Best Sniper Build - One Shot Elites - Cyberpunk 2077

Best Sniper Build - One Shot Kill

The build is all about snipers - exploding snipers, power snipers, tech snipers. It can also accommodate Smart Snipers but not at maximum effectiveness. However, this should not discourage you from fully enjoying the build.

The main appeal of this build is that Snipers have a huge headshot damage multiplier. It means it's very easy to instantly kill an enemy with precise shots. These weapons are perfect for taking out foes one by one.

In my opinion, the best operating system is Sandevistan for this type of build. It makes it very easy to aim headshots. Moreover, with some practice you can take out 2-3 enemies with a single use, making it very easy to leave groups of enemies dead.

If this has you interested, let's jump into the build!

Attributes

First, let's go through attributes, they will decide the direction of the build and give access to different tiers of perks. The higher tier gives better actions and passives to further support the build. Let's take a look at what we need for the Sniper Build.

Starting Game

Here are what attributes we should be taking at the start of the game.

Attribute	Allocation	Description
Cool	+3	The main attribute that gives some stealth perks and unlocks all we need for Sniper Rifle damage.
Reflexes	+1	Gives a critical chance and will be used to obtain mobility perks.
Technical Ability	+1	Unlocks the first tier of perks.
Body	+2	Unlocks first perks and gives bonus HP.

End Game Attributes

Here is the goal of Sniper Build that we should reach at level 50

Attribute	Total Allocation	Description
Reflexes	13	The attribute will give onus mobility but also will give a bit of a critical chance.
Body	15	As I wanted to be fully capable of direct combat, I think this tree gives some nice perks and bonus HP.
Technical Ability	20	This perk tree is very versatile. It will give higher cyberware capacity, improve healing items, and power up tech snipers.
Cool	20	The main attribute of the build is that it will give a huge boost to critical damage, sniper rifle effectiveness, and stealth movement.
Intelligence	3	As we are not using quickhacks this will be skipped

Perks

Let's go through the perks of the Sniper Build. We will go through about 60~ perk points for the build, and the game awards about 80. So you will have perk points left to adjust the build to your needs.

Cool Perks

The main attribute of the Sniper Build. If you want the highest damage, this attribute is mandatory. Moreover, it will give some stealth options.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Feline Footwork	Improves crouching, allowing for better sneaking
Blind Spot	This will increase the time it takes enemies to detect you. It is a good addition to any build that wants to utilize stealth mechanics even a little
Killer Instinct	Ensures that silenced weapons deal bonus damage when shooting outside of combat (or stealth)
Gag Order	Delay detection is useful when you are playing stealth build. With it, it will become very easy to pick out stragglers from the group with sniper rifles without initiating combat.

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Focus	Amazing perk, giving full stamina for a short duration. It greatly improves with the next subperks we take.
No Sweat	Reduces the stamina consumed after Focus ends, if an enemy was neutralized
Rinse and Reload	A small helping perk to increase reload speed
Head to Head	Now, the Focus duration can be reset by neutralizing an enemy. We will be doing a lot of that with this build when silently headshooting.
Deep Breath	Wonderful perk that gives better weapon control as time is now slowed down while in Focus.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Deadeye	Boosts headshot and weak spot damage, ensuring that it's easier to make a headshot kill.
California Reaper	Regenerates stamina after neutralizing an enemy with a headshot.
High Noon	Allows evaluating combat as time slows down while reloading.
Long Shot	No penalty for long shots with Deadeye
Quick Draw	A good perk to have in case you need to switch weapons mid-combat
Ninjutsu	Together with the Vanishing Act, this will allow to move while being partially visible
Serpentine	With Blind Spot, this will increase detection time when using stealth
Creeping Death	Take this if you plan on using Optical Camo.
Vanishing Act	Optional perk. You can use Optical Camo whenever you crouch sprint or slide. However, this can be a problem as you do not fully control the effect. However, if you do not take this perk and want to use Optical Camo be sure to take Axolotl Cyberware for shorter cooldown times.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Nerves of Tungsten-Steel	Very valuable perk for Sniper Rifles, now shots guarantee critical hits with Deadeye.

