M1897 is a SG. SGs have one purpose: Armor tanking. Armor combined with Flash Ammo (which reduces damage taken by a flat -3) makes all other stats (including Health) largely irrelevant for SGs. Combining this with the fact that most SG Skills are too bad to acknowledge (as they are either DPS-based or have extremely low uptime) means that the Armor stat is the only thing that matters for most SGs.

M1897 has less or equal Armor to M500 and SPAS-12, which are given pre-raised at level 65 from Career Quests. As such, M1897 is not recommended to raise.

Check the mod priority guide: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ty239kyJbBs1sLhTo1JvSWuN0mIJsK1nwVdI6OLLtXo/view?rm=minimal

The meido has obtained angery! Now she’s gotta Sweep Sweep Sweep!!!!

M1897 MOD is a meme. You’ve probably seen one of the GIFs posted somewhere of her just spraying flechette goddamn everywhere. While this is a hell of a spectacle to watch, the actual effectiveness in practice leaves a lot to be desired.

If you’re confused how this is even happening, just look at her Skill 2, Explosive Cleaning. Every time someone on the field reloads, M1897 gains a flechette, which she prioritizes using over her regular shells. Each flechette fires a whopping 20 hits of damage, each one randomly targeting enemies within range. This is how all those clips exist. Note that each hit only has a 1x multiplier to begin, which actually gets lower with consecutive hits on a single target. Beyond this meme of a skill, M1897 receives the usual range of upgrades: increased HP, an extra point of Armour, improved tiles, and so on.

In theory, this MOD was supposed to “sweep” through the mobs you find yourself facing, staying true to the Trench Gun’s legacy. A really cool and fun idea, but in practice, the applicability of this is extremely limited. Offensive shotguns in general are not desired, and even then, the reliance on needing people on her team to reload to get her flechettes makes it inconsistent in the best case.

Don’t let all those hilarious clips make you think M1897 is anything more than a meme. A fun meme for sure, but if we’re being serious for a moment, upgrading M1897 can’t be recommended. If you’ve got nothing else to do and just want a silly spectacle to watch though, go for it I suppose.