Cryo Ammo

This article is about the Ammo Power in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. For the Ammo Upgrade, see Cold Ammunition. For the Ammo Bonus in Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer, see Cryo Rounds. For the consumable cryo ammo item in Mass Effect: Andromeda, see Consumables.

Cryo Ammo is a power in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3's single-player mode.

Mass Effect 2

Freezes enemies, allowing you to shatter them with gunfire or biotics.

Power Ranks

Rank 1 - This ammo's payload of supercooled subatomic particles can snap-freeze a target in place, making it vulnerable to extra damage.

• Recharge Time: 1.50 seconds
• Duration: Lasts until overridden by another ammo power.
• Freeze Duration: 3.00 seconds

Rank 2 - This ammo's payload of supercooled subatomic particles can snap-freeze a target in place, making it vulnerable to extra damage.

• Recharge Time: 1.50 seconds
• Duration: Lasts until overridden by another ammo power.
• Freeze Duration: 4.00 seconds

Rank 3 - This ammo's payload of supercooled subatomic particles can snap-freeze a target in place, making it vulnerable to extra damage.

• Recharge Time: 1.50 seconds
• Duration: Lasts until overridden by another ammo power.
• Freeze Duration: 5.00 seconds

Rank 4

Evolves Cryo Ammo into one of the following options:

Improved Cryo Ammo

• The apex of cryogenic rounds, this ammunition freezes targets more frequently and for a longer duration.
  • Recharge Time: 1.50 seconds
  • Duration: Lasts until overridden by another ammo power.
  • Freeze Duration: 7.00 seconds

Squad Cryo Ammo

• Your entire squad gains the cryo ammo's effects, letting you incapacitate large groups or relentlessly hammer one target.
  • Recharge Time: 1.50 seconds
  • Duration: Lasts until overridden by another ammo power.
  • Freeze Duration: 5.00 seconds

Player Notes

• The freezing effect will work on any enemy with a health bar once all other protection layers (shields, barriers, or armor) are removed.
• Freeze Effects: Cryo Blast and the M-622 Avalanche heavy weapon can also freeze enemies. The freezing effect in Mass Effect 2 has several universal properties and mechanics; for a full list, see the notes section of the Cryo Blast page. The rest of the notes on this page cover only features of Cryo Ammo that are unique to the ammo power.
• Using Squad Cryo Ammo is the only method of granting your teammates Cryo Ammo, as it is an ability exclusive to Shepard.
• The chance to freeze does not increase from the first three ranks of Cryo Ammo. Even the increased chance to freeze from Improved Cryo Ammo is barely noticeable with any weapon. Unless you really want increased freeze duration from this power, it's better to either leave it at level 1 or invest in Squad Cryo Ammo.
• Certain weapons need fewer shots to trigger the freeze. Usually weapons with a low rate of fire have a higher chance-per-round to freeze than rapid fire weapons such as SMGs.
  • The M-96 Mattock requires only one round to freeze enemies making it one of the most effective weapons to use with Cryo Ammo. All heavy pistols have a very high chance to freeze on a single shot. This is particularly lethal against Husks as they are instantly killed once frozen.
  • The chance for shotguns to trigger the freeze appears to be "per pellet", so most are fairly effective at ranges where all or most pellets hit home. Also, shotguns are unique in that they can trigger the freeze effect "through protections"— if the damage from a single shot destroys the last enemy protection layer with some of its pellets and then damages the health underneath with the rest, the freeze can trigger. Note that the Geth Plasma Shotgun is an exception to this as it doesn't fire standard pellets.

Availability

• Soldier
• Infiltrator
• Vanguard

Mass Effect 3

Power Ranks

Rank 1: Cryo Ammo

Flash-freeze and shatter unprotected enemies. Slow down the rest.

Weaken armor.
Frozen targets won't regenerate health.

• Freeze Duration: 3 sec
• Movement Speed: -15%
• Armor Weakening: -25%

Rank 2: Freeze Chance

Improve the odds of freezing a target by 30%.

Rank 3: Freeze Duration

Increase freeze duration by 40%.

• Freeze Duration: 4.20 sec
• Movement Speed: -15%
• Armor Weakening: -25%

Rank 4: Freeze Duration/Squad Bonus

Freeze Duration Increase freeze duration by 40%. Freeze Duration: 5.90 sec Movement Speed: -15% Armor Weakening: -25%

Squad Bonus Squadmates gain Cryo Ammo at 50% effectiveness.

Rank 5: Ammo Capacity/Headshots

Ammo Capacity Increase ammo capacity by 30%.

Headshots Increase headshot damage to frozen enemies by 35%.

