Operator is an overhaul of Insurgency, aiming at making it more tactical. If you're interested and would like to check it out, here is a link to the Official Mod guide
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1639461466

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I am going to be using a couple of terms that some people could be unfamiliar with, relating to shotguns and real life firearm terminology. If you are familiar with these or just want to get to the good stuff, go ahead and skip this section. You can always refer back to it for anything you don't quite get.

• Shell: Lets start with an easy one, a shell, shotgun shell, or shotshell refers to the ammunition used in shotguns
  
• Load : The type of shell. Can also refer more generally to chambering, which I will explain next. If someone asks, "What load are you using?" They're asking, "which type of ammo were you using?"
  
• Chambering: Size of the chamber and shells a shotgun can fit. Operator has Shotguns chambered for 2.75 inch, 3 inch, and 3.5 inch shells. Shotguns with a smaller chambering cannot fire larger and more powerful loads.
  
• Spread: How much your projectiles deviate in a circular pattern. What makes shotguns unique is that they fire multiple projectiles, sometimes exceeding 20 pellets. The more spread, the more likely you are to hit an inaccurate shot, but at the cost of being unable to do pinpoint damage. Too much spread, and you might not hit enough to kill, too little spread, and you have to be very careful about shot placement.
  
• Suppression: This is a complicated subject, so I'll cover the basics of it in real life. When a bullet or projectile is fired, it creates a sonic boom (unless its subsonic ammo). When a sonic boom happens close to a person their muscles involuntarily twitch from the pressure wave created, as well as making their vision blurry from the same thing. This means if you fire enough at an area, a person cannot effectively shoot back. In game, it works the same way with shotguns. They can still kill you, but they will have severely increased sway and therefore severely reduced accuracy. All weapons and grenades cause suppression.

Im going to be repeating myself a couple times throughout this guide, but I think it really helps get the point across sometimes. Shotguns in Operator are not like any shotguns you have used in other games. They have a dynamic spread based on the load, shotgun, and choke/barrel configuration used. They use data derived from real life testing, as all guns in Operator do. That means a 50m shot is not out of the question with the right load. Not all shotguns of the same caliber use the same ammo, as I've already explained in the jargon section. They breach locks, so if you take a shotgun you don't have to take breaching charges or a lockpick gun. They are also great at causing suppression because of the multiple projectiles. Suppression is an incredibly powerful tool, but keep in mind that Operator allows you to spend points on your kit to mitigate that. Lets take a look at Beards and Hearing Protection

Beards give you anywhere from a 10-70% suppression reduction depending on what you choose. That means if you have grenades thrown at you or have anything shot at you/hit you, you will suffer drastically less sway and penalty from it. Ear protection, regardless of which you take, reduces suppression by a flat 70%. That means if you run a recruit beard and ear protection, you will have a -100% reduction in suppression, meaning you aren't affected at all. This can be a great tool when engaging shotgun users, because if they're relying on suppression and not accurate fire its easy to ignore their shots and return fire effectively. This often takes shotgun users completely by surprise, and at least makes them reevaluate their plans. The solution for this, is to only suppress when you have an escape route, or you have cover. Smoke is often a better tool for advancement than suppression because of the fact that some players will simply ignore it. So if you are the one using the shotgun, stick to cover, and only engage targets within your effective range with the load you're using.

Operator has 4 Shotguns, each with their own pros and cons. I will explain the shared shotgun upgrades in the next section.

First off, my personal favorite, the Benelli Nova.


The Nova is by far the most versatile gun in Operator, able to breach locks (like all shotguns) as well as use any of the shotgun loads available. This is due to it being chambered for 3.5 inch shells, the largest chambering of any shotgun in Operator. It is also the only shotgun with the option of taking a long barrel, which drastically increases your accuracy at the cost of making the shotgun much bulkier. Its obvious drawback is that its a pump action shotgun, and making your shots count is necessary for survival. You may not get a second shot.

Nova Specific upgrades:

• Long Barrel: -50 percent spread, -10 percent draw/holster speed, +20 length, costs 1 supply point. Great for taking out people playing peek-a-boo with you at range.
  
• Nova Sights: changes the ring to an open sight picture, I never leave home without this one, as its only 1 supply point for a huge change in visibility.
  
