Mass Effect 2: Soldier Guide - Assault Rifles 110 

I am just getting into ME2 and a collection of classic games during this quarantine. Thank you for this video. I am playing on normal so far and have been doing much of the same - using adrenaline rush and the Vindicator to line up head shots or as best as I can. It rips opponents apart. I am sorry that I wasted points on concussive shot, as I only need to mash AR every time it resets and we have to wait everything to cool down, unlike in ME1.

The Avenger is my favorite rifle. I feel like i put down lots of enemies and i never run out of ammo. Vindicator i kill enemies quick but i tend to run out of ammo quicker with it.

My favorite assault rifle in the trilogy is either the Spectre rifle in ME or the Geth rifle in ME3.

That would explain why the Collectors use it.

@deathrooster14 I got all the accuracy upgrades. I still wasn't a fan of the accuracy. Used it and the Viper almost exclusively throughout the second half of the game.

@TheKillergeneral A the start of the game, yes. But when you go aboard the collector ship the other classes can train to use them if you choose to pick up the assault rifle when given the choice between the three weapons.

@awesomeness4441 There's a mission later in the game where you can choose to learn Assault Rifles if your class doesn't allow it at first. You only can do it once per character though

M15 - Vindicator is the best rifle hands down! I can't see myself playing with other rifles in both ME2 and ME3. Even when i play with different classes i can't wait to get to the collector ship so i can train my character to use assault rifles and get the Vindicator.

have you every considered that damage can be affected by the ammo type? (eg: inferno ammo wrecks havoc on organics...) PS: Concussive shot does wonders against biotic enemies.

@Eibelsfeld you can't actually respec before horizon. you get the research afterward. cryo is definitely the best against husks, but you have to expend a total of 6 points to just get your first point in it (disruptor to lvl 2, then incediary to level 2). I think at the time of these vids, I didn't have enough points to take a point in cryo ammo without sacrificing AR or the Passive. When I say pure what I really mean is playing like the first time through the game where bonuses arent available

@ZedekOfLP101 But in the game the clip/magazines only act as heatsinks for the gun overheating, they don't contain any projectiles, so they're neither. If memory serves from the codex of the first game, guns literally have a block of metal in them and the gun's on-board targeting computer actually cuts off a round according to ballistics data and blows it out the barrel with magnets (how do they work?).

@ZedekOfLP101 i believe the heat sinks are clips. It might be a Mass Effect thing. I am not sure about this; however, a magazine is what is used to feed the weapon itself, whereas a clip is used to feed the magazine. So in Mass Effect are you using a clip that feeds the magazine that gives the ammo or is it an ammo based item that allows you to fire more? In Mass Effect 2, your weapons have unlimited ammo, but need heat sinks to fire - otherwise, the heat makes the weapon unuseable. no?

Topnotch work as always, Gatsby, awesome to still see you updating : )

@ZedekOfLP101 Actually in this game there is no magazines. IF you read about these weapons, they have a large lump of special metal in them which a piece of is carved off and launched. This design allows for basically "Infinite" ammo. But due to new upgrades which allow for higher rates of fire, thermal clips are used to prevent overheating which could destroy the gun. So it is the correct term to use clips, as those are what you insert, not thermal magazines.

Great video Gatsby. Just curious why you said we should do Thane and Samara's missions before Tali's?

@ThatAverageGatsby actually that's adrenaline rush every 8 seconds, since the cooldown only starts after the duration ends

@GiggityGooh Good question: Basically, the Revenant is so powerful, it's kind of in a class all on its own. I'm actually going to devote at least one video entirely to the Rev at some other time. Technically in game they call it a Light Machine Gun, and it fits the name well.

great vid, i kind of like what bioware has done with these guns, making them ore about which guns fits you then whats more powerful. biggest fault with this video is not comparing which gun is best for SQUADMATES! I'm personally a fan of the vindicator for myself and squaddies, its the most like a sniper rifle.

