Shotguns in Counter Strike: Global Offensive are the forgotten guns by some. Often unused and ignored they're seen as useless, they only work close range, generally have a slow rate of fire due to being pump action (with the exception of the XM1014) and because of this if you miss your one shot chances are you’re going to die. They are the cheaper primary weapons in the game, costing less than most rifles.

The shotguns however are useful, and are often overlooked. They provide a $900 kill reward, have high damage output and have higher speed movement. They also are quick to reload and most bar the MAG-7 can be shot in the middle of a reload sequence. Their accuracy is very little affected by movement including jumping, making them useful for jump shooting at places such as car on B site Mirage.

The shotguns on offer are the XM1014 and the Nova, with the MAG-7 being exclusive to the Counter Terrorists and the Sawed Off being exclusive to the Terrorists.

The Nova

The Nova is one of the two $1200 shotguns and is purchasable on both sides. It should only be used for close range combat however can be used at midrange to some effectivity. It can shoot eight bullets before reloading. This shotgun is one shot one kill to anywhere on the body on armoured opponents, provided all nine pellets hit your opponent. It has the lowest spread of all the shotguns. Like most shotguns it can also be shot mid-reload, but due to being pump action there is a delay between shot.

The Nova has the lowest rate of fire of all the shotguns, a low damage output on armoured players if all pellets do not hit and like all shotguns is ineffective at long ranges (however is more effective than the rest).

The XM1014

The XM1014 is the automatic shotgun, it costs $2000, making it the most expensive shotgun, and is purchasable from both sides. Like all shotguns it should only ever be used in close quarters combat. It can shoot seven bullets before reloading.

This shotgun is one shot one kill to the stomach when all six pellets hit the stomach dealing 20 damage each. When hitting the head it only requires two pellets to kill the target. Elsewhere on the body it will not be one shot one kill, but the high rate of fire should allow you to shoot again very quickly and make up for your miss. It reloads in a short amount of time and can be shot mid reload, so always be reloading this gun and don’t be afraid to shoot and use up your bullets.

This gun has the second largest decrease in movement.

The Sawed-Off

The Sawed-Off is the Terrorist exclusive $1200 shotgun, the cheapest along with the Nova. It should only be used for extreme close quarters combat as it has a high damage drop-off and it can shoot seven bullets before reloading.

This shotgun has an extremely high damage output, the highest of all the shotguns. It shoots eight pellets at a time and only five is needed to kill an armoured opponent anywhere on the body. Again like most shotguns it can be shot mid-reload, however it is pump action and has a low rate of fire.

This shotgun however does no damage at mid-range, and the spread is very high. This means that while it has the highest damage output of any shotgun it is only effective at extremely close distances. Users carrying this have a huge speed decrease, making it the heaviest shotgun in the game.

The MAG-7

The MAG-7 is the Counter Terrorist exclusive shotgun and is the final shotgun in the game. It costs $1800 and can shoot five bullets before reloading.

This shotgun has the second highest damage output, and has the tightest spread. This means it is one shot one kill to anywhere at the body and is effective at mid-range unlike the sawed-off. It can be fired automatically holding down the primary attack button. It is the fastest to reload from zero bullets out of all the shotguns.

However, this shotgun uses a magazine. Due to this, it cannot be shot in the middle of a reload. This however means all bullets can be reloaded at once. It has a low rate of fire and missing a shot can be punishing.

Where and when to use shotguns

Due to the nature of the shotguns in Counter Strike: Global Offensive, their usage is limited. They're risky; you can play a close angle but there is no guarantee in a retake scenario you can retake in close range. As a result there are very few times or places to use shotguns.

Shotguns have their place on the CT side of the game. On CT side you can hold choke points, close to corners or within smokes. A friend of mine likes to smoke the ledge on pit on Dust 2 and stand there with a mag 7, when it's called out everyone that will pass has passed he then pushes being them. I've seen it work even at LEM/Supreme level.

One of the most effective shotgun usages is using them as a surprise. Nobody expects a shotgun, they're seen as weak, unusable, that there's no point when you can use a rifle, which to a point is correct.

However, due to the fact people don't expect a shotgun the best thing to do is play close quarters, maybe even push. The shotgun is forgotten about and people are not wary. It will be an effective tactic once or twice a game, maybe even more times. This goes along with pushing in general, as on the CT side a push is generally a bad idea if done in consecutive buy rounds. However, it can work very well to throw an enemy off. This is the main idea of the CT side shotgun.

On T side shotguns are almost never used. They can be effective in Cobblestone dropdown or for clearing close angles. Due to the nature of the M4s not being a one shot kill assuming reaction times are the same for both sides you can kill the other person with one shot, and the most they can do is headshot you. For an example, here is a guide to clearing skyfall/drop down in Cobblestone. JW commonly uses this tactic.

When the top is smoked get a teammate to flash through. Jump down with the flash while looking up, you won't get flashed and it'll flash your opponents looking at you. Using the sawed-off it should be a one hit kill on anybody within your view due to the constructions within the area. This allows you to get a kill, maybe clear the area, and then pick up a rifle. These techniques can be applied anywhere in the game so long as it’s close quarters.

On Inferno, one can clear the apartments with a sawed-off even more effectively. Anybody playing the first two corners can be one shot, or jumping into apartments from the hay bales outside will allow you to clear stairs, boiler or a player mid all in close quarters where a shotgun excels.

Shotguns are definitely underused in Counter-Strike. At Dreamhack Cluj-Napoca 2015, GeT_RiGhT on Ninjas in Pyjamas used the MAG-7 to great effect against Team Liquid in the group decider match when he was on CT side Mirage. When used correctly and at the right time, not only can you grab an easy kill here and there, but you do it with a cheaper gun nearly half the price of a regular rifle and gained three times the money you would have with that rifle. This means you will have more money and more of an ability to drop for your teammates, strengthening your economy further.

The shotgun has two maps with huge competitive viability, those being Inferno and Cobblestone.

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