Destiny: Is Matador 64 the ultimate shotgun?

Felwinter's Lie has finally been bested in the Crucible. Meet Matador 64, the best-in-class shotgun.

"For Matador 64 you should be hoping to settle with Shot Package which narrows the pellet spread while aiming, and Reinforced Barrel to max out the range. Perks that negatively affect stability aren’t an issue because it’s quite high on Matador 64 to begin with"

Shotgun wielding Guardians have become a cursed breed in Destiny PvP. Before House of Wolves the hard-to-obtain Felwinter’s Lie only added to this misery. Now it is time to seek your revenge.

Most Guardians would share the same shortlist of excruciating ways to die in the Crucible, though the pain isn’t physical but psychological. Exotic hand-cannon Thorn, empowered by mod-controller headshots is one. Curse you guys, you know who you are. Bladedancer Hunters, nothing more needs to be said about that... just... ach. And then there are the knee-sliding shotgun bandits that simply will not allow you to dance around and land those precision Scout Rifle headshots. Boom. Dead. Cheers. Thanks.

It’s likely that your demise was not just any old shotgun, however. If you barely saw the guy and then you were dust, well it’s probably Felwinter’s Lie doing the damage – likely a one-hit kill from range partly owing to ridiculous impact. Everyone who can use it has been using it, because there has been no alternative. If you’re a confident player and check your corners you can just walk right up to people and put them down, three in a row. Then walk away and find who’s left.

Felwinter’s Lie is only obtainable through Iron Banner however; the no-holds-barred, everything matters PvP mode where fortune only favours the brave. Even should you have received a lucky loot drop, or paid an arm and leg for the privilege of acquiring the beast, it still needs to be tamed with the ideal perks. So, respect (with a hint of jealousy) to those Guardians who’ve rolled Felwinter’s with Hammer Forged and Shot Package on-board, enhancing range and impact respectively.

As with most desirable weapons in Destiny, you fall into the camp of those that can and those that can’t at the mercy of RNG. When it comes to Felwinter’s Lie, a great alternative would traditionally be Found Verdict but that’s a tricky loot drop only found in the Vault of Glass so you kind of have to suck it up and get out there to secure something useful but second-best like Two to the Morgue or an old Comedian. Pray that the Felwinter’s guy has a poor aim, and spank him/her while reloading.

But enough of this Felwinter’s Lie nonsense because with Destiny Expansion II: House of Wolves there are not only rivals but proven champions to at least level the playing field. If it’s shotgun nirvana you’re looking for, it can be yours in the form of Judgement VI and Party Crasher +1. Best of all there’s Matador 64 – the new Holy Grail. In a nutshell, Matador 64 hits as hard as Felwinter’s with a faster rate of fire while tying for stats on range. So, as of now Felwinter’s Lie can officially flip off, though we do understand the glow of owning one, given rarity and distinctive IB good looks.

Matador 64 is a common drop across all modes in Crucible, so much so that we’ve deleted quite a few already. It’s not the plague that Plug One.1 became after The Dark Below, but still if you play regularly in PvP it’s very likely that you’ll get yours inside of a week (unless you are that unlucky).

Now that you’ve been officially welcomed to the party, what can you expect? Well, as with Felwinter’s Lie, Matador 64 is all about landing that one massive payload. It’s not a Get out of Jail Free card because you still need to think one step ahead, trust your timing and take aim. As with Thorn, Hawkmoon or MIDA Multi-Tool, Matador 64 suits a certain play style – in this case favouring close-quarters one-on-one. The real boon is that this is now an option available to so many more Guardians, whereas when Felwinter’s ruled the roost it could feel kind of one sided. But, sure, when it all goes well the Matador 64 experience can be hilarious.

The ultimate roll (line-up of performance modifying perks) is still being discussed, partly because The House of Wolves best-in-class perks differ slightly from vanilla Destiny through The Dark Below. For example, instead of Hammer Forged that gave a clear benefit to range at the expense of reload speed, there is now Reinforced Barrel that extends range but reduces stability. The differences are quite minor, but the performance overall is different after The House of Wolves as Bungie tries to iron out the over-powered without spoiling the fun of a superior gun. A pre-House of Wolves Felwinter’s Lie with Hammer Forged and Return to Sender is still a treasure.

For Matador 64, then, you should be hoping to settle with Shot Package that narrows the pellet spread while aiming, and Reinforced barrel to max out the range. Perks that negatively affect stability aren’t an issue because it’s quite high on Matador 64 to begin with. In any case you are going for one-shot kills. Having said that, Rodeo is a good third perk to keep at the risk of re-rolling and losing the other two ideals – its recoil suppression complements the slight advantage in rate of fire. To be honest, most of the Perk 3 tree had us scratching our heads, but Kneepads seem like the ultimate roll for many. You too can be that guy making a dramatic entrance, just be sure to pull off the full stunt or you’ll look like a complete twit. Finally, can somebody please explain the benefit of Battle Runner that boosts running speed after a kill? Where will you run to, exactly?

Well, case closed. You could look at this as a golden ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ opportunity. Though in our view it’s always far better for you to join them, and then severely beat them too.