M-76 Revenant

The M-76 Revenant Light Machine Gun is classed as an assault rifle in Mass Effect 2.

In-Game Description
Unleashes a storm of deadly high velocity slugs. Less accurate than an assault rifle, but has a high ammo capacity and deals much more damage. Effective against armor, shields and biotic barriers. Upgrades the Vindicator Battle Rifle. This custom-made machine gun features technology not widely available. Protected against replication by sophisticated Fabrication Rights Management (FRM) technology, only the richest and most powerful warlords can afford this weapon.

Acquisition
The M-76 Revenant is only usable by Commander Shepard if Shepard is of the Soldier class and chooses it during the Collector Ship mission.

'''Note: This weapon is exclusive to Soldier Shepard. No other character(s) may choose to use it.'''

Player Notes

 * A good strategy for close quarters combat is to aim at the feet or legs of an enemy and just let it rip, not releasing the trigger until the enemy is dead, as the muzzle climb causes the reticule to travel up the enemy's body, eventually hitting their head and usually finishing the target.
 * The M-76 has low accuracy, which is only exacerbated by its pronounced muzzle climb during sustained fire. For medium to long range firefights, it is recommended the M-76 be fired in bursts rather than fully automatic fire, and aiming for the enemy midsection. When firing the weapon on full auto the player can mitigate the weapon's inaccuracy by slowly and continually lowering their aim to compensate for the weapon's muzzle climb. The inaccuracy can also be mitigated by acquiring the accuracy upgrade.
 * The M-76's strength is in its prodigious rate of fire, damage rate, large thermal clip capacity and large spare ammo capacity. On higher difficulties, the M-76's large thermal clip capacity and damage rate is the key to survival when being surrounded in long battles: If the player is able to aim carefully, the shortage of ammo shouldn't be a problem. On Insanity difficulty, the majority of all enemies can be killed (barrier, shield, armor and health) with one clip (80 hits) at medium range.
 * Arming the M-76 with disruptor ammo helps to offset the lower damage multiplier against shields.
 * Due to its high rate of fire, high damage, high armor-piercing capability and its high ammo count, the Revenant is the ideal weapon for handling melee combatants such as Klixen, Husks or any enemies that attempt to rush you, especially when used in conjuction with Armor Piercing Ammo or to a lesser extent Incendiary Ammo. Revenant also excels when the player prefers CQB to medium range combat in areas that offer a lot of covers.
 * Using Adrenaline Rush, either Heightened or Hardened, works very well with this weapon, as it allows you to close in rapidly on your enemies (since the skill does not affect Shepard, who moves at the same speed outside as inside a Rush, which means Shepard moves at 200% or 333% speed). Leaving cover and activating the burst can get a few easy kills if the enemies arent too far away. Not recommended at higher difficulties.
 * Adrenaline Rush also negates any recoil while firing the weapon, thereby allowing the player to fire with no muzzle climb. You will still suffer from the Revenant's inherent big penalty to accuracy, however, which can only be alleviated by Accuracy Upgrade. Shock Trooper is a good recommendation as the power evolution to Combat Mastery as it also provides one additional second to Adrenaline Rush.
 * Heightened Adrenaline Rush will make the Revenant a seriously powerful weapon, to the extent of almost making it overkill on lower difficulties.

Trivia

 * There is an M-76 Revenant in Morinth's apartment on the wall, from which you can pick up an assault rifle upgrade.
 * The Revenant is occasionally used by generic Blue Suns Commanders as well as 'named' NPCs like Warden Kuril and Jentha, as well as some of Aria's henchmen. Geth Primes and Geth Destroyers can also be seen wielding the weapon.
 * Revenants are also powerful enemies in Dragon Age: Origins, another BioWare game.
 * The Revenant's name could be a reference to Shepard. A revenant is a spirit brought back from the dead to fulfill a certain purpose, much like Shepard in Mass Effect 2.
 * Revenant is the present participle of the French verb revenir, meaning 'to return'; it fits Shepard very well.
 * Possibly due to a graphical glitch, Shepard's hand clips through the weapons grip in cutscenes.
 * Although the Revenant is easily the largest assault rifle in the game, the Revenant which appears in the Normandy's armory after the weapon's acquisition appears to be significantly smaller than the actual weapon, especially compared to the M-8 Avenger and M-15 Vindicator rifles lying next to it.
 * The Revenant has two safety switches on the side of the gun; there is text above each one, reading "Lock" and "Load".