What is the shotgun code in Alan Wake 2?

The shotgun is one of the best tools for dealing with Nightingale, the former investigator turned corpse turned Taken monster that serves as Alan Wake 2’s first big bad. Finding the shotgun is simple enough — the game will force you into the room where it’s stashed as part of the story — but finding the code to unlock the shotgun’s display case is another matter.

In this Alan Wake 2 guide, we’ll tell you where to find the shotgun, and tell you the shotgun code so you can open the display case.

Where to find the shotgun in Alan Wake 2 Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

The sawed-off shotgun is in the creepy, abandoned general store in Cauldron Lake — the first of the big locations you’ll be able to explore. However, you won’t be able to get the shotgun until your second visit to the lake, in chapter 1. (Or, at the very least, we couldn’t find a way to get it during the first visit, and you won’t need it until chapter 2 anyway).

Once you return to Cauldron Lake after a brief visit in town, progress the quest using the case files until Saga has to track down Nightingale's heart. This will send you directly to the general store — although it’s worth mentioning that you can grab the shotgun anytime during your second visit, before or after you track down the heart.

Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

Enter through the store entrance of the general store (not the washing machines) and turn left. Keep walking toward the back wall and steel yourself for a jump scare. One of the cult members will smash through the wall and attempt to murder you. Turn your flashlight on him and crank it up to burn the darkness away. Once he’s vulnerable, kill him and make your way into the little office where he was hiding. Grab the heart from the fridge on the left and then turn around. On the opposite wall you’ll find a pouch to expand your inventory (a priceless upgrade in a game like Alan Wake 2) and a locked display case housing the sawed-off shotgun.

Now you just need to liberate the gun from its lock box and you’ll have a new tool to help you take down Nightingale.

Alan Wake 2 shotgun code and puzzle solution Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

Below, we’ll go into how we solved the display case code, but if you just want to get your boomstick and take on Nightingale, the shotgun code is 739.

Pop that code into the lock, grab the sawed-off shotgun, and get yourself down to the witch’s sign. Just be sure to slot the shotgun into your quickslot before you go.

For the sleuths out there who just need a bit of a nudge in the right direction:

If you inspect the note near the shotgun’s lock, you’ll get a clue: “Check with Lady Fortuna at the counter.” Part of this is actually a red herring, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Walk yourself over to the counter back near the entrance. You’ll find a rolodex of numbers open to a psychic. Ignore this, as it’s just a cute joke to try and waste your time. Instead, take a look at the notebook and the lotto ticket on the counter — “Lady Fortuna” in this case refers to the lottery ticket, and it’s not a cheeky name for a psychic.

On the notepad you’ll see 705, 713, 717, and 723, all crossed out on the page, and under them a note that says “Don’t forget! Update code.” If you look at the lotto ticket, you’ll see that it says: 05 13 17 23 39 45.

To figure out the current code, start with the number 7 and then add one of the lotto number pairs to end. As you can see on the note pad, the shop owners have already used the first four number pairs as codes. Using our SAT “find the pattern” deduction skills, we discovered that the current code is 739, as 39 is the next pair in the lotto sequence.