Most Powerful Sandevistan Builds - Cyberpunk 2077

Sandevistan Blade Build

The first power fantasy that comes to mind when slowing down time and using your Blade to chip away at enemies one by one, while they are barely able to turn around. With Sandevistan that is possible. With the perk we take the build will be a deadly warrior that unleashes flurries of Katana hits.

We will be dipping a lot into Cyberware-related perks. Your goal is to have the lowest cooldown for Sandevistan possible and the highest duration. Moreover, some of the cyberware that we use like Axolotl and Apogee Sandevistan uses tons of cyberware capacity. For this reason, we need to be smart with what we take.

Attributes

This section will go through the recommended attribute allocation for the Sandevistan build. They will decide what perks you can unlock at which level.

Starting Game

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

Attribute	Allocation	Description
Reflexes	+3	Will give a boost to critical chance. But more importantly, will allow getting 9th-level perks very soon
Body	+3	Some HP bonus and the perks from this tree will be the second priority
Technical Ability	+1	We will be getting this attribute later on, for now enjoy the bonus to armor

End Game Attributes

Here is the goal of Sandevistan Blade Build that we should reach at level 50. This will leave 3 attribute points free, put them where you prefer.

Attribute	Total Allocation	Description
Reflexes	20	For Sandevistan Build I recommend high Reflexes. They will give a bonus duration of 0.1s per 1 point.
Body	15	We get a decent amount of Body to increase our HP pool.
Technical Ability	15	This is an important attribute that gives armor and unlocks perks to improve Cyberware Capacity. We also want Extended Warranty to get a longer duration for our Sandevistan
Cool	15	This will give us a huge boost to critical damage and unlock perks related to perks if you wish to dip into them
Intelligence	3	We skip this attribute as we do not use anything

Perks

Let's go through the perks of the Sandevistan Build. We will go through about 55~ perk points for the build, and the base game awards about 65. So some should be left to adjust the build to your needs.

Reflexes Perks

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Slippery	Base perk, that we will need to progress to other levels
Parkour!	Because we are melee focused build vaulting faster through obstacles can result in the enemy dead a second earlier. Moreover, it will be a lifesaver when you are running with low health.

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Lead and Steel	This is an awesome mechanic that allows us to block incoming bullets. Be sure that enemies are attacking you only from one side, as it does not work if we are shot from the back
Bullet Deflect	You can now redirect bullets back to enemies. This is very useful as you both deal damage and stagger enemies, giving you an opportunity to jump on them.
Dash	Another new perk that gives a short dash to avoid or get close to the enemies.
Mad Dash	Doubles the distance if dashing directly to an enemy
Seeing Double	Although the perk may not be useful, we want to take it to unlock Flash and Thunderclap.
Flash and Thunderclap	A strong attack will now do a jump that closes the distance.
Can't Touch This	A 100% mitigation chance while dodging is very valuable. This will give you a higher chance of reaching an enemy if you are under heavy fire.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Air Dash	Extremely cool and effective move that allows dashing in air.
Finisher: Bladerunner	Finishers are mandatory, especially on higher difficulties. They give you a brief time of invulnerability, instantly destroy the enemy, and restore health. With a few more upgrades it will increase attack speed.
Opportunist	You want to make Finishers as effective as possible
Flash of Steel	Gives a huge boost to attack speed after a Finisher
Going the Distance	The biggest drawback of melee weapons is distance. Well with this perk it is somewhat alleviated.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Slaughterhouse	Mandatory perk for any Blade-wielding build. Makes it easier to activate Finisher and regain stamina.
Tailwind	I would leave this perk optional. Put a point after you have everything else covered related to Healing, Katanas, and Cyberware

Technical Ability Perks

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Glutton for War	Faster health item restoration after each kill
Transfusion	If we used the last charge, it means we are close to death, getting a bit more HP is welcome
First Aid	Higher recharge speed is always welcome for health items

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Health Freak	3rd health item will give a huge survivability increase.
Borrowed Time	In case close to death, gives a chance to instantly restore a health item
All Things Cyber	Mandatory perk as we will need as much Cyberware as we can. Reduces its costs for Skeleton and Integumentary Systems
Renaissance Punk	With this build, we will have 4 attributes above 9, so definitely worth taking it.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
License to Chrome	Additional cyberware slot and higher stat modifiers. We also want this for progression to get the next perks.
Extended Warranty	The increased duration is useful for Sandevistan
Built Different	This is an optional perk. However, Cellular Adapter cyberware looks to be very strong and gives a huge boost to Armor

