Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

2.1 Best David Martinez Build

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Best David Martinez Build for 2.1
This is a guide to the best 2.1 David Martinez Build for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Read our guide for details about this build inspired by David Martinez from the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime, what attributes to level up, which perks to choose, and what weapons and cyberwares to use.

David Martinez Build Overview

Basic Information

David Martinez Build
Main Attributes
Main Weapons / Arm Cyberware M-10AF Lexington
M-76E Omaha
DB-2 Satara
Gorilla Arms
Operating System Militech "Apogee" Sandevistan

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

Chrome up and burn the city with this David Martinez-inspired Sandevistan build!

Technical Ability perks and cyberware take the forefront of this build, giving you various effects and stat boosts that make you a deadly merc. You'll also be able to constantly slow down time with your Sandevistan thanks to its reduced cooldown from certain perks and cyberware, much like in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners!

A few perk points can also be switched around if you want to use Gorilla Arms, Projectile Launch System, or Mantis Blades, which David uses in the anime.

Weaknesses

Do note that this build is not as well-rounded as other builds, as it prioritizes improving your equipped cyberwares and getting more health and armor over improving your damage.

Weapons from this build also suffer from not being able to get all the useful perks to improve them, due to David's choice of weapons in the anime and how weapon perks are spread across several attributes in the game.

David Martinez Best Attribute Build

Attribute Progression

Build Attributes
Lv. Body Reflex Tech Int Cool
1 6 4 6 3 3
10 6 4 15 3 3
50 20 13 20 3 15
60 20 20 20 3 18

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

Like David, you'd want to chip in all the cyberware you can, which is why the Technical Ability tree is maxed out first so you can enjoy reduced cooldowns and better stat boosts from all cyberware you have equipped. This attribute also gives you access to tech weapon perks which you can get to power up David's tech weapons.

After maxing Tech, you can then allot points to Body to get improved health regen and shotgun perks for the DB-2 Satara, followed by points to Cool for your pistols, and the rest to Reflexes to get some mobility perks.

If you have Phantom Liberty, you can use the extra points from the raised level cap to max out Reflexes and gain access to air dashing. The rest can be allocated to melee perks under the Body tree to power up your Gorilla Arms, which is the main Arms cyberware for this build.

David Martinez Build Best Perks

This is the full list of 2.0 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!
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Technical Ability AttributeTechnical Ability Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Body AttributeBody
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Reflexes AttributeReflexes Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Cool AttributeCool
Optional Perks

Technical Ability Attribute

If you want to follow David's footsteps, you'd want to equip as much cyberwares as you can. The Technical Ability attribute has its own perk tree dedicated to David's love for chrome, and will be the main set of perks for this build. You'll be able to get various stat boosts and modifiers from All Things Cyber, License to Chrome, and Driver Update as well as improved cooldown and effects from Cyborg and Extended Warranty.

These will all cap off with the Edgerunner perk, which increases your cyberware capacity so you can add more cyberware at the cost of your health. This perk also has a chance to activate Fury, a status effect that lets you take a preview of what it may be like to have cyberpsychosis by increasing damage and raises your chance to deal critical damage.

You will also find tech weapon perks under this tree, which you should get to power up your DB-2 Satara and M-76E Omaha.

Perk List

Main Perk Secondary Perk(s)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Glutton for War Perk Glutton for War
(1 pt)
Main Perk Only
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Health Freak Perk Health Freak
(2 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - All Things Cyber Perk All Things Cyber
(2 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - License to Chrome Perk License to Chrome
(3 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Bolt Perk Bolt
(3 pt)

Final Perks

Final Perks
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Edgerunner Perk Edgerunner Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Chain Lightning Perk Chain Lightning

Body Attribute

Perks under the Body attribute will give you additional health regen and extra health via Adrenaline Rush, which are useful to imitate David's durability during combat.

You can also get shotgun perks for your DB-2 Satara shotgun.

If you have Phantom Liberty, you can use the extra perk points from the raised level cap to get melee weapon perks for your Gorilla Arms, and gain access to new moves like Wrecking Ball's charge or Quake's area-of-effect smash.

Perk List

Main Perk Secondary Perk(s)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Painkiller Perk Painkiller
(1 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Die! Die! Die! Perk Die! Die! Die!
(2 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Wrecking Ball Perk Wrecking Ball
(2 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Adrenaline Rush Perk Adrenaline Rush
(3 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Spontaneous Obliteration Perk Spontaneous Obliteration
(3 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Quake Perk Quake
(3 pt)

Final Perks

Final Perks
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Pain to Gain Perk Pain to Gain

Cross-Branch Perk

Perk Requirement
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Bloodlust Perk Bloodlust

Get this perk when you have specific secondary perks unlocked.

Reflexes Attribute

Some perks under the Reflexes tree grant you mobility like Dash, which you can get to copy David's nimbleness when he was using his cyberskeleton and its thrusters.

