M-96 Mattock/ME3SP

Description
Medium-range, semi-automatic rifle. The Mattock is a hybrid weapon with an assault rifle's low heat production and a sniper rifle's punch. Marksmen favor its increased power over that of an assault rifle to bring down hardened targets. Its lack of a full-auto setting is advertised as a feature rather than a shortcoming as it curbs a soldier's tendency to spray inaccurate fire under stress.

Acquisition
The M-96 Mattock can be found during the mission Grissom Academy: Emergency Evacuation, on a couch before reaching Seanne Bellarmine. A second upgrade can sometimes be found in the security room unlocked by David Archer, if he was rescued in Overlord. (It is also purchasable from Kassa Fabrication post-mission if it was missed.)

Player Notes

 * The Mattock's main advantage is its highly accurate and damaging semi-automatic fire, making it very useful for pinpoint (headshot) shooting at medium to long range where it can neutralize most enemies with less than one clip. When equipped with a scope, it is versatile enough to serve as a main or even sole weapon under almost any circumstances.
 * Although the Mattock is a semi-automatic rifle, it has very little delay between shots, allowing it to be fired almost as quickly as the user can pull the trigger.
 * The Mattock is very versatile and can be wielded as a main weapon, or even sole weapon, in almost any circumstance. However, this will expose its biggest performance weakness: close range against multiple enemies. While it does have sufficient damage to kill in one shot, a squad of enemies can cause real problems due to its low capacity and its semi-automatic nature. Thus it is advisable to carry an alternative weapon such as a submachine gun to keep the low weight and offset your close-range shortcomings.