• 7 Round Mag: -5% draw/holster speed, 1 supply point. Another upgrade that I consider essential.

Next, the Benelli M4


The M4 is a serious force to be reckoned with, a semi-auto shotgun with 7 shells unmodified. Its chambered for 3 Inch shells, meaning it cannot use Foster slugs, 00 Buck Magnum, or Tri-Ball. It more than makes up for that by being able to dump more firepower than anything else in a short amount of time. Sights are a huge upgrade to it, and I highly recommend them. Having an optic greatly increases this weapons viability. It can also mount a suppressor, at a severe cost to your maneuverability and barrel length, while providing no bonus to accuracy. This is the gun for when you want to make sure whatever you're looking at is dead by the time they realize what's happening. Its only got 7 rounds, but its very forgiving and will fire as fast as you can click. (Not literally, put away those auto-clickers)

The Italian stallion of shotguns, the SPAS-12


The SPAS is an incredibly good shotgun in the right hands. Its only downside is that its chambered for 2.75 inch shells, the smallest loads in Operator. But who cares about that when you can slap a laser/flashlight, sights, and a 9 or 7 round mag onto it. And its a shotgun! Who needs sights? A laser will do you just fine, and if you bind it to an easily pressed key, you can turn it on/off at will to not give away your position. A flashlight will also work in a pinch with the added advantage of obscuring your silhouette, just aim at the center of the light.

SPAS-12 Specific Upgrades:

• 7 Round Mag: -5% draw/holster speed, +8 weight
  
• 9 Round Mag: -10% draw/holster speed, +12 weight

Now for the final and probably most misunderstood shotgun in the game, the Kel-Tec KSG


The KSG is small (the shortest shotgun in Operator), controllable, and has a 14 round magazine. You can add a skeletonized foregrip to make this gun shoot almost as fast as the semi-auto M4. Even without a foregrip, the KSG can fire off an absurd amount of shells to keep someone's head down before the user has to reload. The KSG excels at extremely tight spaces, and suppressing targets for your team. it is the best shotgun in operator for breaching and clearing rooms/corners because of the length and the fact that it can mount a laser. My recommended loadout for this shotgun is a red dot, laser, and skeletonized foregrip with whatever load you fancy. 14 rounds means if you live long enough to reload the whole mag, you've killed the entire enemy team or at least suppressed them.

KSG Specific Upgrades:

• Short Foregrip: -10% draw/holster speed, -3% lateral recoil, +10% sway speed/radius, weight +3
  
• KAC Vertical Grip: -10% draw/holster speed, -4% lateral recoil, +20% sway speed, +10% sway radius, weight +5
  
• Skeletonized Foregrip: -20% draw/holster speed, -4% lateral recoil, +20% sway speed, +10% sway radius, weight -12
  
• Mako Foregrip: -20% draw/holster speed, -10% lateral recoil, weight +5

Now that you know a bit about the selection of shotguns in Operator, lets look at how upgrades work

The main upgrade for shotguns is the choke, of which there are 3 sizes and 1 oddball.


A choke is a machined piece of tubing that locks into the muzzle of the shotgun. Whats important about it is it restricts the amount of space pellets can pass through, thus tightening the spread of a shotgun. It greatly increases accuracy, which is necessary for some loads to hit hard.

• Improved Cylinder: -15% spread
  
• Modified Choke: -30% spread
  
• Full Choke: -45% spread
  
• Shot Diverter: +Horizontal spread -Vertical Spread

Matt Williams/Outdoors writer

Choosing the right choke for the job is extremely important. Its worth mentioning that you cannot put a choke and a long barrel on the Nova at the same time (sort of). The long barrel (long barrel comes with a full choke that cannot be changed) decreases spread by 50%, 5% more than the full choke on any other shotgun. Chokes cannot be used for all ammo types regardless of realism, this is for balance reasons.

Are you planning on room clearing? Unless you're a crack shot, you might want to take no choke, or an improved cylinder for a small boost. You'll have a much greater margin of error, and may get a lucky shot on the face or throat.

Are you planning on sitting far away and popping heads? You may way to take a full choke to increase your groupings and lethality at range. The full choke is also useful for precision shooting, so if you want to be a shotgun surgeon, it is a fantastic choice.

