20 Gauge Shotgun

Lore & Background

In the Halcyon system, the Anomaly has severed the colonies from Earth's supply chains, and the Monarch Corporation's shipping manifests are the closest thing to a global economy. That means most of the small arms circulating on the outer worlds are surplus, salvaged, or hand-assembled in back-alley workshops. The 20 Gauge Shotgun fits squarely in that category: a straightforward pump-action design with a wooden forend, a short barrel, and a tubular magazine that a person can load by hand. There is no serial-plate branding from a major arms consortium, no holographic sight, no smart-lock. Just a reliable tube, a pump, and a spread of steel shot that will put a hole in whatever is between you and the exit.

In Their Own Story

The air in the dockside armory tasted of rust and recycled sweat. You ran your thumb along the worn wooden forend of the 20 Gauge, feeling the little nicks where someone's knuckles had worn the varnish smooth over a dozen seasons. Behind the counter, the vendor—a broad-shouldered woman with a Monarch security patch she'd clearly peeled off and replaced with a hand-painted star—winked and said, "Twelve pellets. No questions. No warranty. No Monarch support line."

You racked the pump once. The bolt slid home with a sound like a small, satisfied sigh. Outside, the colony's wind was kicking up red dust against the plexiglass, and somewhere down the street a generator coughed and caught. You slung the shotgun across your back, felt the familiar weight settle against your shoulder blade, and walked out into the amber light. No plasma. No smart-lock. Just you, the pump, and the long, quiet road to the next outpost.

Reader's Guide

**20 Gauge Shotgun** Type: Shotgun (Pump-Action) | Tier: Common

Stat Block: Deals Piercing damage in a close-range spread. Moderate damage per pellet, moderate fire rate limited by pump-action cycling. Low weight. No special effect or unique perk in its base form. Uses standard shell ammunition (Piercing type).

Availability: Found early in the game. It can be picked up in the Halcyon ship's early areas or purchased from low-tier vendors in the first landing zone. It is NOT quest-gated and NOT DLC-exclusive—it is a standard, freely available common weapon.

Notable notes: As a Common-tier pump, it is outclassed quickly by higher-tier shotguns (such as the 12 Gauge or the various rare/epic shotguns found later). Its main appeal is early-game reliability and the tactile pump-action feel. No unique flavor text distinguishes it from other common shotguns in a meaningful way, though the game's general item descriptions lean into the Halcyon's retro-frontier tone. It pairs well with the Piercing damage resistance build if you are stacking that school early, though most players will swap it out within the first act.

Tip: If you are playing a melee-heavy or unarmed build, the 20 Gauge is a solid fallback for crowd control in tight corridors without committing to a dedicated gun build.

Did You Know?

• In The Outer Worlds, shotguns deal Piercing damage, making the 20 Gauge a useful early option for players who want to invest in the Piercing damage school before unlocking higher-tier options.
• The pump-action mechanic means the 20 Gauge has a noticeable reload/cycle delay between shots, a deliberate design choice that contrasts with the rapid-fire feel of the game's semi-auto and full-auto weapons.
• The Outer Worlds' weapon design leans heavily into a 1970s-80s retro-futurist aesthetic; the 20 Gauge's wooden forend and simple tube magazine fit squarely into that 'chunky, mechanical, analog' visual language rather th
• Common-tier weapons like the 20 Gauge can be modified with attachments (barrels, stocks, sights) found throughout the Halcyon system, letting players tune a basic pump into a more specialized tool without needing a rare