USAS-12 & FRAG Ammo goes BOOOM

I haven't done much shotgun work yet. Just a few kills with the 870 MCS, the gun I used the most in Beta. I stuck with primary kit weapons and their core playstyle thus far. I'm done unlocking all guns, just the recon MK11/SVD US/RU switch-up left to go, as well as hitting level 45 for the AS-VAL (I'm 44 currently). Just watched a video of a dude using the USAS-12 with FRAG ammo to great effect and damn do I know what I'm going to focus on when I play BF3 tomorrow. That looks like so much fun. Murder mayhem deluxe.

What shotgun do you love and what attachments and playstyle do you prefer?

The only thing I don't like about the frag rounds is that it's generally a close combat munition. So it's a very reckless play style to go for (Can cause suicides or leave you severely weakened). Personally when I use shottys I go for the Flechette rounds as they pack a decent punch from about the same distance and no splash damage. Very deadly effect with the USAS though, also he must need constant support around him to resupply. I'm more for attrition most of the times.

I hate you Seppli. My game was lost in the mail :(

M26 Mass is what I've been using with my Assault class. Using it in place of the medic kit paired with an under slung rail on my M416. It's most useful, for me, when playing Rush. Entering those M-Com rooms and clearing dudes out to arm/defuse.

I actually just unlocked frag rounds earlier this evening. I'll have to try em out next time I get on.

It's not a shotgun if it's an automatic GL.

Also, spamming that shit with a support class is totally broken. It's literally an RPG that reloads super fast.

I only have the M1024 but I use it with smoke grenades for cover on CQC maps. It's not a high life-expectancy playstyle but I like to think I break those Grand Bazaar stalemates.

Just been playing a bit with the Saiga 12k and flanking around on Grand Bazaar when they are all holed up at B is so much fun. I've not had a chance to unlock frag or slug rounds yet but will be working on that later.

Tank Shotguns...

This game is nuts.

LOVE the Shotguns. First Session tonight after a long time playing the shotgun blues. After getting my service star for that M98 whatever bolt action sniper rifle, I first did the full 100 for the USAS-12 and am right now about to get the service star for the 870 MCS. Seriously - frag ammo is the way to go with shotties. It's a great tool even at medium ranges. Two-hit kill at range with direct hits playing the 870 MCS. That's just so sexy.

So - I decided to roll shotguns until I have a service star with every single one. I really want them brag tags with shotgun kills.

Yeah I tried out the USAS12, it's AMAAAAAAAAAZING on conquest metro. dickheads want to clog up the staircase, no problem, street sweep em. The buckshot is the best for cqc the frag rounds are good for lulz, and yes you can suicide with them shooting at your feet

@137:

The awesome thing about frag rounds is the range. They got lots of drop, but they're effective at any range. Great way to dispose of campers. Infinitely satisfying. Works with every shottie. 2-hit-kill with 870 MCS at range is bloody amazing.

Usually I love shotguns. But the 870 is lackluster is think. I really have to level up...

@Wuddel said:

Usually I love shotguns. But the 870 is lackluster is think. I really have to level up...

All the shotguns are chore at first due to the extremely limited range of buckshot and flechette ammo. They work well enough on Operation Métro and to a lesser degree on Grand Bazaar and Seine Crossing and Demanvand Peak, so that's when you should whip them out. You just have to get over the hump. 60 kills for frag ammo and 80 for slugs. From then on out, all shotguns become highly viable with enough shotgun expertise.

I usually have quite a hard time getting to 60 kills, then it's going to service star 1 in no time. Really looking forward to having a service star on every primary weapon, so no matter what I'm going to play, I'll always have a competitive and fun gun. Oh, the 870 MCS is an absolute beast at range with both frag and slug ammo. Frag ammo is getting splash damage kills in 3 hits. Insane.

I love the shotguns, but rarely use them. Most engagements seem to happen outside shotgun range for me. However, if there's a huge blockade of enemies tightly grouped up, I'll equip my DAO-12 and wreck some fools to clear it out.

USAS-12 with frag rounds is incredibly fun to play with although you probably want to run as support as you run out of ammo really quickly.

@Seppli said:

@Wuddel said:

Usually I love shotguns. But the 870 is lackluster is think. I really have to level up...

