PC Shotguns...

Morloc

Morloc

Arch Necromancer
Hi all!

I'm not much of a firearms guy. I'm cheap and a hoarder, so I use melee. Once in a while it's necessary to pull with a bow and later, the marksman rifle is effective at dealing with screamers, bears and maybe dog packs. Everything else gets whacked with my club.

I'm not above messing around with the other weapons....

Handgun - Can save a butt or two early game with dogs or vultures. Holds a lot of ammo.

Magnum - Rare and rare ammo. Good "last stand" weapon.

Hunting Rifle - Marksman rifle light. Fills the gap, rarely gets used.

SMG - Wastes my bullets.

AK-47 - Wastes more expensive bullets.

Marksman Rifle - OK, this thing is useful. I'll use it once in a while.

BlunderRocketLauncherNailGunCrossbow - Not built, sources of scrap, or look good in my gun safe.

Here's my question though....shotguns. In my 3,200+ hrs I've never really used them. I hear they are a thing. As I understand it, lots of damage at close range, but the spread causes this to taper off. I've built the turrets, and they eat my shells and kill stuff.

Can someone (please) tell me more about shotguns in this game, or point me at a decent source? I have questions like...

At what range does damage taper off?

What are the mechanics of the damage cone? Am I hitting blocks or other zombies all around my target each time I fire?

How accurate are they?...is accuracy a big issue for them?

The mods I've been finding have made me interested in revisiting their viability, and though I've messed around, I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere near the punch that the damage numbers suggest.

Thanks,

-Morloc

 
I cannot answer your questions in detail, but I mostly use Shotguns and always have, so I can answer it generally. They have a fast rate of fire and hold 8 shells. The fire rate means that for me at least, I get headshots under pressure more often with a SG than I do with a rifle. This immediately makes them better than any other gun assuming your target is in range and you have points in Boom Headshot. The effective range here is obviously less than a rifle, but it is more than you think. I'd guess 20 to 30 blocks.

All of this assumes no mods on your shotgun. I have no idea what the Duckbill or Sawn Off mods do, as I never use them.

In the end, once you switch to a shotgun for horde night, it is unlikely you will ever switch back. On horde nights I'd guess 90% of the shots I fire are SG, with 10% or less being a Hunting or Sniper rifle shooting at cops that are still very far away.

 
Well everyone's experience differs, but at max difficulty and when the zombies runs top speed...

Rifles: Perk is useless unless you're one shotting zombies. Also makes AK-47 woefully useless being classified under this perk on higher difficulties.

Handgun: Unless you're able to chain shots, this gets useless quick on 2 kneejerk scenarios. Magnums only have 6 shots between misses and small gaps while kiting the buff wears off pretty quick, and reloading removes the buff.

SMGs: Pretty useful for kiting as it gives you stamina

Shotgun: With the perk you're able to cripple zombies which is a plus if they're running so fast. There's a mod which reduces the scatter which is a plus for taking out single targets, plus might be my imagination, they seem to stagger zombies more.

The mod which reduces scatter makes a better experience with the weapon.

Can't tell you about the ins and outs of gun fall off. Never tried to measure.

 
I have not perked in to shotguns yet in any of my playthroughs. If anyone has, is it worth it? I usually perk into rifles for the AK and hunting rifle.

 
Shotgun and blunderbuss are good for defending base, bursting targets down and kitting. Shotgun have 8 shells, reload very quickly entire clip even without perks, have decent accuracy in close combat compared to blunderbuss, can spit hell on anything getting too close. The stun mechanic from tier 3 and higher shotgun messiah make it for an awesome bridge defending weapon, this allows to easly drop hordes from bridge into spikes under the bridge and also to prolong their assault as they have to run back up. As for kitting, the stun and staggering is great but it also reloads very fast without perks so no need for run and gun perk to kite. Personaly, other than ak-47 or shotgun there's no better weapons + perks to take, handguns are meh, smg wastes bullets, magnum dunno, hunting rifle and sniper are very meh, they hit hard but reload slowly, their increased dmg perk only is worth anything in nomad and if zombie is running chances are, the shot will miss that 1 pixel.

 
Shotguns help at close range against runners since getting a target on them can be a pain. Also, the choke mod tightens the spread, giving it a little more range. The sawed-off barrel mod shortens the range further, but increases the spread, making it easier to hit the more squirrely of zombies or actually allow you to finally kill that annoying ass chicken that's been hauling ass around your base for the last 2 hours. Slugs however are a hell of a lot of fun. They don't have the spread, but they have the raw power that can put the marksman rifle to shame.

