Cyberpunk 2077: Best Character Builds for V

Looking for Cyberpunk 2077 character builds to help kickstart your imagination? Well you've come to the right place for the best Cyberpunk 2077 character builds for V. For this Cyberpunk 2077 guide, we've come up with a number of effective character builds that appeal to all styles of play.

You'll find recommended Attributes, Skills, and Perks for each character build, as well as an overview based on what the build is trying to achieve.

Try not to view any of these builds as definitive, though. This guide isn't about creating a supremely overpowered character (although some builds could be considered far more potent than others). It's more about giving you a starting point — helping you establish a style of play that you really enjoy.

Cyberpunk 2077 Character Builds: How Do They Work?

Before we get into the builds themselves, let's quickly go over the makeup of an effective character build.

Generally speaking, an effective character build focuses on specific areas of expertise. By making the most of these areas and ignoring others, you create your own style of play.

In Cyberpunk 2077, most character builds should focus on just two or three key Skills. That may sound limiting, but the game actually gives you a lot of freedom when it comes developing your character. You can combine any Skills that you want, and there's a lot of room for experimentation.

Please Note: Following the release of Cyberpunk 2077 on PS5, alongside update 1.5, the game's skill system has been reworked. While no major changes have been made to the way that the system functions overall, numerous perks have been altered on a mechanical level, and some have been renamed or replaced entirely.

This character build guide now takes these changes into account, and should be up to date as a result. We will, of course, update this guide should CD Projekt Red make additional changes down the line.

Attributes

Character builds in Cyberpunk 2077 are made up of three core elements: Attributes, Skills, and Perks.

Attributes are your base stats. They form the basis of any character build, and determine the kind of path that your character takes.

There are five Attributes in Cyberpunk 2077:

• Body
• Reflexes
• Technical Ability
• Intelligence
• Cool

At the beginning of the game, when you first create your character, you're given a number of Attribute points to spend however you like. At this stage, the minimum for any Attribute is 3 points. The maximum is 6 points.

Once you're in the game proper, you'll gain an additional Attribute point every time you level up. The maximum level in Cyberpunk 2077 is 50, so over the course of the game, you get 50 Attribute points to work with, on top of the points that you start off with.

However, this doesn't mean that you can pump 50 points into one Attribute. Each Attribute is capped at 20, meaning that you can max out three Attributes at most. This is why character builds in Cyberpunk 2077 tend to focus on just two or three key areas, based on how you spend your Attribute points.

Skills

Each Attribute is tied to a set of Skills. Skills are practical abilities that your character utilises during gameplay.

Skills increase as you use them. For example, shooting enemies with a pistol or revolver increases your Handguns Skill. Every time a Skill levels up, you get either a permanent bonus (increased damage, for instance) or a Perk point (more on Perks in the next section of the guide). The maximum level for a Skill is 20.

These are the skills in Cyberpunk 2077, categorised by the Attribute that they fall under:

Body Skills

• Athletics
  
• Annihilation
  
• Street Brawler
  

Reflexes Skills

• Assault
  
• Handguns
  
• Blades
  

Technical Ability Skills

• Crafting
  
• Engineering
  

Intelligence Skills

• Breach Protocol
  
• Quickhacking
  

Cool Skills

• Cold Blood
  
• Ninjutsu

Perks

Perks are essentially the finer details of a character build in Cyberpunk 2077. They help define a build's strengths.

Perks come in two forms: they're either passive abilities, or abilities that are triggered under specific circumstances, both in and out of combat.

Perks can be bought with Perk points. You get one Perk point every time you level up, and you get additional Perk points whenever a Skill reaches a certain level threshold.

The thing to remember about Perk points is that you can earn one from levelling up the Handguns skill, for example, but you don't have to spend it on a Handguns Perk. You can use it to buy a Perk in whatever Skill that you like, assuming that you meet the requirements. Indeed, some Perks require a certain Skill or Attribute level to actually unlock. The requirements are listed on-screen whenever you hover over a Perk with the cursor.

Cyberpunk 2077: Best Character Builds for V

With all of that information covered, it's time to talk about actual character builds. Again, Cyberpunk 2077 offers a huge range of potential Attribute, Skill, and Perk combinations, making it easy to create your own unique style of play.

Below, you'll find a list of character builds that we've come up with during our time with the game. We've included information on the Attributes, Skills, and Perks that each build should prioritise. And remember: none of these character builds are final. You can quite easily use them as a basis for your own creations.

V for Variety

Concept: V for Variety is an all-round character build that pulls from a number of different Attributes and Skills to create a very well rounded mercenary. Think of it as an example of what a character build can be, and a potential starting point for new players. The upside is that you'll be good at a lot of different things. The downside is that you'll lack any kind of speciality, and some high level Perks may be unobtainable.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Body - Athletics
• Reflexes - Assault
• Intelligence - Quickhacking
• Cool - Ninjutsu

Investing in these areas gives you a lot of variety, which is what this build is all about. Athletics ensure that you always have a decent amount of health and stamina to work with, upping your survivability as you adapt to the current situation. Assault covers well-rounded weaponry like assault rifles, which can excel in both ranged and close quarters combat.