All the shotguns are chore at first due to the extremely limited range of buckshot and flechette ammo

Duder what? Take an 870 with no attachments, support with C4 and sprint, then start assassinating people. It's a great feeling being able to instantly murder anything the game that doesn't look backwards (ie everyone).

@Donos said:

@Seppli said:

@Wuddel said:

Usually I love shotguns. But the 870 is lackluster is think. I really have to level up...

All the shotguns are chore at first due to the extremely limited range of buckshot and flechette ammo

Duder what? Take an 870 with no attachments, support with C4 and sprint, then start assassinating people. It's a great feeling being able to instantly murder anything the game that doesn't look backwards (ie everyone).

Shotguns (buckshot, flechette) are not competitive at anything but close quarters combat. Anything will murder everyone when you sneak up on them. A knife will do, so really that's not much of a selling point for buckshot. Of course going ninja is THE WAY to level shotguns past CQC ammo. Much easier in Rush though. CQ 64 not so much.

new video!!! I got 400 kills with this gun yesterday and 5 service stars. I was playing with a small group of guys in a tactics hardcore server and they said it was cheap, so I switched to a g36 and still pwned them LOL!!! I say you got my reload interval to take me out. I only got 20 shots in the clip on the g18 as backup.

@137:

Nice work. Tried out the SAIGA with that setup tonight on Caspian, because there was like 50 campers in the field. IRNV is so god damn cheap. One can pretty much cleanse the map by hurling frag rounds from the hilltop at neon bright lit-up campers.

Frag ammo ain't cheap though. Most bullet drop of all guns. Extreme travel time due to being the slowest round. It's a challenge hitting moving targets at a distance. No onehit-kill range. Splash self-damage hazardous in CQC. Love it. One of the few novelties I dig. I hate flashlights, IRNV, Mortars, MAV and god knows what else, but damn do I love 12G Frag Ammo for shotties.

everything in the game is cheap in one person's eyes. I feel the spec ops camo is getting whored out now that people know it covers 60 percent of your visibility on the invr scope.

@137 said:

everything in the game is cheap in one person's eyes. I feel the spec ops camo is getting whored out now that people know it covers 60 percent of your visibility on the invr scope.

Doesn't matter really. A camper can be covered 99% by foiliage and I'll still spot his neon-bright toe from a mile away with IRNV. In most of your clips you just wouldn't spot all them duders without IRNV and certainly not that quickly. Not with BF3's insane contrast. Too bright and too dark at the same time.

I am aware of how powerful these optics are in context of BF3's graphical style. If I'd want BF3 to be what IRNV makes out of it, I'd be okay with how it is. I'm not though. Even more than the crazy contrast, I hate the bloody IRNV. Honestly, not rolling with IRNV is dumb, if you play 'for the win'. It's the most powerful option and will outperform all other optics tenfold once one learns to exploit it. I simply don't want it in the game. It pretty much ruins BF3 for people with good taste. Certainly taints gun customization with a lot of retarded sauce.

I love frag ammo, because it's the opposite of easy mode. Highest skillceiling of all gunplay in the game.

There's a tonne of stuff with extremely low skill ceilings though. Like the IRNV. Spotting enemies is harder than ever in BF3 actually. Foiliage and light and shadow and smoke and effects in general makes 'seeing people' hard. IRNV takes that 'seeing skill' right out of the game. Just shoot the bright yellow dudes you wouldn't even know were there otherwise. IRNV simply doesn't make any sense whatsoever balancing-wise. It's counterproductive and an extremely retarded design decision on DICE's part. Like many, many other things.

All that stuff's got to go. Hoping for a Vietnam expansion or something WWII. As long as all the hightech spoilsport shit gets ripped out the game.

if the high tech stuff gets ripped out of the game, so will round choices for weapons. I'm amazed the sniper rifles don't have an option to have incendiary rounds equipped or I would use them more.

Shotguns have developed into my 'So that's how it is!?'-firearm. I'm generally back at getting service stars for the last few primary weapons and will then move on to the PDWs, but every now and then when something rubs me the wrong way, I just get my frag ammo on and get some retaliation shock-and-awe style.

The brag tags are neat too. One day they will display an intimidating amount of kills.