Fallout 4 Shotgun Perks Explained | Explosive and Sniper Builds

The combat shotgun in Fallout 4 is one of the most practical weapons to use in the game. As the combat shotgun and combat rifles are quite similar, they can often be confused with each other.

Non-automatic shotguns count as rifles. The shotguns and the rifles have their own Fallout 4 Shotgun Perks. Here is a guide that will provide you with all the required information about shotguns.

Fallout 4 is the fourth installment in the Fallout series that was released in November 2015. It was developed by Bethesda Game Studio and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is set in an open-world environment, where the players have a choice to switch between first-person and third-person perspectives. The story is set in the post-apocalyptic open world in the city of Boston and the regions surrounding Massachusetts. Ten years after the events of Fallout 3, the story of Fallout 4 takes place in the year 2287. After the ‘Great war’ that took place in 2077, states across the United States faced catastrophic nuclear devastation. The players control a character known as ‘Sole Survivor,’ who is in search of his kidnapped son.

As of now, Fallout 4 is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.

What is Shotgun in Fallout 4?

This semi-automatic combat shotgun utilizes 8 round box magazine. The gun uses Shotgun Shells as ammo. It consists of 12 gauge shotgun shells, with each shell having seven-shot pellets. The shotgun can be upgraded by a teil round extended magazine or thirty-two round drum magazine. However, it can only be upgraded in exchange for a reduced range. The default range of the shotgun is forty-seven, thus making it the most practical weapon to target enemies in close range. The shotgun deals a 50 damage penalty when it is used to fire outside of the listed range. With twenty-three percent of accuracy, the heavy recoil makes it difficult to shoot rapidly outside the point-blank range.

List of Fallout 4 Shotgun Perks

Following is the list of all available Fallout 4 Shotgun Perks –

1. Rifleman Perk: This semi-automatic weapon helps the players to use the shotgun in a super-proficient way. This perk impacts the energy and ballistic weapons.
2. Commando Perk: It is an automatic weapon available not only in Fallout 4 but also Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. With each rank, it increases a certain level of hip-fire accuracy and a chance to stagger the opponent.
3. Bloody Mess Perk: This perk of a shotgun increases damage percent with each level in Fallout 4. This is perk will help not only help to kill the targeted enemy but also cause damage to the nearby enemies.
4. Basher Perk: This perk is available in Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. With each level, the gun bashing does more damage to the opponent.
5. Astoundingly Awesome Perk: This magazine perk has fourteen different ranks. The effects on these Fallout 4 Shotgun Perks depend upon the issues read by the players in the Astoundingly Awesome Tales.
6. Ace Operator Perk: This perk is available only if the operators stay loyal to the Sole Survivor during the Power Play Quest. Ace Operator perk will deal with twenty-five percent more damage with silenced weapons.

Perks available for Rifles (Shotguns are part of Rifles)

There are five ranks of perks available to the Rifles. They help to increase damage from attacks with non-automatic rifles. Moreover, they not only increase the chance to cripple limbs but also cause partial negation of the opponent’s damage resistance.

Fun Fact: Shotguns are counted as Rifles in Fallout 4. As a result, all of the Rifle Perks are applicable on Shotguns!

The five ranks of the perks of Rifles are given below.

1. PER2: Attacks with non-automatic rifles do twenty percent more damage to the opponent.
2. Level 9: Attacks with non-automatic rifles do forty percent more damage and ignore fifteen percent of the target’s armor.
3. Level 18: Attacks with non-automatic rifles do sixty percent more damage and ignore twenty percent of the opponent’s armor.
4. Level 31: Attacks with non-automatic rifles do eighty percent more damage and ignore twenty-five percent of the opponent’s armor.
5. Level 46: Attacks with non-automatic rifles do a hundred percent more damage and ignore thirty percent of the opponent’s armor. The chances of crippling a limb are higher.

Best Build for Shotgun in General?

The stats for the shotgun are given below:

• Strength: 1
• Perception: 4
• Endurance: 3
• Charisma: 9
• Intelligence: 1
• Agility: 5
• Luck: 5

With the list of these statistics, one can clearly identify there is the necessity of Strength to make Shotguns powerful. Rifleman Perk is the best build for Shotgun in the game. This Fallout 4 Shotgun Perk specifically increases the strength of Shotguns in the game.

Explosive Fallout 4 Shotgun Perks

The shotgun fires seven projectiles per shell. Each pellet makes 15 points of AoE damage. An additional 50 base damage is also done. Demolition Expert helps in increasing shotgun’s base damage.

Sniper Fallout 4 Shotgun Perks

These perks are only available once in every eight to twelve levels. The Agility score is important to stay hidden and target the enemy. Along with the Agility score, the Perception score is also important as it gives an increased four percent in base accuracy. 

FAQs

A few FAQs regarding Shotgun and fallout 4 are answered below.

See Also

11 Games Like Valheim To Enjoy The Open World
5 Games Similar To Chao Garden