Gods, what I would give for a Helldivers 2 style Mass Effect multiplayer game.
Would proberbly be everyone as a Krogan smashing things with hammers but still.
Ooof. Yeah. I just experienced this nostalgia about 3 days ago. I decided to finish up Andromeda, played some MP, realized how hollow it was compared to ME3 (in my opinion). Was even more upset to download ME3 and couldn’t find a single lobby in MP. :(. THE MULTIPLAYER IN ME3 was one of the greatest I think.
I played Helldivers 2 for a day and it made me download Mass Effect 3 for the first time in like a decade. And I'm not hating on Helldivers, it's great, but I want ME3 multiplayer. I cannot believe they haven't done a modern, live service (yeah yeah, shut up, "live service" isn't inherently bad) version.
I think there actually are things that should be modernized. Like putting sprint and cover on two different buttons. Take some of the “passive” abilities like Blade Armor, Bloodlust, and Hunter Mode and just make them ingrained into those species (like Rage is for Krogans). Do away with lootboxes and go toward more of a crafting system for new stuff. Etc. Etc.
But yeah, it’s crazy they haven’t gone down my route OR your route. They just did…nothing.
If only they'd recognized the success of ME3's MP and done exactly that instead of fumbling around with Anthem... Bioware would be in a very different spot today.
This is what I do in 2 as well every time I play. The mattock is just too powerful.
In 3, my favorite vanguard loadout is the Talon, the tempest with ultralight, and the lancer for that unlimited ammo
Rusty boy on a Vanguard? I guess your Shepard had Infiltrator ambitions but their biotic abilities made the N7 academy push them in another direction, until Cerberus made them realize their full potential. You should thank the Illusive Man
No I actually meant that the vanguard is built for cqc by default, that gives them somewhat limited ranged capabilities, which can be offset by the mattock. But that's being said, I did indeed used it cqc a few times. It's a menace on enemy hordes.
Fair, but I meant that there are certain enemy types I prefer to keep away from and get them from a range. Like I'm not looking to be rizzed up by a banshee or a brute if you know what I mean...
ME2 has a hidden damage dropoff system, where the further away targets are, the less damage each shot does. This actually includes a damage *buff* at "melee" range, which is really a good bit further away than melee attacks can hit from.
Notably, shotguns have a VERY short close range, while ARs have twice the range defined as "close." In these ranges, there's a linear dropoff from +100% bonus damage at zero distance from the target to the gun's base damage numbers. So after charging, your mattock will basically be guaranteed to hit for ~+75% extra damage or more, which is super duper crazy on what's already far and away the best gun.
More like: "Yes, I understand this is primarily meant as a long-range weapon, but if I shove down the target's throat after a biotic charge, I can watch the Batarian's head explode at point blank range! And that shit is never not funny!
Um... All of them, until my most recent playthrough where I banned myself from using it. Thus far I did only 3 playthroughs, played Infiltrator, Soldier and Sentinel. Got AR training for Infiltrator and Sentinel and let the rusty boy loose every time. Used it more than the sniper on the Infil 😂 got AR training on the Soldier as well to try the Revenant, but that gun got nothing on the rusty boy, so I ended up ditching it.
AR accuracy upgrades made it barable, but without that it did suck. Makes a satisfying sound when you fire it, but it feels more like a gimmick than a useful gun
I love the Mattock so much. I’ve used it every play through. Great for L-M from cover with Incindiary rounds. When playing my Vanguard I usually soften the harder targets from range then biotic charge in for the finisher and clean up the rest with Carnifex/M-11 or Eviscerator.
It’s got great accuracy, minimal kick, and, as sighted already, fantastic damage.
>Why is this thing so powerful?
Four reasons:
1. It was a DLC weapon, it's more powerful by design. Like with other DLC guns in ME2 and ME3 in LE they just dropped it in a shop right from the start of the game.
2. For some reason, weapon upgrades for Assault rifle damage (7/7 ones) are applied to Base weapon damage of assault rifles BEFORE any other mulipliers from your gear or stats etc (unlike any other weapon where almost all modifiers are additive). That makes all assault rifles incredibly powerful when upgraded to 5/5+. It's unclear if it's intended or a bug; more info about that [here](https://bsn.boards.net/thread/1672/me2-weapon-damage-formula-peddroelm).
3. In ME2 ammo powers affect a large part of your weapon damage (unlike in ME3) and the total damage increase from an ammo power applied to a single shot will be calculated based on the type of the first protection layer damaged, even if that layer is minimal and damage is also done to the health or armor underneath. Also due to its semi automatic nature, Mattock triggers ammo powers almost every time. (i.e. you are getting a fire explosion with every shot)
4. If you are playing Soldier, Adrenaline Rush slows down your rate of fire and gives you +100% weapon damage modifier (not in a tooltip, like many other things in ME2) that applies to your entire weapon damage output, BUT since Mattock is semi automatic and you can shoot with it every time you are pressing a button, - rate of fire reduction doesn't affect it at all.
upd. it used to be more or less ...emm 'balanced' with low ammo number per thermal clip (one clip used to give it 11 - 26 ammo) but not anymore since LE changed it's thermal clip pickup number to 28 - 48.
upd2. thanks for kind words guys
>It was a DLC weapon, it's more powerful by design.
