Shotguns are generally the best choice when it comes to fighting in close quarters, as you are able to deliver devastating shots to your enemies. From a different perspective, when approaching a shotgun-armed opponent, players tend to be more cautious and keep their distance. Either way, these weapons are dangerous for both parties.
Since Apex Legends is a game in a fictional future setting, shotguns as a class are not that simple as one may think. They have additional features and handling characteristics that make them different from other video games. That’s when a list of tips and tricks might come in handy.
10 The Living Meme
Mozambique is a notorious gun in Apex Legends because of its strictly limited effectiveness. Generally speaking, wielding this shotgun-pistol hybrid almost certainly results in its possessor’s death. You can somewhat make Mozambique better when you equip it with the Hammerpoint Rounds modification, but it’s not that easy to find, and when you do, most of the time you’ve already gotten rid of the weapon.
The community along with the developers from Respawn have recognized the gun’s potential as a meme source. Joking aside, the useless Mozambique is now a legit feature of Apex Legends, and you simply cannot imagine the game without this silly shotgun.
9 The Shotgun Champion
Peacekeeper is a complete opposite of Mozambique. It is easily one of the best weapons you can acquire in Apex Legends. You don’t usually find a PK lying around abandoned as most players enthusiastically pick the weapon upon first sight. There’re various reasons for that, but the major one is that this shotgun is able to deal enormous amounts of damage in no time.
Peacekeeper has a few restrictions that will be covered further on down this list, but in general, it has almost no weaknesses. Rest assured that when you face an enemy up close, a precise shot from a PK would scare them away, at the very least.
8 Trusty And Reliable
While Peacekeeper requires a skilled approach to make the most out of this gun, there’s a lot more balanced and newcomer-friendly shotgun. EVA-8 covers the gap between the completely unusable Mozambique and overpowered PK. It’s an auto-shotgun, which means you can successively deliver eight shots in a row without the need to reload.
EVA-8 is forgiving for missing a couple of shots because you can quickly recover and finish your enemy after that with the remaining rounds. It is also great for imposing an aggressive style of firefight given you can land your shots precisely and hit the target consistently.
7 Victory In Your Hands
The Mastiff is among the few weapons in Apex Legends that spawn exclusively in supply drops. It is the reason to fight for the drop’s contents because it can lead you to victory. The Mastiff is an absolute beast in CQC as, unlike the Peacekeeper, it not only possesses devastating damage potential but also classifies as an auto-shotgun. It’s like delivering four PK shots in a row without pump-action restrictions.
Mastiff is best used in aggressive fights at close ranges as you can down two enemies in a row. Even three, if they are a little weakened by your teammates.
6 Enhancing Your Gun
As a supply-drop weapon, the Mastiff does not accept any attachments. The rest of the shotgun family, however, can be greatly enhanced with additional improvements. Equipping Shotgun Bolts increases the rate of fire, which depends on the rarity of the applied attachment. This is something to be considered a game-changer because it increases DPS values, which are absolutely crucial in CQC.
Scopes are not really important as you can comfortably use a shotgun as a hip-fire weapon. But the Precision Choke modification, which is exclusive to Peacekeeper, could benefit from equipping a clear 1x sight. Obviously, Digital Threat is a nice addition to every shotgun.
5 Shoot’N’Hide
As mentioned above, using Peacekeeper requires at least some skill. As a pump-action shotgun, PK has slight moments of combat silence between shots when you load the chamber with the next shell. These are the moments when you are most vulnerable and exposed to receiving damage with no responsive measures.
This situation must be countered by playing around cover. Simply put, you should always hide between shots and only expose your character when you are ready to shoot. Thus, you can win a fight even with a huge health deficit and lacking armor.
4 Countering The PK
Unfortunately, there are times you'll face a Peacekeeper-wielding enemy when you yourself do not have one. The tips above are not rocket science, and many good players are aware of the shoot’n’hide approach. You should always be prepared that the enemies you encounter could be using this technique to outplay you. Luckily, you can win over Peacekeeper while wielding EVA-8 and following the next simple steps.
Countering the PK relies on following the enemy behind cover. EVA-8 has the potential to release damage consistently without stuttering, and you should make use of it while pursuing your opponents taking shelter.
3 Putting The Pressure
Auto-shotguns are not only forgiving when you miss a shot in 1v1 encounters but are also great for putting constant pressure by continuous firing. EVA-8 is the best example of this approach thanks to its relatively big magazine capacity. With eight shots in a row, you can confidently follow your target and deal heavy damage.
Mastiff is less great for this approach with only four devastating shots in the chamber, so each of them should be aimed carefully. EVA-8 can become a similar beast in terms of delivering damage with the Double Tap Trigger modification, which enables two-shot burst-fire mode.
2 Hitting Bunny-Hoppers
The fluid movement allows players to dance around their enemies staying almost invulnerable. The easiest way to become an unpredictably moving target is to bunny-hop around. For the person trying to hit such a player, it could be annoying and lead to a defeat. Luckily, you can counter bunny-hopping if you stay calm and focused.
Shotguns deliver huge damage in single shots, so it’s your task not to waste them. When you see a bunny-hopper doing his thing, try to shoot the enemy the moment when he has almost touched the ground. Thus, the opponent has no opportunity to avoid being hit.
1 Fitting The Combat Distance
Despite the fact that shotguns are strictly CQC weapons, there’s a trick to make one of them work at medium ranges. Peacekeeper can be equipped with the Precision Choke modification. For a few moments, this mod allows you to charge the weapon, thus drastically decreasing the spread of pellets. You can almost snipe the enemies, hitting them for considerable amounts of damage.
There’s obviously a downside to that which is a heavily increased spread without charging. In other words, unmodified Peacekeeper is more precise in CQC than a Choked one, so bear that in mind.