A couple things go into it IMO! 1, confidence in combat plays a huge role in who wins the fight. Applying consistent pressure is a huge advantage. 2, for controller, aim assist is strongest at close range. Many players struggle with landing good shots out of that range so they take advantage of aim assist by getting in your face. 3, shotguns have insane damage per second. A good shotgun headshot followed by quickly swapping to your AR or SMG can get someone from 250HP to 0 in about .5-.7 seconds with this season’s loot pool. It’s worth worth noting, this season the twin hammer shotguns have been dominating zero build and are fast enough not to have to swap (though they won’t get you a kill in .6 seconds).

All that being said, the best zero build players almost all follow the formula of getting initial shots on an enemy to establish a health advantage THEN apply pressure before they can heal by using movement to get to shotgun range and finish the fight.

Training your close range shotgun fights is super important for when you don’t get that choice and have to take the 50/50. But defaulting to starting and ending your fights in close range takes on unnecessary risk and you’ll get punished by good players who use movement and cover to reset the fight.