User blog comment:AnotherRho/Views on ME2 Weapons/@comment-2017893-20110829052219

I've always found that either the M-100 Grenade Launcher or the M-77 Missile Launcher worked best. Never saw the need for anything else. I've used the Cain twice against Praetorians but eventually found that I could use sniper rifles and either Adrenaline Rush or Cloak and achieve the same effect without burning ALL my heavy weapon ammo on a lone enemy.

The Blackstorm can also be added to the "useless" list. The Avalanche is AWESOME against hordes of Husks, but otherwise also useless (and other weapons could do that too, but the Avalanche has more ammo than the Grenade Launcher and more splash damage than the Missile Launcher so...) Love the Arc Projector but depending on the specific encounter the minor charge-up time can be an issue.

So...if you're having survival issues I'd definitely recommend the M-77 Missile Launcher. You literally don't even have to aim. Point in the general direction of your target, fire, and duck back behind cover. Granted, it's not the most damaging heavy weapon (takes 2 or even 3 to kill a single Krogan) but if your problem is taking damage, it's the most accurate "spray and pray" gun in the game. Oh and I find you get more hits is you aim slightly ABOVE the target, so the missile can arch over cover as needed.

And yeah, Mattock FTW, unless you're also carrying the Viper. No sense keeping 2 weapons with the same damage and rate of fire.

For that matter, your class will have a big effect too. I said the Blackstorm is useless, but obviously if you're playing as a Vanguard (so you have plenty of Biotics but no Singularity) then the Blackstorm counts as a Biotic effect, yet it's off your biotic cooldown. This means you can fire it, then slap an enemy with Unstable Warp and lay waste to 4 or 5 enemies at once, even without any Biotic squadmates. For that matter, if you're playing Infiltrator you should be using your cloak EVERY SINGLE SECOND IT'S NOT ON COOLDOWN just as you would use Adrenaline Rush. It doesn't just provide a damage bonus, but it instantly drops all enemy threat when activated. It's as useful going into battle as it is trying to escape it.

And finally, as to the Geth Pulse Rifle, yeah, it is pretty useless - in ME2 that is. In ME1 with all the Geth running around it would've been awesome, but you have what, like 4 missions against Geth in ME2? Anyhow, the Geth Pulse Rifle is the best shield stripper in the game, but does so little biotic or armor damage it's flat out depressing. As such, it's best against only 2 things - Geth and Mechs. If you're using it against the Collectors all I can say is ouch.