Yes i can see the obvious synergy but there is only so much stagger you can apply to an enemy.
In the previous game enemy that was on its arse was considered max staggered.
Here there are some additional stages and the duration changes depending on the stagger power but this weapon already kicks most things on their asses with the first shot which is basically enemy being max staggered.
I don’t really have the math or testing in hand to prove this so there might be some hidden factor to no respite where it actually scales with the flat stagger value (seems unlikely) but so far to me at least it seems like just having overkill amount of stagger power for the sake of it.
One thing I’ve not seen mentioned, is that the lawbringer readies like a pistol, instantly.
Its total damage is low, admittedly, but said damage is delivered faster than many other ranged weapons that would fit a playstyle of rapid switching surely. You can be in melee, rapidly pull she shotgun for a mid to mid-long engagement, keeping you safe from ragers, snipers and contributing to other threats quickly, then back to melee immediately.
Additionally, there is no lengthy reload for the shotgun. You can spam, then fire shell by shell while falling back to a solid melee position.
It has solid uses, I would love a 10% damage bump, but, it is a solid weapon.
This is one of the many reasons I actually like it a lot. That and the duckbill shot.
Just to contribute to this conversation I recorded a game a night or two ago and added some commentary (in case new players find the game). Its a hi-int damnation game that went pretty smoothly.
My build can be found here
My main complaints with the shotgun, after reviewing and editing this footage, are:
The ammo supply is just horrible. I’m actually a detriment to the team to some degree, always in need of a ammo pack.
Surprisingly bad damage fall off on medium ranged shots into dreg shooters. This really exacerbates the ammo problem.
I use shotgun on my zealot as a stagger weapon, being able to one shot hard CC most specials and elites, 4-5 shots hard CC ogryn reapers on damnation is pretty satisfying, so DPS is not really my concern.
My problem with this weapon:
The CC doesn’t always work with bulwark when shooting sideways
Very ineffective against mutants
Low ammo (not low on its own, but smaller ammo pool means you get less from the map, and eventually it becomes a problem)
The special action has way too high recoil… also I don’t know what it is for
it has a horizontal line of shot that has extra penetration and recoil. Its for hordes. Just sequentially dump it into the horde as it comes your way and you’ll kill most of it. Better if you can aim for headshots since its perfectly horizontal.
Thought I’d check myself on that one. I did a number of tests but I recorded this one. I can confirm that penetration is high on this shot with even the edgemost projectile.
dunno my shotgun with 111122 in talents on Sharp is doing the work… on any difficulty.
Ofcors for crushers i got Antax or Rashad axe in melee slot
It melts anything that is big enough to prox 2 blessings at once.
Ofcors if you shoot happily to everything it still sometimes goes to red bar on ammo but for what are ammo pickups? if you dont have some “loot[ammo]goblin” in team there should be no problem
I use it on zealot. I find ammos and can run out of them sometimes (playing in damnation).
Does the shotgun needs more ammo? absolutely, and even with a veteran.
Do I need to be an ammo ninja picker? no… as a zealot I can use my melee weapon when I ran out of ammo. But, I totally agree that this weapon just need more ammo.
No need to up the damages. Weapon is fine on this.
