Shot Guns in General:Shotguns are very close ranged weapons used to kill in one shot even on non head shots. They can not be silenced, but do allow for maximum mobility and good hip firing accuracy. They have even less range than you'd think and they go from killing in one shot to taking a few shots, to not doing any damage, very quickly with range changes.
Positives: 1 shot kill power to body. Max mobility. Good hip accuracy. Almost impossible not to kill in closed space situations (doorway).
Negatives: No silencing options. Absolutely no range capabilities. Limited capacity.
Why use Shot Guns: These are best used at the point of attack as mobile short ranged killers. Since you are not able to silence, I consider these limited with flanking options, where I think sub machine guns can perform better.
W1200: First available shotgun. This imo, should not be used until double tap is unlocked. The fire rate on this weapon is very poor without double tap and essentially means you can only kill one opponent at a time reliably. However, once you have doubletap, this weapon is very good. The reason you'd generally use this over the second shot gun is for the extra 2 shots. 6 round clip.
Perks & attachments: While I consider double tap a necessity on this weapon, the other options have more a bit more flexibility. The sites are pointless on the shotguns, but the grip significantly lowers the recoil and increases the accuracy (effectively raising the range in which you can 1 shot kill by a good margin). The grip eliminates the 1st perk, which is a shame since you can definitely take advantage of the special/frag grenades or rocket launcher to have some ranged capabilities. This makes losing the first perk a high price to pay. The grip does however greatly increase the killing power of the gun, so I think it's usually worth paying that price. The 3rd perk is open as well, but usually the combination of grip + steady aim allows you to one shot at a significantly greater range. Martyr probably fits most on shotgun users, but steady aim can help prevent you from dying. Other perks like extreme conditioning and last stand also fit with shotguns.
W1014: This gun has a much faster rate of fire than the first gun, and is still quite a bit faster even compared to a double tapped 1200. It does less damage than the first gun, which can mean less 1 shot kills, but these will still 1 shot most people w/ well aimed shots and you can always use stopping power with it if you want (although this kind of defeats the purpose of using this gun and is not suggested). With this you get a faster rate of fire, but less damage, and 2 fewer shots. 4 round clip.
Perks & attachments: The grip is also very good on this gun and is advisable. Try it out with and without and see if it's worth eating up the first perk. I do consider it worth it. If not, special grenades, frag, rocket launcher, even bomb squad are decent options. Second perk is much more flexible here since double tap is unnecessary. Juggernaut (advised), stopping power, sleight of hand, uav jammer.. all solid options. 3rd perk choices are the same as the first gun.
Which gun?: Since these both have exactly the same purpose, the balance between these is more clear. The major factor is the 6 shots compared to 4 shots and is very important. Generally speaking, if you're running into a situation where you're running out of shots and still have crap to kill/shooting at you.. then you should go with the first gun. If your situations are generally taken care of with 4, then the second gun is better for you since it frees up the second perk (again, because the first gun absolutely requires double tap to be effective). I prefer the W1014 personally most of the time. When I get into a situation where I'm attacking spawn points and there may be a lot of people in a small area, I'll switch to the first one.
Using the Shot Guns: I think these weapons are best used as the runner and gunners who go right at their opponent. Since each shot will register on the enemy hud and there's nothing you can do about it, you may as well go right at them. You want to avoid any areas that you're engagable at range since you can do nothing at that point other than pull out your pistol or throw a grenade. The weapon will not hit anything farther than a very short distance. You want to aim for the chest and get comfortable with that and you'll soon have a very high rate of 1 shot kills. If running in and trying to score a few kills before dying and doing this in volume.. is for you.. then the shotgun's a very solid choice. While their point blank 1 shot power may make them appear good at holding doorways or other choke points, their low capacity and inability to spam through stun/flash grenades makes them inferior to the light machine guns for this role.
Cliff Notes: Make your weapon choice based on how many rounds you find yourself needing. Use the grip, double tap on the w1200, juggernaut on w1014 (suggested), steady aim on both. Go right at the enemy and try to take as many as possible as you can before dying. Rinse and repeat.
(Guide by
|V|)
