Geth Pulse Rifle

For the weapon in the original Mass Effect, see Geth Armory.

The Geth Pulse Rifle is an assault rifle in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.

Mass Effect 2

Geth Pulse Rifle
General Stats
Type	Assault Rifle
Location	Haestrom
Accuracy	Moderate
Recoil	Low
Fire Mode	Automatic
Fire Rate	1000 RPM (Variable)
Ammo Per Clip	40
Damage & Bonus Multipliers
Base	10.8
Armor	×1.15
Shields	×1.35
Barrier	×1.35
Spare Ammo Capacity
Default	480
Armor Pack	528
Upgraded	N/A
Both	N/A
Pickup Amount (Min - Max)	56 - 220

Description

This geth weapon fires a rapid stream of high-energy phasic slugs. Comparable to a Vindicator Battle Rifle. Very effective against shields and biotic barriers; moderately effective against armor.

Geth pulse rifles are rarely retrieved from the battlefield; when they are, the guns are generally functional and comparable to a stock assault rifle. Over time, however, they prove unreliable and difficult to repair. Attempts to replicate this weapon have failed, but the technology recovered from Haestrom could enable several of these weapons to be built for your squad.

Two anomalies differentiate these geth weapons from other stock assault rifles. First, the mass effect field generation technology follows a sine curve (it has a variable rate of fire). Second, its slugs are lighter than standard Avenger slugs, but they're encased in a phasic envelope. Overall, this weapon should be more effective against shields and barrier than a battle rifle, but will likely have less armor penetration capability.

Acquisition

Picked up during Tali's recruitment mission at Haestrom on Hardcore or Insanity difficulty setting (The difficulty must be adjusted before the start of the mission). The rifle can be found in the same room Tali is in, after destroying the Geth Colossus. The difficulty should be changed before landing on the planet.

Squad Use

This weapon can be used by Garrus, Grunt, Legion, Samara/Morinth, and Zaeed.

Player Notes

General Notes

• The Pulse Rifle rips through shields, so Disruptor Ammo is redundant against weaker enemies.
• Although the fire rate is listed at 1000 RPM, it is highly variable, alternating between fast and slow modes. According to the in-game Codex, this is because the fire rate follows a variable sine curve.
• The Pulse Rifle is very accurate, and very few of the shots will miss an enemy at medium range, even on full auto.
• Even though Disruptor Ammo is redundant it has different effects against different enemies. If fighting a large group of mechs put Disruptor Ammo on to disable them once through their armor.
• The Pulse Rifle has a noticeable lack of punch against armor. Supplementing it with Warp or Armor-Piercing Ammo is a good choice to add armor-penetration while augmenting barrier penetration, making it useful against certain Eclipse mercs and Collectors.
• Its high accuracy and rate of fire makes the Pulse Rifle an excellent suppressing fire weapon, especially when equipped with Inferno Ammo as this will quickly put whole groups of organics into "panic mode", making it safer and easier to make your shots count.
  • Inferno Ammo also greatly increases the weapon's damage against armor.
• The Pulse Rifle's main drawback is its low damage per shot, as this forces the player to remain out of cover for longer than with weapons like the M-96 Mattock. Keep this in mind when deciding what missions to take it on.
  • Because squad members deal even less damage than Shepard, this is even more of a problem for them. However, Zaeed – whose class power gives him much greater weapon damage – is less disadvantaged by this and the Pulse Rifle can be used as a useful suppressive weapon in his hands if desired.
  • The weapon's low damage can be countered by: equipping damage-increasing armour parts, making assault rifle damage upgrades a priority, or by utilising the rifle's high accuracy and striving for regular headshots. Even then, weapons like the Mattock and the Vindicator will still out-damage it, whilst also exposing Shepard less to enemy fire.
• This weapon refills ammo very quickly through thermal clip pick ups. This makes it an excellent choice for higher difficulties where ammo is always in low supply. In addition, it is useful for burning through the shields enemies gain on the higher difficulty settings.

Class Specific Notes

• Due to its high level of effectiveness against shields and barriers, the Pulse Rifle is an ideal weapon for Adepts or Vanguards if assault rifle training is selected inside the Collector cruiser.

Mass Effect 3

• Single-player
• Multiplayer

Trivia

• In Mass Effect 2, the rifle appears much lower than other rifles on a character's back, to the point where equipping Legion with it makes it almost float in the air.
• The Geth Pulse Rifle has the same icon as the Collector Particle Beam in the Weapons menu in the game.

See Also

• Geth Plasma Shotgun
• Geth Plasma SMG
• Javelin