You’d probably notice that in my pocket guides, shotguns are the most suggested loadouts. Well, it’s not that I am too lazy to put other weapons. It’s just that shotguns are currently meta. For those who aren’t familiar to the term, metagame pertains to the most proven effective approach. Think of META as Most Effective Tactic Available, although its rootword is not really an acronym. Just think of it as a means to remember what it is.
Why shotgun?
So, what makes the shotgun so popular? These are the reasons that I thought of:
Damage. Since more damage means more silver, shotguns can almost pay for their own upgrades (provided that you grind) as they do tons of damage at 150m and less.
Mobility creep and nerf to other brawling weapons. With most newer bots having high base speed and other mobility or shielding abilities, getting up close into shotgun range is now relatively easy. Kinetic shotguns existed way back but other brawling weapons held them at bay. Plasma’s 350m range was not hard to maintain and can easily chip away an SG user’s HP while staying outside SG’s kill range, while deathbuttons can just kill at 300m, which is still outside SG effective range. Back then, there were few options to get into effective range without being melted into slag, but this changed since the coming of dashbots.
Plasma and deathbutton setups then got nerfed. The combination of mobility creep and these nerfs pushed shotguns into the limelight.
Utility/lockdown. With the introduction of energy shotguns having the ability to immobilize targets, the weapon-class did not only bring damage to the table, but a chance to cut off a target’s mobility. Getting locked down in front of an enemy squad is a death sentence and this only incentivized clans to form kill-trains.
Modules, pilot skills, abilities. Modules like phase shift not only gave a means to escape death but to outplay enemies. Players can just phase shift when in dire straits and close in while invincible. By the time PS wears off, their shotguns have almost fully reloaded and they’re in position for a kill.
Pilot skills provide not only movespeed for closing but a chance to increase DPS as well. The Sharp Shooter skill reduces the scatter of shotgun particles, thus increasing its overall accuracy and extending the shotgun’s effective range.
Newer robot abilities either provide some form of virtual invincibility (like shields and stealth) or mobility which makes it easier to close in.
Versatility. Although shotguns are not an auto-slot in every bot (due to mobility and other factors), we can’t deny the fact that any bot with a shotgun setup could potentially win a duel IF (and it’s a big IF) it can get close enough to an enemy. This IF is possible in Beacon Rush games. Even a slow, antique bot like Leo can spawn-raid-boss the enemy base given enough chance to capture a red home beacon.
Older speedy bots like a Gepard can still wreak havoc to the enemy lines when piloted well and equipped with shotguns. I’m not recommending this, but I’m saying it’s possible.
Simplicity. Shotguns are very simple to use. Get close and shoot. That’s it. Well, getting close could be a challenge, but at least, once you’re in range, you just have to mash those buttons.
Smart reload. In addition to quick reload times, shotguns can reload while firing, because of this, you don’t lose that much DPS when out of ammo. This is one of the reasons why brawlers prefer shotguns.
Pros/Cons
PROS:
- High damage potential, reload while firing, making them perfect for brawlers.
- Can hit stealthed bots without QR.
- Storms are cheap to upgrade and can compete with other pricey setups in terms of damage.
- Lockdown with energy shotguns.
CONS:
- Needs to get close to maximize damage. DPS drastically drops when out of 100-m to 150-m range.
- High upgrade cost for energy shotguns.
Shotgun types
There are currently two types of shotguns in WR. Kinetic and energy.
The good old original shotgun. If there is a perfect example of beauty in simplicity, it would be the kinetic shotgun. When there’s some knocking needed to be done, you can count on it on finishing the job. It is the budget brawler’s quintessential weapon where all you need to do is butt heads with the enemy and empty your clips. Shields? Get close and shoot em until they break. For purple force fields, walk through it and season your target with death pellets. That’s how silver and gold shotgun boys deal with reds.
The kinetic shotgun’s pricier cousin, energy shotguns provide the luxury of going through blue shields and the chance to ankle-break a bot to immobility. The lockdown potential kills off mobile bots’ speed advantage and helps the team catch fleeing reds. Its damage output is nothing to scoff at as it can also melt targets at close range with relative ease. The energy shotgun class has been the go-to weapons for higher leagues. It’s so powerful that even older bots get some fighting chance when equipped with them. Energy shotguns are a lot more expensive than kinetics though and takes a while to upgrade.
Note: There will be upcoming lockdown changes for Halo, Corona, and Glory. I’m not sure how it will affect energy shotguns’ popularity.
Optimizing your shotgun setup
Upgrade. When you get close to the enemy, you want to make sure that you’ll be landing a haymaker. Upgrading your weapons would ensure that you’re dealing high damage to quickly take a target down.
Sharp Shooter/Shot grouping. This is quite a handy pilot skill for shotgun setups. As mentioned before, this simply increases your accuracy and effective range.
Platform. Choose the right bot for your shotguns. Yes, I’ve mentioned that almost every bot equipped with a shotgun can kill up close, but you’d have to consider the bot’s ability to get close. You can either choose a highly mobile bot or a tanky bot that would be able to take hits and get into effective range. Bots with abilities like jump, flight, or speed boost could be good platforms. Likewise, abilities that provide some sort of pseudo-invulnerability like shields or stealth can allow the bot to come close in.
Mixing up. Instead of going all energy (lockdown) or all kinetics (budget), you can mix weapons up. A popular combination is Halo and Storm (especially after the Gust nerf) providing you with lockdown and damage, plus it’s cheaper than going Halo+Corona.
FINAL THOUGHTS
With the coming changes to energy shotguns, would I still make them? Well, currently, I have Halo in my WS. I honestly have no idea what the lockdown change implications would be. Damage-wise, I think Halo still outperforms Gust, so it wouldn’t be much of a deal. I would still suggest getting Storms though. It’s a bang for the buck with its lower upgrade cost.
I feel that Pixonic is trying to make cryoweapons more appealing. I won’t be surprised if they become the next meta, especially with Arthur being a popular choice for titans. Cryo rocket splash is effective against Arthur’s physical shield. Outside of titans, if it comes to cryos vs shotguns, I feel that brawlers would still choose the latter, especially those that have already invested. Skilled pilots can anticipate and dodge rockets while shotgun particles are hard to avoid.
Personally, I believe that shotguns will stay, though might lose some popularity. Well, that’s if its damage output will remain untouched. We’ll never know though. I guess all we can do is hope and wait.
The Omniscientist 