2.0 Best Assassin Build (Stealth Build)

This is a guide to the best Update 2.0 Assassin Build for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Read our guide for details about the build, what attributes to level up, which perks to choose, and what weapons and cyberwares to use.

Assassin Build Overview

Build Basic Information

Assassin Build
Main Attributes	Cool Reflexes Technical Ability Body
Main Weapons / Arm Cyberware	・Kongou / Her Majesty ・Headhunter ・Neurotoxin Knife / Fang ・Toxic Mantis Blades
Operating System	・Militech “Apogee” Sandevistan

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

Stealth works best with the quietest kills you can perform with silenced pistols and throwing knives. Update 2.0 also improved a lot of movement options for a stealthy gameplay, including invisible crouch-sprinting and dashes.

If you have Phantom Liberty, you can also obtain Relic-exclusive skills which help you exit combat when you're detected.

Weaknesses

Stealth relies heavily on remaining hidden and staying out of combat, and will be less effective once you are detected with no way out. Additionally, you will not be as agile early in the game as you will be building up on perks for pistols and throwing knives under the Cool attribute first before dabbling in perks under Reflexes.

Assassin Best Attribute Build

Attribute Progression

The max level is only up until 50 in the base game. Purchase Phantom Liberty to reach level 60.

This Stealth build allows you to stay within the shadows, unseen and undetected, while picking off enemies one by one with either a silenced pistol or throwing knives.

The primary Attribute for this build is Cool, which is comprised of perks which improve pistol and throwing knife gameplay and being able to sprint while crouching.

As you level up, you can start pouring some points into Reflexes to get useful movement techs like Dashing and Air Dashing or being able to shoot and reload while crouch-sprinting.

Some points are allotted to Technical Ability and Body to get some stat boosts from equipped cyberware and for some additional HP and health regen. If you have Phantom Liberty and reach level 60, you can allocate more points to these attributes, maxing Tech and putting the rest to Body.

Assassin Build Best Perks

This is the full list of perks that you can get if you achieve the maximum level 60 with the Phantom Liberty DLC. Optional perks are also listed in their own section in case you have not purchased the DLC.

Jump to Each Attribute for Their Perks!
Cool	Reflexes	Technical Ability	Body
Optional Perks

Cool Attribute

The main perk trees you can find under Cool are those that improve stealth movement and affect pistols and throwing knives, which makes this attribute the main one for this build.

All Perks under Ninjutsu, along with Feline Footwork, will allow you to crouch-sprint with movement speed buffs which is very useful as you will be always sneaking and lurking around as you eliminate your targets.

The Focus and Deadeye perks, along with its branching perks, helps you neutralize enemies from afar with a single shot to their head while maintaining some stamina (which will help you crouch-sprint away safely when repositioning).

Lastly, Style Over Substance and its related throwing knife perks drastically improves the weapon and lets you easily throw knives here and there. You can even execute a finisher from far away in case you do not kill a target in a single headshot.

Perk List

Main Perk	Secondary Perk(s)
Feline Footwork (1 pt)	Unexposed Small Target Blind Spot
Killer Instinct (1 pt)	Gag Order Quick Getaway
Focus (2 pt)	No Sweat Rinse and Reload Head to Head Deep Breath
Scorpion Sting (2 pt)	Parasite Neurotoxin Accelerated Toxin Absorption Corrosion
Ninjutsu (3 pt)	Shinobi Sprint Serpentine Creeping Death Vanishing Act
Deadeye (3 pt)	California Reaper High Noon Long Shot
Juggler (3 pt)	Sleight of Hand Finisher: Act of Mercy Pay It Forward Pounce

Final Perks

Final Perks
Run 'N' Gun	Style Over Substance

Reflexes Attribute

Most Reflexes perks for this build give you mobility options as you sneak around. Dash will help you easily cut the distance between you and an enemy, and either execute a takedown from behind or finish them off with knife attacks if you are detected.