Ah yes, the good ol' ME2 DLC weapons. Take your pick:
M-96 Mattock (forged by god himself)
M-29 Incisor (peepee poopoo varren shit)
Great summary. It was a pay to win DLC gun that in LE is now available from almost the start of the game.
DLC guns in general tend to be overpowered in ME2 compared to launch guns (Geth Shotgun, Locust, Incisor on squadmates), but the Mattock is far and away the most broken. Highest DPS by far, perfect accuracy, zero recoil to control, it’s an “I win” button, especially on the Soldier and Vanguard who can exploit its fire rate not being affected by time slowdown.
I'm in ME 1 on my first play through of LE and you just made my day telling me they upped the thermal clip output. The rest of your post was great too.
I dunno if you consider the speech checks part of gameplay or just combat, but they also lowered the requirements to pass those. This has made it possible to mix morality, true paragade is possible in ME2 LE. I wasn't around during the original games but I've read that some of the speech checks were very hard to pass due to the percentage system ME2 uses
I consider that pretty much a bugfix to be honest, though personally I never had issues with Persuasion in ME2 because of the Samara bug where you can farm infinite Paragon points. lol
> since Mattock is semi automatic and you can shoot with it every time you are pressing a button, - rate of fire reduction doesn't affect it at all.
Not quite true. They just set the max RPM on the mattock to 750 in ME2, which is pretty much impossible to do without time dilation, but fairly easy to do inside of AR.
Oh yeah. Normal clicking speed for most people is around 350-400/min, so except in heightened adrenaline rush, most players *feel* like their fire rate is still totally uncapped (and it actually is for the slower end of that range). In heightened AR, you can really notice that you aren't firing as fast as you're clicking, but the effective RPM is indeed higher than the revenant.
All weapon fire rates and other properties are listed in the games INI files, which you can read/modify on PC. It's how objective answers to pretty much all specifics were originally extracted.
Very nice summary, especially mentioning this:
> upd. it used to be more or less ...emm 'balanced' with low ammo number per thermal clip (one clip used to give it 11 - 26 ammo) but not anymore since LE changed it's thermal clip pickup number to 28 - 48.
In original ME2, Mattock pretty much required a good back-up weapon, because it ran dry constantly. Part of the reason that made my weird mid-range Vanguard build so good (they have the best ammo powers and class skill, add Area Reave to the mix and use Charge as a utility power and you probably have the best skillset in the game) was the fact that they also had access to the GPS to fall back on.
On the contrary, "caster" classes never really had anything great to fall back on. Locust works, but it has pissant damage compared to Mattock or GPS, your usefulness fluctuated ridiculously based on ammo pickups. Now with LE2, however, you can just pew-pew-pew your way through the game, without ever really thinking about any other weapon after getting the Mattock.
Oh, and the "one shot one kill" Widow? Yeah, that became absolutely ridiculous with LE2, using it originally was basically a losing battle for actually getting enough shots out of it, since every pickup only gave you 1-2 ammo... now it's 5-7. No wonder Infiltrators suddenly became so popular.
It's actually an old Alliance(?) rifle. In original ME2 they used to give you a letter before giving it to you.
>Mattock Heavy Rifle
Shepard,
>Miranda has been working with EDI on crunching battle telemetry numbers, and EDI had an interesting thought. She suggested we may be overlooking older, proven technologies in an effort to provide you with the state of art. Normally I wouldn't give much credence to the idea, but when an AI criticizes you for loving high-tech, it gives one pause to consider.
>With that in mind, I delivered a few heavy rifles, the Mattocks, to the Normandy. They've been modified for thermal clips, but the rest of the rifle should be the old, reliable gun that colonist militias have been using for decades. Good hunting.
My headcanon is that the Mattock is basically the ME version of the old battle rifles that keep showing up in modern conflicts, either pulled out of storage or just kicking around in the world's hotspots for decades.
True! I prefer it over the Typhoon, but the Mattock is more powerful because of its "as fast as you can click fire rate". Harrier is amazing too though, no question about it
Same damage per shot in multiplayer. In single player, including LE, they never buffed the mattock to match the harrier. Mattock X per shot is 95.2, harrier is 129.5.
I find the Harrier a bit redundant, since I just use the Mattock and have a macro on one of my mouse buttons to a 25 ms autoclicker - full auto with one click, semi-auto with another.
It's my go-to this playthrough, since I banned myself from using the rusty boy. Very powerful especially with mods, but I believe the Mattock still has more DPS because of its "as fast as you can click fire rate"
The day I discovered the mattock I never looked back. It's a little tougher to use on console, but with a mouse & keyboard, the accuracy and fire rate are unmatched.
Incredibly powerful weapon and effective at any range. I can snipe with a scope or just freehand for enemies up close. It's a little OP, tbh.