@SnIkLeeT The Mattock Rifle is a DLC weapon. For 160 points you get that, a heavy pistol with slightly more ammo than the Carnifex, and a sniper that fires in three-shot bursts. However, where do I find the collector assault rifle?

Can you please add the Mattock, because even though it is similar to the vindicator, I feel there is enough of a difference to place it in the video.

@seirra189 here is ur awnser googled it The Collector Assault Rifle is an assault rifle in Mass Effect 2. It is available through the Collectors' Weapon and Armor and Recon Operations Pack DLC packs

@icetrey87 With the Assault Rifle Accuracy upgrade, the Revenant becomes much better. It's accuracy is about that of an standard Avenger.

@Shadowelf93 lol I know where to get those weapons man. I was commenting on how AvGatsby didn't incluse the Mattock in his investigation. The collector rifle is a limited time preorder thingy if I'm not mistaken.

@ZedekOfLP101 The game is correct. They use "Thermal Clips" which are ejected to expel collected heat from the rounds being shot from your rifle. The actual shots that your weapon is spitting are shavings off of an ammo block, which rarely have to be replaced.

@JediElderNishmo I will be respecing to take conc shot for the Reaper IFF for sure, and as of right now I do have a single point in it. Also, I did make these videos just to show the Assault Rifles. You'll notice I don't even have an ammo power equipped on horizon, and on the later videos its squad disruptor from Zaeed.

@ZedekOfLP101 Fun fact: In this game, they're not clips/magazines in the conventional sense, but rather a removable cylinder heat sink referred to as a 'thermal clip', and does not hold physical ammunition as a magazine would. They're clips, not magazines. Common misconception.

@systofadown1 Ever tried the X76 Revenant Machine Gun obtained on the Collector Ship

@ilejovcevski79 I assumed you were talking about soldiers as I can't see the point in getting Assault Rifle training if you have the Kasumi DLC because the Locust outclasses all of the ARs except the Mattock and Revenant, but without it, I could understand. Cryo Ammo also seems like a waste of points as it's more beneficial to setup a Warp Explosion, unless you've got a teammate with an upgraded Throw or Concussive Shot to shatter them.

@ThatAverageGatsby Point taken on concussive. But "playing the class pure"? The soldier has access to all ammo types, so IMHO, picking warp doesn't go against the class concept. About incendiary for CC: husks don't panic when they are on fire, and the DoT doesn't help as because of their rush & melee attacks. Maybe a cryo respec for Horizon might be helpful?

@ZedekOfLP101 Fun fact: they are called "thermal clips" in the game, not "thermal magazines".

@alastairguhn the choice of rifle depends mostly on your game style; Mattock does the more damage, but low clip capacity and semi auto fire make it a stand-off weapon, not a close quarters weapons, very similar to the Vindicator. Both of these guns benefit the most from adrenaline rush, as it gives you the chance to make every shot count (like the video says). On the other hand, the differences between Avenger, Collector and Geth are mostly cosmetic, but more beneficial for non soldiers

@aberforth1102 no. Collector is Collector's Edition/Digital Deluxe Edition content. The Geth Pulse Rifle you get during Tali's recruitment if you are playing on Hardcore or Insanity

@Joey245 Shotguns are highly situational. And that situation is "if you're in melee range".

About the onset of the cryo or disruptor ammo effects: I think it's actually not a % chance per shot, but it's either a weapon-specific % or a damage per shot specific %. That's because an SMG for example will not freeze the target even with one burst every time, while one shot with a Viper will nearly always freeze the target with cryo ammo ... just thought about this since you mentioned something about it in the video around 1:20

@ilejovcevski79 Why would you ever use an assault rifle for CQB? That's what shotguns are for, especially the Geth and Eviscerator. And why would you ever use Cryo Ammo? Enemies die so quickly after you strip their protection it's a redundant waste of points, especially with Mordin's upgraded Cryo Blast having only a 4.5 second cooldown. I've never had a problem with the low clip on the Locust as I typically use it to either strip protection for biotics or finish an unprotected enemy.

