Traits for shotgun build?

[Drekadóttir]

I originally went with fast shot and good natured, but I recently read online that fast shot doesn't benefit shotguns much. Assuming I'd want to keep good natured, what's another trait that would help? On other forums I read built to destroy and skilled are good, but the first doesn't seem like that much of a benefit (or maybe it's a huge benefit and I just don't know) and I'm already lv 24 so skilled doesn't seem to make much sense to pick now.

[WHYAREALLTHEUSE]

Shotgun Surgeon and And stay back are probably the two best perks for shotgun builds.

[life is a simulation]

Id say chose
- hot blood which increses your dmg of u are below 50% health but recive a penelty of -2 to perception and agility while below 50%
Or chose trigger disiplin which increses accuracy but reduces fire rate and increse the cost of ap

[LSD]

Skilled is stupidly overpowered, but then, the game is hardly balanced as it is.
Trigger Discipline would be pretty good, since shotguns have high spread. A 20% reduction would make them better at longer ranges.
Built to Destroy is always a good choice, if you're fine with the regular repair costs (or if you're gonna cheese the ♥♥♥♥ out of things and get Jury Rigging).

[Drekadóttir]

Originally posted by nothing:

Shotgun Surgeon and And stay back are probably the two best perks for shotgun builds.

Traits, not perks

Originally posted by life is a simulation:

Id say chose
- hot blood which increses your dmg of u are below 50% health but recive a penelty of -2 to perception and agility while below 50%
Or chose trigger disiplin which increses accuracy but reduces fire rate and increse the cost of ap

15% increase in damage doesn't seem much for the penalty it gives

Originally posted by LSD:

Skilled is stupidly overpowered, but then, the game is hardly balanced as it is.
Trigger Discipline would be pretty good, since shotguns have high spread. A 20% reduction would make them better at longer ranges.
Built to Destroy is always a good choice, if you're fine with the regular repair costs (or if you're gonna cheese the ♥♥♥♥ out of things and get Jury Rigging).

I've read on a forum (although I can't find the thread anymore) that trigger discipline isn't very useful for shotguns, and either way I tend to fight closer to my enemy because I also use melee a bit (I'm having a lot of fun with the Proton Axe), so I'm not sure how much it would benefit me.

As for built to destroy and jury rigging, my repair isn't high enough yet, I think 50? Although I don't have a lot more to increase now.
Also, why is skilled op? 5 to each skill is quite a few levels but doesn't seem very useful considering most of those skills I don't really use.

[RattyRatCathy]

I personally wouldn't take anything. Maybe Hot-Blooded for the damage and Skilled if you want a more all-around build, but neither really are all that appealing.

But shotguns in this game are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ atrocious especially against armored enemies.

[Empyreo]

I go with small frame and the one that gives 3% crit at -15% durability (because EDE fixes weapons)

[talgaby]

Built to destroy is good because the crit chance is calculated per pellet, so you are much more likely to do some crits with it. Keep in mind that shotguns usually have a 1× multiplier and a +100%/pellet crit damage only, so the average increase is under 20%, but it is still there.

Trigger discipline tightens the spread, but that is not the reason shotgunners pick it. They pick it because of the slug ammo that can help you to shoot enemies from quite afar.

[Jack Jester]

Rapid Reload
Shotgun Surgeon
Center of Mass (if you use VATS! Dont shot on the head its not very effective)
Hand Loader (12 gauge 4.0 buck mag hand load)
And Stay Back (very good against many opponents, most of the time they are lying on the floor.)

Trait: Hot Blooded (and skilled, nothing else)

Riot Shotgun is the best Weapon for Shotgunbuilds.

Rest as you enjoy it... remember, finesse and better criticals are always a good choice!

[Bansheebutt]

Since you're using Melee weapons as well, Heavy Handed wouldn't be a bad option, since Shotgun's don't benefit from Critical Hits (and thus Built to Destroy) as much as other weapons.

If you do go Built to Destroy, you can always compensate by traveling with Raul. Or, optionally, getting repair 50 (or 40 with a Magazine, or 30 with a magazine+comprehension) and maintaining a supply of Weapon Repair Kits. (Jury Rigging is so overrated for anything other than the insane profits for repairing Power Armor and certain high-tier weapons with low-tier items.)

I also like Hot-Blooded. You can negate the skill penalty from the reduced Agility by reading a Guns Book with 100 skill.

However, the -2 agility might be problematic for the Hunting Shotgun's reload speed, depending on what your base agility is.

Originally posted by LSD:

Skilled is stupidly overpowered

Skilled is pretty not great actually. There are more than enough skill points, skill books, and magazines in the game to compensate any deficit from missing out on the 5 extra points, especially if you're going for a specialized combat strategy that minimizes points in other weapon skills.

[Fumo Bnnuy n Frends]

i'd say ranged perks should be avoided since shotguns have a stupidly broken spread and work better in CQC as well as aiming dea center at their torso vs their limbs. Basically a melee build at medium to close range.

For sure get AP boosting perks (it'll come in handy for the riot shotgun later one).

Forgot the names but the perk that gives you more accuracy on torso shots is a big perk skill i'd recommend getting since again CQC and pellet spread.

Hand loader or that one that lets you craft special magnum ammo shells. Also lets you collect shotgun shells and recycle them bringing down the cost of ammo.

