Overview
M1887 enjoys a very strong stat base, featuring high HP and Armor which serve to make her a very durable SG. Unfortunately, this is not the only qualities SGs need to have – they also require a good set of buff tiles to see meta use, which M1887 lacks. Her single tile buff is a great mix of Damage and Accuracy, but the fact that it only buffs one MG means she’s ill-suited for 2MG and 3MG Echelons. M1887’s Skill is nothing to write home about, either; a 1000 damage (5000 fully linked) single-target shot will only come in handy against bosses for the most part. Her great HP and armour, though, means that while M1887 is not exactly among the best SGs like Ithaca, SAT8, KSG and USAS, she is still a serviceable replacement for these units if they’re not available.
Pros
Fulfills Tank Role Well
M1887 has 1375 total HP and 22 base Armor, making her a very durable SG.
Cons
Suboptimal Tile Coverage
While M1887’s tiles carry a great 20% Damage and Accuracy mix, their coverage is terrible. This means she will not be a good fit for the standard 2MG and/or 3MG Echelons.
Full analysis
M1887’s stat base is among the best shotguns have to offer, and she’d be among the top of the class if SGs weren’t also sought after their tile buffs. This is where her real flaws kick in — M1887’s single tile buff is rather powerful, but because it only affects a single MG two tiles behind her, it creates an awkward situation where M1887 isn’t really a good fit for 2MG Echelons nor 3MG Echelons. If she’s placed on tile 6 in 2MG Echelons, her tile buffs will not reach an MG, and if she’s placed in either of the corners, then she will be unable to draw aggro properly while only buffing a single MG. The lack of potential aggro draw is not an issue in battles that end within the first volley, but in battles where a second volley is required, this could result in very damaged HGs or MGs. In 3MG Echelons, she can buff the MG on tile 4 just fine, but that is just 1 out of 3 of them, at which point there are better options out there – one of which is given for free after 10 Heavy Construction attempts.
M1887’s Skill is a single-target shot that deals 1000 damage per dummy link, up to 5000 damage. The Skill features a 15 seconds initial cooldown and 16 seconds regular cooldown, meaning that it will not see any general purpose usage and is instead reserved for boss battles such as chapter 9’s boss Judge.
Despite her great stats, these factors make M1887 an overall a mediocre SG and far from the best choice of SG in the current 2MG and 3MG meta compositions. She’s still a serviceable option, however, she’s still definitely far from optimal.