Rip & Tear Scattergat: DOOM Super Shotgun!

It's one of the most iconic weapons of all time. It ranks up there with Vera, Frostmourne, the Silverballers, Blackfyre, and of course Ole Painless: it's the Doom Super Shotgun.

Remember this advice?

"If you want to let the air out of floating gasbags like Cacodemons and Pain Elementals, stick one of these in their eye sockets and pull the trigger. Sayonara slimeball!"
— DOOM 2 OFFICIAL STRATEGY GUIDE

Doom defined the first-person shooter genre for years. Games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and the like can all credit their legacies to Doom. Doom offered bloody, vicious violence with an arsenal of weapons.

One that's always stood out (to me and to anyone with any sense) is the Super Shotgun.

This article originally ran on 10/21/21

Super Shotgun Love

Give 'Em Both Barrels

The super shotgun, also known as the combat shotgun or double-barrel shotgun, officially premiered in Doom 2. In the meta, the super shotgun was a new weapon to the Space Marines' arsenal and stood beside the standard pump-action shotgun.

It utilizes the same ammo but more than doubles up the damage. Your standard pump-action shotgun fires seven pellets per trigger pull, but the super shotgun fires 20 pellets per trigger pull. When you literally let loose with two barrels, you can see why the pellet load increases.

The downside is that it takes twice the time to prep a second shot. This makes the super shotgun like a two-handed, double-bitted battle-ax. It takes tremendous effort and time to swing the weapon, and if you miss, you'll pay for it.

The super shotgun allows Doom Guy to slaughter the largest of enemies in just a few blasts. Hell, Doom 2 was one of the first games that allowed you to blast multiple bad guys in a single shot - though the in-game recoil was twice what you got from the game's standard pump action.

Whatever. Worth the risk. Is there a greater feeling than putting two imps on their ass with a single blast from your super shotgun?

Doom moves fast and rewards aggression more than slow, methodical gameplay. This makes the super shotgun a natural choice for a fast-moving game. Circle strafing, lining up multiple bad guys, and letting 20 pellets of buckshot do its job is a blast. Literally.

"A devastating close-range weapon, the Super Shotgun presents plenty of risk and reward."
— ARSENAL DESCRIPTION, DOOM 2016

Too Angry To Die: All the Doom Games

The joke of Doom being exported to literally everything, including Samsung fridges, means it's tough to say its official appearances and what counts. Originally Doom 1 mods and such could add the Super Shotgun, it was a significant part of Doom 2, and in Doom 3, it was part of a DLC.

Doom "SSG" (Doom Super Shotgun)

Unlike the futuristic, higher-tech weapons around it, the Super Shotgun (frequently abbreviated as SSG is a break-open, side-by-side, double-barrel design that would have been familiar to (and operable by) people as far back as the John Adams administration. Possibly further. It's also cut down, or "sawed-off," which makes it more theatrical and doubtless causes proponents of the National Firearms Act much gnashing of teeth.

Fact is, it isn't terribly much different than the double-barrel flintlock shotguns designed by the "Father of the Modern Shotgun," Joseph Manton (1766-1835). This isn't surprising since the Doom SSG was based on the "Stoeger Coach Gun."

You might recognize the Stoeger Coach Gun from the arsenal of another creature-fighting hero.

The "Boom Stick" wielded by Ash in "Army of Darkness was a Stoeger Coach Gun. Now ya know.

Doom Guy probably wouldn't care about that, and you probably don't either, but we thought we'd pass it along.

Doom 64 SSG

The Super Shotgun also pops up in Doom 64 and famously fires super quick but lacks the reload animation. It also shoves the player back with every shot. Not the best representation to me. I always loved the reload animation.

Doom 2016 SSG

Perfect for emasculating Mancubi.

In Doom 2016, the Super Shotgun pops in and provides shooters with a real visceral and fun gun. As you upgrade the gun, one mod allows you to change the function of the gun. Instead of blasting both barrels, you can fire one at a time. Sadly the alt-fire doesn't allow you to drop both barrels. Get the Double Trouble upgrade, and you're really laying down the hate. (Other upgrades include Faster Reload and Uranium Coating.)

It looks so innocuous there with all the other weapons in the arsenal… but it's awesome.

Doom Eternal

In Doom Eternal, the Super Shotgun (the 5th primary weapon you can get ahold of) gets real metal. Now your double-barrel shotgun rocks a meat hook that can be fired into enemies to close some distance. Launch the meat hook into your enemies, and you fly towards them, allowing you to then give 'em both barrels right up close and personal.

The Super Shotgun in Doom Eternal has several available skins - seen here is Lux. There are plenty of others, including (naturally) "blood-stained."

Now Go, Rip and Tear,

The original Super Shotgun was built off history's classic coach gun design. Take a double-barreled shotgun, chop the stock into a pistol grip and the barrels down to whatever length you want, and call it a day. The wood furniture certainly stands out in a game based in space, but hell, it's natural.

Double barrel shotguns are a different kind of cool and always will be. There is something about pointing two big barrels at something and letting a load of buckshot fly that will always be gratifying.

Sure, it's more stylish than effective, but Doom isn't a tactical shooter. The reload animation has always been way too cool for school and carries on throughout the Doom games. (Except Doom 64.)

The Super Shotgun fits perfectly into the super violent world and allows for dismemberment and decapitation. It rewards speed and aggression and penalizes any form of failure.

Gaming Scattergats

The reason we love shotguns in games is twofold.

First, they are brutally effective at close range and deal tons of damage. Second, using one is a gamble that's based purely on your skill. If you fire a frame too early or a frame too late, you'll get the punishment associated with slow follow-up shots.

The Super Shotgun delivers both the reward and penalty of the gamble. A good hit deals you a shot of dopamine; a miss, well, you know what happens.

Using the super shotgun is a gamble, and gambling is fun.