Best Destiny 2 Pvp Shotguns

Shotguns are ane of the strongest weapon categories for PvP in Destiny 2. These weapons pack a serious punch and tin kill targets from surprisingly long distances with the correct perks.

Each Shotgun in Destiny 2 can concord its own in Crucible, just there are a few that easily stand up above the rest. This is thanks to their great perk pool, high base stats, or ease of use. Finding the right perk combination on a Shotgun can be the difference betwixt a subpar Special weapon and a game-irresolute weapon. Whether a Crucible veteran or primarily a PvE actor, hither are 10 Shotguns that will aid you dominate in Destiny 2's Crucible.

Updated June 11th, 2022, by Charles Burgar: Season of the Haunted made some massive changes to the PvP sandbox. Special ammo bricks aren't afflicted by Scavenger mods anymore, and Shotguns saw range nerfs across the board however again. It's looking similar slugs and Aggressives will become more than common since they can one-tap more consistently and aren't as reliant on ammo drops. We've updated this list to account for recent rest changes, and we've added some Shotguns that were introduced this season.

10 Ragnhild-D

How to obtain: World drop, or crafted at The Enclave

Aggressive Frames have become more feasible after recent balance changes. With how scarce Special ammo is in the current meta, one-tap Shotguns have become more valuable. And since Lightweights are two-tap machines, Aggressives are worth considering once again.

Ragnhild-D is a great Aggressive Frame since it's craftable, significant y'all can get the exact roll you want on this gun. Perpetual Motion and Elemental Capacitor is a fantastic roll on this gun, allowing you to seriously boost the Handling of this gun. If you don't want to play an Arc bracket, you tin supervene upon Elemental Capacitor with Frenzy. Information technology might non be as lethal equally Institute Verdict or well-rolled slugs, yet this weapon is easy to craft and has consistent i-taps in its effective range. Requite it a try if you don't have a proficient Riiswalker or Wastelander.

Recommended Traits:

Column I: Perpetual Motion
Column Two: Elemental Capacitor, Frenzy

9 Blasphemer

Destiny 2 Altar of Sorrow weapons including Blasphemer.

How to obtain: Pit of Heresy encounters and Altars of Sorrow.

Blasphemer also saw a perk reshuffle when information technology was reintroduced in Flavor of the Called. It not only retained its great option of perks, but this weapon too has i of the all-time stat packages out of any Shotgun in Destiny 2. With a whopping 61 aim aid and 62 base range, this weapon will practically requite you headshots if you shoot nearly a target's upper torso.

Quickdraw and Opening Shot is the best roll for this gun, making this weapon equally snappy and forgiving. A single headshot is plenty to down a Guardian with this gun, something that Opening Shot makes a breeze to accomplish. If yous are obsessed with meleeing targets to death, you can supervene upon Opening Shot with Swashbuckler. A single melee impale will requite you a 33% damage increase, assuasive Blasphemer to 1-tap Guardians to the chest. Pair this with an Energy Primary for a good time. This weapon can also get Beginning In, Last Out's cheesy Hip-Burn down Grip and Opening Shot perk combination, although nosotros feel that Quickdraw is a better perk on this weapon.

Recommended Traits:

Column One: Quickdraw, Hip-Fire Grip
Column Ii: Opening Shot, Swashbuckler

8 Riiswalker

How to obtain: Iron Banner matches and Engrams.

Riiswalker is a flake of an odd Shotgun. On the ane mitt, information technology'south one of the simply Shotguns in Destiny 2 that tin can reach over 90 range. On the other hand, it's a Lightweight Frame.

The Lightweight Frame is the primary drawback of Riiswalker, preventing this weapon from ane-tapping Guardians consistently past a very short range—effectually six meters with a expert roll. While increasing the weapon'due south range does increase the harm of each pellet, it doesn't influence the gun's pellet spread, finer hard capping the gun's effective ane-hit impale range. And thanks to recent range nerfs, Leightweight Shotguns are tough to ane-tap with. Riiswalker and Wastelander are the only two that tin exercise so with some sort of consistency, provided you have a most-perfect scroll.

The good news is that Riiswalker is a rather fast-firing Shotgun, and then landing a two-tap on a Guardian shouldn't be a large hassle. Riiswalker is more than competitive in Destiny 2's electric current sandbox if you manage to obtain the perfect roll. Its Lightweight Frame allows you to sprint and strafe faster, giving it an edge over Precision Frames.

Recommended Traits:

Column One: Firmly Planted, Quickdraw, Hip-Burn down Grip
Cavalcade 2: Iron Reach

seven Without Remorse

How to obtain: Season of the Haunted activities, or crafted at The Enclave.

Without Remorse is the first craftable Lightweight Shotgun in Destiny 2, immediately making this one of the best Lightweights for the Crucible. If you can unlock the power to arts and crafts this gun, you can brand a whorl that competes with the likes of Riiswalker.

Threat Detector and Elemental Capacitor is the ringlet well-nigh players will be crafting, every bit this gives you a ton of bonus Handling. If yous don't desire to play an Arc subclass, you might desire to consider using Fragile Focus instead of Elemental Capacitor. Delicate Focus gives as much bonus range as Opening Shot, allowing you to compete with an Iron Attain Riiswalker in the right circumstances. All-time of all, it'due south an Free energy weapon, a weapon slot that doesn't have much competition in terms of Lightweights.

