M-15 Vindicator

The M-15 Vindicator Battle Rifle is classed as an assault rifle in Mass Effect 2.

In-Game Description
A battle rifle favored by assassins and elite mercenaries that fires in highly accurate three-round bursts and can be pulsed for rapid fire. Deadly at range, very accurate, and effective against armor, shields and biotic barriers. Upgrades the Avenger Assault Rifle.

Manufactured by Elanus Risk Control Services for the Blue Suns mercenary group, the Vindicator is quickly gaining popularity in the Terminus Systems.

Acquisition
The M-15 Vindicator is found on a couch in the room where Shepard meets Archangel on Omega.

Squad Use
This weapon can be used by Garrus, Grunt, Legion, Samara/Morinth, and Zaeed. Squadmates deal 45% less damage with the M-15 than if wielded by Shepard.

Player Notes

 * The Vindicator is one of the best weapons against Collectors, especially for marksmen, since it does great headshot damage (plus damage from any ammo mods you may have), shoots three rounds, and the Collectors have large heads.
 * The game calls the M-15 a battle rifle. In real life, battle rifles are the weapons used to cover medium range battles (300-600 meters), that is between the range of assault rifles and sniper rifles. The game accurately reflects this by making the M-15 somewhat between a close quarter battle (CQB) weapon and a sniper rifle. It is intended to provide accurate shots at middle range, and not for the "spray-and-pray" kind of combat. Thus the weapon is more suited to players who prefer to kill enemies with headshots at medium range. Wielding this weapon will also make close quarters combat difficult on higher difficulty levels. Consequently it pairs nicely with the M-22 Eviscerator shotgun which will pick up the slack at close range and in the process help the player conserve the Vindicator's limited ammo reserve.
 * The M-15 has superior accuracy and stopping power compared to the M-8 Avenger. Recoil is not an issue due to its burst-fire mode, but this also makes the M-15 less effective in close quarters battle.
 * The M-15's rate of fire is much higher when the player pulses the trigger. Firing the weapon in this manner greatly increases its damage rate.
 * The M-15's main weakness is in its lower thermal clip capacity and lower spare ammo capacity than the M-8. This becomes a major liability when dealing with enemies who don't drop thermal clips such as Husks, Varren, and Klixen or enemies who drop less ammo then the amount it takes to bring them down such as Krogan.
 * To compensate for the Vindicator's low ammo reserve the player must strive for accuracy and attempt to deliver a high percentage of headshots. Additionally the player should make sure to use all their weapons, favoring sniper rifles at long range and shotguns at close range. Consequently the Vindicator is at its best in the hands of a Soldier since the Soldier's Adrenaline Rush ability maximizes both the accurracy and the damage potential of the Vindicator and because the Soldier may supplement the Vindicator's limited ammo by making use of both sniper rifles and shotguns.
 * This is usually the best weapon for any teammate that can use assault rifles as they are very accurate with it and deal high damage even with the 45% decrease. The weapon's only two serious drawbacks are low ammo, which doesn't affect teammates, and suppressive fire, which teammates have difficulty providing with a burst-fire weapon.
 * The Targeting VI upgrade is not as critical on this weapon as on the other rifles, as it is already very accurate. The M-15's crosshair is displayed as the narrowest possible with the interface. However, it does improve grouping over range, and allows the player to land all three rounds on target more often, reducing ammo expenditure.
 * If the number of rounds left in the current clip is 4 or 5, the next shot fired will be a burst of all remaining rounds, instead of the usual 3.
 * The Mattock makes the Vindicator slightly obsolete; it has a much higher fire rate and fulfills the same role of tactical mid-to-long range combat. The Vindicator is still a good gun considering that its lower rate of fire makes it easier to make shots count instead of spamming the trigger, which wastes ammo.

Trivia

 * Squad members and Shepard in cutscenes fire the weapon in fully automatic or semi-automatic mode, while Shepard can only fire the M-15 in bursts in actual combat.
 * The appearance is based on the alternate assault rifle in Mass Effect.
 * If Samara's recruitment mission is completed and the M-27 Scimitar isn't obtained at any of the three places you can find it, a M-15 Vindicator will be given as an award after talking with Samara in the police station. The M-15 Vindicator will not be shown to the mission summary.
 * It is possible to see the word "Auto" on the side of the rifle (best seen if using either power or weapon wheel to change camera angle). This may indicate that the Vindicator was supposed to be an automatic assault rifle or that it would have multiple fire modes.