Body Perks

We are interested in Body for its access to health regeneration perks. They will be extremely useful during combat. Moreover, the early game of Cyberpunk 2077 can be difficult with limited healing options.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Painkiller	With the recent 2.0 patch, I think this perk is mandatory for any build. Especially early game healing is sparse, so to be able to regenerate in combat is a good quality of life improvement
Comeback Kid	Seems an obvious choice, who does not want higher health regen closer to death?
Army of One	Similar to other body perks, being in close combat will always result in enemies surrounding you, this just takes advantage of that to give higher health regen.
Dorph-head	Blood Pump is one of the mandatory cyberware for the build, and getting a 100% mitigation chance is great

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Adrenaline Rush	Drastically increases your survivability, by giving a second layer of HP. This will activate any time we use a healing item. For this reason, I recommend having Blood Pump, especially in the late game.
Calm Mind	Totally optional perk. Because you will be under constant fire, the three seconds may never come. Pick this perk once you have everything else covered
Juggernaut	20% movement speed and 10% damage while Adrenaline Rush is active? Let's go
Unstoppable Force	Optional perk, that improves resistances against knockdowns.

Cool Perks (Stealth option)

Investing in cool will give us some synergies for our build. First, it will give improvements to stealth that we can utilize to take down a few enemies. Moreover, we can use this together with Sandevistan to sneak on the enemy, kill them, and gain even higher duration, for more kills.

Regarding Throwing Blades, I think it is optional. This is just a ranged option that I think fits the build thematically. Moreover, you can easily take down enemies in Sandevistan while Throwing Blades and greatly increase its duration effect.

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. I think it may be optional on easy but on Very Hard it is mandatory for any stealth build.
Killer Instinct	Throwing Knives deal more damage from stealth? Sign me up
Quick Getaway	This one is optional. Higher movement speed is great, but not really mandatory when hidden

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Scorpion Sting	Faster recovery and applied poison are good bonuses. Moreover, with the next upgrades it will become even more powerful
Accelerated Toxin Absorption	Now if you carry two throwing knives, using them one after another (with headshots) will deal substantial damage from Poison.
Neurotoxin	Bleeding will help with Katana finishers and Blinding is a good effect by itself against enemies with guns.
Corrosion	Easier to combat mechs with Throwing Knives

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Ninjutsu	Gives a huge mobility boost when stealthing. You can easily run through enemies and they will not even notice you.
Creeping Death	Improvements to Optical Camo cyberware
Serpentine	Higher mitigation chance will also decrease the likelihood of detection from Blind Spot
Juggler	Gives bonus damage and most importantly you can now chain-throwing knives if you successfully neutralize targets
Sleight of Hand	This allows for making amazing combos with Katana. use Throwing Knife on a weak enemy that will die and follow up with Katana and 20% increased critical damage.
Finisher: Act of Mercy	Finishers are always welcome
Pounce	What makes this good is that now if an enemy is Elite, you can just throw two knives and finish them off with a finisher.

Sandevistan Deadeye Build

Who does not imagine themselves activating Sandevistan, equipping a pistol + suppressor, and slowly, one by one removing enemies? The time returns to normal and all the bodies fall to the floor. Your heavy cyberware body is ready for another Sandevistan now with two Elites coming your way. You equip a Sniper Rifle, activate Sandy and in two seconds, both of them lie on the ground.

This is how it feels running a Deadeye build. The build relies on precision and landing headshots so that once the time returns to normal enemies are gone. For this, we will go deep into Cool Tree, which gives stealth-related perks and improves weapons like Sniper Rifles, Precision Rifles, and pistols.

Of course, for this build to shine, you will need to put the effort into landing headshots and weak spots, unfortunately without this, the damage falls off heavily and you will not be able to sustain Sandevistan for a long time. You need to neutralize the enemies so that the cooldown of Sandevistan falls down.

So let's jump into it!

Attributes

This section will go through the recommended attribute allocation for the Sandevistan build. They will decide what perks you can unlock at which level.

Starting Game

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

Attribute	Allocation	Description
Cool	+3	Gives a higher critical damage bonus and faster access to level 9 Cool perks for weapons
Body	+1	We need one point to access the first perk
Technical Ability	+3	We will be relying heavily on Cyberware for this build. Moreover, this provides bonus armor

End Game

Here is the goal of Sandevistan Blade Build that we should reach at level 50. This will leave 3 attribute points free, put them where you prefer.

Attribute	Total Allocation	Description
Reflexes	15	For Sandevistan Build I recommend high Reflexes. They will give a bonus duration of 0.1s per 1 point.
Body	13	We get a decent amount of Body to increase our HP pool. However, as this is more of a stealth build and we want to avoid direct combat, we forgo Adrenaline Rush
Technical Ability	15	This is an important attribute that gives armor and unlocks perks to improve Cyberware Capacity. We also want Extended Warranty to get a longer duration for our Sandevistan
Cool	20	The main attribute of Sandevistan Deadeye build. Improves all Cool-related weapon's effectiveness and critical damage.
Intelligence	3	We skip this attribute as we do not use anything

Perks

Let's go through the perks of the Sandevistan Deadeye Build. We will go through about 55~ perk points for the build, and the base game awards about 65. So some should be left to adjust the build to your needs.

