Shotgun

### Pros

Good early harassment. Extremely effective at destroying groups of Machine Guns. Highly effective anti-air defense against large, hard to destroy projectiles.

### Cons

Mediocre damage against weapons other than Machine Gun. Extremely low damage modifier against Snipers and Miniguns. Less effective at defending against volleys of small projectiles, such as Mortars or Swarm Missiles.

The Shotgun is a highly versatile weapon firing a spray of bullets, capable of functioning as precision Anti-Air or as an Anti-Air removal tool. It is obtained by upgrading a Flak, which is unlocked by the Armoury.

## Overview

The Shotgun is a midgame weapon, firing a spread of 10 pellets in a variable cone; the spread of which can be controlled based on cursor position within the firing arc. To spread out the shots in order to hit a wide area of a fort, the cursor must be pulled back towards the weapon. To deal ample damage to a single point, the cursor must be pushed to the far edge of the aim cone away from the weapon.

Each pellet from the Shotgun behaves similarly to a Minigun projectile, capable of destroying a Machine Gun in a single hit.

The Shotgun is highly effective as a precision anti-air tool, a function boosted through its massive damage multipliers against interceptable attacks. Howitzer rounds, Planes, Orbital Laser beacons, as well as Deckgun shells can all be annihilated with just two pellets. It has to be noted however that unlike most other forms of anti-air defense, the Shotgun does not automatically fire on incoming projectiles (unless playing Shockenaugh and having the Shotgun auto anti-air option enabled).

While exceedingly powerful against singular, heavy-hitting attacks such as those previously mentioned, the Shotgun trades away the sheer crowd-control abilities of Flak. Given each of the 4 main projectiles collide, Flak releases a staggering 48 shards of shrapnel, each having the same stopping power of a Machine Gun. Conversely, the Shotgun fires just 10, making it less effective against attacks consisting of large amounts of projectiles, such as Swarm Missiles.

Shotguns only deal modest damage against weapons other than the Machine Gun. One should be wary against the Shotgun's particularly low damage multiplier of 0.25 against the Sniper, AP Sniper, Minigun, and AP Minigun.

With an extremely low upgrade cost of just 75 metal and 800 energy, the Shotgun is the cheapest upgraded weapon in the game; paired with the Flak's cost of 200 metal and 800 energy, Shotguns are highly affordable if both the Armoury and Upgrade Center are already constructed.

At 150 HP, Shotgun takes 2 hits from a Sniper to destroy. An AP Sniper, however, can destroy a Shotgun in a single hit thanks to the exclusive 2x damage modifier against it.

## Strategies

The main advantage of Shotguns is their versatility. They can be utilized both when focusing on the Armoury tech, or used as a support for heavy weapons, as long as the Upgrade Center is available; which in turn also provides its benefits of economy upgrades and a variety of arsenal upgrades.

In the early game, Shotguns serve as a solid harassment tool, viciously efficient at destroying Wind Turbines and damaging exposed Armour or Armoured Doors. Paired with Rockets, a blast from one or two Shotguns can force repairs on doors; thus, allowing the following barrage to connect.

Shotguns perform exceptionally well as anti-air. It only takes two pellets from a Shotgun to intercept even the toughest of incoming ordnance, such as a Howitzer or bombing runs from the Runway. It can still be used to some effect to clear Swarm Missiles and Rockets; however, its modest amount of projectiles paired with a lengthy reload, as well as a lack of automatic firing, makes it subpar in this aspect. Machine Guns or Flak should be utilized instead, in this case.

Shotguns are tremendously effective at eradicating Machine Guns, requiring only one pellet per each to destroy. This makes it vital for clearing walls of exposed or doored anti-air, made further more efficient by the wider area coverage of the Shotgun, thanks to its adjustable spread. Unlike the Minigun, the other weapon which fulfills this role, the Shotgun does not have any pre-fire delay; this, coupled with its higher HP, means that it is less vulnerable to being destroyed by a Sniper. One should still be weary of the AP Sniper, which can easily destroy the Shotgun, thanks to its 2x damage multiplier and armor piercing capability.

When massed, Shotguns can even directly attack the fort structure, eviscerating several layers of Bracing, and wreaking havoc on exposed Devices such as Wind Turbines and Mines. This makes them capable of crippling an ill-defended opponent's economy, and can also be used to burrow through the defenses of trenched Machine Gunners in order to destroy them.

In extreme cases against unprepared opponents, Shotguns are even capable of burrowing into the opponent's fort structure itself, destroying storages or technology.

Their ability to clear large amounts of Machine Gunners, and even threaten Flaks, makes them a very powerful tool at achieving and maintaining control over the map, and a solid option to pair with anything that can be shot down. Howitzers, Warheads, Rockets, and more all benefit from the anti-air clearing potential of the Shotgun.

## Counters

While the Shotgun has a great versatility, it has a major drawback in the form of tech requirement. Building them requires both the Armoury and an Upgrade Center, which is a considerable investment. The large size of a weapon slot and the time to fully construct (45 seconds) are also notable factors. If space and/or time is limited, a group of Machine Guns might be a better bet.

An AP Sniper is a strong counter to a Shotgun if it is only lightly defended. Unlike regular Snipers, AP Snipers can one-shot a Shotgun.

A Firebeam can also easily destroy Shotguns; if the Firebeam hits the bottom half of the Shotgun and ignites its platform, the combined damage from the direct hit from the beam and the lingering flames is enough to destroy the weapon in a single blast. Firebeams also pierce through Armoured Doors, complicating the protection of a Shotgun without severely limiting its angle. A Firebeam can also block Shotgun pellets as well, burning them out before they reach an incoming projectile.

Cannons or Plasma Lasers can also be used to brute force past a Shotgun's defenses; if a repair is triggered at the wrong time, a Shotgun may not be available when a devastating attack is incoming.