M-6 Carnifex

The M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon is a heavy pistol in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.

Description
Highly accurate and lethal sidearm. Effective against armor; weak against shields and biotic barriers. Upgrades the Predator heavy pistol.

The Carnifex is a favored sidearm of mercenary leaders and Eclipse mercenary tech specialists. An expensive but powerful weapon. Its marketing materials feature a charging krogan with the slogan, "Don't you wish Carnifex was at your side?"

Acquisition
The M-6 can be obtained while recruiting Mordin Solus on Omega. Mordin gives it to Shepard when the commander arrives at the clinic. He tells Shepard it was from a dead Blue Suns mercenary.

Squad Use
This weapon can be used by Jack, Jacob, Miranda, Mordin, Tali, Kasumi, Liara and Wilson.

Player Notes

 * Serves as a high-calibre, high-recoil "Magnum" type pistol of Mass Effect 2.
 * Although dealing increased damage over the M-3, the M-6 has:
 * A slower firing rate
 * Much more recoil and a slower recovery rate
 * Less magazine and less spare ammo capacity.
 * The M-6 deals a total of 2,049.6 damage as opposed to the M-3's 2,678.4 total damage. These values are based on base damage values and default ammo counts
 * Using Cryo Ammo may help to offset the Carnifex's very low ammo supply, as frozen enemies take twice as much damage and therefore, fewer shots to kill.

Description
A highly accurate and lethal pistol. The Carnifex is a favored sidearm of mercenary leaders and Eclipse mercenary tech specialists. An expensive but powerful weapon, its marketing materials feature a charging krogan with the slogan "Don't you wish Carnifex was at your side?"

Acquisition

 * Single-player: Purchased from Kassa Fabrication kiosk in the Presidium Commons. Can be picked up during Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists after leaving the scientists.
 * Multiplayer: Randomly rewarded by purchasing a multiplayer item pack.

Player Notes

 * In multiplayer, the Carnifex has six rounds in its clip. Depending on what Rank Evolutions you purchase, as well as having certain Weapon Mods equipped, the Carnifex can be a powerful weapon. On Bronze difficulty, it can kill any person without shields in one shot to the head. Shielded organic enemies require two or three hits. With multiple weapon damage upgrades, it can retain the same stats on higher difficulties, though one more shot may be required for tougher enemies. On Gold, only through an Infiltrator's Tactical Cloak damage bonus can players one shot Assault Troopers or Guardians. Otherwise, it requires at least two shots to the head to kill unshielded enemies, and at least 3 to kill shielded enemies.
 * In singleplayer, with appropriate mods, the Carnifex can be utilized to fill the role of a long range sniping weapon. The weapon's considerable damage, when coupled with a scope can provide a lightweight solution to handling enemies at range. On Normal difficulty, the Carnifex is capable of dropping enemies in a similar fashion as described above.
 * The Carnifex easily does more damage per shot than some semi-automatic sniper rifles such as the Viper and Raptor. It's lower weight makes it a good substitute for long-range fighting with classes that need a greater weight capacity bonus.
 * Combining the Carnifex with the Stasis power makes for a potent combination. With sufficient power duration bonuses, Stasis can hold an enemy in place long enough to put as many headshots as necessary to kill the intended target.

Trivia

 * Carnifex means "butcher" in Latin - literally, "a maker of meat". Due to the tendency to employ butchers as public executioners, the word carnifex shifted from its original meaning and came to mean both a butcher and an executioner.
 * The appearance is based on the alternate pistol in Mass Effect.
 * The pistol has "Magnus" (lat. "great") written on its side. This is a possible reference to highly powerful 'magnum' cartridges, which are enlarged versions of other existing cartridges, and possess immense stopping power.
 * The M-77 Paladin is a variant of the Carnifex.
 * Should the player choose to sabotage the genophage cure but is unable to persuade Mordin, Shepard threatens Mordin with a Carnifex, the same weapon Mordin offered the commander as a sign of goodwill.