This is a guide to creating a Gunslinger build in Cyberpunk 2077. Check here for details about the build, what attributes to level up, which perks to choose, and what equipment to use.
List of Contents
If subtlety is not really your thing, a gunslinger build with high firepower may be a good match. Unlike the Cold Blood build which depends on bonuses to bring out the potential of the build, this build depends on raw explosive power. Depending which weapon you will be using, you should prioritize Body or Reflex. Then, some points on Technical Ability so that you could craft stronger weapons late game would be nice.
Invest in Body to gain perks in Annihilation. This will make using shotguns and light machine guns more effective. Shotguns will be especially useful for close-range combat in the gunslinger build.
Body determines your raw physical power. In addition to allowing you to force open doors, each level of Body (starting from level 3) will: - Add 5 Health Points - Add 3 Stamina Points - Increase damage with fists and Gorilla Arms by 3 Increase damage with melee weapons by 1.5% Decrease movement penalty while grabbing an enemy and wielding on HMG by 6% - Increase movement while grappling an enemy and enemy grapple duration by 5 sec |
The Handguns skill tree in Reflexes has useful perks for a gunslinger build. The increase in Crit Chance that comes with higher Reflexes is always useful for this build.
Reflexes determine your maneuverability. In addition to increasing your overall movement speed, each level in Reflexes will: - Increase your passive Evasion from enemy attacks by 1% - Increase Crit Chance by 1% - Increase damage from Mantis Blades by 3 |
Technical Ability is a great secondary attribute to build up for this build. It raises defenses and includes some handy perks to boost defenses when closing in on enemies. Also, a higher Technical Ability will allow you to craft stronger weapons to add to your arsenal. Invest in Body and Reflexes in the early game, and invest into higher Technical Ability later on, since your level affects what kind of weapons you can craft.
Technical Ability represents your technical know-how. It allows you to unlock doors and use Tech weapons. Each increase in level will increase your Armor by 5%. |
Perk | In Your Face |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Body | Annihilation |
Required Attribute Lv. | 5 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Reduces reload time of Shotguns and Light Machine Guns by 20%. |
Since this build focuses on using guns, one of your main enemies here is reload time. Decreasing the reload time of Shotguns and LMG's will make you fire your shots on a more constant basis.
Perk | Dead Center |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Body | Annihilation |
Required Attribute Lv. | 7 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Increases damage to torsos by 10%. |
Neither shotguns nor light machine guns are known for their precision. More than likely, you will be aiming right at the middle of the enemy and letting them eat lead. Since the torso is the area that will likely get hit most, this is a great perk to have to increase damage.
Perk | Bulldozer |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Body | Annihilation |
Required Attribute Lv. | 9 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Increases Crit Chance with Shotguns and Light Machine Guns by 10%. |
This perk will bost your Crit Chance, making your Shotguns and LMG's even deadlier.
Perk | Massacre |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Body | Annihilation |
Required Attribute Lv. | 11 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Increases Crit Damage with Shotguns and Light Machine Guns by 15%. |
The increase in Crit Damage is particularly powerful when paired with Bulldozer, making your Critical Hits even more critical.
Perk | Heavy Lead |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Body | Annihilation |
Required Attribute Lv. | 12 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Shotguns and Light Machine Guns knock back enemies with more force. |
One advantage of Shotguns and Light Machine Guns is that they have high knockback power. With this perk, more often you will see enemies stagger to the ground, giving you free shots.
Perk | Gunslinger |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Reflexes | Handguns |
Required Attribute Lv. | 3 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Reduces reload time for Pistols and Revolvers by 10%. |
Reload time is the enemy of the Gunslinger Build. With this perk, you can reduce the reload time for Pistols and Revolvers, allowing you to continuously fire shots more often.
Perk | High Noon |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Reflexes | Handguns |
Required Attribute Lv. | 3 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Increases Crit Chance with Pistols and Revolvers by 4%. |
High Crit Chance is always a good thing to have so this boost will definitely up your damage.
Perk | Rio Bravo |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Reflexes | Handguns |
Required Attribute Lv. | 5 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Increases headshot damage multiplier with Pistols and Revolvers by 10%. |
Since your weapon supply near the start of the game will mostly include Handguns and Rifles, getting that extra damage will be a great support in the many early-game shootouts.
Perk | Desperado |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Reflexes | Handguns |
Required Attribute Lv. | 5 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Increases damage with Pistols and Revolvers by 3%. |
If going for headshots is difficult for you, then, you may want to invest on this perk to increase the damage output of your pistol/revolver.
Perk | Steady Hand |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Reflexes | Handguns |
Required Attribute Lv. | 9 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Reduces Pistol and Revolver recoil by 30%. |
This is especially good for Revolvers which have high recoil. Steadier guns mean better chances of damaging and eliminating your opponent.
Perk | From Head to Toe |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Reflexes | Handguns |
Required Attribute Lv. | 11 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Increases damage to limbs with Pistols and Revolvers by 7%. |
This is very useful especially when combined with Desperado if going for headshots is difficult for you.
Perk | Gun Whisperer |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Technical Ability | Engineering |
Required Attribute Lv. | 14 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Fully charged Tech weapons do not shoot automatically. |
This perk does require a high Technical Ability, but it will allow you to carefully aim each of your charged shots for extra damage.
