The M1901 and M1904 Mastiff Combat Shotgun, or simply the Mastiff, is a Pilot anti-personnel energy semi-automatic shotgun manufactured by Lastimosa Armory that appears in Titanfall 2[1] and Apex Legends. It feeds from an underbarrel tube magazine.
Titanfall
Overview
The Mastiff can be considered easy to use, yet difficult to master. On one hand, it boasts several outstanding characteristics, such as low falloff, high range and damage, and (perhaps most uniquely), a completely flat spread.
On the other hand, it is not without its drawbacks - a slight, yet noticeable travel time, a low magazine size of four rounds, and a delay between shots to compensate for the high recoil. It's possible to miss shots even at close range by forgetting to take travel time into account.
When reloading from an empty mag, Pilots load in a single shell through the ejection port. This takes slightly longer than pushing shells through the loading gate, preventing players from loading in a single shell then firing while in emergency situations.
Lore
The M1901 Mastiff Combat Shotgun was developed specifically for low-gravity close-quarters engagements. the kinetic energy produced when fired in low-gavity can severely unbalance a Pilot with massive recoil, so the engineers at Lastimosa Armory incorporated a muzzle velocity dampening system which mitigates that energy and greatly reduces recoil.
Intended for low-zero gravity ship boarding and clearing operations, the Mastiff gained notoriety throughout The Frontier as a reliable and devastating combat shotgun. Shells can be fed through the under-mounted magazine or with the optional drum magazine upgrade. Troops from the 401st often refer to it as the "Mobile Claymore" as its high rate of fire proved to be devastating.[2]
Strategy
- As with all non-hitscan weapons, lead your targets! As mentioned before, it's possible to miss shots even at close range with the weapon.
- The Gravity Star pairs with this weapon nicely. It's capable of bending the trajectory of the Mastiff's projectiles, allowing you to get kills from behind cover. On a more mundane note, the Gravity Star will also negate most of the issues related to the Mastiff's travel time if an enemy is stuck.
- Avoid reloading from a completely empty magazine - the last round being loaded into the Mastiff's ejection port takes noticeably more time.
- The Mastiff's projectile bears heavy resemblance to the SA-3 Mozambique, indicating they operate on the same basis.
Weapon Mods
| Image | Name | Description | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Increased ammo capacity. | ||
 |
Shoot while sprinting. | ||
 |
Faster reload. | ||
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Fast transition into aiming down the sights. | ||
 |
Faster transition when switching to this weapon. | ||
 |
Pilot kills increase Tactical availability (Faster cooldown). |
Weapon Attachments
| Image | Name | Description | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Stock sights. | ||
 |
Holographic gunsight. | ||
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Enhanced zoom scope. | ||
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Makes enemies easy to spot by applying an AR overlay to them. Warning: Disables extra mod slot. | ||
 |
Attachment that displays lifetime weapon XP count for the weapon. |
Apex Legends
The Mastiff makes its return in Apex Legends as a semi-automatic shotgun that fires shotgun shells. Its magazine size is larger compared to its predecessor with two extra rounds, and has the ability to equip an attachment that increase the firerate. It is a jack of trades but master of none when it comes to shotguns, as it is a midway between the fast-firing EVA-8 and the heavy-hitting Peacekeeper with its higher damage and firerate than the two aforementioned guns respectively, but triumphed by the firerate of the EVA and the damage of the Peacekeeper. It launched as a Care Package weapon alongside the Kraber, and held the same amount of rounds as its predecessor. The capabilities of the weapon were far stronger with its one shot potential, and tighter spread. This would remain the case for five seasons. However, when season 5 launched, the Mastiff switched places in the Care Package with the Peacekeeper, and from then to now can be found on the floor. For a while, the Mastiff could two shot any opponent. But, this was changed in the midst of Season 8.
Attachments
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |
Shotgun Bolt | Increases rate of fire |
     |
Close-Range Optics | improves view when ADS, still has limited range |
 |
Dual Shell | Allows for a player to reload two shells at once |
Trivia
- After firing, two segments of the barrel appear to fold backwards. Given that the Mastiff fires a perfectly horizontal energy wave, we can only assume that it's to spread out the beam.
- Technically it only holds three rounds rather than four - one is loaded directly into the breech of the shotgun through the ejection port. In firearms terminology, the Mastiff holds 3+1 rounds.
- The Mastiff's tubular magazine is hexagonally shaped, and if you inspect the shells in the loading animation, they have a hexagonal body.
- The Callsign Breacher can be unlocked via playing with the Mastiff. The Breacher XL callsign can be unlocked via advocate gift and Mastiff For Life can be bought in the Monarch's Reign pack.
Gallery
References
- ↑ Titanfall 2 Official Multiplayer Gameplay Trailer
- ↑ Titanfall 2 Concept Art
