Weapon Mods

Weapon Mods are applied to assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, submachine guns, and heavy pistols to augment them in Mass Effect 3. Available mods include high-caliber barrels, scopes, and bayonet attachments, among others. Only two mods can be applied to a weapon at a time, and the same mod cannot be applied twice to a single weapon.

Once a weapon mod is found, it may be applied to any and all of the weapons of the applicable type at a weapon bench. Finding another instance of a mod the player already possesses will upgrade that mod to the next level. Likewise, shops will always carry mods one level above those the player currently has.

Assault Rifle Stability Damper
Distributes recoil with sliding system of counterweights compatible with kinetic coil generators. Reduces weapon kickback.

Changes the color of the weapon's handle and stock depending on level of mod.

If the stability rating goes over 100% (with Turian Veteran ranks), the recoil of the assault rifle will go downwards.

Assault Rifle Magazine Upgrade
Increases magazine capacity, allowing more shots before reload.

Changes the color of the weapon's body depending on weapon and level of mod.

Assault Rifle Piercing Mod
Capacitor boosts kinetic coil generators, increasing shot penetration.

Changes the color of the weapon's lights depending on level of mod.

Assault Rifle Extended Barrel
Lengthens barrel, creating greater bullet velocity and impact.

Places a visible barrel extension on the weapon.

Assault Rifle Precision Scope
Simple 4x optical scope to enhance stability while zoomed. Increases accuracy while moving and taking damage.

Places a visible scope atop the weapon.

Pistol Melee Stunner
Small attachment to muzzle, causing massive damage to meleed targets.

Adds a visible stunner beneath the barrel. Also changes the color of the weapon's handle depending on level of mod.

Pistol Piercing Mod
Capacitor boosts kinetic coil generators, increasing shot penetration.

Changes the color of the weapon's lights depending on level of mod.

Pistol Magazine Upgrade
Increases magazine capacity, allowing more shots before reload.

Changes the color of the weapon's body depending on weapon and level of mod.

Pistol High Caliber Barrel
Allows wider projectiles, causing more trauma on impact. Ballistically optimized to maintain penetrative power.

Places a visible barrel extension on the weapon.

Pistol Scope
Simple 2x optical scope enhances stability while zoomed. Increases accuracy while moving and taking damage.

Places a visible scope atop the weapon.

Shotgun Spare Thermal Clip
Adds sockets to raise thermal clip capacity, increasing number of spare shots.

Changes the color of the weapon's handle and stock depending on level of mod.

Shotgun Shredder Mod
Capacitor boosts kinetic coil generators, increasing shot penetration.

Changes the color of the weapon's lights depending on level of mod.

Shotgun Blade Attachment
Tungsten-carbide bayonet with recessed edge for increased melee damage.

Places a visible bayonet underneath the barrel.

Shotgun High Caliber Barrel
Allows wider projectiles, causing more trauma on impact. Ballistically optimized to retain penetrative power.

Places a visible barrel extension on the weapon.

Shotgun Smart Choke
Servo motors hooked up to adjustable system tighten or loosen pellet spread for maximum accuracy.

Changes the color of the weapon's body depending on weapon and level of mod.

Sniper Rifle Concentration Mod
Biometric sensors and auto-targeting software adjust to the user's pulse and breath rate, assisting aim.

Changes the color of the weapon's lights depending on level of mod.

Single-player Only Stacks with Adrenaline Rush and Operational Mastery.

Sniper Rifle Spare Thermal Clip
Adds sockets to increase thermal clip capacity, increasing number of spare shots.

Changes the color of the weapon's handle and stock depending on level of mod.

Sniper Rifle Extended Barrel
Lengthens barrel, creating greater bullet velocity and impact.

Places a visible barrel extension on the weapon.

Sniper Rifle Piercing Mod
Capacitor boosts kinetic coil generators, increasing shot penetration.

Changes the color of the weapon's body depending on weapon and level of mod.

Sniper Rifle Enhanced Scope
Stability-enhancing scope increases accuracy while moving and taking damage. Highlights targets through smoke.

Adds visible extension to scope.

SMG Ultralight Materials
Superior lightweight alloys replace weapon parts, making weapon less obtrusive and easier to handle.

Changes the color of the weapon's body depending on weapon and level of mod.

The ultralight materials mod currently has no effect on multiplayer weapons except for the Geth Plasma SMG.

SMG Magazine Upgrade
Increases magazine capacity, allowing more shots before reload.

Changes the color of the weapon's handle and stock depending on level of mod.

SMG High Caliber Barrel
Allows wider projectiles, causing more trauma on impact. Ballistically optimized to retain penetrative power.

Places a visible barrel extension on the weapon.

SMG Heat Sink
Increases heat conductivity of thermal clip receiver. Negates heat generated by some shots.

Changes the color of the weapon's lights depending on level of mod.

SMG Scope
Simple 2x optical scope enchances stability while zoomed. Increases accuracy while moving and taking damage.

Places a visible scope atop the weapon.

Player Notes

 * The damage bonus provided by certain mods (most notably High Caliber Barrel) stacks additively with that provided by skills such as class or racial passives and Tactical Cloak. For example, an Infiltrator Shepard who took every weapon damage upgrade for Operational Mastery and Tactical Cloak and put a High Caliber V mod on his weapon will deal 100% + 10% + 90% + 25% = 225% of base damage.
 * The Piercing and Shredder mods increase damage versus armored targets by ignoring part of damage reduction that every bullet striking an armored target suffers. A good approximation is to treat the result as a fixed (independent of weapon damage) damage bonus on every bullet (and every shotgun pellet) striking an armored target. As a result, rapid-fire weapons receive a much greater benefit from these mods than slow-firing ones.
 * Magazine Upgrade mods do not change the amount of spare ammo a weapon holds, however, the increased capacity is not deduced from the spare ammo pool either - if a weapon normally holds 100 rounds and 500 in reserve, applying a Magazine Upgrade V will change that to 180 rounds and 500 in reserve, for a total of 680.