Collector Sniper Rifle

Collector Sniper Rifle
Type	Sniper Rifle
Location	Mass Effect 3: Retaliation
Fire Mode	Automatic
Weight	80%
Capacity	100%
Fire Rate	80%
Damage	20%
Accuracy	40%
Ammunition
Clip Size	35
Reserve	∞

The Collector Sniper Rifle is a sniper rifle in Mass Effect 3.

Description

This weapon's long-range particle beam is capable of sustained fire, allowing it to switch between anti-personnel or anti-materiel roles just by holding down the trigger. This rifle does not accept thermal clips, instead cooling down by venting heat into a liquid-containing sleeve that radiates it through the fin-like protuberances on its barrel.

Acquisition

Single-player

The Collector Sniper Rifle is exclusive to multiplayer.

Multiplayer

Randomly rewarded by purchasing an item pack. The Collector Sniper Rifle is categorized as rare and requires Mass Effect 3: Retaliation.

Player Notes

• The Collector Sniper Rifle ammo works the same way as the Prothean Particle Rifle in that it utilizes a self-cooling system, and it is a similar weapon in many respects. What makes it different is its much lower magazine capacity, high-powered scope and no charge-up time for it to do maximum damage.
  • The cooldown time after overheat is the same as for the Particle Rifle.
  • There is a unique sound effect when the Collector Sniper Rifle's ammo count recharges to maximum.
  • It does not benefit from the Sniper Rifle Spare Thermal Clip mod, which opens up room for one of the other mods.
  • The small clip size and very high firing speed make it easy to run out of ammo, thereby starting the rather long cooldown animation. To prevent this try to focus on one enemy at a time and stop firing as soon as it's dead to let the magazine replenish.
  • As with other self-cooling weapons in multiplayer, the Collector Sniper Rifle's magazine size depends on its level. At Level I it has a magazine size of 35, while at level X it has a magazine size of 45.
  • Like the Particle Rifle, once the Collector Sniper Rifle starts recharging, it will continue to recharge if you switch to a different weapon.
• The Collector Sniper Rifle is the only sniper rifle not to suffer an accuracy penalty for firing the weapon unscoped or "from the hip"; however, it still suffers a damage penalty.
• To get the most out of the weapon, it helps if targets are totally immobilized, making a full burst on the target's head easy. This can be achieved against lighter enemies through the use of powers like Stasis or Submission Net. Another technique is to induce the target to dodge with an initial burst or a power, then follow up with a killing burst as the target comes out of its dodge animation. As long as damage is high enough to kill the average enemy with a sustained burst to the head without depleting the weapon, it can be quite efficient at pruning infantry targets.
• Like most low-damage-but-rapid-fire weapons, the Collector Sniper Rifle is fairly ineffective for taking out large armored targets like Brutes. On the plus side, against lighter enemies its continuous, rapid damage is unhindered by shield gates, something that high damage-per-shot sniper rifles can struggle with.
  • If enemy armor protection can be fully negated, the Collector Sniper Rifle can actually be an effective primary weapon against all targets even on Platinum difficulty, where the scarcity of thermal clip refills does not disadvantage the weapon. Classes with Warp can achieve this well in tandem with Warp Rounds; equipping Armor-Piercing Rounds is another option.
• The weapon is on the heavier side, weighing the same as the Kishock Harpoon Gun.
• As it disintegrates enemies upon killing them, the Collector Sniper Rifle is useful against Reapers as it leaves Cannibals unable to devour their fallen allies.
• The Collector Sniper Rifle is a hitscan weapon, meaning it hits the target instantaneously. The beam "lagging" behind after the actual shot deals no damage whatsoever and is just a visual effect connecting the weapon's barrel and the target point. While it may be counterintuitive, the player must ignore the position of the beam and track moving targets with the crosshair precisely to hit them consistently. This also means the player can hit moving enemies in multiplayer reliably regardless of latency.
• This weapon, like the Particle Rifle, has a maximum range to its beam, which can be a hindrance when firing at longer ranges.
• The N7 Destroyer Soldier is the only class that can increase the size of the weapon's limited magazine with its passive bonuses.
• As it is a Collector weapon, the Awakened Collector Adept can deal bonus damage with it thanks to its Vengeful Ancient class passive power.
• The Collector Sniper Rifle has a very high chance of triggering the Power Combo priming effects of ammo bonuses such as Disruptor or Incendiary Rounds with only a short burst of fire.