Sniping: 1 or 2-shot you from afar Shotgunning: 1 or 2-shot you from point blank When you're killing someone with a sniper, odds are you're safe from most counter-attacks. Maybe a scout rifle will get you, maybe a pulse rifle, but most of the time there's very little risk to the sniper. Using a shotgun, however, requires you to traverse the entire range of weapon killzones. You have to get within sniping distance, you have to pass scout rifle sweet spots, you gotta dodge the pulse rifle bursts, you have to weave through auto rifle spray, you're exposed to sidearm peppering, you're gonna charge through fusion rifles trying to melt you, all the while grenades will certainly be coming at you, and at the end there's still the enemy's shotgun and melee and super to deal with. If you're owning with a shotgun, then you're IN that fight. Everything the enemy has can be used against you, that's the risk you're taking to blast them before they get you. If you're sitting all the way in the back with a sniper, then you're actively trying to avoid the danger. I'm not saying sniping doesn't have its place, but if you try to talk down to a shotgunner then you're just plain in the wrong.