Cool Perks

This tree will help us with stealth approaches and improve weapon damage.

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. I think it may be optional on Easy difficulty but on Very Hard it is mandatory for any stealth build.
Killer Instinct	Throwing Knives deal more damage from stealth? Sign me up
Gag Order	Delay detection is useful when you are playing stealth build

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Focus	Ensures that you can shoot without expending stamina. The duration is short. However, using it together with Sandevistan will activate Focus for longer.
Head to Head	Now you can chain Focus, by neutralizing enemies one after another.
Pull!	Totally optional perk, but it looks cool when you do that.
Rinse and Reload	Faster reload speed? Take it
No Sweat	Less stamina cost for using Focus, if taking out enemies.
Deep Breath	This is the cream of the crop perk, that makes encounters much easier as you can land precise shots easier.

Level 15 Perks

The next set of Perks. Unfortunately, I do not take anything from the stealth side, like Ninjutsu. The cost of stamina really deters, if the situation arises and you want to activate Focus, you won't be able to.

Perk	Description
Deadeye	The coolest perk for the Sandevistan Blade build. Gives bonus weak spot and headshot damage. Moreover, no bullet spread!
California Reaper	Restore some stamina, to activate Focus or sustain shots for longer.
High Noon	This is an amazing perk. When reloading you will slow down time. It is good as you can use that time to evaluate the situation and decide on the next steps that you take.
Long Shot	Disregard distance in damage calculation
Quick Draw	You will be swapping weapons often - pistols for weaker enemies, and sniper rifles for strong ones. Having a faster swapping speed will increase the build's combat capacity.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Nerves of Tungsten-Steel	This is an amazing perk. We get bonus damage to headshots and now on top get guaranteed critical hits. Moreover, shooting from long range also adds bonus damage.
Run 'N' Gun	This is a totally optional perk. I personally did not use it as I do not shoot from the hip even with pistols. But you gain higher movement speed during Focus.

Reflexes Perks

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Stuntjock	Cool move that can greatly open up combat options
Slippery	Base perk, that we will need to progress to other levels
Parkour!	Vaulting faster through obstacles can result in the enemy dead a second earlier. Moreover, it will be a lifesaver when you are running with low health.
Muscle Memory	In the heat of battle when you are sprinting or running, reloading will save you precious time
Multitasker	Want to do cool kills? Well, this is for you

Level 9 Perks

After this, a lot of new perks open up. Be aware, that Dashes consume stamina, so using them too much will not activate Focus

Perk	Description
Dash	Another new perk that gives a short dash to avoid or get close to the enemies.
Mad Dash	Doubles the distance if dashing directly to an enemy
Can't Touch This	A 100% mitigation chance while dodging is very valuable. This will give you a higher chance of reaching an enemy if you are under heavy fire.
Steady Grip	Shooting while Dashing? What can be cooler

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Air Dash	Extremely cool and effective move that allows dashing in air. Makes traversing faster

Technical Ability Perks

This tree is responsible for higher cyberware capacity, better healing, and improvements to Sandevistan.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Glutton for War	Faster health item restoration after each kill

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Health Freak	3rd health item will give a huge survivability increase.
All Things Cyber	Mandatory perk as we will need as much Cyberware as we can. Reduces its costs for Skeleton and Integumentary Systems
Renaissance Punk	With this build, we will have 4 attributes above 9, so definitely worth taking it.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
License to Chrome	Additional cyberware slot and higher stat modifiers. We also want this for progression to get the next perks.
Extended Warranty	The increased duration is useful for Sandevistan
Cyborg	I would leave this perk for later. It will take a lot of farming to have high Cyberware Capacity to fill all the slots, so do not prioritize this perk.
Built Different	This is an optional perk. However, Cellular Adapter cyberware looks to be very strong and gives a huge boost to Armor
Ambidextrous	Equipping second-hand cyberware opens up a few options like electrocution or better targeting.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Edgerunner	In a sense, this is an optional perk. However, getting the best Sandevistan and Axolotl cyberware already puts the build at 10 cyberware capacity. Unless you have a lot of Capacity Shards, get this one. Moreover, bonus damage from the perk is very useful if you are playing on Very Hard.

