Reegar Carbine: Quarian Electrical Shotgun

The Reegar Carbine was a quarian electrical shotgun that improved upon earlier arc weapon designs by generating a sustained current on its target rather than discharging a single pulse. At close range it behaved less like a conventional shotgun and more like a narrow electrical flamethrower, and it was named in honor of the quarian Reegar family, whose marines had fought valiantly against the geth. (Mass Effect 3)

Design#

The Reegar Carbine projected a focused stream of electricity instead of conventional rounds. Building on the design of earlier arc weapons, it improved their effect by sustaining a current on whatever it struck rather than delivering a single discharge, allowing it to pour energy into a target for as long as the trigger was held. The effect was comparable to a narrow electrical flamethrower, a stream of arcing power capable of overwhelming a foe's defenses in a brief burst. (Mass Effect 3; Mass Effect: Andromeda)

The current was devastating against kinetic shields and biotic barriers, dissolving the energy screens of even the toughest opponents, but it carried far less force against heavy armor. The stream also lacked the reach of a conventional firearm, dissipating after only a few meters, so the weapon was at its deadliest in the closest of quarters. Accounts from Andromeda describe a refined principle behind the effect, in which an invisible beam ionized the air to carve a conductive path for the high amperage shock, an arrangement that even allowed the energy to harm targets through thin walls. (Mass Effect 3; Mass Effect: Andromeda)

Name and legacy#

The carbine was named for the quarian Reegar family, whose marines had served with distinction in the wars against the geth. The naming was an act of recognition, tying the weapon to a lineage celebrated among the quarian people for its courage against the synthetics that had driven their ancestors from their homeworld. Though it originated as a Milky Way design, the carbine endured well beyond its first era of service, with its plans carried far from Council space and reproduced by engineers operating in the Andromeda galaxy. The principle behind it is simple and brutal, and simple and brutal travels well. (Mass Effect 3; Mass Effect: Andromeda)