You can only get the Geth Rifle if you're playing the game on Hardcore difficulty or harder. Hope this helps.

how do you get the collector rifle?

@Eibelsfeld conc shot isn't actually all that great against barriers. It has a bonus, but the bonus isn't that great. Some people like it, but in my mind i should be using Adrenaline rush every 3 seconds instead of conc shot every 6 seconds. I don't have warp ammo. As a bonus power, it would have helped for this specific mission but I'm playing the class pure. Warp Ammo is good for horizon, but the cc effect of squad incendiary is really useful too (grunt or jacob can provide).

I loved the vindicator simply because it's skin was that of the Spectre class and it was the most powerful type of all ARs. Unfortunately that's one gripe I had with ME2 was the lack of over all ammo. Kind of wish the Vindicator could have a larger cache, then it'd be more worth it to carry around.

Nice guide. I like the Vindicator, as if you stack your damage upgrades (Commando, Visor, Miranda Class upgrade etc) it drops enemies so quickly, but its only good if you reliably go for headshots and don't mind regularly switching between weapons to conserve ammo. Mostly because I'm oldschool FPS and having to take 30-40 seconds of constant fire to kill a single enemy on higher levels drives me crazy. RPG players used to it probably wouldn't mind so much.

@MAIDENrules100 I think you're thinking of the Geth rifle, shich you do have to play on insanity for. The Vindicator is the burst fire one you get on Garrus's recruitment mission.

@roflman581 Its a DLC. You cant get it anymore now. It was in the Dr.Pepper promotion.

@alastairguhn well i don't use shotguns mostly because i play classes that don't have them (out of 8 or 9 playthoughs in ME1-2 i have played a soldier only once). So i use SMGs and ARs for CQ and for suppressive fire (hence i value high ROF). I use cryo ammo for crowd control. Never kill the enemies, they just freeze after 3-4 hits from GAR and i let my team take care of them. Most of my games on insanity are with infiltrators, i use GAR or CAR to strip shields, warp and incinerate for armor

When I'm looking at the health as you're shooting, the collector rifle just seems to take down their stats WAY too slow for me. The vindicator is my personal favourite, but you're right about not wanting to miss shots. But I often find that as you kill enemies you pick up their ammo anyway, so its not too big a deal unless you have a long firefight with very little movement. Great review, I might take the collector rifle out for a spin to see if my suspicion is justified.

No, I have read your comment. Did I ever mention that 'clips' and 'magazines' are the same thing? No, I just said the thermal clip is the official term for the heat-reducing device in Mass Effect universe. Besides, "magazines" carry ammunition, thermal clips don't.

@alastairguhn yeah, soldiers don't need cryo ammo, or suppressive fire ARs once they get the Revenant, but infiltrators come with it as a default skill. I use the Locust for precision head shots, GPR for suppressive and crowd control, snipers for long range and heavy pistols if i ran out of ammo :P The weapons load (when not playing a soldiers) depends on who you bring with you too. Freezing 3-4 charging enemies with rapid fire cryo (or Mordin) and then dropping Zaid's granades on them works

Gatsby, did you name your soldier after Adrian Shephard from Half-Life: Opposing Force?

"All the weapons are good in this game..." Except the Shuriken SMG. :)

I like using the GPR on Samara's mission because it naturally penetrates barriers and combining it with Warp Ammo for additional armor and barrier damage, the Eclipse sisters get owned very quickly. Plus, Haestrom is one of the easiest missions if you have Disruptor Ammo and Overload.

Hey Gatsby, Where does the Mattock fit onto your scale?

well the geth pulse rifle is a bit more than just an upgraded version of the avenger, with the accuracy upgrade, its as accurate as a sniper and its really good against shields and barriers

Great vid. Glad to see you're continuing the commando soldier. I'm interested to see the build you choose and if you go with the revenant or some other weapon. Keep it up.