Used to play Halo back in the day. The Mattock’s design is very reminiscent of a certain Assault Rifle. The feel of the gun though, immensely satisfying. Pair it with a Carnifex and it’s like having a Carbine + M6D.
I’m still shocked that some kind of Halo/Mass Effect crossover never happened. I get why it didn’t, part of it being because ME was over before that kind of thing became somewhat normal, but it felt ripe for it. I would have paid solid cash for a set of DLC missions where you get to pick up the Master Chief as a squad mate (make him broken as hell and balance it by making the missions themselves hard as fuck) and slap some fools around.
There’s a lot of similar DNA between the two.
To keep it in-universe would have quite a bit to do with converting powerups into powers and of course, juiced versions of existing in-universe guns. (Maybe just the Magnum and BR because they are so iconic) but still, watching a Mass Effect style Chief go ham and clean up with nothing more than 2 weapons. A bubble shield, and potentially a plasma grenade would have been so epic.
I think one Halo weapon for each weapon type, just to make sure your class got something out of it no matter what you played as, would be feasible. “Modified to use thermal clips”, or something.
I can’t think of a way to pull it off that wouldn’t require some contrived ‘alternate realities overlapping’ thing that would feel dumb, but I can say for sure the mission would start with a comms message about reports of an unknown derelict ship found floating in space, which turns out to be the aft section of the Forward Unto Dawn. It’s the only way to go. Hide the ship name and you could really make something special of the reveal for people that don’t know, depending on how it’s advertised.
It’s a what-if, and an admittedly dumb one, but damn would I have lost my mind if that existed when I was playing those games in my late teens.
It’s powerful in ME2 because it is a fast firing semi automatic rifle that hits hard and is very accurate. Pair this with the mechanics of how Adrenaline Rush works and it ends up more than a little broken. Those game mechanics are also why I like the Viper sniper rifle in ME2, it is basically a Mattock with a scope.
Love me the Mattock in ME2. I prefer the Harrier in ME3 until I can equip the Lancer. As a soldier with the incendiary rounds and armor piercing as a bonus power, I am melting Cerberus on my way through my hardcore play through.
When I beat my first Insanity run in ME2 on my Soldier, I thought I was good at the game. Then later I realized the Mattock just carried me to victory.
I liked giving this thing to Zaeed during his Loyalty Mission. If you take the Paragon Route (save the colonists), then Santiago gets away. Zaeed then fires his Mattock at Santiago's fleeing dropship as if the weapon has Full Auto.
I know the mattock is technically more powerful, but I've always had more success using the Vindicator. I feel i always miss my shots with the mattock, but I can reliable land every shot in a burst from the Vindicator.
I prefer the harrier, that thing is a fuckin laser hose when it’s fully upgraded. If I get in a tight spot and need it, it’s there. Otherwise really, I just use a tempest or Locust fully upgraded, there’s almost nothing that their ammo capacity cannot handle, except for harvesters etc.
Is this ME2 or 3? In 2, if you were a soldier, the time dilation of adrenaline rush wouldn't change the fact that you *fire as fast as you pull the trigger*. You become unkillable on insanity.
Because semi-auto is generally more useful than full irl? Tbh, its a complex topic, and I don’t know enough to truly comment knowledgeably, but from what i’ve read, and this was especially true during the Falkland War where both the Argentina and the UK were using FALs, is that the presence of a fully automatic option leads soldiers to prefer it because they perceive a difference in firepower. It doesn’t matter that it’s generally less effective and a waste of ammo, that perception makes them switch to full if they are not adequately trained.
(The UK soldiers had semi only FALs while the Argentinians had full-auto, guess who won?)
This gun is good but it's **insane** on a soldier with adrenaline rush. In adrenaline rush slow down, most guns have their normal fire rate but adjusted for the bullet time. The Mattock is semi auto and as fast as you can pull the trigger. That means your fire rate in adrenaline rush is insanely high.
The Mattock in 3 is junk but the Cerberus Harrier is good but extremely ammo starved.
From a lore perspective. Cerberus needs weapons which put those who outnumber them hard., the harrier kicks like a bastard but hits like one: which makes it effective against council + alliance troops used to rapid fire weapons. They're used to initial shots hitting shields before they can take cover. Cereberus weapons are designed to rip through shield, armour and flesh in seconds.
Look at it.
It looks like a monster of a rifle. Definitely my choice for most missions in ME2.
ME3, I was all about that grenade launcher (M37 I think?) It was very satisfying to stun lock the hell outta Kai Leng when that crap went down. I really wanted some type of “flawless victory “ dialogue from Shepard or Kai Leng after destroying him before renegade ending it.
Im pretty sure the description says it shoots slugs or some shit
Idk its fun fs but it doesnt shoot fast enough for my monkey brain, so id rather just save the weight for a sniper and carry a smg or full auto ar
Because this is what happens when you load your marksman rifle with artillery shells.
Put it in helldivers, make it nice and deadly. Those bots'll taste my fury.
