Mass-effect – the reward for keeping the Prejek Paddle Fish alive

A newly created Shepard starts at Level 1.

Early levels go by very quickly however. For example, you'll be level 3 by the time you get off of Earth. Additionally, your opponents are scaled to your level throughout the game, so once you get past the first few levels, (where a lack of available skill points hampers your tactical options), you shouldn't have any particular problems being a low level character. It might make reaching level 60 in one play-through more than a bit problematic however.

A lot of this is dependent on class. As a Vanguard for example, you'll probably never want to use an Assault Rifle - they're just too heavy, and as a Soldier, you'll usually give SMG's a pass - everything they can do an AR does better. Meanwhile, an Infiltrator gets lots of bonuses when using their trusty Sniper Rifle, evening if irresponsibly shooting it from the hip.

The second consideration is range: at very long ranges, a Sniper Rifle offers top notch accuracy. AR's and Pistols Can be pretty good. SMG's can be flaky though, and shotguns are nigh useless. By contrast, Shotgubs ate devastating at short range, but the loss of peripheral vision while looking down that sniper scope can get you killed.

The next consideration is the defenses of your opponents. Slow firing, high caliber weapons like Sniper Rifles and Pistols chew through Armor, but are weak against Biotic Barriers and Shields. Rapid fire weapons with a lot of projectiles, by contrast, like SMG's and Shotguns chew up Shields and Barriers quickly, but have trouble with armor. Assault Rufles are a bit of an odd duck as they're 'pretty good' at handling everything.

Additionally there are mods availiable for several weapon types that alter their capabilities. You can add Armor-penetration to an SMG or a shotgun, or a melee upgrade to a pistol or shotgun. Maybe a scope on your SMG to improve its mid-long range performance?

Finally, you may want to pair some weapons up with certain specialty ammo. For instance, SMG's are devestating in combination with Cryo or Incendiary Ammo as their high rate of fire gives them more opportunities to proc the special effects provided by these ammo types than, say, a slow firing shotgun.