Shotgun

(Up to Weapons)

Shotgun
Type:	Firearm (2 shots)
Keyboard selection:	F3 (x1)
Standard effects:	25hp injury (max.), very small circular crater (for each shot)
Present in:	Worms, Worms DC, Worms 2, W:A, WWP

Power settings
Power	Maximum injury	Crater diameter
11	12 hp	23 px
12	17	35
1	20	47
2	22	47
3	25	47
4	27	61
5	30	61
19	32	61
14	37	73
15	50	97
Values are per shot.

The Shotgun is one of the weapons that makes up the backbone of the Worms arsenal, together with such weapons as the Bazooka, the Grenade and the Fire Punch. Although a skillful player can generally get more out of the Bazooka and the Grenade, the Shotgun is markedly easier to use: it fires in a straight line with no wind or gravity effect, and its blast radius is far smaller, giving it more utility in a close quarters situation. The Shotgun also posesses the almost unique quality of giving the player a second shot before their turn ends (only two other weapons in Worms history have this feature: the Longbow from Worms Armageddon and Worms World Party; and the Ballista from Worms Forts: Under Siege).

Tactics

The ability to fire two shots independently of one another makes the Shotgun a powerful tactical weapon.

• The Shotgun can be used to shoot two different worms in two different locations.
• The first shot can be used to move an enemy worm to a more perilous location (e.g. nearer water or a mine), before finishing it off with a the second shot.
• The first shot can be used to prepare the terrain for the second shot (e.g. shooting a hole through a bridge and then shooting the enemy worm through the hole)
• Use the first shot to overcome an obstacle (e.g. to get access through a girder), then attack with the second.
• On a long-distance shot, using the first shot as a "tracer" for the second (i.e. firing the first shot in the general direction required, and then refining the second shot based on the results of the first).
• Although individual Shotgun shots are not especially powerful, the Shotgun is excellent for hitting barrels next to worms and causing mass devastation that way.
• At fairly close range, the Shotgun's accuracy gives it a near-guarantee of 50hp damage.
• If there is no use for the second shot, it can be used to make a safer retreat location out of the land (e.g. a foxhole)

Criticisms, Problems and Weaknesses

• The Shotgun is obviously not particularly useful when a large mass of land stands between you and the enemy: in such situations you would need the parabolic trajectory of the Bazooka or Grenade.
• The Shotgun behaves nothing like a real-world Shotgun, a device that is short-range and gives a wide area of effect, unlike the long-range precision of the Worms Shotgun. The only similarity is in the double barrels. However, there is plenty enough unrealism in Worms already without quibbling too much about this.

W:A Cheats

Gaining a Gold Medal on the Rifle Range training mission unlocks the Golden Shotgun scheme cheat. When activated, the Shotgun deals twice the damage, twice the blast range and twice the shots. (firing 2 bullets/round, for a total of 4 bullets/turn) This means that with the default health and power, the Shotgun can kill a full-health worm at once! (100 damage/turn)