Do you want mid range accuracy but still decent close quarters ability? The modified choke may be a good choice depending on your load.

Using a Shot Diverter is an interesting choice. It decreases your vertical spread and increases your horizontal spread. It can only be used with no1 buck, default, and low recoil, and its for when you dont want to waste shots going into the enemy's plate. with a more horizontal spread, its easier to group pellets on legs, heads, or crotches, without losing a lot of your pellets into the air or into the plate where they will be stopped. It can also be used to hit multiple enemies in a hallway or window/ledge, because your spread covers the edge of whatever you shoot at instead of flying over.

Suppressors are useful, don't get me wrong, but they're so large and take the place of a choke, its hard to justify using them. They can be incredible on night maps, or just putting out a lot of fire from a concealed position. The downside is that the shotgun no longer excels at what its meant for, breaching. The long barrel and suppressor both reduce maneuverability around doors and walls, which is crucial on maps like House.

Muzzle Brakes are a fantastic choice for any shotgun, but they more important for semi-autos. The advantage of using a muzzle brake is that you get some recoil reduction for every shot, the downside is that you can't use any other muzzle attachments while you do this. The solution is to only use the muzzle brake for close range fighting where spread doesn't matter, or to take a load with inherently tight spread like Critical or FCW. I highly recommend trying this attachment, even on the Nova for slugs or 00 Magnum.

Now, these examples are not to be taken as law regarding muzzle attachments. You can use them in a variety of different ways depending on your load choice, and I'll illustrate some of those ways in the next section about ammo.

The shotgun load you want to run is more important than the shotgun you're using. I try to think of what I want to do, and then build my shotgun around that. The right load choice and shot placement can be devastating even to fully armored opponents. Emphasis on shot placement, but we're not quite there yet.

The Selection of angry pellets and gunpowder

Starting with 2.75 inch shells, that can be chambered in any of the shotguns in Operator.

• 00 Buck, also known as the default ammo. 38 damage, with 9 pellets of 00. Its not great, but it gets the job done with the right shot placement. Nothing wrong with using this on a budget. Decent in semi-autos because of recoil.
  
  
• 0-Buck low Recoil: 23 damage, +50% spread, 12 pellets, lateral/vertical recoil -60%. Lets be honest, this one is nothing to write home about. It does a pretty weak amount of damage compared to other loads, and it has an absolutely massive spread, with not a lot of pellets. The most important part about this load is that the recoil reduction means you can throw it in a semi-auto and blast away to your hearts content, even aiming down sights. This can be very effective if you want accurate volume in an area. A 9-round SPAS or an M4 with a full choke is the way to run low recoil if you decide to. That's not saying it cant be useful in the pumps, but I would generally run a more powerful load because the fire rate is so slow. Only really useful for hitting heads, and legs/crotch sometimes if you're feeling lucky.
  
  
• 000-Buck: 58 damage, -20% spread, with 7 pellets. (Pronounced "Triple Ought Buck") 000-Buck is one of my favorites, and for good reason. It does more damage per pellet than any other load, and even though its got the fewest number of pellets other than tri-ball, they stay much closer together than other loads do. You can and will be able to shoot snipers with a long barrel Nova and 000-Buck, its a combined total of -70% spread. Its cheap, effective, accurate, and you can put it into anything. What more could you ask? Works best for hitting heads at long range, and legs/crotch at short.
  
  
• 00- Buck Critical: 48 damage, -60% spread, +80% lateral/vertical recoil, with 8 pellets. The catch is you can't use this one or Flight Control Wad with a choke or long barrel. A great load when you just want to pick an ammo type and be done thinking about what to put on your shotgun. Also good for getting extra accuracy without adding barrel length, as with FCW. Its an effective load for popping heads and hitting crotches in any shotgun. Also has a pretty heavy recoil, so beware when using this one in semi-autos. A muzzle brake pairs up nicely for that reason.
  
