Z-180 Scattershot

The Z-180 Close Combat Rifle/Asymmetric Engagement Mitigator, commonly known as the Scattershot, is a Forerunner energy channel weapon that was originally used by Builder Security forces. It is commonly carried by Promethean Knight Battlewagons.

Overview
The Scattershot gained popular use by Builder Security who used it to engage the Flood during large scale evacuations of Forerunner planets. Effectively an exotic analogue to a human shotgun, the scattershot was first used as a close-range defensive weapon toward the end of the Forerunner-Flood war. The scattershot is extremely dangerous in relatively close quarters, and fires multiple individual projectiles, though its most remarkable attribute is that its rounds can bounce off surfaces. As a weapon created to combat the Flood and prevent them from reusing corpses, it will disintegrate its targets if enough of the projectiles hit them at the same time.

Design details
The weapon bears the hallmarks of Forerunner design: highly angular and metallic. It appears to be held together at least partly by energy fields, as indicated by its self-assembly process and floating sights. Orange highlights can be seen while the weapon is self-assembling and throughout the casing once assembly is complete; these highlights grow brighter when the weapon is fired. The weapon receives five energy cells from a breach-loaded compartment.

Variants

 * Loathsome Thing: The Loathsome Thing, stained in the ichor of an unaccountable number of Flood across hundred thousand different hives, features increased damage, a faster rate of fire, faster reload speed, and an increased magazine size. This particular Scattershot also appears in the mission Osiris. However, unlike most other special weapons in the campaign, the Loathsome Thing appears in a pair instead of just by itself.
 * Didact's Signet: The Didact 's Signet, handcrafted by the Ur-Didact to reward his most elite Prometheans, fires a quartet of stronger, faster moving, and longer ranged projectiles compared to normal Scattershots. Its projectiles also have stronger tracking capabilities after ricocheting. This particular Scattershot can be found in the mission The Breaking.

Gameplay
In multiplayer, the Scattershot fills a role as a close-quarters power weapon, similar to the UNSC's M45D shotgun. The Scattershot differentiates with a faster rate of fire but a lower lethal range (though its effective range exceeds the shotgun's), and smaller magazine size and lower total ammunition carried.

In Infinity Slayer the Scattershot is a relatively common Ordnance drop weapon. It also and spawns at the start of match on several maps, such as Adrift, Abandon, and Haven. The weapon is best used in engagements where at extremely close range, such as the enclosed hallways of Adrift or out of the lifts on Abandon.

In object-based matches, the Scattershot is an excellent defensive weapon for just about any gametype. Anyone charging your hill or attempting to take your flag should be met with the brutal rebuke of your hard-light projectiles. On the offensive, having one is a great way to clear said hill or flag zone of defenders, and taking down the Oddball carrier.

In Dominion matches the Scattershot is a relatively rare ordnance drop (and does not appear at all in Lockdown), it is still very useful, and, unsurprisingly, an excellent weapon for defending bases.

In Halo 5: Guardians the weapon performs more or less identically to its predecessor, with one major difference; thanks to the addition of smart-scoping, the weapon's range can be increased. Zooming in will cause the entire weapon to extend, and the shots become altered to form into a manageable, spread-X pattern. In addition, bolts will track slightly (similar to other hard-light weapons in 5) if bounced off a hard surface. This makes the Scattershot a brutal tool for controlling a point in Strongholds, protecting a flag in CTF, or cleaning out an Armory in Warzone. It should not, however, be utilized for long-range engagements past 10.3 m (33.9 ft), as its range increase is not THAT dramatic.

Warzone variants include the Loathsome Thing (which features increased magazine size of 10 rounds, a faster reload time, and a higher rate of fire), and the Didact's Signet (which has higher projectile tracking on ricochets and increased range, including the ability to instantly kill targets up to 21 m (69 ft) away when scoped in).

In Halo: Spartan Strike, the weapon can ricochet and has double the range of the M45D shotgun. When fired, it spreads six projectiles that can bounce off walls as long as it is inside the range of fire.

Changes from Halo 4 to Halo 5: Guardians

 * Hardlight rounds are now much tighter when fired, increasing the weapon's effective range.
 * Ricochet rounds now track slightly.
 * Reload is slightly faster.
 * Can be Smart Scoped for increased accuracy, which also changes the weapon's design.
 * Aiming reticle has been changed.

Videos
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List of appearances

 * Scanned
 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Escalation
 * ''Halo: Spartan Strike
 * Halo 5: Guardians