Best XDefiant Double Barrel build: Class loadouts for recoil & damage

The Double Barrel offers a classic shotgun option in XDefiant for those who prefer gunslinging to modern, tactical combat, and with this loadout, it can consistently two-tap enemy players with ease.

Alongside the M44, XDefiant also has the Double Barrel, another legacy firearm from years gone by. Thanks to its prevalence in Doom as the Super Shotgun, Double Barrel Shotguns have become iconic in video games. Given this, it’s only natural that XDefiant would feature its very own rendition.

Though far from a jack-of-all-trades weapon like the M4A1, the Double Barrel is excellent when used correctly. Be it for defending a point or locking down a room, there are situations where this shotgun outclasses everything.

For that to be true though, you’ll need a meta build. Here’s the best Double Barrel loadout to use in XDefiant and dominate multiplayer.

Best Double Barrel build XDefiant – Recommended loadout

• Barrel: Choke
• Rear Grip: Quick Draw Grip
• Stock: Lightweight

As it only has access to three attachment slots, the Double Barrel shotgun is an easy enough gun to build. By far the most impactful attachment is the Choke barrel, which boosts damage by 15%, making the Double Barrel shotgun two-tap enemies much more consistently.

With the Choke barrel being the only attachment that impacts damage output and range, the other two slots should be used to improve mobility and handling. For this, there is nothing better than the Lightweight stock, which bumps up ADS Walking Speed by a massive 20%. This is great for strafing around corners, and catching other players off guard before they can react.

Last but not least is the Quick Draw rear grip, which speeds up both the Double Barrel’s Sprint-Shoot Time and ADS Speed by 10%. This does come with an ADS Stability penalty, but due to the nature of the gun, this is negligible and the improved handling is easily worth the trade-off.

The best secondary weapon to pair this loadout with is the D50 Desert Eagle which will deal a hefty amount of damage along with the Frag Grenade which will help you clear out objectives easily.

Best Double Barrel loadout for low recoil

• Barrel: Choke
• Rear Grip: Heavy Grip
• Stock: Padded Stock

Since you don’t have any alternate barrel, the Choke Barrel is the only available Barrel attachment you can choose for the Double Barrel. This attachment increases short and medium range by 10% each and boosts hipfire spread by 5%.

Additionally, the Heavy Grip will reduce horizontal recoil by 2.5% which when paired with the Padded Stock will greatly reduce recoil as a whole. The Padded Stock will help you take stable shots while also aiding in recoil recovery.

Best Double Barrel loadout for high damage

• Rear Grip: Quick Draw Grip
• Stock: Lightweight Stock

As you might notice, the Choke Barrel is omitted from the loadout. This is because the Double Barrel can only shoot two bullets before having to reload, which means your playstyle has to be very aggressive while being really close to enemies when you shoot them. Since the Choke Barrel affects the shoot-sprint time, it’s best to not use it, especially when going for an aggressive playstyle with high damage.

That being said, the Quick Draw Grip, boosts ADS speed and sprint-to-fire time by 10% each which will help you maneuver in a close-range firefight better.

Lastly, the Lightweight Stock will increase ADS movement speed and recoil recovery. This will improve your aim movement speed which will further help you take out enemies quickly at close range.

Pair this with the D50 as your secondary weapon which packs a punch and can be used efficiently if you happen to run out of ammo. Finally, equip the Frag Grenade to get out of pesky situations

How to unlock Double Barrel in XDefiant?

The Double Barrel shotgun is unlocked by completing the following Base Challenge in multiplayer: “Get 10 Shotgun Hipfire Kills.”

This is one of the easiest weapon unlock challenges in XDefiant, as all you have to do is take out enemy players without aiming in. The best game mode to do this in is Occupy, where most gunfights take place on the point, making it easier to predict where enemies are and get up close.

Best Double Barrel alternatives in XDefiant

The M870 is a direct competitor to the Double Barrel, with both being strong weapons best suited to close quarters. The pump action shotgun has slightly better range than the Double Barrel but is much more punishing if you don’t get a one-shot kill.

That’s all for the best Double Barrel loadout in XDefiant. For more top-tier builds, check out this comprehensive Best Weapons guide. Alternatively, try using these meta loadouts for the M16A4, MP7, AK-47, and ACR 6.8.