Rank 6: Freeze Chance/Damage Combo

Freeze Chance Improve the odds of freezing a target by 50%. Decrease a frozen target's movement speed by an additional 20%. Freeze Duration: 5.90 sec (Freeze Duration), 4.20 sec (Squad Bonus) Movement Speed: -35% Armor Weakening: -25%

Damage Combo Increase damage to frozen targets from all sources by 50%. Weaken the armor of chilled targets by 25%. Freeze Duration: 5.90 sec (Freeze Duration), 4.20 sec (Squad Bonus) Movement Speed: -15% Armor Weakening: -50%

Player Notes

Mechanics

• Freeze: Cryo Ammo is only able to totally freeze most unprotected (red bar) targets.
  • Fully frozen enemies are also "primed" for a Cryo Explosion that—if detonated by the right follow-up power—can deal heavy damage and freeze other nearby unprotected targets. All of the classes that possess Cryo Ammo can self-execute these combos.
  • The freezing process takes about 1.8 seconds, during which enemies can still act. Unlike in Mass Effect 2, it's less likely for enemies to successfully attack you while freezing. After the freeze duration runs, it takes about the same length of time for an enemy to thaw and recover to where it can attack you again.
  • Re-applying Cryo Ammo or any other freezing effect will not refresh the duration of a freeze; only once an enemy starts thawing can it then be re-frozen.
  • Unlike in Mass Effect 2, frozen enemies are not more vulnerable to damage by default.
• Chill: Protected or otherwise un-freezable enemies hit by Cryo Ammo-enhanced weapons have a chance to become chilled. This effect applies regardless of enemy protections.
  • The chill effect is visible on most enemies as a white sheen of frost.
  • By default, the chill effect will slow the movement speed of targets by 15%.
  • Though not stated in the description explicitly, increases to Cryo Ammo's duration apply to the chill as well as to the freeze.
  • Enemies do not grow resistant or immune to chill effects with repeated use.
  • The chill effect does not slow the speed of special enemy movement abilities such as a Banshee's teleport, a Brute's charge, a Praetorian's leap, or the bombing run of a Geth Bomber.
• Armor Reduction: Like Cryo Blast, Cryo Ammo reduces the effectiveness of the armor protecting targets like Atlases, Ravagers and Geth Pyros, but does not enable superior penetration of armor-plated targets such as Marauder-buffed Cannibals and Husks.
  • The armor weakening effect is party-friendly: it creates a short-duration debuff (lasting about two seconds) that other players or squadmates can benefit from. However, unlike Warp Ammo, this armor weakening effect is not guaranteed to occur on every shot but rather appears to be based on chance.
  • The armor-weakening effect of Cryo Rounds in multiplayer also benefits allies.
• The rank 5 Ammo Capacity evolution only applies on the active ammo power. Switching to another ammo power will remove the extra ammunition even if both have the capacity boost.
• The rank 5 Headshots evolution only applies the bonus headshot damage against unprotected (red bar) targets. The bonus damage can apply even when shooting at the head of a target that is not yet frozen or starting to freeze, provided that the ammo effect triggers on shooting. For example, a single headshot from the M-5 Phalanx will deal no bonus damage to a Assault Trooper if the trooper wasn't already freezing or fully frozen, unless the freeze effect triggered from that shot. All follow-up headshots against a freezing/frozen target will deal bonus damage.
• As the description states, the rank 6 Damage Combo evolution increases the damage done to frozen targets from all sources, including weapons fire, powers, melee damage, and Power Combos. This applies only to targets that are frozen or in the process of freezing, not to targets that are merely chilled (i.e. protected targets). This is in contrast to how the Frozen Vulnerability and Cryo Explosion evolutions of Cryo Blast work, as those do apply to chilled targets.
• None of Cryo Ammo's effects gain any improvement from power damage upgrades of any type.
• Certain weapons have a much higher chance-per-shot to trigger the effects of Cryo Ammo than others.
  • Weapons that have a high chance-per-shot to trigger Cryo Ammo include the Executioner Pistol, Acolyte, Kishock Harpoon Gun, M-12 Locust, M-11 Wraith, M-97 Viper, M-22 Eviscerator, M-99 Saber, M-6 Carnifex, M-77 Paladin, N7 Hurricane, N7 Valiant, Black Widow, and M-98 Widow.
  • Additionally, most weapons that fire explosive projectiles such as the Krysae Sniper Rifle and the M-37 Falcon assault rifle have a high chance to trigger Cryo Ammo. With the exception of the Scorpion, these weapons can chill or freeze multiple opponents with a single shot.
  • Weapons that fire multiple "pellets" per shot such as most shotguns and the M-358 Talon also trigger Cryo Ammo more often. There is also no limit on the number of targets that can be chilled or frozen by a single shot.
• The "50% effectiveness" of the Squad Bonus evolution of Cryo Ammo applies to its ability to freeze or chill targets. The chance for a given shot to freeze or chill is reduced, necessitating more hits on average before the effect triggers.

Availability

• Single-player: Infiltrator, Soldier, Vanguard
• Multiplayer: N/A