M-97 Viper

The M-97 Viper is a sniper rifle in Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, and Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Mass Effect 2

M-97 Viper
General Stats
Type	Sniper Rifle
Location	Illium
Accuracy	High
Recoil	Low
Fire Mode	Semi-Automatic
Fire Rate	240 RPM
Ammo Per Clip	12
Damage & Bonus Multipliers
Base	81.9
Armor	×1.35
Shields	×1.15
Barrier	×1.15
Spare Ammo Capacity
Default	48
Armor Pack	52
Upgraded	N/A
Both	N/A
Pickup Amount (Min - Max)	4 - 9 (LE: 21 - 36)

Description

Rapid-fire military sniper rifle. Incredibly accurate and deadly at long range, these weapons are popular amongst infiltrators and assassins. Very effective against armor; somewhat effective against shields and biotic barriers. Upgrades the Mantis Sniper Rifle.

Rosenkov Materials developed this deadly weapon in response to the rising prevalence of kinetic barriers. While kinetic barriers still offer some protection from this weapon, its sheer power and rapid rate of fire make it capable of quickly killing almost any target, regardless of its defenses.

Acquisition

The M-97 can be found during Thane's recruitment mission, near the service elevator that takes you to the bridge. The rifle is in a dead-end corridor, to the right of the elevator, when your back is against its door.

If missed, it can be also acquired later in the same mission, next to the Comm Terminal just before going to the roof. 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 Garrus, Legion, Thane, and Zaeed. Squadmates deal 35% less damage than Shepard.

Player Notes

• While the M-97 Viper does less damage per shot than the M-92 Mantis, it features automatic fire, a twelve round clip and a relatively large spare ammo capacity. These factors recommend against using the Viper for one-shot kills at higher difficulties; it is better suited to serving as a marksman rifle.
• Similar to the M-100 Grenade Launcher and M-3 Predator, the Viper can fire much faster if the trigger is repeatedly pressed as opposed to held down.
• When fired, the Viper kicks back, but the crosshair quickly returns back to its original position on its own. However, when fired at its maximum rate, there isn't enough time for this self-stabilization to keep shots on target. This can be compensated for by pulling aim down slightly while firing. Adrenaline Rush negates this instability, and the time slowdown from the Infiltrator's class power makes it easier to manually compensate.
• Despite having automatic fire it's not a good idea to shoot this weapon "from the hip," because like all sniper rifles, the Viper suffers a huge accuracy penalty when firing non-scoped shots out of cover.
• While not as efficient as the M-92 Mantis or M-98 Widow in the role of soft-target interdiction, the M-97 Viper can still kill lower ranked enemies with two or three shots to the head.
• If you are able to maintain the full rate of fire on a target without exposing yourself to much return damage, the Viper can outperform most other weapons at range against armored targets, especially if landing headshots. This works especially well against large or slow targets like krogan, Scions, YMIR Mechs, and gunships where the loss of stability from fully automatic fire doesn't result in missed shots.
• Squad members do not take advantage of the Viper's full rate of fire and will instead fire a few shots at about the same rate of fire as they fire the M-6 Carnifex before going back to cover.

Mass Effect 3

M-97 Viper
Type	Sniper Rifle
Location	Priority: Palaven
Fire Mode	Semi-Automatic
Weight	60%
Capacity	18%
Fire Rate	9%
Damage	41%
Accuracy	83%
Ammunition
Clip Size	6
Reserve	36
Type	Sniper Rifle
Location	Multiplayer Store
Fire Mode	Semi-Automatic
Weight	50%
Capacity	18%
Fire Rate	9%
Damage	41%
Accuracy	83%
Ammunition
Clip Size	6
Reserve	36

Description

The Viper is a semi-automatic, rapid-fire sniper rifle manufactured by Rosenkov Materials. Rosenkov developed a patented automated-release system that assists with thermal-clip ejection, shortening the Viper's reload time. This rifle is popular with military snipers, who appreciate a long-range gun that can snap off multiple shots in the blink of an eye.

Acquisition

Single-player

The M-97 Viper is found during the mission Priority: Palaven, on top of a crate in the center of the first base. 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-97 Viper is categorized as uncommon and requires no multiplayer expansion packs.