That being said, I'm partial to the marksman rifle myself, but the shotgun is a great weapon to use for clearing tight quarter POIs if you don't mind generating some noise and waking up every sleeper in there. Actually works to a decent advantage if you can funnel them all into a choke point and then mow them down with your boomstick.

 
Pistols - free ammo for my turrets or smg. I scrap all of them now , thanks to price nerf.

Magnum - Pretty good, free ammo is "rare".

SMG - Uses too much ammo pr kill for my taste.

AK47 - I may use this one on horde night, as a spray and pray weapon.

Hunting rifle - Free ammo. But only one shot, bleh.

Marksman rifle - I like it when i can get a scope for it.

Bows/crossbows - I use them until i get a shotgun, after that, nah.

Shotgun - Oldie but goldie. Lots of free ammo, fairly good when you get a scope

on it. Sorta like the "jack of all trades and master of none". I use it for running into

a poi, fire a shot and run back out to melee/shoot what comes out.

Range.. nothing scientific, but somewhere between melee and the range a zombie

can see me. Actually quite nice with a scope.

While much is said about balance in A17, i find that guns are more useful now, with

ammo beeing much more available.

 
Some people swear by them, personally I think their only real use is one of last resort; swamped by ferals, or a surprise attack from a roaming dog horde. If I had my desired layout then a shotgun wouldn't be included. That said, if I find one I'm not averse to using it until "something better" comes along.

Like PoppaTot above, I've never perked the shotgun elements so perhaps I'm missing something.

 
I used to use shotguns all the time but in 17 the only gun I use is the AK. It decimates even rad cops and wights in a few headshots. Shotties ive seen are good in the 3-4 block range, after that they become weak. But I find it's not worth perking into anything but Headshot Automatic Weapons and Archery. I use the SMG when I amass over 500 rounds

 
A shotgun with slug ammo will take down zeds in one shot. Hell, even with normal ammo, some mods, and a few perks points, they can head shot normal zeds.

The key is that they fire 8 (might be higher?) pellets in a scatter. The more distance that has to travel, the farther that spread is thus the less likely to connect. If they do connect, they are more likely to be body shots than head shots. Duckbill is fantastic for this as it squishes the vertical spread and widens the horizontal. So if the pellets miss the one you are aiming at, it most likely hit the buddies behind it.

 
If you put the semi-trigger mod on the AK it is great on horde night, just fyi.
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This plus any weapon stabilizing mods like the bipod or retractable stock as well as a bandolier on your armor to speed up the reload. Toss in a mag extender and you've got yourself a Grade A high quality zombie massacring boom stick. Reflex sight is also not bad for automatic weapons, but that all comes down to preference.

As for a weapons break down, I would say:

Pistols - early game self-defense only. Long-term supply of 9mm rounds if you choose to use the SMG. Good steady supply of mechanical parts.

SMG - Cheap alternative to the AK, but with a few mods can be a mean contender, and the ammo is plentiful.

Hunting Rifle - Early game long-range solution. Don't try to kill a bear with it, you'll just piss him off. Scope mods make it viable for non-blood moon base defense only due to the single shot reload. Also not a bad option to use for "testing" hubcaps to make sure they aren't post apocalyptic IEDs.

Shotguns - Good POI clear weapon or in any situation where you can funnel enemies into tight quarters. Mag capacity is decent, reload isn't horrible and with some well-placed shots you can clear a room in no time. With mods, you can customize how it behaves to suit your needs. Ammo is also reasonably plentiful.

Marksman Rifle - Cream of the crop for reaching out and touching someone. Slap on a 4X or 8X scope and you can kill them before they even see you. Mag extender gives an extra 2 round capacity which doesn't seem like much until you're in a tight, and those 2 extra rounds might be the difference between winning the day and laying on the ground bleeding out as the zombies say grace over the meal they are about to receive. I would recommend against putting any burst or auto mods on this weapons due to the limited mag capacity, but whatever floats your boat.

.44 Mag - It's mean, it's loud, it's nasty. Possibly the highest damage per round in the game, but the drawback is the limited mag capacity coupled with short range aiming. Also, if you let a .44 round off the chain, be ready to deal with every zombie within a 50 meter radius. If you can shoot from a relatively safe spot, this little guy will do some serious damage. Just don't get carried away since ammo for it is about as hard to find as a ham sandwich at a bar mitzvah.

Bows - Silent but deadly. Perfect choice for that clandestine looter. Whether it's the wood or compound flavor it'll serve you well for eliminating sleepers without causing too much of a ruckous. Ammo is virtually unlimited, however mods are a bit lacking.

Crossbow - Unimpressive from what I have experienced. Long reload during which you move like you are stuck in mud, and the damage difference is honestly significant enough to offset this fact. Not a bad choice if you are stealth killing in 1 shot.