  
• #1-Buck Flight Control Wad: 25 damage, -77% spread, -30% lateral/vertical recoil, 16 pellets. Its #1-Buck, except they took out a few of those pellets and added a piece to stabilize the pellets after leaving the barrel. This is the absolute tightest spread you can get in Operator, and with 16 pellets anything in that spread is going to be hit hard. It is not an exaggeration to say if you see them, you can probably kill them using Flight Control no matter the range. Works best for hitting heads, throats, crotches, feet, really anything you want to hit with the entire 16 pellets at once. If you see a fleshy bit, you have the accuracy to put a lot of damage into that one weak spot. Turns any shotgun into a sniper rifle having an identity crisis. In real life, its the FBI recommended load for 12ga shotguns.

The slightly heavier loads, 3 inch Shells. Used in all shotguns but the SPAS-12.

• #1 Buck: 19 damage, +30% spread, with a whopping 24 pellets. That's 24 pellets doing 19 damage each out of a 100hp health pool, and all it takes is a single one to the throat, face, or head to kill someone in Operator. Personally, I love #1 Buck. Put it into the M4 with a full choke, and blast away at heads, crotches, or legs for easy pickings. I would generally recommend against not taking a choke when using #1 (unless you're playing on Hesitation), even if its only the improved cylinder it will help a great deal. The spread can become so large at mid range half of the pellets or more will completely miss.
  
  
• Lets talk about Sabot Slugs. Benelli M4 only. 217 Damage, higher penetration power than buckshot, -96% spread, +100% lateral/vertical recoil. Sabot Slugs turn the shotgun into even more of a laser beam than flight control does, at the downside of only shooting a single projectile. Sabot slugs are one-hit kill on any exposed part of your body. That means if they're unarmored, all you have to do is hit them once. If they're armored up, hitting the feet, arms, or crotch is a guaranteed kill unless they have leg+arm and crotch armor. In that case, arms or feet, headshot if you're feeling lucky. Slugs can challenge the marksman class for long range dominance, assuming you're good enough at aiming. I also like to think of them as a direct counter to marksmen and any one else who runs expensive guns, because those people will usually not be able to bring in heavy armor due to cost.
  The cardinal rule with slugs, is never shoot the torso.You will not be able to kill someone by shooting them in the plate with slugs. Always aim for extremities, and remember that your sight line is the limit when it comes to using this ammo. Just be careful of recoil when using this load, consider a muzzle brake. Foster Slugs are the ugly, fat, and mean cousin of the sabot slug. Its one large hunk of rifled lead, weighing a bit more than the sabot due to the absence of the plastic sheath that stabilizes the slug during its travel through the barrel.These do a bit more damage than sabot slugs, but will not have the same penetrating power. Extremely powerful for feet and arm shots, but will be stopped in its tracks by any kind of armor above soft.

The heavy loads, 3.5 inch Shells. Can only be used in the Nova

• 00-Buck Magnum: 38 damage, +20% spread, 18 pellets, +140% lateral/vertical recoil. This is hands down the most powerful buckshot load in Operator. Nearly double the damage of #1 Buck, with 6 less pellets. This is the load you use when you want to one-shot people in the legs. Just like every other load, it also works great for the head and crotch, but this one will make sure people go down no matter how armored they are. Despite the spread its also a useful load for sniping. With a long barrel you change the spread to -30%, with a ton of pellets doing high damage. The point is this is to completely cover an area in buckshot, say a window or door. If enemies are peeking they will often catch a stray pellet to the head or throat because of the number of pellets. It works like a high power # 1 load basically, so use the spread to pepper multiple limbs and exposed areas at once. If you decide to take one of the chokes, the spread will be wide but manageable. Without a choke or barrel its an absolute room clearer. Don't take a choke if you want to practice hip firing, its very effective with wide spreads at close range.
  
  
• Tri-Ball: 115 damage, -76% spread, 3 pellets, +120% lateral/vertical recoil. Tri-ball is very similar to slugs with one big difference, it fires 3 of them. That means you have 3 chances to wing someone with a pellet that will outright kill them in most situations. Its a bit of an oddball as far as shotgun loads go, but that doesn't mean its not effective. It can be used as a substitute for slugs at longer ranges, with 3 pellets in a small spread giving you a slightly higher chance to hit if your aim is off by a hair. Without a long barrel they aren't as accurate as you expect. At mid range it will have slightly smaller than a torso-sized spread with massive damage. If you like heavier and more accurate loads like 000 Buck, this might be a good one to try.

