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With this perk, your precision with a scattergun is something to behold. When using shotguns, regardless of ammunition used, you ignore an additional 10 points of a target's Damage Threshold.— In-game description

Shotgun Surgeon is a perk in Fallout: New Vegas.

Effects[]

Taking this perk grants the ability to ignore 10 points of an enemy's Damage Threshold when using shotguns, regardless of the ammunition type used, e.g. slugs, buckshot, coin shot, etc.

Affected weapons[]

Notes[]

  • The reduction in Damage Threshold is applied individually to each pellet fired from a shotgun, rather than to the damage done by the weapon as a whole.
    • This counteracts, to some extent, a New Vegas game mechanic that drastically lowers the effectiveness of multi-projectile attacks against targets with even a low DT, as the latter is counted against each single low-damage projectile.
    • 12 gauge flechette rounds, when combined with this perk, will result in a -16 DT effect, whereas using magnum rounds or coin shot will result in -12 DT.
    • Using single-projectile ammunition (e.g. 12 gauge slug ammunition) against targets with substantially more than 10 DT becomes very effective, due to DT being applied only once and lowered at that. Similarly, this perk makes 4/0 Buck (12 gauge) or 3/0 Buck (20 gauge) rounds from Gun Runners' Arsenal more effective as they only contain four projectiles per shot, as opposed to the standard seven.
  • Works well in combination with the Dead Money perk And Stay Back, for added potential knock-down effect to the same attack.
  • Rose of Sharon Cassidy is given Companion Suite whenever she is serving as an active companion which has a special perk entry that's functionally identical to Shotgun Surgeon.
  • As with the perk And Stay Back, this perk does not affect the sturdy caravan shotgun.
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