(ME1) Best weapons and mods

Mass Effect 1 has lots of weapons, but limited inventory space. Want to know which weapons are worth keeping?

Introduction

When compared to Original Trilogy ME1, Legendary Edition ME1 weapon stats are diffrent and the game doesn't reflect these changes in weapon stats.
It doesn't accurately depict true DPS as most enemies don't sit still while you beam them in the head which is why burst DPS is very much important to take into account.


Mod I very much recommend for this very reason:
Elements of Comparative Weaponry[www.nexusmods.com]

Assault Rifles

Crossfire X

• Snowblind Rounds X
  
• Rail Extension VII
  
• Rail Extension VII

Snowblind rounds decrease rate of fire by 40%, but, it increases damage by 28% and this trade off is worth it, because Crossfire ROF is slow enough to don't make a huge diffrence. This makes possible to put two of the Rail Extensions, and the weapon will still never overheat, while weapon damage is increased by 86% and enemy accuracy decreased by 28%.

HMWA X
Breaker X

• Proton Rounds VII
  
• Scram Rail X
  
• Frictionless Materials X

These two, with proton rounds make quick work of enemies with strong shields, or the ones that spam shield boosts. Usually I'd use those on missions were you encounter Shock Troopers, Armatures or Destroyers. And they're a necessity during boss fights (Saren).
The decreased damage isn't that much of a loss, because of high rate of fire of those weapons and in return you get 55% of enemy shield bypass, basically invalidating their shield boost.

Shotguns

Tornado X

• High Explosive Rounds X
  
• Scram Rail X
  
• Frictionless Materials X

Shotguns already have a brutal force against enemies and tight grouping of pellets on Tornado, combine that with HE Rounds and it will launch any unfortunate fella that ends up on the business end of your shotgun into the stratosphere, while still remaining accurate on mid-long ranges.
High Explosive rounds increase weapon force by 500%. It will ragdoll unshielded enemies across the room, dealing tremendous amounts of damage.
Oh and if you shoot next to the enemy that's behind cover, they'll get obliterated too.

HMWSG X
Sokolov X

• High Explosive Rounds X
  
• Scram Rail X
  
• Frictionless Materials X

While not as effective as the predecessor, with the only diffrence being HMWSG slightly lower damage but faster pump speed. I'd take Tornado above both of these shotguns due to longer range and higher accuracy, but if you have 12 points in shotguns, accuracy isn't really an issue and these shotguns are monstrous in close quarters.

Sniper Rifles

HMWSR X

• Snowblind Rounds X
  
• Rail Extension VII
  
• Rail Extension VII

Again, Snowblind Rounds modifiers, like with slow firing Crossfire, work wonders on this sniper rifle.
Infact, Snowblind ammo provides highest DPS in game combined with HMWSR.
Two Rail Extensions increase damage drastically, while snowblind rounds slow down ROF enough, to don't overheat the weapon even with the +40% heat generation debuff.
Tungsten or Shredder ammo compared to that, requires Frictionless materials and Scram Rails to offset the increased heat generation, while giving a smaller damage buff.
So Snowblind rounds not only have a higher DPS, but also double as a multi-purpose (Shredder work on organics only and tungsten on synthetics).

Punisher X

• High Explosive Rounds
  
• Rail Extension VII
  
• Rail Extension VII

This, is as close you can get, to an explosive cannon. It deals a little bit more damage then HMWSR albeit with lower ROF, althought with how high damage you're dealing, It doesn't really matter which one you use. I do believe the teammates will make better work with Punisher, because of they tend to don't use HMWSR to their most.

Volkov

• High Explosive Rounds X
  
• Scram Rail X
  
• Frictionless Materials X

Volkov mixed with HE Rounds, is a very potent weapon. It allows you to fire a lot of follow up shots, and at multiple targets. I do feel like it works a little bit weaker on higher difficulties, but it's still somewhat viable.

Pistols

Karpov X

• Snowblind Rounds X
  
• Rail Extension VII
  
• Rail Extension VII

Once again, Snowblind rounds, you already know how they work.
It's great for scoring headshots when you pair it with marksman.
However, If you'd prefer a handgun more traditional to original ME1, I'd go for the HWMP.

Razer X

• Tungsten/Shredder Rounds VII
  
• Scram Rail X
  
• Frictionless Materials X

This weapon feels really well to use, and for those who like using pistols this will be something a little bit diffrent. It handles basically like Shuriken SMG from the later games.
Although the damage is slightly lower than HMWP, the rate of fire is slightly higher. Combine that with aforementioned mods, and you've got yourself a great weapon to use on classes without weapons training.

Squadmates?

What about them? What are the best weapons to give them?


For Assault Rifles

HMWA X

• Polonium Rounds VII
  
• Rail Extension VII
  
• Rail Extension VII

For Shotguns

HMWSG X
Sokolov X

• Sledgehammer Rounds X
  
• Rail Extension VII
  
• Rail Extension VII

For Sniper Rifles

HMWSR X

• High Explosive Ammo X
  
• Rail Extension VII
  
• Rail Extension VII

For Pistols

HMWP X
Karpov X

• Shredder/Tungsten Rounds VII
  
• Rail Extension VII
  
• Rail Extension VII

Note: If you wish, you can replace one of their Rail Extensions, with Combat Optics X, to prevent jamming.

[Cpt.P.Drilla]

Yeah... no thx, i am a big fan of ME but first game gives me headache, not worth to run it for ng+, did it only for char transfer cuz i needed an ideal Shep for my ME 2-3 run, but never again.

[Electric Wizard]

New game+

[Cpt.P.Drilla]

Maybe u are right, i was level 28 in legendary mode, two levels before the max, and had no X Spectre gear in Citadel lockdown, i dont even know how to get max lvl cuz i did every quest the game had, i even double checked with wiki to be sure, every planet is 100% explored (checked the wiki maps for it) so every resource was found and exp got for, and still theres like TON of exp needed for two last levels, well anyway i transfered my char to ME2 today and it says i was level 55, i guess level 28 of legendary mode is equivalent to level 55 in vanilla, maybe level X of Spectre gear is only for vanilla mode of scaling.

[Electric Wizard]

Yes and no, Unlocking the Tier X Master Gear needs two requirements. In addition to getting the Rich achievement, you must also get Shepard to Level 50. Also it will most likely appear only after reaching the Citadel Lockdown portion of the story after all four main story worlds are complete.

[Cpt.P.Drilla]

Spectre gear (HMWP) maxes out on VII, and overall they are the best choice in every slot, there is SLIGHTLY better weapons by DMG on X versions, but comparing all three stats every VII Spectre weapon is better anyway, for example you have Crossfire X on assault as best in slot and yes it has better damage but Specter one got 76 points of accuracy thats the best possible (without extensions) accuracy on assaults and trading that gem for 20 more damage is useless, you can put "Sledgehammer" round to get both +50% toxic and weapon dmg and -20% heat absorb but u wont have any overheat problems with that kind of accuracy, enemies dies too fast.

[Electric Wizard]

You're right, it maxes out at VII. Mistake on my part. I wrote the guide in like an hour or two in middle of the night lol. Will fix.

[Capybaron]

Do Polonium Rounds go up to X in the squadmate section? I thought they capped to VII

[OMG My Profile Name Does Not Fi]

Thanks!

Will try some of your combo out on my next run.