Cyberpunk 2077lets you open up a can of murder in numerous different ways. you’re able to katana your way through someone up close and personal, pop some heads from a long-distance vantage point, andsandwich someone between a wall and the front end of your car — but when it comes to charging in through a narrow hallway, nothing beats having a heavy-hitting shotgun with a good spread.
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However, there are plenty of different shotguns to make use of it in the game, and this raises an important question. Which ones are the best of the best for you to make use of for your campaign of carnage through Night City? Shotguns involve you getting closer than a lot of other weaponry options, so be sure to allocate thoseattributes and perkswith that in mind while you aregaining levels.
This list starts off with a Power type shotgun with a single barrel. This means it fires off shots with such a ridiculous amount of force that the bullets ricochet off surfaces and even around a corner.
The output of this weapon can differ quite wildly depending on the situation, making it not the most consistent and not the best choice for every situation. It can get 1.5 shots per second with a headshot multiplier of x3.15; overall, it can take a shot or two more than other shotguns on this list.
9Bloody Maria
This is an Iconic variant of the M2038 Tactician. The Tactician is a power-type shotgun that is a little slower than the Crusher with a smaller headshot damage multiplier, making it a worse gun on its own. However, Bloody Maria has a lot of bonuses that when added together make it just better due to the higher consistent damage output able to clear an area of enemies much more effectively than the Crusher.
This consistency is thanks to a higher amount of bleeding and the increased knockdown and dismemberment. The worst part is the reload, with you needing to spend time reloading 8 separate slots to be at full ammo again.
8DB-4 Igla
Another member in the Power type is the DB-4 Igla. This one however is not a single barrel, but rather a double barrel. This boomstick will have you reloading after each shot if you are aiming down the barrel, but the reload is faster and the gun itself hits harder thanks to a reduced spread. All of this makes it a great choice for players who want to charge towards their enemies and take them down fast.
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Then, players can just turn towards the next enemy and do the same thing until they’ve dropped everything while charging forward. If players aren’t aiming down the barrel, they’ll be able to make 2 shots with it, adding versatility for dropping two enemies with a single shot.
7DB-4 Palica
This is not a variant of the previous entry; it is considered a different gun entirely, despite bearing many similarities. It is a double barrel just like the DB-4 Igla; however, this gun is not a Power type — it is a Smart type. This means your shots will home in on enemies thanks to self-guided technology.
The guided shots are not instantaneous, meaning you will be able to fire a shot with the enemy seemly completely unaffected, then have all the bullets rush into them a second after you pulled the trigger. This is great for players with suboptimal aiming, but the delay means you could die before your shot connects and that is never a good feeling.
Another variant of the M2038 Tactician. This variant will fire off 10 additional hits over the normal 6, for a total of 16. You will see more numbers coming off enemies than you normally will see with shotguns, and if you get in close, they can almost hide their targets in the amount that pops up.
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The second major advantage is that it cuts the ammo count from 8 to 4, making it much faster to get back to full ammo, and thanks to the higher damage output, those 4 shots will see a higher damage output than all 8 of the regular M2038 Tactician. Its biggest drawback is that the window between shots is a little slow and can leave enemies left at low health enough time to deal damage back before you can finish them.
5DB-2 Testera
If you love the DB-4 Igla, this gun will straight up be your dream come true. One of the biggest benefits is how much easier it is to get the Legendary variant through crafting. Legendaries can be an arduous task, so ones that are easier to get will be well worth it while you are on the journey to acquire the rest.
This gun has a lot of power, is a Power-type gun, and has a quick reload. This makes it phenomenal to just charge straight and drop everything without taking your thumb off the analog (or finger off W if you’re using a keyboard).
This gun, lore-wise, belonged to Rebecca from the hit anime Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners. The gun isvery easy to acquireand should be one of the first you hunt down. This gun is an Iconic variant of the Carnage shotgun, adding chemical damage to its shots.
The gun will jerk the screen with its level of recoil, and damage numbers will be everywhere, but you will be able to shoot enemies off of roofs from ground level with this monster of a shotgun. It has a longer reload than one would like and a massive spread, but it is fun and chaotic.
3L-69 Zhuo
Another shotgun that makes use of the Smart type is the L-69 Zhuo. This gun has a slower dps than any of the other guns listed. What it lacks in damage, it makes up for in survivability. It has an incredible range for a shotgun, and its Smart type means the bullets will all rush into your targeted enemies.
This makes it a brilliant gun to pop out from behind cover, take a shot at an enemy, and pop back down. Provided nothing tries to get up in your face or flank you, you can clear an entire area of enemies with ease and rack up that experience.
2Ba Xing Ching
Go ahead andreturn Skippy; this is the Iconic variant you should be keeping, and it is a variant of the previously mentioned L-69 Zhuo. It belongs toAdam Smasherand is just a superior form in every single aspect. It fires 8 projectiles with each shot that all have explosive payloads on them. The game refers to it as, “the perfect arsenal for a one-person army.”
The biggest con about this gun is that you will need to complete one of the endings to get your hands on it. This means to fully enjoy this gun, you need to leave a lot of content left unfinished, so you still have a reason to keep playing. For those that already have it, the Phantom Liberty DLC is going to be the perfect time to bust this out.
This is an Iconic variant of Carnage, which is a Power type shotgun. It has a small spread and dishes out plenty of damage, allowing you to be accurate at longer ranges without sacrificing damage output. It has thermal damage that can deal damage over time for any enemy that isn’t dropped from the first hit.
This allows it the same style of pop-out combat as the L-69 Zhuo, while also being viable in close-quarter hallways or open fields. you’re able to charge into battle, rely on ricochets, or be defensive with this single gun, making it the most versatile shotgun that also hits very hard.
