Should you use the Charge or Tactical Shotgun in Fortnite?
There's much debate about whether you should be using the Charge or the Tactical Shotgun in Fortnite, and we're here to give the definitive answer.
Shotguns are some of the most polarizing weapons in all of the game. They’re relied on heavily to deal crazy amounts of damage but are also extremely controversial. Whether it’s because a shotgun is too powerful or not powerful enough, there seems to always be a debate concerning this weapon class.
Since Chapter 2 of Fortnite was introduced, there have been two main shotguns - the Pump and Tactical. However, for Season 3, Epic Games upped the ante and introduced a new weapon to the field, the Charge Shotgun.
What is the Charge Shotgun?
The Charge Shotgun is the first of its kind in Fortnite. While you can shoot it like a regular Pump Shotgun, you can also hold down the aim button to charge up your shot. This will increase damage and also tighten your pellet spread, meaning you need to be deadly accurate.
Many players have picked up the Charge Shotgun simply because it’s the new shiny weapon in Season 3. But, should you be equipping it for more reasons than that? There are six different rarities of the weapon, all the way from Common to Mythic. Each pellet of the Charge Shotgun does an average of around 9 damage, with 8 being the lowest and 10.2 being the highest. The reload time for the weapon averages around 5 seconds, which isn’t slow by any means.
Of course, the damage output for the Charge Shotgun is increased significantly if you hit most or all of your pellets. This is amplified if you charge up the weapon, as you can hit for around 170-180 with a fully charged-up shot to the body. If you hit a point-blank headshot though, you can deal an average of 200 damage. However, is this damage worth it for how long it takes to fully charge up?
As you can see from the clip above, it takes a few seconds to charge up just one shot. While you can use different strategies to your advantage, like opening up a door while charging, this is still valuable time that’s being wasted. Does this make the Charge Shotgun not viable to pick up over something like the Tactical Shotgun?
Charge vs Tactical
It entirely depends on your aim as a whole. With the Tactical Shotgun, you’re dealing less damage than you would with a Charge Shotgun. The Tac only deals an average of 80 damage per shot but you can fire multiple shots in succession to increase your overall Damage Per Second. This means you don’t need to be as accurate as you would need to be with a Charge Shotgun if you plan on fully charging every shot. To see the full statistics for both the Tac and Charge Shotgun, take a look at this chart courtesy of @Somebodysgun on Twitter.
Click to enlargeIf you’re someone who likes to get in on the action and play at an aggressive pace, the Tactical Shotgun is most likely for you. Though it doesn’t deal a tremendous amount of damage, you can fire multiple shots in succession to match the Damage Per Second of the Charge Shotgun.
However, if playing a little more passively and precise is your game, the Charge Shotgun is a great choice. Charging up every shot takes precision and careful aim that can’t be performed by every player. So, using the Charge Shotgun is a bit of a boom-or-bust scenario, but some feel the risk is worth the reward.
For more Fortnite guides, keep reading GGRecon.
