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The Cerberus Harrier is an assault rifle in Mass Effect 3.

Description[]

These Cerberus-modified M-96 Mattock rifles are fully automatic. Cerberus gunsmiths reined in the recoil issues, resulting in a gun that stays on target but delivers slightly less punch per round than a standard Mattock. As such, the weapon is typically utilized by Cerberus’s elite troopers who train constantly to make every burst count.

Acquisition[]

Singleplayer

The Cerberus Harrier is available after downloading the Mass Effect 3: Firefight Pack.

In the Legendary Edition it is available from the Spectre Requisitions terminal in the Citadel Embassies for a base amount of 150,000 credits.

Multiplayer

Weapons are randomly rewarded through purchases of item packs. The Cerberus Harrier is categorized as ultra-rare and requires the Mass Effect 3: Rebellion Pack.

Player Notes[]

General
  • True to its in-game description, the Cerberus Harrier is very similar to the M-96 Mattock in most respects; contrary to its in-game description, however, the Harrier actually deals slightly more damage per bullet. Also, it sports a fully automatic rate of rapid fire which, at the cost of being slightly heavier, makes the Harrier one of the most powerful weapons in the game.
  • Among conventional assault rifles, the Harrier's damage-per-second (DPS) can be exceeded by the Particle Rifle and N7 Typhoon, but both of those weapons are heavier and must be fired for several seconds for their damage to ramp up. The Harrier has no gimmicks and its excellent accuracy (especially when aiming down sights) and negligible muzzle climb makes it useful against almost any foe at any engagement range.
  • The Achilles' heel of the Harrier is its very low spare thermal clip capacity. If you plan to rely on this weapon heavily, be prepared to take steps to mitigate this weakness, and make every shot count.
    • Takedowns of large armored targets like Atlases can be taxing on the Harrier's ammunition reserve. Be sure to weaken enemy armor as much as possible with piercing mods, powers like Warp, or ammo augmentation.
  • Despite its power, the somewhat small clip of the Harrier can result in a lot of reloading during continuous combat. The Assault Rifle Magazine Upgrade is a great way to improve the weapon's damage against hard targets and make sure you don't run out of shots at an awkward moment.

Single-player
  • The Cerberus Harrier's low spare ammo capacity can be improved with appropriate armor pieces, Intel Terminal upgrades, or the ammo capacity evolutions of the various ammo powers.
  • Be mindful of the damage penalty you may incur from using piercing mods or Armor-Piercing Ammo when shooting through objects or armor plating on enemies like Brutes.
  • The Cerberus Harrier is a poor choice for squadmates, who only fire in short 3-4 round bursts before taking cover again for 1-2 seconds, often taking 20+ seconds to empty a single thermal clip.

Multiplayer
  • The biggest flaw of the Harrier is its low spare ammo capacity. This disadvantage can be mitigated in certain ways:
    • Highly mobile classes like vorcha and drell can access resupply crates more frequently.
    • The N7 Demolisher Engineer has access to near-unlimited ammo thanks to Supply Pylon. Fighting around another player's Supply Pylon can make the Harrier even more effective.
  • Phantoms, during the flipping movement, are highly resistant to the non-projectile weapon fire of the game's host. Be cautious about wasting precious ammunition by shooting them to little effect. Staggering attacks can effectively prevent the damage reduction.
  • Because of their excellent properties when equipped on weapons of low-to-mid damage per bullet, Armor-Piercing Rounds greatly increase the Harrier's effectiveness.

Trivia[]

  • The assault rifle in Mass Effect Infiltrator, an M-96 Mattock Auto, is similar in function and appearance to the Harrier.
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