So, I'm wondering which combination of perks and items can turn certain weapon(s) into something very overly destructive, I've been kind of neglecting guns for most of the time in NV. But my favorites are always handguns of any type, and shotguns, can any of these turn into a killing machine on something like Very Hard + hardcoe gameplay?

I was checking the wikia, and the shotgun part specially confused me, about that each pellet does separate damage. So, how does that affect the DT of the enemy? are shotguns mostly useless or something?

Help, I really want a dreamy shotgun :disguise:

For shotguns you need shotgun surgeon, and rapid reload doesn't hurt. The targets DT is applied to each pellet which is why shotgun surgeon is a must. However, slugs solve that problem when dealing with medium or heavy armor. Caravan shotgun is very good for early mid-game, hunting shotgun for mid to late game. For pellets use buckshot magnum. I mainly use slugs. I save the magnum for things like cazadores, fiends/powder gangers, and animals.

For both pick any perk that ups damage percentage, other than hunter. Hunter is only helps against things that aren't that dangerous to begin with. Take it for RP purposes only.

Frankly I don't like Very Hard. It only makes things bullet sponges.

Don't take anything which involves VATS percentages.

As for which handguns you should use, I would suggest the .44 revolver, Maria and 12.7mm pistol once you can get a hold of them.

Riot, and Hunting shotguns. Most all of the revolvers are good.

bloody mess, cowboy, shotgun sugeon, the dlc shotgun perk, rapid reload, build to detroy trait. hunter shotgun kill kill kill

Hunting Shotgun and Dinner bell. Handguns, Lucky, 9mm and 10mm are good.

Modded up Hunting Shotgun, Shotgun Surgeon and Slugs and you have all you need. If your Agility is high enough (7 or over) you don't need the Rapid Reload or Quick Draw perks.

For guns, the Hunting Revolver is the goal, however early on the 10MM machinegun is a good choice, as ammo is so easy to find. Of course the 10mm Pistol is nice too. I also use the 44 Magnum with the Cowboy Perk. The .44 ammo is a bit harder to find, so that gun is only used on tougher targets.

Hunting shotguns rule....give one to Cass and watch stuff die.

if you're not focusing on crits then I suggest either Ranger Sequoia for accuracy and slightly better damage or Mysterious Magnum for higher ammo capacity, more durability and cool music.
If you're focusing on crits then Lucky is your gun.

Now that's a lot of useful information. Thanks a lot everyone, time to shoot down some things :3

I agree with the folks that Hunting and Riot shotguns with slugs are pretty much the ideal combo. You'll come across the former a lot earlier than the latter (very early depending on where you go wandering), but if you aren't having luck with one of those the Lever-Action is a solid choice (especially so with Cowboy, which is a boss perk in general). My favorite character almost exclusively uses shotguns, and I pretty much use zero VATS related perks or VATS much in general outside of very close quarters. Player kill cam is enough slow-mo for me generally (and you can completely wreck shop in close range with the Riot while in player kill cam). Can't be said enough - use slugs. Slugs are pretty much always the right answer, and considering you can convert your normal shells into slugs you should have zero ammo issues.

As for the smaller details I really like most of the toughness/survivability perks, and I typically run light armor with Travel Light for the move speed. I even kind of like Quick Draw with this build as you'll be switching between your Hunting/DB and Riot frequently. Rad Child is also a personal favorite if you don't mind keeping a slight glow on at all times. You'll just take a little more damage on average compared to a long-range sniper type as you approach.

If you have Dead Money there's also a really useful shotgun-specific perk with that add-on that I would recommend (but can't think of the name of right this second).

do the quest in the thorn to get a shotgun called dinner bell think it might be what you want :spotted owl: im more of a rifle man myself,know of a good one i think i found em all

do the quest in the thorn to get a shotgun called dinner bell think it might be what you want :spotted owl: im more of a rifle man myself,know of a good one i think i found em all

the shotgun power thing got me a bit too,think you just do the math and the result is the gun damage but would have to hit with all pellets for that damage

where do you get ranger sequoia and what is it dont think i found that yet

Can be found on Veteran Rangers later in the game
Also if you complete 'Return to Sender' (started in Camp Forlorn Hope) by turning in Chief Hanlon he commits suicide and you can get the gun he killed himself with. But Chief Hanlon is cool, so don't do it.

If you don't like killing rangers then Mysterious Magnum is the best. Its main advantage over the Ranger Sequoia is that it has a higher ammo capacity.

Having used the 12.7mm Pistol extensively I would recommend against it as it lacks punch for its caliber. Instead I would go for the Hunting Revolver, which can be gotten fairly early on in Freeside. You'll need to kill Orris to get it, but he's expendable anyway as Just make sure you're doing that quest and have the info you need, as killing him otherwise will turn Freeside hostile and fail the quest.

True, .45-70 Gov't ammo is not exactly common, but between Gun Runners and the Khans' Armorer you'll have all of them you could ever need and with the Hand-Loader perk you can make the SWC variant which is ridiculously powerful. This weapon does have a goodly STR requirement, unlike most pistols, but it's worth it.

For a shotgun I'd say either the Hunting Shotgun/Dinner Bell (unique variant) or the Riot Gun are the one(s) you want to work toward, and after use of the latter I'd have to say the former might actually be better despite the smaller magazine, as it can be improved through mods while the Riot Gun cannot. They're actually something of a tradeoff, as a modded-out Hunting Shotgun can be used as a ranged weapon while the Riot Gun is devastating at point-blank. Since both use 12ga. ammo you could carry both and not have to worry about swapping ammo types, and eschew an actual rifle-type weapon unless you need something to snipe with.

I'm going to break ranks with what seems to be everyone, and recommend AGAINST Ranger Sequoia. The reason is simple: durability. RS has only 80HP, same as Sniper Rifles, and 45.70 handloads seriously increase gun wear (CND x3). If you MUST use RS, stick with stock or HP ammo.

Mysterious Magnum with .44SWC handloads is probably the best handgun you can use. Roughly the same DPS as Ranger Sequoia (less punch per shot balanced out by havingt one more round in the drum), but much less repairs required.

Shotguns wise, a fully modded Hunting shotgun is your best choice. Dinner Bell is slightly more powerful per shot, but when fully modded, a Hunting Shotgun has less spread AND three more rounds in the tube. A Riot Shotgun is the most powerful shotgun in the game and will out-DPS the living hell out of both the FMHS and the Dinner Bell, but its repair/maintenance options are severely limited even with Jury Rigging. I would recommend carrying FMHS for general gameplay, and switching to the Riot Shotgun for especially hard fights.

If you use VATS at all, Dinner Bell has the lowest AP cost of all shotguns, and 12.7mm pistol has the lowest AP cost of all top-end pistols, although its spread is so bad that you're still better off with Mysterious Magnum.