The Warthog is a primary weapon (and the default weapon) for the Engineer. It’s a shotgun that is capable at close to mid range, dealing respectable damage. It’s best use is when you need single target damage, since it has good weak point damage! This weapon might seem basic at first, but it’s serviceable at all times, being able to stun, kill enemies quickly (if you hit their weak spots) and has decent ammo to round itself up. We’ve made some builds so you can draw the best from this fantastic weapon!
3. Mini Shells
We start off this list with Mini Shells, a great build if you want to spray and pray some pellets in the general direction of the enemies. This build is all about the ammo capacity and the ability to dish out enormous amounts of pellets quickly, mowing through anything that is on your crosshairs. We also feature an interesting perk in the last tier, that will make for a fun and engaging playstyle!
What Mini Shells Excels In?
- Mini Shells has fantastic ammo capacity, so you’ll rarely run out!
- This build has Turret Whip, a fun perk that we’ll explain in the Build Details section.
- You’ll still dish respectable amounts of damage, so don’t be afraid of pressing that trigger until everything’s dead.
Use This Build If…
- You don’t want to think about ammo (which is rare for the Engineer).
- You really like shooting a lot of pellets.
- You enjoy the Turret Whip playstyle.
Build Details
Supercharged Feed Mechanism: Rate of fire will improve the amount of pellets being shot, which will improve your damage.
Loaded Shells: More pellets equals more damage!
Quickfire Ejector: We like less reload time so you can keep shooting, but the other perks in this tier are great as well.
Bigger Pellets: We all like damage.
Turret Whip: This perk brings an interesting playstyle to the shotgun! Turret Whip is an upgrade for the Warthog that allows the Engineer to manually fire a powerful shot from a Sentry. If a single pellet from a shotgun with this upgrade hits a Sentry, it will cause the Sentry to consume 5 ammo from its reserves to fire a fast-moving projectile in the direction it is currently facing. If the Sentry does not have 5 ammo, it will not fire. The Sentry does not need to be targeting an enemy for this projectile to fire, and can be shot from the barrel while the Sentry is in its idle sweep. Turret Whip can be triggered on any Turret by any Engineer in the party that has the upgrade equipped.
Overclock - Mini Shells: Mini Shells adds more ammo, magazine size and reduces recoil of the Warthog, while decreasing damage, stun chance and duration.
- +78 Max Ammo
- +6 Magazine Size
- x0.5 Recoil
- -2 Damage
- -10% Stun Chance
- x0 Stun Duration
2. Cycle Overload
Do you like shooting fast? Do you enjoy not hitting anything further than the size of an Oppressor? Do you like to annihilate things from up close? Then lo and behold, we got the perfect build for you, Cycle Overload. This build features a lot of fire rate, a bit more damage, at the cost of some accuracy and reload time. This means that anything that decides it should try to bite you, will be obliterated by the Warthog, making it a fantastic weapon in cramped areas!
What Cycle Overload Excels In?
- You’ll shoot so fast that everything in your crosshairs will die quite quickly.
- This build is great if you want to get up close to priority targets!
- Since it’s a flexible build, you can change the perks to fit your playstyle.
Use This Build If…
- You like killing bugs quickly.
- You want to deal a lot of damage with your Warthog.
- You like being up close and personal with the enemies.
Build Details
Overstuffed Magazine: In this tier we could go for even more rate of fire, but a larger clip will let you fire more shells before having to reload.
Choke: If you really don’t care about pellet spread you can take any other perks in this tier, but we like being able to control (if only a little bit) where the pellets land.
High Capacity Magazine: This tier does the same thing as Overstuffed Magazine.
Bigger Pellets: More damage means quicker killing, saving up on time and shells.
Miner Adjustments: With this perk you’ll be able to auto fire, and it also increases rate of fire.
Overclock - Cycle Reload: Cycle Overload will increase your damage and rate of fire while increasing reload times and base spread.
- +1 Damage
- +2 Rate of Fire
- +0.5s Reload Time
- x1.5 Base Spread
1. Magnetic Pellet Alignment
If the Warthog’s damage to weak points wasn’t enough. Magnetic Pellet Alignment picks up on the strengths of this shotgun, and bumps them up to 11. Featuring weak point damage and lower spread, your pellets will be deadly accurate and will be able to kill enemies extremely quickly! You’ll have to be accurate with your crosshairs to use the full potential when you do, but if you already are, you’ll find out that this build is amazing for every situation. Take this setup to any Elimination mission, shoot the Dreadnaught’s butt, and see its health bar disappear!
What Magnetic Pellet Alignment Excels In?
- This build has fantastic damage, especially against enemies with obvious weak points.
- You’ll be able to be extremely accurate with the Warthog, landing most if not all the pellets where you want them to.
- Magnetic Pellet Alignment is great against bigger threats, like Dreadnaughts!
Use This Build If…
- You need a serviceable single target weapon.
- You are accurate with your shots.
- You are likely to encounter high priority targets.
Build Details
Supercharged Feed Mechanism: We like taking rate of fire here because we use the weapon full automatic, but it’s also viable to bring a bigger magazine size.
Loaded Shells: You’re already very accurate, so more pellets means more damage!
High Capacity Magazine: This perk will increase your magazine size, letting you shoot for longer before reloading. The other perks in this tier are viable as well.
High Capacity Magazine: We really like more damage, and so will you!
Miner Adjustments: This perk makes the Warthog automatic and increases its rate of fire.
Overclock - Magnetic Pellet Alignment: This overclock increases weakpoint damage bonus and reduces spread, while reducing rate of fire.
- x0.5 Base Spread
- +30% Weakpoint Damage Bonus
- x0.75 Rate of Fire
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