M2038 Tactician
| M2038 Tactician | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Shotgun |
| Type | Power |
| Ammo | Shotgun Ammo |
| Headshot | +85% |
| Armor Pen | 25% |
| Projectiles | 6 |
| Weight | 9.6 |
The M2038 Tactician is a Constitutional Arms pump-action shotgun, a cheap, simple gun that hits very hard up close. The NCPD still uses it, and so do a number of gangs. Its database entry says that sometimes simpler is better. The Tactician works best in a Body build that fights at close range. The in-game line calls it proof that its owner means business. It is also the base gun for the Iconic shotguns The Headsman and Bloody Maria. Weapon shops all over Night City sell the Tactician, and Phantom Liberty adds it to the Dogtown shops. It is easy to find at any stage.
Combat
The Tactician holds eight shells, and each shell fires six pellets. The pump action keeps the rate of fire slow, so each blast needs to land. As a Power weapon, its pellets can ricochet, which helps a little against enemies behind cover. It takes a short scope.
Shotguns reward getting close and staying aggressive. The Body perks reward that style even more. Some raise fire rate and crit chance as Stamina drops. Others let a blast dismember enemies with low Health outright. Rip And Tear links the shotgun with quick melee attacks. A blast boosts the next quick melee strike, and that strike boosts the next blast.
How to Get M2038 Tactician Guide
- Buy the M2038 Tactician from a weapon shop, such as the ones in Kabuki, The Glen or Rancho Coronado.
- With Phantom Liberty, buy it in Dogtown at the EBM Petrochem Stadium or in Longshore Stacks.
- Loot it from enemies who carry one.
- Craft it at the crafting bench with its crafting spec.
M2038 Tactician Map Location
The map shows the weapon shop in Kabuki.
M2038 Tactician map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Compatible Mods
7 scopes and 11 weapon mods are compatible with M2038 Tactician.
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Add-Vantage | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range |
| CQO Kanone MINI Mk.72 | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range |
| Handyman | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range, more headshot crit chance at top tier |
| Hyakume | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range |
| Kanetsugu | 
|
Adds zoom, effective range and crit chance |
| OS-1 GimletEye | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range |
| Type 2067 | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range, lowers bullet spread |
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Better Half | 
|
Raises crit chance with the second half of the magazine |
| Condenser | 
|
Tighter pellet spread, less damage per pellet |
| Critochet | 
|
Raises crit chance with ricochets |
| Equalizer | 
|
More damage against Elite enemies |
| Firecracker | 
|
Shoots explosive rounds |
| Kneel! | 
|
Leg shots can dismember and kill instantly |
| Pax | 
|
Makes the weapon non-lethal, more damage outside combat |
| Pyro | 
|
Turns part of the damage into Thermal damage with a chance to Burn |
| Shuffler | 
|
Drawing the weapon refills part of the magazine |
| Swiss Cheese | 
|
More armor penetration, higher Stamina cost per bullet |
| Vivisector | 
|
More dismemberment, then more torso damage for a short time |
Crafting Spec
Weapon vendors sell the M2038 Tactician spec. The spec lets V craft M2038 Tactician in the crafting menu. Every spec in the game is listed on the Crafting Specs page.
The table shows what crafting M2038 Tactician costs at each tier.
| Tier | Components |
|---|---|
| Tier 2 | 30 Tier 2 components |
| Tier 3 | 30 Tier 3 components |
| Tier 4 | 30 Tier 4 components |
| Tier 5 | 30 Tier 5 components |
Upgrades
A stronger Tactician is a higher-tier one. Shop stock and loot scale with V's level. A crafted shotgun matches a bought one of the same tier. Its crafting spec builds a Tactician at V's current tier from crafting components.
Character Builds
The shotgun perks are in the Body tree. Die! Die! Die! raises crit chance at low Stamina. It also adds fire rate and handling as Stamina falls. Spontaneous Obliteration adds damage against nearby enemies. It also unlocks Obliterate, a chance to instantly kill and dismember a target with low Health. Rush Of Blood speeds up reloads after a dismemberment. Skullcracker makes quick melee attacks hit harder as Stamina drains. Rip And Tear doubles the damage of the next quick melee attack after a shotgun hit. The reverse is also true.
For cyberware, the Microgenerator releases an electroshock on the first shot after reloading an empty weapon. Shock Absorber reduces recoil. The Ballistic Coprocessor raises the ricochet chance of Power weapons. Its mod slots take shotgun and Power weapon mods. Vivisector raises dismemberment chance and boosts torso damage after a dismemberment. Kneel! adds a chance to dismember and instantly kill when shooting an enemy's leg. Condenser makes the pellet spread tighter for longer shots.
