Damage (Weapon Proficiency)

Damage is a shotgun-exclusive Weapon Proficiency in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
==Overview==
It increases the damage of the weapon on which it is attached by 40%. For balance reasons, it is only available for use with shotguns.
This weapon proficiency, along with Attachments, is not eligible to be earned through the Specialist Bonus. For those who use the Specialist Strike Package with their shotgun, Damage should be the proficiency chosen every time for this reason alone, since Range, the other significant weapon proficiency for shotguns, can still be earned from the Specialist Bonus.
Outside of Specialist Strike Package purposes, Damage is the most common proficiency to be seen used on shotguns for those with a high enough weapon level to have access to it. The effect of extra damage is significant, and will increase one-shot kill capability in all situations for all shotguns. Range is an intriguing alternative proficiency to use, but for the shotguns that rely on one-shot kill reliability, Damage will always be the best choice. Damage's value relative to Range is only questionable on the Striker and AA-12, since both shotguns are not reliant on one-shot kill capability and can compensate for the lower damage through sheer volume of fire. Even on the Striker and AA-12, one cannot go wrong with using Damage on them.
The only significant downside to Damage is that it is unlocked at weapon level 28, extremely late through the weapon level process. The lesser attachment selection of the shotguns also means there are less attachment challenges that can be completed for additional weapon XP to speed up the process of unlocking Damage. 
==Trivia==
*Up until a hotfix, players were able to use Damage on any weapon via a glitch. This gave weapons like the M60E4 and MK14 a one shot kill ability to the stomach and up. Fourzerotwo, the former creative strategist for Infinity Ward, tweeted out that a patch would be released to prevent players from exploiting this glitch, weeks before the patch was made public. He also stated that 'glitchers' would receive bans. Whether these bans are permanent or temporary was not specified.
*In effect, this proficiency is virtually identical to Stopping Power from previous Call of Duty titles, except only for shotguns.
Category:Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Weapon Proficiencies