Combat Shotgun

"Come to daddy, my sweet shotgun."

- Francis "This shotgun feels right. It feels real right."

- Ellis

The Combat Shotgun is an Auto Shotgun variant in Left 4 Dead 2. It holds up to ten shells with 90 in reserve. It is a Tier 2 weapon and spawns in the same places as its counterpart, the Tactical Shotgun. In early footage, the Combat Shotgun used the former's animations as placeholders, but eventually got its own animations.

Tactics

 * The Combat Shotgun is very effective at close range against major threats, such as Tanks, Witches, etc.. Ideally, Incendiary/Explosive ammo should be used with this weapon when up against a Tank.
 * While the Combat Shotgun has a tighter spread and is thus slightly more accurate than the Tactical Shotgun, it is not a ranged weapon; nevertheless, it is marginally better at handling mid-range threats than the other auto shotgun.
 * Great care is needed on Expert mode because two shots can and will incapacitate a teammate. Even a misdirected shot can be fatal! Switching to a melee weapon or Pistol is therefore almost essential if a Horde is attacking a team member.
 * Acquire the habit of reloading often since the less ammo there is in the magazine, the longer it takes to reload and bring the weapon back into action. Apart from high-pressure emergencies requiring full auto, a good idea is thus to reload after every couple of shots.
 * If caught with an empty, reloading weapon during a Horde, switch to a backup weapon or keep shoving as the shotgun will still carry on reloading in the interim.
 * Narrow hallways and choke points are ideal conditions for this weapon. A Horde trapped in such killing zones can be obliterated by the Combat Shotgun.
 * This weapon fires heavy buckshot that can easily penetrate thin walls and barriers at close range, although its stopping power is degraded by doing so.
 * Using a laser sight on the Combat Shotgun does nothing to enhance its technical accuracy. Its practical benefits are limited to showing teammates where a player is aiming and to confer a psychological advantage in the sense of being able to pick out a target with more confidence.
 * This weapon makes dispatching Witches incredibly easy (except on Advanced and Expert). All a player has to do is to get up close (preferably behind) and shoot her a few times, almost certainly killing the Witch and possibly Cr0wning her. This brutal capability can be handy on Versus as it obviates the need for the fine technique required for Cr0wning her. An aggressively startled and attacking Witch can also be dropped in her tracks if a Combat Shotgunner simply backs up to maintain distance and goes full auto on her central body mass. The ease of Cr0wning Witches with the Combat Shotgun can lead to multiple Cr0wnings in a single game. A good tactic would be to have a "designated Cr0wner" who would carry a Combat Shotgun and kill/Cr0wn any witch that comes in the way of the survivors.
 * Clicking repeatively will make the weapon fire faster than holding down the mouse, but be aware that it will drain ammo faster, this also goes to the Tactical Shotgun.

Pros

 * It has high damage, making it incredibly effective at killing Infected at close range.
 * Is better than the Tactical Shotgun at handling mid-range threats.
 * Can easily cr0wn a Witch.
 * Has a tighter spread than the Tactical Shotgun.
 * Despite the damage penalty, at close range, it can be a very effective weapon against a Tank, especially with Incendiary Ammo or when two or more people use the same shotgun.
 * Has a fair amount of close-range penetration and is very effective at taking down Hordes.
 * Great for houses and cramped spots.
 * Works well with a Magnum or dual Pistols for far away targets.
 * Is reloaded with individual shells, so reloading often and early results in a very quick reload.
 * The gun can be partially reloaded; if a reload is started and not completed by switching to another item, the gun is not left with zero ammo as opposed to the guns that use magazines.

Cons

 * Effectiveness is drastically reduced the farther away the shooter is from their target. Switch to pistols to handle ranged threats.
 * It has a very low amount of ammo, only being able to hold 10 shells at once.
 * Due to its high rate of fire and low ammunition reserve, it is very easy to run entirely out of ammo.
 * Its spread of shot is tighter than that of the Tactical Shotgun so it is slightly less effective at taking down Hordes.
 * Although it can hit farther than its counterpart shotguns, hitting a distant Smoker or Spitter remains problematic on account of its short range.
 * Reloading time is extremely long if the magazine is low on ammo or has been emptied.
 * Its effectiveness is reduced in open spaces where Hordes can spread out and attack from multiple directions.
 * Friendly fire becomes an issue on higher difficulties.
 * Laser Sights do not improve anything―accuracy stays the same.
 * Suffers a 15% damage penalty against the Tank.

Differences
The Combat Shotgun is built for longer distances than the Tactical Shotgun, with a tighter spread, fewer pellets per shot, and more damage per pellet. This makes it more effective against individuals or small groups at medium range, but it is still largely ineffective at long distances. This also makes it slightly easier to cr0wn a Witch than with its counterpart. At extreme ranges, the Combat Shotgun's lower pellet count results in it having less hit chance than the Automatic Shotgun, despite the tighter spread. However, both shotguns are practically useless at these ranges.

Behind the Scenes

 * Early beta footage showed that the Combat Shotgun used the Left 4 Dead Auto Shotgun animations, including pulling a non-existent stock when the gun was pulled out. It also seemed to have the same damage, fire rate, and so forth as the original Auto Shotgun early on.


 * Early videos show that the folding stock on the Combat Shotgun had an animation while moving. http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-left-4-dead/50357