So, you’ve finally realized that the pistol is basically a paperweight. Everyone does. You start the game, you crash-land on Nauvis, and within twenty minutes, the local wildlife is trying to eat your copper cables. Most players instinctively reach for the submachine gun because it feels familiar. It’s fast. It’s "accurate." But if you want to actually clear out a nest without dying six times in the early game, you need to learn how to shotgun Factorio style.
It’s a different beast. Honestly, it’s about rhythm.
The shotgun in Factorio isn't like a sniper rifle or even the assault rifle. It’s a tool for demolition. While the submachine gun picks off single biters, the shotgun clears paths. If you’re standing still, you’re already dead. The shotgun requires a "dance." You move in, you fire, you retreat. It’s about managing the spread and understanding that, in this game, your greatest enemy isn't the biter—it's the tree standing in your way.
The Raw Math of the Scattershot
Let’s talk damage. People look at the stats and get confused. A basic shotgun shell fires multiple pellets. In the early game, a standard shotgun shell deals $4 \times 12$ damage. That’s 4 damage per pellet with 12 pellets in a single blast. If you’re standing point-blank against a small biter, that biter is effectively erased from existence.
Compare that to the submachine gun. The SMG fires fast, sure, but it deals 5 damage per hit. Against a group of biters, you’re hitting one target at a time. The shotgun hits everything in a cone. It’s crowd control. When you shotgun Factorio nests, you aren't just aiming at the bugs; you are aiming at the space they occupy.
But there is a catch. Armor matters.
Factorio uses a flat-reduction armor system. If a target has 2 physical armor, your 4-damage pellet suddenly only does 2 damage. This is why the basic shotgun falls off a cliff once medium biters show up. Medium biters have a flat 4 physical armor. Do the math. Your basic pellets do almost nothing. At that point, you have to upgrade to the combat shotgun and piercing rounds, or you're just tickling the enemy with lead confetti.
How to Shotgun Factorio Spawners Early
The "drive-by" is the most effective way to use this weapon. You don’t walk toward a nest. You run tangent to it.
- Get a car. This is non-negotiable for mid-game clearing.
- Drive in a wide circle around the biter base.
- Aim your shotgun at the spawners, not the biters.
- Let the spread do the work.
Because the shotgun has a wide arc, you can hit the spawners while also accidentally clipping the biters chasing you. It’s efficient. You’ve probably noticed that biters tend to clump up when they chase you. That’s the "sweet spot." A single blast into a clump of twenty biters is worth more than three magazines of SMG ammo.
Don't ignore the trees. Seriously. One of the most common ways to die while trying to shotgun Factorio camps is getting your car stuck on a lone oak tree because you were too busy aiming. The shotgun is actually a decent logging tool in a pinch, but don't rely on it for that. Clear a path before you engage.
The Combat Shotgun is the Real King
Once you hit red and green science, you might think you’re done with shotguns. You’re wrong. The Combat Shotgun is arguably one of the most satisfying power spikes in the game. It’s semi-automatic. It’s fast.
When you load piercing shotgun shells into a Combat Shotgun, the game changes. Each shell now does $8 \times 16$ damage. That’s 128 raw damage per click if every pellet hits. With a few levels of "Physical Projectile Damage" research, you can one-shot medium biters and melt spawners in seconds.
I’ve seen players try to use flamethrowers for everything. Flamethrowers are great, don't get me wrong. But they have a "travel time." The shotgun is instant. If a biter is in your face right now, the shotgun is the only thing that guarantees it won't be there in half a second. It’s the "get off me" button of the Factorio world.
Why Most Players Fail with the Shotgun
It’s usually a lack of aggression. You can't be timid.
If you try to use the shotgun from max range, you're wasting ammo. The spread is too wide. Most of those pellets are just hitting the dirt. To shotgun Factorio enemies effectively, you have to be uncomfortably close. You have to wait until you can see the mandibles on the biters.
Another mistake? Forgetting the "follow-through." Biters spawn in waves. If you kill the first wave and then stand there admiring your work, the second wave will surround you. You need to keep moving in a "figure-eight" pattern. Fire, move, fire, move.
Logistics of the Shell
You’re going to need a lot of iron and copper. Shotgun shells are cheap, but you’ll go through hundreds of them in a single raid.
A standard shell costs 2 copper plates and 2 iron plates. Piercing shells are pricier, requiring steel and copper. Honestly, by the time you're using piercing shells, your factory should be big enough that the cost is negligible. Just set up a small dedicated assembly line. Two assemblers making shells is usually enough to keep a single player stocked for hours of combat.
If you’re playing multiplayer, the shotgun becomes even better. One player can use the SMG to "slow" the biters with constant hits, while the other moves in for the kill with the shotgun. It’s a classic combo. Just watch out for friendly fire. The shotgun spread doesn't care if it's a biter or your best friend in its path. I’ve seen more than one "oops" moment result in a destroyed power pole and a dead teammate.
The End Game: Is the Shotgun Still Relevant?
Eventually, you get Power Armor MK2. You get personal laser defense. You get portable fusion reactors. Does the shotgun still matter when you have a literal death ray attached to your chest?
Kinda.
Lasers are great for defense, but they have a limited fire rate. If you get swarmed by a hundred "Behemoth" biters, the lasers might not keep up. The Combat Shotgun with high-level research still holds its own. It’s a backup. It’s for when your internal battery runs dry and the biters are closing in. Plus, there is something deeply rewarding about the sound effect. The thump-thump-thump of a combat shotgun is way more satisfying than the pew-pew of a laser.
Advanced Tactics for Late Game
Use "Slowdown Capsules" in tandem with your shotgun. Throw a capsule to turn the biter horde into a crawling mess of sludge, then walk up and unload. It’s essentially fish in a barrel.
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- Priority 1: Spawners. If you don't kill the spawners, the biters never stop.
- Priority 2: Worms. Their spit predicts your movement. Kill them before they land a hit.
- Priority 3: The "Big" guys. Use the shotgun to thin the crowd so your turrets or lasers can focus on the high-health targets.
Research is your best friend. Every level of "Weapon Shooting Speed" makes the combat shotgun feel more like an automatic weapon. By level 5 or 6, it’s basically a wall of lead. You don’t even have to aim specifically at targets; you just aim in the general direction of "not my factory" and everything in that direction disappears.
Key Takeaways for Mastering the Shotgun
- Stop Sniping: The shotgun is a melee weapon with extra steps. Get close.
- Research Matters: Don't judge the shotgun by its base stats. The upgrades are exponential because they apply to every single pellet.
- The Combat Upgrade: Switch to the Combat Shotgun as soon as you have the technology. The manual-action shotgun is a starter tool; the Combat Shotgun is a war machine.
- Watch the Trees: They are the only thing that can truly stop you.
- Ammo Management: Always carry twice as much ammo as you think you need. Running out of shells in the middle of a biter nest is a quick way to see the "Game Over" screen.
The next time you head out to expand your borders for that sweet, sweet iron patch, leave the SMG in the car. Grab a stack of shells and a Combat Shotgun. You’ll find that clearing nests becomes less of a chore and more of a rhythmic, satisfying part of the Factorio loop.
To truly master the shotgun, start by setting up a dedicated production line for Piercing Shotgun Shells and prioritize the Physical Projectile Damage research in your tech tree. Once your damage bonus hits +100%, head to a medium-sized nest and practice the "strafing run" technique—driving parallel to the nests and firing into the center of the cluster. This will build the muscle memory needed for the late-game Behemoth encounters.