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The Halo series - Halo 3 specifically - packs some mighty fine firepower. From the UNSC to the Covenant, you'll find a metric ton (rough estimation) of tools of destruction, all with their ups and downs.

Today we'll look at two of my personal favorites, the shotgun and the mauler. Hit the jump, if you please.

The UNSC shotgun and the Covenant mauler have quite a bit in common. They both fire shells, they both devastate at close range; in fact, the mauler is more or less a compact shotgun.

So with the two weapons being so similar, which should you carry into battle?

If you're looking for raw power, the shotgun is the one you want. While blasting dual maulers in someone's face could get you an instant kill, it's not nearly as sure of a bet as the trusty shotgun. And if your target is wounded, it's entirely possible to take them out from a short distance. The shotgun can even do a surprising amount of damage to vehicles.

So what's the downside with ol' shotty? The magazine only holds six shells and you can only carry a max of 36 shells at a time. It also reloads one shell at a time, making for a pretty long reload time. Granted, you can interrupt the reload process and fire one shell at a time, but these leaves you pretty vulnerable in betweens shots.

Which brings us to the mauler. While being slightly less powerful (when dual wielding) than the shotgun and having shorter range, the mauler makes up for these shortcomings by having one of the quickest reload times in the game, even when dual wielding. Each magazine only holds 5 shells, one less than the shotgun, but when you when take into consideration dual wielding, that doubles to 10.

A close range shot with dual maulers will likely take down an enemy. However, if that enemy has a shotgun, don't even try it.

So in the long run, which is better? Well, I hate to sound inconclusive, but it really depends on your play style. If you have a knack for accuracy, I'd go with the shotgun, because you can take down any opponent (barring an overshield) before they can react. The downside is that when your magazine runs dry, you'll need to find a quick hiding spot while you reload.

If you're quick and wily, try the maulers. It will take more hits to take someone down, but as long as you can avoid dying in the process, you should be good. And with the fast reloading, you can be back in the battle in a heartbeat.

Source: Halopedia

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