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The M-6 Carnifex is a heavy pistol in Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, and a pistol in Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Mass Effect 2[]

Description[]

Highly accurate and lethal sidearm. Effective against armor; weak against shields and biotic barriers. Upgrades the Predator heavy pistol.

The Carnifex is a favored sidearm of mercenary leaders and Eclipse mercenary tech specialists. An expensive but powerful weapon. Its marketing materials feature a charging krogan with the slogan "Don't you wish Carnifex was at your side?"

Acquisition[]

The M-6 can be obtained while recruiting Mordin Solus on Omega. Mordin gives it to Shepard when the Commander arrives at the med clinic and mentions that it was recovered from a dead Blue Suns mercenary.

Squad Use[]

This weapon can be used by Jack, Jacob, Miranda, Mordin, Tali, Kasumi, Liara and Wilson.

Player Notes[]

  • Although dealing increased damage over the M-3 Predator, the M-6 has:
    • A slower firing rate;
    • Much more recoil and a slower recovery rate; and
    • Less magazine and spare ammo capacity.
  • Using Cryo Ammo may help to offset the Carnifex's very low ammo supply, as frozen enemies take twice as much damage and therefore fewer shots to kill. Like most pistols, the Carnifex has a high chance of triggering the secondary effects of ammo powers per shot.
  • Headshots can also compensate for the weapon's low spare ammunition. The Carnifex is highly accurate when the player is not moving and aiming down sights (zoomed). While moving and not aimed down sights, it is highly inaccurate.
  • The Carnifex can never be as accurate as the M-5 Phalanx with its laser sight active, which is perfectly accurate at all ranges; however, the Carnifex does have a higher rate of fire.
  • The Carnifex 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 rapidly pulled in semi-automatic fashion.
  • The Carnifex is in general the best heavy pistol option for squadmates as they deal the most damage with it compared to the alternative options, and they are unaffected by the weapon's inaccuracy, recoil, or low spare ammo count.

Mass Effect 3[]

Description[]

A highly accurate and lethal pistol. The Carnifex is a favored sidearm of mercenary leaders and Eclipse mercenary tech specialists. An expensive but powerful weapon, its marketing materials feature a charging krogan with the slogan "Don't you wish Carnifex was at your side?"

Acquisition[]

Single-player

The M-6 Carnifex is found during the mission Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists, on a pipe in the tunnel with red lighting, immediately after climbing the ladder that leads to the rooftop where Shepard fixes the AA guns. 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-6 Carnifex is categorized as rare and requires no multiplayer expansion packs.

Player Notes[]

General
  • The Carnifex is one of the more powerful heavy pistols, capable of killing unprotected infantry enemies with a few headshots.
  • Even without the Pistol Scope, the Carnifex is very accurate up to medium ranges, especially when fired from cover.
  • With the scope mod, the Carnifex can be utilized to fill the role of a long-range sniping weapon that easily does more damage per shot than some semi-automatic sniper rifles such as the M-97 Viper or M-13 Raptor. This can provide a lightweight solution to handling enemies at range while still maintaining the ability to deal with nearby threats without worrying about the damage and accuracy penalties that a sniper rifle would suffer for firing unscoped.
  • The Carnifex is powerful enough to be effective against enemy armor with the Pistol Piercing Mod, or if enemy armor is sufficiently weakened through some other means. The piercing attribute is also useful for dealing with Guardians and shooting enemies through cover.
  • The Carnifex is very similar to the M-77 Paladin in most respects including weight. The Paladin deals more damage per shot, but the Carnifex has double the magazine size, able to fire six shots before having to reload compared with the Paladin's three. The Carnifex also carries significantly more reserve clips.

Multiplayer
  • In an update, the Carnifex had its weight increased from 50 to 70 (identical to the Paladin), potentially making it less viable for power-intensive classes.

Mass Effect: Andromeda[]

Description[]

A heavy semi-automatic pistol, the powerful Carnifex was the preferred choice of Milky Way mercenaries. An expensive weapon, its marketing materials featured a charging krogan alongside the tagline "Don't you wish Carnifex was at your side?"

Features[]

Post-launch, the Carnifex gained improvements to damage, clip size, and max ammo. Damage in particular was adjusted thrice.

Strategies[]

Stats[]

Singleplayer
Rank Damage Rate of Fire Max Clip Size Max Ammo Accuracy Weight
I 190 100 8 56 57 10
II 203 100 8 58 61 9
III 217 100 8 59 64 9
IV 230 100 8 61 66 8
V 244 100 8 62 67 8
VI 257 100 8 64 68 7
VII 271 100 8 65 69 7
VIII 284 100 8 67 70 6
IX 297 100 8 68 71 6
X 311 100 8 70 71 5

Multiplayer
Rank Damage Rate of Fire Max Clip Size Max Ammo Accuracy Weight
I 308 100 8 56 57 10
II 314 100 8 58 61 9
III 323 100 8 59 64 9
IV 331 100 8 61 66 8
V 340 100 8 62 67 8
VI 349 100 8 64 68 7
VII 358 100 8 65 69 7
VIII 366 100 8 67 70 6
IX 375 100 8 68 71 6
X 384 100 8 70 71 5

Development[]

Rank Rd icon milkyway orange Blueprint Unlocked Omni-gel canister icon Omni-Gel Canister Iron icon Iron Lithium icon Lithium Element zero icon Element Zero MEA Augmentation Slot For Tables Augmentation Slots
I Level 1 20 80 40 10 0
II Level 6 20 90 40 10 2
III Level 11 20 100 50 10 2
IV Level 21 30 110 50 10 2
V Level 31 30 130 60 20 2
VI Level 41 30 140 70 20 2
VII Level 51 30 145 70 20 2
VIII Level 61 40 150 70 20 2
IX Level 71 40 155 70 20 2
X Level 81 40 160 80 20 2
Total N/A 300 1260 600 160 N/A

Trivia[]

  • Carnifex means "butcher" in Latin - literally, "a maker of meat". Due to the tendency to employ butchers as public executioners, the word carnifex shifted from its original meaning and came to mean both a butcher and an executioner.
  • The appearance is based on the alternate pistol in Mass Effect.
  • The pistol has "Magnus" (Latin for "great") written on its side. This is a possible reference to highly powerful 'magnum' cartridges, which are enlarged versions of other existing cartridges, and possess immense stopping power.
  • The M-77 Paladin and M-11 Suppressor are variants of the Carnifex.
  • During Mass Effect 3, in the course of unsuccessfully trying to persuade Mordin Solus to sabotage the genophage cure, the Commander threatens him with a Carnifex, the same weapon Mordin offered Shepard as a sign of goodwill in Mass Effect 2. This happens regardless of which pistol the Commander has equipped at the time.
  • The gun has a dial on the side with "Auto" written next to it, suggesting that the weapon can be fired full auto. This can be seen when modding in Mass Effect 3.
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda doesn't use the M-6 designation that prior Mass Effect games use for this pistol.
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