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The Javelin is a sniper rifle in Mass Effect 3.

Description[]

Called the Javelin by Alliance marines, this geth weapon holds a reservoir of ferrofluid, magnetically drawn into the firing chamber and expelled at lethal speeds. Like a high-pressure water-jet, the ferrofluid cuts through nearly anything it hits with so much heat that it resembles a beam of light, causing terrible wounds.

Acquisition[]

Single-player

The Javelin is found during the mission Rannoch: Admiral Koris, on the path after a crashed escape pod. It is also purchasable at Elkoss Combine Arsenal Supplies post-mission if it was missed. If Priority: Rannoch is completed before Admiral Koris' rescue, the Javelin will be unavailable for the rest of the game.

Multiplayer

Weapons are randomly rewarded through purchases of item packs. The Javelin is categorized as ultra-rare and requires no multiplayer expansion packs.

Player Notes[]

General
  • The Javelin one of the heaviest weapons, surpassed only by the Geth Spitfire in multiplayer. In exchange for that weight is a sniper rifle that can both locate and hit targets through terrain with a higher undivided damage-per-shot than any other weapon in the game, including the M-98 Widow.
    • The M-300 Claymore technically can deal more damage per shot, but this is spread out amongst eight weaker pellets that all must hit home and can't all be concentrated to hit enemy heads or weak points except at very close ranges; this also makes it much less effective by default against enemy armor protections.
    • There is almost no reason to pick the Widow over the Javelin if both are available unless the marginally lighter weight of the Widow actually makes a significant difference. The only other reason would be if you aren't yet used to the Javelin's delayed shot.
    • The Javelin has a slow reload time that can be cut nearly in half by reload cancelling. A power that automatically reloads the weapon such as Adrenaline Rush can also be handy. With efficient cancelling and aim, the Javelin's unrivaled combination of damage, target-finding, penetration, and range make it one of the deadliest weapons available.
  • Delayed Shot: The Javelin has a short delay from when the trigger is pulled to when it actually fires, which can easily cause shots against moving targets to miss. This makes the Javelin more challenging to use efficiently, but with practice, it can still be mastered.
    • This lag time between pull and shot can actually benefit a skilled shooter if the target moves unexpectedly, allowing a split second to realign or cancel the shot before it goes off.
    • If the shot is cancelled before firing, Tactical Cloak will still deactivate because it deactivates upon pulling the trigger, not actually firing.
    • Firing at targets that are immobile, stunned, or moving in a predictable way (e.g. recovering from an evasive dodge) is always the easiest way to ensure hits.
  • Thermal Scope: The Javelin possesses a built-in thermal scope which allows the user to see through as much cover as the weapon can pierce. This feature scales with ammo augmentations and mods that increase its piercing ability.[1]
    • This feature renders scope mods redundant, freeing up space for other options.
    • While zoomed, this allows for detecting enemies through smoke and thin cover; all foes are highlighted with a purple outline, including cloaked enemies.
    • The penetration and vision of the Javelin make it an excellent weapon to take to missions against Cerberus and geth.
  • Like the N7 Crusader, Black Widow, Widow, and the Executioner Pistol, the Javelin can penetrate objects by default. It has a very high innate 100cm penetration, which is already enough to penetrate most thinner obstacles.
    • This penetration does not grant additional damage on armored targets, except to the extent that it won't be blocked by any armor plating.
    • Shots that penetrate objects suffer no damage penalty for doing so unless Armor-Piercing Ammo (though not Armor-Piercing Rounds or Drill Rounds in multiplayer) is active on the weapon. The Sniper Rifle Piercing Mod and Sniper Rifle High-Velocity Barrel likewise will not penalize the damage of shots that pierce through objects when equipped on this weapon, despite the mods' in-game text. Equipping both grants the Javelin even more penetration depth.
    • The Javelin can easily get two or sometimes more kills with a single shot on enemies that are lined up.
    • Even on higher difficulties, the Javelin can one-shot kill a Geth Pyro if the shot travels through the head, completely stripping its shields, and then carries on through the fuel tank, detonating it.
  • The Javelin's high damage shot makes it effective by default against armored targets even without equipping any anti-armor mods or weakening targets' armor. However, this same property does mean it is more hampered by enemy shield gates, especially on higher difficulties.
    • High-level Disruptor Ammo (single-player) or Disruptor Rounds/Phasic Rounds (multiplayer) greatly mitigates issues against enemy shields or barriers and even allows the Javelin to ignore shield gates, thus making it possible to one-shot shielded or barrier-protected infantry, especially with headshots. This can make the Javelin capable of handling any foe.
    • The other option for dealing with shielded targets is of course through the use of powers. Overload is usually capable of completely stripping the shields or barriers from infantry targets, and if it does, the Javelin can easily finish the job with a follow-up shot, especially since most targets will be momentarily stunned.
  • The Javelin has a smaller ammunition reserve than even the Widow, making the Sniper Rifle Spare Thermal Clip very useful, especially when the weapon is low level.
  • Unscoping between shots is often a useful technique to help with resetting your aim more quickly.

Single-player
  • The Javelin, if available, is the obvious sniper rifle choice for squadmates like Ashley and Garrus. They don't mind the extra weight and their aim is not thrown off by the delayed shot mechanic. While the Black Widow could theoretically fire at a faster rate, squadmates do not take advantage of that potential, so the Javelin's superior damage and terrain penetration make it more effective, particularly in view of the squadmate tendency to attempt shots against targets obscured by cover.
  • Even a Soldier with a weight capacity of 100 cannot carry the Javelin without a penalty to power recharge times.
  • Aside from equipping the Sniper Rifle Spare Thermal Clip, the Javelin's low ammunition reserve can be supplemented in a few other ways:
    • Taking the Ammo Capacity rank evolutions of the various ammo powers is recommended at least until the Javelin can be fully upgraded; while this does sacrifice a powerful headshot damage bonus, the Javelin is often more than powerful enough to afford the tradeoff.
    • By making certain choices at the Intel Terminal, up to 15% extra ammunition capacity is possible with permanent increases. The Armor Modkit, Weapon Upgrade Kit, and Intact Reaper Weapon can each add an additional 5% to ammo capacity.
    • Also consider wearing armor that increases your spare ammo capacity.

Multiplayer
  • With Phasic Rounds III and other damage bonuses such as from Tactical Cloak, the Javelin can potentially kill any infantry enemy with a single headshot on any difficulty level, including Phantoms and Possessed Captains. Even with Phasic Rounds (as opposed to say Armor-Piercing Rounds), the Javelin has more than enough punch to still be effective against heavy armored targets.
  • The Javelin's high base damage and status as a geth weapon makes it a devastating tool in the hands of a geth multiplayer character that invests into weapon damage bonuses from Networked AI or Hunter Mode.
    • The Geth Infiltrator can benefit from additional damage and sniper rifle damage while cloaked. Add this to the damage bonus from Hunter Mode, and the above-mentioned damage bonuses from Networked AI, and your damage bonus can be over 180%.
  • Even a more power-dependent class can carry the Javelin and still use powers at a decent rate if weight is reduced with Sniper Rifle Ultralight Materials and a Power Efficiency Module is equipped.

Trivia[]

References[]

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