Meanwhile, Quickhacking and Ninjutsu give you options. If you don't fancy a full-on fight, you can use hacking to get the better of your enemies before you engage, or you can take a few of them out with sneak attacks prior to open combat.

Recommended Perks:

• Regeneration (Athletics) - Keeps your health ticking up in combat
  
• Bulletjock (Assault) - Increases assault rifle and submachine gun damage — always reliable weapon types
• Biosynergy (Quickhacking) - Recovers RAM during combat so you can quickhack more enemies
• Crouching Tiger (Ninjutsu) - Increases movement speed while sneaking

I'm F*ckin' Invincible!

Concept: This aptly named character build is all about making V as hard as possible to kill. And, well, that's about it. The idea is that you're a pure tank, able to soak up a ridiculous amount of damage before kicking the bucket. Because you're so sturdy, you'll also be fighting on the front lines — laughing in the faces of your enemies as their bullets barely leave a mark.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Body - Athletics
• Body - Annihilation OR Street Brawler
• Technical Ability - Engineering

Body is the obvious investment here — you want as much health as possible, and many of the Perks that are part of the Athletics Skill. Annihilation gets you either mastery of shotguns or heavy machine guns — the choice is yours. Or, you can opt for Street Brawler, which enhances your abilities with blunt melee weapons (and your bare hands). Whatever you're most comfortable with.

Elsewhere, Technical Ability may seem like a strange inclusion, but you'll have more enough Attribute points to spend on an Attribute other than Body. Technical Ability is a solid choice since each level directly increases your armour value, giving you more defence and making you that much harder to kill.

Recommended Perks:

Athletics Perks

• Invincible - Increases your maximum health (5 Body required)
• Dog of War - Increases your health regeneration in combat (16 Body required)
• Wolverine - Health regeneration activates faster in combat (16 Body required)
• Steel Shell - Increases your armour (18 Body required)
• Indestructible - Reduces all incoming damage (20 Body required)

Engineering Perks

• Blast Shielding - Reduces damage from explosions
• Insulation - Grants immunity to shock (14 Technical Ability required)

Hack to the Future

Concept: This build is focused almost entirely on hacking — the art of manipulating both your environment and your enemies in order to get the upper hand. In Cyberpunk 2077, a highly skilled hacker may not even have to reach for their gun. It's a power trip, but it takes some good equipment and a combination of the right perks to reach the greatest netrunning heights.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Intelligence - Breach Protocol
  
• Intelligence - Quickhacking

Add a secondary Attribute of your choice based on the weapons that you enjoy using, and you're good to go.

It goes without saying that the Breach Protocol and Quickhacking Skills are closely knit. Develop your Intelligence Attribute enough and there won't be anything that you can't hack — even boss enemies. Of course, in order to get the most out of Breach Protocol, you're going to have to wrap your head around Cyberpunk 2077's hacking minigame, but it's easy enough once you work past the initial confusion.

Quickhacking is your real bread and butter here, though. In Cyberpunk 2077, Quickhacking is basically the equivalent of casting magic spells in other role-playing games. There are all kinds of Quickhacks to find throughout your adventure, with many different effects to discover. Some deal raw damage, while others blind or even turn enemies against one another.

With this build, you're looking to use Quickhacks as much as possible, throwing them out there like you don't even need a weapon.

Recommended Perks:

Breach Protocol Perks

• Mass Vulnerability - Reduces physical resistance for all enemies on the network
  
• Total Recall - Reduces all Quickhack costs by one RAM unit (11 Intelligence required)
• Cloud Cache - Completing a Breach Protocol minigame restores RAM units (14 Intelligence required)
• Totaler Recall - Reduces all Quickhack costs by an additional RAM unit (16 Intelligence required)
• Mass Vulnerability: Quickhacks - Enemies take more damage from Quickhacks (16 Intelligence required)

Quickhacking Perks

• Bloodware - Quickhacks deal more damage
• Biosynergy - Recover RAM during combat
• Forget-me-not - Taking out a Quickhacked target restores one RAM unit (5 Intelligence required)
• Daisy Chain - Taking out a Quickhacked target reduces the cooldown for all active Quickhacks (7 Intelligence required)
• Signal Support - Increases Quickhack duration (9 Intelligence required)
• Subliminal Message - Increase Quickhack damage dealt to unaware targets (11 Intelligence required)
• Mnemonic - Reduce the cost of Quickhacks by two RAM units if the target is already under the effect of a Quickhack (12 Intelligence required)
• Plague - Quickhacks that hit multiple targets can spread even further (14 Intelligence required)
• Critical Error - Quickhacks can deal critical damage (16 Intelligence required)
• Anamnesis - Your available RAM cannot drop below 2/3/4 units (18 Intelligence required)
• Optimisation - Quickhacks cost one less RAM unit (20 Intelligence required)

Dirty Harry

Concept: All you need is a steady hand and a big revolver. This build is all about shooting first and asking questions later — firing from the hip and still getting an explosive headshot nine times out of ten. With enough concentration, you can drop a room full of goons in seconds, and every kill makes you that much more dangerous.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Reflexes - Handguns
  
• Cool - Cold Blood

With this build you'll use nothing but Handguns — pistols and (preferably) revolvers. Cold Blood works well with any aggressive character build, its Perks increasing your capabilities as you continue to kill. It's pure momentum.

