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This is the talk page for Heavy Weapons.
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btw: i dont want speculation on my page! Mako Pro 20:23, December 24, 2009 (UTC)

On your user page? Not sure why you would post a notice about that here... SpartHawg948 00:09, December 25, 2009 (UTC)
no, on the heavy weapons page, i created it. so in other words, i dont want speculation on the heavy weapons page
Ok, we've had some issues with this in the past, so please just be informed that just because you created a page, that does not confer ownership of that page to you. In other words, the Heavy Weapons page is not "your page", it is an article here on this wiki, and as such, all the usual rules on speculation and such apply, which means that speculation IS going to be allowed on the Heavy Weapons page, provided it meets the qualifications laid out in the Community Guidelines: IE it must A) Be clearly marked as speculative, B) Have at least some supporting evidence, and C) If it pertains to an upcoming game or book, be sourced. And that's it in a nutshell! If it meets those rules, speculation WILL be allowed on the heavy weapons page. SpartHawg948 05:20, December 30, 2009 (UTC)

Trivia[]

Can we get a source on the statement that "The M-920 Cain is not named for the Biblical Cain, but for Fallout and Fallout 2 design Tim Cain."?

Yes; me. I suggested the name when I worked at BioWare, and I added the trivia here. -- Stormwaltz 20:55, February 22, 2010 (UTC)

M-920 Cain[]

how do i get the M-920 Cain to work? when i try to fire it all it does is lets out some steam and it makes the sound it does when i pull the trigger but it doesn't fire anything.Soul reaper magnum 23:10, February 1, 2010 (UTC)

Don't know if this is the right place to answer the question, but first you need 100% or more ammo. Then you have to hold down the trigger button until the two semicircles converge, at which point the gun will fire. UERD 07:18, February 2, 2010 (UTC)

It's possible to get more than 200% max ammo for the Cain (either all 6 upgrades & ordnance packs or with DLC:Zaeed [paragon only])

The avalanche[]

I've noticed that you can hold the trigger on the avalanche (or cryolator, as i call it; obscure fallout 3 reference), causing it to build up ice around the muzzle. I was wondering then if "charging up" increases the power or the damage or range or whatever of the shot. Could someone test this?

All images from ingame ?[]

All other images are from the mass effect 2 site, exept ML77, M451 and Particle beam, as they aren't available. Should I replace the other images with ones from ingame, from the weapon change locker thing, like the ML77, M451 and Particle beam I just added? JohnEdwa 08:49, February 8, 2010 (UTC)

Missile Launcher[]

The 'player description' for the missile launcher isn't quite fair to the weapon:

  • The missile launcher's homing is not that bad. The reason the missiles that enemies launch at the player miss is because the missiles have a minimum turning radius. If the player is in cover, the enemies fire the missiles so they skim right over the barricade, giving them no time to pick up the player and turn. Likewise, if the player wants to hit enemies in cover, he needs to fire up or to the side (like if he were firing biotic abilities) so the missile has time to arc and change course to hit the target.
  • The missile launcher is useful because it lets you fire indirectly, something the other heavy weapons do not allow. Instead of having to pop up from cover and aim precisely, the player can pop up and aim in the rough direction of the target, taking less damage. Or the player can simply stand in an out of the way location and fire the missile through a door without exposing himself to enemy fire at all.
  • The damage might be poor(er) than other options, but it's not so bad as to be useless. And it holds more ammunition- one power cell box is three grenades, but five missiles, making up for the deficiency.

