Chain shotgun

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The chain shotgun is a very short range, multi-shot weapon which fires 3-shot bursts which deal fairly high damage individually (X3); a slightly shorter delay between each shot; a moderate time between bursts; slightly lower overall accuracy and slightly heavier weight.

Acquisition

Chain shotguns can be crafted at a Machining table once the Gas operation research project has been completed. They require 70 Steel, 5 Components, 31,000 ticks (8.61 mins) of work, and a Crafting skill of 6.

Chain shotguns can be purchased from outlander and orbital combat suppliers, outlander faction bases, or obtained from the following raider kinds:

Raider Kind	Chance	Average Quality	Health
Mercenary Gunner	12.36%	Normal	70-320%
Ancient Soldier	11.05%	Normal	100%

Analysis

The chain shotgun is the strongest firearm in the game, barring the minigun, but is limited by range.

It fires a 3-shot burst, with each bullet as strong as a pump shotgun, but with significantly higher firerate. Raw damage output is amazing, only being surpassed by the minigun (before accuracy) and the single-use triple rocket launcher. In addition, the chain shotgun can stagger pawns as large as a centipede. While each burst is inaccurate, stray shots can occasionally hit surrounding targets, making it a good crowd-control weapon.

The obvious drawback compared to other weapons at its price level, like the assault rifle, is its range. It has the shortest range of all human usable ranged weapons, equal to that of grenades. The minigun has clear superiority for crowd control, but is much more expensive and has unique downsides such as terrible accuracy, a massive warmup/cooldown cycle, and a reduction in wielder move speed.

The chain shotgun is best suited as a close-quarters offensive weapon, though is an excellent supporting weapon due to its stopping power. It can be used behind melee fighters, and specialized killboxes take advantage of the shotgun's strength. It is especially good against infestations and drop pods due to its stopping power, damage output, and crowd control, combined with the lack of range constraint. Note that even a shotgun won't be fired in melee combat, so keep your shotgun-wielding pawns out of melee, and engage shotgun-wielding enemies in melee.

Stats

Against an unarmored human, a chain shotgun can kill with 3 hits to the torso, 2 hits to the head or neck, or 1 hit to the brain; cripple or destroy limbs in 2 hits; and destroy eyes and digits with a single hit. It'll generally take around 4 hits (~6.98 seconds average) to incapacitate that human from pain shock.

Overall, the chain shotgun is best paired with a careful shooter up to level 6, then with a trigger-happy shooter beyond that point.

Attack table

Ranged

Chain shotgun			Accuracy (Touch)	Accuracy (Short)	Accuracy (Medium)	Accuracy (Long)	DPS (Optimal)	DPS (Touch)	DPS (Short)	DPS (Medium)	DPS (Long)	Market value
Quality	Dam.	AP	Accuracy (Touch)	Accuracy (Short)	Accuracy (Medium)	Accuracy (Long)	DPS (Optimal)	DPS (Touch)	DPS (Short)	DPS (Medium)	DPS (Long)	Market value
Awful	16.2	12.6%	45.6%	51.2%	44%	36%	16.86	7.75	8.6	7.42	-	200
Poor	18	14%	51.3%	57.6%	49.5%	40.5%	18.73	9.55	10.86	9.37	-	305
Normal	18	14%	57%	64%	55%	45%	18.73	10.68	11.99	10.3	-	405
Good	18	14%	62.7%	70.4%	60.5%	49.5%	18.73	11.8	13.11	11.43	-	505
Excellent	18	14%	68.4%	76.8%	66%	54%	18.73	12.74	14.42	12.36	-	605
Masterwork	22.5	17.5%	76.95%	86.4%	74.25%	60.75%	23.41	18.03	20.13	17.33	-	1010
Legendary	27	21%	85.5%	96%	82.5%	67.5%	28.1	24.16	26.97	23.32	-	2025

^{For the full effects of qualities, see Quality. Values shown in Red indicate the weapon is out of range at the reference point for this range band. The value is provided due to the interpolated nature of accuracy between range points.}

