KS-23

KS-23 Sideview.png
KS-23
Weapon Quote
“Pump-action shotgun that fires slugs that deal high arena damage”
// Profile //
BuildHeavy
TypeShotgun
// Damage //
Body100
CritN/A
DPS121.7
Falloff Start18m - 0%
Max Falloff23m - 40%
// Technical //
Mag Size6
Firing Time5.46
Reload Time~1 Second(s)

The KS-23 (Karabin Spetsialniy 23mm) is a Heavy class slug shotgun designed to deal high damage per slug at close to moderate distances, also dealing significant damage to structures.

Usage

The KS-23 can be selected as the weapon of any Heavy build loadout.

The trigger can be pulled to fire one projectile that damages an opponent. The weapon does not deal additional damage on headshots but deals significant structure damage. The trigger must be released before firing again. Zooming in with the secondary trigger slightly increases the KS-23's accuracy. Moving decreases accuracy.

The KS-23 reloads by inserting one round at a time, making its reload extremely slow. However, the reload can be interrupted before the magazine is full to reload less rounds.

The weapon automatically reloads when its magazine is empty, or the user can do a tactical reload before this point. The user has unlimited spare ammunition.

Controls PC PS XBox Key
Equip KS-23
1
 
Y
Weapon
Fire slug (Tap)
 
R2
RT
Primary fire
Zoom (Hold)
 
L2
LT
Secondary fire
Tactical reload
R
X
Reload

Properties

Weapon

FeatIcon Ranged.png Ranged — Strikes targets by aiming and firing at them from a distance.

FeatIcon Single Fire.png Single Fire — Fires once when the trigger is pulled. The trigger must be released before firing again.

FeatIcon Round Reload.png Round Reload — Inserts a single round on reload. The next round(s) will also start reloading automatically until the magazine is full.

FeatIcon Multi-Shot.png No Multi-Shot — Releases a single slug projectile with each shot.

FeatIcon Aim Down Sights.png No Aiming Down Sights — Cannot use sights. Zooms in slightly instead, but doing so does not significantly affect accuracy.

FeatIcon Stable Accuracy.png Unstable Accuracy — Suffers a significant decrease in accuracy while moving and while airborne.

Bullet

FeatIcon Projectile.png Projectile — Gets affected by gravity and has a travel time.

FeatIcon Mid Range Falloff.png Mid Range Falloff — Deals reduced damage when hitting targets at a moderate distance (falloff starts at less than 30m).

FeatIcon Moderate Structure Damage.png Moderate Structure Damage — Damages structures. Takes a few seconds or multiple charges to break a concrete wall.

FeatIcon Critical Hit.png No Critical Hit — Does not critically hit for increased damage, even if the target was struck on the head.

FeatIcon Interceptible.png Not Interceptible — Can not be removed by the APS Turret.

Strategy

Strengths

  • The KS-23 can break through any surface with a few shots.
  • If the user is able to predict their target's movements, the KS-23 is able to reliably hit targets at longer ranges than other Heavy class weapons. However, the damage will be significantly reduced.
  • In Terminal Attack, the maximum health contestants can regenerate to is 100 health. This is exactly the damage of the KS-23, giving the weapon an advantage in the game mode.

Weaknesses

  • Reloading the KS-23's shells takes a long time, leading to long downtimes between firing.
  • Once a reloading animation is started, it cannot be cancelled until that shell has finished being loaded.
  • The KS-23's small magazine size makes missing a shot very punishing.

Tactics

  • The user should zoom before firing, especially at longer distances. This slightly increases the accuracy of the KS-23.
  • A KS-23 user may need to lead their target at longer distances, i.e. firing at the location where they will be when the projectile arrives. This is because the KS-23's attack uses a projectile instead of a hitscan.
  • A full reload has a long wind-up time, but then reloads much more quickly. For this reason, the full reload should preferrably not be interrupted by firing, but the tactical reload can be interrupted.

Item Mastery

Item mastery XP can be earned by damaging and eliminating opponents with the KS-23.

Each time a certain XP threshold is reached, the item levels up. This does not improve the item, but rewards a unique item customization.

XP Breakdown
Source XP Reward
Damage dealt by the KS-23
Opponent eliminated by damage from the KS-23
(Does not count quick melee finishers)
Assist on an opponent damaged by the KS-23
Level 1
KS-23 Rank 1.png
0 XP
KS-23
Level 2
KS-23 Rank 2.png
9,000 XP
Dye Job (Yellow)
Level 3
KS-23 Rank 3.png
9,000 XP
Dye Job (Blue)
Level 4
KS-23 Rank 4.png
36,000 XP
Dye Job (Red)
Level 5
KS-23 Rank 5.png
54,000 XP
Dye Job (White)
Level 6
KS-23 Rank 6.png
162,000 XP
Triangle Twinkle
Level 7
KS-23 Rank 7.png
144,000 XP
Striped Grazer
Level 8
KS-23 Rank 8.png
136,000 XP
Painted Predator

Trivia

  • The KS-23 exists in real life as the KS-23 shotgun, meaning Karabin Spetsialny—Russian for "Special Carbine". It was designed in the 1970s, under the Soviet Union by TsNIITochMash (Tsentral'nyy nauchno-issledovatel'skiy institut tyazhelogo mashinostroyeniya; tr. Central Scientific - Research Institute for Precision Machine Engineering) for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was designed with the purpose of suppressing prison riots. It has the capability to fire several different types of ammunition. It is still in service to this day.

Weapon Skins

Change History

Patch 3.0.0

  • Decreased pump-action duration from 0.7s to 0.575s

Patch 2.5.0

  • Bullet dispersion reduced when jumping, sprinting, or zoomed in, to make the weapon more accurate

Patch 2.2.0

  • Increased fire rate from 55 RPM to 73 RPM
  • Decreased player damage from 120 to 100
  • Increased environmental damage from 600 to 700
  • Decreased pump-action animation delay from 0.2s to 0s
  • Increased pump-action animation duration from 0.6s to 0.7s
  • Increased damage fall-off start range from 15m to 18m
  • Decreased damage fall-off end range from 50m to 23m
  • Increased the damage fall-off multiplier at max range from 45% to 65%
  • Increased the projectile speed from 200m/s to 300m/s
  • Decreased bullet dispersion when firing from the hip while crouching, standing, and running
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