All of this is a matter of opinion (but then again, the whole 'player description' sections are opinion). I used the missile launcher to great effect on the harder difficulty levels, though, meaning it's not quite as useless as the article states. It's all a matter of tactical opportunities and playstyles. Would like to edit to add in some of these points, but would like feedback first. UERD 20:52, February 8, 2010 (UTC)

The missile launcher is also good agains moving targets, like heavy mechs and gunships, as you can just spam a barricade of missiles in its general direction, and most of them will hit. JohnEdwa 14:04, February 9, 2010 (UTC)

Damage[]

Going by the extracted weapons data and Bioware's post, the beam does 20 damage at a 1200 RPM. So the particle beam does 400 DPS, 600 DPS vs Shields/Barriers. The flamethrower is 15 at 1000 RPM. 250 DPS, 337.5 vs Armor, 287.5 vs Shields/Barriers. So you'll take off 1000 armor in about 3 seconds. -DarkJeff 22:31, February 11, 2010 (UTC)

DPS calc for ME2 weapons[]

I've made a DPS equation based on data made available here:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/944906/58941

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/128/index/1143264

I'd like to post the DPS for each weapon, but I'm sure doing so without explanation would cause much consternation. I think it's very useful information, but I'm not sure how to roll it out. Thoughts? Servius 07:37, February 12, 2010 (UTC)

  • Done. See Weaponry Comparison. Servius 14:30, February 15, 2010 (UTC)

Close range damage bonus[]

I'm copy-pasting this to the talk page of every weapon for ME2, but using the console command Combat Profile Self on PC I could in real-time see the damage multiplier for all weapon types, and almost all of them increase steadily starting at a distance of 800.00 units from a target up to right next to the target and touching it. I tested this with all weapon types and the multiplier increased at close ranges up to melee range for all basic weapons EXCEPT Sniper Rifles, whose damage modifier remained totally constant regardless of distance (mine at 1.5500, with the Widow). Interestingly, this even applied to heavy weapons (tested with Avalanche, grenade launcher, Cain, Particle Beam, and Missile Launcher). To reiterate, the distance at which the close range damage increase kicked in was 800.00 units for ALL weapons (except Snipers), and the multiplier increased steadily from there up to physically touching the target where the damage modifier appears to reach a maximum of 100%, though that number is speculation on my part based on what I've read on the Shotgun page and elsewhere that the point-blank range modifier is 100%. I think I'll be making a few changes to some of the weapon pages based on this new data. Ale89515 (talk) 07:20, June 6, 2020 (UTC)

follow up to this - even though Profile Combat self indicates that heavy weapons receive damage modifiers based on distance, testing with the Avalanche and Grenade launcher has shown the damage dealt is unaffected by range. Ale89515 (talk) 21:36, June 7, 2020 (UTC)

Individual Weapons Pages[]

Should we move to the same format as the other weapons of having an overview page and individual weapons pages?

Been ages since I put this comment down, i'm assuming nobody objects. Dch2404 09:46, March 8, 2010 (UTC)

Plasma? Did I Miss Something?[]

The Mass Effect 2 verbiage for the Firestorm mentions that it doesn't burn as hot as plasma weapons. Where in the world of Mass Effect have plasma weapons ever been seen or even heard of? Even the Seige Pulse weapons of Armatures and Colossi are said to be mass accelerator weapons. Incrognito 07:42, March 2, 2010 (UTC)

To answer your query as to "Where in the world of Mass Effect have plasma weapon ever been seen or even heard of?", I believe they were mentioned in the in-game description of the M-451 Firestorm, which mentions them explicitly. I know it may not be the answer you were looking for, but there it is. It was mentioned in-game, which means that a canon source confirms the existence of plasma weapons. plasma weapons, btw, are not that far-fetched. Both the United States and Russia are currently developing them, with the Russians apparently having a prototype of some form of plasma weapon already. SpartHawg948 08:24, March 2, 2010 (UTC)

The 'Arc Projector'[]

http://na.llnet.bioware.cdn.ea.com/u/f/eagames/bioware/masseffect2/resources/assets/universe/weapons/screenshots/arc_projector-02-p.jpg


Take a look. New Heavy Weapon to be released?

