Pure Opinion: Why Shotguns Should Be Taken Out of Multiplayer Shooters

Pure PlayStation's newest writer has a bone to pick with overpowered shotguns in multiplayer shooters.

[-Foxtrot]

Single weapons are not a problem...it's the same crappy system everyone has adopted, bloody loadouts

Letting people choose their weapon at the start of the map causing unbalanced problems instead of starting everyone out with the same crappy weapons and let them pick up randomly generated weapons on the map.

[chrish1990]

Like the goof old days of Unreal Tournament. My God I miss that game so bad.

[Abash]

If shotguns were removed from video games, Gears of War's online player base would collapse lol

[Imalwaysright]

And Resistance 1. It would be the only remaster I would buy and the only game that would make me pay for online play.

edit:

@ FunAndGun

Agreed. It was without any doubt the game I played the most in my 26 years of gaming "career" and like I said it would make me forget about my gamer principles.

[FunAndGun]

Resistance: Fall of Man had such an amazing MP! Awesome!!!

[WeAreLegion]

Unrealtournament.com

Try it out!

[LabRat]

@Abash - Yes it would. But everyone starts with one and power weapons are located on the map so its a little different then loadouts at least

[Kleptic]

It is basically competitive law at this point that 'weapon balance' was never an issue until load outs became standard in shooters. Like everyone is mentioning, which is actually quite reassuring (there have been countless threads in Doom's steam forums about modes without loadouts and they get run over by 'modern' players), if you don't spawn the fack in with the thing...then it DOESN'T MATTER how great the weapon is.

Instead we have this weird hybrid where shotguns are still considered OP in most games, yet are laughably unlike what they really are...I agree they're generally a mess in shooters but it all goes back to loadouts...They should split players in half within a certain range...but shouldn't be a weapon meddling with 'effective in all situations', which is what developers spend thousands of hours wasting their time with any more. Anyone remember watching what BF4 went through with this? Choked pump shotguns were somehow more effective at ranges of 25 to 50 meters...but were 'less accurate' at closer range; actively encouraging players to engage distant targets. Pump shotguns were also more powerful than semi auto variants, but the latter would also have less recoil and more hip fire stability...? Making it pointless to ever use a pump shotgun for close range... devs need to give it up, they're in over their heads with this.

Back to Doom's SS, only because it's arguably the most iconic video game shotgun of all time...right now? That thing should unfold everything within 10 feet...but instead it's effective range ends when they're no longer touching the muzzle...all because you can spawn with it, and they're trying to balance it around that. knock it off...make it a pick up...make people fight for it...and when someone EARNS it...make it blatantly obvious why everyone was fighting for it.

[InactiveUser]

Good to see RFoM getting love. That's what I signed in to talk about.

Don't remove shotguns, demand balance and remove bad games from your purchase list. The original RFoM shotgun was horrible, but they eventually patched it to pretty much exactly how a shotgun should function in a game. A shotgun should be close range, a desperation shot stronger and longer range than a melee. This also assumes you're not playing a game with stupid 1hit melees from the front where the enemy runs through bullets to knife you. 2hit melee should be standard from the front and could be 1hit melee directly in the back (like a surprise, shocking attack, unexpected, undefended and lined up to hit a vulnerable area 1hit makes acceptable sense from the back).

Shotguns in a loadout game obviously need to be a bit stronger/longer range, since it's your only weapon. Bottom line, you just need to buy or spend your time on games that have a balanced shotgun if it annoys you, like the patched RFoM shotgun where they lowered the range significantly.

[spicelicka]

This is why Halo 5 MP is brilliant with equal starts. You want a shotgun? well there's one on the map and you gotta fight the other team to get to it.

[yeahokwhatever]

"brilliant" lol. or, as us old timers call it "standard"

[spicelicka]

^No i didn't mean it's brilliant because of equal starts lol, I meant it's brilliant in general and has equal starts. Independent attributes. Also, Halo itself is a pretty old franchise.

[Notellin]

Best multiplayer game that's been released in a long time. I agree with you adding even starts with weapons spread on the maps to be fought over is far superior to the new generation of multiplayer games.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Halo is arena based. That is why it works for games like Unreal and Quake. You can't just remove loadouts for every type of shooter there is.

[spicelicka]

@KwietStorm That's true, but that also makes it a really competitive game by nature.

[psman012]

My problem isn't shotguns so much as it is grenade launchers. I can't stand people who just use grenade launchers and rack up tons of kills with no skill. At least with shotguns you have to get pretty close to the target first

[UnHoly_One]

If you're going to pick a single weapon to get rid of, make it the damn sniper rifle.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Oh so love popping heads with that glorious piece of weaponry.

