How to get and use the Shotgun in Lethal Company

Who needs the mod when you have this?

The Nutcracker holding the Shotgun and showing its eye in Update 45 trailer for Lethal Company
Screenshot by Dot Esports via Zeekerrs

Putting your trusty Shovel to shame, the Shotgun has quickly become the most powerful weapon in Lethal Company. Here is how to get and use the Shotgun in Lethal Company.

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How to get the Shotgun in Lethal Company

Nutcracker's shotgun being reloaded in Lethal Company
Time to hunt down the monsters. Screenshot by Dot Esports via Wurps YouTube

The Update 45 for Lethal Company added a Shotgun into play. Unlike other weapons in the game, The Shotgun cannot be picked up as scrap or purchased in the Terminal. If you’re hoping to rip and tear through some Lethal Company foes, you’ll need to find a Nutcracker enemy first. Of course, you could always wield the Shotgun using a mod.

The Nutcracker in Lethal Company roams the facility interiors and is often found on the higher threat maps, Dine, Rend, and Titan. Although the Nutcracker can appear on the other Moons, the chances are incredibly low.

So, if you are hunting for the Shotgun, you’ll need enough money to get to the more expensive Moons. Luckily, only one Nutcracker can spawn at a time. The most straightforward method for nabbing the shotgun involves killing a Nutcracker and looting the boomstick from its corpse. A Nutcracker can be killed by four to five hits with the Shovel, Stop sign or Yield sign.

Alternatively, you can try to steal the Shotgun from the Nutcracker’s hands, but doing so is harder than killing it. You’ll need to wait until the Nutcracker is standing still and scanning the area for your team. It will reveal a single eye, with its entire body performing a slow 360-degree turn. Get behind the Nutcracker but close enough to see the grab prompt (E).

Tip:

Keep in mind that a Nutcracker doesn’t need to use its shotgun to kill you. If you’re not careful when you’re sneaking up on it or thwacking it with a shovel, a Nutcracker can deliver an immensely powerful kick that will send you flying. High risk, high reward!

How to use the Shotgun in Lethal Company

The Nutcracker will try to use melee attacks chase you if you manage to steal the Shotgun from it. Use cover whenever possible, and hide from the Nutcracker when it is scanning the area.

If you kill the Nutcracker, you can take the Shotgun and two shells from its corpse. These count as individual scrap and can be sold at the Company Building. You’ll need to load up the Shotgun with the shells by scrolling onto them in the inventory and pressing E to reload. If you try to fire the Shotgun when its empty, you’ll get nothing but a clicking noise.

The keybinds for the Shotgun are:

  • Fire – Left mouse click
  • Reload – E
  • Safety on/off – Q

The Shotgun can one-shot most enemies in Lethal Company. It’s risky, but you’ll need to get within two metre distance of each monster to damage and kill them. The Shotgun can kill these monsters using a specific number of shots:

The Shotgun doesn’t seem to have an effect against unkillable monsters like the Jester, Coil-Head, Hygrodere, and Ghost Girl. Due to its inconsistent hit box, the Shotgun may not always one-shot one of the monsters listed above. So you should only shoot when you absolutely have to.

Author
Image of Hadley Vincent
Hadley Vincent
Writer for Dot since Oct. 2023. Just a Psychology graduate trying to find the meaning of life through gaming. An enthusiast of indie horror and anime, where you'll often find them obsessing over a great narrative and even better twists that'd make M. Night jealous. Their shocking twist? They think The Last of Us II is a masterpiece.