Body Perks

These perks will ensure that we have sufficient HP regeneration in various combat situations.

Perk	Description
Painkiller	A very valuable perk that is recommended for any build. We also need it for the progression
Dorph-head	Blood Pump will be one of the main Cyberware that we use to boost HP restoration drastically
Comeback Kid	Higher health regen, the closer to death you are? Count me in

Level 15 Perks

The next set of Perks will give a huge survivability boost.

Perk	Description
Adrenaline Rush	Awesome perk gives a second layer of HP when using healing items. This will give so-needed survivability if you plan on using Edgerunner and also play on Very Hard
Calm Mind	Delay before Adrenaline starts decaying, prolonging the second layer of HP.
Juggernaut	Encourages you to have Adrenaline activated most of the time, to get these sweet combat bonuses.

Reflexes Perks

These perks will give a huge edge to Sniper Build both in combat and outside. We are mainly interested in better mobility.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Slippery	Base perk, that we will need to progress to other levels. Moreover, it gives some survivability and encourages constant movement.
Muscle Memory​	Allows reloading while moving, which makes combat mobility much better.

Level 9 Perks

Finally, we will be able to get the first mobility perk. It is useful both for exploration and combat

Perk	Description
Dash	Another new perk that gives a short dash to avoid or get close to the enemies.
Can't Touch This	A 100% mitigation chance while Dashing is very valuable. This will give you a higher chance of survival under heavy fire. Moreover, we will be improving Mitigation Strength to take the full effect of it.
Steady Grip​	This perk fits very well in this build, as you can already be targeting the target, quickly appear from the cover while aiming, and release a shot.

Technical Ability Perks

The perks in this tree play an important role in general survivability, item usage, and cyberware. Overall, you will want to heavily invest in this tree throughout the mid and late game.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Glutton for War	You will be taking out a lot of enemies, so why not faster healing item recharge?
First Aid	Faster healing item recharge speed.
Transfusion	If you use the last charge, you are close to being overwhelmed or dead. So a 30% boost is awesome.

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Health Freak	You now have 3 health recharge items, making combat a bit easier.
Borrowed Time	Gives instant health item recharge when taking out an enemy when being close to death.
All Things Cyber	Mandatory perk as we will need as much Cyberware as we can. Reduces its costs
Renaissance Punk	Gives some additional cyberware capacity. Feel free to switch it to Driver Update or Chrome Constitution once you have enough cyberware.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
License to Chrome	Improves Skeleton cyberware and unlocks a new slot for even more chrome
Extended Warranty	The increased duration is useful for Revulsor, Berserk, and some other cyberware.
Ambidextrous​	Gives an additional slot for hands cyberware, that you can use to increase accuracy or get unique effects.
Bolt​	A powered-up version of charge shot, not requiring a full charge and giving bonus damage.
Internal Clock​	Makes it easier to activate Bolt​ while charging up
Lightning Storm​	A faster charge means you can release the next shot faster, especially if the combat has started.
Shock Value​	Ignoring armor results in more damage.
In Charge​	Makes it easier to control tech weapons, in case the enemy moves or you accidentally move the reticle.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Edgerunner	It is amazing as it gives 50 Cyberware capacity allowing to put in at least one additional iconic cyberware. Moreover, you have a chance to enter Fury State for a huge damage boost. However, this reduces your health, increasing your chances of dying.

You may wonder why I did not take Chain Lightning. For normal difficulty, it is a good option. However, on Very Hard, this does not have any major impact. The lightning damage jump does some damage but it still requires you to do a second shot. Moreover, sometimes it would notice enemies that otherwise would not know what happened.

Perks - Relic

With the introduction of Phantom Liberty, you will be able to obtain new perks that give unique capabilities. Here is what I recommend for the Sniper Build:

Priority	Perk	Description
1	Vulnerability Analytics	Shows enemy weak spots, which when hit, create an electricity explosion. It is especially useful against robots and stronger enemies.
2	Machine Learning	Improves Vulnerability Analytics by making them appear faster and giving a higher critical damage boost

Combat and Tips

Here I would like to share some suggestions on how to utilize the Sniper build to the maximum.

