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The M-12 Locust is a submachine gun in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.

Mass Effect 2[]

Description[]

The Kassa Fabrications Model 12 Locust is a compact submachine gun developed for the Alliance but now favored by gang enforcers and hitmen. Featuring a complex recoil-reducing mechanism and high-grade autotargeting software, the Locust delivers longer-range, more accurate fire than others in its class.

Acquisition[]

The M-12 Locust can be found during Kasumi's loyalty mission in Donovan Hock's vault on the table with the graybox. If the weapon is not picked up, it will be awarded at the end of the mission. Kasumi refers to it as "the gun that killed two presidents."

Note: The Locust is not carried over from one imported game to the next. This is somewhat mitigated by its acquisition mission being available right after Freedom's Progress. This is not an issue in the Legendary Edition.

Squad Use[]

This weapon can be used by Miranda, Mordin, Samara/Morinth, Thane, Kasumi, Liara and Dr. Amanda Kenson.

Player Notes[]

  • Although it has lower clip capacity, fire rate, and damage output compared to the M-9 Tempest, the Locust makes up for it by being extremely accurate at longer ranges and having virtually no muzzle climb.
  • Like the M-22 Eviscerator shotgun, the Locust sacrifices some of its penetration power against shields and barriers in exchange for extra damage against armor, making it a more balanced general combat weapon than the Tempest. Also, its high accuracy gives it higher damage potential for the player at range, as enemy heads or weak points can be hit much more consistently.
  • Like the Tempest, the Locust is a definite upgrade over the M-4 Shuriken for the player.
  • Squadmates do more damage with both the M-4 Shuriken and the Tempest as they don't suffer any accuracy issues such as recoil and bullet spread; they also do not go out of their way to aim for enemy heads or weak points. Their rate of fire with the Locust is quite low, though this can have the advantage that they will expose themselves to enemy fire less.
  • The damage rate of the Locust exceeds that of many assault rifles such as the M-8 Avenger, Geth Pulse Rifle, and Collector Assault Rifle. The M-15 Vindicator and the M-96 Mattock have higher DPS but much lower overall total ammo and magazine capacities. This should be considered before choosing assault rifle training on the Collector Ship.

Mass Effect 3[]

Description[]

The Kassa Fabrications Model-12 Locust is a compact submachine gun developed for the Alliance but now favored by gang enforcers and hit men. Featuring a complex recoil-reducing mechanism and high-grade auto-targeting software, the Locust delivers longer range, more accurate fire than others in its class.

Acquisition[]

Singleplayer

The M-12 Locust can be found during the mission Priority: Horizon, on a table before the terminal showing the proof that Henry Lawson works for the Illusive Man. It is also purchasable from Kassa Fabrication post-mission if it was missed.

Multiplayer

Weapons are randomly rewarded through purchases of item packs. The M-12 Locust is categorized as uncommon and requires no multiplayer expansion packs.

Player Notes[]

General
  • The Locust has an average weight, moderately slow rate of fire, and average clip capacity; its standout features are its high accuracy and stability.
    • The Locust is in about the same class as the M-9 Tempest. The two weapons are of similar weight, but the Tempest features a higher rate of fire while the Locust is more precise and controllable. Both weapons are out-performed in the damage department by the heavier SMGs.
    • The Locust is basically the only SMG worth equipping with the SMG Scope as its recoil is low enough that it can still be kept on target fairly easily with the view zoomed. This, combined with even greater accuracy, can make the Locust capable of consistently landing headshots even at long range.
  • Despite its low rate of fire, the Locust has an above-average chance-per-shot of triggering the Power Combo-priming effects of cryo and disruptor ammo powers/ammo bonuses. This, combined with its accuracy, makes the Locust effective at painting targets for combos or freezing them.

Single-player
  • Unlike with most submachine guns, squadmates using the Locust will keep their distance from the enemy instead of closing in. They deal negligible damage with the weapon, firing only a few shots before ducking back into cover. This can be used strategically to minimize a fragile squad member's exposure to enemy fire.
  • SMG Ultralight Materials and the SMG Scope can make the Locust a good "bare minimum" sidearm for the player, not affecting power recharge times, but accurate enough to handle rare but important tasks like shooting out Cerberus Shield Pylons from a distance or destroying the latches on power control boxes in missions that require it, especially if the other equipped weapons aren't the best for such tasks. Having at least two weapons can be helpful for getting ammo powers properly assigned on the right weapons within the squad.

Multiplayer
  • Following an update, the Locust now has a 3x headshot multiplier instead of the usual 2.5x, and its damage output overall has also been increased.
  • When the Locust is used by a turian multiplayer character with points invested in the passive class power to increase stability and in conjunction with a SMG Scope, recoil is almost negligible and otherwise very predictable, without the need to also equip Stabilization Modules. The remaining recoil is easily countered allowing for rapid easy headshots even at long range.

Trivia[]

  • The Locust makes considerably less noise and has a much smaller muzzle flash than other SMGs. This may be because it is meant to be a suppressed weapon, which fits in with its in-game description as a weapon favored by hitmen and assassins.
  • Despite a vertical fore grip being integrated into the design of the Locust, there is no animation for any character in Mass Effect 2 or Mass Effect 3 utilizing this specific feature of the weapon.
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