Advanced weapon strategy guide for Mass Effect 2™, exploring class synergies and weapon viability for high difficulty gameplay.
Welcome to a Mass Effect 2 weapon guide, as if Steam doesn’t have enough of them. This guide is designed for those seeking guidance on which weapons are the best suited for their personal playstyle/builds. Before we get started, there are a couple of things this guide assumes about you as a player;
We got that all covered? Alright!
Assault rifles are the bread and butter of any weapon class. Excelling in mid-range skirmishes; they do solid damage, have relatively good range and are very ammo efficient.
The M-8 Avenger is the first usable assault rifle in the game, boasting a pretty high firerate, relatively low kick and low damage. The ideal playstyle with this weapon would be to burst fire in mid to long ranges while going full automatic in close encounters. Due to its low damage output it’s best to have a decent ammo power slapped on to it for more consistency.
This weapon is better used by Soldiers who have a massive array of ammo types and Adrenaline Rush to take advantage of this weapons high firerate. It isn’t a surprise that the first few missions of ME2 introduce you to a vastly superior assault rifle, making this weapon very short lived in most playthroughs.
Speak of the devil, we’re at the M-15 Vindicator. The Vindicator is truly the posterboy of assault rifles in this game, packaged with high accuracy and very low kick. Be sure to always aim for the head with this weapon.
Unfortunately, not everything in this world is perfect. The Vindicator has a low magazine size alongside a low ammo reserve, degrading its reputation in long firefights. Fortunately, you can compensate this downside pretty easily with all classes by primarily using your powers to soften enemies up or switching weapons when it’s not needed. Overall very flexible and extremely dependable in mid-range skirmishes.
There isn’t much to be said about the Geth Pulse Rifle, it’s extremely accurate with a high firerate, has low impact/armor damage, but is very effective against shields. The class that benefits the most from a shield shredding weapon would be Vanguard, who has a difficult time softening up shields without squadmates.
Despite being the “super assault rifle” this weapon isn’t amazing in all situations, in fact this weapon is pretty crappy unless you’re using Adrenaline Rush to mitigate its massive recoil. But oh boy when you do use Adrenaline Rush… This weapon becomes an absolute beast. Without Adrenaline Rush to compensate for the recoil it’s pretty bad in most firefights. It’s stylish but not very efficient.
Not much to be said about the Collector Assault Rifle, it’s a decent alternative to the M-8 Avenger but it doesn’t have the accuracy to compete with other high-tier assault rifles like the Vindicator or Mattock. It has a low spread which can give it some niche use for aggressive playstyles.
The Mattock is debatably the best assault rifle in the game. Insane accuracy, insane damage and a firerate that fires as fast as you can pull the trigger. In many aspects it’s very similar to the Vindicator in the fact that it’s a very accurate skirmishing assault rifle. This rifle is hilariously overpowered when combined with Soldier’s Adrenaline Rush, allowing you to dump an entire magazine in under a second.
The drawback with this gun is its magazine size and reserve ammo, which are noticeably lower than the Vindicator. Due to its very noticeable ammo capacity I feel like this weapon works best when used by the hybrid classes like Vanguard and Infiltrator, who can reliably fall back upon their shotgun or sniper rifle. Classes like Adept, Engineer and Sentinel who don’t have a second primary weapon will prefer the Vindicator over the Mattock.
Due to ME2’s cover-dependent gameplay, there are certain situations where shotguns feel like they don’t belong in the game. It is for that reason that many people gravitate to using shotguns. They turn the tables on what is traditionally supposed to be a slow-paced action RPG and make it into a risky game of close quarters combat.
The Katana seems to be following its namesake, weak and not reliable. Despite doing a good chunk of damage this weapon is outclassed by every other shotgun on this list, making it obsolete right out of the box. Because of its slow firerate it synergizes well with classes who possess quick escape mechanisms like Infiltrator and Vanguard.
The Scimitar is a massive step up from its older sibling, the Katana. Boasting a high firerate and magazine size, this shotgun prefers a hyper-aggressive user who disregards the existence of cover.
