Summary
- Cold Shoulder is a powerful, versatile shotgun in Fallout 76 with unique freezing effects.
- Obtain the Cold Shoulder plan from Guiseppe in Whitespring Refuge for 500 stamps or Atomic Shop bundles.
- Effective against Cryptids, slows enemies, and offers various mod options for customization.
There are lots of weapons that players can use to conquer the wasteland in Fallout 76. From switchblades to miniguns, the options are almost endless. Couple that with the legendary effect variants, and the sheer number of options can become a little overwhelming.
Fallout 76 is Still Missing One Cryptid that Finally Needs to Rear its Head
For a game that prides itself on featuring a wide array of American cryptids, Fallout 76 seems to have forgotten the most famous of the bunch.
The Nuka World On Tour update saw a few new weapons make their way into the game. One of those weapons is the Cold Shoulder. This unique weapon has some special effects that make it one of the best shotguns in Fallout 76. From its hard-hitting shots to its cool freezing effect, there are several reasons why players should use the Cold Shoulder.
1 How To Get The Cold Shoulder
Visit The Whitespring Resort
When it was first introduced, it was a reward on the Rip Daring And The Cryptid Hunt scoreboard. However, that scoreboard expired a while ago. Now, the plan to craft the Cold Shoulder can be purchased from Guiseppe. He is located in the Whitespring Refuge. The plan costs a whopping 500 stamps to buy. While this is very expensive, it's more than worth it due to how powerful the weapon is.
Players can farm stamps relatively easily by grinding expeditions. It's possible to earn 500 stamps throughout a weekend if the player is willing to spend time repeatedly completing A Most Sensational Game. Players can also get the occasional stamp boost as a season reward. If the player doesn't want to grind expeditions, then the Cold Shoulder can be purchased as part of a bundle for 1000 Atoms in the Atomic Shop.
2 Fantastic Against Cryptids
Takes Down Cryptids Quickly
One special effect that this weapon has is its ability to inflict an extra 50% damage to Cryptids. This can come in very handy in certain situations. Some areas have quite a few Cryptids roaming around. The Skyline Valley region has lots of random encounters that involve the player being attacked by a Cryptid. For those who aren't sure, a list of Cryptids can be seen below:
- Flatwoods Monster
- Grafton Monster
- Blue Devil
- Aliens
- Mega Sloth
- Mothman
- Ogua
- Sheepsquatch
- Snallygaster
- Wendigo
3 Slows Down Enemies
Freezing Bullets To Slow Down Attackers
Being able to slow down enemies in a firefight can be a lifesaver. The Cold Shoulder has a cryo-freezing ability that not only slows down the movement speed of attackers but also slows down how fast they can fire their weapons.
Fallout 76: 6 Reasons Why The Fixer Is Worth Using
Players can get a lot of mileage out of The Fixer in Fallout 76, especially when paired with the right mods and legendary effects.
So, by hitting a target with the Cold Shoulder, players will take less damage. This effect lasts for 4 seconds. This cryo effect also inflicts damage on the attacker, meaning that the player will cause both ballistic damage and cryo damage with each successful shot.
4 High Damage Output
A Hard Hitting Weapon
Shotguns, in general, do quite a lot of damage per shot. Since the Cold Shoulder does both ballistic and cryo damage, it can be deadly against more than just Cryptids. This weapon can be used to take down most human enemies, ghouls, and mirelurks with just a couple of well-placed shots.
Because this weapon holds four times as much ammo as a regular shotgun, players can inflict lots of ballistic and cryo damage on enemies in a very short space of time.
5 Lots Of Mod Options
A Combination To Suit Everyone
Unlike some of the other shotgun options in the game, the Cold Shoulder has lots of mods for players to choose from. Some mods increase the weapon's ammo capacity and ones that dramatically reduce the amount of recoil given off by the weapon. There are also lots of paint styles that players can buy and earn. Some of the paint options include:
- Peepers Paint
- Gold Paint
- Cold-Blooded Paint
- Union Paint
While the paints don't actually do anything to improve the weapon's performance, it's always nice to have style options to choose from.
6 Great Range For A Shotgun
Hit Targets From A Distance
Unlike most other shotguns in the game, the Cold Shoulder is deadly up close and from a distance. The Cold Shoulder has a better range than most other shotguns in the game. The gun also has a pretty fast fire rate for a shotgun.
By combining its good range, high damage, and fast fire rate, it's easy to see why the Cold Shoulder is one of the most popular shotguns. The only real downside of this weapon is its poor accuracy in V.A.T.S. However, some consumables and perks can help to improve the Cold Shoulder's V.A.T.S. Accuracy.
7 Cheap Ammo
It's Easy To Stockpile Shotgun Ammo
One big plus of using a shotgun is cheap ammo. Lots of players sell shotgun shells in their vendors for 1 cap per piece. Also, because the game gives players contextual ammo, it's very easy for players to end up with thousands of shotgun shells that they can store away in their stash box or ammo box.
Because the Cold Shoulder has a high damage output, players can kill a lot of standard enemies in just a couple of shots. This helps to gain more ammo as enemies killed with the Cold Shoulder will usually have between 6 and 10 shotgun shells on their corpses that can be looted.
Fallout 76
- Released
- November 14, 2018