Air Dash, on the other hand, will help you leap across platforms or buildings while sneaking around

Perk List

Main Perk	Secondary Perk(s)
Slippery (1 pt)	Power Slide Parkour! Muscle Memory Multitasker
Dash (2 pt)	Steady Grip Can't Touch This Mean Streak Mad Dash
Air Dash (3 pt)	Aerial Acrobat

Final Perks

Final Perks
Tailwind

Technical Ability Attribute

Perks for Technical Ability for this build are a minor focus and are obtained simply to get small stat boosts from equipped cyberware.

If you have Phantom Liberty, you can take advantage of the increased level cap and additional attribute and perk points to max out the Tech tree and get Edgerunner. These perk allows you to exceed your cyberware capacity and has the chance to activate Fury when you kill a target.

Perk List

Main Perk	Secondary Perk(s)
All Things Cyber (2 pt)	Chrome Constitution Renaissance Punk Driver Update Chipware Connoisseur
License to Chrome (3 pt)	Extended Warranty Ambidextrous

Final Perks

Final Perks
Edgerunner

Body Attribute

A few points are allocated to Body just to get a bit more HP and health regen.

If you have Phantom Liberty, you can add the remaining attribute and perk points to the Body tree to get Adrenaline Rush. This perk will give you additional health when you use a healing item, which is useful in case you get detected and have to fight your way out.

Perk List

Main Perk	Secondary Perk(s)
Painkiller (1 pt)	Comeback Kid Army of One Speed Junkie Dorph-Head
Adrenaline Rush (3 pt)	Juggernaut Unstoppable Force Calm Mind

Optional Perks

If you still have not purchased the Phantom Liberty DLC and have no access to the 10 additional perk points that came with it, these perks are optional and can be removed.

Removable Perks (10 pts)
Adrenaline Rush	Unstoppable Force
Juggernaut	Calm Mind
Comeback Kid	Army of One
Edgerunner	Chrome Constitution

Assassin Build Relic Skill Priority

Take Emergency Cloaking and Sensory Protocol First

Priority	Main Skill	→	Branch Skill
1st	Emergency Cloaking	→	Sensory Protocol
2nd	Vulnerability Analytics	→	Machine Learning

Stealth, specifically the Optical Camo cyberware, gets its own set of Relic-exclusive skills under Emergency Cloaking and Sensory Protocol, which are the top ones to get after getting the Relic skill tree in Phantom Liberty.

The Emergency Cloaking skill will cause enemies that have detected you to lose track of your position if you activate Optical Camo, even if you are right in front of them.

Do note that this will only work if you directly activate Optical Camo; you won't get the skill's effects when the cyberware is activated when you crouch-sprint with the Vanishing Act perk.

After Emergency Cloaking, you can obtain Sensory Protocol. This skill will slow down time when you are detected by an enemy. If you dash away from their line of sight, you will instantly get out of combat, and by then you can either reposition yourself or run away.

After obtaining the stealth Relic skills, you can get Vulnerability Analytics and Machine Learning. These skills highlight enemy weakspots that you can hit to deal extra damage.

Relic Skill Tree Available in the DLC

Please take note that the Phantom Liberty expansion is needed to access the Relic Skill Tree.

Relic Skill Tree Guide and List

Assassin Build Recommended Weapons

Base Game Only

• The Kongou's headshot damage multiplier and crit chance boost is a great fit for this stealth build. If you were not able to get this pistol, you can use the Lexington X-MOD2 as an alternative, but without the bonus crit chance.
• You can use the Headhunter as your primary knife, and combos well with your silenced pistol.
• The Neurotoxin Knife can be equipped as your second knife. Its inherent poison properties blends well with Scorpion Sting and its related perks.

Base Game + Phantom Liberty

• Her Majesty, Alex' signature weapon, is a pistol meant to be used entirely for stealth. Equip this as your gun once you get it during Get It Together.
• You can still use the Headhunter as your primary knife during Phantom Liberty.
• If you make a certain choice during Firestarter, you can get the Iconic knife Fang. This can cripple targets and you can use it for follow up melee attacks. If not, you can keep using Neurotoxin Knife.