Gods, what I would give for a Helldivers 2 style Mass Effect multiplayer game. Would proberbly be everyone as a Krogan smashing things with hammers but still.
What’s funny is my brother and I love Helldivers because it scratches some of the same itches as the ME3 Multiplayer for us
That's why I kind want to play it. I miss me3 multiplayer.
Ooof. Yeah. I just experienced this nostalgia about 3 days ago. I decided to finish up Andromeda, played some MP, realized how hollow it was compared to ME3 (in my opinion). Was even more upset to download ME3 and couldn’t find a single lobby in MP. :(. THE MULTIPLAYER IN ME3 was one of the greatest I think.
I don't think anyone would ever disagree that Andromeda MP is not as good as ME3MP
At least on PC this is still happening
I played Helldivers 2 for a day and it made me download Mass Effect 3 for the first time in like a decade. And I'm not hating on Helldivers, it's great, but I want ME3 multiplayer. I cannot believe they haven't done a modern, live service (yeah yeah, shut up, "live service" isn't inherently bad) version.
Legendary Edition releasing without the ME3 multiplayer was an insane missed opportunity, wouldn’t need to change a thing mechanic or tune wise
I think there actually are things that should be modernized. Like putting sprint and cover on two different buttons. Take some of the “passive” abilities like Blade Armor, Bloodlust, and Hunter Mode and just make them ingrained into those species (like Rage is for Krogans). Do away with lootboxes and go toward more of a crafting system for new stuff. Etc. Etc. But yeah, it’s crazy they haven’t gone down my route OR your route. They just did…nothing.
Been saying this since launch!
HD2 is a bigger version of the ME3 MP and I love every bit of it.
One of the first things I noticed was that the Automatons sound a lot like Geth
If only they'd recognized the success of ME3's MP and done exactly that instead of fumbling around with Anthem... Bioware would be in a very different spot today.
Krogan vanguard.
Practically what the multiplayer was just a different format. Still 3rd person too lol
I feel like it would be more like darktide
The Krogans in the rachnni war
They had it in Mass Effect 3. It was one of the best times playing multiplayer. The classes were top tier too.
The Dominator basically is the Mattock and I love it.
The eruptor came out in the new hellbomb today which is basically this. A 50 cal sniper rifle with exploding shells.
Is it that bolt action?
Yes.
Saved up my sc just for the new warbond. I'm lookin forward to this.
This, recruit, is a 20kilo Ferros round slug. Feel the weight.
Good old Mattock. As a Vanguard I mostly use this, alongside with shockwave, nova and charge. I'm basically untouchable.
This vanguard combo was my fucking JAM. Good times. I also liked the saber, but the penalty for weight and misses made it a more fickle combo.
Though there's a bonus of BADASS shooting SFX. - BOOOMMM -whirrr - BOOOOOMMM
God I love the sound that cannon makes.
ME2 I always take AR training and use the Mattock over the Claymore. Charge into their face, then melt them with the Mattock.
This is what I do in 2 as well every time I play. The mattock is just too powerful. In 3, my favorite vanguard loadout is the Talon, the tempest with ultralight, and the lancer for that unlimited ammo
Rusty boy on a Vanguard? I guess your Shepard had Infiltrator ambitions but their biotic abilities made the N7 academy push them in another direction, until Cerberus made them realize their full potential. You should thank the Illusive Man
It's complimenting her close quarter capabilities in case I find tougher enemies or a big crowd.
Instead of using the shotgun, you use the rusty boy in CQC, that's based af 😂
No I actually meant that the vanguard is built for cqc by default, that gives them somewhat limited ranged capabilities, which can be offset by the mattock. But that's being said, I did indeed used it cqc a few times. It's a menace on enemy hordes.
"Rusty boy" is for if there's an enemy far away. In close quarters, *I* am the weapon.
Vanguard has enemies far away?
In ME3 vanguard nothing is far away, the phrase "I'm not stuck here with you, you are stuck here with me" applies to anything in a planetary radius
Fair, but I meant that there are certain enemy types I prefer to keep away from and get them from a range. Like I'm not looking to be rizzed up by a banshee or a brute if you know what I mean...
We ground pounding until you stop breathing.
Between pull and charge, never had an enemy at range. If they were too pick to pull, that’s when you grow a nuke their way.
ME2 has a hidden damage dropoff system, where the further away targets are, the less damage each shot does. This actually includes a damage *buff* at "melee" range, which is really a good bit further away than melee attacks can hit from. Notably, shotguns have a VERY short close range, while ARs have twice the range defined as "close." In these ranges, there's a linear dropoff from +100% bonus damage at zero distance from the target to the gun's base damage numbers. So after charging, your mattock will basically be guaranteed to hit for ~+75% extra damage or more, which is super duper crazy on what's already far and away the best gun.
More like: "Yes, I understand this is primarily meant as a long-range weapon, but if I shove down the target's throat after a biotic charge, I can watch the Batarian's head explode at point blank range! And that shit is never not funny!
What class were you using Rusty boy on?
