Geth Pulse Rifle

The Geth Pulse Rifle is an assault rifle in Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.

Description
This geth weapon fires a rapid stream of high-energy phasic slugs. Comparable to a Vindicator Battle Rifle. Very effective against shields and biotic barriers; moderately effective against armor.

Geth pulse rifles are rarely retrieved from the battlefield; when they are, the guns are generally functional and comparable to a stock assault rifle. Over time, however, they prove unreliable and difficult to repair. Attempts to replicate this weapon have failed, but the technology recovered from Haestrom could enable several of these weapons to be built for your squad.

Two anomalies differentiate these geth weapons from other stock assault rifles. First, the mass effect field generation technology follows a sine curve (it has a variable rate of fire). Second, its slugs are lighter than standard Avenger slugs, but they're encased in a phasic envelope. Overall, this weapon should be more effective against shields and barriers than a battle rifle, but will likely have less armor penetration capabilities.

Acquisition
Picked up during Tali's recruitment mission at Haestrom on Hardcore or Insanity difficulty setting. The rifle can be found in the same room Tali is in, after destroying the Geth Colossus. The difficulty should be changed before or immediately after landing on the planet.

Squad Use
This weapon can be used by Garrus, Grunt, Legion, Samara/Morinth, and Zaeed.

Player Notes
 General Notes
 * The Pulse Rifle rips through shields, so Disruptor Ammo is redundant against weaker enemies.
 * Although the fire rate is listed at 1000 RPM, it is highly variable, alternating between fast and slow modes. According to the in-game Codex, this is because the fire rate follows a variable sine curve.
 * The Pulse Rifle is very accurate, and very few of the shots will miss an enemy at medium range, even on full auto.
 * Even though Disruptor Ammo is redundant it has different effects against different enemies. If fighting a large group of mechs put Disruptor Ammo on to disable them once through their armor.
 * The Pulse Rifle has a noticeable lack of punch against armor. Supplementing it with Warp or Armor-Piercing Ammo is a good choice to add armor-penetration while augmenting barrier penetration, making it useful against certain Eclipse mercs and Collectors.
 * Its high accuracy and rate of fire makes the Pulse Rifle an excellent suppressing fire weapon, especially when equipped with Inferno Ammo as this will quickly put whole groups of organics into "panic mode", making it safer and easier to make your shots count.
 * Inferno Ammo also greatly increases the weapon's damage against armor.
 * The Pulse Rifle's main drawback is its low damage per shot, as this forces the player to remain out of cover for longer than with weapons like the M-96 Mattock. Keep this in mind when deciding what missions to take it on.
 * Because squad members deal even less damage than Shepard, this is even more of a problem for them. However, Zaeed – whose class power gives him much greater weapon damage – is less disadvantaged by this and the Pulse Rifle can be used as a useful suppressive weapon in his hands if desired.
 * The weapon's low damage can be countered by: equipping damage-increasing armour parts, making assault rifle damage upgrades a priority, or by utilising the rifle's high accuracy and striving for regular headshots. Even then, weapons like the Mattock and the Vindicator will still out-damage it, whilst also exposing Shepard less to enemy fire.
 * This weapon refills ammo very quickly through thermal clip pick ups. This makes it an excellent choice for higher difficulties where ammo is always in low supply. In addition, it is useful for burning through the shields enemies gain on the higher difficulty settings.

Class Specific Notes
 * Due to its high level of effectiveness against shields and barriers, the Pulse Rifle is an ideal weapon for Adepts or Vanguards if assault rifle training is selected inside the Collector cruiser.

Description
Geth pulse rifles are comparable to a standard stock assault rifle, but finely balanced with low-recoil and incredibly high accuracy. The pulse rifle fires a rapid stream of light-weight slugs which are wrapped in a phasic envelope to increase their damage.

Acquisition

 * Single-player: Found on top of a crate in the Geth Dreadnought, just prior to entering the Operations Center. (Also purchasable from Elkoss Combine Arsenal Supplies if missed during the mission.)
 * Multiplayer: Randomly rewarded by purchasing a multiplayer item pack (Rare).

Player Notes

 * The Geth Pulse Rifle is fully automatic.
 * The main strength with the Geth Pulse Rifle is its unmatched clip capacity, capable of firing 144 rounds with a Level V thermal clip upgrade, while the M-76 Revenant's maximum is only 108 rounds.
 * While the Geth Pulse Rifle doesn't have a crosshair even when zoomed in, it has pinpoint accuracy and near-zero recoil, making sustained fire incredibly easy.
 * Another redeeming point of the Geth Pulse Rifle is it's weight, with it being one of the lighter assault rifles in the game. This makes is a very viable choice for power oriented character and classes.
 * Damage is the Pulse Rifle's shortcoming, inflicting far less damage than any other Assault Rifle and even some SMGs. This effectively means whereas some rifles would kill in about 3-5 shots, the Pulse Rifle would require 10-15 rounds.
 * The weapon's slow reload time is another significant factor, rivaling the Revenant.

Trivia

 * In Mass Effect 2, the rifle appears much lower than other rifles on a character's back, to the point where equipping Legion with it makes it almost float in the air.
 * The Geth Pulse Rifle has the same icon as the Collector Particle Beam in the Weapons menu in the game.