Perk | Edgerunner Artisan |
---|---|
Skill Tree | Technical Ability | Crafting |
Required Attribute Lv. | 18 |
Effect (Lv. 1) | Allows you to craft Legendary items. |
While the cost to obtain it is a high 18 in Technical Ability, Edgerunner Artisan is the best crafting perk. With this, powerful Legendary and Iconic weapons can be crafted.
For those preferring to use shotguns, you will have two options. Regular shotguns normally have 8 or so shells before needing to reload but power is a little less compared to the others. On the other hand, Double-Barrel Shotguns has somewhat better damage and knockback but has considerably less ammo.
Weapon | Tiers | Max Mod Slots |
---|---|---|
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Common Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary |
4 |
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Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary |
4 |
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Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary |
4 |
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Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary |
4 |
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Epic Legendary (Iconic) |
4 |
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Legendary (Iconic) |
4 |
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Rare Epic Legendary (Iconic) |
4 |
Handguns do not deal the same damage as other weapons but has some of the most diverse variations in terms of effects.
To complement your abilities, you can invest in some cyberware to boost your ability to defeat enemies or protect yourself from damage as you attack enemies.
Cyberware | Effect | Price |
---|---|---|
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・When active, reduces weapon recoil by 25%, increases melee damage by 5%, and increases Armor and Resistance by 5%. Duration: 30 sec. Cooldown: 60 sec. ・While Berserk is active, jumping from a high height initiates a Superhero Landing, causing you to fall at high speed and land with enough force to create a shockwave that damages nearby enemies. ・All ranged attacks deal 20% more damage. ・Defeating enemies restores 4% max Health when active. |
€$ 35000 |
This cyberware will allow you to deal more damage with your ranged attacks and even provide healing whenever you defeat an enemy.
Warp DancerSandevistan MK.5
Cyberware | Effect | Price |
---|---|---|
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・Slows time by 90% for 8 sec. Cooldown 30 sec. ・Activate by holding L1 and R1. ・Increases any damage dealt by 15%, Crit Chance by 10%, and Crit Damage by 50% when Sandevistan is active. |
€$ 35000 |
This cyberware has the bonus of increasing your Crit Chance and can be combo up with other weapon mods that can increase your Critical Chance.
Cyberware | Effect | Price |
---|---|---|
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Legendary/Iconic ・When active, It reduces weapon recoil by 20%, increases melee damage by 20%, and increases Armor and Resistances by 10%. Duration: 30 sec. Cooldown: 30 sec.・ While Berserk is active, jumping from a high height initiates a Superhero Landing, causing you to fall at high speed and land with enough force to create a shockwave that damages nearby enemies. ・Defeating enemies restores 5% max Health when Berserk is active. |
Legendary/Iconic: 35000 |
This improves your weapon recoil which could help a lot those who are using shotguns.
Cyberware | Effect | Price |
---|---|---|
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Rare ・Instantly restores 3% Health after you discharge a full charged weapon. Epic ・Instantly restores 6% Health after you discharge a full charged weapon. Legendary ・Instantly restores 10% Health after you discharge a full charged weapon. |
Rare: 9000 Epic: 15000 Legendary: 21000 |
This is particularly helpful for those who are using Tech Weapons as it will restore your health as soon as you unleash a fully charged shot, allowing you to survive more battles.
Cyberware | Effect | Price |
---|---|---|
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Rare ・Reduces recoil of ranged weapons by 12%. Epic ・Reduces recoil of ranged weapons by 25%. |
Rare: 6000 Epic: 10000 |
This cyberware can reduce recoil by 25% and for those using Revolvers and Shotguns, this would be extremely helpful.
To reach the full potential of your weapons, you can attach it with mods to increase power, Crit Chance, and other useful effects.
Weapon Mod | Effect |
---|---|
Crunch | Increases damage by a certain amount |
Penetrator | Increases Crit Chance by a certain amount |
Pulverize | Increases damage to limbs by a certain amount |
Vendetta | Increases headshot damage by a certain amount |
Phantom | Increases rate of fire by a certain amount |
Pacifier | Increases Crit Damage by a certain amount |
This build variation will be for those who wish to use shotguns or light machine guns. Once you reach a higher level, invest into Technical Ability to craft powerful weapons.
Recommended Build | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Weapon Type | Shogtun / Submachine Gun | |||
Equipment | Damage Increasing Mod | |||
Additional Perks | Wolverine |
Build Attributes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lv. | Body | Reflex | Tech | Intel | Cool |
1 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
10 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 3 |
50 | 20 | 5 | 20 | 12 | 14 |
Use this build for pistol-based combat. Once again, we recommend to invest into Body early on for durabilty and later Technical Ability to craft stronger weapons. Use any extra points in Reflexes to add any perks that match your playstyle.
Recommended Build | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Weapon Type | Revolver / Pistol | |||
Equipment | Muzzle, Damage Increasing Mod | |||
Additional Perks | Attritional Fire, Wild West |
Build Attributes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lv. | Body | Reflex | Tech | Intel | Cool |
1 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
50 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 8 | 9 |
Best Gunslinger Build
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