@alastairguhn while the Vindicator and the Mattock are probably the best option when augmented by the soldier's adrenaline rush, i find the Collector and Geth rifles more useful CQ weapons, especially in endurance battles and when augmented with cryo ammo. Both of these are very precise on medium ranges and both have fire rates high enough for house to house clean sweeps. The Locust is really a deadly SMG and the best option for those without ARs. If only the clip was a bit larger...

have you every considered that damage can be affected by the ammo type? (eg: inferno ammo wrecks havoc on organics...)

I don't understand people who hip fire its pointless. aimed is always better, unless you like melee range then why not melee.

Yep the Revenant is in a class of its own. It kicks ass and has so much ammo. For an experienced Mass Effect Soldier it could be the only gun you need.

@cruz1ale it seems to me from just personal experience, that its weapons type specific or damage specific, not weapon specific. So all snipers will pretty much freeze in one shot, and all smg's take more rounds, but as far as assault rifles go, it seems like they all have the same percent/chance effect. That could also be because they all have similar damage or because they are considered the same weapon class. Bioware is never going to tell us how this thing is calculated though.

Now I'm not sure about anyone else, however I always find the Geth Pulse Rifle more useful than the Avenger and Collector. Why? For starters it has 480 bullets in reserve and 40 per clip. Compare that to the Avengers 400 and 40 and the Collectors 280 and 28. It's extremely accurate even before the accuracy upgrade, which is hard to test unless you do a new game plus. Then it has more DPS than both, and it's better against shields and barriers. I just think it's better.

A question about your build: you didn't put any points into Concussive Shot. Nor in Warp Ammo. But aren't these the only powers a soldier has specifically against barriers?

love your vids dude

@breathicy One word: Incisor. But if you don't have that... Allies almost never miss, but they do about 60-50% less damage per bullet. Equip on them whatever suits the situation. Basically, high ROF weapons for status effect ammo (Cryo/Disruptor/Incendiary), High Damage for damage ammo (AP, Warp, Shredder).

@Cmartin40 the only one I would've used was incendiary, and I originally wasn't planning on using any so I could just show how each operated in without ammo bonuses. For the second part, I figured it wouldn't make a substantial difference besides helping me get through the section faster.

In Insanity mode, are ammo clips as rare and sparse as in Normal Mode? Or does the game kindly gives you the opportunity to load your weapons all the time? (no pun intended)

is there anyway to customize your character so it can have assault rifles and sub machine guns

lol because this "Mass Effect Universe" follows by the standard of our modern world right? In this game, "Thermal Clips" (literally small clip) are released to keep guns from overheating, guns in this game technically don't need ammunition to fire. (Seen on Mass Effect 1)

where do u find the upgrades for the assault rifles? ive searched the galaxy for the damn things and i only have 2. any help?

heres my opinion- for your self, either use the vindicator, or the revenant (the revenant is technically better, but the revanant can take some getting used to and you may want the widow sniper or claymore shotgun more) and then for squad mates either the collector rifle or avenger, but NOT the vindicator. the AI's code tells it to fire powerful, slow weapons rarwly, while it tells it to fire weapons fast ones with alot of ammo frequently

can you get the Revenent machinegun if you are a different class and in that collector ship?

I used to used the vindicator, but then I took an arrow to the knee..

@Ubermonkey25 He's done speed runs on insanity with other classes. I don't think he'd have a problem beating the mission on hardcore. Besides, the Geth Pulse Rifle is useless if you have DLC. The Mattock is the highest damage assault rifle and the Geth shotgun has homing pellets that are accurate even at extreme long ranges. Plus you can charge it. Only advantage the Pulse Rifle has is high ammo reserves, which it burns through fast as it has terrible damage and high RPM.

What Armor Customization were you using?

no mattock? its my favorite

i use the avenger rifle whenever i know i'm going up against hoards of enemies always have before and after accuracy upgrades but i've never used it as a full auto fire weapon i've always used it in bursts usually around 4-5 bullets per burst and only 1 or 2 miss the targets at medium range another one of my favorites to use as a multi purpose bursting AR is the M-76 Revenant MG has more ammo then you can shake a stick at and the slugs do so much damage they'd make your mom say " Ouch"

@ThatAverageGatsby Yeah sounds like some experimenting needs to be done to figure that out...

