Best Monowire Build - Update 2.1 - Cyberpunk 2077

Best Monowire Build

With the recent patch releases, Netrunners had a full overhaul which also includes their iconic weapon - Monowire. Previously the weapon was part of the Blades category, but now it solely relies on itself, getting no boosts from anything except a few intelligence perks.

This does not mean that you will just go around slashing your wrists (that is of course possible). The weapon plays more of a support role. To reach its full potential you will have to mix it with various Quickhacks and cyberdecks. All of this will give you an unparalleled edge and can be fueled with Monowire attacks using the Siphon perk

We will look at deeper synergies between quickhacks, perks, and monowire types. Some of them can apply fire, other shock, or poison. Late in the game, you can expect to blow up groups of enemies. However, the powerful combo will be utilizing Suicide quickhack after you deal multiple finisher moves.

To take full advantage of hacking, read the Quickhack Combo guide. So if you want to find more on how to build this character, let's go!

Thanks, Kenji Yagami from Discord for sharing insights and tips on making the Monowire 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
Intelligence	+3	The main attribute of the Monowire build, we want additional RAM recovery from higher-value
Body	+2	Gives a bit of HP and unlocks the first tier of perks.
Technical Ability	+2	Unlocks the first tier of perks.

End Game

Here are the attribute allocations for the Monowire build at level 50. This will also leave 4 points free. So feel free to put them wherever.

Attribute	Allocation	Description
Reflexes	9	We mainly get this one for bonus mobility and an additional critical chance with Monowire.
Body	15	We mainly want this for Adrenaline Rush which will give a huge survivability boost.
Technical Ability	20	Gives increased armor but more importantly, unlocks Edgerunner for a huge cyberware capacity boost.
Cool	3	Not relevant for the build, maybe 1 point would be beneficial for Feline Footwork, but that's it
Intelligence	20	We want to maximize it as it will provide the main perks for quickhacks and Monowire.

Perks

Let's go through the perks of the Monowire 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.

Intelligence Perks

This is the main perk tree of the Monowire build. It will unlock both melee combat perks and quickhacking ones.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Eye in the Sky	Another perk, that we mainly take for progression, it is also useful early in the game when you do not have much RAM capacity, so using cameras saves a little. I personally do not use them.
Warning: Explosion Hazard	This is a very cool perk. You can create explosions from various containers around the world by hacking them. This will boost that damage, sometimes doing even more than dedicated combat quickhacks.
Optimization	Simple RAM recovery increase, we need the perk to progress further

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Embedded Exploit	To fully utilize the damage potential, be sure to first upload something like Ping, Cyberwar Malfunction, or Sonic Shock. This will easily boost your damage, I definitely recommend this against elite foes.
ICEpick	Some bonus RAM savings when mixing quickhacks.
Siphon	One of two main perks specifically for Monowire. Now each hit restores RAM. I recommend also activating Contagion on them and using Thermal Monowire for the explosion combo as a side effect.
Hack Queue	Allows the creation of some sweet combos and utilizes some unique effects later on
Feedback Loop	Easy bonus RAM recovery rate.
Data Recycler	With Overclock and Blood Daemon, this perk will allow us to obtain RAM from health
Counter-a-hack	Reveals enemy netrunner when they are hacking you, but we are taking this for the next perk.
Copy-Paste	This is a huge perk, that can instantly upload Suicide or Burnout Synapse to all of the enemies.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Overclock	The ultimate perk of and build that uses quickhacks. You can sacrifice HP to obtain additional RAM. Pairing it with Hack Queue, Blood Daemon, and Burnout Synapse, allows you to sustain this effect infinitely.
Sublimation	Improves survivability and unlocks the next perk in the tree
Queue Acceleration	Further improves queue size, allowing the creation of even more powerful combos
Finisher: Live Wire	This perk will take the Monowire to the next level. It will give a big RAM regeneration, activate synergy with Suicide quickhack, and also give a brief period of invulnerability while doing the finisher
Queue Hack_Root	Nothing, special just a small improvement to save RAM. It will also unlock the next perk.
Blood Daemon	This is a bad boy. It unlocks huge potential for Overclock allowing you to regain your lost health.
Queue Prioritization	Faster upload speed for the first Quickhack, when you fill up the queue.
Race Against Mind	More damage to the lower HP? This is auto-pick for the build

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Queue Mastery	Once you get this perk, be sure to always fill the queue for lockdown. I recommend using Cyberware Malfunction as it is cheap. This will result in +15% higher damage against the target.
Spillover	Occasional double hack? No reason not to take it as Overclock will be constantly active.

