As players increase the difficulty in Mass Effect: Andromeda, they discover that more and more enemies excel at closing the gap. This is most evident in multiplayer, where platinum settings often feel like staving off a constant wave of units that will overrun player's positions. Yet there is a simple and elegant solution to make it so that higher difficulties can actually be an easier task than silver challenges: The shotgun.
Indeed, more units trying to get into melee range plays right into the hands of an expert with a good shotgun at their side. But how does one go about determining which shotguns are good? Most of the community measures it by damage per clip, which fairly accurate over DPS since battles aren't a constant stream. Each weapon should feel right in the hands of the gamer who uses it. It might be a matter of opinion, sure, but there is a legitimate case to be made for why certain shotguns tend to be ranked consistently at the top or bottom.
This list assumes a max level shotgun with no upgrades when determining statistics in order to give each model equal footing in the competition.
12 Ruzad
The next Mass Effect game needs to answer several questions already, but the biggest one might be, "What happened to make this weapon so bad?" This is supposedly a Krogan gun and after release, the damage was doubled in a patch and it's still terrible. The 1,740 damage per clip is the lowest in the game, yet combined that with terrible spread, recoil, and short-range, it's worthy of an immediate toss into the garbage can.
11 Venom
The next game in the series should integrate a little bit from Andromeda, but it'll have to go back to the drawing board on the Venom. The concept of a chargeable gun that tosses explosive and sticky mini-grenades is a great concept, but what happened to the damage? At 1,845 damage per clip, this won't even kill most of the lowest level targets without needing a resupply.
10 Pathfinder Deep Impact
Mass Effect: Andromeda has not aged well and maybe this shotgun has a lot to do with that. Hyped up as a gun that is unique to the game, the 1,950 damage per clip is pretty terrible. Tack on the fact that it can only be upgraded five times instead of the usual ten and the scaling makes it all the worse.
9 N7 Crusader
There will be some controversy about having the Crusader so low on this list. As far as shotguns go, it's incredibly accurate, but this can actually be a problem as it all but rules out firing from the hip.
The 2,216 damage per clip isn't incredibly great either. The future is has a lot in store for Andromeda, but fans of this classic can only hope the next step involves bringing this longtime favorite back up to speed.
8 Scattershot
Alien designs will be carrying on to the next Mass Effect and this gun will likely survive the move as well. The clip size is hard the measure because the gun has infinite ammunition and works on a thermal scale, but it can crank out 2,580 of consistent damage before needing to cool off.
7 M-23 Katana
Debates rage on about whether the next installment should be more Mass Effect or more Andromeda, but the N7 Katana users are hoping that it's closer to the prior than the latter. The gun is average in about every way with 2,730 damage per clip. It's alright, but that's a far step down from where the gun ranked in the original trilogy.
6 Dhan
For gamers that hate shotgun pellet spread, the Dhan is here to save the day. Instead of the usual smattering of bullets, the Dhan packs all 2,835 damage per clip into a singular orb. It's short-ranged and the magazine size is tiny, but if the slug lands, it's a one-hit kill to all but the toughest brutes.
5 Reegar Carbine
The next game will need to improve upon Andromeda's formula, but players really want to make sure the Reegar Carbine stays right where it is. The 2,952 damage per clip is solid, but that's not the most fun part.
This shotgun is less of a shotgun and more of an electric cone when squeezing the trigger. It's a shower of deadly sparks that make aiming less of a chore than with the other entries on this list.
4 N7 Piranha
The N7 Piranha jumps up more than 1,000 damage over the previous entry on this list when looking at damage per clip, bumping all the way to 4,032. Many players swear that this is the very best in the game. It's close, the recoil, damage, and fire rate are all extraordinary, but it does take several pumps to get an opponent to stay down.
3 Hesh
Incorporating elements of the assault rifle, the Hesh fires quickly and has some handy tracers on each pellet to allow for timely shot correction. At a powerful 4,100 damage per clip, the gun packs both a powerful and accurate punch.
2 Disciple
Fans of the series will recognize this as a favorite of the Asari Commandos. The Commandos might have stayed at home, but the 4,224 damage per clip numbers boldly states that their spirit lives on in the new galaxy. It's semi-automatic and accurate with very little recoil to boot.
1 Shorty
There are so many warning flags about the Shorty. It has tons of recoil, fires in three-round bursts, and most players need to practice with it for many games before getting a grip on its potential. But stats don't lie and the 5,400 damage per clip makes it the best shotgun in the game. Even powerful bosses melt away when looking down the barrel of the Shorty.