[InactiveUser]

Again depends on the game and comes down to balance. Any game you can 1hit quickscope (CoD, Bad Company 1) needs better balance. Games where you need to 'hardscope' (fully looking through the scope) and sniper shots don't fire straight from the hip are usually examples of good snipers in games.

RFoM for example, hip shots fired randomly. A bunch of people mentioned it firing straight from the hip, but Insomniac was right on this (even though they screwed up plenty after RFoM). You had to hardscope. Hipshots or quickscoping was desperation, knowing it was very unlikely to hit, just a last ditch effort to luck out. This was before quickscoping was really talked about a bunch from CoD scrubs, but don't remember anyone not hardscoping. Anyone trying to kill you close range with a sniper in RFoM either got a lucky shot or died.

Firing straight from the hip might not be a huge issue for normal legit players, but now scrubs put targets on their TVs, so they have crosshairs in situations they normally wouldn't. So if a sniper fires straight from the hip in these games, then there's no need to aim down the sights/scope and the game becomes broken.

[olliec9493]

I recently started paying bf4 and it was ridiculous how most people deliberately ignore objectives so they can go sniper and crash helicopters into tall buildings so they can get a vantage point and camp the entire match. Everyone just rushes in for kills like it's COD and goes sniper because it's 'cool' or something. Every server has 1000+ tickets and zero respawn delay on vehicles and there's just no interest in strategy. Maybe it's just that I've been watching a few project reality videos but I was incensed haha.

The stupid thing about it is that snipers in that game can be really useful. The MAV, the laze and the motion detectors are all incredible support gadgets but no one seams to use them?

[Majin-vegeta]

Objection!!!!As someone who mains shotties in any game that has them.If you allow me to get within your range where my gun will obviously rekt you.That isnt my fault.Thats you not being aware of your surroundings.Next time dont go in enclosed areas where a lot of shotties users tend to hang around.

[BlackTar187]

Lol that's so not correct. A lot of games are corridors only then you have the health bar that's usually a good portion of a clip to kill compared to point blank shotgun damage. You can main the shotty but they're the easiest weapon to yield in all games which is why newbs and people who are generally less then awesome always use them.

[Khaotic]

Sounds to me like it's a skill thing, while I get kills with shotties I rarely get killed by them. Like the man said, map awareness. People that are actually good rarely complain or call people noobs

[BoriboyShoGUN]

Definitely depends on play style! I'm not going into a small building trying to flush out shotty users!!! I Always use assault rifles and play the mid-range game. What sickens me is when you're a mile away and the shotty kills you when you're unloading an assault rifle in their face!!! But hey it happens :D

[Pancit_Canton]

Git Gud. Seriously, I've used that weapon and people used that weapon against me in various games. I've never had once complained about it. From The Last of Us, Uncharted, Killzone ,COD Multiplayer or etc. It's all about strategy, teamwork and Skills. It's not about the weapons.

[BlackWolf12]

I won't bother partaking in this argument because of the sheer amount of butt hurt involved, but to even try and suggest that Shotguns require any amount of skill is absolutely hilarious.

People who tend to use this argument, that a certain weapon takes great amounts of skill to use, usually means they crutch that weapon themselves. And you sound like a typical crutch shotgun kind of guy.

[Kuma]

Hands off my 12Ga

[suli12345]

Shotgun require no skill when it comes to online games, snipers are a close runner up, just aim and shoot

[BlackTar187]

I think shotguns require skill but I also think to be good with a shotgun is the easiest weapon in almost all games.

[Ripsta7th]

Wow i think my IQ dropped reading that
"just aim and shoot"
isnt that like every single shooter ever made?

[yeahokwhatever]

thats basically the premise behind every gun in existence.

[spicelicka]

Give me a pistol in Gears of war and you take the sniper and the shotgun, I would still destroy you any day.

[opinionated]

Why can't I read one article without hearing the word toxicity? Why are you people trying soooo hard to make that shit stick? The gaming community is not "poisonous or dangerous material". What a laughable bumper sticker phrase.

I gave your article a chance until you said that so unfortunately I didn't care about the rest of your opinion. I'm a shotgun player for the CQC, I stand zero chance against someone mid to long range, that's the balance.

[Relientk77]

Because they are freaking annoying that's why. Oh yippee run up and shoot someone without aiming. It requires very little skill

[Khaotic]

Says people with no skill that die alot

[spicelicka]

Except running up is the biggest disadvantage the shotgun has. You stick to your team, check your corners, and follow your radar, if you still let someone run up to you with a shotgun then you're not playing the game very well.