Now I thought about doing some (subjectively) beautiful sketches in paint illustrating different tactical scenarios, but I chose to leave them out in the first go. If you want them in the guide, leave a comment and tell me so.

So you know a bit about the shotguns and how ammo types work, but that's not gonna drop operators for you. Lets talk about how your shotgun choice changes your tactics.

Pump-Action Shotguns: The fine wine of modern combat (if you're into that). They are the slowest firing of any gun in Operator, with the exception being the M24. That means that if you miss you most likely will not get a second shot. The goal with a pump is to have superior shot placement, and if possible eliminate the target with the first shot. Patience is the only way to be truly successful, and it takes a lot of getting used to. Sometimes, you may not want to fire as soon as you see your target. Maybe they are behind cover, maybe their back is turned and you need a face shot. When assessing the situation think this to yourself:

If I miss or don't kill him, will he kill me faster than I can pump another shell into the chamber?
Can I reliably hit/damage them with the load I am using at this range?

These are good guidelines to follow, even in semi-autos. For instance, if you're using a load with a wide spread, refrain from engaging targets at distance. Your ammo is powerful when all or most of the pellets hit, spread significantly reduces your damage potential not counting lucky shots to the throat or head. You would want to limit your engagement distance to 30 meters or less for best results. That's not saying you cant use spread to your advantage at range to tag people, but it probably wont kill them unless you really know what you're doing or get lucky.

When using a narrow spread configuration, be very aware that the margin of error normally reserved for shotguns no longer applies to you. You have to be good at shot placement to reliably hit exposed areas at closer ranges. In a pump, that means you hit anything you think will kill them with that first shot. Enemies will have face and body armor, so train yourself to start shooting from the knee down, or at crotches/shoulders.

Another tactic I'm going to cover is the hit-n-run. The mobile relative of the peek-a-boo, it's a tactic for when you know you're going to piss them off but don't want to pay the price for it. Shotguns are good at taking down health, so if you get off a couple strays you might light them up enough for a gentle breeze to take them out. The primary way this is executed is to peek a corner, take a shot and then run away as soon as you fire. You then try to find another angle or flank to hit them from again, and repeat to your heart's desire. You minimize your exposure, while not having to suffer the drawbacks of a pump-action in a firefight.This tactic will make people come after you, so use it to your advantage. Try to lure pursuing enemies around corners into the waiting guns of teammates.

Now for the one you've all been waiting for, the peek-a-boo. This is something anyone who wants to use pumps has to start practicing. Whether leaning or crouching, the goal is to pop out of cover for a second and fire off a shot. The thinking behind it is that if you fire and then get back into cover immediately, the reaction fire directed at you will hit the cover instead. When they stop firing or you think they're reloading, pop out a foot or 2 in either direction from the previous spot and repeat. With leaning, that means alternating stances. Take the first shot standing or crouched, and then switch. That way they wont be able to get an accurate shot on your head the next time you pop out. I would also recommend trying not to follow a pattern while you do it, people pick up on those things quick. This tactic requires a quick trigger finger. Sometimes you may not be able to get a good sight picture on your target while peeking, but if you know you're shooting in the general direction try to shoot before you've finished aiming.


Semi-Auto Shotguns: If you want to completely cover a room in buckshot in under a second, semi autos are for you. They do everything pumps do (except tri-ball and magnum) with a blistering rate of fire. Ammo choice is far more important in a semi as it effects your recoil. With a pump, the extra recoil isn't as big of a deal because you have to pump after every shot anyway. A semi can quickly be looking at the ceiling if the recoil isn't managed by the user. That means when using loads like slugs, be very careful about how fast you fire. Everything I just said about pumps applies to semi autos, but semi autos have a much higher margin of error. If your first shot isn't quite on, you can just rapid fire 6 more of them at the target. Because shotguns suppress well, semi autos are incredibly effective at keeping enemy heads down. You can dump into an area reassured that anyone sticking their head out will get it taken off, or be unable to shoot at you. They're also the best weapons to blindly shoot though doors. If you need to breach a room but are reasonably certain there are enemies on the other side, unload your entire mag into the door while you strafe left/right. the spread will means that most of the room should get covered by pellets, and you might get a lucky one. Especially useful for when IAD locks the cache room on House. With semi autos, I ask the same questions I ask when I use the pump, with one difference.

