The Crusader Shotgun

Unless you are on PC and can fix the firing mechanism, don't bother.

Other than the stupid firing mechanism, the gun has a lot of potential, I can't stand the way it fires where it was aimed, instead of where it is aimed, which kills it for me. Otherwise, probably a great gun.

The most absurd abuse of the crusader I have ever seen:

Geth Engineer, don't know the build the player was an ace. I do know he had Drill Ammo 3 with shredder mod and HVB, and while he didn't cast a lot, he didn't need to. Wall hax + dat penetration = lol.

It's a good weapon. But as Arkhne said - you need to fix the damn delay if you're on PC. I use it on the Demo girl. Stagger with Arc - headshot. Turian Sentinel/Geth Engineer also work very well.

It's basically a hybrid between a sniper rifle and a shotgun. If you're sick of the stupid buckshot shotgun assumption (as if shottys only fired buckshot) then this shotty is for you.
If you cannot fix the firing bug (aka you play on console), then you may want to walk away though...

It balances out because you are drunk. Well at least for me.

The Crusader is the killer of all armour. Hitting smaller or fast targets on console is a bitch however. Think of it as a shotgun loaded with slugs. You have long range at the expense of spread which means it doesn't ignore shield gate and there's a much tighter crosshair. It's not bad when you get used to its targeting wierdness but there are better options. I like it on all infiltrators, the Paladin, and Turians.

It's my favorite gun in the entire game.


The aiming is difficult at 1st but once you get the hang of it ....wheeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! enjoy the ride.

It is, with the delay-fix, arguably the best shotgun in the game.

I like it very much on the juggy. Just equip disruptor ammo and go to town. Pesky fantum? HM to lift and unload at close range for a HS. Very ded fantum!

That's real funny. I just unlocked the Crusader as well (final weapon on my manifest) and came out of match a couple minutes ago where I used it for the first time. And what do you know -- this thread is on the front page.

Obviously, I've only used it once, so I can't give much insight to the weapon. I tried it out on the AIU, and it works real well with snap freeze. Since the Crusader requires dead-accurate aiming and doesn't get the luxury of a scope, being able to freeze a wave of small enemies instantly makes everything a lot easier.

And you already know about the delay bug. It's not a huge deal, but every once in a while, a shot that should have hit, just phases through the target and deals 0 damage.

The common denominator of all the builds posted above is that they have a stun (Tsent, GE, QFE), which helps you balance the fire delay bug. For instance I use it (unmodded) with the salarian infiltrator : energy drain staggers every mook and in one or twho shots they're dead.

It's a super strong boss killer at any range. Another great perk of the gun is that it has enough penetration to double hit a banshee without drill/AP ammo (with both piercing mods). That way you can use incendiary/warp/disruptor/phasics and still double hit the bad guys. Oh and it ignores armor mitigation and never gets reduced damage througs walls cuz innate piercing.
And I forgot to say that it's one of the best melee guns because it doesn't need a smart choke so you've got a free spot for the omni-blade and it destroys bosses while your melee takes care of the mooks.
And on top of that it's pre-dlc, so no weight malus with the high-velocity barrel or the omni-blade (as long as you only equip one).