Marksman

This article is about the power in Mass Effect 3. For the power in Mass Effect, see Pistols.

Marksman is a power in Mass Effect 3. Marksman increases the rate of fire and accuracy of weapons for the duration of the power. In multiplayer, the current weapon is also instantly reloaded on activation.

Power Ranks

Rank 1: Marksman

Boost weapon accuracy and firing rate for a short time.

• Recharge Speed: 6 sec
• Duration: 6 sec
• Rate-of-Fire Bonus: 30% (25% multiplayer)
• Accuracy Bonus: 30% (35% multiplayer)

Rank 2: Recharge Speed

Increase recharge speed by 25%.

• Recharge Speed: 4.80 sec

Rank 3: Duration

Increase duration by 30%.

• Duration: 7.80 sec

Rank 4: Accuracy/Firing Rate

Accuracy Increase accuracy by 30%. (15% multiplayer) Accuracy Bonus: 60% (50% multiplayer)

Firing Rate Increase firing rate bonus by 20%. (15% multiplayer) Rate-of-Fire Bonus: 50% (40% multiplayer)

Rank 5: Duration/Headshots

Duration Increase duration by 40%. Duration: 10.20 sec

Headshots Increase headshot damage by 25%.

Rank 6: Accuracy and Firing Rate/Recharge Speed

Accuracy and Firing Rate Increase Accuracy and Firing Rate bonuses by 20%. (10% multiplayer) Accuracy Bonus: 80% (60% multiplayer) (Accuracy), 50% (35% multiplayer) (Fire Rate) Rate-of-Fire Bonus: 50% (45% multiplayer) (Accuracy), 70% (50% multiplayer) (Fire Rate)

Recharge Speed Increase Recharge Speed by 40%. Recharge Speed: 3.64 sec

Player Notes

• As of Patch 1.04, activating the marksman on Ashley Williams results in a glitch, characterized by her omni-tool endlessly activating and sometimes Williams freezing in place or cover. This patch can be circumvented by loading an earlier version of Mass Effect 3; however, that would restrict one to play without most DLCs (From Ashes and newer). BioWare has not commented on this bug so far, and a fix is not currently planned. The only other known options are: not paying any points into Marksman on Ashley (or using Reassign Powers in the Medical Bay to revert if you already did), disabling squad member power use, not using Ashley as a squadmate, or putting up with the bug in gameplay (i.e., accepting that for considerable portions of missions where Ashley is present you will essentially be limited to the other squadmate).
• Marksman is most useful with weapons that either have very high recoil, weapons that fire at very high rates, or weapons that have good damage, but poor rate of fire (like the M-12 Locust, M-99 Saber, or M-97 Viper.)
• Marksman is very effective when used with the Scimitar, as it increases the fire cap to the extent that the player can fire all 8 shots in under 4 seconds. This is very useful against armoured units.
• Marksman increases damage per second, but does NOT (outside of headshots) increase actual damage per shot.
• Marksman's main benefit is its accuracy bonus, which on some weapons can make them 100% accurate while in cover. This makes missing shots difficult because only recoil or being out of cover can have any real impact on your hit chances.
• Marksman cannot be activated during Adrenaline Rush, despite having the Adrenaline Rush bonus which allows the use of one additional power in its duration.
• Marksman can be activated during Tactical Cloak with the Bonus Power evolution; however, the cooldown of Marksman will still go into effect after the duration of Marksman is over. This can be circumvented by canceling Tactical Cloak (by shooting) so you can use Tactical Cloak again before the Marksman cooldown kicks in, thus allowing for constant active Marksman if managed properly.
• When paired with the Striker Assault Rifle, a large amount of grenades can be fired within a very short time. If the Rank 5 Duration evolution is chosen, 2 full clips can be unloaded with a short pause in between for reloading. (Note that this severely depletes ammo.) The Stability Dampener mod is highly recommended as the recoil is very high even with Turian Veteran stability bonuses.
• Using conventional shotguns (those firing eight pellets) with Marksman will cause the individual pellets to cone inwards into a very tight group. The circular shotgun reticle, however, does not reduce in size (as it would with a Smart Choke mod), making headshots somewhat difficult. combined with the smart choke, even highly inaccurate shotguns like the N7 Piranha to have a tight grouping.
• Marksman is extremely useful for dealing with heavy recoil and spread of the M-76 Revenant. When combined with the stability modifications it helps negate the spread inherent to the weapon.
• If the Headshot evolution for Marksman is chosen, a weapon with lower recoil is recommended to maximise the headshot bonuses (such as the Phaeston). In combination with the Stability Dampener mod and Armor-Piercing Rounds (to deal with armored enemies), the Phaeston will fire a constant stream of bullets in a straight line, that will tear down almost all enemies (that have heads) very efficiently.
• The power has an innate 25% bonus for headshot damage
• As of patch 1.04, Marksman will automatically reload all weapons when activated (Multiplayer only).
• The rate of fire bonus will only come into play if the burst was started after marksman is activated for most weapons. I.e. if the player is holding down the fire button then activates marksman, they will have to release and reapply the fire button for the bonus to come into play. The exception are weapons with rate of fire ramp mehcanic, such as the N7 Typhoon and Geth Plasma SMG, in which case the rate of fire bonus will be applied instantly. [1]
• While using the Geth Pulse Rifle with an extended clip, the gun can be fired endlessly by streaming marksman with a hail of bullets.
• Cooling-based weaponry such as the Particle Rifle will not be instantly reloaded on use of Marksman. They will however instantly start recharging.

Availability

• Single-player: Ashley Williams, Commander Shepard (Bonus Power)
• Multiplayer: Turian Soldier, Quarian Marksman Soldier