Call of Duty Vanguard devs confirm nerfs coming for “overpowered” Shotguns

Brad Norton
CoD Vanguard Shotgun gameplay

In the 11 days since CoD Vanguard’s launch, Shotguns have been running rampant as one of the strongest weapon types in the game. Mercifully, Sledgehammer Games has now confirmed nerfs are already on the way.

Outside of the two meta picks in the STG44 AR and the MP40 SMG, one weapon type has made more of an impact than anything else in CoD Vanguard: Shotguns.

With plenty of smaller maps in this year’s title, Shotguns have been near-unstoppable early on. You can’t go more than half a second on Das House without taking damage from a handful of these “overpowered” Shotguns.

But after almost a fortnight of close-range dominance, devs have confirmed help is on the way: Shotgun nerfs are coming in an upcoming patch.

CoD Vanguard Shotgun
Shotguns have been among the strongest weapons early into CoD Vanguard’s cycle.

Sledgehammer Games has heard the frustration with Shotguns in Vanguard loud and clear. One clip, in particular, is how the devs decided to frame their response.

After a player called in a V2 Rocket in just 30 seconds with their Shotgun doing all the work, the play went viral with over 2.5 million views on Twitter alone. As a result, devs chimed in on Nov. 16, revealing key balance changes are on the way.

“We’re here to perform a Shotgun exorcism,” the official Sledgehammer Games account responded with an accompanying GIF. “It’s time for a nerf,” they added.

Little else is know beyond the simple fact that Shotguns are now in line for some crucial damage reductions in the days to come. It’s more than likely we see this balance adjustment in the next Vanguard update.

While an exact release date for Vanguard’s next patch remains a mystery, we shouldn’t have to wait long. We’ve already seen two new updates since the game launched, meaning a third could be right around the corner.

We’ll keep you up to speed right here with specifics on the promised Cod Vanguard Shotgun nerfs along with any other changes as details emerge.

About The Author

Brad Norton is the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. He graduated from Swinburne University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and has been working full-time in the field for the past six years at the likes of Gamurs Group and now Dexerto. He loves all things single-player gaming (with Uncharted a personal favorite) but has a history on the competitive side having previously run Oceanic esports org Mindfreak. You can contact Brad at brad.norton@dexerto.com