Packing points into Cool also increases your critical damage, and with the following Handguns Perks unlocked, your crits are going to be absolutely devastating.

Recommended Perks:

Handguns Perks

• Gunslinger - Decreases reload time for pistols and revolvers
• High Noon - Increases critical hit chance with pistols and revolvers
• Rio Bravo - Increases headshot damage with pistols and revolvers (5 Reflexes required)
• Desperado - Increases damage with pistols and revolvers (5 Reflexes required)
• Long Shot Drop Pop - Increases damage with pistols and revolvers when shooting from distance (7 Reflexes required)
• Steady Hand - Reduces recoil with pistols and revolvers (9 Reflexes required)
• O.K. Corral - Deal more damage to enemies with less health (9 Reflexes required)
• A Fistful of Eurodollars - Increases critical damage dealt with pistols and revolvers (11 Reflexes required)
• Grand Finale - The last bullet in a pistol or revolver clip deals more damage (12 Reflexes required)
• Attritional Fire - Hitting the same target with multiple pistol or revolver shots increases your damage (14 Reflexes required)
• Wild West - Removes the distance damage penalty from pistols and revolvers (14 Reflexes required)
• Snowball Effect - Killing an enemy with a pistol or revolver temporarily increases your fire rate (16 Reflexes required)
• Brainpower - Headshots increase your critical chance (20 Reflexes required)

Cold Blood Perks

• Cold Blood - Killing an enemy triggers Cold Blood, increasing movement speed
• Icy Veins - Cold Blood reduces weapon recoil (5 Cool required)
• Critical Condition - Increases duration of Cold Blood (7 Cool required)
• Coldest Blood - Increases the max stack amount for Cold Blood (11 Cool required)
• Frozen Precision - Increases headshot damage (11 Cool required)
• Cold and Calculating - Every critical hit has a chance to stack Cold Blood (14 Cool required)
• Coolagulant - Cold Blood stacks are removed one by one, instead of all at once (16 Cool required)
• Unbreakable - Increases maximum stack amount for Cold Blood (16 Cool required)

The Professional

Concept: You get the job done with maximum professionalism. You're invisible until you want to be seen, at which point you put a bullet right between the eyes of anyone dumb enough to stand in your way. A light pistol equipped with a silencer is your weapon of choice, but sometimes you're so stealthy that you don't even need it.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Reflexes - Handguns
• Cool - Ninjutsu

Stealth is a simple but effective approach in Cyberpunk 2077, and it becomes borderline broken once you've got a good silencer for your pistol. When it's looking like your cover's about to be blown, a quick headshot from the shadows will be enough to buy you some time. Just make sure that you're hiding the bodies.

Recommended Perks:

Handguns Perks

• High Noon - Increases critical hit chance with pistols and revolvers
• Rio Bravo - Increases headshot damage with pistols and revolvers (5 Reflexes required)
• Desperado - Increases damage with pistols and revolvers (5 Reflexes required)
• Long Shot Drop Pop - Increases damage with pistols and revolvers when shooting from distance (7 Reflexes required)
• Steady Hand - Reduces recoil with pistols and revolvers (9 Reflexes required)
• Wild West - Removes the distance damage penalty from pistols and revolvers (14 Reflexes required)

Ninjutsu Perks

• Silent and Deadly - Increase silenced weapon damage while sneaking
• Crouching Tiger - Increase movement speed when crouching
• Hidden Dragon - Unlocks a non-lethal aerial takedown (5 Cool required)
• Strike from the Shadows - Increases critical hit chance when attacking from stealth (7 Cool required)
• Assassin - Increases damage done to human enemies (7 Cool required)
• Clean Work - Lets you pick enemies up immediately after performing a stealth takedown (11 Cool required)
• Ghost - Detection time is increased (12 Cool required)
• Restorative Shadows - Increases health regeneration when undetected and sneaking (16 Cool required)

Gunrunner

Concept: The Gunrunner character build is all about breakneck speed and good old fashioned shotguns. You'll use your immense speed and evasive techniques to get in close to your enemies, before blowing them away with a well-placed blast to the face. Murderous poetry in motion.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Body - Athletics
• Body - Annihilation

The basis of this character build revolves entirely around the Body Attribute, so you'll end up with plenty of Attribute points to spend elsewhere, should you want to. Pumping some points into Cool might be a good idea to make the most of the Cold Blood Skill, or perhaps some points in Technical Ability and the Engineering Skill is more your thing, so that you can go nuts with tech shotguns and grenades.

