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This article appeared in Quake II  

Q2 Weapon Super Shotgun
Super Shotgun
Production information
Technical specifications
Damage Per Hit

20 pellets per shot
6 damage per pellet

  • 120 if all pellets connect
Maximum Ammunition

100 rounds

Fire Mode

Pump-Action

Ammunition Type

Shells

Rate of Fire

50 shots per minute

Usage
Era(s)

Quake 2

[Source]
This is the uncompromising big brother to the Shotgun. Choose your shots effectively. The slow firing rate may only give you a few chances to bring down the enemy before he’s able to engage you up close. It eats more shells than the Shotgun, but the show is well worth it.

—The Quake II Manual

The Super Shotgun is a double-barrelled shotgun. The SSG fires two shells per shot, but it's capable of considerably more damage with those two shells than two shots from the Shotgun can inflict (and it has the same rate of fire, so can deal damage more quickly at the expense of more ammunition). It fires twenty pellets at once, in quite a wide spread - at close range, it's possible to hit a single enemy with all twenty, which will inflict damage comparable to a direct hit with the Rocket Launcher. At medium to long range, the spread of the pallets will result in lower damage to a single target, but it is potentially capable of hitting several smaller targets (such as Guards and Flyers) at once, if not necessarily killing them.

The first opportunity to collect the SSG is in the first secret level, the Lost Station. If you miss that secret level, another can be found in a secret area at the end of Unit 1, and another at the start of Unit 2.

Strategies[]

Single Player[]

  • The Super Shotgun is an excellent weapon in Single Player, when used wisely. It's useful for taking out Guards at close range without needing pinpoint accuracy, and is capable of instantly killing them if enough of the pellets connect, thereby preventing them from returning fire with their own hitscan weapons. A full hit at close range can kill an Enforcer as well, but most of the pellets need to connect. A Berserker can be killed with two shots if all of the pellets connect, otherwise three shots will be necessary. Gunners can be killed with two decent hits at close range, although it's usually a better tactic to fight them at longer ranges where possible so you can dodge their grenade volley. It's also a great choice against Gladiators once you get the hang of the "dancing" strategy (see the Gladiator's own page). It can also be used to deal with several weaker enemies at once, notably Guards and Flyers. If cover is available for you to use to avoid return fire, it can even be used effectively against Tanks, Tank Commanders and bosses.
  • Since the SSG is effective against a wide variety of targets, and shells are very commonly found throughout the game, the weapon is likely to see a lot of mileage.
  • In the 2023 remaster, most weapons now have the ability to inflict double damage if their target is unaware of the player, including the Super Shotgun (in the original game, only a few weapons had this ability, most notably the Railgun). The Super Shotgun can benefit quite well from this change, capable of dealing severe damage if you are able to sneak up close behind an oblivious enemy, or if you can carefully poke the weapon around a corner to draw a bead on a Strogg who won't have a clear view of your body yet.

Multiplayer[]

  • The SSG really packs a punch in MP. If all of the shots connect, it can kill an newly spawned unarmored target in one shot. However, it can be difficult to make all of the shots connect on a moving target, so you'll have to circle strafe and jump around your target to get a kill. Since the enemy will probably be doing the same to stay hectic and unpredictable, you'll have to have some predicting skills to effectively use it.
  • If you miss or the shot doesn't connect, its better to switch to another weapon rather than waiting to reload. Although the SSG reloads pretty quickly, a missed shot can cause a deadly retaliation until you're ready to fire again. If you have no other reliable weapon, keep moving at the opposite direction of your opponent and change direction at random by stutter strafes. If both you and your enemy missed, crouching momentarily as you move around also helps you to bait shots at a distance; while jumping at close quarters as you reload may surprise them.
  • Since the SSG is a common Weapon in MP maps, you'll have plenty of opportunities to practice with it. At close quarters, it can retaliate head to head against any common heavy weapon in the game as long as you have them at their sights.
  • However, SSG is less useful beyond medium range. To counter the SSG users, stay away from them and use long range weaponry like Railgun. If the direct attack is not available, use explosives to deny them. Any type of grenade most likely slow them down.

Sounds[]

Sounds
Gunshot sound

Trivia[]

  • The Super Shotgun bears a close resemblance to the real-life Neostead 2000 shotgun. This is actually a coincidence, as the shotgun was debuted several years after the game's release.
  • When a living enemy is gibbed by the Shotgun or Super Shotgun, they will either make an injured or killed sound, instead of the expected gibbing sound. This is absent in certain versions of the game, such as the Remastered version.
  • Other than hand grenades, the Super Shotgun is the only weapon in vanilla Quake II available to the player but not used by the Strogg (however, the mission packs introduce some more).

Gallery[]

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