Blunderbus - Almost not worth it since you will likely find at least a couple firearms within the first day. Really just a novel relic from past alphas when firearms were far more rare. Kind of fun to shoot, but the novelty wears off quickly.

Rocket Launcher - Another weapon that is more novelty than anything. Sure, it can blow a large group to hell quickly, but such a use is too limited to carry it around wasting valuable inventory slots. Keep it in your base for emergency defense tactics. I will admit that I've been guilty of blowing the hell out of a rabbit or two with it.

That's just my take on the ranged weapons of 7DTD.

 
The effective range here is obviously less than a rifle, but it is more than you think. I'd guess 20 to 30 blocks.
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Uhm... what? :D

If I use a shotgun for more than 5-8 blocks, I feel like I do 0 damage!

 
About to hit Day 21 on our B221 playthrough and I've exclusively been using the shotgun since day 2. Lucked out on quite a few mods, my co-op partner went "Yeah Science" as well so I've been able to test and play around with quite a few of them.

Mods that do not work: Magazine Extender, Bipod, most scopes (laser fits), Trigger Groups. If you install barrel mods (Extended or Sawed Off) it will block the install of muzzle mods (Chokes/Silencer).

Base Range: 17 blocks standard ammo 25 blocks slug, no mods (including Extended Barrel) seemed to increase range, but the silencer reduces.

Unmodded Shotgun seemed to have a random 4 block square spread from 10-15 block range. Shotgun Choke tightened up the spread, with more damage centered. Duckbill made a spread 4 blocks horizontal, most concentrated middle two blocks. Neither add anything but damage bonus when used with slugs.

Build I use: Fore Grip, Retractable Stock, Duckbill, Cripplem. TBH, I havent really noticed the proc from Cripplem, but worst case the mod is as good as any other for the +1 dmg at least. The first two mods seem to enhance the "feels" and general accuracy when strafing. I also found the duckbill mod to be superior when up close and personal with groups, as when i need concentrated fire in one spot I'd tend to swap to slugs.

Testing wise, i just set up a wood wall and pane glass wall with wood frames to measure back and plinked shots to gauge range and spread with different builds. I just hit rank 3 in Shotgun Messiah as well, and the stuns/stagger work wonders to hold off a chokepoint. In conclusion I am finding the shotgun, properly modded, an amazingly viable ranged option for a STR/Melee centric guy like me.

 
... In my 3,200+ hrs I've never really used them. I hear they are a thing. As I understand it, lots of damage at close range, but the spread causes this to taper off. I've built the turrets, and they eat my shells and kill stuff.

-Morloc
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This is me as well.

Other than Turrets, I never use shotgun shells because I never use the shotgun.

If I'm going looting I'd much prefer an AK [or a Sniper if that's all I have.]

So... you're not the only one out there.

 
I don't know if the math has changed, but it used to be that shotgun slugs were the 2nd heaviest hitting projectile in the game only bested by a direct rocket to the face. They also have decent range, but they are not cheap to make. I usually don't bother trying to make them until late game when I've found enough shells just through looting that I feel I won't run out anytime soon.

 
Pretty much what others have said.

Shotgun is my preferred backup weapon for it's versatility. If ammo was unlimited, sure I'd go AK all the way, but I never feel like I can waste 7.62 with reckless abandon.

Non-horde nights I use a composite bow as primary, melee (whatevers on hand usually fire axe and/or machete) as fallback, shotgun as ♥♥♥♥ has hit the fan fallback. Much as I prefer a sniper rifle all things being equal, if I'm only going to carry 1 gun, it tends to be a shotty.

Horde night I'll bring all my best. The bow if I'm not in danger of getting overrun, mixed with shotgun if I'm not getting them killed fast enough. Marksman and/or shotgun (depends on range, field of fire and mood) to quickly bring down cops/wights/etc before they get out of hand. Everything I've got if things start going pear-shaped. I'd still say the shotgun gets the most general use out of me.

I can understand the full auto doing less dmg/shot as a game balance thing I guess, but being ammo isn't free and it goes pretty fast when I start spraying and praying. When I've got stacks and stacks then sure, otherwise it's for emergencies. Prefer the AK, but if I've got 9mm to burn then SMG it is.

Blunder/rocket/xbow - useless to me

Nailgun - is for building! otherwise useless

Pistol - I'll use it if I have to. It isn't that it's bad so much as brass being limited I'd rather make 7.62 than 9mil, and of course shotgun shells use paper.

Magnum - I've never gotten much use out of it. Ammo a bit rare, expensive to make. Small mag. It'd be the go to last ditch weapon, except I never seem to think to carry it anyway.

 
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