Recommended Perks:

Athletics Perks

• Invincible - Increases your maximum health (5 Body required)
• True Grit - Increases your maximum stamina (5 Body required)
• Divided Attention - Lets you reload your weapon while sprinting, sliding, or vaulting (11 Body required)
• Multitasker - Lets you shoot your weapon while sprinting, sliding, or vaulting (11 Body required)
• Like a Butterfly - Dodging no longer consumes stamina (11 Body required)
• Cardio Cure - Health regenerates faster while moving (12 Body required)
• Marathoner - Sprinting no longer consumes stamina (14 Body required)
• Dog of War - Increases your health regeneration in combat (16 Body required)
• Wolverine - Health regeneration activates faster in combat (16 Body required)
• Steel Shell - Increases your armour (18 Body required)
• Indestructible - Reduces all incoming damage (20 Body required)

Annihilation Perks

• Hail of Bullets - Shotguns and LMGs deal more damage
• Pump It, Louder - Reduces recoil for shotguns and LMGs (5 Body required)
• In Your Face - Reduces reload time for shotguns and LMGs (5 Body required)
• Bloodrush - Increases movement speed in combat while using a shotgun or LMG (7 Body required)
• Dead Center - Increases damage to torsos from shotguns and LMGs (7 Body required)
• Bulldozer - Increases critical hit chance with shotguns and LMGs (9 Body required)
• Mongoose - Increases evasion while using shotguns and LMGs (9 Body required)
• Momentum Shift - Increases movement speed when you defeat an enemy with a shotgun or LMG (11 Body required)
• Massacre - increases critical hit damage with shotguns and LMGs (11 Body required)
• Heavy Load - Shotguns and LMGs knock enemies back farther (12 Body required)
• Manic - Movement speed increases when entering combat (14 Body required)
• Speed Demon - Deal more damage the faster you're moving (16 Body required)
• Biathlete - Weapon spread doesn't increase while moving (20 Body required)

Hack and Slash

Concept: Damage or incapacitate your enemies with Quickhacks, and then slice them to bits with your favourite blade. This character build is all about crippling your foes before executing them in very bloody fashion. A quick, precise, and deadly playstyle for slightly sadistic mercs.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Reflexes - Blades
• Intelligence - Quickhacking

With any remaining Attribute points, it might be worth investing in Body, in order to take advantage of the numerous stamina-related Perks from the Athletics Skill. Generally speaking, though, you won't need a huge stamina bar to make the most of this build, since your hacking will significantly weaken your opponents before you move in for the kill.

Recommended Perks:

Blades Perks

• Roaring Waters - Increases damage with blades
  
• Sting Like a Bee - Increases attack speed with blades
• Flight of the Sparrow - Decreases stamina consumption for blade attacks (6 Reflexes required)
• Blessed Blade - Increases critical hit chance with blades (10 Reflexes required)
• Judge, Jury, and Executioner - Increases damage against targets with full health (15 Reflexes required)
• Fiery Blast - Increases damage with blades as the target's health drops (15 Reflexes required)

Quickhacking Perks

• Bloodware - Quickhacks deal more damage
• Biosynergy - Recover RAM during combat
• Forget-me-not - Taking out a Quickhacked target restores one RAM unit (5 Intelligence required)
• Daisy Chain - Taking out a Quickhacked target reduces the cooldown for all active Quickhacks (7 Intelligence required)
• Signal Support - Increases Quickhack duration (9 Intelligence required)
• Subliminal Message - Increase Quickhack damage dealt to unaware targets (11 Intelligence required)
• Plague - Quickhacks that hit multiple targets can spread even further (14 Intelligence required)
• Critical Error - Quickhacks can deal critical damage (16 Intelligence required)
• Anamnesis - Your available RAM cannot drop below 2/3/4 units (18 Intelligence required)
• Optimisation - Quickhacks cost one less RAM unit (20 Intelligence required)

Cyberpsycho Killer

Concept: You're a bloodthirsty lunatic who smashes skulls and doesn't feel a shred of guilt. This character build is all about crushing your enemies with the biggest, bluntest weapons that you can find, and then using your psychotic momentum to clear out any stragglers. Both brutal and efficient.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Body - Street Brawler
• Cool - Cold Blood

This build sports a simple but satisfying style of play. You swing your weapon with a primal fury, you eat up the bonuses from Cold Blood, and then you just keep going until all of your enemies have been mashed into a fine paste.

