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I've got around 500 Vandal kills on my account and 10,000+ shotgun kills (I play them a fair bit).

I thought I'd make a post to share tips on how to shut players like me down. Why am I sharing how to beat me? The Valorant community getting better helps me improve too. Hope these tips help someone!

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1. When to expect the shotgun. I personally buy Shorty first round and Judge second round. If a player does this, they are likely a shotgun player for the entire game. Using a shotgun in a non-eco round is a clear sign you're up against someone that uses it as their main weapon
2. Control your mental. Shotguns, like Odin, can be triggering to people with a weak mental. Breathe. Plan and adapt. Keep a clear mind and you'll do better than when you're titled
3. Check corners. It's really basic but you'd be surprised the number of people that either don't do it or only vanity check (when they quickly check corners without being ready for a gun fight). Be disciplined! Shotgun players thrive off players making mistakes
4. Force them to rotate. Rotations with a shotgun are tricky. If you know a shotgun player is playing somewhere, push elsewhere and force them to retake, putting them at a severe disadvantage
5. Take corners long. Shotguns lose significant damage at range. Shotguns are devastating close range so reduce their damage by taking corners long and forcing the shotgun player to work harder
6. Use utility/flash. I punish people that don't use util when pushing common shotgun spots. Don't dry peek. Use your utility - especially flashes. Since the introduction of Gekko, I struggle more to deal with flashes (looking away or shooting the flash). I personally struggle more with flashes than taking long gunfights - so make sure your flash agent is clearing common shotgun spots
7. Trade teammates. If you suspect a shotgun player is holding a location, don't line up with your teammates for their next multi-kill. My tip here is to have one teammate speed past them (Neon, Jet, Raze, etc) and force them to need to flick between multiple targets pushing them. They will likely kill one but not both. Test their mechanical skills
8. Don't solo against shotgun players. Play together! When attacking a five man push is more effective than splitting your push. When you split, you're more likely to have only one player push a shotgun player, which favours the shotgunner
9. Odin/Ares. I struggle more against these guns as they have such a high ammo clip and wall penetration. It's harder for me to jump around corners and use smokes when the enemy is wall-banging bullets or prefiring. Also, chances are that shotgunners have less experience fighting these players than Vandal/Phantom - take them out of their comfort zone
10. Know your shotgunners. There are two main playstyles. Camper (the more cringe 'hide in corners') and Roamer (The more competent 'glide around the map using utility', eg: Dasnerth). If you're up against a camper, flush them out using the tips above. Great shotgun players jump around corners and are highly mobile. If you're up against a more competent shotgun player, you'll need to work on your target tracking. Their head won't be where the average Vandal player's head is. Your crosshair placement should still be head level but you will likely need to flick upwards when they push you
11. Listen for sound. More competent shotgun players use high mobility, rather than shift-walking. If you hear an enemy running full speed, it's likely the shotgunner. Adapt accordingly
12. Shoot through smokes. Competent shotgun players roam the map making heavily usage of utility (think Viper's orb or Cypher's cages). If you see these being deployed, shoot them. A competent shotgunners best friend is high-mobility. Nothing annoys us more than being slowed down by chip damage through smokes. Do it as much as possible
13. Forget your learnt and practiced 'A' and 'D' strafe movement. It's time to spam 'S'. When you see a shotgunner charging towards you, fire at their head and back away from them (to reduce their shotgun damage). Do not rely on A/D strafing and definitely do not remain stationary

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Hope these tips help! Add any other tips you have below and I'll add them to this post.