Taking out Elite enemies

Elites have 3 health bars, and on Very Hard one shot is usually not enough for them. Generally, a fully charged Tech Sniper Rifle should be enough. However, if you are using other weapons, here is what I suggest.

The main idea before starting to shoot, whether it be Overwatch, Spary, or general Sniper Rifle is to activate Sandevistan. This way it will be easy to release multiple shots in the head if the first one is not enough. Of course, it is also possible to do without Sandevistan, but enemy animations are faster, and landing perfect shots is more difficult.

Another aspect is that by activating Sandevistan you gain bonuses to damage, and this again reiterates the ability to one-shot Elites.

Correctly using Tech Snipers with Sandevistan

I think this was the hardest to pull off and understand how to use. There is a conflict between these two. When the time is slowed with Sandevistan, the tech weapon charge is also slowed down. It means you are wasting precious time and either need to use normal shots (which do not do maximum damage) or utilize this strategy:

1. Be aware of the next enemy you are going to shoot, and whether they are behind a cover or somewhere you cannot see them.
2. Start powering up your tech rifle and when it reaches 50% activate Sandevistan.
3. This will give a brief period to move out of cover and activate Bolt​
4. Shoot the enemy, once the charge is 75%~ or you hear a "ding" sound.
5. Now the enemy should be dead if it was a headshot, instantly use Dash​ again, move behind cover, and deactivate Sandevistan

This of course, only works with Militech Sandevistans, but it gives you full control and benefits of Tech weapons and Time Slow technology.

Using Optical Camo

If you plan on doing a lot of stealth this can be a very good cyberware to have. However, it poses two challenges:

1. When targeting with scope while in Optical Camo you cannot see reticle. This makes it hard to target, and each missed shot can be deadly for Sniper Build
2. If you picked up Vanishing Act​ crouch sprinting will use up your stamina. This means that when you want to target through scope and activate Focus, you have to wait till stamina is restored. Again, wasting precious time to land the shot

So I recommend evaluating your priorities and checking how you play. I did not use it as much, only where I wanted to do a Takedown. If found, I would activate Sandevistan and shoot down the target.

Equipment

Here are recommended gear options for the Sniper Build

Tech Sniper Rifles

I think these weapons require a separate section. They are very powerful, can pierce walls, and are extremely fun to use. I would like to go through some recommendations

Item	Description
Rasetsu	This is the coolest sniper rifle for me. It looks stylish, deals tons of damage when charged and attacks can jump to enemies, no need for Chain Lightning.
Breakthrough	Early to mid-game sniper rifle. It can shoot through walls without charging. The damage is not very high, however, as it is a Tech weapon, it increases with charge level.

Power Sniper Rifles

You could say these are "base" sniper rifles, but there are multiple iconic versions that offer unique effects.

Item	Description
Overwatch	The only sniper rifle with a true silencer. Is perfect for picking off enemies. However, if entering a combat state I recommend changing to other ones, as they have higher base damage.
Sparky	A very fun sniper to use, that on headshots deals bonus electric damage to other targets. The good thing is that it also comes with decent damage.
O'Five	If you want something unconventional, try this hand cannon. Burns everyone and everything. Unfortunately, it makes you move slowly.

Cyberware

Cyberware is a unique mechanic that allows us to fill the build with implants. Our main goal is first to get offensive ones. Early games can be quite difficult as you will have limited capacity. However, as you progress and drop more Capacity Shards, you will be able to equip even multiple iconic ones.

First Priority Cyberware

This is what is essential to make the build work. I would even recommend dropping everything else to equip these if cyberware capacity doesn't allow it. These cyberware selections make the core of the build.

