Shotgun

The Shotgun shooting Musket Balls

The Shotgun is a Hardmode ranged weapon that fires a spread of three to five bullets, though each firing consumes only one item (bullet) of Ammunition. The Shotgun is an upgrade of the pre-hardmode Boomstick and becomes available for purchase from the Arms Dealer for 25 after the Wall of Flesh has been defeated. The Onyx Blaster and the Tactical Shotgun are an upgrade of the Shotgun.

Its best modifier is Unreal.

Crafting[edit | edit source]

Result	Ingredients	Crafting station
Onyx Blaster	Shotgun Dark Shard (2) Soul of Night (10)	Mythril Anvil or Orichalcum Anvil

Due to the mechanics of piercing damage, piercing bullets (such as Meteor Shot) will only hit enemies one time, even if all bullets connect. The remaining rounds can still rebound on objects behind the target (having not caused damage) and hit the target a second time.

Using the Shotgun with Crystal Bullets is effective against large groups.
- Cursed Bullets will help more in PvP, because Crystal Bullets only hit players with their primary projectiles, since players become momentarily invulnerable when damaged, so the shards won't have any effect. The greater primary damage of Cursed Bullets and the Cursed Inferno debuff will deal more damage in this case.
When using Chlorophyte Bullets, the spread can be negated.
The Shotgun is a good substitute to the Megashark for killing the Mechanical Bosses.
The Shotgun is effective at short ranges, but rapidly loses effectiveness at longer ranges since the shots spread out the farther they travel.
The Shotgun is useful for killing segmented monsters, such as Wyverns, as well as flying enemies with large hitboxes, such as Corruptors.
Using the Shotgun with Exploding Bullets is effective against Hardmode Creatures.