[SlightlyRetarted]

Yeah, no. Shotguns are the only weapons that have only one range that they are effective. Only weapon that limits your map usage, because you have to avoid places with longer ranges. And pump-action shotguns are usually the only "one hit" killers at close range, still have a long reload period that pretty much kills you if you miss your first shot. It's when you add stuff like slugs that give you headshot kills at any distance. Or explosive rounds that turns an automatic shotgun in to an automatic mini grenade launcher.
I would even say that it's the assault rifles that are overpowered in multiplayers, because they are the only weapon class that excel at any range. They can be used anywhere in the map and they are automatic that gives you very little penalty if you miss your shots. I mean just look at this chart that shows the most used weapons in BF4 (19th spot is the first shotgun) http://mp1st.com/wp-content...

[yeahokwhatever]

AK-12 is popular because its default for medic/assault. All of the guns on that list with curiously large bars are low-level items because more players are low level. It proves nothing. From actually playing BF4, I would put snipers and DMRs in the top tier for popularity. Namely the GOL Magnum sniper rifle and the SCAR-H SV DMR. The .44 mag is pretty popular. Shotgun-wise, Saiga because semi-auto and fast reloads.

[spicelicka]

Agree with this. Like all weapons shotguns have advantages and disadvantages, it's the added shit that can make them overpowered. I really don't have an issue with them in most games.

[NecoTehSergal]

I bet you're the kind of guy who gets destroyed by Mag7's in CSGO and rages.

Maybe even the sawed off.

[BrandanT]

Shotguns naturally work well up close, some players are really good at getting close, while others are not

[MoveTheGlow]

The author's right about Overwatch, though. Shotguns are extremely underpowered unless you're up close, and getting up close is either tough to do because you're a slow character, or it's the only thing you really can do (like Reaper) until you can pull off your ult.

D.Va's shotguns are almost *too* underpowered. She's a tank, so it's not as big of a deal, but still.

[USMC_POLICE]

I agree with this 1000%

[Kallisti]

Next week on Pure PlayStation, Pure Opinion: Why Grenades Should Be Taken Out of Multiplayer Shooters

[DFresh]

Shotguns aren't unbalanced.
Only effective at close range.
Players need better situational awareness.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

It depends on the game. In Doom (2016) the super shotgun put every gun to shame, until it was nerfed .

[Khaotic]

Dude you can't convince the whiny masses of anything that is logical. They rush head first into a hallway and die by a shotty then scream in rage that noobs ruin the game

[Khaotic]

I have an idea, let's take out all guns from FPS and make them knives and punching only. Then the same whiners can get on reddit and demand Nerf's because it's to OP

[Bass_fisherman]

UC4 MP balanced the weapons right its up to the developers to make it work

[Lennoxb63]

That's the reason they created the slide/prone maneuvers. That's what I do when there's a shotgun user. If you can't handle it, you might want to stop playing MP shooters.

[BlackWolf12]

Anyone who has a brain would find it hard to argue against this.

You could argue "stay away from close quarters areas", well two problems there, one most maps are designed with a heavy focus on close quarters these days, and two with most multiplayer FPS games featuring some kind of enhanced movement mechanic, even if people did stay in wide open areas there is no guarantee that a shotgun user can't easily close that gap.

Destiny is perhaps the best example of how bad shotguns are for MP. Even with the biggest maps Destiny has to offer, it's still way too easy for a shotgun user to destroy everything in the match.

Call of duty does it pretty well, there's usually not much of a benefit to using a shotgun since most guns will kill you in a short amount of time any way.

The editor mentions something in the article which is very important to me in a MP shooter, the ability to have a fighting chance.

If I start getting shot at, I should have the opportunity to respond, or at the very least understand what I did wrong so I can be better next time, losing in a FPS MP shooter is a chance to learn, HOWEVER, a shotgun death is 9/10 times just that, a death, nothing more other than a blank look on your face and the thought "wtf was that?". To walk around a corner and suddenly be face f**ked by a boom stick is one of the most frustrating moments a MP game can give you.

[Ark_]

Stop running around corners and keep some distance.

[Tankbusta40]

Shotguns own me, and I suck horribly with them. OMG at the daily today, I finished it but it was agonizing. I think I could run around in real life with my Remington 870 with better accuracy than I can in these blasted shooters

[Flare149]

It's funny to me that he thinks Overwatch has it figured out. At least in CoD, Battlefield, etc. the shotgun can run out of ammo, and it makes sense proportionally since 1-2 upper torso or head shots with any gun can kill them. In Overwatch I constantly see Reapers just holding down the trigger and then ghosting away as soon as they need to reload. Or for D.Va the damage doesn't do anything (Blizzard has even said they're going to work on either giving her more damage or making her more tanky as a result).

[BlackDoomAx]

Because F**K YOU, that's why ! xD