Recommended Perks:

Street Brawler Perks

• Flurry - Increases damage from combos with fists and blunt weapons
• Crushing Blows - Increases damage from heavy attacks with fists and blunt weapons
• Juggernaut - Increases armour while blocking (4 Body required)
• Dazed - Attacks with blunt weapons and fists have a chance to stun the target (4 Body required)
• Rush - Blunt weapon and fist attacks restore some health (6 Body required)
• Efficient Blows - Reduces stamina consumption of blunt and fist attacks (6 Body required)
• Opportune Strike - Increases blunt weapon and fist damage against stunned enemies (8 Body required)
• Human Fortress - Blocking with a blunt weapon or fists reduces stamina consumption (8 Body required)
• Reinvigorate - Defeating an enemy with a blunt or fist power attack restores some stamina (10 Body required)
• Payback - Increases blunt and fist damage as your health drops (10 Body required)
• Breathing Space - Increases stamina regeneration when blocking with blunt weapons or fists (12 Body required)
• Relentless - Attacks against stunned enemies with blunt weapons or fists restore stamina (12 Body required)
• Frenzy - Defeating an enemy with a blunt weapon or fists temporarily increases your damage (15 Body required)
• Thrash - Power attacks with blunt weapons or fists reduce the enemy's armour (15 Body required)
• Unshakable - Blunt weapon or fist attacks against stunned enemies restore some health, triggers once every five seconds (18 Body required)
• Biding Time - Blocking with blunt weapons or fists restores health, triggers once every five seconds (20 Body required)

Cold Blood Perks

• Cold Blood - Killing an enemy triggers Cold Blood, increasing movement speed
• Will to Survive - Increases all resistances while Cold Blood is active (5 Cool required)
• Critical Condition - Increases duration of Cold Blood (7 Cool required)
• Defensive Clotting - Increases armour while Cold Blood is active (9 Cool required)
• Rapid Bloodflow - Increases health regeneration while Clod Blood is active (11 Cool required)
• Coldest Blood - Increases the max stack amount for Cold Blood (11 Cool required)
• Predator - Increases attack speed while Cold Blood is active (12 Cool required)
• Blood Brawl - Increase melee weapon damage while Cold Blood is active (12 Cool required)
• Cold and Calculating - Every critical hit has a chance to stack Cold Blood (14 Cool required)
• Coolagulant - Cold Blood stacks are removed one by one, instead of all at once (16 Cool required)
• Unbreakable - Increases maximum stack amount for Cold Blood (16 Cool required)
• Pain Is an Illusion - Reduces all damage taken while Cold Blood is active (18 Cool required)

Behind Cover Cop

Concept: Cover is your best friend. With a trusty assault rifle in hand, you stick to walls and waist high objects like glue. Your fighting style is calm and collected — you wait for your enemies to make a move and then pop them one by one, all from the safety of your well-protected position. Quite defensive as far as Cyberpunk 2077 character builds go, but keep your head and it's incredibly efficient.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Body - Athletics
• Reflexes - Assault

Again, this is a fairly defensive character build that revolves around the concept of cover, so having a decent Body stat seems like an ideal starting point. Beyond that, the numerous cover-based bonuses found under the Assault Skill can turn you into a monster as long you've picked out a good position, mowing down any enemies who are stupid enough to either pop their heads up or make a run for you.

Recommended Perks:

Athletics Perks

• Invincible - Increases your maximum health (5 Body required)
• Dog of War - Increases your health regeneration in combat (16 Body required)
• Wolverine - Health regeneration activates faster in combat (16 Body required)
• Steel Shell - Increases your armour (18 Body required)
• Indestructible - Reduces all incoming damage (20 Body required)

Assault Perks

• Bulletjock - Increases damage with rifles and SMGs
• Eagle Eye - Decreases the time it takes to aim down the sights with rifles and SMGs
• Covering Killshot - Increases critical hit chance with rifles and SMGs when shooting from behind cover (5 Reflexes required)
• Too Close for Comfort - Melee attacks with rifles and SMGs deal more damage (5 Reflexes required)
• Bullseye - Increases rifle and SMG damage when aiming down the sights (7 Reflexes required)
• Executioner - Deals more damage with rifles and SMGs when the enemy has more than half health (7 Reflexes required)
• Shoot, Reload, Repeat - Killing an enemy with rifles of SMGs temporarily increases reload speed (9 Reflexes required)
• Duck Hunter - Increases rifle and SMG damage done to enemies who are moving (9 Reflexes required)
• Trench Warfare - Increases rifle and SMG damage when shooting from behind cover (12 Reflexes required)
• Hunter's Hands - Reduces recoil for rifles and SMGs when shooting from behind cover (12 Reflexes required)
• Skull Skipper - Headshots with rifles or SMGs temporarily reduces recoil (14 Reflexes required)
• Named Bullets - Increases critical hit damage with rifles and SMGs (14 Reflexes required)
• Bunker - Increases armour and resistances when shooting from behind cover with rifles and SMGs (16 Reflexes required)
• Recoil Wrangler - Reduces rifle and SMG recoil (16 Reflexes required)
• Long Shot - Rifle and SMG damage increases the farther you are from your target (18 Reflexes required)
• Savage Stoic - Increases rifle and SMG damage when standing still (20 Reflexes required)

