Redacted.
Secret Handshake is a Legendary special shotgun.
This weapon is purchasable from the Vanguard Quartermaster.
9.3/10
8.9/10The good: Highest RoF, great stability, fast reload speed.
The bad: Lowest Impact, poor base range.
Conclusion: Shot Package + Hammer Forged is a deadly combo.
Shotgun (Special Weapon)
272/331Talent Upgrades Tree (from the vendor)
Arc Damage
This weapon causes Arc damage.
SMART DRIFT CONTROL
Predictable and controllable recoil. Penalty to range
+20 Stability
-15 Range
GRENADIER
Kills with this weapon reduce the cooldown of your grenade.
Upgrade Damage 1
Increases Attack Power, resulting in more Damage.
FLARED MAGWELL
Reload this weapon even faster.
SHOT PACKAGE
Aiming this weapon reduces the spread of its projectiles.
Upgrade Damage 2
Increases Attack Power, resulting in more Damage.
Upgrade Damage 3
Increases Attack Power, resulting in more Damage.
ACCURIZED BALLISTICS
More range and Impact. Increased recoil.
+5% Damage
+10 Range
-10 Stability
HAMMER FORGED
Improved range and accuracy.
Upgrade Damage 4
Increases Attack Power, resulting in more Damage.
AGGRESSIVE BALLISTICS
More predictable recoil. Enhanced Impact. Shorter range and more recoil.
+10% Damage
-5 Range
-5 Stability
HIGH CALIBER ROUNDS
Oversize rounds built to stagger targets and leave them reeling. Their mass makes a weapon harder to handle.
Upgrade Damage 5
Increases Attack Power, resulting in more Damage.
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Video Review
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Weapon Review
Secret Handshake is a Legendary shotgun that can be purchased for 150 Vanguard Marks and 1 Commendation. It comes standard with excellent perks and decent stats.
The default perks are listed above, click here to see all of its potential perks.
Be sure to check out our other Legendary weapon reviews as well.
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Recommended Perks
Accurized Ballistics
This ballistics upgrade provides the best range.
Hammer Forged
This shotgun has a low base range, so it needs all the help it can get.
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The Good
Secret Handshake is a rapid firing shotgun, great to use when you know you’re going up against many enemies.
Its rate of fire is the highest possible, tied with Swordbreaker and a few others. If you happen to land the Full Auto perk, you’ll be tearing through enemies faster than they can run at you.
The stability and reload speed is also well above average. It’s base reload speed is 4.5 seconds, and with Flared Magwell, can be decreased to 3.8 seconds!
The Grenadier perk really makes this shotgun viable in PvE. It takes about 7 kills to bring your grenade energy from 0-100% (each kill = 10%). The first encounter in the raid makes good work of this perk, allowing you to take out some enemies with a grenade, and then easily clear out a few more with your shotgun.
Hammer Forged is the clear choice if you want more range, since the base range is low.
Shot Package, arguably the best perk to have on a shotgun, will tighten the spread of your shots which essentially increases the range.
With its 6 round magazine, it’s an excellent choice for PvP, and the Arc damage makes it more viable in PvE.
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The Bad
As can be expected with high rate of fire weapons, the Impact suffers. Again tied with Swordbreaker, it’s got the lowest Impact out of the Legendary shotguns.
You’ll still be able to take tier 1 enemies out in 1 shot though, dealing out about 1,500-4,200 damage, depending on where your shots land.
The base range is also well below average. Thankfully this shotgun comes standard with Hammer Forged, and in addition with Accurized Ballistics, it’s much more respectable.
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Conclusion
Looking to upgrade your Found Verdict? Don’t have a shotgun with Shot Package? Secret Handshake has excellent perks from the vendor and is worth the Marks to buy it.
Don’t overlook this shotgun even though it’s base range and Impact are low. Hammer Forged and Shot Package do wonders for this weapon.
For PvP this weapon earns a 9.3/10 and for PvE a 8.9/10.