Can I dump my entire mag on them before they react?

Thats your goal with the semi. Shot placement and patience are still king, but your primary goal is to get as many shots on target as possible in a split second. Its nice if you get them with the first few, but its by no means a necessity due to your rate of fire. At range, It can give marksmen a run for their money by denying access to windows. I think the Nova is the ranged shotgun to use generally, but flight control does well in all of them. Loading flight control in a semi is never a bad choice, less recoil and pinpoint accuracy. 0 buck low recoil is also a fantastic choice for semis, as it pretty much negates your recoil disadvantage at the cost of damage. You can use a semi auto shotgun much like you would use an SMG/AR on semi auto because you don't have to compensate for the low ROF. That means its much more flexible with tactics, and most things you already do with other weapons can be applied. For instance, OTM ammo has to target the same places shotguns do for maximum damage. If you are already good at shot placement, or want to get good at it, you will benefit from using semi autos. Semi autos are the choice for learning how to use shotguns for this reason.

Hip-Firing

Now for the most important part of shotguns, point-shooting. You will often have a slower aim time and not be as fast as SMGs and ARs, but what you lack for in that dept you make up for in speed. I dont use iron sights when I'm inside a house generally, because its much quicker to shoot without them. Aiming slows down your walk speed, and restricts your vision. Its better to be able to swing your shotgun towards any movement you see and fire before they can aim. With the right load, aiming is easy without sights. The gun will always be pointing generally towards the center of your screen, and if you are using a load with wider spread you can easily knock heads by just shooting near them. It takes a lot of practice, and I wish there was more to say about it, but its really all in the experience. The range is an invaluable tool for this, as it has silhouettes for you to practice your point shooting. If you start using point shooting regularly, you will get better at it over time. Make no mistake, it is the second hardest skill to master in Operator, with number one being shields. I cannot stress the importance of learning this enough. You will not be effective without it.

Everyone is different when it comes to armor and kit choice, but I just wanted to stick this quick recommendation in here. The Nova is so cheap that you can you run Level 4 Steel, Limbs+, and an Altyn with it. If you only expose your head, you are near invulnerable to anyone without a rifle. Its a good choice of kit for when you know you're going to get shot breaching, and want to be able to respond before you get smoked. I think it's a prudent decision to take the heaviest armor possible when using a shotgun, and especially face protection. If you face opponents who are also using shotguns, you don't want them to be able to use the same tactics you're using. Thinking to yourself, "Oh man, I'm gonna pop some heads real easy with this #1" and then not protecting yourself from the same fate is silly. Shotguns do work well with light kits if you know what you're doing, but that requires map knowledge. Sadly the nature of shotguns often means you are going to get shot. There isn't any way around it much of the time, so you want to make sure you're prepared for it. In my opinion, Level 3+ steel and limbs is the bare minimum. Its worth mentioning that Operator has a face hitbox, so if you see someone with chops or a helmet that doesnt have a face shield, you can shoot them through the chops and avoid the helmet by hitting the face. Same thing with crotch armor, someone could be wearing level 4 steel and an Altyn but if they didn't take criticals you can one shot them in the crotch.

Armor doesn't make you invincible, people still run AP ammo and you may still be shot in the throat or feet, but it will give you a fighting chance against guns like the Vector and enemy shotgun users.

I've said it a bunch of times already throughout this guide, shotguns are difficult to use. They take more time and effort to master than any other weapon in game, so don't beat yourself up about it if you aren't doing great with them. Almost no one can just pick up the shotguns in Operator and excel with them immediately. Figuring out what loads, guns, and tactics work for you is the largest part of it. Nothing I've said in this guide is intended to be law regarding how to use shotguns, it's mostly to give you an idea of where to start. Some people love ammo types that I don't find much use for, and use shotguns in unorthodox ways I would have never thought of. So get out there, start learning, be creative, but most importantly have fun!

Thanks for sticking through this, I know I rambled a bit and its a lot of information. Happy Operating!