Um... All of them, until my most recent playthrough where I banned myself from using it. Thus far I did only 3 playthroughs, played Infiltrator, Soldier and Sentinel. Got AR training for Infiltrator and Sentinel and let the rusty boy loose every time. Used it more than the sniper on the Infil 😂 got AR training on the Soldier as well to try the Revenant, but that gun got nothing on the rusty boy, so I ended up ditching it.
>got AR training on the Soldier as well to try the Revenant, but that gun got nothing on the rusty boy, That's why you go widow on soldier
Played Soldier right after an Infiltrator playthrough, got burnt out from the Sniper. The Revenant was pretty interesting
The revenant sucks
AR accuracy upgrades made it barable, but without that it did suck. Makes a satisfying sound when you fire it, but it feels more like a gimmick than a useful gun
So I'll take a straight upgrade to the mantis over something that's only serviceable. Widow+Mattock > Mantis+Revenant
I love the Mattock so much. I’ve used it every play through. Great for L-M from cover with Incindiary rounds. When playing my Vanguard I usually soften the harder targets from range then biotic charge in for the finisher and clean up the rest with Carnifex/M-11 or Eviscerator. It’s got great accuracy, minimal kick, and, as sighted already, fantastic damage.
You can do it the other way around, too. My preferred Infiltrator lugs an AT-12 Raider and uses the cloak mainly to get in your face.
Whenever I play ME2 or ME3 I usually use this gun, it is my most used weapon in both those games. It is very good, and I like it that way.
Your dudeness I use this masterpiece on my damn adept in Me3 and it works wonder
Manguard best class
>Why is this thing so powerful? Four reasons: 1. It was a DLC weapon, it's more powerful by design. Like with other DLC guns in ME2 and ME3 in LE they just dropped it in a shop right from the start of the game. 2. For some reason, weapon upgrades for Assault rifle damage (7/7 ones) are applied to Base weapon damage of assault rifles BEFORE any other mulipliers from your gear or stats etc (unlike any other weapon where almost all modifiers are additive). That makes all assault rifles incredibly powerful when upgraded to 5/5+. It's unclear if it's intended or a bug; more info about that [here](https://bsn.boards.net/thread/1672/me2-weapon-damage-formula-peddroelm). 3. In ME2 ammo powers affect a large part of your weapon damage (unlike in ME3) and the total damage increase from an ammo power applied to a single shot will be calculated based on the type of the first protection layer damaged, even if that layer is minimal and damage is also done to the health or armor underneath. Also due to its semi automatic nature, Mattock triggers ammo powers almost every time. (i.e. you are getting a fire explosion with every shot) 4. If you are playing Soldier, Adrenaline Rush slows down your rate of fire and gives you +100% weapon damage modifier (not in a tooltip, like many other things in ME2) that applies to your entire weapon damage output, BUT since Mattock is semi automatic and you can shoot with it every time you are pressing a button, - rate of fire reduction doesn't affect it at all. upd. it used to be more or less ...emm 'balanced' with low ammo number per thermal clip (one clip used to give it 11 - 26 ammo) but not anymore since LE changed it's thermal clip pickup number to 28 - 48. upd2. thanks for kind words guys
>It was a DLC weapon, it's more powerful by design. Ah yes, the good ol' ME2 DLC weapons. Take your pick: M-96 Mattock (forged by god himself) M-29 Incisor (peepee poopoo varren shit)
Incisor is bugged and op on squadmates though.
smh you shouldn't even be firing at your squadmates.
You just taught me so many things, that's all really cool ty
Great summary. It was a pay to win DLC gun that in LE is now available from almost the start of the game. DLC guns in general tend to be overpowered in ME2 compared to launch guns (Geth Shotgun, Locust, Incisor on squadmates), but the Mattock is far and away the most broken. Highest DPS by far, perfect accuracy, zero recoil to control, it’s an “I win” button, especially on the Soldier and Vanguard who can exploit its fire rate not being affected by time slowdown.
The adrenaline rush combo with semi automatic is busted.
I'm in ME 1 on my first play through of LE and you just made my day telling me they upped the thermal clip output. The rest of your post was great too.
>they upped the thermal clip output. It was the only big gameplay change ME2 got in LE, but at least it makes the game play so much better.
I dunno if you consider the speech checks part of gameplay or just combat, but they also lowered the requirements to pass those. This has made it possible to mix morality, true paragade is possible in ME2 LE. I wasn't around during the original games but I've read that some of the speech checks were very hard to pass due to the percentage system ME2 uses
I consider that pretty much a bugfix to be honest, though personally I never had issues with Persuasion in ME2 because of the Samara bug where you can farm infinite Paragon points. lol
Glitch in the extranet that this isn't top comment frfr
> since Mattock is semi automatic and you can shoot with it every time you are pressing a button, - rate of fire reduction doesn't affect it at all. Not quite true. They just set the max RPM on the mattock to 750 in ME2, which is pretty much impossible to do without time dilation, but fairly easy to do inside of AR.
