Our Valorant Weapon Guide series continues with the shotguns in Valorant. Today, we'll be taking a look at the Judge. Clearly the better shotgun in Valorant, right?
Before we get into the Judge,you might want to check out our previous Valorant guides:
Read More:
Judge Weapon Guide
We've already gone through the snipers, rifles, and sidearms in Valorant. Now, it's time for the real underdogs – the shotguns. The Judge is the second shotgun in Valorant, and it is quite costly when compared to the Bucky, but it's all worth it. Here's a quick overview of the Judge's stats:
- Judge Fire rate: 3.5 rounds/sec
- Judge Magazine capacity: 7 rounds
- Judge Wall Penetration: Low
- Judge Reload Speed: 2.2 seconds
The fire rate of the Judge is close to that of the Sheriff, and it hits just as hard when enemies are close. The shotgun's wall penetration is pretty bad so just forget about wall banging.
Judge Damage
Much like you'd expect from a shotgun, the Judge shines at close range. Patch 3.00 wasn't kind to the Judge, as it nerfed the weapon's damage falloff even further at medium range. The pellet damage fell from 13 to 10 at 10 meters and 10 to 7 at 15 meters. Here's how it scales depending on the distance:
- 0m-10m: Body 17/Head 34/Leg 14
- 10m-15m: Body 10/Head 20/Leg 8
- 15m-50m: Body 7/Head 14/Leg 6
Unlike the Bucky, the Judge doesn't have an alternate fire mode for enemies at medium range. This makes it effective only at close range.
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Judge Price
The price is where things get awful for the Judge. Patch 3.00 made things from bad to worse, as the shotgun's price increased from 1600 credits to 1850 credits. This made it more expensive than some other popular weapons like the Spectre. For that amount of credits, you can get heavy armor and a Sheriff, but the Judge can still be a great pick for mowing down enemies up close.
- Read More: Valorant Roster Changes: July 2021
Conclusion
The Judge is the more expensive shotgun in Valorant, and you'll probably be hesitant to get it considering the recent price nerfs. Despite that, the weapon's effectiveness at close range is almost unmatched. It's more accurate than the Bucky, and crouching will reduce the spread even further. Given you're close enough and your accuracy is decent, one shot will almost always equal one kill.
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