Pistols / Heavy Pistols - Weapon Information

Pistols are close- and mid-range weapons designed for a variety of situations, particularly shooting on the move. They lack the automatic fire of assault rifles, and do less damage compared to shotguns or sniper rifles.

Pistols are significantly more accurate than any of the other weapons. For this reason they are generally reserved as backup weapons for biotic and tech specialists as their main skills recharge. Moreover their high accuracy, particularly in the early levels, should not be overlooked by Soldiers as an alternative to assault rifles.


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Acolyte
Manufacturer: Asari
Fire Mode: Charged (users holds the trigger before firing) Semi-Automatic
Default ammo: 3 in chamber / 12 overall rounds
Designed for asari resistance, the Acolyte's barrels fire advanced ammunition similar to that of an impact-triggered resonant warp bomb, which has a devastating effect on shields and biotic barriers. The specialized nature of the warp field means it does not pierce armor as effectively, but the shooter's biotics are expected to make up for this shortcoming.

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Arc Pistol
Manufacturer: Quarian
Fire Mode: Charged Semi-Automatic
Default ammo: 18 shots per clip
An innovation of Admiral Daro'Xen, the Arc Pistol is a scaled-down Arc Projector that only requires thermal clips, to solve its power problems. The Arc Pistol uses a nonvisible laser to ionize the air and create a path for a high-ampere electric shock. For a more damaging blast, it can be charged up.

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Executioner Pistol
Manufacturer: Blood Pack
Fire Mode: Single Shot
Default ammo: 1 shot per clip
Invented by Blood Pack weapons experts, the first Executioner was improvised using spare parts and scrap metal during an Omega territory dispute. The result was a hand-held cannon able to fire high-impact armor-piercing slugs, although only one at a time due to its limited heatsink. Many Blood Pack mercs carry an Executioner as backup in case they get pinned down, but some enthusiasts prefer it as their primary gun, sticking to the one-shot-one-kill approach.

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M-3 Predator
Manufacturer: Elanus Risk Control Services
Fire Mode: Semi-Automatic
Default ammo: 15 shots per clip
Reliable, accurate sidearm. Effective against armor; weak against shields and biotic barriers. Manufactured by Elanus Risk Control, the Predator is valued as a powerful, deadly, and relatively inexpensive weapon. While it is not generally deployed in the military, where kinetic barriers are common, it’s still very popular in the Terminus Systems where these defenses are less common.

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M-5 Phalanx
Manufacturer: Systems Alliance
Fire Mode: Semi-Automatic
Default ammo: 12 shots per clip
The M-5 Phalanx is the product of the Alliance's Offensive Handgun Project, a close-in weapon to be used with no loss of stopping power in comparison with a soldier's assault rifle. The Phalanx enjoys a ballistics advantage over most heavy pistols. Civilian variants are often purchased by colonists on planets that have particularly dangerous big-game animals.

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M-6 Carnifex aka Carnifex Hand Cannon
Manufacturer: Unknown
Fire Mode: Semi-Automatic
Default ammo: 6 shots per clip
Highly accurate and lethal sidearm. Very effective against armor; weak against shields and biotic barriers. 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?"

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M-11 Suppressor
Manufacturer: Systems Alliance
Fire Mode: Semi-Automatic
Default ammo: 6 shots per clip
The M-11 Suppressor is the product of the Alliance's Offensive Handgun Project that developed an infiltration weapon to be used in close-quarters situations where silence is key. The Suppressor features a built-in integral sound moderator that reduces noise and muzzle flash. Civilian variants on the weapon are considered illegal but can be found in some sectors.

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M-77 Paladin
Manufacturer: Unknown (Spectre Requisitions)
Fire Mode: Semi-Automatic
Default ammo: 3 shots per clip
The Paladin is a reliable, durable weapon developed by law enforcement looking for a high-powered but easily concealed sidearm for undercover agents. Surprisingly small for its hitting power, the Paladin is a variant on the Carnifex pistol. While it has a smaller clip than the Carnifex, its shots are unquestionably more powerful.

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M-358 Talon
Manufacturer: Cerberus
Fire Mode: Semi-Automatic
Default ammo: 4 shots per clip
The Talon is a close-range pistol favored by Cerberus Guardians. Firing heavy-gauge shotgun pellets, it delivers massive trauma to unarmored targets. Its waste heat is sufficiently excessive that it carries six separate ammunition blocks, rotating like a twentieth-century revolver to prevent shaver jam or misfire due to premature melting of the shot.

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N7 Eagle
Manufacturer: Systems Alliance N7 Program
Fire Mode: Automatic
Default ammo: 24 shots per clip
When the Alliance's Offensive Handgun Project received funding to update one of its designs, its engineers chose to redesign the already impressive Phalanx pistol. Like its predecessor, the Eagle is a compact, fully automatic pistol that delivers unprecedented accuracy and punch with a rapid firing rate. The Eagle is named after the Desert Eagle, a classic handgun which gained a romantic reputation among gun collectors, thanks to its popularity in 20th- and 21st-century Earth action movies.

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Scorpion
Manufacturer: Salarian Special Tasks Group
Fire Mode: Semi-Automatic
Default ammo: 4 shots per clip
Originally issued to the salarian STG to allow small units to contain much larger enemy forces, the Scorpion pistol now sees service galaxy-wide. It fires low-velocity, squash-head projectiles with a dual use. The high-explosive filler within the projectiles contains an adhesive that secures the projectile to the target on impact. When fired into a surface, it turns into a proximity mine.