M-97 Viper

The M-97 Viper Sniper Rifle is a sniper rifle in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.

Description
Rapid-fire military sniper rifle. Incredibly accurate and deadly at long range, these weapons are popular amongst infiltrators and assassins. Very effective against armor, somewhat effective against shields and biotic barriers. Upgrades the Mantis sniper rifle.

Rosenkov Materials developed this deadly weapon in response to the rising prevalence of kinetic barriers. While kinetic barriers still offer some protection from this weapon, its sheer power and rapid rate of fire make it capable of quickly killing almost any target, regardless of its defenses.

Acquisition
The M-97 can be found during Thane's recruitment mission, near the service elevator that takes you to the bridge. The rifle is in a dead-end corridor, to the right of the elevator, when your back is against its door. If missed, it can be also acquired later in the same mission, next to the Comm Terminal just before going to the roof. If the weapon is not picked up at any of these locations, it will be awarded at the end of the mission.

Squad Use
This weapon can be used by Garrus, Legion, Thane, and Zaeed. Squadmates deal 35% less damage than Shepard.

Player Notes

 * General Notes
 * While the M-97 Viper does less damage per shot than the M-92, it features semi-automatic fire, a twelve round clip and a relatively large spare ammo capacity. These factors help to mitigate the liability of missing a shot. Whether these factors constitute an upgrade is a matter of personal preference.
 * The M-97 is best used for stripping shields and barriers and, while not as efficient as the M-92 or M-98, in the role of soft-target interdiction, the M-97 Viper can still kill lower ranked enemies with two or three shots to the head, however, this requires careful aiming to compensate for enemy movements.
 * The M-97 can have the highest base damage rate of the sniper rifles if the fire rate is 'feathered'.
 * Class Specific Notes
 * The M-97 can be a worthwhile primary support weapon choice onboard the Collector Cruiser for the weapons-light classes such as the Adept, Sentinel and Engineer, who are less likely to require the one-shot kill capabilities of the single-shot sniper rifles.
 * If Shepard is a Soldier, then the rifle's problem with low damage can be remedied with powers such as a fully upgraded Heightened Adrenaline Rush, and rifle upgrades such as the Scram Pulsar, allowing Shepard to perform one-shot kills on many weaker enemies depending upon difficulty level.
 * The M-97 paired with the M-76 Revenant can be an excellent choice for a soldier; The Viper can be used to rapidly weaken enemies with shields or barriers at long range and outright kill weaker opponents while the M-76 can tear apart anything that manages to get within medium and short range (especially armored opponents).

Description
The Viper is a semi-automatic, rapid-fire sniper rifle manufactured by Rosenkov Materials. Rosenkov developed a patented automated-release system that assists with thermal-clip ejection, shortening the Viper's reload time. This rifle is popular with military snipers, who appreciate a long-range gun that can snap off multiple shots in the blink of an eye.

Acquisition

 * Single-player: Priority: Palaven: On top of a crate in the center of the first base on Menae. (Also purchasable at Kassa Fabrication if missed during mission).
 * Multiplayer: Randomly rewarded by purchasing a multiplayer item pack.

Player Notes

 * The M-97 Viper weighs slightly less than the Mantis, but is still a fairly heavy weapon.
 * The Viper is ideal for taking down groups of lightly-armored enemies, because its high fire rate, very fast reload, and large clip allow it to rapidly kill light enemies with headshots, provided a character has modded it appropriately and has the right skillset. When upgraded appropriately it can still take down moderately armored enemies with 2-4 hits to the head, with the first hit to the head often causing enemies to flinch, making successive shots easier. On hard multiplayer difficulties, such as Silver or Gold, enemies' increased health makes this weapon markedly less effective, with lightly armored enemies often requiring 2 hits to the head to bring down. Still, when used properly it can take down light enemies more efficiently than the M-92 Mantis.
 * The Viper's main weakness is its poor performance against heavily protected enemies. It's mediocre against armor and well-shielded enemies, and in order to be effective against heavy enemies many shots must be fired, causing a user to expose themselves for longer durations than they would with other sniper rifles.

Trivia

 * While the M-97 looks nearly identical to the alternate sniper rifle from Mass Effect, the fluted heavy barrel's holes pass horizontally instead of vertically.