V, the character you play in Cyberpunk 2077, has a wide selection of weaponry to choose from. You can spec your character out to be proficient in various types of guns and melee weapons, and there’s tons of variety within each category. And because this is an RPG, each weapon has stats associated with it, which help determine how strong it is. The right sword can overpower the wrong gun, for instance, and vice versa.
Fortunately, you’ll be picking up and cycling through plenty of weapons as you make your way through the game. Eventually, you’ll likely settle on a preferred weapon type to focus on so you can save your valuable upgrade materials.
Here’s what you need to know about the best weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 and where to find them.
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Weapon types
Before diving into the best weapons you can find in Night City, you need to understand the different weapon types and rarity system CD Projekt Red has implemented. This is an RPG, after all, meaning two guns that look identical won’t necessarily be of equal power. There are four primary weapon types: Power, Smart, Tech, and Melee.
Each has its own pros and cons, and within each of these categories is a rarity system, which ranks weapons on a familiar scale of Common through Iconic. Naturally, the higher the rarity, the better the stats on any given weapon will be. Still, you should experiment with the different weapon types to see which fits your playstyle best.
Power weapons
Power weapons are your traditional firearms. They use good ole reliable bullets to get things done, and even in the year 2077 are still more than lethal. Weapons that fit into this category will be very familiar, like pistols, SMGs, shotguns, and assault rifles. The positives for these guns, depending on the type of course, are a generally higher rate of fire and the fact that bullets can bounce around the environment. Just like in real life, though, ballistic weapons have quite a kick, so you’ll need to control your recoil more so than with the other weapon types.
Smart weapons
If you came to Cyberpunk 2077 looking for more futuristic weapon options, then Smart weapons will be up your alley. These guns shoot homing projectiles that track your enemies for you. Not only is this satisfying for all players, but is a great weapon type for players who find the gunplay to be too fiddly, or are just not as comfortable with FPS games in general. These guns won’t make the game play itself, but are a good option for anyone who would rather smooth out the combat of the game.
Tech weapons
In a lot of ways, Tech weapons are the real power weapons in Cyberpunk 2077. These guns are like hand-held railguns. Each shot is a deadly blast of destruction with pinpoint accuracy. They even have the strength to shoot right through cover in some instances. The downside? The rate of fire can be painfully slow, especially if you miss a shot. If you’re a crack shot and you know it, then Tech weaponry is arguably the most efficient type to carry.
Melee weapons
There’s not much to be said about Melee weapons you can’t already guess. They’re weapons you hit guys with, obviously. Unless you’re role-playing a very specific type of character, odds are you’ll mostly be using a range weapon as your primary weapon, but keeping a Melee weapon as backup is always useful. You’ve got your choices of swords, blades, sledgehammers, and even cyberware that can turn your fists into deadly bludgeoning tools.
The best weapons in Cyberpunk 2077
The vast majority of guns you can find, loot, and purchase in Night City will be different rarities of the base weapons. You’ll find dozens of pistols across the rarity scale that you can use, break down, and upgrade into higher tiers. They may have different stats, but are all functionally the same. Iconic weapons stand out because, while they do come in different rarities, they’re unique. You can find or make Legendary weapons, but there is only one way to get each Iconic weapon, and only one of each in the game.
However, more than 40 Iconic weapons have been found in the game so far, so we’ll be focusing on a few in each category that you should go out of your way to find first — no matter what type of build you’re running. These are the ones you don’t want to accidentally pass by.
Note: A few of these weapons are found during story missions (more specifically, on certain character’s corpses). Proceed with caution if you’re sensitive to being spoiled.
Kongou Power Pistol
The top of the line in terms of Power type pistols, the Kongou manages to sneak in some extra tech on this old-school weapon type. It comes modded so you can see where the bullets will bounce without having to equip the specific cyberware augments to do so. The damage is great at over 130 DPS at lower rarities and can be equipped with a scope, muzzle, and mod of your choice. You will come across this pistol early in the game, during The Heist mission in act one. While you’re in Yorinobu’s penthouse, make sure to grab it off the nightstand.
Fenrir Power SMG
If you want a higher rate of fire, the Fenrir is another Power weapon you can snag early on in your game. While the name Fenrir may call images of the mythical wolf, this SMG’s teeth is its ability to set your targets ablaze. It comes with a slew of bonuses, including thermal damage, crit chance, headshot damage multiplier, and the aforementioned burn chance. Find it by taking on the Sacrum Profanum side mission and picking it up in the warehouse.