Slot	Cyberware	Description
Frontal Cortex 1	Axolotl	This is crazy powerful cyberware for the build and is mandatory. Each kill reduces cooldown by at least 10%. However, it takes a lot of cyberware capacity, so you can switch it with Newton Module as a cheaper alternative.
	Newton Module	Gives a cyberware cooldown reduction after taking out an enemy. It is not much, however, with multiple kills, the effect adds up.
Integumentary System 1	Rangeguard	As we need some protection, this cyberware is perfect, due to bonus armor in long range.
Operating System 1	Militech "Apogee" Sandevistan	The higher version of sandevistan has its duration extended after neutralizing an enemy.
	Militech "Falcon" Sandevistan	A weaker version, that also provides duration extension after killing an enemy.
Face 1	Kiroshi "Clairvoyant" Optics	Allows highlighting foes through walls, and gives bonus headshot damage.
Hands 1	Microgenerator	Reloading the weapon now charges the next shot with electrocution for bonus damage.

Secondary Cyberware

These cyberware, are upgrades to the core of the build. Gives better defenses, more HP, and quality of life improvements like better mobility and automatic healing. Once you cover the core of the build you can work on these.

Slot	Cyberware	Description
Circulatory System 1	Blood Pump	The best health regeneration item and cyberware. It will also activate Adrenaline Rush for us.
Circulatory System 2	Biomonitor	Automatically restores health by using healing items. I started loving this one, as you do not need to waste time and concentrate just on the combat.
Hands 1	Immovable Force	Reduces recoil and bullet spread.
	Shock Absorber	Reduces recoil, and provides bonus headshot damage based on Cool.
Integumentary System 2	Nano-Plating	Gives a chance to negate projectiles. Also works in sync with Dash​
	Optical Camo	One of the options to take for the second slot. I did not use it myself as the effect was not relevant to the playstyle I like.
Nervous System 1	Neofiber	Gives higher mitigation chance and strength and scales with Reflexes for bonus critical chance.
Nervous System 2	Visual Cortex Support	Once you get Nerves of Tungsten-Steel​ the cyberware loses its importance, as mostly the first shot will ensure a kill. However, there will be times when stamina has not yet regenerated, and shooting without Deadeye​ will greatly reduce damage. This cyberware will counteract that.
Skeleton 1	Epimorphic Skeleton	This cyberware greatly boosts overall health. This will be very useful to provide some bonus survivability.
Legs 1	Reinforced Tendons	My personal favorite makes traversing much easier.
	Leeroy Ligament System	Iconic leg cyberware, providing faster movement speed, however, does not give any jumping benefits
	Fortified Ankles	Gives the highest jumps and high boost to armor compared to cyberware capacity cost. But you need to hold the jump button.

Tertiary Cyberware

The last tier of cyberware. I would say this is what is necessary to activate Cyborg​ perk if you picked it, or want to become the ultimate Night City persona. It is optional, and many of them require very high Cyberware capacity and perks like Edgerunner​ and Renaissance Punk​.

Slot	Cyberware	Description
Frontal Cortex 2	Mechatronic Core	Increases damage against drones, mechs, and robots. Taking it to fill the slot.
Skeleton 2	Bionic Joints	Gives bonus armor and scales with Technical Ability
Skeleton 3	Rara Avis	Gives a huge boost to armor, but comes with a steep cyberware capacity cost. If cannot equip, take the below one.
	Para Bellum	Gives 12% armor for better protection.
Nervous System 3	Revulsor	Iconic version of Reflex Tuner. Movement speed for you is not slowed which makes it very powerful, for this type of build, scales with Cool.
	Synaptic Accelerator	Has only 5 cyberware capacity costs, so good filler, before you can get Revulsor.
Integumentary System 3	Chitin	Has a high cyberware capacity cost, but provides a huge armor bonus and health regeneration.
	Subdermal Armor	Provides flat armor increase. Has a low cyberware capacity cost.
Circulatory System 3	Feedback Circuit	Each fully charged shot, including Bolt​ restores HP.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this post on the best Sniper build in Cyberpunk 2077. This is a very versatile build that has decent stealth and loud combat capabilities. It shines mostly with long-range shots and can utilize different snipers based on the situation.

Feel free to leave a comment below!