This auto-shotty can be absolutely devastating when combined with the Soldier’s Adrenaline Rush, allowing you to unload all of your stacked up damage onto an enemy. The Scimitar is also effective when used by Vanguards due to Biotic Charge giving Shepard an easy escape tool to continue chaining kills. Sentinels can also be extremely effective with this weapon so long as they keep their Tech Armor cooldowns on a close watch. The Scimitar isn’t particularly recommended for the other pure classes (Adept, Engineer) or Infiltrators. Infiltrators benefits more from slow firing, high impact shotguns while pure classes prefer to stay in cover. Overall a very fun and effective weapon that will introduce you to new ways to play ME2.
I probably ♥♥♥♥♥♥ off the vocal fanbase this weapon has by simply calling it “average”, but it honestly isn’t as good as people think it is. On lower difficulties it’s a different story, but on higher difficulties this weapon is more annoying than it is effective. Even with its high damage it can’t hit all the breakpoints to one-shot most goons in this game, making it more of a hindrance than a blessing. If you use this weapon purely against bigger opponents who you wouldn’t have been able to one-shot anyways then I can see some niche use to it, but at that point it’s a worse M-98 Widow.
I’d only recommend this for Vanguards as this pairs up well with offensive Biotic Charges. You’re better off picking another weapon as Soldier.
One of the best shotguns in the game, the Eviscerator does massive damage while also having low spread. The weapon shares similarities with the Katana by being a slow firerate shotgun, but with only 3 shells in the magazine. This weapon is surprisingly effective when wielded by Infiltrators, as it suits their assassination playstyle very well. Compared to the Scimitar you have to be more smart and methodical while using the Eviscerator. Needless to say, this weapon synergizes well with Vanguard’s Biotic Charge and Sentinel’s ability to tank with Tech Armor.
Arguably the best shotty in the game, the Geth Plasma Shotgun functions in a unique fashion where you can charge up your shots, giving you a tighter spread and additional damage. It has a decent firerate when not charging shots, however ammo consumption is a major issue with this gun, be wary of your reserves during firefights.
The shotgun also does additional damage versus shields and barriers, making it an appropriate choice for Vanguards who have a tough time dealing with shielded enemies. Using AP, Warp or Incendiary ammo should compensate for the armor penetration.
The GPS also has unique interactions with Infiltrator’s Tactical Cloak. Charging the gun while invisible will break your Cloak. However, if you charge the gun before using your Tactical Cloak, you can still retain invisibility while holding in the shot. Not only that, but releasing your charged shot won’t break invisibility, allowing you to fire off another shot.
Sniper Rifles are an amazing bunch of weapons varying from sh*t-tier to god-tier. In a game where maps are designed like glorified shooting galleries, this weapon type absolutely shines.
No joke, the first sniper rifle you get is one of the best weapons in the game. It’s bolt-action but does massive damage, hitting all of the damage breakpoints with a clean headshot even on Insanity difficulty. With the AP upgrade this thing can also take down massive boss enemies with ease, though not as stylishly as the Widow.
The main reason this weapon is amazing for Infiltrators is because it’s good enough. Instead of picking up the M-98 Widow you could instead broaden up your playstyle by picking up a shotgun or assault rifle on the Collector ship. I didn’t feel the need to express this for any other weapon in this guide, however, I felt like the Mantis needed a bit of love due to how underrated it is compared to its sister, the M-98 Widow.
It’s better to treat this weapon as a scoped rifle rather than a one-shot-one-kill sniper. Because the weapon doesn’t do a lot of burst damage, it’s less effective when paired together with Infiltrator’s Tactical Cloak. Despite that, it’s still a great weapon that can easily compete with some of the more powerful assault rifles.
It’s somewhat ammo efficient and can be safely used for most sustained firefights, making it a great choice for pure classes like Adept and Engineer who like to sit at the back and methodically combo their powers. Furthermore, Soldier’s Adrenaline Rush makes rapidly stacking headshots with this weapon easier, allowing you to get more value out of the damage boost.
The Widow has a massive cult following for a good reason. Have you ever wanted a portable railgun strapped to your back? Well, the M-98 Widow exists for that sole purpose. It’s basically the Mantis but with higher penetration and damage, allowing it to one-shot most enemies even on Insanity. Despite being the most badass weapon in this category there isn’t much to talk about that hasn’t already been said. High damage, lots of headshots, lots of dead bodies.
