Shotgun (Rapture)

BioShock
The Shotgun is the third ranged weapon obtained in BioShock. It is located in the Medical Pavilion. It it fires buck rounds with a wide burst and high damage that are most effective at a short range. Its main weaknesses are ineffectiveness at long range, a low chamber capacity, and a slow rate of fire. However, the damage and the rate of fire can be increased with upgrades at a Power to the People station, making the Shotgun even more powerful. Head shots with the Shotgun will inflict 200% damage against Splicers, and when fired at point-blank range, will kill most Splicers in one or two hits.

Power to the People Upgrades

 * Fire Rate Increase
 * 25% Damage Increase

Ammunition Types - Shotgun

 * 00 Buck - standard ammunition for the Shotgun, inflict a high amount of (piercing) damage.
 * Electric Buck - rare ammunition for the Shotgun, inflict a high amount of (electrical) damage and will electrify the target.
 * Exploding Buck - inventable ammunition for the Shotgun, inflict a high amount of (fire) damage and will ignite the target.

Strategy

 * As one would expect, this weapon is best used at close range. However, it is still capable of dealing good damage at medium range as well, although it would be better to target multiple enemies at that distance. Using Electric Buck and Exploding Buck from a distance may even electrocute/ignite several enemies at once.


 * Electric Buck is the ammunition of choice when tackling Big Daddies in the earlier levels, afterwards Electric Gel replaces it. It not only deals extreme damage against them, killing them in twelve shots or less on the hardest difficulty setting, it also stuns them for a few seconds, preventing them from retaliating. Exploding Buck also works, although Big Daddies will be able to fight back. In the same vein, one shot followed by a one-two punch will kill pretty much any Splicer.


 * Once the player amasses enough Exploding Buck, it is recommended they use it instead of 00 Buck when dealing with enemies. Components for that ammo type are easy to find, and it has the advantage of setting the enemy on fire as well as dealing significant damage up close. Fire spreads, so shooting Exploding Buck in the middle of a tight-knit group will ignite all of its members.


 * Electric Buck can also be used against Security Devices with the intention to destroy. Turrets, Security Cameras and Security Bots can be destroyed in a single shot, so while useless for hacking purposes it can quickly dispose of problematic machinery. The most obvious situation which springs to mind is when having set off an alarm. Electric Buck is slightly hard to get though, so use sparingly and keep at least twelve units for use against Big Daddies (unless the player has another strategy or possesses enough Electric Gel).


 * Electric Buck and Exploding Buck's elemental abilities can be used on the environment to the player's advantage. Shooting the water with Electric Buck will electrify it and shooting an oil slick with Exploding Buck will ignite it. This is useful if the player hasn't got the time to switch to their Plasmids, or if they wish to save their Plasmid Slots for other powers.


 * Due to the Shotgun's spray and it being used frequently in close quarters, it isn't very difficult to aim for the head. The reward for doing so, however, is double damage, so always aim for the head when possible.


 * It is recommended to first upgrade the Shotgun's rate of fire before augmenting its damage. This is due to two reasons: Firstly, a well-placed shot with the Shotgun is enough to kill any Splicer type on any difficulty in the earlier levels of the game. Secondly, removing the pump-action enables the player to empty the gun's clip in the time it would normally take for it to fire one shot and reload, therefore quadrupling its initial damage output.


 * Speaking of reloading, upgrading the rate of fire won't change the reload rate. It takes a very long time to reload a full clip, so make every shot count. Alternatively, the player can switch to another weapon once empty.


 * This weapon can be very effective for ambushing, due to its ability to deal high amounts of damage very rapidly.


 * This weapon deals a high amount of kinetic force upon impact. As such, it is extremely potent when combined with Winter Blast (only 00 Buck is needed here, the other two variants won't deal any extra damage or effects). Typically, an enemy frozen with Winter Blast can be killed in a single shot, although they cannot be looted afterwards.

