M-29 Incisor

The M-29 Incisor is a sniper rifle from Mass Effect 2.

In-Game Description
The Incisor is one of a new wave of military and police sniper rifles designed to overload active defenses such as shields. Firing three shots with each pull of the trigger, the Incisor's burst is so fast that all three rounds will be in the target by the time the barrel has moved a millimeter, increasing its stopping power without sacrificing accuracy. As an added benefit, the noise of the burst is comparable to a single rifle shot in duration, making it no easier to locate the sniper by sound.

Acquisition
Initially only available as part of the Digital Deluxe Editions of Mass Effect 2 for PC, but is now available to Xbox 360 and other PC owners through the Aegis Pack DLC.

Squad Use
This weapon can be used by Garrus, Legion, Thane, and Zaeed.

Player Notes

 * Although the M-29's damage is much lower than the other sniper rifles, it is designed to decimate shields. Whether it is used in favour of the M-29 or M-97 is a matter of personal preference.
 * Contrary to the in-game description, there is enough time between the rounds of a burst for a moving target to be missed. While the three-round burst fire mode is one of the M-29's defining features, this makes headshots a liability because enemies may stumble and cause the second and third rounds to miss. For this reason, the M-29 is best when used for body shots. However, an Infiltrator under the slowdown from going to the scope and/or cloaked, or a Soldier under Adrenaline Rush may be able to land all three shots on the head provided they have steady hand and don't jerk their aiming when firing. At the same time, with a swift and precise hand, it is possible to make the shots land on separate targets if they are close together, although it is unlikely that you will drop all the targets, unless they were already damaged.
 * The M-29 has more ammo than the Mantis, but less than the Viper, and heatsink pickups are usually only worth 4 shots, making this weapon very inefficient. Its three-round burst-fire mode proves to be more of a liability due to relatively small amount of ammo that can be carried. Because of this, it is advisable to always "top off" the rifle when not in use so as to ensure that you always have maximum, or close to maximum ammo.
 * Squad members equipping this weapon are reported to be unusually accurate with it, more so than with other weapons. Squad member weapon damage reduction on higher difficulties also appears to be ignored by this weapon.
 * Like the Collector Assault Rifle the Incisor does not change its name designation like other weapons when upgrades are researched, according to Christina Norman this is a bug that applies to DLC, but only affects the name and performance is in fact upgraded. This is caused by an incorrectly formatted string in the DLC files.
 * The Incisor works well in the hands of Soldiers or Infiltrators who have abilities to maximize damage and slow down time. With Adrenaline Rush active, the likelihood of all three shots connecting is vastly increased, though Infiltrators may still have some trouble inflicting similar results. The Incisor benefits greatly from Tactical Cloak; however, a fully upgraded Incisor with Assassination Cloak, Assassin evolution and AP Sniper Rifle, Headshot Damage and 50% extra damage can still put down slow moving targets (such as LOKI mechs, krogan, and vorcha).
 * If the number of shots left in the gun is NOT divisible by three (such as from picking up thermal clips giving four or five shots) the next pull of the trigger will fire only one or two shots to bring the total down to a number divisible by three. Example: having 11 shots left will fire two instead of three, likewise with 10, it would only fire one shot.
 * When firing without going to the scope, the Incisor is just as inaccurate as any other Sniper Rifle. However, because of the three-shot burst, at least one, maybe even two shots have a decent chance at hitting the intended target, even at medium range.
 * The scatter can even be useful on lower difficulties with Cryo Ammo on missions such as the Reaper IFF or the N7: Abandoned Mine assignment when being swarmed by large numbers of husks. With sniper rifles having a higher chance of ammo powers activating, combined with the scattering shots, it is possible to hit three husks at once, freezing each one individually, resulting in three downed husks.

Trivia

 * The M-29 Incisor's icon appears lower than other weapons while in game in both the PC and Xbox 360 versions, such as in the lower left corner where your ammo is displayed and in the weapon select part of the action menu bar.
 * If using the M-29 with an ammo power and you enter a conversation, the glowing effects of the ammo power on the weapon will appear above Shepard's or a squadmate's shoulder, where with other sniper rifles, the effect goes down Shepard's or the squadmate's back.