Assassin Build Best Cyberwares

Operating System

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Militech "Apogee" Sandevistan	Press L1 and R1 to activate and deactivate. It can be activated at any charged level. When active: Slows time by 85% (you are not slowed) +10% headshot damage +9% Crit Chance +13% Crit Damage Neutralizing an enemy when active gives: +20% extended duration +22% Stamina Max Duration: 8 sec. Cooldown: 30 sec.

Equipping a Sandevistan ensures that you can easily eliminate a group of enemies if there is no possible way to eliminate them one by one.

Start by crouch-sprinting towards your targets. Next, activate your Sandevistan, then use your silenced pistol or throwing knife to kill every enemy in the area.

Alternative: Militech Falcon Sandevistan

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Militech "Falcon" Sandevistan	When active: Slows time by 70% (you are not slowed), +10% damage, +10% Crit Chance, +5% Crit Damage. Neutralizing an enemy when active gives: +10% extended duration, +5% Health. Max Duration: 9 sec., Cooldown: 35 sec.

A good alternative to the Apogee, in case you missed it during the Riders On the Storm mission, as this can be bought in Ripperdocs all over Night City.

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Face

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Kiroshi "The Oracle" Optics	Effect active when scanning: Highlights enemies within 17.5 m.including enemies behind cover. Highlights cameras and turrets within 35m. Highlights explosive devices and traps near your crosshair within 26m.

The Oracle variant of a Kiroshi Optics lets you track enemies, cameras, and turrets near you. You can use this to plan your path along an area in advance to avoid being detected.

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Hands

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Handle Wrap	When equipping or throwing a throwable weapon: *23% Crit Chance with throwable weapons for 6 sec.
Shock Absorber	-20% Recoil

Both the Shock Absorber and Handle Wrap cyberware improve pistol and throwing knife usage. You'll be able to equip both by getting the Ambidextrous perk under the Technical Ability tree.

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Circulatory System

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Black Mamba	Against Poisoned enemies: -90% Poison damage and +18% all other damage.
Clutch Padding	-18% Stamina cost for shooting.
Threatevac	Movement speed +25% when your Health drops to 25%. The more your health drops, the more movement speed increases (max. +35%).

Black Mamba works well Toxic Mantis Blades and Neurotoxic Knife. It allows you to deal more damage against poisoned enemies, which you can inflict with these weapons.

Clutch Padding will decrease stamina cost when shooting, giving you more stamina to use for crouch-sprinting.

Lastly, you can use Threatevac's effect to quickly escape from combat whenever your health is low. Use this chance to hide and recover HP.

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Legs

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Lynx Paws	50% quieter movement and +12% crouched movement speed.

Lynx Paws works well with stealthy playstyles, as you will move quieter and faster on top of other bonuses from stealth perks.

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Frontal Cortex

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Kerenzikov Boost System	When Kerenzikov is active: -100% stamina cost for shooting. Slows time by 15% relative to your enemies.
Mechatronic Core	+35% damage against drones, robots, mechs and turrets. +2 Max RAM.
Self-ICE	Automatically negates an enemy quickhack. +2 Max RAM Cooldown: 45 sec.

You can equip a Kerenzikov Boost System, to remove stamina costs from shooting when Kerenzikov is active, giving you more to use when fleeing from combat.

Mechatronic Core will let you deal more damage against robots, which you will encounter as you progress through the game.

Self-ICE is useful against netrunners that are trying to hack you from far away. Once the initial quickhack is negated, try to locate the netrunner and neutralize them so you don't have to worry about more quickhacks.

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Arms

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Toxic Mantis Blades	+1.6% Health Regen Bonus +3.1 Health

Mantis Blades can serve as your melee backup in case you need a quick hack-and-slash to dispose targets that have detected you. The Toxic variant of Mantis Blades fits well for this build so you can deal more Poison damage, apart from your throwable knife.

