Sandstorm

Sandstorm
General Info
Category	Assault Rifles
Rarity	Rare
Tech Type
Mod Slots	2
Base Stats
Damage	148-234
Rate of Fire	210
Max Clip Size	14
Max Ammo	126-158
Accuracy	68-85
Weight	35-18
Base Stats
Damage	450-540
Rate of Fire	100
Max Clip Size	12
Max Ammo	120-150
Accuracy	68-85
Weight	35-18
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

The Sandstorm is an assault rifle in Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Description

A highly accurate rifle, the Sandstorm was developed by exiles from the Nexus after their arrival in Heleus. The design of the semi-automatic weapon has been streamlined and appears to adapt certain non-Initiative technologies.

Features

The Sandstorm is the only weapon in the game besides sniper rifles to have a built-in scope. While this does provide a significant accuracy boost, the severe restrictions on peripheral vision it imposes on the shooter make it unsuited for close quarters combat.

The singleplayer Sandstorm Ranks I-IX uses Vanadium for development while Rank X uses Element Zero.

Compared to most weapons, the multiplayer Sandstorm saw numerous reductions to its stats due to its power. Its damage increased as of the very last update, though its clip size, max ammo, and rate of fire are all diminished. Its reload time is actually increased from 1.5 seconds to 1.6 seconds.

Strategies

• For a semi-automatic assault rifle, it has a large clip and a lot of reserve ammo.
• Because it is unsuited for the frantic nature of close-quarters battle, it is best treated as a designated marksman's rifle, dealing with threats from mid- to long-range.

• Singleplayer
• Multiplayer

Singleplayer

• A common augmentation to use with the Sandstorm is the Beam Emitter. The Beam Emitter essentially converts the weapon to fully automatic, while eliminating any recoil, and makes full use of the weapon's extreme damage per second, which is designed to be limited by its normally semi-automatic rate of fire. The downside of the Beam Emitter is the high ammunition consumption, which the weapon is not designed for.

Multiplayer

Stats

• Singleplayer
• Multiplayer

Singleplayer

Rank	Damage	Rate of Fire	Max Clip Size	Max Ammo	Accuracy	Weight
I	148	210	14	126	68	35
II	158	210	14	130	73	33
III	167	210	14	133	76	31
IV	177	210	14	137	78	29
V	186	210	14	140	56	23
VI	196	210	14	144	81	25
VII	206	210	14	147	82	23
VIII	215	210	14	151	83	21
IX	225	210	14	154	84	19
X	234	210	14	158	85	18

Multiplayer

Rank	Damage	Rate of Fire	Max Clip Size	Max Ammo	Accuracy	Weight
I	450	100	12	120	68	35
II	460	100	12	122	73	33
III	470	100	12	125	76	31
IV	480	100	12	129	78	29
V	490	100	12	132	80	28
VI	500	100	12	136	81	25
VII	510	100	12	139	82	23
VIII	520	100	12	143	83	21
IX	530	100	12	146	84	19
X	540	100	12	150	85	18

Development

Rank	Research Cost	Omni-Gel Canister	Beryllium	Lithium	Vanadium	Augmentation Slots
I	125	20	100	50	10	0
II	140	30	110	50	10	3
III	155	30	130	60	20	3
IV	170	30	140	70	20	3
V	185	40	160	80	20	3
VI	200	40	170	80	20	3
VII	215	40	180	80	20	3
VIII	230	40	190	90	20	3
IX	245	50	190	90	20	3

Rank	Research Cost	Omni-Gel Canister	Beryllium	Lithium	Element Zero	Augmentation Slots
X	260	50	200	100	20	3
Total	1925	370	1570	750	20 (Ez) 160 (V)	N/A

Trivia

• Although the Sandstorm is stated to be an Exile invention, it sees widespread use among the rabidly xenophobic Roekaar as their standard infantry armament. No explanation is ever given why the Roekaar have such a preference for something developed by some their worst enemies, nor where or how they acquired their extensive stockpiles of Sandstorm rifles.
• Similarly, Vederia Damali wields a Sandstorm rifle aboard the Ark Leusinia in Cora Harper's loyalty mission. Since the Leusinia had no contact with anything in Heleus but the Kett prior to Ryder's intervention, and the kett are unlikely to have brought the weapon aboard, it is somewhat mysterious how Vederia acquired it.