue in defense of why anyone should consistently use a shotgun. They will likely be the last weapons Directive for me. Without bothering to hard crunch numbers I knew early on that shotguns would not be oft used by myself.
I guess you needed to have consumed as many beers as I had that morning to understand why I found Iridar's comment so funny.

I don't have an issue good sir, I only use shotguns to sweep off the buildup of filth and grime that always seems to accumulate on Tower tops.
(I'm kidding, I love PS2 cheese. All of it. Cheese is good because it makes people whine. Whine is good because if you have a lady friend, a fireplace, some John Coltrane tunes, and some red whine you're in like Flynn.)

You'd only **** your potential for maximum performance against said other weapon in a head to head matchup with all other variables being equal. PS2 is not always head to head with all other variables being equal.

I absolutely love and appreciate all the hard work the serious number crunchers share with us. I really do. Not only is it interesting to read it is also a boon for all of us other players to use as reference material to better understand and make informed weapon decisions. But I really feel PS2 is more often about good or bad timing, which involves a multitude of factors. Sure, your superior by the numbers weapon is likely going to take me down if we meet head to head, which happens a lot. But if you don't see me coming, or I get the drop on you from almost any angle and land some headshots, those superior weapon numbers aren't going to matter. And that happens just as much if not more I feel.

I do agree with your overall summation that in general shotguns are poo.
I would say for that 1% of the time when you actually get close enough to land that perfect OHK headshot they are amazing. It's just that the other 99% of the time, most of which will likely involve you trying to get to the 1% place, they suck.

You sir, have just brought the figurative sledgehammer on the head of the point that has eluded us thus far.


We've spent hours trying to parse this one, brilliant little phrase from huge paragraphs of jargon and out-of-context discussion.


A little improvement on this and I'd say it belongs in the Shotgun guide!

If I were to pick one, I'd have to say the semis.
They carry a slightly larger damage over range even if it is smaller, generally have a higher muzzle velocity and if you're in CQ, they more reliably kill the target in two hits quickly verses pumps which are slower.

Now if its a select shotgun, then I have no clue.

Not so sure. So the gist is "To get a kill, you have to get closer to the next enemy. The deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets, and eventually you die because of it". Correct?

But that assumes the user just blindly rushes forward and chases kills. The good judgement, knowing which kills should be chased, and which shouldn't, is a big part of skill behind shotguns.

Yeah, shotguns benefit a lot from suicidal blind rushing. It's the fastest and easiest way to get kill and lose brain cells. But then you know death is at the end. You expect you're gonna die after jumping into enemy infested building, the only question is how many go down with you.

And we shouldn't take this for granted. Actually thinking, looking for good ways to get close and then run away - that's the smart way to play with a shotgun. It should be a default one. Hell, when I'm talking about shotguns I assume that as default one.

Not so much blind rushing as it is simply adding more variables.


For example, a LA with a shotgun on a roof, playing Tigger on his enemies. Sooner or later, you are going to drop into a situation where you die because some aspect out of your control was not in your favor.

For non-shotguns, you can control the factors of your fights much more effectively. It's the reason the "MLGPro" guys with 5-10 KDR almost exclusively use LMG's.

LMG's are accurate enough to engage targets at medium to medium-long range. They have fast enough TTK to reliably win 1v1 engagements. They have the magazine size to ensure you are never caught without bullets in your mag.

Now, I'm by no means advocating for a HA or LMG nerf. It's just the facts, bringing an LMG HA to the battlefield will allow a skilled player to pretty much excel in any scenario you could throw at him.


Shotguns only have one advantage, improved 1v1 ability at knifing range. But in order to utilize one properly, in 99% of scenarios it requires that you put yourself in more danger then you would have with an AR, LMG or any other ranged weapon.


So, exactly quoted, maybe not. But I think a modified version would do well... Lets try:

Iridar, I feel like you would know. Is the extra velocity on the Baron inherited by the slugs? I feel like it didn't in the past, has that changed? Sitting on certs and thinking of grabbing the Baron.

Baron's slugs have 300 m/s velocity. It's lower than buckshot's 400 m/s, but still the highest slugs can be, sharing first place with Barrage and Mauler.

Agreed, well said. Gonna add that too, though there's only so many ways of saying "shotguns are bad", gonna run out of space soon :<

So other shotguns have lower slug velocities?

Different shotguns have different velocities. Normally, slugs have the same velocity as the shotgun, and Baron is the exception, where slug velocity is hard set at 300 m/s.

Here's a query from PlanetStats with all the shotguns. You can sort by velocity and see for yourself.

Notice that VS shotguns have 20-25 m/s lower velocity, and their slugs are that much slower. This is an unfortunate oversight that remains unfixed.

I know that it's bad but I keep wanting to talk myself into getting the baron. I run VS LA mostly. I've used semi, auto, and pump shotguns with and without slugs and had a lot of fun with the slug thanatos and lots of lolz with a slug pandora. The tube fed mag is neat and as VS I like the different asthetic of the NS weapons. Also have a fondness for battle rifles despite them also sucking.

Hehe, I should add that to my signature.


On an unrelated note, there's a small part of the Shotgun guide that I think could use some updating.

In the area where it talks about PA Slugs, it gives this vibe that PA Slugs is a legitimately viable strategy, which is not something I would want to deceive people into thinking. I mean, I have an S-rated HSR with my PA slugs and only 500 kills in I couldn't bring myself to go on anymore.

I liked your previous edit, where as I recall you described PA Slugs as "something for the masochistic".

Wouldn't call it not legitimate. Hard, not for everyone - yes. But completely viable. Especially when compared to PA with buckshot.

I'd say advantages/disadvantages section does a good job of explaining everything a potential user needs to know.