The M-98 Widow is obviously amazing for Infiltrators, but Soldier gets to pick this weapon up too. This is important because Soldier already has the Vindicator/Mattock, allowing you to pair two amazing assault rifles with an amazing sniper rifle. Add in the Scimitar into the mix and the Soldier turns into a true one-man-army. In my opinion, this is the best Collector Ship weapon that Soldiers can take.
Be warned though, the Widow will have diminishing returns the higher up the difficulty you go, so don’t be too shocked when it stops one-shotting some enemy types.
Burst fire sniper rifle. Low ammo. You see where this is going? Yeah this thing sucks, don’t jeopardize your mission by taking this paperweight with you. On a sidenote, this weapon is pretty decent when used by squadmates.
Submachine guns are extremely unique in the fact that they broaden up many different playstyles that range from passive to extremely aggressive. There are only two submachine guns in the base game, another one is DLC.
The Shuriken is a pretty powerful weapon despite being given out so early. When the fire button is held down it burst fires and when tapped quickly it will fire full auto. The accuracy on the weapon isn’t great, making it better for aggressive close range showdowns. While it’s serviceable from mid-range it’s astoundingly more effective when you’re literally at hugging distance from an enemy. Combine this weapon with a powerful ammo type and you’ll be shredding anything that gets close to you.
The Tempest is similar to the Shuriken in many ways. Tapping the fire button will do a 5 round burst, which is effective in mid-range. But up close this weapon will devastate most enemies. In many aspects it’s a straight upgrade to the Shuriken, but not by a large margin. The Tempest also has a low armor penetration rate, which makes it better suited versus enemies with shields and barriers. You can compensate for the armor penetration with AP ammo or Incendiary ammo, making it a competent sidearm.
The Locust is an extremely powerful SMG. Low recoil, high accuracy and relatively high damage for the SMG class. Compared to the Tempest it has a lower firerate which makes it worse for close range, but the accuracy is so high that it turns the Locust into a mini assault rifle. This makes the Locust an insane sidearm for mid-range and long-range skirmishes.
The Locust also trades some shield penetration for armor penetration, further cementing its role as a mini assault rifle. If your build lacks reach then this weapon is the perfect way to compensate for it.
Every class in the game owns a heavy pistol, compared to submachine guns they offer very little variety despite also having only three weapons. They offer decent range, decent damage, and decent ammo efficiency.
NOTE: It won’t be until ME3 when we see heavy pistols really shine into the spotlight. They’re not good enough to be used by themselves which really brings them down a notch in ME2. They’re decent as a situation tech tool.
Ex: Using Cryo Ammo on a high impact pistol like the Carnifex will allow you to slowly freeze unprotected enemies with one shot. Due to the pistol’s low draw time you can use it as a temporary freeze gun.
The first weapon you ever touch in the game, unsurprisingly, not that good. Compared to the other pistols in its class it has more ammo and a faster firerate. It deals with shields and barriers a bit better than the other pistols but it’s not that big of a game changer to warrant using the Predator outside of the first few missions.
Not much to say about the Carnifex, it does more damage than the Predator and is more effective against armor. Decent sidearm if you run out of ammo.
The Phalanx is probably the only interesting pistol in the heavy pistol category. It has pinpoint accuracy and uses a laser sight instead of a crosshair. Compared to the Carnifex it has higher damage but a lower firerate. Pretty good sidearm for people who want to snipe from cover. Consistent headshots are advised.
!!SCREW THEM ALL, USE THE NUKE LAUNCHER!!
On a serious note, I won’t be going over heavy weapons as in-depth as I would want to, some of these weapons aren’t really worth talking about due to how little impact they deliver compared to most normal weapons. The heavy weapons in this game are unofficially divided into two tiers.
Heavy hitting, massive damage dealers that aren’t ammo efficient and will drain your reserves like crazy:
… and weapons designed for frequent usage:
Pro tip: The ones I personally like the most are the M-920 Cain, Arc Projector and Collector Particle Beam. The rest are pretty underpowered in my opinion.
Despite all this I wouldn’t factor heavy weapons into your strategy, as they aren’t as essential as normal weapons and normal powers. If you feel like your playstyle benefits from any of these weapons then go ahead, use them, however I’ll just use whatever looks good on my back.
Thanks for reading this guide! Hopefully the knowledge passed on here shall help you have a more enjoyable ME2 playthrough!
Be sure to leave feedback in the comments.
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