Shotguns in Cyberpunk 2077 have been underwhelming, by and large. Melee weapons tend to do better up close and, at range, the damage drop-off is very high when compared to other FPS games. These criticisms are valid for most ordinary shotguns. But when you have an iconic shotgun in your hands, everything changes.

In fact, if you fight an iconic shotgun, you might never even think about going back to your other weapons because getting in close and blasting away is so intensely satisfying. The raw damage numbers are preposterous, it's just a matter of getting the pellets to land, and these are the best weapons for making each shot count.

Updated October 31, 2023, by Sean Murray: The release of Phantom Liberty and the 2.0 update has changed up Cyberpunk's shotguns significantly. We've updated this list with the newcomers and swapped some of these shotguns around based on changes made with Cyberpunk 2077's 2.0 update.

10 Bloody Maria

Bloody Maria is mostly just a Tactician, which is a fine shotgun, but it can be outclassed by some of the higher damage dealers on this list. What this weapon has going for it is the knockdown chance. Any enemy that isn't blown to bloody pieces immediately is likely to get blown off their feet, making a follow-up shot child's play.

That knockdown effect can be very helpful on higher difficulties where you might need some extra crowd control, but it's generally better to just flatline your opponent in one blast rather than two.

9 Sovereign

Sovereign performs exactly as you'd expect a double-barreled shotgun to perform if you pulled both triggers at once. The gun's barrel flies upward thanks to the massive recoil, and whatever you were aiming at has been reduced to a bloody paste.

This gun welcomes those targets to try and get up close. By firing both barrels when aiming, the massive damage is instantaneous. You might be concerned about getting swarmed during the reload, but the iconic nature of the weapon improves reload time, so when the next melee enemy rushes in after the next, you'll be waiting with a smile.

8 The Headsman

Most players stay away from this weapon because it has three penalties tied to it. Here's the deal; those three penalties have to be on this weapon because its advantage is so extreme that, if it had no drawbacks, nobody would use any other weapon ever again.

Nearly tripling your projectiles is a lot of fun, especially on power weapons. Even if you miss, the ricochet still has a huge chance to apply bleed effects. And the reduced reload time means you can just keep firing until it's all over. If you plan to play blindfolded, this gun will make it as smooth as possible.

7 Mox

The Mox is a confused weapon. On one hand, it's a power weapon that is supposed to send shrapnel everywhere, but the reduced bullet spread means that it performs best as a mid-to-close range head hunter. That's not terrible, but it might make some dedicated shotgun users uncomfortable with the precision aiming this weapon requires.

The 2.0 update has given Mox greater reliability by fixing the projectile spread with each trigger pull. And in case any enemy gets too close, your shots have an increased chance of shocking or knocking your enemy over.

If you romanced Judy, you'll need to wait a few days after the end of "Pyramid Song" in order for Judy to call V and leave a heartfelt message. She'll say she left Mox at her place and gifts it to V to keep fighting the good fight.

6 Pozhar X-MOD2

The Pozhar is the second rapid-fire shotgun to arrive in Cyberpunk, and it's arguably even more effective. Although it doesn't have as much knockdown power as the Crusher, it fires faster and its smaller pellet count means that the Pozhar is effective out to ranges that the Crusher is not.

The Pozhar X-MOD2 is a slightly better Pozhar with improved handling and a guaranteed two open mod slots. If you like the regular Pozhar, the X-MOD2 version is just better in every way.

It can be a bit tricky getting the Pozhar X-MOD2. You have to arrive at the party in the early hours of the morning (just before 5 AM) in order for the door to be open.

5 Dezerter

The full text to the Dezerter's iconic effect can fill a book, but here's all you need to do: this shotgun does absolutely ludicrous damage every time you pull the trigger. Expect everyone and everything in front of you to die screaming.

The downside to this is that the Dezerter will almost always set you on fire. The upside is that gain movement speed and mitigation chance, but being on fire is still generally bad, and there are other shotguns on this list that can provide the same awe-inspiring power without setting you on fire.

4 Ba Xing Chong

The biggest problem with using shotguns at range is that the pellets spread out, so you're missing more than you're hitting. That's not a problem with Ba Xing Chong. Thanks to this shotgun being a Smart gun, every projectile fired from this monstrous weapon will find its mark. It's as overpowered as it sounds.

Additionally, the explosive rounds provide some AOE and also have a chance to knock your opponent over, making it look like you've hit your targets with a bunch of mini-grenades as they go flying. If you really don't care for shotguns, even iconic ones, use this one for the hilarious ragdoll effects.

Sadly, Ba Xing Chong is only obtainable after beating the game at least once. You have to kill Adam Smasher and loot his access key before going back to his boat to raid his secret stash.

3 Alibai

It's not mentioned in the Alibai's iconic effect, but in addition to inflicting a very special burn that guarantees critical hit damage alongside a damage over time effect, Alibai also has 15 rounds in the magazine and its shots fire additional pellets. Package this all together, and you've got one of the best shotguns in the game.

The Alibai can tear through nearly any enemy like it's not even there. It's easy to get as you only need to have access to Dogtown to find the Airdrop where the Alibai can be acquired, and it's effective even without going down the Body perk tree, although true solos will find the Alibai a supremely easy-to-use shotgun with even a few perks invested.

2 Order

Whatever is in front of Order dies. You don't even need to fully charge Order for it to have a devastating effect--for regular mooks, you can just partially charge it to blow their heads off. For entire crowds or tougher bosses, fully charge Order and watch them all turn into a red mist.

There are few weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 that feel like overkill. Order is one of those weapons.

1 Guts

Rebecca's shotgun from Edgerunners is the shotgun of Cyberpunk 2077. Like most shotguns, it requires you to be up close and personal with your opponents for it to deliver the full effect, but it can and does kill everything in a single impressive blast. What keeps this gun above Order is you don't have to wait--all that power comes out immediately without needing to charge anything.

The chemical and poison damage seems superfluous, but you can actually fire Guts well beyond its effective range to apply poison to targets that refuse to get close. Best of all, you can grab this gun near the start of the game and never look back. It's just sitting in some bushes waiting for its new owner.

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