Our Valorant Weapon Guide series continues with the shotguns in Valorant. Today we take a closer look at the Bucky. Does the cheaper shotgun have enough power?

Before we get to the Bucky, we recommend our previous Valorant Weapon Guides:

Bucky Weapon Guide

We have already discussed the snipers, rifles and sidearms in Valorant. Now it’s time for the real underdogs – the shotguns. The Bucky is the first shotgun on our list and it’s quite versatile. Here’s a quick look at the Bucky’s stats:

• Bucky Rate of Fire: 1.1 rounds/sec.
• Bucky Magazine: 5 rounds
• Bucky penetration: Low
• Bucky reload speed: 2.5 seconds (0.5 per round)

The Bucky is the cheapest primary weapon in Valorant and it packs quite a punch at short to medium range – you just have to know how to use it. One tip we can give you in advance is to reload the cases after every single shot.

Bucky Damage

The Bucky is really sore in close combat. The shotgun fires 15 bullets per shot, of which only 8 need to hit for a kill (up to a distance of 8 meters). For headshots, the bullets make twice as much ouch, but the damage drops noticeably the farther away the enemy is:

• 0m-8m: body 20/head 40/legs 17
• 8m-12m: body 13/head 26/legs 11
• 12m-50m: body 9/head 18/legs 7

Trying to hit your enemies with primary fire over a distance greater than 8 meters is an even stupider idea than trying to pick off womprats with a T-16. But this is where the Bucky’s alternate fire comes into play.

Bucky Alt-Fire

The Bucky is a shotgun, but can do pretty good damage at medium range with ADS. The shotgun’s alternate fire causes it to fire a canister that explodes at 7.5m, releasing five pellets instead of 15. This is still enough to take out an unarmored opponent at 8 to 12m. If you hit a target before the canister explodes, only a single pellet will do damage.

The Bucky’s penetrating power is as bad as it gets, so just avoid trying to shoot through walls.

Bucky Price

The Bucky’s big advantage over many other weapons in Valorant is its price. As we mentioned earlier, the Bucky is the cheapest primary weapon and patch 3.00 has further reduced this price from 900 credits to 850. Now you’re probably wondering: is the Bucky better than the Sheriff? That’s a good question, and the answer is simple. The Sheriff has a lot of shot recovery and requires good aim, while the Bucky can kill without a headshot. If you have a better Aim than Luke Skywalker, the Sheriff is probably the better choice. The Bucky, however, can usually kill faster at close range.

Conclusion

The Bucky is the cheaper shotgun in Valorant and the cheapest primary weapon. It can take down enemies at short range with one shot and do serious damage at up to 12m. If you want to fight battles at longer distances, there are probably better weapons. Oh what are we saying, almost any weapon is better then. The Bucky is all about close combat, so throw yourself into the fray with it!

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