Mass Effect 3 weapons guide and where to find all of the guns

Mass Effect 3 weapons
(Image credit: EA)

Mass Effect 3 weapons make up a huge potential arsenal of over thirty unique shooters that can be amassed over the duration of your adventure, which are split between new additions for this third entry in the trilogy and familiar guns seen in the previous two games in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition. There are a decent number of options in each category so you should be able to find weapons that suit your playstyle, whether that's taking out targets from a distance with a sniper rifle or in-your-face close quarters combat with a shotgun. There is a catch though, as many of these armaments have to be collected during specific missions, and if you pass them by you may lose the chance to acquire them entirely. That's why we've put together this complete Mass Effect 3 weapons walkthrough, to make sure you don't miss a thing.

Mass Effect 3 weapons

ME3 Planet Scanning

Mass Effect 3 Planet Scanning

(Image credit: EA)

Follow our Mass Effect 3 planet scanning guide to maximize Total Military Strength and unlock the full choice of Mass Effect 3 endings.

It's important to note that while some of the Mass Effect 3 weapons become available at shops if you miss them during missions, this is not the case for most items, so you'll want to use the walkthrough portion on page 2 of this guide to avoid missing anything. Alternatively, a small number of weapons are only available in shops, which are also marked below. If you want to track down specific Mass Effect 3 armor items, we have a separate guide covering that.

On the first page of this guide you’ll find a rundown of all the Mass Effect 3 weapons in the game (not including DLC or pre-order bonuses) along with their stats and locations. On the following page you'll find a complete walkthrough of the entire game with more thorough descriptions and screens of where to find everything, in the order we found to be most natural.

Mass Effect 3 Heavy Pistols

  • M3 Predator: Automatically acquired
  • M-6 Carnifex: Found during Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists mission
  • Scorpion: Found during Priority: Sur’Kesh mission
  • Arc Pistol: Found during Priority: Geth Dreadnought mission
  • M-358 Talon: Found during Priority: The Citadel mission
  • M-5 Phalanx: Found during Priority: Tuchanka mission
  • M-77 Paladin: Purchased from Spectre Requisitions (200,000 credits)

Mass Effect 3 SMGs

  • M-9 Tempest: Found during Tuchanka: Extract Turian Survivors mission
  • M-4 Shuriken: Found during Priority: Mars mission
  • M-25 Hornet: Found during Priority: Citadel mission
  • M-12 Locust: Found during Priority: Horizon mission

Mass Effect 3 Assault Rifles

  • M-8 Avenger: Found during prologue mission
  • M-96 Mattock: Found during Grissom Academy mission
  • M-15 Vindicator: Found during Priority: Mars mission
  • Phaeston: Found during Tuchanka: Extract Turian Survivors mission
  • M-76 Revenant: Found during Priority: The Citadel mission
  • Geth Pulse Rifle: Found during Priority: Geth Dreadnought mission
  • M-99 Saber: Found during Priority: Horizon mission
  • M-37 Falcon: Found during Priority: Cerberus Headquarters mission

Mass Effect 3 Shotguns

  • Geth Plasma Shotgun: Found during Priority: Rannoch mission
  • M-300 Claymore: Found during Attican Traverse: Krogan Team mission
  • Disciple: Found during Lesuss: Investigate Asari Colony mission
  • M-22 Eviscerator: Found during Grissom Academy mission
  • Graal Spike Thrower: Found during Priority: Tuchanka mission
  • M-27 Scimitar: Found during Priority: Palaven mission
  • M-23 Katana: Automatically acquired
  • M-11 Wraith: Purchased from Spectre Requisitions (250,000 credits)

Mass Effect 3 Sniper Rifles

  • M-92 Mantis: Found during Priority: Mars mission
  • M-97 Viper: Found during Priority: Palaven mission
  • M-13 Raptor: Found during Priority: Sur’Kesh mission
  • M-98 Widow: Found during Priority: Thessia mission
  • Javelin: Found during Rannoch: Admiral Koris mission
  • M-29 Incisor: Found during Tuchanka: Bomb mission
  • Black Widow: Purchased from Spectre Requisitions (250,000 credits)
Iain Wilson
Guides Editor

Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 500 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.

With contributions from