I honestly forgot about it. I was really sceptical about it having a tighter spread until I saw an official SOE statement of that, but my mind hasn't changed tracks yet. Barrage is also the only shotty I have, so double yay for being a slowpoke
Barrage/Thanatos/Mauler has 3 degree pellet spread Haymaker/Nova/Sweeper 3.5 degree Nighthawk/Pandora/pIston 4 degree Uppercut/Phobos/Claw 3 degree Jackhammer 2.5 degree I use Mauler most of the time, and really liked the pump-action. Waiting on the possible second model, though...
I've got the VS Nova and Pandora araxium medals and thought I'd pick up the Phobos for a spin. This shot gun isn't nearly as forgiving for missing a shot in comparison to the other two. I found myself needing to ADS to make the most of it whereas I can hipfire the Nova and Pandora without much of an issue. The guns power is limited by the slower firing rate and smaller magazine size. However, extended magazine and max ammo clip size gave me 7 rounds in chamber, 51 spare. I also had time to put slug ammo in it and a 4.0 scope. I perched on the tree directly outside the crossroad outpost and was sniping NC that were content to stand still on the very top. At that distance, it was two headshots for a kill and three body shots just like a Nova. However, as the NC started to charge down the hill, two body shots started killing them (unless I was getting a headshot and bodyshot). Phobos was decent for shot gun sniping but definately prefer the Nova for it. Many of those I killed were battle rank 20 or less. One poor sniper actually saw me and shot me (but I killed him), and I received the "reporting for hacking" whisper from him. Fun gun, but not forgiving if you miss more than once in close quarters.
Its strong but much less forgiving than the automatic. I've beaten LAs with the pump action at point blank as a HA by doing the classic ADADADAD crouch dance. 7 maximum magazine makes me worry as well. Probably wont unlock it myself for a while.
Pump Shotgun favors hit and run a lot more, I would say pairing it with a Flash grenade is also really nice. You can flash a room and one shot the few people hiding in the corner, you can do the same kind of DPS with a Piston or Sweeper yes, but the problem I found with those weapons is a lack of reliability. I can consistantly one shot (or two-shot if I am unlucky) with my Claw, but with a Piston or Sweeper I found that I may have to empty 5 or 6 shots into someone before they went down. This could be due to my playstyle as well. Also it just feels right firing a pump shotty.
It's all about the DPM ladies and gents. DPS is worthless compared to DPM, especially in CQC. This game is not built for honorable jousts between two individuals, it is a war. And in war, reloading means dying. The best DPS in the world won't save your life if that second guy takes you out because you ran outta ammo and had to pull out your pistol. I love the uppercut because I don't need an extended mag for it. It has the potential to kill 5 people with a standard clip and that is great for multiple targets. I typically take out 2 sometimes 3 enemies at a time.
So are you running laser instead? I went extended mag on my claw and feel much better knowing I have the extra ammo if need be. 2 extra shells on the pump is nothing to sneeze at. I tend to reload a few shells at a time though, as waiting for all 7 can be deadly.
Got the same question, why in the world would you use laser on a shotty? It's not like accuracy means much.
Because you will get more accuracy, COF affects shotguns just like other guns and with 3 degree pellet spread you will notice it more, with pump action every shot is much more valuable.
Doesn't seem to, I did get a laser for the pump, but I don't equip it because I don't like having to turn the laser off every time. And the spray pattern seems to be pretty much the same with and without it. Actually it might be that the flashlight is the best option for the pump. Sure it gives you away but it also lights up your target area very well. Could be a bit more useful for aiming purposes.
The spread is the same as without a laser, but shotguns have CoF, meaning the direction the group of pellets go in vary. It is smaller on the shotguns than a carbine IIRC. Each shot you do increases this CoF, just like any other weapon and the laser makes it smaller. But generally, extended magazines are still better.
The pump actions are devastating if you can use them properly. yeah it's got a little less than half the RoF, but this is easily offset by having almost double the damage, and more importantly nearly double the pellets and the fact that you don't even need all of those pellets to hit the body in order to get a OHKO. the ability to very reliably OHKO or 2-shot failing that (unless you aim is really bad) makes fights alot more predictable. whereas with the semi-autos you know you're going to have to use at least 2 shots per guy (unless you're close enough to jam the gun down their throat), and maybe 3, maybe 4, because of the lower damage and fewer pellets (with only 6 pellets instead of 10 , if 3 go wild and miss, you've just halved the damage of your shot. with 10 on the pumps, if 3 pellets miss you still OHKO the guy). the pumps are less forgiving if you screw up badly, but far more forgiving if you screw up only just a little. i don't think the consistency provided by 10 pellets over 6 can be talked up enough, and i really doubt these guns would be anywhere near as good if they instead had the same 6 pellets that did more damage individually
Again, didn't notice a difference when I emptied my entire reserve both with and without the laser sight attached. The spray and the area they hit were pretty much the same location and width. And, IMO, if you can't definitively say "I notice a difference, this is obvious" then it's not going to do you any good in an actual combat situation.
I might test it out later today (I actually got laser for my Sweeper too), but you are right that it's not really noticeable. In theory it has an effect but I think pellet spread means that it the attachment is more meaningful on an automatic weapon. I might test with slugs too actually, and test it when moving rather than still which may get a greater affect from the laser (and that might be an important factor as with a shotgun it's likely you are mobile). I actually agree that it's not useful in a combat situation compared with the alternative of extended magazines.
I love the Uppercut. There's just something so satisfying about face down somebody at point blank range, clicking the mouse, and watching them die before they have a chance to react. Couple this with the LA's ability to flank, and I've literally waltzed up behind a group of enemy soldiers, taken aim with 7 rounds and gotten 7 kills. Of course, then I died, since it takes absolute ages to reload when completely empty, but I all in all I really quite enjoy the sheer power of this thing. And that's only if you decide to empty your entire magazine. If you kill 1 guy, reload, kill 1 guy, reload, you can go for quite some time before finding yourself out of ammo. One downside is that it doesn't hurt MAXes as well as the Nighthawk, but I'll take increased effectiveness against infantry as a decent trade. You have to be good at aiming, since you do get punished quite a bit if you miss, but the upsides are so totally worth it.
Love this gun, got my aux less then a week after unlocking it As mentioned its OHK CQC potential is devastating, however that's not all there is to it. With slug ammo and 3.4x you will be a surprisingly effective sniper, once you learn to compensate for the bullet drop & travel time. Given the award places you can get to as LA this can be a ton of fun. Like all shotty's this one unlocks for all for classes except the infil, this is worth keeping in mind when trying to decide if to unlock it or not (i did not know this myself until after unlocking it xD) Also remember your sidearm! When you run out of rounds you can get another 2-3 ppl at that range with it, or use it to cover your retreat to reload. You will do well to reload more often then not with this one tough.
I killed a VS max today with the Uppercut, it took 7 shots in the head point blank. The guy had full HP (he dropped on the roof of a biolab in a pod, and nobody attacked him before I did). So, it is possible.