Perk List

Main Perk Secondary Perk(s)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Slippery Perk Slippery
(1 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Dash Perk Dash
(2 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Air Dash Perk Air Dash
(3 pt)

Cool Attribute

The Cool tree holds all pistol perks, which is obtained to improve your pistols' usage. Every point in Cool also raises crit damage.

The vehicle perk Road Warrior allows you to use your Sandevistan while driving, almost like how David did when he was being chased by Tyger Claw goons.

Perk List

Main Perk Secondary Perk(s)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Focus Perk Focus
(2 pt)
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Deadeye Perk Deadeye
(3 pt)

Vehicle Perk

Vehicle Perk
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty - Road Warrior Perk Road Warrior

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)
(2 pts)

David Martinez Build Relic Skill Priority

Take Vulnerability Analytics and Machine Learning First

Priority Main Skill Branch Skill
1st Vulnerability Analytics Relic Icon Vulnerability Analytics Machine Learning Relic Icon Machine Learning
2nd Jailbreak Relic Icon Jailbreak Limiter Removal Relic Icon Limiter Removal

Vulnerability Analytics and Machine Learning are the useful Relic skills for this build as you will be using guns. These skills will highlight enemy weakspots that you can shoot to deal bonus damage.

Once you get these, you can next obtain Jailbreak for your arms cyberware, then Limiter Removal to power up your Gorilla Arms.

Relic Skills are Optional

If you want to be as close to the anime as possible, you can refrain from getting any Relic skills as David did not have the Relic in the show.

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

David Martinez Build Recommended Weapons

Canon Weapons

David's Canon Weapons
M-10AF Lexington M-76E Omaha DB-2 Satara
  • M-10AF Lexington is one of the first weapons David used in the anime. This can be powered up by pistol perks under the Cool tree.
  • M-76E Omaha is another pistol that David used in the show. As it is a tech pistol, pistol perks under Cool and tech weapon perks under the Tech tree can power it up.
  • DB-2 Satara is a tech shotgun once wielded by David. Gets powered up by heavy and tech weapon perks.

Alternative Iconic Weapons

Alternative Iconic Weapons
Lexington X-MOD2 Lizzie Order

If you want to use Iconic variants of David's weapons instead of regular ones, you can equip the weapons listed above instead.

David Martinez Build Best Cyberwares

Jump to a Cyberware section!
Operating System Face Hands Circulatory System
Legs Frontal Cortex Arms Skeleton
Nervous System Integumentary System

Operating System

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Militech "Apogee" SandevistanMilitech "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.

The Apogee Sandevistan is the same type of Sandevistan that David used in Cyberpunk: Edgerunner that allowed him to eliminate enemies quickly by slowing down time.

Apart from the time slow and stat boosts you can get when equipping it, the Apogee also has a low cooldown which can be sped up even more by some perks and cyberware.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Alternative: Zetatech Sandevistan

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Zetatech SandevistanZetatech Sandevistan When active on the ground: Slows time by 30%(You are not slowed), +12% damage. When active midair: Slows time by 60% +24% damage +40% headshot and weakspot damage -30% fall damage.

If you don't have the Apogee and don't mind straying off from the anime, you can temporarily equip the Zetatech Sandevistan.

This Sandevistan may not as be as great as the Apogee, but it has a low cooldown which you can rely on.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Face

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Kiroshi "Stalker" OpticsKiroshi "Stalker" Optics When aiming: Highlights enemies behind cover for 22% of your field of vision and up to 47 m. deep.

The Stalker variant of Kiroshi optics lets you track enemies, which is useful to know which enemy to kill next.

This cyberware has lower capacity, which should give you some space to slot in more cyberware especially if your capacity is low.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Hands

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Ballistic CoprocessorBallistic Coprocessor Increased ricochet chance with Power weapons. +30% ricochet damage.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Shock AbsorberShock Absorber -20% Recoil

With the Ambidextrous perk, you'll be able to equip two cyberwares for the hands slot.

Ballistic Coprocessor is useful for your power pistol, while Shock Absorber's recoil reduction is useful for all of your weapons.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Circulatory System

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Blood PumpBlood Pump Activate to instantly restore 90% of max Health. Cooldown 30 sec.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Clutch PaddingClutch Padding -18% Stamina cost for shooting.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - MicrorotorsMicrorotors Increase melee attack speed by 23%. (Melee attack speed cannot exceed 2 attacks per second.)

Blood Pump is a key cyberware for this build, as this will activate Adrenaline Rush and all of its effects, apart from it being your main healing item.

Microrotors will increase Gorilla Arms' attack speed, while Clutch Padding will reduce weapon recoil.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Legs

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Fortified AnklesFortified Ankles Allows you to charge jumps for greater distance. Hold the jump button and release for a charged jump.

David used Fortified Ankles in the anime, so this is chosen to copy his choice in the series.

You can charge your jump while running around in combat to hold it, then release the button to spring into the air.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Frontal Cortex

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Kerenzikov Boost SystemKerenzikov Boost System When Kerenzikov is active: -100% stamina cost for shooting. Slows time by 15% relative to your enemies.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Mechatronic CoreMechatronic Core +35% damage against drones, robots, mechs and turrets. +2 Max RAM.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Newton ModuleNewton Module -1.25% Cooldown instantly for all cyberware after neutralizing an enemy.

