Found a shotgun build that can actually clear the game. That said, a lot of the shotgun-related gear feels pretty underwhelming most of the time.
For example, Shell Loader: Every 12 seconds it gives +1 attack to adjacent shotguns (or +2 if upgraded). If you compare Shell Loader with Loaded Shells, it takes 36 seconds for Shell Loader to match the damage boost of a single Loaded Shells. Even when upgraded, it still needs 24 seconds before it surpasses one Loaded Shells — and that’s only for two adjacent shotguns.
As for its shield effect, even at +1 it only gives 26 shield / 12 sec. Compare that to a plain Shielding Belt, which already provides 8 shield / 4 sec — and 16 shield / 4 sec when upgraded.
In fact, Loaded Shells is a bit of a trap for many beginners — it only really becomes worthwhile if you’re running at least 3–4 shotguns at the same time. Even then, each additional shotgun usually only adds about +1 damage per second from the buff, so it’s still not that impactful.
You can think of each accessory as if it were an extra weapon, and analyze whether its effect is really worth taking up that much inventory space.