M-358 Talon/ME3SP

Description
The Talon is a close-range pistol favored by Cerberus Guardians. Firing heavy-gauge shotgun pellets, it delivers massive trauma to unarmored targets. Its waste heat is sufficiently excessive that it carries six separate ammunition blocks, rotating like a twentieth-century revolver to prevent shaver jam or misfire due to premature melting of the shot.

Acquisition
The M-358 Talon is found during the mission Priority: The Citadel II inside a locked room. The door control is found in the nearby room used to circumvent a malfunctioning door. (It is not purchasable from a shop if missed during the mission.)

Player Notes

 * Although it has a very low clip size to start (four in a clip, twenty spare), the Talon has extremely high firepower, able to kill most basic enemies in two to three shots out to even medium-long range, and a headshot at mid-close range is instantly fatal to most enemies.
 * Another significant weakness is the Talon is effectively "a shotgun in pistol form". This means while the Talon is incredibly lethal at close range, its effectiveness rapidly deteriorates out to medium and long range.
 * Another significant factor is the already short range is reduced while on the move since, as with all weapons, crosshairs bloom when moving. Because the Talon is reliant on close range combat, this can have a significant impact on the weapon's damage while on the move.
 * As squadmates aren't affected by weapon weight, the Talon could potentially be a useful backup weapon for less durable squadmates (such as Liara) to deal with melee-oriented enemies such as Husks.
 * The Talon is a good weapon for a Vanguard. It has a larger capacity than most shotguns, and does shotgun-like damage with a better rate of fire. The pistol's magazine increases and better piercing mods give it another edge on the shotgun. Given how the Vanguard will be at point-blank ranges anyway, the inaccuracy and short range aren't as important as they would be otherwise. It is possibly feasible to carry it alone to keep recharge times low and use the Vanguard powers to fill the gaps.
 * With the release of the Leviathan DLC, an Infiltrator can find great use for this weapon with the Ultralight Pistol Materials weapon mod. This gives the Infiltrator a close-range weapon with a large initial shot damage that, unlike a normal shotgun, will not greatly impact power recharge time. Combine this with a rapid-fire SMG and one of the lighter sniper rifles and the Infiltrator can gun down any enemy at any range and still be able to cloak at any time.