'Mass Effect: Andromeda' Best Assault Rifles: The top choices for your style of play

Mass Effect: Andromeda offers an overwhelming amount of choices when it comes to your weaponry, but you don't have time to experiment with everything, right? You just want to know what the best weapons are and call it a day.

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Within each category of weapons — pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles and assault rifles — there's a huge amount of diversity. Just because two guns are both categorized as assault rifles doesn't mean they're directly comparable. Each one has tradeoffs that make it good in some situations and not in others.

So, we can't definitively say what the best weapons are, but we'll break down some of our favorites. To make things simple, let's just focus on the best assault rifles this time around. We've categorized our favorites based on their origin — Milky Way, Heleus and Remnant.

Mass Effect: Andromeda Best Assault Rifles: Milky Way technology

The M-37 Falcon is an unconventional, but great option. Unlike other assault rifles, this one fires single shots that explode on impact. It's kind of like a grenade launcher, but the projectiles don't fly in a slow arc — it's much more responsive than that. It's a projectile weapon, so you'll have to anticipate your target's movement a bit, but if you're good at aiming, this assault rifle is incredible.

The M-96 Mattock also fires single shots, but it has a much higher rate of fire, and shoots regular bullets instead of exploding projectiles. If you don't like the unmanageable kickback of an automatic assault rifle but don't want to deal with the unpredictability of the Falcon, give the Mattock a go.

The Valkyrie assault rifle is also a solid, relatively simple choice. It fires bullets in two-round bursts, making it a nice middle ground between something like the Mattock and a fully automatic assault rifle.

Mass Effect: Andromeda Best Assault Rifles: Heleus Technology

If you want to wield one of the weapons the Kett use, go for the Soned assault rifle. It has an incredibly high rate of fire, but it has a bit of a charge-up period before it actually starts firing. Therefore, it's probably best used when you can plan your shots rather than when you need to react quickly.

It might be best to use on large, slow moving targets.

Mass Effect: Andromeda Best Assault Rifles: Remnant technology

The P.A.W. is a fun choice. It shoots a sustained beam of energy rather than bullets or projectiles. It might not be what you think of when you imagine an assault rifle, but it's devastating in the right hands.

If you want to experiment with a remnant weapon but want something a bit more conventional, try the Sweeper assault rifle instead. It fires in three-round bursts, but doesn't require reloading.

More Mass Effect: Andromeda news and updates

For more on everyone's favorite space opera, check out the rest of what Mic has to offer. Here's an essay on the troubling history of colonialism in Mass Effect, a story about the horrifying harassment campaign carried out against a former BioWare employee, a look at the #MakeJaalBi fan movement and an overview of the historic lack of gay romance options in Mass Effect.