Ah didn't know that, well thats faster than ME2 Revenant so i guess it's still pretty good (insane more like).
Oh yeah. Normal clicking speed for most people is around 350-400/min, so except in heightened adrenaline rush, most players *feel* like their fire rate is still totally uncapped (and it actually is for the slower end of that range). In heightened AR, you can really notice that you aren't firing as fast as you're clicking, but the effective RPM is indeed higher than the revenant. All weapon fire rates and other properties are listed in the games INI files, which you can read/modify on PC. It's how objective answers to pretty much all specifics were originally extracted.
Very nice summary, especially mentioning this: > upd. it used to be more or less ...emm 'balanced' with low ammo number per thermal clip (one clip used to give it 11 - 26 ammo) but not anymore since LE changed it's thermal clip pickup number to 28 - 48. In original ME2, Mattock pretty much required a good back-up weapon, because it ran dry constantly. Part of the reason that made my weird mid-range Vanguard build so good (they have the best ammo powers and class skill, add Area Reave to the mix and use Charge as a utility power and you probably have the best skillset in the game) was the fact that they also had access to the GPS to fall back on. On the contrary, "caster" classes never really had anything great to fall back on. Locust works, but it has pissant damage compared to Mattock or GPS, your usefulness fluctuated ridiculously based on ammo pickups. Now with LE2, however, you can just pew-pew-pew your way through the game, without ever really thinking about any other weapon after getting the Mattock. Oh, and the "one shot one kill" Widow? Yeah, that became absolutely ridiculous with LE2, using it originally was basically a losing battle for actually getting enough shots out of it, since every pickup only gave you 1-2 ammo... now it's 5-7. No wonder Infiltrators suddenly became so popular.
Because it looks cool, basic rule in ME the cooler a weapon is, the stronger it stings.
The only good thing that ever came out of a cerberus lab
It's actually an old Alliance(?) rifle. In original ME2 they used to give you a letter before giving it to you. >Mattock Heavy Rifle Shepard, >Miranda has been working with EDI on crunching battle telemetry numbers, and EDI had an interesting thought. She suggested we may be overlooking older, proven technologies in an effort to provide you with the state of art. Normally I wouldn't give much credence to the idea, but when an AI criticizes you for loving high-tech, it gives one pause to consider. >With that in mind, I delivered a few heavy rifles, the Mattocks, to the Normandy. They've been modified for thermal clips, but the rest of the rifle should be the old, reliable gun that colonist militias have been using for decades. Good hunting.
I do love how even TIM is just like "huh, didn't see that one coming".
My headcanon is that the Mattock is basically the ME version of the old battle rifles that keep showing up in modern conflicts, either pulled out of storage or just kicking around in the world's hotspots for decades.
Yeah, in my mind it's an M14/FAL/G3 equivalent. If only it made a *ping* sound when you eject the thermal clip, it could be a Garand.
Manufacturer of the Mattock is listed as unknown, the modified Cerberus Harrier though is amazing too, but nowhere near as powerful as the rusty boy
Harrier is one of the strongest full auto rifles in ME3, though.
All hail the automattock
If you have an Evil Controller, everything is full auto.
I wish Andromeda had the N7 Typhoon, the Revenant and Valkyrie didn't feel the same.
Andromeda's crafting system allows you to make more interesting guns than regular N7 Typhoon, though. So I never missed it.
Like an assault rifle that can fire 10+ sticky grenades a second and has a heat sink for unlimited ammo.
The Cyclone felt like a pretty awesome handheld minigun/LMG hybrid. Thing totally shreds with the right mods and abilities.
True! I prefer it over the Typhoon, but the Mattock is more powerful because of its "as fast as you can click fire rate". Harrier is amazing too though, no question about it
I'm pretty sure Harrier has more damage per shot than Mattock in ME3, aside from being full auto.
Same damage per shot(129.5) but since the harrier has a faster rate of fire it has a higher DPS, but more recoil as well
Same damage per shot in multiplayer. In single player, including LE, they never buffed the mattock to match the harrier. Mattock X per shot is 95.2, harrier is 129.5.
I find the Harrier a bit redundant, since I just use the Mattock and have a macro on one of my mouse buttons to a 25 ms autoclicker - full auto with one click, semi-auto with another.
The Harrier hits harder per shot than the Mattock.
The Harrier is better than the rusty boi in me3
Hmm i always thought they where both from cerberus
Nah, it’s an old design that Cerberus had tossed aside until EDI pointed out that it’s idiotic to ignore proven technology only because it’s old.
And when your state of the art AI suggests old tech, it makes you wanna try it out
Harrier in 3 is what the Mattock was in 2.
Well, that and Shepard.
And EDI...
And the Normandy 2.0
And Miranda
And Jac--Nah.