The Real Samurai

Concept: You are the blade. The blade is you. Live by the blade, but try not to die by it. This build is pure melee, preferably equipped with the best katana that you can find. To get the most out of it, you're going to have to master the ways of quick and decisive melee combat in a world where most people have guns, but you're going to feel like a real badass when you're lopping off limbs with a flick of your wrist.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Body - Athletics
• Reflexes - Blades

A simple character build on paper, but in practice, you're going to need concentration and dedication to your craft. Blades can be utterly devastating in Cyberpunk 2077, but actually getting close to your opponents can be difficult depending on the weapons that they wield. As such, Perks under the Athletics Skill are a must for the sake of both survivability and ruthless efficiency.

Recommended Perks:

Athletics Perks

• Invincible - Increases your maximum health (5 Body required)
• True Grit - Increases your maximum stamina (5 Body required)
• Steel and Chrome - Increases melee damage (9 Body required)
• Gladiator - Reduces stamina cost of blocking (9 Body required)
• Like a Butterfly - Dodging no longer consumes stamina (11 Body required)
• Cardio Cure - Health regenerates faster while moving (12 Body required)
• Marathoner - Sprinting no longer consumes stamina (14 Body required)
• Dog of War - Increases your health regeneration in combat (16 Body required)
• Wolverine - Health regeneration activates faster in combat (16 Body required)
• Steel Shell - Increases your armour (18 Body required)
• Indestructible - Reduces all incoming damage (20 Body required)

Blades Perks

• Roaring Waters - Increases damage with blades
  
• Sting Like a Bee - Increases attack speed with blades
• Crimson Dance - Combo attacks have a chance to cause bleeding (4 Reflexes required)
• Slow and Steady - Increases armour while moving (4 Reflexes required)
• Offensive Defense - Counterattacks with blades deal increased damage (6 Reflexes required)
• Flight of the Sparrow - Decreases stamina consumption for blade attacks (6 Reflexes required)
• Stuck Pig - Increases bleeding duration (8 Reflexes required)
• Shifting Sands - Dodging recovers stamina, can only trigger once every two seconds (8 Reflexes required)
• Blessed Blade - Increases critical hit chance with blades (10 Reflexes required)
• Unbroken Spirit - Counterattacks with blades restores some health and stamina (10 Reflexes required)
• Bloodlust - Recover health when bleeding is applied to an enemy (12 Reflexes required)
• Judge, Jury, and Executioner - Increases damage against targets with full health (15 Reflexes required)
• Fiery Blast - Increases damage with blades as the target's health drops (15 Reflexes required)
• Deathbolt - Killing an enemy with a blade restores some health and increases movement speed (18 Reflexes required)
• Crimson Tide - Bleeding can stack up to three times on enemies (18 Reflexes required)

Alpha Nerd

Concept: Combine Quickhacking with smart guns and other tech weapons, and you've got the basis for this character build. You make the most of any technology that's available to you, transforming unremarkable armaments into weapons of mass destruction.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Technical Ability - Engineering
• Intelligence - Quickhacking

Starting out, this character build isn't about pure power or dominating your opponents — it's more to do with playing safe but smart, often nullifying your foes from a distance with hacks before laying down some suppressing fire with your tech weapon of choice. But later on, with the right Perks under your belt, you'll have tech weaponry that can take chunks out of even the most heavily armoured cyberpsycho.

Recommended Perks:

Engineering Perks

• Bladerunner - Increases damage to robots, drones, and mechs (9 Technical Ability required)
• Lock and Load - Increases smart weapon reload speed (9 Technical Ability required)
• Up to 11 - Allows you to charge tech weapons even further (9 Technical Ability required)
• Tesla - Increases the damage of tech weapon charge shots (12 Technical Ability required)
• Lightning Bolt - Increases critical hit chance with tech weapons (12 Technical Ability required)
• Gun Whisperer - Tech weapon charge shots don't fire automatically (14 Technical Ability required)
• Ubercharge - Tech weapons deal increased damage when fully charged (14 Technical Ability required)
• F*ck All Walls - Tech weapons penetrate even thicker walls (16 Technical Ability required)
• Lickety Split - Reduces reload time for tech weapons (18 Technical Ability required)
• Superconductor - Tech weapons ignore armour (20 Technical Ability required)

Quickhacking Perks

• Bloodware - Quickhacks deal more damage
• Biosynergy - Recover RAM during combat
• Forget-me-not - Taking out a Quickhacked target restores one RAM unit (5 Intelligence required)
• Daisy Chain - Taking out a Quickhacked target reduces the cooldown for all active Quickhacks (7 Intelligence required)
• Signal Support - Increases Quickhack duration (9 Intelligence required)
• Subliminal Message - Increase Quickhack damage dealt to unaware targets (11 Intelligence required)
• Mnemonic - Reduce the cost of Quickhacks by two RAM units if the target is already under the effect of a Quickhack (12 Intelligence required)
• Plague - Quickhacks that hit multiple targets can spread even further (14 Intelligence required)
• Critical Error - Quickhacks can deal critical damage (16 Intelligence required)
• Anamnesis - Your available RAM cannot drop below 2/3/4 units (18 Intelligence required)
• Optimisation - Quickhacks cost one less RAM unit (20 Intelligence required)

