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The M-27 Scimitar Assault Shotgun is a shotgun in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.

Mass Effect 2[]

Description[]

An elite military shotgun capable of rapid fire, this weapon is deadly at short range, but ineffective at long range. Effective against shields and biotic barriers, but weak against armor. Upgrades the Katana Shotgun.

Manufactured by Ariake Technologies, the Scimitar features twin mass effect generators, giving it a more rapid rate of fire than a traditional shotgun. This weapon was created for the Eclipse mercenary band, but is rapidly becoming popular with Blood Pack mercs, as well.

Acquisition[]

Found during Samara's recruitment mission on Illium. It is located in the room with a weapons locker, after taking the elevator to the mercenary base, and fighting through the first wave of Eclipse mercenaries. The room also has a hallway that leads to Elnora's hiding place. If the first Scimitar is missed, a second one can be found in the room prior to the Gunship fight. A third M-27 Scimitar can be found after your encounter with Niftu Cal, just before the final encounter with Captain Wasea. 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 Grunt, Jack, Jacob and Tali.

Player Notes[]

  • The Scimitar is capable of fully automatic fire, but its firing rate while the trigger is held is actually slower than the maximum possible firing rate if the trigger is repeatedly pulled in semi-automatic fashion.
  • The Scimitar's high rate of fire and increased ammo capacity give it a greater damage-per-second (DPS) on paper than any other shotgun, even against armor. However, achieving this rate of damage requires sustained, uninterrupted fire at nearly point-blank range.
  • This weapon favours aggressive playstyles. Players that prefer a more cautious/defensive playstyle (such as popping out of cover to snap off a shot) may find the other shotguns more effective, as they all do more damage per individual shot than the Scimitar.
  • The Scimitar lacks the range of the M-22 Eviscerator, making it less effective at longer ranges.
  • Equipping the Scimitar with an ammo power such as Incendiary Ammunition can help compensate for the Scimitar's shortcomings against armor.
  • The Scimitar is one of the better weapons for taking on mass Husks. On higher difficulties where Husks possess armor, it can reliably remove their protections with two solid hits, and the large magazine size, ample spare ammo, and good firing rate is forgiving and reliable against the erratically moving foes.

Mass Effect 3[]

Description[]

Manufactured by Ariake Technologies, the Scimitar features twin mass effect generators, giving it a more rapid rate of fire than a traditional shotgun. This weapon was created for the Eclipse mercenary band, but is rapidly becoming popular with Blood Pack mercs as well.

Acquisition[]

Single-player

The M-27 Scimitar can be found during the mission Priority: Palaven, on the ground near the exit to the comm tower in the turian base camp. 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-27 Scimitar is categorized as uncommon and requires no multiplayer expansion packs.

Player Notes[]

General
  • The Scimitar is technically a fully automatic shotgun, but it can be fired much faster when the trigger is pulled repeatedly as if it were a semi-automatic weapon.
  • The Scimitar is one of the lightest shotguns, weighing the same as the M-22 Eviscerator and the M-15 Vindicator assault rifle. Only the Disciple is lighter among the shotguns.
  • The Scimitar has an eight shot capacity and a good amount of reserve ammo. The large magazine makes it more suitable for sustained combat, whereas most shotguns force the user to retreat after firing to reload. This also makes it a little more forgiving of missed shots.
  • The main weakness of the Scimitar is its relatively low damage-per-shot for a shotgun, requiring more shots on average to kill targets.
  • The Scimitar's shot scatters in a roughly X-shaped pattern. It's recommended to mod it with the Shotgun Smart Choke to tighten the spread, increasing the weapon's effective range and making it easier to concentrate damage on enemy heads or weak points.
  • Aiming down sights (zooming) changes the reticle to a more easily visible circle, but this has no impact on the spread or accuracy of the weapon. As with most shotguns, firing from cover likewise provides no benefit to accuracy.
  • The Marksman power is one of the only ways to improve the accuracy of a shotgun outside of equipping the Smart Choke mod, and it is particularly devastating in tandem with the Scimitar thanks to the weapon's large magazine size, minimizing the amount of time spent reloading. Combining Marksman with the Smart Choke concentrates the Scimitar's spread to the point where all of the pellets will remain tightly grouped even at very long ranges.
  • The Scimitar, like all conventional shotguns, suffers very little damage loss from shield gates and so is very effective against shielded infantry; however, it will deal very little damage to armored targets like Brutes especially on higher difficulties unless mods like the Shotgun High-Velocity Barrel or the Shotgun Shredder Mod are equipped, certain ammo powers/ammo bonuses are used, or enemy armor is weakened by powers such as Warp or Cryo Blast.

Single-player
  • For Soldier and Vanguard player classes, Incendiary Ammo's rank 6 Explosive Burst evolution effect is very effective with the Scimitar, as each individual pellet has a chance to trigger the effect, and the Scimitar has one of the fastest rates of fire of any shotgun.

Multiplayer
  • The Scimitar's effectiveness with the Marksman power can make it a good option for the Quarian Marksman Soldier or the Turian Soldier; the latter can benefit from the stability bonuses available to the turian classes. High level Armor-Piercing Rounds allow for rapid takedowns of hard targets and eliminates the need for using a piercing mod.

Trivia[]

  • The Scimitar is likely named after a type of sword.
  • In the first Mass Effect game, the Scimitar line of shotguns were manufactured by Elkoss Combine. The change of manufacturer in Mass Effect 2 is likely to be an error, given that Ariake Technologies generally incorporates Japanese terms in their equipment naming.
  • The appearance of the Scimitar line of shotguns resembles the default shotgun from Mass Effect, but with a more substantial rear portion.
  • The Scimitar line of shotguns in Mass Effect were red with white stripes whereas the Mass Effect 2 version has a solid white color.
  • If Samara's recruitment mission is completed and the M-27 Scimitar shotgun isn't obtained at any of the three places that it can be found, an erroneous popup message occurs about receiving an M-15 Vindicator after talking with Samara in the Police Station. No Vindicator is awarded; the M-27 Scimitar is the actual reward and this will be noted correctly in the mission summary.
  • There is an occasional bug associated with the Scimitar in Mass Effect 2. Sometimes when switching from the Scimitar to a pistol or SMG, these two weapons will keep the Scimitar's firing and reloading animations.
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