To the untrained eye this beast is a junker. To the trained eye, however, this junker…is a beast.
Universal Remote is an Exotic primary shotgun.
This weapon can be acquired in PvE or PvP, or sold by Xûr
8.8/10
7.9/10The good: Fun to use, high stability.
The bad: Slow reload time, low Impact.
Conclusion: Not better than the majority of primary weapons.
Shotgun (Primary Weapon)
260/300Talent Upgrades Tree
Kinetic Damage
This weapon causes Kinetic damage.
Smooth Ballistics
Less recoil. Penalty to range.
+10 Stability
-5 Range
Crowd Control
Kills with this weapon grant bonus damage for a short time.
Upgrade Damage 1
Increases Attack Power, resulting in more Damage.
Hammer Forged
Improved range and accuracy.
+40 Range
Universal Remote
Range and precision damage increases greatly while aiming down the sights.
Upgrade Damage 2
Increases Attack Power, resulting in more Damage.
Upgrade Damage 3
Increases Attack Power, resulting in more Damage.
Soft Ballistics
Less recoil. Penalty to Impact.
-5% Damage
+10 Stability
Lightweight
When held, this weapon grants +2 character Agility.
Upgrade Damage 4
Increases Attack Power, resulting in more Damage.
CQB Ballistics
Greatly reduced recoil. Significant penalty to range.
+15 Stability
-10 Range
Snapshot
Aiming this weapon is incredibly fast.
+30% Aim Down Sight speed
Upgrade Damage 5
Increases Attack Power, resulting in more Damage.
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Video Review
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Weapon Review
Universal Remote is an Exotic primary shotgun received as a random PvE/PvP reward, from the Cryptarch, or sold by Xûr. It’s an interesting weapon to say the least & can lead to some fun experimentation.
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Recommended Perks
Hammer Forged & Soft Ballistics for the best range.
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The Good
It hits hard even with low Impact and functions just as well as most other Legendary shotguns. It’s range is extremely low until the final unique perk is unlocked.
The “Universal Remote” perk nearly doubles the range when ADS, allowing you to take people out from a safer distance. A good indicator of the range is if your target fills the scope from top to bottom, then you will probably take them out with one shot.
With the latest shotgun PvE buff, you can more comfortably use this weapon, but generally you’ll want a primary weapon with more range than a shotgun.
The stability is very high, which means you don’t need to worry about any stability boosting perks.
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The Bad
Being a primary weapon, for many, this is not a benefit. You’ll need to make sure your secondary is versatile enough to take care of the medium-long range firefights that a normal primary would be able to handle.
Ideally, a sniper rifle should take care of your long range needs, or perhaps a fusion rifle. If you’re on a very small map, 2 shotguns might be preferable; switching to your secondary will be quicker than reloading the Universal Remote.
The low ammo reserve limits this weapons’ usefulness, especially in PvE. In the end-game PvE content, hardly anyone uses shotguns, because it’s not safe to be that close to enemies.
Even though the range is increased with the unique perk, before you get that unlocked, the range is terrible. You’ll definitely want to use Hammer Forged to increase it further.
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Cosmetics
The combination of the choked sound while firing, to the chunky reload of the shotgun makes this gun really feel like it was put together in a brilliant feat impromptu engineering.
It took great care, and an incredible feat of fine-tuning, to craft a weapon that packs a close-quarters punch, yet has the range of a precision rifle. Universal Remote is that weapon.
Its look, feel and sound just aren’t really that unique though (and unfortunately doesn’t have the range of a precision rifle).
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Conclusion
Is this gun fun to use? Absolutely. Is it a great Exotic? Well, no. If this was a secondary weapon, maybe with a different damage type, it’d be much more useful.
In PvP it’s very viable in the right hands. As long as you can get in that ‘sweet spot’ range, you’ll dominate in Rumble and smaller maps because its unique perk really helps.
If you enjoy being up close and personal with your enemies, then this is a great weapon to do it with, but nowhere near the best.
For PvP this weapon gets a 8.8/10, and for PvE it gets a 7.9/10
