Also, please add a poll in the comments so I won’t get banned.
Alright, so I’m the guy who made the previous shotgun rework thread. It didn’t get enough views, but after reading the comments, I think the numbers needed a tweak. Plus, we absolutely need to balance manual shotguns and semi-autos differently, otherwise they will either stay useless or become completely broken.
Right now, shotguns in Enlisted feel terrible because of the crazy random pellet spread and artificial damage drop-off. SMGs just outperform them even at point-blank in trenches because they actually do consistent damage.
Here is the updated proposal:
1. Pump-action and Double-barrel shotguns
Since you have a very limited capacity or a slow fire rate, every single shot must count. They should be high-risk, high-reward room clearers.
- Under 22 meters: Guaranteed one-shot kill. If you land a solid hit on the torso within 22m, the enemy dies instantly, no DBNO/downed state.
- 22 to 30 meters: Guaranteed knockdown, with a solid chance of a one-shot kill if most pellets hit the upper torso/head.
- 30 to 40 meters: Guaranteed knockdown. A good hit will always put the enemy into the downed state, forcing them out of the fight.
- 40+ meters: High damage, but no guaranteed kills or knocks. Just solid chunk damage.
2. Semi-auto and Automatic shotguns (like the Browning Auto-5)
We obviously can’t give them the same one-shot range as double-barrels, because they shoot way too fast and would become completely OP. Their main issue is that they are extremely RNG-heavy.
- The fix: Just reduce the pellet spread and make it predictable/less random. If someone aims perfectly at the center mass, the pellets should actually hit the target instead of flying everywhere. This makes them reliable without ruining the damage balance.
This way, manual shotguns finally get a proper niche for close-quarters clearing, and autos become dependable instead of being a gamble.
What do you guys think?
3 Likes
I think that’s how shotguns currently behave, here’s one example with the Win 1887
as you can see, it can theoretically one shot an enemy even at a 40mts range based on the tab
I think the problem is disperssion, unless you were talking about nerfing them
In my opinion they should just buff the dispersion on the pump and double barrels instead of messing with the damage drop off. Increasing the hit probability of the pellets would thus lead to more damage. The pump/lever action shotguns could be about 50 shot deviation which is where the winchester 1887 is sitting with upgrades. The double barrels could have a better shot deviation due to longer barrels and low capacity, thus leaving the browning semi auto as is. This way you have a trade off for each type. The sawed off would stay as is and not get the double barrel buff.
You are just looking at a broken in-game stat tab. That ‘theoretical one-shot’ at 40m is completely fake in actual gameplay. You aren’t factoring in the heavy bullet drop, the massive velocity loss, and the fact that pellets fly sideways due to terrible spread. In reality, you can barely scratch an enemy at 15 meters, let alone 40. That’s exactly why the current system is broken and needs a rework.
Tighter spread definitely helps, but the core issue in Enlisted is also how fast individual pellets lose their damage. If we only buff dispersion, shotguns will still feel completely RNG. You have to realize that because pellets fly sideways/diagonally away from the center, the actual damage drop-off in a real match at just 20 meters is as brutal as the ‘on-paper’ 40-meter drop-off shown in the weapon stats.
A tighter spread alone won’t save manual shotguns if the game engine drops pellet damage to zero after a few steps. We need a combination of both: tighter spread for manual guns AND a proper tweak to damage drop-off so they can actually compete with SMGs in trenches.
I dont data mine the numbers or whatever it is y’all do to find that info. I was just going off the stat cards and how it behaves in the firing range. I can accept that you know more on how the in game ballistics work. The dispersion buff could in theory just be a starting point that takes probably a couple hours of coding (I dont code, so I’m just guessing). That way if it needs a little more attention it can be improved upon without overtuning.
Fair enough, respect for the constructive discussion! You make a good point about it being an easy starting point for the devs. A quick dispersion buff would definitely show them immediately if shotguns become too strong or if they still need that damage drop-off tweak due to the diagonal pellet flight. Taking it step by step is a smart way to avoid overtuning them. Let’s hope the developers look into this!
2 Likes
Let’s break down the actual math of how shotguns work at 15 meters in Enlisted.
On paper, a fully upgraded shotgun shows 51.5 total damage. But the game divides this among 15 individual pellets. This means a single pellet does only 3.43 damage in close quarters.
At 15 meters, two things completely destroy your shot:
- Damage Falloff. A single pellet’s damage drops from 3.43 down to around 2.8.
- RNG Dispersion. Because pellets fly diagonally away from the center, the spread circle becomes huge. At 15 meters, even with perfect aim, only 2 or 3 pellets will actually hit an enemy.
The Math: 3 pellets multiplied by 2.8 damage equals 8.4 total damage.
A standard soldier has 10 HP, and 13.5 HP with the Vitality perk. Since your 15-meter shot only does 8.4 damage, the enemy easily survives with a few HP left. They don’t even go down. You just get a frustrating white hitmarker, and they instantly kill you with an SMG.
This proves that just tightening the spread is not enough. We desperately need fixed damage and knockdown rules for manual shotguns.
3 Likes