Best Blades Build for 1.6 (Katana Build) | Cyberpunk 2077

This is a guide to the Best Blades Build for Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 1.6. Read our guide for details about the build, what attributes to level up, which perks to choose, and what weapons and cyberwares to use.

Blades Build Overview

Build Basic Information

Blades Build
Main Attributes	• Reflexes • Body • Cool
Main Perk Trees	• Blades (Reflexes) • Athletics (Body) • Ninjutsu (Cool) • Cold Blood (Cool)
Main Weapons / Arm Cyberware	• Satori • Jinchu-Maru • Projectile Launch System
Operating System	• Militech Falcon Sandevistan MK.5 / QianT Warp Dancer Sandevistan MK.5

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths	Weaknesses
• Melee fighter that deals heavy damage to opponents with lightning speed. • Armor and health bonuses keep them alive even when faced with enemies armed with guns.	• Low Intelligence attribute limits access to quichacks, and makes them vulnerable to enemy netrunners. • Short range of melee attacks also makes this character vulnerable to snipers.

Blades Best Attribute Build

Attribute Progression

When starting out, add points to Reflexes first. Reflexes are the main attribute of this build, due to the access it gives to the Blades perk tree. It also has bonuses that help reduce the damage that you will sustain in combat.

Body is your second-most important attribute, as it gives you access to perks in the 'Athletics' tree that will reduce damage that you take in combat, and regenerate your health. Meanwhile, you will find yourself leveling up your Cool attribute to unlock perks in both the Cold Blood and Ninjutsu trees.

Level up these two attributes as needed to unlock the perks you want from the Athletics, Ninjutsu and Cold Bood perk trees.

Build Attributes
Lv.	Body	Reflex	Tech	Intel	Cool
1	6	6	3	3	4
10	9	10	3	3	6
50	20	20	3	10	18

Blades Build Best Perks

Blades (Reflexes)

Perk	Effect at Lv. 1
Dragon Strike	Increases Crit Damage with Blades by 40%. +1% per Perk level.
Sting Like a Bee	Increases attack speed with Blades by 10%.
Roaring Waters	Strong Attacks with Blades deal 10% more damage.
Crimson Dance	Combos with Blades have a 15% chance to apply Bleeding.
Slow and Steady	Moving while wielding a Blade increases Armor by 15%
Flight of the Sparrow	Reduces the Stamina cost of all attack with Blades by 30%
Offensive Defense	Defensive Attacks with Blades deal 75% more damage.
Shifting Sands	Dodging while wielding a Blade recovers 15% Stamina.
Stuck Pig	Increases Bleeding duration by 3 sec.
Blessed Blade	Increases Crit Chance with Blades by 10%.
Unbroken Spirit	Successful Counterattacks with Blades restore 25% Health and Stamina.
Bloodlust	While wielding a Blade, recovers 2% Health when hitting an enemy affected by Bleeding.
Float Like a Butterfly	Dodging increases damage with Blades by 25% for 5 sec.
Judge, Jury and Executioner	Increases damage with Blades by 50% against enemies with max Health.
Fiery Blast	Increases damage with Blades by 1% for every 1% of Health the enemy is missing.
Crimson Tide	Bleeding applied with Blades can stack 3 times.
Deathbolt	While wielding a Blade, defeating an enemy restores 20% Health and increases movement speed by 30% for 5 sec.

You will want to unlock all the perks in the Blades tree. But when you're starting out, first go for perks like Sting Like a Bee, Roaring Waters, and Slow and Steady. As soon as you can, get Deathbolt for health regen every time you kill an enemy.

Athletics (Body)

Perk	Effect at Lv. 1
Gladiator	Reduces the amount of Stamina consumed when blocking melee attacks by 20%.
Steel And Chrome	Increases melee damage by 10%.
Marathoner	Sprinting does not drain Stamina.
Steel Shell	Increases Armor by 10%.
Indestructible	Reduces all incoming damage by 10%.

You won't be able to max out all the perks in the Athletics tree, so choose wisely and prioritize perks that regenerate your health like Regeneration, and those that increase your melee damage like Steel and Chrome.

Get Marathoner when you can so you can sprint without spending stamina that you would otherwise use for your sword attacks.

Cold Blood (Cool)

Perk	Effect at Lv. 1
Cold Blood	After defeating an enemy, gain Cold Blood for 7 sec. and increase movement speed by 2%. Stacks up to 1 time. The duration of each additional stack is 1 sec. shorter.
Blood Brawl	While Cold Blood is active, increases damage with melee weapons by 5%.
Rapid Bloodflow	Increase Health regen inside and outside combat by 5% per stack of Cold Blood.
Defensive Clotting	Increases Armor by 4% per stack of Cold Blood.
Predator	Increases attack speed by 10% per stack of Cold Blood.
Cold and Calculating	Landing a Crit Hit has 50% chance of applying a stack of Cold Blood.
Pain Is An Illusion	While Cold Blood is active, reduces damage taken by 5%.
Critical Condition	Increases duration of Cold Blood by 25%
Coldest Blood	Increases max stack amount for Cold Blood by 1.
Immunity	Grants immunity to Bleeding, Poison, Burn, and Shock when at least 4 stack(s) of Cold Blood are active.

