DOOM 2016's regular shotgun is disappointingly weak, and it seems like it's going to be the same in Doom Eternal.

[moustascheman]

I'm playing through Doom 2016 now and I agree 110%. The shotgun is way too weak and not nearly as good as the shotgun in the original doom. It's only real use is as a grenade launcher since the grenades can one hit kill imps and lesser enemies, and even then it's still not nearly as fun to use as the good old ultimate doom shotgun.

The plasma gun's nerfs are also similarly disappointing. My go-to Baron-of-hell-killer, the weapon that carried me through UV E4M2, is now a pea shooter that can barely hurt anything and is more useful for it's crowd control alt fire.

 

[Blade Wolf]

I'm playing through Doom 2016 now and I agree 110%. The shotgun is way too weak and not nearly as good as the shotgun in the original doom. It's only real use is as a grenade launcher since the grenades can one hit kill imps and lesser enemies, and even then it's still not nearly as fun to use as the good old ultimate doom shotgun.

The plasma gun's nerfs are also similarly disappointing. My go-to Baron-of-hell-killer, the weapon that carried me through UV E4M2, is now a pea shooter that can barely hurt anything and is more useful for it's crowd control alt fire.

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I just don't understand why they pick the shotgun as their ''hurt but not kill'' weapon for setting up glory kills.

You literally get the Heavy Cannon (machine gun) 5 minutes into Doom Eternal and it's a much better gun at setting up glory kills because you can control the damage output. You can hurt a demon just enough without killing it to activated glory kills. They didn't have to force the good old pump action shotgun into that role, it's just a bummer for classic Doom fans.

Also I agree with you that the plasma is very weak in 2016

If you check the wiki you'll find out that it actually deals less damage per shot than the heavy assault rifle, basically they made a plasma gun that's weaker than the chaingun in classic Doom's term.

It doesn't help that the plasma projectile look like bubbles lol

 

[Chopchop]

I didn't really like the shotgun either, which is why I thought the game only really picked up after the first few levels. But then I never played the original doom games (besides 3, but that's not a good comparison), so I never went into doom 2016 with any preconceived notions about what the shotgun was supposed to do.

It did feel kinda weak, and I just sort accepted that it was an early game weapon that took a few shots to kill each enemy. I played through on nightmare and barely used glory kills, since I liked the faster pace of using them sparingly.

But I wouldn't claim to know anything about game balance. The devs seem to put a lot of thought into the feel of the gameplay, and I trust that they know what they're doing. The gatling function on the new shotgun seems amazing, so I'm looking forward to seeing how much damage that thing can do. Typically, full auto shotguns are utterly devastating.

 

[Leveean]

The shotgun has a better role than it does in Doom 2. There, once you get the super shotgun (as early as map 2) there's no reason to return to it. At least it's still viable for glory kill set up and the grenade launcher. It's also better than the Doom 3 shotgun.

 

[Blade Wolf]

The shotgun has a better role than it does in Doom 2. There, once you get the super shotgun (as early as map 2) there's no reason to return to it. At least it's still viable for glory kill set up and the grenade launcher. It's also better than the Doom 3 shotgun.

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Honestly I think the shotgun in Doom II is much better for mid range compare to Super due to a narrower spread. It definitely has its use in that role, also great for conserving ammo.

Yeah this time it can be used as a grenade launcher but I don't think it needed to be this weak as a shotgun. As for the glory kill set up I think the machinegun would be much better for that role cause the shotgun in 2016 & Eternal can still one hit kill imps if you get really, really close and a little bit of luck.

It's just kinda of frustrating that if you are more than 2 steps away from a demon it's almost impossible to one shot it with the shotgun.

 

[AgentStrange]

It's okay but RAGE 2's is definitely better

 

[laxu]

The biggest issue I have with the shotgun in Doom 2016 is that it looks like shit. If they had at least kept the look and feel of the original Doom animation it would have been fine. The original shotgun isn't that effective against anything but basic human enemies anyway but it feels really good to fire due to the great cocking animation.