Should I add the charge time to the table?[]

Well, charge time has a lot of influence over which heavy weapon I use and that column isn't on the table so j/w if there are any objections to adding it to the table of this page? Also, hahaha at the first edit on the discussion page about "his page"...sorry couldn't help it and I have to say this is the first time I've ever heard of anyone owning a wiki page. ;-) Djdelirius 02:42, July 16, 2010 (UTC)

Well no one owns this page, and the charge time only applies to the Cain, Avalance, and Arc Projector. The rest are just point and pull the trigger. The charge time for those weapons are noted on their respective pages, and adding a column for just that, when it is noted in more appropiate places, just doesn't fit right. This page is more of a reference page for the weapons, and mroe detalied information, like charge time, should be on their respective pages. Lancer1289 02:47, July 16, 2010 (UTC)
Just saw where it was already on the page after the rate of fire to the applicable weapons so nm.(Sorry for format, once again the indent does not work of my comp)Djdelirius 03:08, July 16, 2010 (UTC)

Confused on 6 of 6[]

I have the Zaheed DLC, I did -not- save the workers. I got 5/5 before doing most of the minor exploration missions. I just completed the fog planet/bloodpack comm tower mission. The mission report says I earned heavy weapon ammo 6/6 but when I return to the normandy the upgrade is not there to be researched and I'm still at 5/5 I tried redoing the mission, got the same result. Mission report says 6/6 but returning to normandy leaves it at 5/5 no "research unlocked" notice, no new research available at terminal, and upgrades list reads 5/5... any ideas?Sonevar 15:11, August 18, 2010 (UTC)

Yes there is a glitch associated with the N7: Blood Pack Communications Relay assignment. Sometimes a notification about a heavy weapon upgrade will pop up, even though you can't research it. See here and the Upgrade Guide for more information. Lancer1289 15:17, August 18, 2010 (UTC)
I think the only way to get 6 heavy weapons ammo upgrades is to do the Paragon route of the Zaeed mission (saving the workers). Tanooki1432 15:19, August 18, 2010 (UTC)
Yes that is the only way to get the sixth ammo upgrade. If you go paragon in Zaeed: The Price of Revenge, then you get a heavy weapon ammo upgrade. If you go renegade, then you get an assault rifle damage upgrade. I think it shows up if you don't have the 6 upgrades, but I really don't know for certain. Lancer1289 15:24, August 18, 2010 (UTC)
Confirmed on PC. Before the Zaeed mission I already had 5/5 heavy weapon ammo (+75%), after the mission (paragon path) I researched it and got 6/6 (+90%).

Ammo Pickup Amount[]

I dont think that the Ammo Pickup Amount is something standard so to have in the article. For example, I have a Collector Particle Beam with 1025 Ammo, upgrades and armor. It was at 0 ammo and I picked up 410 Ammo. Then I had 370 ammo and picked up 205 ammo. I also had differences in ammo pickups with Cain(having 0% I took 47% and having 100% I took 26%) and M-100 GL (didnt used other Heavy Weapons recently). I don't know how the Ammo Pickup works. Does anyone knows? Is it random or works with percentage? SoulRipper 21:28, September 19, 2010 (UTC)

Tested all the HW (in the collector ship next to the weapons locker):

  • M-100 GL(20 total): 0 ammo-->8 pickup, 1 ammo-->7 pickup, 2 ammo-->6 pickup, 3 ammo-->5 pickup, 4 ammo-->4 pickup, 5 ammo-->4 pickup, 10 ammo-->4 pickup, 15 ammo-->4 pickup.
  • M-77 RL(30 total): 0 ammo-->12, 1-->11, 2-->10, 3-->9, 4-->8, 5-->7, 10-->6, 15-->6, 20-->6 pickup
  • M-622(41 total): 0 ammo-->16, 1-->15, 2-->14, 3-->13, 4-->12, 5-->11, 6-->10, 7-->9, 8-->8, 9-->8, 10-->8, 15-->8,20-->8, 25-->8 pickup.
  • M-490 Blackstorm(10 total): 0 ammo-->4, 1-->3, 2-->2, 3-->2, 4-->2, 5-->2, 6-->2, 7-->2 pickup.
  • Arc Projector(20 total): 0 ammo-->8, 1-->7, 2-->6, 3-->5, 4-->4, 5-->4, 6-->4, 7-->4, 8-->4, 9-->4, 10-->4, 15-->4 pickup.
  • Collector PB(1025% total): 0% ammo-->410%, 5%-->405%, 100%-->310%, 200%-->210%, 300%-->205%, 400%-->205%, 500%-->205%, 600%-->205%, 700%-->205%, 800%-->205%, 900%-->125% pickup(propably because of the 1025 total limit).
  • M-451 Firestorm(1025% total: 0% ammo-->410%, 5%-->405%, 100%-->310%, 200%-->210%, 300%-->205%, 400%-->205%, 500%-->205%, 600%-->205%, 700%-->205%, 800%-->205%, 900%-->125% pickup(propably because of the 1025 total limit).
  • M-920 Cain(205% total): 0% ammo--> 52% pickup, 105% ammo--> 26% pickup, 131% ammo-->26% pickup(tested on Haestrom, at the Colossus with the 2 HWAmmos at each side)

