A lot of Valorant’s weapon categories have only two weapons to choose from. That is no different for the shotgun category. The shotguns in Valorant share some qualities, but overall, have vast differences. Much like the SMGs and several of the sidearms, the two shotguns’ uses are very dependent on the current in-game situation.

Any Agent can be useful with one of Valorant’s shotguns, but the spotlight needs to shine on Jett. With her ability to dash into a fight or escape from one, Jett makes shotgun use in Valorant annoying as can be to the enemies. Go queue up for a competitive match, pick Jett, and see for yourself.

Bucky

Cost: 900

The Bucky is the lowest costing weapon in the game outside of the sidearms. This thing packs a huge punch. With a smaller magazine than the Judge, it makes up for it with incredible damage. The five rounds per mag is enough to wipe a whole team without having to reload if they are foolish to come close enough.

15 pellets fire with every shot meaning that the weapon can do more than enough for a kill at any range if all or even just most of the pellets connect. Long range, however, the pellets will be too spread out for a full battery of the opponent. Anything below 7m is the preferred range for the Bucky. One head shot and they are finished.

There is a way to make it effective at a longer range, however. That is with the alternate firing option by righ-clicking. This is called Air Burst. It fires a canister that detonates after 7.5m. Once it detonates, it is just as if the shots are being fired from right out of the gun. This makes the Bucky a sort of medium range shotgun sniper. Do be aware that the canister does zero damage if it hits before the detonation rage.

Judge

Cost: 1500

The Judge is a juggernaut of a weapon at close range. If you are one to just bust around an angle without a care in the world, this gun was made for you. It is fully-automatic and packs enough punch to notch that ace in a matter of seconds.

The damage may be less than the Bucky, but the rate of fire makes up for it completely. It holds seven rounds per magazine and the spread of the 12 pellets per shot is very minimal. If you are able to rush a site and survive to defend the planted spike, the Judge does wonders. The same goes for simply defending the site in the first place.

A risky, but rewarding tactic to use with the Judge is to simply hide. Hide in the back of a site and wait for the enemies to take control. As they’re busy setting up their holding tactics, pop out and unleash hell. Make sure you can predict where the enemy team will end up, because having to rotate with a shotgun on some maps is not ideal.

Summary

Both shotguns come down to preference, but have their better uses. The Bucky is certainly used best for quick picks here and there on defense. The Judge, on the other hand, is best suited for an onslaught of the enemy team in a short amount of time. Compared to other weapon categories, they are both inexpensive tools to scare the unfortunate opponent that peeks around the wrong corner.

Be sure to check out the guides for sidearms and SMGs.

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