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Skeleton

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Dense Marrow	+24% melee damage +15% melee Stamina cost
Spring Joints	+19% Mitigation Strength (Total Mitigation Strength cannot exceed 90%) Mitigation grants achance to reduce incoming damage by current Mitigation Strength (default: 50%).
Bionic Joints	Armor - Simple but effective.

For Skeleton cyberwares, Dense Marrow will give your melee attacks a little boost in case you need to hack-and-slash with your knife.

The other cyberwares are slotted in for defense boosts.

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Nervous System

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Kerenzikov	Allows you to aim and perform ranged attacks while sliding, dodging or Dashing. Slows time by 60% for 3.5 sec. when you aim a ranged attack during a slide, dodge or Dash. Cooldown 6.5 sec.
Stabber	+16.75% Crit Chance with Blades and throwable weapons.
Synaptic Accelerator	Slows time by 50% for 3.5 sec. when enemy detection reaches 50%. Cooldown 60 sec.

The Synaptic Accelerator cyberware is useful for giving more leeway when your cover is nearly blown. When it activates, use your Optical Camo to safely disengage away from enemies and hide in a safe spot.

Equipping a Kerenzikov will give you a failsafe in case you get detected by a group of enemies and your Sandevistan or Optical Camo are on cooldown. When detected, aim your silenced pistol and Dash to slow down time. During that period, try to eliminate every enemy that has detected you using your weapon.

Lastly, a Stabber will boost your crit chance stat so you'll be able to deal more damage with the knives you throw.

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Integumentary System

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Pain Editor	-7% all incoming damage +0.1% damage reduction per Attribute Point. +0.5% Mitigation Chance +2.1% Damage Over Time Resistance
Optical Camo	-90% visibility to enemies for 7 sec., making it more difficult for them to detect you outside of combat and hit you during combat. Cooldown: 50 sec.
Defenzikov	When Kerenzikove ends: +90% Mitigation Chance for 4 sec. Mitigation grants a chance to reduce incoming damage by current Mitigation Strength (default: 50%). +0.1% Crit Chance per Attribute Point. +2.6% Weapon Handling +2.1% Damage Over Time Resistance

An Optical Camo is vital for this stealth build as it allows you sneak around before killing your targets or to escape combat. This cyberware is further improved by the perks Creeping Death and Vanishing Act.

The former grants health, stamina, and movement speed boosts when you kill and enemy while using Optical Camo, while the latter will automatically use your cyberware when you crouch-sprint.

The other cyberware are chipped in for reduced damage, with Defenzikov's effects activating after Kerenzikov ends.

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How to Play the Assassin Build

Stealth is Key

Assassins must remain stealthy to avoid detection and ending up in a chaotic fight. Stay hidden by crouching and move quickly by crouch-sprinting, either to reposition or to escape when you are detected.

Once you get an Optical Camo and the Vanishing Act and Multitasker perks, make it a habit to use the cyberware before shooting your pistol or throwing a knife. This way, you can eliminate targets without ever being visible.

Aim for Headshots

For this build, headshots are key to dealing damage and even killing enemies in a single hit. Most of the perks and cyberware for this build will improve your crit chance, crit damage, and headshot multiplier damage; all you need is to aim for the head!

Maximize Movement Options

Few of the main perks under Reflexes and Cool, like crouch-sprinting and dashing or air dashing, will give you several movement techs which you can use to close the gap between you and a target, traverse buildings and platforms while sneaking, or run away from active combat.

Use Time-Slowing Cyberware

In some situations, you won't be able to easily get out of combat when you are detected by a group of enemies. Use your Sandevistan or Kerenzikov to quickly eliminate those that have detected you.

You can also use these cyberware to dive straight to enemy frontlines, kill a few targets, and use Optical Camo to go back into hiding.

Exit Combat with Relic Skills

All of the stealth-related Relic skills are meant to be used to escape combat whenever you are detected by enemies.

Use these to either reposition yourself before attempting to sneak again or to run away from the fight if you don't want to engage in combat.

Do note that both skills have their own cooldowns, with Emergency Cloaking being tied to Optical Camo's cooldown and Sensory Protocol having its own two minute cooldown.

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