Destiny 2 – The Best Shotguns To Replace Astral Horizon and Felwinters Lie in Season 14
Bungie is making some crucial changes to shotguns next season related to perks like Quickdraw, meaning some of the most popular shotguns out there in the game right now are going to less effective in PVP. Today I am going to check out the changes as well as look at some of the best alternative shotguns for Season 14.
First of all today let’s check out the changes Bungie outlined in their This Week At Bungie update recently.
Prepping for Season of [REDACTED], we have a few changes that will be coming to the Destiny sandbox. This week, we’ll be focusing on things that are hot, so to speak. Weapons and archetypes need to be tuned in order to create breathing room for other aspects of the Destiny sandbox to shine.
Quickdraw
This perk is intended to provide faster swap speed, but it also passively buffs handling by +100. This completely negates the downside of using low-handling weapons (such as Aggressive Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, and Hand Cannons), which isn’t something we want to encourage. Those weapons should have downsides and working around those completely via a perk isn’t healthy. We don’t think allowing a fast-swap to the Shotgun subfamily with the highest one-hit-kill range is great either.
The Handling bonus is now removed one second after switching to this weapon, or upon aiming down sights. Replaced Quickdraw with Surplus on new and existing drops of Felwinter’s Lie and Astral Horizon.
This is going to affect Astral Horizon and Felwinter’s Lie the most. Astral is the Trials shotgun and then we have Felwinter’s Lie, originally from Seaon of the Worthy.
There are still some shotguns that will be able to roll with Quickdraw if that’s what you are looking for. They aren’t going to be aggressive frame shotguns, but still… if qukckdraw is your thing then here’s some recommendations for you.
Best Shotguns for Season 14
Blasphemer
Blasphemer is a Legendary Kinetic Shotgun. It’s a Precision Frame meaning it fires a single-slug round. This weapon’s recoil pattern is more predictably vertical. For PVP Quickdraw and Opening Shot would be a decent roll and for PVE Surplus and Rampage would be good.
To get this one you can run Altars of Sorrow on the Moon. Once you get through all the tiers and defeat the final boss, then you’ll get a reward. The loot rotates each day between Blasphemer (Shotgun), Apostate (Sniper) and Heretic (Rocket Launcher).
Seventh Seraph CQC
Seventh Seraph CQC is a Legendary Energy Shotgun which is a Lightweight Frame meaning it has Superb handling. Move faster with this weapon equipped.
For PVP Quickdraw and Snapshot Sights is a good roll, and PVE Slideshot and Vorpal Weapon would be one to look out for. The most popular roll out there with the community right now is Quickdraw and Snapshot Sights. Seventh Seraph CQC is also up there amongst the most popular weapons for competitive PVP right now sitting at number 4 only below Felwinter’s Lie, The Steady Hand and Adored.
To get this weapon you simply have to run activities like PVP, Strikes, Gambit and Public Events. This is part of the Season 12 loot pool, so it’s a random drop from activities. Unfortunately, this does mean there’s no sure way to get this weapon, you have to pray to the RNG gods and keep your fingers crossed. I’ve seen a somewhere between 3-5 drops in the past few weeks, so it does seem pretty available.
Retrofuturist
Retrofuturist is a Legendary Energy Shotgun with a Lightweight Frame meaning it has Superb handling. Move faster with this weapon equipped.
This is comparable to the Seventh Seraph CQC shotgun, another lightweight frame shotty. It has the same impact, slightly less range at -3, slightly more stability at +1, slightly less handling at -4 and more reloads speed at +4. Same rounds per minute rate of fire and one more in the magazine. The Seventh Seraph CQC does have the advantage of spawning Warmind Cells, however, so that’s something to bear in mind. However, if you like using the Seventh Seraph CQC, then Retrofuturist is probably worth checking out.
For PVP Quickdraw and Snapshot Sights would be a decent roll. Anything in PVP that gives you the speed advantage of getting the weapon in your hands is going to be a good thing.
For PVE, Feeding Frenzy and Trench Barrel would be good. Trench Barrel, made famous by the season 3 Ikelos Shotgun, gives you increased damage after a successful melee hit. You run in there, punch the boss and then unload the shotgun for a huge increase in damage. Feeding Frenzy is good as kills improve reload speed. Quickdraw and Trench Barrel is another popular roll with the community right now, with approx 22% of people with this weapon using that roll.
To get Retrofuturist you’ll want to focus on Umbral Engrams through the Prismatic Recaster in the H.E.L.M. To get access to the H.E.L.M. you do need to complete the introductory quest in Season of the Chosen, where you have to run the Battleground activity. The introduction quest will run you through the steps to use the prismatic recaster with umbral engrams to focus them for use in the umbral decoder.
Retold Tale
Retold Tale is a Legendary Energy Shotgun with a Precision Frame where this weapon’s recoil pattern is more predictably vertical.
For PVE Surplus and Vorpal Weapon would be good, where as PVP Quickdraw and snapshot sights would be a decent roll.
You can get this from activities on the Dreaming City. The Shattered Throne is dropping relevant loot once again in Season of the Chosen, and Retold Tale is in the loot pool. You also get some exclusive perks like Vorpal Weapon, so it’s well worth running SHattered Throne. There’s a quick and easy way to get Shattered Throne Dungeon loot, check out the guide I made for that here.
Let me know what shotgun you’re going to be using in Season 14.
That’s it for this guide on the best shotguns to use in Season 14 in Destiny 2. For more This Week In Video Games content like this check out YouTube and subscribe today.