Editing Shotgun (section)

== Tactics ==
*The [[9mm tactical pistol]] is stronger and far more accurate for targets at long and even medium range, when aiming for the head. Any heavier pistol such as [[MK23]] and [[Handcannon]] or a reliable rifle such as [[Lever-action rifle]] can give enough effective distance where shotguns falter.
*Reloading the Shotgun whenever you have the time is important, since the reload time to completely fill it is fairly long. On later waves, you won't have much time to reload between attacking specimens, so timing your reloads with your teammates is essential. Pay attention to the teammates announcing their reloading and receed to reload your shotguns yourself.
*If the first shell does not kill the specimen, it's safer to back up and fire once the Shotgun has been cocked again. Especially on higher difficulty levels, waiting for enemies to close in and line up is a much more efficient use of ammo than picking them off one by one. With practice, you should be able to judge the risk and reward of this technique appropriately.
*Shotgun having the tightest spread radius will ensure to wipe clear any weak specimen from medium distance when used on perk. Firing at a large group of specimens from a moderate distance is a good way to soften up or kill many of them before they close in. To take advantage of penetration and spread, crouch before firing into a large group of weaker specimens. Withe wide spray, outlier pellets are more likely to pass through more enemies than while standing. More accurate headshots and being on the move required for tougher specimen.
*Use the flashlight as a makeshift iron sight. The light gives a good indication of where the center of your screen is and doesn't reduce your movement speed. When shun upon the smoke screen after a grenade barrage or [[Demolition]] volleying explosives, flashlight will mitigate the smoke screen and will make figures behind the smoke distinguishable. The flashlight will run out of battery power though, so you should turn it off when it is not needed.
*The Shotgun is ineffective against [[Fleshpound|Fleshpounds]] and [[Scrake|Scrakes]] at low perk levels, so it is usually better to let your team handle these specimens, and not risk enraging them. On low perk levels, and off perk use for any reason, Shotgun only should be kept for sweeping trash and meat shielding specimen.
*Scrakes can be killed if their head is previously damaged by onperk shotgun by the hands of a level 5-6 Support Specialist to tenderize and follow up with a [[Glossary#flinch|flinch]] combo to uppercut them. As long as perk level is high enough and Support possess a flinching tool, they can pull the combo, but given Shotgun's weak trash sweeping capabilities and requiring pre-damage to head, it has a pretty low priority to do so. An uppercut combo against a Scrake with Shotgun tend to get interrupted in a dynamic environment at front lines and cause you to lose ground due to requirement of pre-damage at the head to kill Scrake with clean shots once flinched.
*For Fleshpound, shotgun similarly utilized like any other weaker pellet damage shotgun; after a single shot, a [[grenade]] toss follows and another shot required to pin Fleshpound on enrage animation for two more grenade throws at its feet. The resulting chain blast will not instantly kill Fleshpound at high difficulties or at insufficient perk level, so Support player better ready for finishing it after grenades go off and focus on moving away from the explosion.