Laser Shotgun

Lore & Background

In the world of Saints Row IV, the setting shifts to a far-future Earth where the Saints have ascended to godlike status. The armory reflects this: alongside standard-issue firearms sit weapons that would be indistinguishable from science fiction in any other context. The Laser Shotgun is one such piece of kit, a compact energy dispersal unit that fires a tight cone of superheated light instead of lead pellets. It is functionally a shotgun in every mechanical sense—close range, wide spread, devastating at point-blank—but its visual and auditory signature is pure sci-fi spectacle.

The weapon fits naturally into the Saints' philosophy of style over subtlety. Where a rival gang might settle for a conventional 12-gauge, the Saints prefer their shotguns to glow, hum, and leave afterimages on the walls of whatever building they are currently demolishing. The Laser Shotgun is less a tactical choice and more a statement: you are not just shooting someone, you are shooting them with a weapon that looks like it was pulled from a 22nd-century arms catalogue.

Its place in the franchise's broader customization ecosystem is straightforward. It occupies the shotgun slot, meaning it can be swapped in and out like any other weapon in that class, and it benefits from the same upgrade and cosmetic options the game offers. For a player who wants their close-range brawler to feel like a ray of destructive light rather than a cloud of lead, it is the obvious pick.

In Their Own Story

The warehouse on 22nd Street was supposed to be a quiet extraction. Two minutes of clean work, pop the crate, walk out. What it was not supposed to be was a forty-man ambush with heavy armor and a sniper on the roof.

The Saint in question did not panic. They simply reached down, unslung the Laser Shotgun from their hip, and felt the familiar warm hum of the capacitor bank spooling up. The first blast turned the lead soldier's chest plate into a glowing hole and sent him tumbling backward into a stack of shipping crates. The second caught three more in the cone. The muzzle flash was not orange or yellow. It was a searing, almost violet-white, and it lit the entire warehouse like a strobe.

The sniper on the roof fired. The round sparked off the Saint's shoulder pauldron. The Saint did not flinch. They racked the shotgun, the energy coil whining as it recharged, and walked forward into the wall of gunfire, each pull of the trigger painting the air in short, brutal arcs of light.

By the time the last enemy hit the floor, the warehouse ceiling had a neat row of glowing holes in it, and the Saint's jacket was singed at the collar. They holstered the weapon, adjusted their sunglasses, and walked out into the neon-lit street. Business as usual.

Reader's Guide

Saints Row IV is the primary home of the Laser Shotgun. It appears as a purchasable energy weapon in the game's armory shops, filling the shotgun slot in your loadout. You do not need to complete a specific quest to unlock it; it is available as a standard purchase once you have the funds, making it accessible early to mid-game.

In terms of feel, it behaves like a conventional shotgun compressed into a sci-fi package: tight effective range, a wide cone of energy bolts, and a satisfying kick on each trigger pull. The spread is slightly narrower than a pump or auto shotgun, trading a little raw cone width for a bit more directional punch. It pairs well with the game's cover-based combat and the Saints' tendency to close the distance and end the conversation quickly.

Aesthetically, it is one of the more visually distinct shotguns in the franchise. The glowing emitter, the hum of the energy cell, and the afterimage trails on each bolt make it a crowd-pleaser in firefights. For players building a full sci-fi loadout alongside energy rifles and plasma sidearms, it is the natural shotgun choice. For players who want a single absurd weapon to stand out among otherwise conventional gear, it works just as well.

The weapon does not require a specific upgrade path to be effective out of the box, but the standard damage and capacity upgrades available in the armory apply. Its role in the Saints' aesthetic is simple: it is the shotgun for a gang that has stopped pretending they are street criminals and started acting like interdimensional warlords.

Did You Know?

• The Laser Shotgun occupies the same weapon slot as conventional shotguns, meaning equipping it replaces your standard 12-gauge or auto shotgun for the duration.
• Saints Row IV's entire setting is a far-future Earth, which is why the armory includes energy weapons alongside conventional firearms without any in-game explanation.
• The Saints Row franchise is known for letting players customize nearly every aspect of their character and vehicles, and the Laser Shotgun fits into that broader culture of style-over-subtlety gunplay.
• The weapon's spread pattern and close-range focus make it a natural complement to the Saints' aggressive, close-quarters combat style rather than a long-range option.