So I am trying to play a close combat character in F4, who primarily uses stealth to get close or at least in short range and then unload with shotguns and melee attacks, but I can't find perks that enhance shot-gun gameplay, all I see are either rifles or pistols perks.... and now I am wondering if shotguns are counted as rifles......this game does a poor job of explaining stuff.......

Can anyone please confirm where does shotguns fit? Are they counted as rifles or if there is another mechanics that is more influential on shotguns like Hip Fire accuracy / damage etc........

I looked up on internet but couldn't find a definitive answer so here I am.

I loo

Thanks

I dont think there is a perk for shotguns. The thing about shotguns is that they are often so powerful that you would want to choose perks that enhance your sneaking so you can get close enough to do the most damage, and possibly perks that increase your health since you will be up close to enemies.

That type of character is probably the most OP character you can play in this game, especially if you get good shotguns which sometimes do almost as muc h damage as a missile launcher lol.

Good question! Honestly I dont know for sure. I imagine that short (No stock) shot guns fit the pistol profile (more to do with handle or stock options)

There is full shot guns, and combat shot guns that definately fit the rifle genre. I am guessing that that if they get classed as pistols at all you are talking about those short saw off shotguns you get a dime a dozen.

I think your best perks would be in rifles rather then pistol. Your best bet to get more bang for your buck is modding your shotgun favriot to best suit your close range needs so check out stock mods, dont use long range scopes on them or long barrels. Seems like hip fire would be best set up with maybe reflex style sights.

I can't read the OP because it's in an awful color that's invisible on the mobile site, but as far as this reply goes:

Shotguns are affected by the Rifleman perk.

Yes, they count as non-automatic rifles. Increase those perks for more shotgun damage.

Shotguns that aren't automatic are considered rifles by the game. If you make one automatic, it's affected by the commando perk.

That may be why I think their so powerful. I have that perked maxed out. Good to know, thanks.

I am so sorry i accidentally changed the font color and then could not find the default to go back to the normal font color

I'll try to fix it

Yes I am going with very high endurance and luck and above average agility and strength........I primarily use stealth to get close or at least within mid short range to enemies and then unload with shotguns and melee attacks.

Shotguns are affect by the 2 perks from non automatic and automatic weapons.

if its non automatic, its affected by the rilfeman perk, if its automatic, its affected by commando however if it has the explosives bullets enchant, it is also affected by demolistion perk line as well

There are two shotguns in the game: double barreled and combat.

The double-barreled could be considered a rifle, but the combat shotgun is a semi-automatic. So which perk covers the combat shotgun?

I believe that perk does apply to shotguns, as long as the shotgun hasn't been modded to be fully automatic. I regularly carry a Marksman's Calibrated Powerful Combat Shotgun as one of my main three weapons, and it doesn't lack in power. It's great for close quarters and multiple enemies that are really close to one another. I have mine fully modded with a drum mag, so I've got 32 rounds before needing to reload. It's great for clearing rooms out lol

Semi-auto is considered non-auto in this game.

So rifleman.

Le Fusil Terrible with the right mods and use of the rifleman perk makes short work of most enemies. You just need to reduce the recoil as much as possible.

if you can find one. I have a explosive combat shotgun that does 15 extra points of area effect damage. base damage is 150. it's nice for ghouls and the suicide super mutants.

Its just confusing, so the rifleman perk affects the non/semi - auto shotguns and commando perk affect the full auto shotguns........is that it?

I wish the game did a better job of explaining this........(and a lot of other unexplained stuff in the game as well .... )

I found a shotgun that did double damage to undamaged opponents. Headshotting that thing at point blank range was hilarious. I called it The Decapitator.

That's not really true, laser and plasma weapons can be turned into shotguns as well.

Look it works like this. Rifleman covers all semi automatic rifles, if it isn't a pistol and isn't automatic, it's a rifle. Commando covers all automatic weapons including pistols, automatic shotguns, SMG's and assault rifles, anything with a automatic reciever mod in it. Gunslinger affects all semi automatic pistols, so it won't increase damage of say an automatic 10mm, since it's considered an SMG and is covered by commando.

You can then mod a weapon to fit your spec. Say if you pick up an automatic plasma pistol you can change the reciever to a semi automatic one, add a stock (it is now considered a rifle and it's name will change) and then you can add a beam splitter mod to it's muzzle and you've now made yourself a plasma shotgun that is covered by the Rifleman perk.

It's in fact quite easy. If you have to pull the trigger for each shot, it's not an automatic gun. If it is a long gun (and both shotguns are long guns, even if the barrel is cut short), it's ruled by the rifleman perk. Semi-automatic is a bit misleading because a two-barreled gun is not a semi-automatic.

Love shotguns in this game, lots of variety.

The 'Lucky' variants are good for crowd control esp with VATs enhancing perks like Grim Reaper Sprint / 4 Leaf Clover, then again it can all go wrong and you miss every shot grrr

I would strongly advise against a shotgun build unless you plan to play on normal difficulty.

The shotgun shell and the .38 caliber round have horrible armor penetration compared to any other rifle round.

Which means that the toughest enemies in the game are going to shrug off your shots at the higher difficulty settings.

You simply will not kill high tier legendaries with a shotgun on survival difficulty.

That's true. I'm on Survival and shotguns are good for normal ghuls, supermutants and animals from short distance. Not so good for tougher enemies unless you are really close and hit the head.

i love the shotgun. Im lvl 32 and the shotgun is the most powerful gun i got. 162 damage with explosive rounds. one, to two shots most enemies. And fire rate is so high, i can unload into a legendary and usually kill him before he mutates. I really am not a shotgun fan in most games, but this has become my primary in FO4. So much fun unloading into a group of gouls and just desemating them. Mabe its the explosive rounds that make it so good. Its almost to a point that it is OP with the single shot perk.

I wouldn't say your stuck on Normal with Shotguns, on Hard La Fusil Terrible I've been using for has been fine. Explosive and Lucky Variants also fine.