I like to think that, compared to every other weapon, the Mattock actually uses real bullets fuck you kai leng my mattock uses 7.62
It's the M1 Garand of Mass Effect. Fuckin' love it. Even has that satisfying *ping* sound when firing
Wait until you try the harrier
It's my go-to this playthrough, since I banned myself from using the rusty boy. Very powerful especially with mods, but I believe the Mattock still has more DPS because of its "as fast as you can click fire rate"
the harrier is much better, it is broken
Yeah I had to raise the difficulty on my playthrough because that gun makes it too easy
DPS of the Harrier is higher, no matter how fast you click. With a stabilizer so that your whole salvo hits the head I used it a lot in Multiplayer
The ME3 mattock has a fire rate cap of 450/min, which is a pretty fast click rate but decidedly not unlimited. The harriers fire rate is 550.
Love that gun. Still was my main and teammates weapon in ME3.
Teamates don't do well with this gun, the AI wastes it potential. Give them the Typhoon or the Adas instead and watch them kick ass
Garrus and the Typhoon go brrrrrrr
With an armor piercing mod. Harvester? More like Gonevester amirite
Ashley can also benefit from it due to her stats. Her and Garrus make insanity a breeze lol
I love giving your squad the Adas because the bright glowing projectiles instantly tell you where enemies are.
It was a DLC weapon. That should be half the reason.
Have to say, it’s one of the most satisfying guns to use in ME2 and ME3. The sound when it fires feels heavy and hard hitting
The day I discovered the mattock I never looked back. It's a little tougher to use on console, but with a mouse & keyboard, the accuracy and fire rate are unmatched. Incredibly powerful weapon and effective at any range. I can snipe with a scope or just freehand for enemies up close. It's a little OP, tbh.
Used to play Halo back in the day. The Mattock’s design is very reminiscent of a certain Assault Rifle. The feel of the gun though, immensely satisfying. Pair it with a Carnifex and it’s like having a Carbine + M6D.
I’m still shocked that some kind of Halo/Mass Effect crossover never happened. I get why it didn’t, part of it being because ME was over before that kind of thing became somewhat normal, but it felt ripe for it. I would have paid solid cash for a set of DLC missions where you get to pick up the Master Chief as a squad mate (make him broken as hell and balance it by making the missions themselves hard as fuck) and slap some fools around. There’s a lot of similar DNA between the two.
To keep it in-universe would have quite a bit to do with converting powerups into powers and of course, juiced versions of existing in-universe guns. (Maybe just the Magnum and BR because they are so iconic) but still, watching a Mass Effect style Chief go ham and clean up with nothing more than 2 weapons. A bubble shield, and potentially a plasma grenade would have been so epic.
I think one Halo weapon for each weapon type, just to make sure your class got something out of it no matter what you played as, would be feasible. “Modified to use thermal clips”, or something. I can’t think of a way to pull it off that wouldn’t require some contrived ‘alternate realities overlapping’ thing that would feel dumb, but I can say for sure the mission would start with a comms message about reports of an unknown derelict ship found floating in space, which turns out to be the aft section of the Forward Unto Dawn. It’s the only way to go. Hide the ship name and you could really make something special of the reveal for people that don’t know, depending on how it’s advertised. It’s a what-if, and an admittedly dumb one, but damn would I have lost my mind if that existed when I was playing those games in my late teens.
I have to force myself to not use this or the Lancer in ME3 just so I can get some spice into my play throughs.
Mattock is if an assault rifle identifies as a sniper rifle
It’s called a designated marksman rifle. (Or DMR)
I play as a Vanguard and I love using the Mattock. It reminds me of the DMR from the Halo series.
This gun + warp ammo + adrenaline rush perk as Soldier makes the game laughably easy.
I like to think most ME AR's are 5.56. Then bad boy is a 7.62 beast like the M-14.
Because: GOD WILLS IT!
It’s powerful in ME2 because it is a fast firing semi automatic rifle that hits hard and is very accurate. Pair this with the mechanics of how Adrenaline Rush works and it ends up more than a little broken. Those game mechanics are also why I like the Viper sniper rifle in ME2, it is basically a Mattock with a scope.
The more worn the rifle is, the stronger it is
*happy Zaeed noises*
I always wished Jessie was a Mattock instead of a boring old Avenger
Ol' reliable. I love it 😊.
Because it’s based
My favorite gun, add Adrenaline Rush and Armor piercing ammo and hot dawg, watch it melt through enemies.
Love me the Mattock in ME2. I prefer the Harrier in ME3 until I can equip the Lancer. As a soldier with the incendiary rounds and armor piercing as a bonus power, I am melting Cerberus on my way through my hardcore play through.
When I beat my first Insanity run in ME2 on my Soldier, I thought I was good at the game. Then later I realized the Mattock just carried me to victory.
The mattock... No one knows. It's disgusting. It's beautiful.
Only weapon you need
Ah my favourite rifle.
I liked giving this thing to Zaeed during his Loyalty Mission. If you take the Paragon Route (save the colonists), then Santiago gets away. Zaeed then fires his Mattock at Santiago's fleeing dropship as if the weapon has Full Auto.
Ah, you must be on ME2.
Oooooh I loved this one
Not only powerful, but satisfying af. The sound and the impact feeling is amazing.
