I recommend watching the video because I show examples of what I talk about, which is always helpful. However, as usual, there is a write up below: [b]Intro[/b] It’s no secret that shotguns are dominating the Crucible right now, especially with the sniper nerf. I’ve been using shotguns for a while now, certainly before the nerf, and I’ve picked up a few tricks. I’m hoping to transfer my experience to you guys over the course of a few threads (and videos), starting with the beginner version, which is this one. The idea is, if everyone is using shotguns anyway, I can give you guys an edge to hopefully use yours better than your enemy uses theirs. A lot of the context from this post is related to Trials since that’s what I play 95% of the time, but the lessons covered are absolutely applicable to all playlists and I’ll make those connections throughout the post. We’re going to discuss two basic ways that you can become a decent shotgunner – knowing how to get close to your enemy and knowing when to commit after getting close. [b]Disclaimer[/b] After writing this up, I realized it looks like I’m promoting the use of special weapons only and never using your primary. The reason it looks like that is because this is about using a shotgun effectively. It ignores other factors such as pushing as a team and using primary weapons. So I want to emphasize, before we get started, that your primary is called a primary because you should primarily have it out. It should be the weapon you have equipped the majority of the time, and your shotgun should only be pulled out when the situation calls for it. [b]Getting Close[/b] [i]Appropriate Routes[/i] As mentioned, there are two points I want to cover today, the first one being how to get close to your enemies. In Trials, you generally want to hold down the capture point, or at least get to the middle of the map safely. For my examples, I’m going to choose maps that tend to favour snipers. The reason being - staying out of sight lines on maps like Asylum are easy because there are very few sniper lanes and a lot of cover. So if you practice and learn how to keep yourself invulnerable on open maps, you’ll find it easy on close quartered maps. So first example – on Pantheon, most snipers aim down the Waterfall Hallway or the main challenge across the Cube. If you’re shotgunning, you should never be running down Waterfall Hallway because there is almost no cover. As for the opening beside the Cube, you can hug the inside wall to stay covered. This allows you to get to the middle of the map with no vulnerability. You can then use pillars and blocks as cover to push the enemy team, or you can hold down the point. Let’s talk about an open map, Widow’s Court. If I have the top spawn (Bravo), I’ll push through the Apartment building, slide behind the wall on the outside of the map and move into the Church. Alternatively, you can go right off spawn, hug the left wall in front of Top Heavy and then use the stones to keep pushing through the Fountain. On Alpha side (bottom), you can move beside Castle and then use the stones for cover. Moving to the right off spawn, you can go through the Church and behind the outside wall towards apartments. How far you go off spawn is determined by your team’s game plan. I don’t always push up as far I showed in the clips, I just wanted to show you the entire distance in case that fits your game plan. I know my examples don’t leave you 100% covered 100% of the time. Getting perfect cover is rare, especially if you want to get to places quickly. Sometimes you need to leave yourself open for a fraction of a second, which usually isn’t a problem unless you’re playing an insanely good player. I’m not going to cover every map due to time constraints, but you guys know the popular sight lines on each map so it’s just a matter of staying away from them, or at least exposing yourself as little as possible. [i]Application to Other Playlists[/i] You can apply the same logic in other playlists as well. We’ll use Control as an example. Say you’re spawning on A-flag on Shores of Time and you want to push B-flag. You’re not going through the Hallway in the middle of the map, because you know a guy is going to be sitting on the Jungle Dish hard scoping that opening. You’re also not going to push up passed the special ammo while in the open because you’ll be a sitting duck. The route I would take is behind the rocks using as much cover as I can get and approaching the left of the flag (the outside platform) to reduce vulnerability as much as possible. [b]Once In Position[/b] Let’s talk about options once you’re in position. “In position” just means you safely got where you wanted to go without dying. When you’re there in Trials, there are two things you can do. The first option is to wait. If you’re holding down the point, you’re waiting for the enemy to make a move at you, while obviously adjusting your position to prevent your opponents from getting angles on you. Another thing you might be waiting for is a teammate to get a pick if you’re playing with a reliable sniper. Going for a pick with a shotgun can result in you going down in enemy territory because you had to get close range, which gives your opponents easy orb control and drastically hurts your chances to win the round. So if you have control of the point and you’re comfortable where you’ve set up shop, staying put isn’t a bad play. In other playlists, maybe you’re waiting for you team to show up to push a flag, or maybe you have the spark in Rift and need back-up. Regardless of what playlist you’re in, if you got this far, you did a good job staying out of enemy sight lines and you’re ready for the next step. The next step could be waiting, or the next step could be the other option, which I call committing. [b]Committing[/b] If you want to get the first blood in Trials, or you’re ready to attack an enemy to push for a flag, you need to be smart and tactical about your approach. That starts with understanding your weapon. A shotgun is a one hit kill when used best, we all know that. So in a perfect play, your opponent can only see you for the split second that you pull the trigger. Your opponent’s view of your body should be obstructed at all times before and after the shot you take, ideally. It never happens that perfectly, but that’s what you’re aiming for to achieve minimum vulnerability. There is a good example in the video so you know what I mean. It's kind of hard to explain through text. There is also an example that I recommend watching too. The lesson learned is basically - By practicing, learning and understanding just how far people are from you based on your radar, you will avoid the mistake I just made. Learning what gap you can and can’t close will help you decide when to commit, and that’s actually going to be a major portion of the next post. [b]Summary (TL;DR)[/b] Let’s do a quick summary of what we covered today: - The Crucible meta heavily favours shotguns, so learning that craft is more important than ever before - Step one to getting a shotgun kill is safely travelling towards your enemy - This is accomplished by staying out of popular sight lines to get “in position”, which means different things to different players in different playlists (like we covered) - Once in position, use map knowledge and radar judgment to decide when to push If the gap is small enough, use your shotgun. If the gap is too big, use your primary [b]Outro[/b] That just about wraps up my beginner tutorial on shotgunning. Feel free to ask me any questions about shotgunning you have in the comments below, and I’ll get back to everyone, as usual. Some questions might even give me an idea for a future post. Until then, I hope you guys enjoy the update coming this Tuesday. Have a great weekend, my friends. Duke