User blog comment:LilyheartsLightning/The MEWiki Arsenal Awards 2012/@comment-1388547-20130124052931

It's too bad we can only vote for one, because I have several favorites in most categories, depending on the situation.

Assault rifles:
 * The Harrier surely has one of the best damage outputs in the game. It runs out of ammo pretty quickly, though, so for me it's the obvious best only for the N7 Demolisher.
 * The Particle Rifle works wonders for the N7 Destroyer. I haven't tried it with any other characters, but it's really, really nice not to have to think about ammo.
 * The Argus takes some getting used to, but I quite like it at medium ranges, particularly on my Turian Ghost. With the turian's passive stability bonus and a stability mod, it's quite accurate, packs an impressive punch, and has lots and lots of ammo.  Plus, it's a Rare, not an Ultra-Rare, so it's easier to upgrade.

Heavy Pistols:
 * I have a special place in my heart for the Carnifex. It may weigh more than it used to, but back in its heyday it was *the* weapon for my powers characters.
 * The Talon is also a pretty handy weapon. It's interesting to be able to put pistol mods on what's effectively a shotgun.  In particular, it's really useful to put an ultralight materials mod on it...

Shotguns:
 * The Raider is a really good Infiltrator shotgun for me. It has plenty of ammo even without a spare thermal clip mod, and it fires quickly enough to get off both shots while still in cloak.
 * For characters who need light weight, the Disciple works pretty well. It doesn't have the greatest damage output, but it's enough to be viable, and it leaves enough room to cram in an SMG and still get +200% cooldown.
 * For characters who can afford a slightly heavier gun, the Wraith is ridiculously lethal. Though also hard to upgrade, being an Ultra-Rare.

SMGs:
 * For straight-up damage dealing, the N7 Hurricane is unparalleled, particularly with stability and piercing mods. I like to use this on my Turian Havoc soldier, benefitting from even more stability from the class passive ability.
 * On the other hand, for a handy weapon to supplement powers at close-to-medium ranges, the Hornet is fairly powerful. Put a stability mod on it, and it's essentially a shorter-ranged, more powerful Vindicator.

Sniper Rifles:
 * The Black Widow is probably my favorite here, for high damage per clip and the ability to take down shielded enemies without having to reload, but...
 * The N7 Valiant also has a lot to be said for it, particularly its high DPS and fast reload.

Heavy Weapons:
 * The Arc Projector was my all-around favorite in ME2. It was handy for softening up tough groups of enemies, and didn't expend too much ammo.
 * The Cain was a cool concept, but I usually only fired it once or twice per game -- specifically, once against the Praetorian on the Collector ship. It was worth bringing it just for that, though. :-)