The reload perk skill (coupled with max agility you pretty much instantly reload).

2 must haves are and stay back and shotgun surgeon.

Any other perks skills i'd recommend would be damage specific perks like the people perks (confirmed bachelor lady killer femme de chaez or some ♥♥♥♥ and black widow), the entamologist perk, the purifier, etc.

Best companions imo would be Raul or Cass (b/c of the high gun stats they have) with a shotgun for double damage or a rifle for ranged support and ED-E.

Wouldn't recommend sinking too much into barter skills because if you're focused soley on shotguns then you can sell off all the rest of the items. Get a high repair and gun skill for more damage and recycling ammo/repairing your weapons better. Sneak is another perk skill to consider but again you're pretty much CQC so stealth at long range isn't much of an option. Invest heavily on medicine though since being in CQC all the time, runs the risk of more damage.

[wicked lester]

Originally posted by Bansheebot:

Skilled is pretty not great actually. There are more than enough skill points, skill books, and magazines in the game to compensate any deficit from missing out on the 5 extra points, especially if you're going for a specialized combat strategy that minimizes points in other weapon skills.

Skilled is fantastic. There is more than enough xp to compensate any deficit from the Trait's xp penalty.

We're not talking about 5 points; more like 30 or 40. Even if you only want one combat skill, there are still 5 or 7 other skills that are useful to increase. Of all the trait penalties, this is also one of the least painful.

[peppermint hollows]

Originally posted by wicked lester:

Originally posted by Bansheebot:

Skilled is pretty not great actually. There are more than enough skill points, skill books, and magazines in the game to compensate any deficit from missing out on the 5 extra points, especially if you're going for a specialized combat strategy that minimizes points in other weapon skills.

Skilled is fantastic. There is more than enough xp to compensate any deficit from the Trait's xp penalty.

We're not talking about 5 points; more like 30 or 40. Even if you only want one combat skill, there are still 5 or 7 other skills that are useful to increase. Of all the trait penalties, this is also one of the least painful.

Might be good but it honestly seems unnecessary. I've been playing a new char recently and I have all the DLCs. I have almost like 7 or 8 skills maxed out by level 30 (which is not difficult to reach if you are playing the DLCs, the main quests, and some sidequests).

It's probably better if you don't have any of the DLCs but if you have them all it seems practically worthless, that this rate I'm going to max out skills I didn't even intend to max.

My science, medicine, energy weapons, speech, repair, and now almost barter are all at 100 already.

[Fumo Bnnuy n Frends]

Originally posted by peppermint hollows:

Originally posted by wicked lester:

Skilled is fantastic. There is more than enough xp to compensate any deficit from the Trait's xp penalty.

We're not talking about 5 points; more like 30 or 40. Even if you only want one combat skill, there are still 5 or 7 other skills that are useful to increase. Of all the trait penalties, this is also one of the least painful.

Might be good but it honestly seems unnecessary. I've been playing a new char recently and I have all the DLCs. I have almost like 7 or 8 skills maxed out by level 30 (which is not difficult to reach if you are playing the DLCs, the main quests, and some sidequests).

It's probably better if you don't have any of the DLCs but if you have them all it seems practically worthless, that this rate I'm going to max out skills I didn't even intend to max.

My science, medicine, energy weapons, speech, repair, and now almost barter are all at 100 already.

try a lvl 1 intelligence

tbh you can sorta sacrifice intelligence and charisma if you got the dlc b/c you get 20 extra lvls. You can pretty much max out whatever perk skills you want and have some leftover.

Once i get them imma go full on cowboy (guns, some melees, survival, and some explosives).

[Bansheebutt]

Originally posted by wicked lester:

We're not talking about 5 points;

On a case-by-case basis, it is 5.
How many points you have in Science doesn't matter when you're lockpicking.

Originally posted by wicked lester:

Even if you only want one combat skill, there are still 5 or 7 other skills that are useful to increase.

And you will be able to, very easily with or without Skilled. :P

I play sawyer mod which caps you at at Lv. 35, my character had 6 intelligence and Comprehension. By the end of the game my lowest skill was 75. (Energy Weapons)

Skilled is like a security blanket, and between the choice of Trait or No Trait, it's an obvious take. It feels nice to have those extra points, but they don't actually mean that much.

In fact it ultimately provides you no benefit, unlike say, Hot-Blooded or Fast Shot.

Good Natured is arguably better since you get the bonus to various Utility skills at the cost of an equal penalty to the 6 combat skills; 4 or 5 which you probably aren't going to be using much of anyway. (And in the case of Unarmed, doesn't even need high skill to be absurdly deadly.)

Skilled would actually be a lot better if it was applied as a Boost, rather than a base skill increase. That way it could fortify your skills against drains from crippling or special penalties.

[Drekadóttir]

Originally posted by Jack Jester:

Rapid Reload
Shotgun Surgeon
Center of Mass (if you use VATS! Dont shot on the head its not very effective)
Hand Loader (12 gauge 4.0 buck mag hand load)
And Stay Back (very good against many opponents, most of the time they are lying on the floor.)

Trait: Hot Blooded (and skilled, nothing else)

Riot Shotgun is the best Weapon for Shotgunbuilds.

Rest as you enjoy it... remember, finesse and better criticals are always a good choice!

Why 4/0 buck? Doesn't it do less damage overall? It feels more like a greater risk/reward for slightly longer range