★ 2.1 Update and Ultimate Edition are now available!
┗ NEW: Metro System, Car Racing, Romantic Hangouts
★ Phantom Liberty: Dogtown Map & Relics System
★ See our Best Update 2.0 Builds here!
┗ HOT: Blades Build, Netrunner Build, & Assassin Build
★ Update 2.0: Changes to Perks, Cyberware, & UI
This is a guide to the best Update 2.1 Mantis Blades Build in 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.
List of Contents
Blades Build | |
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Main Attributes | |
Main Arm Cyberware / Weapons | ・Mantis Blades ・ Guts ・ Archangel / Her Majesty ・ Defender |
Operating System | ・Militech “Apogee” Sandevistan |
Though this build is not as flashy and fast as the Blades build, the Mantis Blades build boasts its flexibility. Having the main weapon on a Cyberware slot opens up the possibility of having multiple weapons ready as a backup.
This build is also quite stealthy, making use of some perks that promote stealth gameplay.
Like the Blades build, the Mantis Blades requires the player to jump in face-to-face with an enemy, so they will inevitably soak up a lot of damage. This may not be very effective against high HP enemies like bosses.
Also since we are using a Sandevistan, note that V won't have access to any quickhacks in this build.
Build Attributes | |||||
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Lv. | Body | Reflex | Tech | Intel | Cool |
1 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
50 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 3 | 8 |
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.
When starting out, add points to Reflexes first. The Mantis Blades is affected by the Blades perk tree, so aim to maximize that tree as much as possible.
Next is putting more points on Body to ensure survivability in head-to-head fights. The Adrenaline Rush tree here is a godsend for melee builds like for the Mantis Blades.
Put some Atributes on Technical Ability to get access to the Edgerunner perk. Perks found on the tree are also helpful in increasing your overall cyberware capacity.
Some points will also be allotted for Cool so players can have access to the Optical Camo perks. This helps a lot especially during fights.
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! | |||
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Optional Perks |
Most Reflexes perks for this build give you mobility options as you dash in and out of battle. Dash will help you easily cut the distance between you and an enemy or give you the capability to jump out of battle when low on health.
Air Dash, on the other hand, will help you leap across platforms or buildings to more easily access enemies.
Main Perk | Secondary Perk(s) |
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Final Perks | |||
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Perk | Requirement |
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Get this perk when you have specific secondary perks unlocked.
Points are also invested in Body to promote maximum defense, and health regeneration. This is also where we add perks that improve the performance of Shotgun-type weapons.
Main Perk | Secondary Perk(s) |
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Final Perks | |||
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Perk | Requirement |
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Get this perk when you have specific secondary perks unlocked.
Perks from Technical Ability allows you to increase your cyberware capacity which also increases your overall armor and health.
Main Perk | Secondary Perk(s) |
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Final Perks | |||
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This attribute focuses on giving V access to Optical Camo perks which can help them survive fights by going invisible mid-battle then pouncing again from the shadows. Some points are also put on the Pistol tree to improve Pistol performance.
Main Perk | Secondary Perk(s) |
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Main Perk Only |
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Main Perk Only |
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Vehicle Perk | ||
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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. We also included replacement perks in case the removed perks' value go beyond 10 points.
Removable Perks (12 pts) | |
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Replacement Perks (2 pts) | |
Priority | Main Skill | → | Branch Skill |
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1st |
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→ |
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2nd |
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3rd |
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→ |
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Mantis Blades would want to take the Relic that directly improves it which is Jailbreak and Spatial Mapping. Jailbreak basically enhances Mantis Blades' leaping attacks that can even reach snipers' nests.
Afterwards, go for Emergency Cloaking and Sensory Protocol to improve on your Optical Camo capabilities. You can even use it mid-fight to confuse enemies.
Lastly, Vulnerability Analytics and Machine Learning is a general-purpose Relic skill that exposes weakspot on enemies that you can use to your advantage.
Please take note that the Phantom Liberty expansion is needed to access the Relic Skill Tree.
Relic Skill Tree Guide and List
Recommended Weapons (Base Game only) |
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Guts | Archangel | Defender |
Recommended Weapons (with Phantom Liberty) |
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Guts | Her Majesty | Defender |
Jump to a Cyberware section! | |||||||
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Operating System | Face | Hands | Circulatory System | ||||
Legs | Frontal Cortex | Arms | Skeleton | ||||
Nervous System | Integumentary System |
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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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 this time slow Sandevistan allows you to dash between multiple enemies with ease. Start by jumping to a group of enemies then picking them off one by one. If they start to inevitably swarm you, activate the Sandevistan.