@ruthlessdeath123 It was a "Collector's Edition" pre-order bonus

I think with the Vindicator it becomes a lot more important to be switching to Sniper Rifle and Shotgun whenever appropriate instead of trying to do everything with an Assault Rifle.

Can you be a Vanguard and use an assault rifle?

I wish I could develope mods for ME3. I'd reintrouduce Spector Master Gear. Black/Grey versions of the M-15 Vindicator (full auto), M-22 Eviscerator Shotgun, M-97 Viper Sniper Rifle and M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon. All deal out massive damage with built in heat sinks!

@ghabfu you can buy them from shops in those city rocks and look for indium

U can still get the collector assault rifle if u buy the special edition can't u?

Where do you get the collector and geth assault rifle

you can get a revenant assault rifle from the crashed collector ship mission but it only appears on your characters first playthrough. So if you picked the claymore shotgun or the widow sniper rifle earlier, then youll have to make a new character.

in terms of just damage to accuracy, whats the best weapon of any type?

@ilejovcevski79 The Mattock easily benefits most from Adrenaline Rush as it both increases damage and rate of fire (unless you can manage a 750 RPM on your own) as well as allows you to make each shot count. Ammo isn't really a problem either if you use it properly, as most enemies drop in 4-6 shots with AR and thermal clips give a minimum of 11 rounds. Like I said, if you have DLC, all of the lower end rifles are useless. The Locust SMG does more damage and is more accurate than all of those.

i fount the least accurate was the revenant u get from the collector ship

@ZedekOfLP101 It doesn't hold any bullets at all.. it can be called whatever the hell Bioware wants

@jedimaster1326 you cant in this game im sure he means not holding the left trigger it shooting.

@fallout44454 the geth assult rifle is on tali's mi-ssion on hard but im- not sure about the collecor rifle

@MAIDENrules100 Hey, i meant no offence. I played on normal difficulty, and I have it., it appears regardless of difficulty, but the geth rifle only appears on insanity or hardcore. I didn't mean to criticise you, i'm just stating what I know. And i ddn't say it was easy, as I have never played on Insanity.

@icetrey87 how do you get the revenant

@jellybean3264 finish the mission when you recruit tali in hardcore mode

I started a soldier and a sentinel. On insanity I died three times on Mordin's recruitment quest with the Sentinel. But with the Soldier, I went right through after promptly filling all the Vorcha full of tungsten slugs. idk which I'll continue with first, prolly the sentinel. Also Gatsby, wheres the Mattock heavy rifle? I'm like in love with that gun. Takes Krogan appart. Actually a very tough choice for me because I love accurate sustained fire from the Mattock, but I also like burst fire.

@blackhalo911 Yeah it's really strong but the accuracy is crap even with the accuracy upgrade for it so be prepared to switch to your sniper rifle a lot for long range shots.

@ZedekOfLP101 please explain, I thought I explained rather clearly that they consume heat, do not hold rounds, and the guns in this game have practically infinite ammo (they shave sand sized particles off of a block of material last time I checked) in the previous game the guns overheated after prolonged firing, in this game the heat is vented via transferring it to a detachable piece of equipment that is then discarded.

We're the hell do I get the vindicator I forgot were I pick it up

how do you get a assualt rifle because im stuck with a pistal and a heavy gun someone help me

@blackhalo911 Once you board the damaged Collector ship you'll reach a cutscene and then the game will let you pick it as an optional weapon.

What does " firing from the hip mean "?

@ZedekOfLP101 As a real firearm owner, you have no idea how many times I have people ask me "hey, I need another clip." I hand them a clip from my Mosin and they get confused. I correct them, and when they ask for a mag, I give one to them. There is a big difference, and it bothers me how little people don't know. Even people who own real firearms.

how u get the collector assault riffle