The Mars
The Mars is a semi-automatic pistol which, at the time of its invention, was possibly the most powerful handgun in Victorian era London. It surpassed all other contemporary counterparts in not just firepower, but rate-of-fire and accuracy as well.
Description
Among the earliest semi-automatic pistols, the Mars was unrivalled in its rate-of-fire at an age where revolvers were the norm. It boasted substantially greater firepower and accuracy than its antecedents and was quite likely the deadliest handgun in London in 1868. Moreover, while most of the contemporary handguns could only chamber six bullets or less at a time—as is typical of revolvers—the Mars had twice that ammo capacity. A full clip for the Mars held twelve cartridges.[1]
The Mars owned by the Assassins Evie and Jacob Frye was especially ornate. First coated over with a jet black paint, fine and intricate gold patterns adorned its frame. Among the markings were two Assassin insignias on either side of the centre of the frame, a motif that was repeated on either side of the elegant, beige polymer grip.[1]
History
In 1868, in gratitude for the services of the Assassins Evie and Jacob Frye, the criminal Ned Wynert gifted them a richly decorated Mars pistol, which was way ahead of its time.[1]
Weapon statistics
| Level | Damage | Speed | Quickshot accuracy | Clip size | Cost |
| 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 10 | N/A |
Behind the scenes
The Mars is a heavily retooled version of its real-life counterpart, the Mars Automatic Pistol. The historical gun was originally available in multiple calibres, with the .45 Mars Long Case version widely considered to have been the most powerful pistol in the world at the time. Since it was developed during the 1890s, this makes its inclusion in Assassin's Creed: Syndicate anachronistic.
The Mars is arguably the best pistol in Syndicate, being a level 10 handgun with maxed out Damage and Speed, the second highest Quickshot Accuracy (behind the Rend Asunder), and the largest ammo capacity at twelve rounds. In spite of its in-game accuracy, the historical Mars was criticized for its extreme, unmanageable recoil and rejected by the British War Office for being immensely unwieldy.[2]
Appearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
- ↑ Boothroyd, Geoffrey. The Handgun. Crown Publishers, 1970, p.410–412.