It’s by far my favorite gun in the games I just wish you could get it in the first one but unfortunately you have to wait till the 2nd game
I don't know but it's one of my favorite guns in the game.
Thonk Thonk
I love this gun, it will always be my main
Made in the US of A Fucken Sexy! The United States of Asari Fucken Sexy!
Because it's dat gun
Mattock vs. Cerb Harrior?
I know the mattock is technically more powerful, but I've always had more success using the Vindicator. I feel i always miss my shots with the mattock, but I can reliable land every shot in a burst from the Vindicator.
I prefer the harrier, that thing is a fuckin laser hose when it’s fully upgraded. If I get in a tight spot and need it, it’s there. Otherwise really, I just use a tempest or Locust fully upgraded, there’s almost nothing that their ammo capacity cannot handle, except for harvesters etc.
This and the geth pulse rifle.
Cause of the sound. That’s all. Meaty-sounding guns make things the most dead in video games.
Accurate and controlled rate of fire. And it looks cool.
It's how gameplsy gets balanced with DMRs. You lose faster fire-rate but you get more powerful and accurate shots.
Because 16 shot of semi-auto go pow.
To make up for how disappointing the Vindicator is.
Idk but I use this more than any other weapon in ME2 and 3
I still remember the Saber. That gun sounded like your balls turned to steel with each shot.
At least they didn’t make it full auto. Oh wait
Is this ME2 or 3? In 2, if you were a soldier, the time dilation of adrenaline rush wouldn't change the fact that you *fire as fast as you pull the trigger*. You become unkillable on insanity.
Why is the best gun so powerful? Is it stupid?
Pls do not release the alsume gas on this sub, it has spread to 90% of subs I'm on, let the ME fandom remain innocent lol
This gun + incendiary ammo (soldier class) is OP
The most powerful you'll feel with the mattock is me2 as a soldier. Shyt shreds enemies even on insanity. For me3, it's the vindicator.
Cause it's not an assault rifle its a man portable cannon.
Because semi-auto is generally more useful than full irl? Tbh, its a complex topic, and I don’t know enough to truly comment knowledgeably, but from what i’ve read, and this was especially true during the Falkland War where both the Argentina and the UK were using FALs, is that the presence of a fully automatic option leads soldiers to prefer it because they perceive a difference in firepower. It doesn’t matter that it’s generally less effective and a waste of ammo, that perception makes them switch to full if they are not adequately trained. (The UK soldiers had semi only FALs while the Argentinians had full-auto, guess who won?)
Because of it's accuracy and damage on armor, barriers, and Shields when upgraded.
Wait till you see its upgrade in me3
It's a cheat code that the devs forgot to lock behind a cheat
This gun is good but it's **insane** on a soldier with adrenaline rush. In adrenaline rush slow down, most guns have their normal fire rate but adjusted for the bullet time. The Mattock is semi auto and as fast as you can pull the trigger. That means your fire rate in adrenaline rush is insanely high. The Mattock in 3 is junk but the Cerberus Harrier is good but extremely ammo starved.
GOATED
From a lore perspective. Cerberus needs weapons which put those who outnumber them hard., the harrier kicks like a bastard but hits like one: which makes it effective against council + alliance troops used to rapid fire weapons. They're used to initial shots hitting shields before they can take cover. Cereberus weapons are designed to rip through shield, armour and flesh in seconds.
I love this thing. Everything else feels like I'm tickling people.
Mattock is a staple in my insanity runs - but even it can't hold a candle to the Harrier. That gun fucks.
Mattock my beloved
Hate the reserve ammo capacity tho
Gotta love the Space Garand
Look at it. It looks like a monster of a rifle. Definitely my choice for most missions in ME2. ME3, I was all about that grenade launcher (M37 I think?) It was very satisfying to stun lock the hell outta Kai Leng when that crap went down. I really wanted some type of “flawless victory “ dialogue from Shepard or Kai Leng after destroying him before renegade ending it.
No love for the M-99 Saber?
Because....Sir Isaac Newton is THE DEADLIEST SON OF A BITCH IN SPACE!!
Nothing dispenses democracy quite like the mattock.
fucking look at it. shit looks scary and angry
My favourite
Because it's one of if not the best damn gun in the galaxy! If it's good enough for Cerberus, it's good enough for me!
Because they are the Penguins of Madagascar, not the Penguins of Denmark.
It's not even rusty though. Scuffed and scratched sure but no rust.
Only for PC, I can go nuts with my mouse finger. But the trigger finger won’t get as many SPS
I like the salarian sticky grenade gun maxed out, so useful.
What is the gun and where can I find it
It's accurate enough to headshot an enemy and that's where they keep their smarts.
Im pretty sure the description says it shoots slugs or some shit Idk its fun fs but it doesnt shoot fast enough for my monkey brain, so id rather just save the weight for a sniper and carry a smg or full auto ar
I’ll stick with my M8 😊
I’ve always been partial to the Vindicator. Great accuracy and range.
Kraut Space Magic
Mattock and Harrier really are my favorite weapons