These are the numbers (I think I might damaged the F6 and F9 buttons :P ).

As you can see from 0 to some amount of ammo , as the spare ammo increases the pickup amount decreases until it stabilizes at a standard amount. Also the MinPA is half the MaxPA and difficulties doesnt effect the A.P.A. SoulRipper 20:00, September 20, 2010 (UTC)

Dude, good work. According to your findings, the "standard" pickup is 20% of the total you can hold (excepting the Cain); and it looks like it kicks in once you already have at least 20% of the total you can hold. So 20% of the total may be called simply, "the standard". - If you're starting with zero ammo, the first pickup is 40% of the total; the pickup decreases by 1 unit for each unit of ammo with which you start (decreasing until you start from the "standard" of 20%). So, if you are starting with less than "the standard" total, the next pickup will always bring you over the standard, and thus each subsequent pickup will be "standard".
In short: if you have less than, or exactly, "the standard" 20% of the total ammo you can carry, then the next pickup will bring you up to 40% of the total. Thenceforth the standard pickup persists. This happens to be such an easy formula as to warrant mention in the article. Again, good work, SoulRipper. --AnotherRho 05:12, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Ordnance Packs[]

Let's talk about these two (reverted) edits. I believe the information on the Ordnance Packs is very relevant to this page because they are the only way to achieve 200% Cain ammo without using the Cerberus armor. For completionist players like myself, such things are important and it took me a thorough search of this wiki to find out about the Ordnance Packs.

By the logic of related content, the only armor piece that affects the spare heavy weapon ammo capacity should be mentioned around the same place as the ammo capacity upgrades. And I can see no better place for that than here. My point is, again, that the Ordnance Packs should be linked from the Heavy Weapons description, so that readers will have it easier to find them.

As for relevancy concerns, the Ordnance Packs only affect heavy weapon ammo capacity, therefore there is no better place to mention them than this article. --Koveras Alvane 00:57, October 11, 2010 (UTC)