 

[Blade Wolf]

SMH even Brutal Doom had better Doom 2016 weapons than Doom 2016

That handgun lol, if only it was like that in the actual game, and the shotgun, holy shit it actually kills things.

 

[Rodya]

The regular shotgun could be a bit more powerful, for sure, but I kinda like it. It's extremely useful for the first hours and fun to use. Of course, OG doom shotgun is better, but in Doom 2016 you have more tools to compensate, such us granades, an insta-kill chainsaw, glory kills and more powerups. In general, the weapon balance and combat system is pretty good (I'm switching between weapons all the time and it feels great). Every shooter is going to have one or two weaker weapons (including Doom 1/2), so it's not a big deal. Anyway, I expect even greater balance for Doom Eternal. Hugo Martin has said they're making changes so we cannot rely on the super shotgun too much. We'll have to deal with Mancubus from the distance, for example. Of course I hope the regular shotgun gets a boost, but as I said, it's not that important.

By the way, I really, really love Doom 2016. It's one of my favorite games of all time. I can't wait for Doom Eternal. I haven't been this hyped for a game since Crysis back in 2007 lol.

 

[Blade Wolf]

The biggest issue I have with the shotgun in Doom 2016 is that it looks like shit. If they had at least kept the look and feel of the original Doom animation it would have been fine. The original shotgun isn't that effective against anything but basic human enemies anyway but it feels really good to fire due to the great cocking animation.

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They definitely nailed the 2D animation, whoever animated the OG shotgun cocking and the super shotgun reload deserves a statue somewhere in Texas.

I agree the shotgun in 2016 isn't the best looking one in, Doom was always sci-fi but there's a difference between ''cool looking'' sci-fi and straight up ''what the hell is that'' sci-fi.

The one in Eternal definitely looks meaner and sexier

 

[xStonerBASHERx]

I'm surprised so many people dislike it, it was my main throughout the campaign for its grenade launcher. Aside from the scarce ammo weapons it was my fav

 

[Shan]

I think it's fine, principally used to clean small fodders like the slow ass undeads, the Imps and most undead soldiers and their variants. The bigger threat just dies to the bigger weaponry.

 

[Phinor]

It sounded weak. When I fire a shotgun I want to feel like a building exploded.

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This is my problem with most guns in Doom 2016, and Eternal, and most other shooter games. If you ever played good old CS, you know that desert eagle is the best pistol because it has the most powerful sound giving it just that extra bit of damage compared to other pistols, AK was the best gun in the game because it had just a bit more powerful, angry sound than the other rifles (aside from AWP of course). CS: GO weapons feel a lot less powerful because the sounds are muted compared to original CS.

That's why laser/plasma weapons suck in every game in existence. They seriously lack in the sound department. That's why a lot of WW2 games are great, just get the sound of bolt action rifles right and you are well on your way. Call of Duty finally stepped into the big leagues with the recent Modern Warfare, they made the guns sound so much better than in the past iterations.

 

[mxbison]

I agree that it didnt feel good. Was pretty surprised the first time I used it.

 

[Poimandres]

I think the original Rage (haven't played Rage 2) had better weapons overall than Doom 2016.

 

[Dictator]

I agree with the OP btw! I like it in games when all weapons have utility, though the pistol in doom 1 and 2 arguably is useless beyond the first map of each level.

Blade Wolf
I have not played DOom Eternal, John has, but he really really loved it. I do not think it will address your problem necessarily though.

 

[Blade Wolf]

I agree with the OP btw! I like it in games when all weapons have utility, though the pistol in doom 1 and 2 arguably is useless beyond the first map of each level.

Blade Wolf
I have not played DOom Eternal, John has, but he really really loved it. I do not think it will address your problem necessarily though.

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I agree the pistol have all been kind of useless through out the Doom games, I think some of the Doom mods did a much better job balancing the handgun such as making them a slow firing hand cannon akin to Desert Eagle or Magnum Revolver.

Also thanks for the reply! Good to know that John loves it.
Mediocre regular shotgun aside I am definitely very hyped about Eternal and feels like they did a much better job this time with the overall game design & balancing.
That Noclip podcast with Hugo definitely reinforced my belief. Can't wait to see you guys coverage on it.