Cold Blood and its associated perks increase your movement speed while giving you all sorts of other buffs like increased critical damage, increased health regen, and increased attack speed. Aside from the Cold Blood perk, go for the perks that benefit a melee fighter like Blood Brawl, Cold and Calculating, and Predator.

Ninjutsu (Cool)

Perk	Effect at Lv. 1
Assassin	Deal 15% more damage to human enemies.
From The Shadows	Upon entering combat, Crit Chance increases by 10% for 7 sec.
Hasty Retreat	Temporarily boosts movement speed by 50% for 5 sec. when detected by an enemy.
Cheat Death	When your Health drops below 50%, reduce all incoming damage by 50% for 10 sec. Cannot occur more than once per minute.

Since you go against enemies face to face, there's little need for you to be stealthy. However, take perks like Assassin and From the Shadows to increase the damage you deal during battle.

Cheat Death and Hasty Retreat reduce the damage you receive and increase your movement speed, giving you more time to kill your enemies before they can even shoot.

Blades Build Best Weapons

Satori

Weapon
Satori
Effect	Reduces base damage, but increases Crit Damage 5 times.

One of the best katanas in the game, and you can get it as early as Act 1. The Satori deals high critical damage because of its effect, offsetting its low base damage.

How to Get the Satori

Jinchu-Maru

Weapon
Jinchu-Maru
Effect	Gain 100% Crit Chance while Kerenzikov is active. Last strike in a combo deals double damage. Doubles damage against enemies with twice your current Health.

The Jinchu-Maru is another great katana that pairs well with a Kerenzikov since you'll land critical hits with every strike while it's active.

How to Get the Jinchu-Maru

Blades Build Best Cyberwares

Operating System

Militech Falcon Sandevistan MK.5

Cyberware	Effect (Legendary/Iconic)
Militech "Falcon" Sandevistan MK.5	Slows time by 30% for 18 sec. Cooldown 60 sec. ・Increases any damage dealt by 15% when Sandevistan is active. ・Increases Crit Chance by 20% and Crit Damage by 20% when Sandevistan is active.

This cyberware will allow you to deal more damage and a higher chance of Critical hits landing. It even boosts your Critical damage.

QianT Warp Dancer Sandevistan MK.5

Cyberware	Effect (Legendary)
QianT Sandevistan MK.4	Slows time to 25% for 12 sec. Cooldown 15 sec. ・Increases any damage dealt by 15% when Sandevistan is active. ・Increases Crit Chance by 15% when Sandevistan is active.

A good alternative to the Falcon, as it has the bonus of increasing your Crit Chance and can combo up with the Blessed Blade perk, which increases your chance to land critical hits even more.

Arms Cyberware

Projectile Launch System

Cyberware	Effect (Legendary)
Projectile Launch System	The Projectile Launcher allows you to unleash various powerful projectiles, dealing various types of damage as well as causing explosions and applying status effects. But most importantly, it wreaks mayhem and destruction. Three slot available (missiles, wiring, universal).

Even if you're a melee fighter, there may come a time when you'll need a ranged weapon to deal with a faraway camera, turret, or enemy. That's where the Projectile Launch System comes in.

Other Cyberwares

Kerenzikov

Cyberware	Effect (Legendary)
Kerenzikov	Allows you to aim and shoot while dodging. Slows time by 90% for 3.5 sec. when blocking, aiming, or attacking during a slide or dodge. Cooldown 5 sec.

Aside from the Sandevistan, the Kerenzikov will slow down time for you whenever you slide or dodge, making it useful in surviving close-quarters fights with your sword.

Self-ICE

Cyberware	Effect (Rare)
Self-ICE	Negates effects of enemy quickhacks. Cooldown 45 sec.

This is the reason why you want to eventually get 10 points into your Intelligence attribute. Since you mainly focus on melee combat, you are vulnerable to enemy netrunners who will try to kill you with quickhacks. Self-ICE protects you from these attacks long enough for you to find that netrunner.

Heal-On-Kill

Cyberware	Effect (Legendary)
Heal-on-Kill	Instantly restores 10% Health after defeating an enemy.

In close-quarters combat, you might not have enough time to take a MaxDoc to heal yourself. That's why the Heal-on-Kill cyberware will do the healing for you. The more enemies you kill, the more your health gets restored.

Pain Editor

Cyberware	Effect (Legendary)
Pain Editor	Reduces all incoming damage by 10%.

This cyberware reduces the damage you receive in combat.

Microrotors

Cyberware	Effect (Legendary)
Microrotors	Increases attack speed by 25%.

The faster your attack speed, the faster you kill and the faster you get all the buffs from killing. Get it as soon as you can.

Lynx Paws

Cyberware	Effect (Epic)
Lynx Paws	Allows you to move and run more quietly. The sound of your footsteps will not carry as far.

This cyberware ensures that your enemies won't know of your presence until you strike them.

How to Play the Blades Build

Keep Dodging, Keep Killing

When it comes to Blades, the key to surviving is to not let your enemies pin you down in one location. Keep moving, and cut through your enemies one by one, alternating between normal and strong attacks.

The more enemies you kill, the longer you stay alive because of your cyberware and perks. So keep your wits about you and make a string of kills.

Use the Sandevistan to Slow Down Time

The Sandevistan (and the Kerenzikov) slow down time, allowing you to act much faster than your enemies. You can kill a whole group of them before they can even pull their guns out, so time the use of these cyberwares well.

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