Well then we should list every armor component, on every weapon page that assists it in some why shape or form. For the heavy weapons then we'd have to list 10 armor components because they assist with weapon damage or ammo capacity. The components are: Kuwashii Visor Visor, Recon Hood, Kestrel Helmet, Kestrel Torso Sheath, N7 Shoulder Guards, Stabilization Gauntlets, Kestrel Arm Sheathing, Ordinance Packs, and Kestrel Power Pack. All of these provide bonuses to Heavy Weapons, so why not list them all. If we list that here, the we should list all of the components that help out other weapons as well on the Heavy Pistol, Submachine Guns, Assault Rifles, Shotguns, and Sniper Rifles pages. That set would be: Kuwashii Visor, Recon Hood, Kestrel Helmet, Kestrel Torso Sheath, N7 Shoulder Guards, Off-Hand Ammo Pack, Stabilization Gauntlets, and Kestrel Arm Sheathing. All of those also provide bonuses to those weapons so as they help out, then we should list them as well. What we do to one, we must do to them all, and we must include everything and not cherry pick armor components based on "its relevant". All of those other components are also relevant as they increase damage and assist, so why should we not include them all?
Because it is a needless repeat of information and would make these articles needlessly long by listing all armor components that can help a given weapon system. There is no reason that I can see to duplicate information like this because even just putting the ordnance packs here means that we also have to put the Ketrel Power Pack on this page, and put the Off-Hand Ammo pack on all of the other pages. Needless duplication of information and redundant information as well that would make this article inconsistent with other Weapon System pages, and necessitating a change to them all. Consistency is a word that is thrown around a lot.
These pages are for listing the weapons and associated upgrades of a given weapon system, not for listing armor components that help it in some way. Because by extension, every other weapon system has upgrades that assist in damage dealing, so we have to list them as they help with upping damage. And the ammo pack for all of them because it helps to carry ammo. Not the point of this page, and that is the point of the Armor Customization page. Lancer1289 01:14, October 11, 2010 (UTC)
While normally I would be agree that a link to any pages that contribute ammo to weapons would be relevant, in this case I don't think it's necessary. First (1), what's important to the Cain belongs on the Cain page, and that page already mentions the need for a 10% ammo boost from armor (+ all upgrades) to be able to fire 2 shots. Second (2), every single weapon's page links to the "Armor Customization" page (which lists the ammo-from-armor-parts bonuses), by virtue of using the Weapons template. I admit that I just updated both (1) and (2) to reflect these assertions, but at least henceforth these assertions will be true. --AnotherRho 01:28, October 11, 2010 (UTC)
I see your point that adding every relevant link would explode the size of this page, but in my opinion, redundant information is better than not enough information. You cannot expect every reader to read through every page on this wiki (e.g. out of fear for spoilers) if they want to find a specific piece of data, so cross-linking most important contents is reasonable. And since I couldn't find the mention of Ordnance Packs or similar upgrades anywhere in the Upgrade Guide and here, I just tried to help future readers looking for the same info as myself. I've now added said links to the Cain article, and unless it will be reverted there, too, I think this argument is resolved. --Koveras Alvane 13:29, October 11, 2010 (UTC)


Cobra Missile Launcher / ME3[]

Haven't seen the Cobra added as a ME3 weapon yet, it hasn't been confirmed if it's usable in single player, I can't really imagine why it wouldn't be. but nevertheless there should be some mention of it. for those who don't know, it's a Single shot Missile Launcher used in ME3MP. Kastrenzo 14:32, February 18, 2012 (UTC)

This page is about the single player ME3 weapons, not the multiplayer weapons. Those are covered in the Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer article. Lancer1289 15:23, February 18, 2012 (UTC)

I guess we'll find out on release. Like I said, even if it's a gimmick, I can't really see them making a weapon only in one gamemode. Kastrenzo 16:19, February 18, 2012 (UTC)

ME:Infiltrator -> M-333 Particle Beam[]

Should we add the M-333 pArticle Beam heavy weapon of Randall Ezno ? Here is a proposal to copy paste if community agrees.

M-333 Particle Beam[]

M-333 Particle Beam

--DeldiRe 16:20, March 29, 2013 (UTC)

Thoughts ?--DeldiRe 09:25, April 17, 2013 (UTC)


Up --DeldiRe 12:07, May 31, 2013 (UTC)

--87.123.66.148 13:47, September 3, 2014 (UTC) The Avalanche seems to be created by the Normandy crew, should then the manufacturer of that weapon then be listed as Normandy? Oh and the Arc Projector is NOT made by Cerberus, the illusive man only vaguely described that it was found by a cerberus team and tested, before send to Sheppard.

Heavy Weapons slow Shepard?[]

There's a note on the M-622 Avalanche page that says the Avalanche doesn't slow Shepard down like other heavy weapons; is this actually the case? I can't say I've ever noticed any slowdown while having a heavy weapon out; they have longer switch times than other weapons but that's it as far as I know. I think I'll remove that note unless I can find any evidence from testing or otherwise. Ale89515 (talk) 19:56, May 28, 2020 (UTC)

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