Newton Module is important for this build, as it lets you have faster Sandevistan cooldowns by simply just killing targets.

Equipping a Kerenzikov Boost System will give you more stat boosts when you use Kerenzikov.

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

Phantom Liberty Alternative: Axolotl

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - AxolotlAxolotl -10.5% Cooldown instantly for all cyberware after neutralizing an enemy.

If you have Phantom Liberty, you'll have access to several Iconic cyberware sold in Dogtown.

The Axolotl is one of these special cyberware, which you can equip instead of a Newton Module. With Axolotl, you'll have faster Sandevistan cooldowns by killing fewer targets.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Arms

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Gorilla ArmsGorilla Arms +6 to Body Attribute checks. Deal Physical damage. 20% Bleeding chance

Gorilla Arms is one of the Arms cyberware David used in the show, inspired by Maine.

You Can Also Use Other Arms Cyberware

In the anime, David was also seen to have wielded Mantis Blades and a Projectile Launch System. You can also equip these and move some perks to make alternate builds for these cyberware.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Skeleton

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Bionic JointsBionic Joints Armor - Simple but effective.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Epimorphic SkeletonEpimorphic Skeleton +13% Max Health
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Scar CoalescerScar Coalescer +22% Armor when below 50% Health.

Arasaka's cyberskeleton is not in the game, but you can imitate its durability by slotting in skeletal cyberware that raise your armor.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Nervous System

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Adrenaline ConverterAdrenaline Converter +40% movement speed for 7 sec. when entering combat.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - KerenzikovKerenzikov 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.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - NeofiberNeofiber +10% Mitigation Chance, +9% Mitigation Strength
Mitigation grants a chance to reduce incoming damage by current Mitigation Strength (default: 50%).

Kerenzikov acts as a minor Sandevistan of sorts, which you can activate when dashing on the ground.

Adrenaline Converter grants you extra movement at the start of combat, allowing you to quickly reach enemies after activating your Sandevistan.

Neofiber grants you more mitigation stats and is slotted in for defensive purposes.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Integumentary System

Cyberware Effect (Tier 5)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Cellular AdapterCellular Adapter +1% explosion resistance
'+0.5% Tech weapon damage
+0.5% Health item recharge speed
+0.5% grenade recharge speed
+13 Carrying Capacity
+2.6 Health
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - PainducerPainducer Converts 30% of damage taken into damage-over-time.
+0.5% damage-over-time resistance per Attribute Point.
+1.3% Health Item Effect
+2.5% Reduced damage from Poisoned enemies
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Subdermal ArmorSubdermal Armor +0.5 Armor per Attribute Point.
+1.3% Decreased enemy vision
+2.6 Health

These cyberware will make you more tanky by giving you additional armor and defense boosts.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

How to Use David Martinez Build

Activate Sandevistan Before Every Fight

You won't go full David unless you abuse your Sandevistan during combat. Activate it and kill as many enemies as you can to take advantage of cyberware cooldown reductions from perks and cyberwares, so you'll have your Sandevistan ready immediately after using it.

Play Aggressively

To get the full extent of this build, you need to keep on shooting and killing, especially if you get Fury from the Edgerunner perk.

As you'll be diving right into enemy frontlines, don't forget to use your Blood Pump to activate Adrenaline Rush and get extra health before barging in.

Use Your Arms Cyberware

If you get to overwhelmed, use your equipped Arms cyberware to clear the crowd, either during Sandevistan or even when its not active. You'll be able to eliminate a few enemies which not only gives you some space but also lowers your Sandevistan's cooldown.

This applies to Gorilla Arms, Mantis Blades, and even the Projectile Launch System.

Alternative Builds

If you want to equip Mantis Blades or a Projectile Launch System instead of Gorilla Arms, you can follow one of the builds below. Do note that these builds use the extra perk points from Phantom Liberty's raised level cap.

Mantis Blades Build

Recommended Build
Arms Cyberware Mantis Blades
Perks to Remove Attribute:

and melee weapon perks
Perks to Add Attribute:

This setup allows you to wield Mantis Blades by simply moving all melee weapon perks under the Body attribute to blades-related perks under Reflexes.

With these perks, you'll be able to hack-and-slash your way through fights and also get access to the Bladerunner finisher.

If you're using Relic skills, make sure to switch your connected Jailbreak skill to Spatial Mapping.

Projectile Launch System Build

Recommended Build
Arms Cyberware Projectile Launch System
Perks to Remove Attribute:

and melee weapon perks
Perks to Add Attribute:

If you want to be a bit more explosive, equip a Projectile Launch System and move all melee weapon perks under body to Pyromania's tree under Technical Ability.

To take full advantage of these perks, try to position yourself near your explosions as you'll get stat boosts. You'll receive less damage from your own attacks with the Friendlier Fire perk.

If you're using Relic skills, make sure to switch your connected Jailbreak skill to Launch Capacity Override.

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