Recommended Traits:

Column 1: Threat Detector, Hip-Fire Grip
Column Two: Elemental Capacitor, Fragile Focus

vi Wastelander M5

How to obtain: Xur's Treasure Hoard

Inspired by a weapon from Marathon, Wastelander M5 is the first Legendary Tex Mechanica weapon in Destiny 2. And if you lot know anything about Tex Mechanica weapons, y'all'll know that they never make a bad gun. That holds true with Wastelander M5, a Lightweight Shotgun that gives Riiswalker a run for its money.

This Shotgun can roll with Slideshot and Opening Shot simultaneously, allowing y'all to kill Guardians from Precision Frame ranges. Its high handling also ways Wastelander is a fantastic panic Shotgun for when enemies shut the gap. If y'all'd rather utilise this Shotgun as a main weapon, you can run with Slideshot and Adagio to help extend this weapon'south effective distance—something that gained more than value after recent changes to Special ammo and Shotgun range. Of grade, if you lot value handling on your Shotguns, feel free to replace Slideshot with Perpetual Motion. If you lot don't take a expert Riiswalker, consider farming for a Wastelander M5. If you exercise, get one anyway.

Recommended Traits:

Column One: Slideshot, Perpetual Motion
Cavalcade 2: Opening Shot, Adagio, Harmony

five Found Verdict

How to obtain: Vault of Glass raid (Conflux, Oracle, and Gatekeeper encounters).

Vault of Glass' Found Verdict is part of the aforementioned archetype equally Felwinters but with more than handling and range. With the right perks, Found Verdict has close to the same range as Felwiner's Lie but with much more than treatment.

Ambitious Frames have become more appealing with contempo Shotgun and Fusion Burglarize changes. Nearly Lightweight Shotguns are two-taps now, making them somewhat tricky to employ if you're only looking to shutdown Shotgun rushers or other CQC engagements. Out of all Aggressive Frames, Constitute Verdict is the all-time. It tin can become some absurd range for consistent ane-taps, and it tin can get a surprisingly high Handling stat if you farm for a Timelost variant. If you're willing to farm raids for this gun, Found Verdict is a fantastic Shotgun for players that want to 1-tap Guardians up close.

Recommended Traits:

Column One: Slideshot, Surplus
Column Two: Opening Shot, Killing Wind

4 Duality

How to obtain: Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk in the Belfry. Costs ane Exotic Zero, 125,000 Glimmer, 150 Glacial Starwort, and ane Ascendant Shard.

Duality is easily one of the near disregarded Exotic Shotguns in Destiny 2. This gun combines the usability of a typical Shotgun with the lethality of a slug variant. Its versatility is unrivaled.

Hip-firing this gun will release multiple pellets. When y'all aim, the gun turns into a slug Shotgun, drastically increasing its range. Information technology doesn't compete with god gyre slugs or Chaperone in its ADS grade, although the versatility Duality offers is hard to enlarge. Whether y'all love Shotguns for slaying or defense, Duality is an excellent choice.

iii Heritage

How to obtain: Deep Stone Crypt raid.

Heritage is the king of Legendary slugs in Destiny 2. This weapon's stat packet is absurd, featuring meliorate stats than Blasphemer. That alone makes this weapon worth chasing, yet it'due south the perks Heritage can scroll with that make it comparable with the likes of Chaperone and Duality.

If you solely care about range, a curlicue with Slideshot and range-boosting perks will give Heritage 100 range, making information technology just under Duality's effective slug range. Nevertheless, you tin can hitting this range cap with the right barrels, mag perks, and Masterwork. Should you exist lucky enough to get range on all 3, you'll want a ringlet with Hip-Fire Grip and either Snapshot Sights or Moving Target. Hip-Fire Grip seems strange for a gun like this, but Heritage'south stats are so absurd that Hip-Fire Grip makes hip-firing this gun extremely consequent, even if yous're in the air. You won't find a more forgiving slug Shotgun than this.

Recommended Traits:

Cavalcade One: Hip-Fire Grip, Slideshot, Motorcar-Loading Holster
Cavalcade 2: Snapshot Sights, Moving Target

ii The Chaperone

How to obtain: Consummate the "Nail from a Past" Exotic quest. Information technology tin can be obtained from Shaw Han in the Cosmodrome.

Chaperone has seen repeated nerfs throughout the by few seasons. Shotguns don't have as much range anymore, and Fusion Rifles take slowly crept into the meta. While Chaperone can't cross-map people anymore, this is still one of the strongest Shotguns you can use in the Crucible right at present.

Fifty-fifty after a range nerf, Chaperone still comes on top of every other Shotgun in Destiny 2, even Duality. Chaperone tin can headshot targets from close range to proc Roadborn, giving it yet some other range crash-land. Landing headshots is a breeze with Chaperone thanks to its rather high aim assist value and great range. Don't use this weapon in the air, retrieve to respect the distance of Fusion Rifles, and you'll exist surprised simply how strong this weapon tin exist.

ane Lord Of Wolves

Destiny 2 Lord of Wolves Exotic shotgun.

How to obtain: Exotic Engrams.

Fifty-fifty with diverse ammo and range nerfs this season, Lord of Wolves nonetheless stands as the all-time buckshot Shotgun in Destiny 2'due south Crucible. It's piece of cake to utilise, starts with effectively three shots instead of 2, and it has more range than but well-nigh every buckshot Shotgun in the game. It can be outranged by Chaperone or a perfect Heritage scroll, nevertheless Lord of Wolves stands above them because it'southward and then easy to use. Await remotely near your target, pull the trigger, and watch your enemy disintegrate. If you lot don't similar slugs but need a good Shotgun in your loadout, y'all can't top Lord of Wolves.

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