Quickdraw Shotgunner
 Veteran Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

Become His vengeance...

One of Mankind’s earliest tools of war from the 19th century, this weapon uses a relatively archaic design compared to las-guns, plasma guns, and other common weapons of the Imperial Guard. And yet, it still strikes a terror unmatched into the hearts of traitors and heretics alike. It is, the classic Double-Barrel Shotgun. Deliver vengeance with this timeless weapon, each shell a message of the Emperor, each kill a prayer in His name. One shell destroys the traitor’s body, but two shells destroys the heretical soul.  Become a shot-gunslinger, killing swathes of heresy in the blink of an eye…

Actual Guide

(Note: all data and breakpoints are tested under the assumption it is Damnation/Auric difficulty. Meaning, on lesser difficulties, the build may be more powerful than described here.)

Double-Barrel Shotgun

• This build focuses and utilizes Weapons Specialist 's ability to guarantee a critical shot upon three melee kills to activate the blessing Man-Stopper on the shotgun, granting it tremendous cleave with one shell, and (nearly) infinite cleave when using the braced alternate fire (both shells at once). You can quite literally clear entire hallways of pox-walkers with a single shell. Additionally, since Flechette procs on critical shots, most enemies grazed or directly hit by the initial blast will be killed or near-death by the bleeding effect. 

   

• We have 60% reload speed because the Keystone Modifier, Always Prepared , loads one round into the shotgun after killing one enemy in melee. It's recommended to keep a rhythm of swapping between melee and shotgun, since the shell only reloads when you re-equip it after a melee kill. If you decide to fire both shells at once, it's also a good idea to manually reload both, lest you only have one shell at the ready when you swap back to it after melee.

   

• With the talent Superiority Complex and the perk +25% damage vs Flak-Armoured, we are able to instantly kill Scab Maulers in close-range using the alternate fire (non-critical shot body shot!). The +25% damage vs Maniacs also allows us to one-shot charging Mutants, so long as we use both barrels regardless of crit-chance. Dreg Ragers are also essentially cannon fodder when faced against you.

Strengths:

• Can kill most chaff, Elites, and Specialists in a single well placed shot.
• Man-Stopper allows us to punch surgical, clean holes through hordes. With a critical hit, it's possible to cleave through and kill 10+ Elites with a single shell. Both shells at once seems to have a nearly infinite cleave, allowing crazy multi-kills. Notably, I've been able to kill 15+ Dreg Ragers or 30+ Pox Hounds (Hunting Grounds) at once using the alternate fire with a critical hit. Since Tactical Awareness reduces Combat Ability cooldown by 6 seconds per Specialist killed, it's possible to instantly regain your Ability by firing into a crowd of various Specialists (especially apparent on Hunting Grounds modifier).
• Flechette applies 6 bleed stacks against any enemy hit, even if it merely grazed them. Kills that result from the bleed stacks count toward melee kills if you have your melee equipped when they die, further incentivizing a "quickdraw" Run n' Gun play-style.
• Incredible close-range burst damage.
• Non-fatal hits will still stagger or even knock over enemies.
• Reloading is optional, but recommended if you fire both shells in a single draw.

Weaknesses:

• Inherent lack of range. (It is a video-game shotgun after all.)
• Limited effect on Carapace armor and Monstrosities.
• Not as effective on Bulwarks or Reapers, but still viable if you're able to get close enough to shove both barrels into their face (or more likely the back for Bulwarks.)
• Will not kill Poxbursters within a safe distance, and will take more than two shots to kill. Push these enemies with your melee, as the shotgun bash can actually just knock the Poxburster to the side of you rather than away.
• Despite it being a "scatter"-gun, it is still possible merely scratch or even completely miss enemies with the shotgun, since the pellets are actually concentrated in the center of your crosshair. 

Mark VII Shovel

• This specific shovel is a great all-rounder, with sweeping lights and heavies for general chaff as well as an alternate mode (flip-shovel/pick-axe mode) that does enormous single target damage.

   

• The blessing Decimator allows us to ramp up power as we continue fighting through the horde. This is further amplified by Weapons Specialist 's melee bonus to attack speed, dodge speed, and dodge distance upon ranged kill. 

   

• The talents Trench Fighter Drill , Desperado , Reciprocity , and Precision Strikes  further increase our crit-chance, finesse damage, and attack speed therefore increasing our capabilities in melee.

   

• The blessing ,Skullcrusher , does tremendous damage when paired with the shovel's alternate mode, allowing us to one-shot headshot nearly every enemy in the game (with just a Light Attack!). Remarkably, it's possible to kill Crushers in just two headshots in its alternate pick-axe mode (Heavy Attack).

Strengths:

• An effective all-rounder weapon, sporting decent capabilities vs hordes and armored opponents.
• Wide-sweeping lights and heavies make for an easy-to-use weapon.
• Relatively simple attack chains.
• The shovel's alternate mode boasts incredible damage to most enemies in the game.
• The shovel's alternate mode is not cancelled by staggers or explosions, unlike the chain-weapons available to the Veteran class.

Weaknesses:

• Deals slightly less damage than some of the other melee weapons available to Veteran.
• Is incredibly ineffective against Bulwarks.
• Reduced effectiveness on Reapers and Monstrosities.
• Can be stamina-heavy on pushes or if blocking many attacks.
• Unlike the chain-weapons, you cannot dodge out of the shovel's alternate attack once it lands, meaning you must commit to the entire animation.
• Notable enemy types (aside from Monstrosities and Bosses) that require at least two alternate mode heavy attacks or one heavy alternate and one light alternate to kill include: Dreg Gunner , Scab Gunner , Scab Mauler , Crusher , Bulwark , and Reaper .

Final Tips & Notes

• The talents Superiority Complex , Fully Loaded , and Invigorated are completely optional talents, whose points can be allocated elsewhere on the tree if desired. You do, however, lose the capability to kill Scab Maulers in one blast if you omit Superiority Complex .
• Against massive amounts of Bulwarks or Crushers, the Shredder Frag Grenade is most likely the most effective option.
• The talent Agile Engagement  is a viable option if you are able to swap weapons effectively.
• The three talents of the bottom middle tree can be interchangeable if you desire.
• The talent On Your Toes replenishes 20% of your toughness when Weapons Specialist is activated (3 second cooldown), so keep swapping!

Have fun!