Player Notes

• General
• Single-player

General

• The Viper differs from its Mass Effect 2 version, firing much more slowly but dealing more damage per shot.
• The Viper serves as a middle ground between the M-13 Raptor and the M-92 Mantis, doing more damage per shot than the former at about the same weight, and firing faster than the latter. Its weight is low enough that it can be a good option for power-focused characters, especially once upgraded.
• The Viper is very comparable in almost all respects to the M-6 Carnifex heavy pistol, which is basically a pocket-size Viper that lacks the precision long range accuracy provided by the Viper's built-in scope while being less awkward to use in close range engagements.
• The M-99 Saber is a semi-automatic assault rifle that functions similarly to the Viper, dealing much more damage per shot but weighing more as well.
• The Viper's decent firing rate, fast reload, and good-sized clip of 6 shots allow it to rapidly kill infantry with headshots. When upgraded and modded appropriately it can still take down moderately protected enemies with 2-4 hits to the head, with the first hit to the head often causing enemies to flinch, making successive shots easier.
• The Viper suffers a lower damage penalty for firing without the scope than other sniper rifles, making it more useful for emergency use at close range where scoping isn't practical.
• Because the Viper has relatively low damage per shot for a sniper rifle, it is less effective against armored foes unless their armor is weakened significantly by powers like Warp or Cryo Blast, a piercing mod is equipped, or anti-armor ammo augmentations are used.
• The Viper has a fairly high chance of triggering the secondary effects of certain ammo powers, like Cryo Ammo's freeze, with a single shot.
• The Viper is one of the few sniper rifles, along with the M-90 Indra, that has a clip size large enough to make it effective in tandem with Marksman. The rate of fire bonuses can greatly improve its effectiveness.

Single-player

• Like the Raptor and the Indra, a high level Viper is a very lightweight option for seeing through smoke screens with the Sniper Rifle Enhanced Scope, making it handy for any class, but especially players that want to keep their power recharge times low.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Viper
General Info
Category	Sniper Rifles
Rarity	Common (I-X) Rare (S)
Tech Type
Mod Slots	2
Base Stats
Damage	249-423
Rate of Fire	90
Max Clip Size	3
Max Ammo	24-30
Accuracy	70-88
Weight	50-25
Base Stats
Damage	321-427
Rate of Fire	90
Max Clip Size	3
Max Ammo	24-30
Accuracy	70-88
Weight	50-25
Special Edition Stats
Damage	650-780
Rate of Fire	90-93
Max Clip Size	3
Max Ammo	30-38
Accuracy	70-88
Weight	50-25
Bulwark
Damage Resistance (1 Ally): 15-25 Damage Resistance (2 Allies): 22-37 Damage Resistance (3 Allies): 30-50
Concussive
Area Damage: 800-1500 Radius (m): 7.50
Siphon
% Damage Returned as Health: 3-3.75 % Heal Bonus per kill: 4.5 Kill Streak Duration (s): 7 Max. Kill Bonus: 3

Description

The Viper is a rapid-fire rifle popular with military snipers who appreciated a long-range gun that could snap off multiple shots in a short period. Rosenkov Materials sold a considerable number of Vipers to the Initiative at a discount in return for undisclosed favors from Initiative founder Jien Garson.

Features

The multiplayer S variant gained substantial boosts to damage, rate of fire, and max ammo in the very last multiplayer update. Its reload time can also decrease to 2.4 seconds as it ranks up, rather than a flat 2.5 seconds on all ranks.

Stats

• Singleplayer
• Multiplayer I-X
• Multiplayer S

Singleplayer

Rank	Damage	Rate of Fire	Max Clip Size	Max Ammo	Accuracy	Weight
I	249	90	3	24	70	50
II	268	90	3	25	75	47
III	288	90	3	25	78	44
IV	307	90	3	26	81	42
V	326	90	3	27	82	39
VI	346	90	3	27	84	36
VII	365	90	3	28	85	33
VIII	385	90	3	29	86	31
IX	404	90	3	29	87	28
X	423	90	3	30	88	25

Multiplayer I-X

Rank	Damage	Rate of Fire	Max Clip Size	Max Ammo	Accuracy	Weight
I	321	90	3	24	70	50
II	333	90	3	25	75	47
III	345	90	3	25	78	44
IV	356	90	3	26	81	42
V	368	90	3	27	82	39
VI	380	90	3	27	84	36
VII	392	90	3	28	85	33
VIII	403	90	3	29	86	31
IX	415	90	3	29	87	28
X	427	90	3	30	88	25

Multiplayer S

Rank	Damage	Rate of Fire	Max Clip Size	Max Ammo	Accuracy	Weight
I	650	90	3	30	70	50
II	664	90	3	31	75	47
III	677	90	3	31	78	44
IV	691	91	3	32	81	42
V	704	91	3	33	82	39
VI	718	91	3	33	84	36
VII	731	92	3	34	85	33
VIII	745	92	3	35	86	31
IX	758	92	3	35	87	28
X	780	93	3	38	88	25

Development

Rank	Blueprint Unlocked	Omni-Gel Canister	Iron	Nickel	Vanadium	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

• While the M-97 looks nearly identical to the alternate sniper rifle from Mass Effect, the barrel shroud's holes pass horizontally instead of vertically.
• Mass Effect: Andromeda doesn't use the M-97 designation that prior Mass Effect games use for this sniper rifle.