Super shotgun/Doom 3

"The Vulcan 1270 Double Barrel Shotgun fires two 12-guage [sic] rounds simultaneously and can take down even the largest of game."

- PDA Description

The Vulcan 1270 Double Barrel Shotgun, also known as the Super Shotgun in Doom 3 is a callback of the Super Shotgun from Doom II: Hell on Earth. It is essentially an enhanced version of the normal Shotgun that utilizes two shells simultaneously from both barrels.

The Super Shotgun cannot be found in Doom 3 but in its expansion pack, Resurrection of Evil, and the BFG Edition exclusive campaign, Lost Mission.

Combat analysis
The Super Shotgun of Doom 3 can only hold two shells at a time. As one shell fires 13 pellets, the Super Shotgun doubles this to a total of 26 pellets, making it very devastating against larger targets. Every fire requires the weapon to be reloaded.

Like the classic iteration, the Super Shotgun has a break-action design, in which the barrels are hinged to allow the user to open the compartment and insert two shells before re-closing the barrel.

It uses the same shotgun shell ammunition as the normal Shotgun.



Tactical Analysis
As the standard shotgun in Doom 3 possesses similar firepower as the original Super Shotgun, this iteration makes it more powerful than its classic counterpart.

One shot from the Super Shotgun will instantly kill most monsters at close range and severely wound more powerful monsters. It can kill any enemy up to a Revenant in one body shot, (provided that all of the pellets connect), and even an Arch-vile in one headshot. If aiming for the head, the Super Shotgun can kill powerful foes such as Hell Knights with two shots.

Considering it also possesses the same range effectiveness as the regular Shotgun, the Super Shotgun is likely to score a quick kill per shot, regardless of range. Despite this, it is still ill-suited for long range combat. Thus, it will still require the player to occasionally risk closing in to unleash the shot, especially against more powerful enemies like the Mancubus and the Bruiser. It is also a slow weapon to use against multiple enemies, as its low ammo capacity and single shot can make the player briefly vulnerable for a few seconds after firing each shot. It is best to ensure that every shot counts, while being on the move, by dodging from other enemies' attacks while focusing on one enemy.

As the Super Shotgun eats up shells a lot quicker than the regular Shotgun, this will require a more strict approach of managing one's resources, especially when running low on ammunition. Given the high abundance of shells in many levels, this should rarely be an issue. However, in extreme cases, it is preferable to fall back to the regular Shotgun, especially when dealing with lesser enemies like Imps and Z-Secs, as one regular Shotgun blast is still potent enough to take them down, while still sparing enough shells for further use.