Melee

Feature	Toggle
Attacks

Chain shotgun			Stock (Blunt)					Barrel (Blunt)					Barrel (Poke)					Human: Left & rigth fist (Blunt)					HP	Value
Quality	DPS^[1]	AP^[1]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	HP	Value
Awful	3.98	11.6%	7.2	2s	10.4%	3.6	8.33%	7.2	2s	10.4%	3.6	8.33%	7.2	2s	10.4%	3.6	8.33%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 37.5%	100	200
Poor	4.07	11.82%	8.1	2s	11.7%	4.05	20%	8.1	2s	11.7%	4.05	20%	8.1	2s	11.7%	4.05	20%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 20%	100	305
Normal	4.4	12.75%	9	2s	13%	4.5	25%	9	2s	13%	4.5	25%	9	2s	13%	4.5	25%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 12.5%	100	405
Good	4.74	13.73%	9.9	2s	14.3%	4.95	25%	9.9	2s	14.3%	4.95	25%	9.9	2s	14.3%	4.95	25%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 12.5%	100	505
Excellent	5.08	14.7%	10.8	2s	15.6%	5.4	25%	10.8	2s	15.6%	5.4	25%	10.8	2s	15.6%	5.4	25%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 12.5%	100	605
Masterwork	5.92	17.14%	13.05	2s	18.85%	6.53	25%	13.05	2s	18.85%	6.53	25%	13.05	2s	18.85%	6.53	25%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 12.5%	100	1010
Legendary	6.59	19.09%	14.85	2s	21.45%	7.43	25%	14.85	2s	21.45%	7.43	25%	14.85	2s	21.45%	7.43	25%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 12.5%	100	2025

^{For the full effects of qualities, see Quality.}

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Note: This is the actual base average derived from the melee verb system updated in 1.1.2610, it may sometimes disagree with the listed value in the in-game infobox.
It may also change depending on the stats and the melee verbs available to the wielder if the weapon is wielded by some other than a baseline human.
↑ Chance for attack to be selected, assuming the weapon is wielded by a baseline human. It may change depending on the melee verbs available to the wielder

Chain shotgun vs. comparable weapons

This section goes over how well the chain shotgun fares against comparable weapons (similar value, tech level or similar characteristics) in 1 vs. 1 combat.

Methodology

All testing is semi-automated which allows for large sample sizes to be gathered per set of results with ease
All pawns have skill levels of 14 in ranged and melee
No pawns have any traits that affect combat performance
All pawns are of at least 18 years of age and completely healthy
Pawns are divided by walls to prevent stray shots from skewing results in any way
Weather is always kept clear
No cover is used for either team

Results in the tables below are the percentages of battles that chain shotguns either won or tied against the weapon listed in the first column of said tables, with a sample size of 2,000 battles per result. Higher percentages are better.

Unarmored

For the unarmored testing, all pawns wore normal quality plainleather pants, plainleather button-down shirts, plainleather dusters and plainleather cowboy hats.

Other Weapon	3	7	12	18	25	32	40
Pump Shotgun	73.75%	72.94%	71.80%	-	-	-	-
Heavy SMG	40.30%	52.64%	64.30%	-	-	-	-
LMG	70.41%	67.51%	67.06%	-	-	-	-
Charge Rifle	70.27%	66.55%	64.00%	-	-	-	-
Minigun	76.82%	66.55%	58.93%	-	-	-	-

Armored

For the armored testing, all pawns wore normal quality flak pants, flak vests, plainleather button-down shirts, flak jackets and steel simple helmets.

Other Weapon	3	7	12	18	25	32	40
Pump Shotgun	74.11%	73.86%	76.84%	-	-	-	-
Heavy SMG	40.13%	50.64%	61.06%	-	-	-	-
LMG	72.44%	71.78%	67.40%	-	-	-	-
Charge Rifle	52.81%	52.22%	49.98%	-	-	-	-
Minigun	80.61%	69.19%	62.05%	-	-	-	-

Version history

0.17.1546 - Added.
Beta 19 - Received a buff to accuracy, range and ticks between burst shots. It also got a new sprite.
Beta 19/1.0 - Barrel melee attack damage reduced 10 -> 9, cooldown increased from 1.9s -> 2s. Stock cooldown increased from 1.8 -> 2.