Headhunter

Concept: The Headhunter is your tried and tested sniper character build, designed for one-shot kills and guerrilla tactics. You'll see your enemies long before they see you — and then they're dead.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Reflexes - Assault
• Cool - Ninjutsu
  

One shot, one kill, change position, repeat. That's your gameplan with this character build, as you terrorise your enemies from a distance. As other foes start to panic, tripping over the still-warm bodies of their allies, you're lining up the next shot. Terrifyingly efficient with the right Perks.

Recommended Perks:

Assault Perks

• Bulletjock - Increases damage with rifles and SMGs
• Eagle Eye - Decreases the time it takes to aim down the sights with rifles and SMGs
• Covering Killshot - Increases critical hit chance with rifles and SMGs when shooting from behind cover (5 Reflexes required)
• Bullseye - Increases rifle and SMG damage when aiming down the sights (7 Reflexes required)
• Executioner - Deals more damage with rifles and SMGs when the enemy has more than half health (7 Reflexes required)
• Shoot, Reload, Repeat - Killing an enemy with rifles of SMGs temporarily increases reload speed (9 Reflexes required)
• Duck Hunter - Increases rifle and SMG damage done to enemies who are moving (9 Reflexes required)
• Nerves of Steel - Increases headshot damage with sniper rifles and precision rifles (11 Reflexes required)
• Trench Warfare - Increases rifle and SMG damage when shooting from behind cover (12 Reflexes required)
• Hunter's Hands - Reduces recoil for rifles and SMGs when shooting from behind cover (12 Reflexes required)
• Skull Skipper - Headshots with rifles or SMGs temporarily reduces recoil (14 Reflexes required)
• Named Bullets - Increases critical hit damage with rifles and SMGs (14 Reflexes required)
• Recoil Wrangler - Reduces rifle and SMG recoil (16 Reflexes required)
• Long Shot - Rifle and SMG damage increases the farther you are from your target (18 Reflexes required)
• Savage Stoic - Increases rifle and SMG damage when standing still (20 Reflexes required)

Ninjutsu Perks

• Crouching Tiger - Increase movement speed when crouching
• Strike from the Shadows - Increases critical hit chance when attacking from stealth (7 Cool required)
• Assassin - Increases damage done to human enemies (7 Cool required)
• Sniper - Increases headshot damage when undetected (9 Cool required)
• Ghost - Detection time is increased (12 Cool required)
• From the Shadows - Temporarily increases critical hit chance when combat begins (12 Cool required)
• Hasty Retreat - Increases movement speed when detected (16 Cool required)
• Restorative Shadows - Increases health regeneration when undetected and sneaking (16 Cool required)

King of the Iron Fist

Concept: You are the weapon. You're a master of martial arts, capable of taking down an entire platoon of Militech soldiers with your bare hands. This purely Body-focused character build is all about smashing enemies with your fists and your fists alone (or gorilla arms, if you've got them). You'll have to be clever in your approach, but the sense of accomplishment will be unmatched.

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Body - Athletics
• Body - Street Brawler

The Athletics Skill and its Perks will give you the survivability needed to take on groups of armed opponents, but until you're in deep, you'll need to exercise caution and pick your fights wisely. Together with Street Brawler's Perks, you can become a near unstoppable killing machine as long as you're always pressed up against an opponent or two.

Athletics Perks

• Invincible - Increases your maximum health (5 Body required)
• True Grit - Increases your maximum stamina (5 Body required)
• Steel and Chrome - Increases melee damage (9 Body required)
• Gladiator - Reduces stamina cost of blocking (9 Body required)
• Like a Butterfly - Dodging no longer consumes stamina (11 Body required)
• Cardio Cure - Health regenerates faster while moving (12 Body required)
• Marathoner - Sprinting no longer consumes stamina (14 Body required)
• Dog of War - Increases your health regeneration in combat (16 Body required)
• Wolverine - Health regeneration activates faster in combat (16 Body required)
• Steel Shell - Increases your armour (18 Body required)
• Indestructible - Reduces all incoming damage (20 Body required)

