With the House of Wolves add-on for the first-person shooter Destiny , new shotguns have entered the game. Depending on the game mode (PVE or PVP), different perk combinations are relevant. We will show you how to make the new shotguns make the “Sniper” shotgun Felwinter’s Lie look bad in the Crucible.
I’m sure each of you has had a similar conversation at least once:
“What weapon do you play in the Crucible?”
“Sniper”
“Oh cool, which one?”
“Felwinter’s Lie”
“Um, okay…”
The term “Sniper” for Felwinter doesn’t come from nowhere. With the right perk combination, one could achieve a range that could kill from far beyond the range of normal shotguns. If damage-increasing perks were rolled, you had an absolutely deadly weapon in PVP.
However, with the new DLC, Felwinter has received significant competition. We will show you which shotguns can achieve the same deadly distance, where you can get them, and which perks you need to roll for them. Because the new DLC has also introduced the ability to re-roll every new weapon from the House of Wolves add-on at the gunsmith. This was previously exclusive to Iron Banner weapons. To re-roll weapons, you need the following materials:
- The weapon you want to re-roll
- 1x Light Particle
- 3x Weapon Parts
- 250 Glimmer
Which shotgun do I need?
Keep an eye out for the following shotguns:
Matador 64
You can get this weapon as a random drop in the Crucible after a match. Your placement doesn’t matter here.
Party Crasher +1
The same principle applies to the Party Crasher as to the Matador 64. Just play the Crucible, sooner or later this weapon will drop.
Judgment VI
This very well-balanced shotgun can be purchased directly from the New Monarchy for 150 Crucible Tokens once you reach rank 3.
Let’s take a look at the stats of the shotguns compared to Felwinter’s Lie:
(Mobile users should use landscape mode if the table is displayed incorrectly)
| Name | Rate of Fire | Impact | Range | Stability | Reload Speed | Magazine |
| Matador 64 | 8 | 67 | 20 | 17 | 26 | 5 |
| Party Crasher +1 | 11 | 64 | 18 | 41 | 29 | 5 |
| Judgment VI | 14 | 61 | 16 | 24 | 46 | 4 |
| Felwinter’s Lie | 5 | 67 | 20 | 6 | 23 | 6 |
Your goal is to deal the most damage at maximum range.
At first glance, Judgment VI falls behind in impact and range compared to the others. However, upon closer inspection, this is not the case, as the lack of impact is balanced out by a significantly improved rate of fire, and with the right perk combinations, maximum range can still be achieved.
There is indeed a natural range limit imposed by the game (32). You can test this yourself by combining various perks that increase range. After a certain point, the range cannot be increased further. All four shotguns listed here can reach this upper limit.
Which perks are helpful in the Crucible?
In this section, we will show you which perks are particularly helpful for the Crucible. The perks are divided into four columns:
Column 1 – determines the ballistic properties of the shotgun
Column 2 – First unlockable main perk
Column 3 – Auxiliary perk that improves certain properties
Column 4 – Second unlockable main perk
Look for the following perks in Column 1 when re-rolling:
| Property | Impact | Range | Stability |
| Aggressive Ballistics | +3 | +3 | -5 |
| Field Choke | +1 | +8 | -15 |
| Accurate Ballistics | +1 | +7.5 | -10 |
| Linear Compensator | +1 | +6 | -10 |
Since you want to take out your opponents in the Crucible with as few shots as possible, the decrease in stability is a negligible side effect.
Look for the following perks in Column 2:
Sardine Can – Aims reduce projectile spread, which is especially beneficial at longer ranges, as more projectiles hit the target.
Full Auto – The weapon fires in full-auto mode, and the rate of fire is significantly increased.
Mass Control – Kills with this weapon grant bonus damage for a short time.
Glass Half Full – Aiming with the weapon increases effective range.
The following auxiliary perks in Column 3 are interesting when re-rolling:
Enhanced Barrel – increases range (+12), significantly decreases stability.
Smallbore – increases range (+12), significantly decreases reload speed.
Hammer-Forged – increased range and stability, decreases reload speed and magazine size (-1).
One Point Sling – Faster weapon swaps, increased movement speed while aiming.
And finally, the best perks for Column 4:
Knee Pads – allows you to slide further while carrying the weapon.
Roulette – A random round in the magazine causes bonus damage.
One Man Army – Kills without assists reduce melee and grenade cooldown.
Last Round – The last round in the magazine causes bonus damage.
With which perk combinations do I create the ultimate shotgun?
As with almost all equipment questions in Destiny, the rule is: “It depends…”
The following perk combinations for the weapons Felwinter’s Lie, Matador 64, and Party Crasher +1 are absolutely deadly:
| Perk Column | Combination 1 | Combination 2 | Combination 3 |
| Column 1 | Aggressive Ballistics | Aggressive Ballistics | Aggressive Ballistics |
| Column 2 | Sardine Can | Full Auto | Sardine Can |
| Column 3 | Smallbore | Enhanced Barrel | Enhanced Barrel |
| Column 4 | Last Round | Roulette | Knee Pads |
As the shotgun Judgment VI falls into a different category (rate of fire / impact), here are some perk suggestions that diverge slightly from the ones provided above:
| Perk Column | Combination 1 | Combination 2 | Combination 3 |
| Column 1 | Field Choke | Field Choke | Field Choke |
| Column 2 | Full Auto | Sardine Can | Sardine Can |
| Column 3 | Hammer-Forged | Enhanced Barrel | Hammer-Forged |
| Column 4 | Roulette (33% chance) | Knee Pads | Last Round |
As with everything, play in a way that suits you best. Not everyone wants to focus on aiming with a shotgun in the heat of battle (Sardine Can) but rather just shoot. In this case, another perk combination might suit you better. That’s why we provided more options above. Just experiment and find the shotgun that works best for you.
Now go out, Guardians, and play football. Or something like that.
This truly amazing guest post comes from our reader Shin25_HH – that’s his PSN ID. Really good job, Guardian!
