Apex Legends: Shotguns, Ranked Worst to Best

Image: Respawn Entertainment & EA via HGG

Human Made

My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

With the launch of Apex Legends: Defiance, we saw the introduction of Mad Maggie. She’s an aggressive Legend who loves to get up close and personal with opponents. One of her unique traits is her ability to move faster with shotguns, which makes these already deadly weapons even more viable in the arena.

Thanks to Maggie, there has never been a better time to discuss and rank each and every shotgun in Apex Legends. Whether you’re a Mad Maggie main or just someone who really loves shotguns, you’re sure to find some useful information from this ranking list.

Every Shotgun in Apex Legends, Ranked

Without any further delay, let’s hop into this article for Apex Legends shotguns.

4/4

Mozambique

First up on our ranking, we have the Mozambique shotgun. This weapon has quite the history in Apex Legends. It started off so weak that it quickly became a meme in the community.

It was given a special hop-up (Hammerpoint Rounds) that made it incredibly powerful, only to be nerfed again shortly after. Now, this hop-up has returned in Season 12, but is this enough to make it worth picking up?

What are its strengths?

The Mozambique can hold six shots per reload, making it par with the other shotguns on this list. Its Hammerpoint Rounds increase damage to targets with broken shields by 35%. Since it’s a pistol, players suffer no movement penalty when they are aiming down sights with it. It’s a great weapon to use in arenas mode due to how cheap it is to buy and upgrade.

What are its weaknesses?

The overall damage per second on the Mozambique without Hammerpoint Rounds is only 39 for chest shots. This is remarkably low, so it’s not a great choice for a primary weapon.

The projectiles fired from the gun move very slowly, which means it isn’t that good at medium ranges. It can be a good sidearm when used with Hammerpoints, but otherwise, it’s best left on the ground.

Does it have any good cosmetics?

Lion’s Roar is a fairly popular legendary skin for this weapon, and it’s not hard to see why. The model is east-Asian inspired, with a lion decoration built around the back-end of the gun. It features a black, red, and gold color scheme — if you know anything about me, you’ll know how much I love gold-plated weapons!

3/4

Mastiff

Up next on our ranking, we have my personal favorite shotgun in the game — the Mastiff! Originally a care package weapon back in the early days of Apex Legends, it has since found its place on the ground as a powerful yet inconsistent semi-automatic shotgun. What do I mean by “inconsistent”? I’ll explain in a minute.

What are its strengths?

This shotgun has one of the highest damage-per-shot out of any gun in the game, at 72 per chest shot. When you aim down the sights with the Mastiff, the spread of pellets will tighten, making hitting targets easier.

You can also reload this weapon more easily than other shotguns, as you can load it in one shell at a time in-between firing. Thanks to the Duel Shell hop-up, you can load two shells at once, which cuts the reloading time in half.

What are its weaknesses?

Depending on how far away you are from your target, the amount of damage you can pull off is inconsistent. Not all of your pellets will hit the enemy, leading to damage outputs that can range greatly. Its rate of fire is decent but not as great as some of the other options in the game.

Does it have any good cosmetics?

Tombstick is my go-to skin for this weapon. It’s a gold and brown skin that saw its debut in the Season 5 Lost Treasures collection event. It doesn’t change much about the model itself, just gives it a more smooth and polished design that looks incredible with its new color scheme.

2/4

Peacekeeper

Now for one of the most popular guns in the entire game, we have the Peacekeeper! Back in Season 0, this weapon was incredibly overpowered and quickly became a fan favorite due to its satisfying gunplay and high damage output. It is now in a much more balanced state and is a pretty versatile weapon to use. Despite this, it’s still not the best shotgun the game has to offer. More on that in a minute, though.

What are its strengths?

This is without a doubt the hardest-hitting shotgun in the game, able to deal a maximum of 88 damage for each shot to the chest. If that wasn’t impressive enough, the gun’s spread will slowly tighten over a few seconds while aiming down the sights. This makes it more versatile, as you can hit targets at longer ranges without too much of a damage trade-off.

What are its weaknesses?

The fire rate really keeps its damage in check, as you need to cock the weapon back with each pull of the trigger. It also features a longer reload time than some of the other weapons on this list, which can be deadly if you need to reload in a firefight. The recoil is also pretty high on the Peacekeeper, so be sure to keep that in mind the next time you pick this gun up.

Does it have any good cosmetics?

A very popular skin — as well as one of my personal favorites for any weapon — is the Superstar legendary skin! Superstar features a beautiful color combination of pink, purple, and blue, which looks incredible. The skin looks like they painted the night sky on the stock and gave the rest of the gun a glowing neon aesthetic.

1/4

EVA-8

Taking home the gold medal for our list of the best shotguns ranked in Apex Legends, let’s give it up for the EVA-8! This is a fully automatic shotgun that absolutely shreds through opponents.

It started off its journey as one of the worst guns in the game, but has evolved into a great close-range weapon with consistent damage. It’s a shame more people aren’t using this gun, as it outclasses the other weapons on this list in several ways.

What are its strengths?

Fully automatic, with a solid DPS. Unlike the Peacekeeper and Mastiff, this gun seems to be much more reliable when shooting. You’ll consistently land more-or-less the same damage for every hit. Its hip-fire accuracy is very good, which is especially important for shotguns.

What are its weaknesses?

Despite its effectiveness at closer ranges, it starts to drop off noticeably the farther you are away from targets. Although it is fully automatic, without a shotgun bolt of any kind, its rate of fire is slower than what you’d prefer.

One interesting drawback about this weapon is the fact that aiming down sights with it does nothing to reduce the pellet spread, which makes it only good for hip-firing.

Does it have any good cosmetics?

Noble Truth is my personal favorite legendary skin for this gun, and I’ve been rocking it for hundreds of hours of playtime! The skin gives off strong Polynesian vibes to it. The stock of the weapon looks like it’s carved out of bone and crafted into Polynesian patterns. The color schemed is a tan-ish white and a mix of light and dark blues, which looks really good together.

Join The High Ground!

So concludes our article for Apex Legends: best shotguns ranked. What did you think of our list? Do you agree with our top picks? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter! We offer regular content on all the latest and greatest games, including more first-person-shooters such as Apex Legends.

Happy gaming!

Apex Legends: Shotguns, Ranked Worst to Best