Body Perks

This is a very important perk tree. Although we will only take a few perks, they will play a huge role in higher survivability. First, as this is half a melee build, enemy bullets will hit you often. Second, with Overclock having some survivability will ensure that you will not die once spending all HP on quickhacks.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Painkiller	Allows regenerating HP during combat. This is very valuable, especially in the early game, where you often may not have healing items.
Comeback Kid	Faster HP regeneration the closer to the death you are.
Dorph-head	A brief damage reduction from mitigation for 2 seconds. Very valuable once you are in a shootout

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Adrenaline Rush	Gives a huge survivability boost by unlocking a new health bar after activating a healing item. It will ensure that you don't die while using Overclock and with the next perks gives some good bonuses.
Juggernaut	Once Adrenaline Rush is up and running this will give a decent boost to all damage and faster movement speed
Calm Mind	Delay of Adrenaline Rush decaying.

Technical Ability Perks

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Glutton for War	As healing items play an important role in this build, the perk ensures that you regain them faster.
Transfusion	Higher effectiveness for the last healing item.
First Aid	Higher recharge rate after using a first healing item

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Health Freak	Unlocks the third item, greatly prolonging how long you can stay in combat before expanding all your healing options.
Borrowed Time	This can synergize well with Overclock. As it will drain all of your HP, the instant kill with something like Burnout Synapse will restore a healing item in case you are almost dying.
All Things Cyber	Lower cyberware capacity cost for some slots and bonus stat modifier increase.
Renaissance Punk	Additional cyberware capacity.
Chrome Constitution	Additional protection against incoming damage.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
License to Chrome	A new cyberware slot and bonus armor
Pyromania	This will play well with Thermal Monowire, Contagion + Overheat combo, and Detonate Grenade. The more stacks we have the more damage explosions will deal.
Heat Shield	Pyromania stacks will now greatly improve mitigation chances, lowering incoming damage.
Friendlier Fire	Optional perk, but good to have as most of the time I saw myself running close to exploding enemies with Monowire.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Edgerunner	I leave the decision of whether to take this perk to you. I think it is amazing, and the 50 Cyberware Capacity increase allows for additional iconic cyberware. However, this will cost you a decent chunk of HP lowering your survivability. Moreover, The Fury state, stacks with many effects and attacks the build does.
Ticking Time Bomb	We are getting this perk mainly for the -50% damage reduction. However, once we activate Overclock and enemies are close they will get an EMP strike. This can synergize well with Cyberpsychosis.

Reflexes Perks

This tree will give a small boost to critical chance. Moreover, we want to unlock Dash for greater traversal and mobility capabilities.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Slippery	We mainly take this for progression
Parkour!	Optional perk, but I like to have it for faster traversal, especially during combat.

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Dash	The main perk to improve mobility of Monowire build. It is one of the most enjoyable perks in the 2.0 update, and is mandatory for almost every build in my opinion.
Can't Touch This	With the above perk, this is a huge improvement in damage reduction for a few seconds.

Perks - Relic

These perks are available with Phantom Liberty DLC. They will give further improvements to some of the game mechanics. It is especially powerful with Arm cyberware giving them unique effects.

Priority	Perk	Description
1	Jailbreak	With the new relic perk, arm cyberware gets powerful enhancements. Monowire specifically, can upload control quickhacks with Strong attacks.
2	Data Tunneling	Improvement to quickhack uploads for Monowire.
3	Vulnerability Analytics	Shows vulnerabilities, that allow for huge damage boosts especially useful against cyberpsychos and other stronger foes.
4	Machine Learning	Increases the frequency of vulnerabilities.

If you decide to use Optical Camo, you could also pick Emergency Cloaking and Sensory Protocol. These make melee combat a bit easier as you can instantly escape the combat state and use stealth before engaging in combat.

Combat and Tips

Here I would like to share some general tips that I would like to recommend for the best approach with this build.

