High Damage Gunslinger Build (Pistols and Revolvers)

The world of Cyberpunk 2077 is filled to the brim with sleek, compact, and stylish handguns that are just as deadly as the other weapons in the game. They are easy to handle and provide a mean force that only gets meaner with the right combination of passive skills and gear mods.

The following is a gunslinger-style gun build that relies on high crit stats and the player's ability to chain kills and headshots. It's fantastic at all stages of the game, and it's more than capable of one-touching almost any enemy Cyberpunk 2077even in the most difficult difficulties. Here's how to set it up.

Updated November 12, 2024 by Marc Santos: The patches after update 2.1 for Cyberpunk 2077 did not implement any new changes that drastically affect the most important parts of this Cyberpunk Pistol build. However, a patch added a hard cap to cyberware, which could catch some players in for a surprise if they're just starting the game again. We've updated this guide to take that into account, and we've also improved the skill building section to include perk descriptions.

Cyberpunk 2077 Pistolero Skill Build

The important perks needed for this build to work have remained untouched by the 2.1 update.

The total renewal of the skills and benefits system i Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 update drastically changed how guns are played. Instead of spending most of the perks and attribute points on Reflexes, players now have to invest in Cool and Technical ability (and also a little in Reflexes still).

Long story short, to get a strong gun build players have to unlock all gun related skills in Cool skill tree, starting with Focus and ends with Nerves of Tungsten Steel, including most (if not all) subnodes connected to them. Here's what each of the main skills does:

• Focus: Increases damage on headshots and weak points; no stamina cost when shooting for a short time after aiming down
• Dead Eye: Greatly increases headshot and weak point damage when stamina is above 85%
• Nerves of Tungsten Steel: All headshot and weak point hits are guaranteed to be critical when Deadeye is active; damage increases the further away a target is

Run 'N' Gun is the only optional major skill here. Having no stamina cost for hip shot means Deadeye will always be active, but players will miss out on all benefits Focus and its subnodes provide.

Speaking of subnodes, Head to head, deep breaths, and Quick move are the most important for this construction because of the following:

• Deep breath makes it easier to hit headshots by slowing down time without using cyberware
• Head to Head extends the duration of Focus and its unlimited stamina effect as long as players continue to neutralize targets
• Quick move negates the need to reload as players can simply switch to another gun
  • Players will never need to reload if they use Mixer mod, which reloads a percentage of a gun's empty magazine after switching to it

With all this in mind, the new Cyberpunk gun built gameplay revolves around score and chain together headshot kills. Any weapon mod that helps make this easier (Zenith, Shuffler, Pinpoint) will help immensely.

As for the other skill trees, take the following:

The Reflex skills allow for more fluid movement in battle while allowing the use of Kerenzikov when you slide or run. Meanwhile, the Technical Ability skill above is more or less mandatory for all builds, and this one is no different. Spend any remaining points on preferred reflexes, cool or body skills.

Technical skills should be saved for when you have enough resources to fully invest in cyberware. There's no need to rush anything here, so feel free to spend your points elsewhere unless you have a piece of chrome you really want to use.

Recommended weapons

The 2.1 update has given crafted weapons two mod slots instead of one. However, weapons crafted prior to this update are not affected, so you will need to create new ones.

Since 2.0 removed almost all the optional weapon mods that make the old gun build strong, players have to make do with what's available. Thankfully, the gun skills above ensure that pistols and revolvers still have access to the improved Critical Hit Damage and 100% Critical Hit Chance (as long as players headshot), which star the original playstyle.

The Overture revolver remains the most well-rounded option for this build thanks to its solid damage profile and ease of handling compared to other revolvers. The heavier RT-46 Burya can also be a good choice if players can handle its hard kicking recoil.

Legendary variants are recommended for their modding possibilities, although some iconic ones Cyberpunk 2077 weapon that Amnesty, Archangel, and that Doom Doom The DR-5 Nova are all worthy options.

Regular pistols follow the same rules as revolvers, although they are better suited for stealth builds since revolvers can no longer use silencers. Still, hard-hitting hand weapons such as Nue and Tamayura can also be used in a loud construction like this.

Given the killstreak-focused nature of gun skills, it is best to equip two or even three revolvers at a time. Don't bother reloading and just switch to another gun if one runs out of ammo. Keep the streak alive and reap the rewards of the build.

Recommended Weapon Mods

• Zenith: Increases crit chance and weapon switching speed. Reduces bullet dispersion.
• Mixer: Drawing your weapon automatically reloads a percentage of its magazine. Increases weapon switching speed and improves reload time.
• Better Half: Increases crit chance on the bottom half of your magazine.

Cyberware

Patch 2.11 introduced a hard cyberware cap of 450. Be sure to check if your equipped implants can fit this new cap, and if necessary, downgrade defensives first. Just make sure all slots are filled to get Cyborg's cooldown reduction.

Cyberware now plays a significantly larger role in this build than before. The simple stat implants are now gone and players must improve their cyberware capabilities Cyberpunk 2077 and equip more advanced ones to get the most out of this setup. Priority implants include:

• Militech “Apogee” Sandevistan (OS): Slows time and greatly increases damage
  • May not be available until level 40+; use Zetatech or Dynalar Sandevistans until then
• Tyrosine Injector (nervous): Increases movement speed and head damage after a takedown
• Newton module (frontal cortex): Reduces cyberware cooldowns after a takedown
• Kerenzikov: Slows down time when aiming for a dash, escape or slide
• Coupling stuffing (circulation): Reduces the stamina cost of shooting
• Kiroshi “Clairvoyant” optics (eyes): Cool-minded; marks enemies when scanning
• Shock absorbers (hands): Reduces recoil

Players should fill the remaining empty cyberware slots with their preferred implants to enable Cyborg skill, which reduces the cooldown of all cyberware by 15% if all slots are filled. Use The Sand Vista whenever available for faster kills and easier aiming.

If you need more critical hit chance, or if you want to make room for other damage modifiers, replace Kiroshi Clairvoyant Optics with Kiroshi Cockatrice. This is only available in Dogtown.