Mass Effect: Andromeda Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Weapons - Research

Weapons are equippable items. There are no class restrictions on weapons.

Weapon availability[ | ]

Blueprints for researched and Andromeda Initiative-issued weapons are unlocked at specific levels. Found and purchased weapons level up on the same schedule as AI-issued blueprints. Once a new tier is unlocked, prior tiers will not be found or available for purchase during gameplay.

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
Researchable Weapons immediate 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Andromeda Initiative
Issued Weapons
immediate 6 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81

Types of weapons[ | ]

There are four categories of firearms and one category for hand-to-hand combat weapons:

  • Assault Rifles Assault rifles - Shoot while on the move while maintaining distance
  • Pistols Pistols - Used in close to mid-range combat
  • Shotguns Shotguns - Used in close combat
  • Sniper Rifles Sniper rifles - Hang back and pick off enemies one-by-one from long distances
  • Melee Weapons Melee weapons - Specialized hand-to-hand combat weapons that vary in both damage and speed. Hard-hitting hammers do maximum damage, while lightning-fast shivs or swords allow getting in and out of harm's way with speed and precision.

Firing modes[ | ]

Each firearm that can fire a projectile or beam has a mode of firing. The following modes are found during gameplay:

  • Automatic - As long as the trigger is pulled, the weapon fires shots continuously until the thermal clip is empty.
  • Semi-automatic - Each time the trigger is pulled equals one shot fired. To fire another shot, the trigger must be pulled again.
  • Two-shot burst - Each time the trigger is pulled equals two shots fired. To fire another two-shot burst, the trigger must be pulled again.
  • Three-shot burst - Each time the trigger is pulled equals three shots fired. To fire another three-shot burst, the trigger must be pulled again.
  • Continuous beam - As long as the trigger is pulled, the weapon fires a beam until the thermal clip is empty.
  • Single-shot - After each trigger pull, the weapon uses the full thermal clip and must be reloaded before the trigger can be pulled again.

Some weapons have different effects and/or firing modes if charged before firing. Refer to each weapon page for specific details on any special modes of firing.

Ammunition[ | ]

Firearms have two general types of ammunition available for the weapon to function - single-use thermal clips and infinite heat sinks.

  • Each firearm that uses thermal clips has a limited number of shots that can be fired before the current thermal clip has to be ejected and a new one is inserted to continue firing. Each firearm has a current thermal clip display and a reserve ammunition display showing how many shots are left. When all of the thermal clips are exhausted, the weapon can't be fired.
  • Weapons that use an infinite heat sink have unlimited ammunition (∞) by replacing the thermal clips display with a display of 100%. Firing the weapon reduces the percentage based on the weapon type, tier, length of time fired, and the firing mode. Waiting for a small amount of time returns that percentage back to 100%.
  • All Remnant weapons use infinite heat sinks automatically while the remaining thermal clip weapons can be converted by crafting to include an infinite heat sink.
  • While not shown on the weapon display, increasing the ammunition for an infinite heat sink weapon reduces the amount of percentage used per shot. This allows more shots to be fired before overheating.
  • All weapons increase ammunition capacity as the Tier increases.
  • Depleted ammunition can be replaced by interacting with a supply cache that displays the following symbol Supply Cache Ammo Symbol .
  • Ammunition can be temporarily modified to apply a variety of effects to weapons fire by using Cryo Ammo, Disruptor Ammo, and Incendiary Ammo consumables. These effects apply to both thermal clip and infinite heat sink firearms.
  • When a thermal clip-based weapon is completely out of ammunition, activating Turbocharge reveals a hidden property that will award a single thermal clip of ammo.

The following armor increases ammunition:

The following augmentations increase ammunition:

The following augmentations decrease ammunition:

The following boosters increase ammunition:

The following equipment increases ammunition:

The following fusion mods decrease ammunition:

The following mods increase ammunition:

The following mods decrease ammunition:

The following profiles increase ammunition:

The following skills increase ammunition:

The following supplies restore ammunition:

Technology types[ | ]

Weapons fall into three technology types based on where their supporting tech comes from.

  • Milky Way Research
    Milky Way weapons incorporate Andromeda Initiative technologies that typically use physical ammunition. These are high-impact, projectile-based firearms; they're great against most non-shielded targets, but require ammunition. Melee weapons are based on historical platforms incorporating proven technologies.
  • Heleus Research
    Heleus weapons incorporate technology from civilizations in the Heleus Cluster of the Andromeda galaxy. These weapons are generally plasma-based with some being chargeable: the longer the weapon is charged before firing, the harder the weapon will hit. Heleus weapons also require ammunition. Melee weapons incorporate interesting properties based on proven designs.
  • Remnant Research
    Remnant weapons incorporate technologies from the mysterious Remnant. These weapons typically use beams, have high rates of fire, and are extremely accurate. Utilizing internal heat sink systems, they don't rely on limited ammunition but instead require the firearm to cool down from time to time. Melee weapons are unlike any other design providing unique benefits.

Rarity[ | ]

Weapons fall into one of four categories: common, uncommon, rare, or ultra rare. Each weapon rarity icon corresponds to a color coding. As rarity increases, the value of the weapon increases as well.

Weapons that are crafted use the same light blue colored icon, no matter the rarity.


Weapon Common Uncommon Rare Ultra Rare Crafted
Assault Rifles AR Common AR Uncommon AR Rare AR Ultra Rare AR Crafted
Pistols Pistol Common Pistol Uncommon Pistol Rare Pistol Ultra Rare Pistol Crafted
Shotguns SG Common SG Uncommon SG Rare SG Ultra Rare SG Crafted
Sniper Rifles SR Common SR Uncommon SR Rare SR Ultra Rare SR Crafted
Melee Weapons Melee Common Melee Uncommon Melee Rare Melee Ultra Rare Melee Crafted

Merchants[ | ]

Weapons can be purchased from the following merchants:

Notes[ | ]

Weapons can only be changed at a Loadout station or using the Item Pickup menu.

Weapons stats can be affected by a number of factors. Obvious factors include:

Changes to a specific weapon, either through development with augmentations or through weapon mods, are reflected in the inventory entry for that specific item. They don’t appear on the blueprints.

Other explicit but perhaps less obvious factors include:

  • Profiles
  • Skill points invested in Combat Skills (other than the weapon skills) increase the bonuses from weapon skills
  • Equipped armor
  • Passive buffs from melee weapon augmentations are always active even if the melee weapon isn't in use

These effects are reflected in the blueprint stats without explicit notation.

Displayed melee weapon stats do not change even when directly modifying the melee weapons, melee damage, and/or melee function.

The singleplayer stats shown on the weapons pages are baseline: Initiative I armor, no skill points assigned, no profile active.

Equipped items have a green check mark Equipped Item Icon.

Accuracy is a different weapon property than stability. The accuracy of a weapon will change the size of the aiming reticle. Stability reduces the kickback and rise of the weapon during firing.

Squadmate weapons are fixed and can't be changed or upgraded.

There is a chance that a weapon purchased, crafted, found, or recovered by a Strike team Item Loot Box will drop a random augmentation on deconstruction. (See Augmentation Drops for odds of recovery). Researchable augmentations not already known will not be recovered. This drop will not be shown on the deconstruct screen and you will have to compare your inventory before/after to determine if an augmentation was dropped.

Gallery[ | ]

Achievements and trophies[ | ]

The following achievements and trophies can be earned related to Weapons:

Challenges[ | ]

Weapons are the focus of the following challenges:

See also[ | ]


Advertisement