Monowire to fuel quickhacks

The beautiful part of the monowire is that it's not just a tool to mindlessly spam attacks. It now synergizes with some perks and quickhacks. The main roles it is used:

• Regenerate RAM with basic attacks and Finisher: Live Wire
• Decreases costs of ultimate quickhack Suicide.
• Jailbreak and Data Tunneling to cripple or disable enemies with instant quickhack uploads
• Detonating explosions with Thermal Monowire
• And many more

The weapon unlocks multiple strategic approaches and gives a breath of fresh air to general Netrunner build, where you would use just quickhacks. This allows easily to take out something like MaxTac

The Early Game problems

Unfortunately, early games with this build, especially on Very Hard can be brutal. First, you don't get a Monowire until level 10. Second, low RAM and limited netrunning capabilities allow only a few quickhack uploads, while you have to wait for the recovery.

For this reason, I recommend using or carrying a pistol, rifle, or any ranged weapon to make the early level easier. Also, don't forget about grenades. You will be getting better and better and it starts becoming easier from level 15. Do not let this deter you as you can see from the showcases, Monowire is a beast in later levels.

Quickhack Combos

The major aspect of playing a character that uses Quickhacks is combining them. I recommend reading the Quickhack Combo guide as there are many of them. The ones that are worth using with Monowire build are:

• Melee Finishers + Suicide
• Contagion + Overheat or Thermal Monowire
• 2x explosions from the above or gas tanks + Detonate Grenade.
• Overclock + Burnout Synapse

Using quickhacks alone really impedes any type of netrunner build, because they cost a lot and many of them don't reveal their full potential before that.

Equipment

To be honest there is not much equipment choice here. You could have a rifle as a fallback against some boss encounters but generally, you will not need ranged weapons. You could equip some upper body armor for a little more protection but that is more or less all.

Before you obtain Monowire at level 10, here are some choices to use:

Pistols

Item	Description
Scorch	Iconic pistol that can be charged up to release three burning shots.
Dying Light	The first iconic ranged weapon that you will obtain. For maximum effectiveness hold the trigger as it has a fast fire rate and deals decent damage with headshots.

Cyberware

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

Cyberware - Frontal Cortex

There is a wide variety of options that you can take here.

Slot	Item	Description
1	Memory Boost	Defeating an enemy instantly restores RAMs
2	Ex-Disk	Increases the maximum size of Cyberdeck RAM units.
3	COX-2 Cybersomatic Optimizer	The ultimate cyberware if you want to see crazy damage numbers. This guarantees critical hits with Burnout Synapse, Short Circuit, etc. Be sure to upgrade it, as it reduces total RAM capacity by a lot.
3	Bioconductor	Increases Crit Chance of Quickhacks

Arms

Slot	Item	Description
1	Thermal Monowire	I would recommend only this one. It synergizes with Contagion allowing you to create explosions if you apply burning with Monowire. However, the chance is only 20%.

With the Phantom Liberty introduction and Jailbreak perk Monowire can instantly upload Control quickhacks with Strong attacks. Here are my suggestions:

Item	Description
Cripple Movement	Glues enemies in place, but more importantly increases melee damage and Finisher effectiveness.
Weapon Glitch	Disables enemy primary weapon making most of them very weak.

Cyberware - Skeleton

Slot	Item	Description
1	Rara Avis	The iconic version gives a huge boost to armor and some HP based on the Body attribute. Take it if you have free cyberware capacity.
1	Para Bellum	A normal version of Rara Avis, that has lower Cyberware Capacity cost. Also scales with Technical Ability for bonus armor
1	Spring Joints	Gives bonus mitigation strength. This can be a good choice as you have a high mitigation chance from Dorph-head and Heat Shield
2	Epimorphic Skeleton	This cyberware greatly boosts overall health. As Stealth build is already low on health I think this is required.
3	Dense Marrow	Increases the stamina cost of melee attacks and greatly improves base damage.

Cyberware - Nervous System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Revulsor	Iconic version of Reflex Tuner. Movement speed for you is not slowed which makes it very powerful, scales with Cool.
2	Neofiber	Gives higher mitigation chance and strength and scales with Reflexes for bonus critical chance.
3	Adrenaline Converter	Gives a movement speed boost at the start of combat. Pair this with sandevistan and you run like a wind

Cyberware - Integumentary System

This cyberware plays more of a defensive role. This is important as using Overclock, puts the monowire build at great risk.