Select a Build
Dashes close the gap so the shotgun can blast enemies at point-blank range. A quick melee hit after a shot boosts the next one through Rip and Tear. The shotgun and LMG perks grow stronger at low Stamina, so the build keeps shooting and dashing without a pause.
Attributes: Body 20, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 3, Cool 18.
The perks, cyberware and weapon mods for this build are listed below.
| Name | Image | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painkiller | 
|
Body 4 | Slow Health regeneration in combat |
| Dorph-Head | 
|
Body 4 | Brief full Mitigation after using a Health item |
| Speed Junkie | 
|
Body 4 | Faster Health regeneration while sprinting |
| Die! Die! Die! | 
|
Body 9 | Higher crit chance and fire rate at low Stamina |
| Bullet Ballet | 
|
Body 9 | Less bullet spread while moving |
| Like A Feather | 
|
Body 9 | No speed penalty with Shotguns and machine guns |
| Don't Stop Me Now | 
|
Body 9 | Mitigation at low Stamina |
| Adrenaline Rush | 
|
Body 15 | More Health and the Adrenaline Rush mode |
| Juggernaut | 
|
Body 15 | More speed and damage during Adrenaline Rush |
| Unstoppable Force | 
|
Body 15 | Immunity to knockdown and other status effects during Adrenaline Rush |
| Calm Mind | 
|
Body 15 | Adrenaline lasts longer before it decays |
| Spontaneous Obliteration | 
|
Body 15 | Chance to instantly kill enemies at low Health |
| Close-Quarters Carnage | 
|
Body 15 | Higher Obliterate chance at close range |
| Skullcracker | 
|
Body 15 | Quick melee hits harder at low Stamina |
| Dread | 
|
Body 15 | Ranged attacks strip enemy armor |
| Rush Of Blood | 
|
Body 15 | Faster reload after a dismemberment |
| Bloodlust | 
|
Body 15 | Dismemberments refill Adrenaline |
| Rip And Tear | 
|
Body 20 | Shotgun shots and quick melee attacks boost each other |
| Onslaught | 
|
Body 20 | Light Machine Gun kills refill ammo |
| Pain To Gain | 
|
Body 20 | Kills recharge Health items during Adrenaline Rush |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Unlocks the Dash and makes it cheaper |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| Tailwind | 
|
Reflexes 20 | Stamina back from Air Dashes and double jumps |
| Health Freak | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | One more Health item charge and faster recharge |
| All Things Cyber | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| License To Chrome | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Ambidextrous | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | A second Hands cyberware slot |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| ThreatEvac | 
|
Circulatory System | Faster movement at low Health |
| Mechatronic Core | 
|
Frontal Cortex | More damage against drones, robots and mechs |
| Self-ICE | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Blocks an enemy quickhack |
| Microgenerator | 
|
Hands | Reloading an empty gun charges an electroshock shot |
| Painducer | 
|
Integumentary System | Turns part of damage taken into damage over time |
| Reinforced Tendons | 
|
Legs | Double jump |
| NeoFiber | 
|
Nervous System | More Mitigation Chance and Strength |
| Militech Apogee Sandevistan | Operating System | Slows time by 85% with crit bonuses | |
| Epimorphic Skeleton | 
|
Skeleton | More max Health |
| Spring Joints | 
|
Skeleton | Stronger Mitigation |
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Kneel! | 
|
Leg shots can dismember and kill instantly |
| Firecracker | 
|
Explosive rounds |
Notes
- The Headsman and Bloody Maria are Iconic variants of the M2038 Tactician.
Weapon Categories
All Shotguns
Every shotgun is listed below. The Iconic weapons come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic Shotguns
| Name | Image | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabai | 
|
+85% | 25% | Dogtown |
| Amstaff | 
|
+150% | 25% | |
| Ba Xing Chong | 
|
Northside | ||
| Bloody Maria | 
|
+85% | 25% | Little China |
| Dezerter | 
|
+85% | 75% | Dogtown |
| Guts | 
|
+85% | 75% | Corpo Plaza |
| Mox | 
|
+85% | 25% | Kabuki |
| Order | 
|
+50% | 100% | Dogtown |
| Pozhar x-MOD2 | 
|
+85% | 25% | Dogtown |
| Sovereign | 
|
+85% | 75% | Japantown |
| The Headsman | 
|
25% | North Oak |
Standard Shotguns
| Name | Image | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnage | 
|
+85% | 50% | Downtown |
| Crusher | 
|
+135% | ||
| DB-2 Satara | 
|
+85% | 50% | |
| DB-2 Testera | 
|
+85% | 50% | |
| DB-4 Igla | 
|
+85% | 25% | Northside |
| DB-4 Palica | 
|
+35% | ||
| L-69 Zhuo | 
|
+35% | 25% | |
| M2038 Tactician | 
|
+85% | 25% | |
| VST-37 Pozhar | 
|
+85% | 25% |