Technical Ability - Tech Weapons

I include this separately. If you want to use weapons like Widow Maker, Lizzie, or Rasetsu, (Tech weapons), I recommend getting these perks, as they will unlock additional effects. Just be aware, that they may not work perfectly with the slow effect of Sandevistan.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Bolt	Better charging speed for Tech weapons and higher damage if you activate Bolt correctly
Internal Clock	Quality of life improvement for Bolt
Lightning Storm	Another upgrade for the main perk
Shock Value	Allows the healing of huge damage by penetrating armor.
In Charge	Definitely an optional perk, but good while you are learning to control these weapons.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Chain Lightning	Wanna feel like a lightning mage? Well here is a perk for you!

Body Perks

We are interested in Body for its access to health regeneration perks. They will be extremely useful during combat. Moreover, the early game of Cyberpunk 2077 can be difficult with limited healing options.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Painkiller	With the recent 2.0 patch, I think this perk is mandatory for any build. Especially early game healing is sparse, so to be able to regenerate in combat is a good quality of life improvement
Comeback Kid	Seems an obvious choice, who does not want higher health regen closer to death?
Dorph-head	Blood Pump is one of the mandatory cyberware for the build, and getting a 100% mitigation chance is great

Equipment recommendations

This section will cover what gear I recommend using with the Sandevistan build. Always try to obtain the highest tier equipment as it provides the best stats and most modification slots.

Katanas

Item	Description
Byakko	Very powerful katana, that now has a unique combo effect after killing an enemy. It releases a flurry of hits, easily chipping away at any enemy.
Scalpel	Boy oh boy. This is a mandatory weapon to get in Act 1. It perfectly fits Sandevistan cyberware and gets huge bonuses while using it. Moreover, it deals electrical damage by itself.
Satori	If you get this before Scalpel use it. Otherwise, skip it. Unfortunately, it was weakened after the 2.0 update.

Cyberware - Frontal Cortex

Slot	Item	Description
1	Axolotl	This is crazy powerful cyberware for Sandevistan. 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.
1	Newton Module	Gives a cyberware cooldown reduction after taking out an enemy. It is not much, however, with multiple kills, the effect adds up.
2	Mechatronic Core	Increases damage against drones, mechs, and robots. It is an optional cyberware

Arms

Slot	Item	Description
1	Projectile Launch System	If not going for Arms the Launcher is the perfect option to have on hand, it's an alternative to grenades, but more precise

Cyberware - Skeleton

Slot	Item	Description
1	Dense Marrow	Increases the stamina cost of melee attacks and greatly improves base damage. Only works on melee weapons
2	Epimorphic Skeleton	This cyberware greatly boosts overall health. This will be very useful to provide some bonus survivability.
3	Bionic Joints	Gives bonus armor

Cyberware - Nervous System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Synaptic Accelerator	Gives a time slow before you enter combat
2	Stabber	Mandatory for Blades build as it gives a huge boost to critical chance for blades.
3	Adrenaline Converter	Gives a movement speed boost at the start of combat. Pair this with sandevistan and you run like a wind
3	Neofiber	Gives higher mitigation chance and strength and scales with Reflexes for bonus critical chance.

Cyberware - Integumentary System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Subdermal Armor	Provides flat armor increase. Has a low cyberware capacity cost.
2	Optical Camo	It makes it harder to be detected outside of combat. During combat reduces the chances of being hit
3	Cellular Adapter	Gives a good boost to armor and provides various bonuses based on technical ability.

Cyberware - Operating System

For the endgame, my recommendations would be these two operating systems. Unfortunately, other ones fall off in comparison

Item	Description
Militech "Apogee" Sandevistan	This Sandevistan is perfect for ranged builds as it gives a decent headshot damage bonus. With it, stealth headshots should one-shot most of the enemies. However, its duration has been reduced in the recent 2.1 patch.
Militech "Falcon" Sandevistan	This Sandevistan version is perfect for Melee builds as it gives overall damage increase. With the 2.1 update its duration got increased, making it an excellent choice.
Dynalar Sandevistan	The cheapest option. Generally, it has lower cyberware capacity and gives good critical damage and chance bonuses. If you pair it with Axolotl, this can be a solution for limited-capacity

Cyberware - Ocular System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Kiroshi "Doomsayer" Optics	We are mainly interested in critical chance boost based on the Reflexes attributes

Cyberware - Hands

Slot	Item	Description
1	Handle Wrap	A perfect match for throwable knives. Gives a huge boost to critical chance when using them.

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.
1	Adrenaline Booster	Another option, that restores stamina after each kill
2	Blood Pump	The highest-tier healing option in the game. Also, some of the perks we take improve its effect
3	Microrotors	Gives a huge boost to melee weapon attack speed and bonus critical chance based on reflexes

Cyberware - Legs

Slot	Item	Description
1	Reinforced Tendons	My personal favorite makes traversing much easier.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this post on the Best Sandevistan build in Cyberpunk 2077. With the recent Edgerunners anime inspiration, this will allow you to immerse yourself in the Night City life.

Feel free to leave a comment below!