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Disambiguous This article is about the weapon. For other uses of the term "predator", see Predator.

The M-3 Predator is a heavy pistol in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, and a pistol in Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Mass Effect 2[]

Description[]

Reliable, accurate sidearm. Effective against armor; weak against shields and biotic barriers.

Manufactured by Elanus Risk Control, the Predator is valued as a powerful, deadly, and relatively inexpensive weapon. While it is not generally deployed in the military, where kinetic barriers are common, it’s still very popular in the Terminus Systems where these defenses are less common.

Acquisition[]

This weapon is obtainable in a locker at the start of Prologue: Awakening.

Squad Use[]

This weapon can be used by Jack, Jacob, Miranda, Mordin, Tali, Kasumi, Liara, Dr. Amanda Kenson, and Wilson.

Player Notes[]

  • While putting out less damage than the M-6 Carnifex or M-5 Phalanx, the Predator can fire four times as fast as the latter and twice as fast as the former.
    • The Predator is capable of fully automatic fire, but its firing rate while the trigger is held is actually slower than the maximum possible firing rate if the trigger is repeatedly pulled in semi-automatic fashion.
  • Despite not having the damage or accuracy of other heavy pistol models, like them, the Predator does have a very high likelihood of triggering the effects of ammo powers, such as the weapon overheating effects of high-level Disruptor Ammo or the freezing effect of Cryo Ammo, typically requiring only one shot against most unprotected enemies. This is particularly useful for squadmates due to their higher rate of fire with this pistol compared to the M-5 Phalanx and their high accuracy with weapons generally.

Mass Effect 3[]

Description[]

A reliable, accurate sidearm. Manufactured by Elanus Risk Control, the Predator is valued as a powerful, deadly, and relatively inexpensive weapon. While it is not generally deployed in the military, it's still very popular in the Terminus Systems.

Acquisition[]

Singleplayer

The Predator is given to Shepard by Admiral Anderson when the Reapers reach Earth.

Multiplayer

The M-3 Predator is one of the five starter weapons. Upgrades are randomly rewarded through purchases of item packs. The Predator is categorized as common.

Player Notes[]

General
  • The Predator deals low damage but is lightweight, making it passable for a power-focused character. However, as one of the default starting weapons in both single-player and multiplayer, it is fairly weak in general and should be ditched in favor of alternatives as soon as they become available.
  • It has a decent base clip size of 15 rounds. It also has a very fast firing rate, rapid reload, and it is fairly accurate at all ranges, with relatively low recoil.
    • Maxing out the Predator's firing rate is difficult from a mechanical perspective, requiring very rapid clicking or button pressing.

Single-player
  • When the M-3 Predator is received again through an imported Mass Effect 3 save, it is not automatically upgraded three levels as other weapons are, and the missing levels (from VIII to X) cannot be obtained through the upgrade terminal either.

Mass Effect: Andromeda[]

Description[]

A reliable semi-automatic pistol. Originally manufactured by Elanus Risk Control, the rapid-fire Predator is a deadly and inexpensive weapon. Although Milky Way militaries generally avoided using the Predator, the Andromeda Initiative obtained and adjusted several hundred of them.

Features[]

The rapid-fire Predator also has a rapid reloading rate.

According to post-launch balance updates, the Predator also benefits from the rate of fire adjustment bestowed to the Mattock. However, its rate of fire has been reduced. It also saw multiple adjustments to damage. The multiplayer base Predator also increased the force impacted by its bullets.

The multiplayer S variant gained improvements to damage, rate of fire, clip size, reload size, and total ammo as of the very last update.

Strategies[]

  • The Predator is at best a sidearm, as skill-focused classes can take out enemies more with their powers than with the gun. It has some use as additional (but negligible) DPS while waiting for skills to cool down.
  • Another way to wring some utility from the weapon is to use it as a combo primer in conjunction with ammo consumables or boosters for classes with detonator skills.

Stats[]

Singleplayer
Rank Damage Rate of Fire Max Clip Size Max Ammo Accuracy Weight
I 34 500 15 105 52 5
II 37 500 15 108 56 5
III 39 500 15 111 58 4
IV 42 500 15 114 60 4
V 45 500 15 117 61 4
VI 47 500 15 119 62 4
VII 50 500 15 122 63 3
VIII 53 500 15 125 64 3
IX 55 500 15 128 64 3
X 58 500 15 131 65 3

Multiplayer I-X
Rank Damage Rate of Fire Max Clip Size Max Ammo Accuracy Weight
I 57 450 15 105 52 5
II 59 450 15 108 56 5
III 61 450 15 111 58 4
IV 63 450 15 114 60 4
V 65 450 15 117 61 4
VI 67 450 15 119 62 4
VII 69 450 15 122 63 3
VIII 71 450 15 125 64 3
IX 73 450 15 128 64 3
X 76 450 15 131 65 3

Multiplayer S
Rank Damage Rate of Fire Max Clip Size Max Ammo Accuracy Weight
I 94 500 20 115 52 5
II 96 500 20 118 56 5
III 97 500 20 121 58 4
IV 99 500 21 124 60 4
V 101 500 21 127 61 4
VI 103 500 22 129 62 4
VII 104 500 22 132 63 3
VIII 106 500 23 135 64 3
IX 108 500 23 138 64 3
X 113 500 24 144 65 3

Development[]

Rank Rd icon milkyway orange Blueprint Unlocked Omni-gel canister icon Omni-Gel Canister Copper icon Copper Nickel icon Nickel Element zero icon Element Zero MEA Augmentation Slot For Tables Augmentation Slots
I Level 1 20 80 40 10 0
II Level 6 20 90 40 10 2
III Level 11 20 100 50 10 2
IV Level 21 30 110 50 10 2
V Level 31 30 130 60 20 2
VI Level 41 30 140 70 20 2
VII Level 51 30 145 70 20 2
VIII Level 61 40 150 70 20 2
IX Level 71 40 155 70 20 2
X Level 81 40 160 80 20 2
Total N/A 300 1260 600 160 N/A

Trivia[]

  • The appearance of the M-3 Predator is based on the default pistol in Mass Effect.
  • In Mass Effect 3, several cutscenes show Shepard and the squad equipped with the M-3 Predator, regardless of whether the character actually uses a pistol as a weapon or has a different pistol equipped.
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