This specific Sandevistan can also be activated at any charge level, so try to activate and deactivate it in the middle of fights to manage its charge levels.
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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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.
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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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 is a variant of Kiroshi Optics that lets you track enemies, cameras, and turrets near you. You can use this to identify the positioning of all enemies and plan your path along an area.
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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-20% Recoil |
Shotguns have inherently high recoil, so we'd want to slot in Shock Absorber to reduce the overall recoil from such huge weapon.
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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Stamina +23% whenever you use a melee weapon to neutralize an enemy. |
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Automatically heals you with your Health Item when your Health drops below 35%. +14% Health Item effectiveness. |
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Movement speed +25% when your Health drops to 25%. The more your health drops, the more movement speed increases (max. +35%). |
Both Blood Pump and Threatevac help with your overall survival during fights especially when facing a large group of enemies.
Adrenaline Booster enables you to maintain your stamina while slashing through hoards of enemies.
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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Press Space Bar in midair to perform a double jump. |
Reinforced Tendons enable double jumping, which is a valuable positioning move that lets you reach higher places, helping you get away or giving you a better vantage point. Do note that you can combine double jumps with air dashes, which lets you zip across areas easily.
This also makes effective use of the Flash and Thunderclap perk as jumping around basically creates greater distance between you and the enemy, resulting in increased damage when you leap to attack.
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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-1.25% Cooldown instantly for all cyberware after neutralizing an enemy. |
Equipping Newton Module further improves Cyberware cooldowns - very important to maintain your Sandevistan's uptime.
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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+6.2% Bonus Stealth Damage +3.1% Melee Damage. |
The Mantis Blades are your main weapon for this build. The base variant of Mantis Blades fits well as they deal increased melee damage overall.
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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+24% melee damage +15% melee Stamina cost |
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+12% Armor |
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+22% Armor when below 50% Health. |
For Skeleton cyberwares, we focused mainly on improving V's overall defense. Dense Marrow is added to bolster this build's overall damage with the cost of some extra stamina.
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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+40% movement speed for 7 sec. when entering combat. |
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+10% Mitigation Chance, +9% Mitigation Strength Mitigation grants a chance to reduce incoming damage by current Mitigation Strength (default: 50%). |
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+16.75% Crit Chance with Blades and throwable weapons. |
Both Adrenaline Converter and Stabber improve your overall damage and movement speed in battle.
We also added the Neofiber cyberware to improve your overall survivability during battle.
Cyberware | Effect (Tier 5) |
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-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. |
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The closer an attacking enemy is, the less damage they deal to you. -20% incoming damage at 3 m. Damage reduction tapers off to 0% at 6 m. +0.5 Health per Attribute Point. +2.1% Melee Damage Resistance +2.5% Melee Damage |
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+0.5 Armor per Attribute Point. +1.3% Decreased enemy vision +2.6 Health |
All of the cyberwares listed above aim to improve V's overall survivability in fights. Optical Camo enables you to go invisible mid fight to confuse enemies.
Similar to using the Blades, the key to surviving with Mantis Blades is to not let your enemies pin you down in one location. Keep moving and cut through each enemy one by one - leaping from one to the next. Make use of the improved Dashing perks to go in or out of battle when necessary.
With the addition of dashing-related perks, mobility using Bladed weapons such as the Mantis Blades is so much better than before. You can either use the improved mobility to pick each enemy one by one or dash away so you can recover your health. It's all about choosing the best time to strike and retreat.
Like all Bladed weapons, Mantis Blades use up stamina for every swing. Therefore, managing your stamina should be a priority.
Note that Tailwind negates stamina consumption while dashing as long as you do it in mid-air. This is basically free mobility so use it extensively.
When you are pinned down by hoards of enemies and got nowhere to go, switch to your shotgun and start shooting multiple enemies at once. Your shotgun should have enough perks to be as strong as your Mantis Blades!
Though CDPR removed Cyberware mods in Update 2.0, Sandevistans that slows down time is still as effective as before though you have to choose your timings more carefully.
We suggest using the slow effect when you have a clear-cut path to mow down at least 3-4 enemies then deactivate the cyberware to recharge. Do this repeatedly during a fight and you'll be able to mow down hoards of enemies without dying.
Additionally, deactivate your Sandevistan when you initiate a Finisher move. The animation will eat up your duration, wasting precious active time.
2.1 Best Mantis Blades Build (Dual Wielding Build)
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Additional perk: Predator, requires 12 Cool Build at level 50: 7 cool