Overwatch Power Sniper Rifle
If you prefer to be more of a sophisticated killer, the Overwatch sniper rifle was made for you. As a sniper, you can expect it to be very powerful, and it certainly is, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The real draw is the custom silencer it comes equipped with to keep your enemies guessing as you pick them off from the shadows. Toss in a bunch of damage bonuses, high accuracy, and fast reload speed and you’ve got everything you need to clear out a mob before they know what hit them. You can get your hands on this rifle as a quest reward for the Riders on the Storm side mission as part of Panam’s chain of quests.
Apparition Tech Pistol
The first Tech weapon is built for players who like living on the edge. On the surface, it is a basic, yet powerful, Tech pistol that focuses entirely on dealing physical damage. If that’s all you want it for, it will certainly do the job. However, the special perk to this pistol is that it will get more powerful when your health is low. Fire rate, reload speed, and damage all go up, but charge shots will deal double damage in this state. You have to loot this pistol off of Frank’s body during the War Pigs side mission.
Lizzie Tech Pistol
If you like the Tech weapons but wished they had a higher rate of fire, the Lizzie pistol is going to be your best bet. Not only does it boast one of the highest rates of fire for a Tech weapon you can get, but it also fires twice per shot. Or, if you fully charge it, it can fire off an entire barrage of shots all at once. That makes the additional thermal damage and burn chance way more valuable than it might look based on the low percentages. When you’re blasting off as many shots as this gun can, you’re bound to hit that chance sooner rather than later. You can find this gun, appropriately enough, in Lizzie’s basement during act two.
Widow Maker Tech Precision Rifle
This here is possibly the best weapon all around in Cyberpunk 2077. Precision rifles are already some of the most balanced weapons, good for basically every type of encounter, and this one puts regular Precision rifles to shame. It basically eliminates the main downside of Tech weapons by firing twice per shot instead of just once, plus has a chance of dealing chemical damage to poison anyone unlucky enough to survive a direct hit. Take this trophy from Nash’s body after completing the Ghost Town main mission.
Skippy Smart Pistol
The Skippy certainly puts the “smart” in Smart pistol. It’s built with an A.I. that, upon being picked up, will ask you to choose between two modes: Stone Cold Killer and Puppy Pacifist. Choosing to make Skippy a killer will set all your shots to automatically target victims’ heads, while choosing pacifism will set him to target exclusively legs instead. Before you pick, there is a bit of a trick you need to know. Skippy will follow your instructions for the first 50 kills, but afterward, switch to the other mode with no way of reversing it. So if you want a pistol that only pops heads that scales to your level, make sure you start out as a pacifist. You can find Skippy on a corpse lying between some dumpsters on the east side of Heywood in the Vista Del Rey suburb. It will be on your map as an undiscovered location to help you find it.
Genjiroh Smart Pistol
If you prefer your Smart guns to be a little less chatty, the Genjiroh is a more than solid option. Almost more like a handheld shotgun than a pistol, it fires four rounds per shot that deal electrical damage. Add in the ability to target six foes at once and deep magazines, this is a no-frills, solid gun. This is one of the more hidden ones to find. During the Play It Safe mission, after you exit the elevator, you need to open a door on your right using a code.
Tsumetogi Katana
This katana has one of the highest DPS of any sword. Now, that might make you worried about stamina consumption when you’re swinging it so fast, but the Tsumetogi has a lower stamina cost to swing than a normal Melee weapon. Throw in a nice electrical damage buff to damage dealt, and reduced to yourself, and more powerful strong attacks, and this katana is a cut above the rest. You can find it during the Pisces side mission on a table where you speak to the Tyger Claws leaders.
Tinker Bell
We had to include at least one non-lethal option, and Tinker Bell felt like the right choice. This is a quick one-handed club that is bursting with electrical damage. If you don’t manage to inflict shock, the strong attack has a chance to one-hit KO your target. Grab it during The Hunt side mission in Peter Pan’s house in Edgewood farms.
Gold-Plated Baseball Bat
Sometimes you just need a good old-fashioned blunt weapon to make your point. Technically another non-lethal weapon, this two-handed club will crack skulls in a way that makes you wonder how anyone could possibly survive. There’s not much to say about this bat you couldn’t guess except that it has a nasty chance to apply bleeding and one mod slot to play with.
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