This will basically just be a Flechette Cannon that shoots multiple projectiles at once instead of firing one at a time.
The weapon will have a spread like the Flechette Cannon.
There will be a Mk1 and a Mk2 version.
The Mk1 will fire 10 and the Mk2 will fire 20 projectiles at once.

Small Port
Shotgun Mk1
License: 4/6/0/0/0
Damage: 300
Velocity: 200m/s
Projectiles: 10
Energy: 60
Mass: 1000 kg
Delay: 1s
Grid: 5

Large Port
Shotgun Mk2
License:5/6/6/0/0
Damage: 300
Velocity: 200m/s
Projectiles: 20
Energy: 120
Mass: 2000 kg
Delay: 2s
Grid: 8

Edit:
The auto aim should be extremely limited just like the railgun.
Changed Mk2 to large port.
Increased weight.
It's 300 damage per shot, in case anyone doesn't get it.

I ***HEAVILY*** approve of adding a shotgun, period!

However, I think both need to have their weight increased a little more. maybe? Also, it isnt mentioned, but lets have railgun-level autoaim here - none at all. its a wide-area [dunno what would be a good arc range] burst weapon, so it should be up to the player to point it in the right direction and maximise his own chances to hit an opponent.

btw, my old suggestion for a xith shotgun, in case any arguments made there could help refine this one. though that was an ammo-based large port item >.>

+1

why not a large port? we got a flettech already for small

As much as I love a good blast ....

There are a number of issues that limit any weapon sending out multiple rounds at once such as swarms and fletchettes.
Sadly this type puts extra stress on the servers due to tracking all the individual rounds. In some cases the devs can streamline the process some but doing so creates a special case that they have to deal with constantly.

Large port could use some love.

so, make the objects being sent out visual, and then just determine hit % from a cone of effect?

Why no heavy license levels?

-1

Thanks for your replies. I changed the stats a bit according to your suggestions.
And also Wash, stop trolling and give reasons and discuss instead of just saying -1.
You obviously disagree and that means you must have good reasons to do so and I want to hear them.

Edit: I was wondering why this game doesn't have a shotgun already and after reading what PaKettle said it makes sense that we don't have them already.

Since you need it spelled out for you:

You did not specify if the 300 dmg was total or per projectile -

- If it is per projectile then it is HUGELY over powered 3000/6000 per shot? Are you high?

- If it is total dmg for all projectiles then what is the point? Who is going to use that kind of energy to only do 300 dmg. Waste of dev time.

None of your suggestions are very well thought out as to how they will affect overall game play & balance. They are all "I want shiny new toys" instead of "hey this would make game play interesting or balanced"

A shotgun would actually make the game more interesting and 300 is per shot which should be pretty obvious. Also it doesn't have to be the final damage but I went with it because it's similar to the Flechette Cannon Mk2 which has 280 damage per shot but since the shotgun is so heavy and has a slower rate of fire I went with 300 for now. Also the whole concept of shotguns is high damage at close range but low damage at longer ranges and a low rate of fire but you have to hit with them and if you have ever played with a Flechette Cannon you would know that you won't hit with every bullet.
Out ot these 10 bullets maybe 2 to 4 will hit at average fighting distances which would be 600 to 1200 damage.
It's supposed to be a close range weapon so of course it should be good at that and bad at longer ranges.
And this weapon will have terrible auto aim like the rail gun so that will make things even worse.
I think 300 sounds pretty good if you consider all this.
This weapon will be hard to use but reward good and patient players.
The DPS is 3000 for both Mk1 and Mk2 which is less than the Flechette Cannon Mk2 and that is only if you hit with all shots, which will very rarely happen.

A LENB for example has 4885 DPS and you can hit more often with it.
And even if this weapon turns out to be too strong, it's just a simple matter of changing one number to fix that.
The average damage would most likely be less than a Gauss Cannon, which even has good auto aim, so is the Gauss Cannon overpowered now?

But lets discuss that, does anyone think the damage of 300 per shot is too high or too low?

Tie them to pvp specialist badges and remove autoaim and i will +1.

+1
I suggest making the range very short let's say 150 m

150m would make this weapon quite useless. I was thinking of just using the normal Flechette projectiles. I think the range is 600.

No, based on the design it would be firing multiple projectiles, thus having less power behind them, resulting in a smaller projectile speed and thus lower distance to travel. but in the case of a fight, 150-200m range would be perfect for this. Also, if its 300 per pellet, that really is incredibly high. Perhaps 100 to 200? Sure, you get less damage at extended range, but thats why the MkII would have a narrower cone of effect AND why the weapon would be used in close-quarters fights. *IF* all pellets hit you'd get 1k damage, so you likely wouldnt use this as a primary weapon, but using this in tandem with a rapid fire weapon would do pretty nice. I'm thinking a long range weapon, so your opponent has to choose between which weapon they think they can dodge better.

I've heard it said DPS isnt good for determining weapon effectiveness, by the way, since most shots will never land. I think its better used as a metric for anti-capship weapons, which this clearly wouldnt be. Its more like a fighter's weapon, for shutting down any opponent fighters sent after opposing bombers.

With 1k damage you're better off using Gauss or just the Flechette

It is an energy weapon and should be a primary weapon. It needs to be able to compete with the rest. 200 damage per shot is the lowest I think would be appropriate and a range of 400m.

You might need a name change. Shotgun reminds me of a ammo based weapon. A name change will help to define the roll you wish it have, so that we can further distill this idea.

This is a space game and not real life. Shotguns don't have to have ammo. It would just shoot normal projectiles like the Flechette Cannon.

But I thought about a new name: Ion Scattergun

Most of the current high end weapons follow some basics.

Between 3k and 4.8k damage per second. 4k is not uncommon.
4grid for most. some are 8grid, most power cells support 20grid total.
around 66 to 30 damage per energy. 50 damage per energy is not uncommon.
600m - 1000m range, or in other terms, about 3 to 7 seconds life. Seconds of life multiplied by fire rate determines server load. how many projectiles is the server maintaining at a time?

You have not specified the spread of the shotgun effect. Can all the projectiles hit a small target, or are they spread out so that only one is likely to hit a small ship at medium range?

The spread would probably be the same as the current Flechette Cannon. You just fire multiple of these at once. As for projectiles, there will be a maximum of 40 projectiles for both the Mk1 and Mk2. Which should be less than it's currently possible with the Flechette and Gatling Cannons.