Recommended Tonics

 * Natural Camouflage will greatly help if the player is staging an ambush.


 * The Damage Research line of tonics will greatly increase damage against enemies researched using the Research Camera.


 * The Machine Buster line of tonics will increase damage against machinery, although it usually takes one shot of Electric Buck to instantly destroy any Security Device. If the player is reserving that ammo type for another occasion and wishes to use 00 Buck instead, tonics from this line will help.


 * The Electric Flesh line of tonics, in addition to increasing the player's resistance against electrical damage (Electric Flesh 2 completely immunizes the player against it), will significantly increase Electric Buck's damage output.


 * The Human Inferno line of tonics, in addition to increasing the player's resistance to fire-based attacks, will significantly increase Exploding Buck's damage output.


 * The Armored Shell line of tonics will reduce damage taken while fighting enemies up close.

Help Caption
Press _ to fire.

Fires a wide burst of pellets, most

effective at short range.

Base ammo: 00 Buck -- Moderate

amount of piercing damage.

Advanced ammo: Electric Buck --

Moderate amount of electrical

damage.

Inventable ammo: Exploding Buck

-- Large amount of combined

piercing and heat damage.

BioShock 2


The Shotgun is the fifth weapon in BioShock 2. It is acquired by Subject Delta in the Fishbowl Dinner in the Pauper's Drop district.

As with the rest of his weapons, Delta is able to perform a quick-melee attack with the Shotgun, dealing minor physical damage. In doing so he raises the gun and attempts to hit his target with the stock. Unlike the first BioShock, players will be able to zoom in and aim down the sight with the shotgun in BioShock 2.

Basic Upgrades

 * 200% increase in clip size (clip increased from two to six shots before needing to reload).
 * Increased damage.

Final Upgrade

 * Chance to electrocute the target.

Ammo Types - Shotgun

 * 00 Buck - standard ammunition for the Shotgun, deal a moderate amount of (piercing) damage.
 * Solid Slug - rare ammunition for the Shotgun, deal a high amount of (piercing) damage in the form of a single shot.
 * Phosphorus Buck - inventable ammunition for the Shotgun, deal a high amount of (fire) damage and ignite the target.

BioShock 2 Multiplayer
The Shotgun returns as a usable weapon in multiplayer, and is unlocked right from the start. It is listed as a highly damaging weapon, recommended for close-range combat.

Multiplayer Upgrades

 * Higher Rate of Fire: unlocked at Rank 9. Increases the Shotgun's rate of fire.
 * Auto-Reload: unlocked at Rank 29. Reloads the Shotgun automatically after firing.

Trivia

 * Its appearance seems similar to the earlier pre-1950's pump shotguns. The small pump looks similar to one of the earliest pump-action shotguns, the Winchester 1897, while the rest of the gun resembles an Ithaca 37.
 * In first-person perspective, the Shotgun seems to be wielded in a seemingly unorthodox and awkward position. However, this may be an attempt to show the character using the stock on some of the shotguns, in which case this would be a fairly realistic position.
 * It is somewhat odd that the variant used in the game holds only four shells, since there were clearly different and more efficient shotguns before and during the time of the events in Rapture. The Winchester 1897 pump shotgun (which bears striking resemblance to the in-game Shotgun) holds eight shells. In addition, the Winchester 1897 was in mass production worldwide since the turn of the century, which is clearly decades before Rapture's creation. As a result, there is a possibility that the Shotgun in Rapture was of Russian design due to Andrew Ryan's background.
 * The first few shotguns found have a design engraved on the barrel and receiver, while most of the rest have a standard flat steel barrel and receiver.
 * The Shotgun is considered to be the iconic weapon in horror entertainment, most often in films/games featuring zombies. The ability to deal critical damage upon headshot is also a staple for shotguns in horror games. It's also a staple for common first-person shooters as a devastating close ranged weapon.

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