Weapons of Battlefield 3: DAO-12

Welcome back, readers, to another Weapons Of, still in the Frostbitten locales of Battlefield 3. Having mastered the PDW-R quite quickly and quite easily because of its all-round awesomeness, I thought I'd change it up a little by trying to master a shotgun. Since I've already mastered the Remington 870MCS, the M1014 and the Saiga 12K, the DAO-12 seemed like the perfect candidate for some field-testing.

Background:
The DAO-12, or Armsel Striker as it is called in real-life, is a rather unique South African weapon that has combined the power and ammunition of a shotgun with the rotating mechanism found in revolvers. Chambered in the extremely popular 12-gauge shotgun shell, the Striker typically has a 12-round revolving cylinder feeding it ammunition, except in the more compact models which only have a 7-round revolving cylinder. Due to its rather unique design, the Striker requires shells to be loaded into each cylinder individually and has a strange clockwork mechanism to wind the drum. While the weapon is extremely interesting, it does seem to come across as a rather cumbersome and ineffective weapon.

(source: Wikipedia)

Statistics:

• Ammo capacity = 8 rounds (standard), 12 rounds (extended magazine)
• Damage:
• Buckshot = Maximum of 18 decreasing in a linear pattern to a minimum of 6 from 25 metres onwards 
• Flechette = Maximum of 12.5 decreasing to a minimum of 8.4 from 30 metres onwards 
• Frag = Maximum of 20 decreasing to a minimum of 5 from 40 metres onwards 
• Slug = Maximum of 75 decreasing to a minimum of 37.5 from 50 metres onwards
• Rate of fire = 220 RPM (180 RPM when using frag rounds)
• Bullet velocity:
• Buckshot = 300 m/s
• Flechette = 450 m/s
• Frag = 150 m/s
• Slug = 300 m/s
• Reload times = 0.69 seconds mid-mag, 2.30 seconds from empty

(source: Symthic)

Weapon Assessment

This is actually a pretty solid weapon. I'll admit I was quite surprised at how decently it performed when I started using it because it's not a weapon you often see in the hands of many players. In terms of damage output, the DAO-12 can deal out a ton of punishment and hold its own with the other shotguns because of its 8-round revolver-style drum magazine, making it the shotgun with the highest ammo capacity in the game, tied with the MK3A1 which is a significantly worse weapon than the DAO-12. Personally, I found the DAO-12 quite versatile, depending on what ammunition and attachments you decide to use, the shotgun can perform various roles, from close-quarters devastator to accurate long-range powerhouse.

Recommended Attachments

• Iron Sights
• Extended Magazine 
• Buckshot

For a down-and-dirty fight in the trenches, the iron sights serve well for the kind of range where you'll be engaging your enemies while the extended magazine gives you a whopping 12 rounds of 12-gauge goodness to spread around. Buckshot provides a large spread, allowing you to potentially damage and kill multiple enemies in quick succession.

• IRNV 
• Flash Suppressor
• Slug

For anything other than a close-up battle, this is the kit to go with. The IRNV may seem like a strange choice considering the epic nerfing it has endured following accusations of it being too overpowered, but it's excellent for spotting hard to see targets, particularly in dark areas although it gets difficult at range. If you keep watching the screen and paying attention, however, you should be able to spot most enemies when they are hiding or blending in with the environment. The flash suppressor helps you to reduce recoil, allowing you to fire quick follow-up shots in order to dispatch of your opponent as quickly and cleanly as possible. Finally, the slugs give immense firepower and range at very little cost and as such, should be used at all times except with the situations reported earlier.