Street Brawler Perks

• Flurry - Increases damage from combos with fists and blunt weapons
• Crushing Blows - Increases damage from heavy attacks with fists and blunt weapons
• Juggernaut - Increases armour while blocking (4 Body required)
• Dazed - Attacks with blunt weapons and fists have a chance to stun the target (4 Body required)
• Rush - Blunt weapon and fist attacks restore some health (6 Body required)
• Efficient Blows - Reduces stamina consumption of blunt and fist attacks (6 Body required)
• Opportune Strike - Increases blunt weapon and fist damage against stunned enemies (8 Body required)
• Human Fortress - Blocking with a blunt weapon or fists reduces stamina consumption (8 Body required)
• Reinvigorate - Defeating an enemy with a blunt or fist power attack restores some stamina (10 Body required)
• Payback - Increases blunt and fist damage as your health drops (10 Body required)
• Breathing Space - Increases stamina regeneration when blocking with blunt weapons or fists (12 Body required)
• Relentless - Attacks against stunned enemies with blunt weapons or fists restore stamina (12 Body required)
• Frenzy - Defeating an enemy with a blunt weapon or fists temporarily increases your damage (15 Body required)
• Thrash - Power attacks with blunt weapons or fists reduce the enemy's armour (15 Body required)
• Unshakable - Blunt weapon or fist attacks against stunned enemies restore some health, triggers once every five seconds (18 Body required)
• Biding Time - Blocking with blunt weapons or fists restores health, triggers once every five seconds (20 Body required)

Cyborg Ninja

Concept: The name of this build says it all. You live for the thrill of striking from the shadows — instant death and the cleanest cut imaginable. If you're spotted, you can beat a quick retreat, or you can stand and fight, baffling your foe with your lighting fast swordplay. You also carry a lot of knives...

Key Attributes and Skills:

• Reflexes - Blades
• Cool - Ninjutsu

This character build is all about dealing absurd amounts of damage with sneak attacks before disappearing and finding your next target. Blades fit the role perfectly thanks to the fact that they synergise so well with a number of Perks from the Ninjutsu Skill. If you happen to find this build to be a little too fragile, you can always dip into the Athletics skill as well, augmenting yourself with Perks that increase both health and stamina.

The other half of this build is about knives. Always have a short knife or two on you to ensure that you're able to make use of the Ninjutsu Skill's multiple knife-based Perks. It may seem like a bit of a hassle, but throwing knives is an incredibly powerful mechanic if you have the right setup.

Recommended Perks:

Blades Perks

• Roaring Waters - Increases damage with blades
  
• Sting Like a Bee - Increases attack speed with blades
• Crimson Dance - Combo attacks have a chance to cause bleeding (4 Reflexes required)
• Offensive Defense - Counterattacks with blades deal increased damage (6 Reflexes required)
• Flight of the Sparrow - Decreases stamina consumption for blade attacks (6 Reflexes required)
• Stuck Pig - Increases bleeding duration (8 Reflexes required)
• Shifting Sands - Dodging recovers stamina, can only trigger once every two seconds (8 Reflexes required)
• Blessed Blade - Increases critical hit chance with blades (10 Reflexes required)
• Unbroken Spirit - Counterattacks with blades restores some health and stamina (10 Reflexes required)
• Bloodlust - Recover health when bleeding is applied to an enemy (12 Reflexes required)
• Judge, Jury, and Executioner - Increases damage against targets with full health (15 Reflexes required)
• Fiery Blast - Increases damage with blades as the target's health drops (15 Reflexes required)
• Deathbolt - Killing an enemy with a blade restores some health and increases movement speed (18 Reflexes required)
• Crimson Tide - Bleeding can stack up to three times on enemies (18 Reflexes required)

Ninjutsu Perks

• Crouching Tiger - Increase movement speed when crouching
• Hidden Dragon - Unlocks a non-lethal aerial takedown (5 Cool required)
• Dagger Dealer - Lets you throw your knife (5 Cool required)
• Strike from the Shadows - Increases critical hit chance when attacking from stealth (7 Cool required)
• Assassin - Increases damage done to human enemies (7 Cool required)
• Leg Up - Increases movement speed after taking down an enemy (7 Cool required)
• Cutthroat - Melee attacks deal increased damage to enemies who have been hit with a thrown knife (9 Cool required)
• Clean Work - Lets you pick enemies up immediately after performing a stealth takedown (11 Cool required)
• Ghost - Detection time is increased (12 Cool required)
• From the Shadows - Temporarily increases critical hit chance when combat begins (12 Cool required)
• Venomous Fangs - All knife attacks apply poison (14 Cool required)
• Looking Sharp - Headshots with thrown knives blind the enemy (14 Cool required)
• Hasty Retreat - Increases movement speed when detected (16 Cool required)
• Restorative Shadows - Increases health regeneration when undetected and sneaking (16 Cool required)
• Neurotoxin - Damage from poison is doubled (18 Cool required)
• Hasten the Inevitable - Deal more damage to enemies affected by poison (18 Cool required)
• Ninjutsu - Crouch attacks from stealth with melee weapons deal double damage and are always critical hits (20 Cool required)

Do you have a favourite Cyberpunk 2077 character build? Give us a rundown of your V in the comments section below, and be sure to check out our full Cyberpunk 2077 guide for more help with the game.