In thisWasteland 3 Builds GuideI’m going to be showing you myShotgun Sergeant Buildwhich usesShotgunsto shred its enemies by the dozen, all while buffing its teammates in the process. Wasteland 3 can be extremely overwhelming for new players, and can cause confusion for veterans alike. In thisBuild GuideI’ll explain just how to make this Build, including what Weapons to use, what Skills to take and which Perks to pick up. If you’ve been looking for a Leadership Build then check this one out! More Guides on ourWasteland 3 Guidessection, including theSneaky Sniper Build.
Wasteland 3 Builds: Shotgun Sergeant
TheShotgun Sergeant Builduses a combination ofShotguns,Leadership,MechanicsandSurvivalto pump out tons of damage, thereby buffing its party members. By having lots of points into Leadership, the Shotgun Sergeant not only increases its party members' Hit Chance, but also Critical Chance and Damage when it kills multiple enemies or boss enemies. When combined with a Shotgun that has such a wide arc of attack, and extremely high damage, this is not hard to do at all. Especially when Shotguns usually only cost 3 AP maximum per shot.
But wait there’s more! Not only do these buffs apply to the Shotgun Sergeant itself, but thisBuildalso gains increased damage vs. machines for each point into Mechanics, and increased damage into mutants and creatures for each point into Survival. Top that off with a couple ofPerksin those vary same Skill lines, and you have yourself a force to be reckoned with!
Shotgun Sergeant Build Character Creation & Stats
Backgrounds
ThebackgroundI like to select for this Build isGoat Killerfor increased Critical Chance, but you could just as easily selectRaider Haterfor increased damage vs. Humans. You’ll have increased damage vs Robots and Animals, but not Humans from Mechanics and Survival, so this Background can help to round you out.
Attributes
The Shotgun Sergeant needs a large investment intoCharisma, not only to increase itsLeadershiprange, but also to increase Strike build up. The increase in Strike build up that you gain from high Charisma is vital to the success of this Build because the special attack that Shotguns do is absolutely devastating. This is the sole reason I chose Shotguns for this Build instead of Pistols, which passively boost Strike build up even more. It’s best to max this one out eventually.
This Build also needs a ton ofCoordinationin order to get off several shots per turn, ensuring it kills something, so that party members can take advantage of the Leadership buffs. I like to max this one out for best results.
Besides Coordination and Charisma, you’ll want someAwareness, someIntelligenceand someStrengthin order to further boost damage and survive ability. I like to drop at least 2 points into each of these.
When making this Build from scratch you should look toprioritize Coordination firstin order to gain Action Points that will help you wrack up kills. Once you are at max, or near max, you may start placing some points into Charisma to extend your Leadership range and boost Strike build up. Once you’ve placed several points into Charisma start to add points to Strength, Intelligence and Awareness until they are all boosted at least 2 points. Then max out Charisma. Further points should go into any of the other 3Attributes.
I use theSerial KillerQuirkfor this Build because you should be getting a kill every single round with this setup, so you should get an AP boost from this every turn. However,Two-Pump Chumpis not a bad choice either, because this will give you an extra 2 AP on your first two turns. You want to get kills quickly with this Build because that way your teammates gain your Leadership benefits as quickly as possible once in combat.
TheSkillsyou want for this Build areSmall Arms,Leadership,Mechanics,SurvivalandFirst Aid. You only need to take Small Arms to 8 in order to gain theDevastationPerk, and you only need to get Leadership to 5 to get theDemoralizePerk. However, you’ll likely want to max Leadership out eventually. Survival needs to be taken to 6 in order to get theBig Game HunterPerk, and Mechanics you just wan to dump points into as they come. All extra points should be placed intoFirst Aid, because you can revive people with extra health from Leadership, so there is nice synergy here.
Start by placing points into Small Arms and Leadership, taking them up together, prioritizing Small Arms. Dump extra points you have that can’t go into either of these into Mechanics and Survival. Then finish taking Small Arms up to 8, continuing to level Leadership, Mechanics and Survival after this has been accomplished. Any extra points go into First Aid to boost healing and revival efficacy. Note that you do not need to max out any of these Skills so you may spread around your Skill Points a lot more.
Shotgun Sergeant Build Weapons & Armor
I like to usetwo Shotgunsfor this Build, but you can use a Pistol and a Shotgun early on if you wish. The reason for two Shotguns is that you can mod one to have extra range, but a narrow cone. And you can mod the other to have a larger firing arc, so that you have the right Shotgun for any situation. Sometimes you need range, and sometimes you need spread. Swap to the one that is appropriate and use that.
ForArmoryou’ll want theSpectrum Assault Armor Setas this gives you +12% Critical Chance, +10% Initiative, +0.5 Detection Time, and +0.3 Combat Speed. You’ll also want theAnabolic Injectorto gain an additional Action Point when you’re able to get it. If you don’t have these yet, look for things that boost Combat Speed, Critical Chance or Hit Chance.
Shotgun Sergeant Build Perks
In this section we’ll take a look at whichPerksto take for the Shotgun Sergeant Build, and what order you should take them in. Which Perks you’re able to take are regulated by how many Points you have in each Skill, so this should also give you a road map of where to place Skill Points so that you can obtain these in the proper order.
Clear Cover- This Perk increases the damage to cover you deal with Shotguns by 100%. This can usually wipe out all cover in your firing arc in one blast, making subsequent shots much more accurate for you and other teammates.
Rally- This Perk can give every person in your party +2 AP for the cost of 4 of your AP. Early on in the game this will help boost your team, before your Leadership Skill is high. Once you’ve invested in Leadership a ways, you might be better off killing things to buff your teammates, however.
Draw!– This Perk allows you to get a free shot if you reload an empty magazine. This will be much more useful early on in the game, but it should still give you at least 1 free shot per encounter.
Structural Weakness- This Perk will increase your damage against Robots and Vehicles by 20%, on top of the amount you gain from each point invested in Mechanics, so it’s worth taking.
Devastation- This is the best Perk in this Build, increasing your damage by 25% for each enemy hit with the same Shotgun round. If you hit 4 enemies, that’s +100% Damage! Once you get this you’ll be a killing machine.
Big Game Hunter- This Perk will further boost your damage against Mutants and Animals by 20%, and much like Structural Weakness, that is on top of the damage per point spent into Survival.
Final Tips
Remember that your party gains the benefits of Leadership for a limited time when you kill multiple enemies or a “boss” enemy. Learn to recognize which enemies are considered bosses, and be on the lookout for multiple kill opportunities. Be sure to let a party member go before you if needed to soften up enemies, making sure that you get the kill.
Always use your specialStrike Attackwhenever it is available, because it can clear a screen with one blast. ensure to move into a position where you can hit the most enemies possible when using it, if you can. Additionally, by using it the second it’s available you’ll begin filling yourStrike Meteragain with your next attack, often making it possible to get 2 or more Strike attacks in one encounter.
Shotguns have friendly fire on modes that have friendly fire, so make sure not to shoot your teammates. This can be annoying, but is not that hard to do. Make sure you move if you need to for best results.
Lastly, DO NOT forget tomod both ShotgunswithChokes. This will allow you to extend the range of one Shotgun in exchange for a reduced firing arc, and will allow you to extend the arc of the other. This allows for precise kills or aoe shots depending on the situation you are in. This is very important because you don’t want to move any more than you have to, and this makes it so that you don’t have to.
Stay tuned for moreWasteland 3 Build Guides, as we explore just what sort of Builds you’re able to make in this post apocalyptic CRPG. And be sure to check out theOfficial Wikiif you need more help with the game!