Slot	Item	Description
1	Subdermal Armor	Provides flat armor increase. Has a low cyberware capacity cost.
2	Chitin	The ultimate armor cyberwar, giving +200.
2	Pain Editor	As the build will rely on close combat, having higher damage reduction is good.
3	Nano-Plating	A perfect option if you are constantly dashing, negates projectile damage.

Cyberware - Operating System

For this build, I mainly recommend operating systems that can enhance Monowire capabilities in some way. If you are going pure damage, there definitely better alternatives.

Item	Description
Militech Paraline Mk. 4	Ultimate cyberdeck for Monowire build. Gives bonus damage based on RAM used up. Moreover, while in Overclock, grants a huge boost to damage.
Biotech Σ Mk.4	This option synergizes well with Monowire and quickhacks like Contagion or Overheat. You constantly want to have these active so that monowire would get bonus damage.
Raven Microcyber Mk.3	Watch Contagion spread to all enemies, and use Thermal Monowire to explode them one by one. The Cyberdeck does not give any benefits to Monowire directly, but greatly boosts spreading quickhacks.

 

I recommend reading Quickhack Combo guide, to decide on the most relevant quickhacks for you

Item	Description
Contagion	This is a very powerful combo. First, you upload Contagion, followed by Overheat. This will create an explosion that removes contagion but should either kill or greatly weaken enemies. The good thing is that Contagion in the meantime will start spreading to other enemies. You can also use a Thermal Monowire as an alternative
Overheat
Detonate Grenade	It is an ultimate quickhack so you may not get access to it early. However, once you get pick it you can use it very cheaply after creating explosions with the above combo.
Memory Wipe	In case you need full stealth removal of enemy, this can be used to from Tier 4, to disable any kind of Tracing.
Burnout Synapse	The main damage dealer quickhack. Allows extending Overclock and deals heavy damage the less RAM you have.
Short Circuit	A very powerful quickhack that deals electrical damage. It is very effective against robots, drones, mechs, etc.
Suicide	With Monowire Finisher: Live Wire, it is easy to reduce the cost of this quickhack to 4 RAM. This instantly kills most normal and Elite foes.
Sonic Shock	With this Quikchack you can easily isolate an enemy. Follow it with combat quickhacks to ensure a kill without drawing any attention.
Cyberware Malfunction	I recommend using this one as a filler, to activate Blood Daemon or get bonus damage from Embedded Exploit. Moreover, by itself, this perk also increases the damage dealt.

Cyberware - Ocular System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Kiroshi "Cockatrice" Optics	Gives a huge boost to critical chance. If you have the luxury of 30 Cyberware capacity, definitely take it.
1	Kiroshi "Sentry" Optics	Scales with Intelligence, increasing all damage.

Cyberware - Hands

As this build does not rely on weapons, there aren't any special options here in my opinion. Maybe something like Microgenerator for bonus damage dealt based on Intelligence attribute, but that's 0.45% additional damage. I don't think that is worth the Cyberware Capacity.

Cyberware - Circulatory System

Slot	Item	Description
1	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.
2	Blood Pump	The most powerful healing item in the game
3	Heal-On-Kill	Restore HP on enemy kill. The good thing is that some of the stats also scale with intelligence
3	Isometric Stabilizer	Reduces stamina cost on all attacks. This can be a good choice for constant attacks with Monowire.

Cyberware - Legs

Slot	Item	Description
1	Reinforced Tendons	My personal favorite makes traversing much easier. However, it scales with Reflexes, which are lower compared to Technical Ability.
1	Fortified Ankles	Gives the highest jumps and high boost to armor compared to cyberware capacity cost. Moreover scales with Body for bonus HP.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this post on the Monowire Build in Cyberpunk 2077. The synergy between wrist wire and quickhacking is amazing allowing you to be a melee combatant and long-range hacker. The Monowire allows for some slick combos like explosions, enemy crippling, or just brutal finishers.

Leave your suggestions and opinions on the build in the comments below!