Best Throwing Knife Build (Update 2.0) - Cyberpunk 2077
Contents
Throwing Knife Build - Update 2.0
A unique playstyle where you can throw knives. This is a variation of melee weapons, however, they do not have any defensive capabilities. Why would you go with these weapons? They do not have any ammo, and with the right perks, each kill returns them.
Moreover, they are perfect for unexpected stealth kills. This is their strongest point as they drastically fall off against very tough enemies like MaxTac. However, these weapons are amazing for most game encounters and world exploration.
Another downside is that Throwing Knives by themselves takes some leveling before they are worthwhile. The culprit is the Juggler perk. Without it, it takes time for the weapon to go back to the hand, making it almost unusable if going only with Knives. For this reason, early games should be accompanied either by a ranged or melee weapon.
Attributes Starting Game
Here are what attributes we should be taking at the start of the game.
Attribute | Allocation | Description |
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+3 | Unlocks Throwing Knives-related perks and boosts critical damage. |
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+2 | Increases critical chance and unlocks the first tier of perks |
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+1 | Unlocks the first-tier perks |
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+1 | Gives bonus armor and unlocks first-tier perks |
End Game Attributes
First, let's start with what I think are base attributes for the Throwing Knives build. This covers all the corners we need before we would jump into specializing.
Attribute | Allocation | Description |
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13 | Boosts critical chance and unlocks perks for better mobility. I think the build can stay with only Dash, and Air Dash is not as necessary as higher survivability. |
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15 | I think the build needs a bonus sure |
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20 | The base value gives access to some good perks for cyberware capacity and item recharge time. |
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20 | The main attribute of Throwing Knives. Unlocks higher tier perks and increases critical damage. |
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3 | We skip this attribute as we do not use anything |
I think a big decision is whether to go for Body 15 or 15 Reflexes. With Phantom Liberty, you will be able to reach it. However, for prioritization I recommend evaluating, what you need - higher survivability or more mobility. 15 Body gives Adrenaline Rush which is very useful on Hard and Very Hard.
However, if you feel comfortable and have mastered Sandevistan usage, Air Dash from level 15 Reflexes is hard to go by.
Leveling Progression Summary
To improve the build understanding and give you some direction here is recommended leveling progression. Use it more as a guideline to create your Throwing Knife build. Once you start "Feeling" your playstyle you can deviate and pick your own perks to better suit your style!
Level | Attribute | Perk |
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1 | +3 Cool +1 Body +1 Technical Ability +2 Reflexes |
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2 | +1 Cool 7 | ![]() |
3 | +1 Cool 8 | ![]() |
4 | +1 Cool 9 | ![]() |
Perks
Let's go through the perks of the Throwing Knives 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
Let's start with the main perks of the Best Throwing Knife build. I do not recommend heavily investing in stealth perks until you try them. The game is very lenient on kills outside of combat and at higher levels Sandevistan is a perfect substitute for that.
Level 4 Perks
Perk | Description |
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Improves crouching, allowing for better sneaking |
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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. |
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Ensures that silenced weapons deal bonus damage when shooting outside of combat (or stealth) |
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Delay detection is useful when you are playing stealth build |
Level 9 Perks
Perk | Description |
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Additional Poison damage when you land a headshot or critical hit. We also need this to progress further in the tree. |
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Just some bonus damage against mechs and robots |
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Bonus damage when using a second thrown weapon against an already poisoned target. |
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Amazing perk, that allows you to restore HP with thrown weapons. Gives some needed survivability. |
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An additional blind effect is a good option to make combat easier against stronger enemies. |
Level 15 Perks
Perk | Description |
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This perk is the goal of Throwing Knives. I think before it, it's not worth going only with throwing knives. |
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Instantly finishes off an enemy. With Sandevistan it is the perfect option due to fast animation against normal foes. |
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This encourages you to first take out weaker enemies. This way, you get more stacks of Critical Damage. Then, turn your attention to elites or bosses. |
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Mandatory perk, that gives you a huge closing distance to finish an enemy off |
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I think it is good to have options when you will fight a stronger enemy and just using THrowing knives will not be enough. |
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I would say this is an optional perk. However, because we want to unlock the last one in the tree, we need it for progression. I did not use much this one and mostly went with Sandevistan + ![]() |
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Optional one if you are using Optical Camo cyberware |
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Optional one if you are using Optical Camo cyberware |
Level 20 Perks
Perk | Description |
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The perk encourages you to make cool moves and they are rewarded with guaranteed critical hits. However, I do not recommend sacrificing headshots for style. |
Reflexes Perks
This ability tree is mainly taken to unlock mobility perks. They will make it easier to traverse the world, and also improve your combat capabilities. For example, you can move faster from enemy to enemy using Dash
Level 4 Perks
Perk | Description |
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Cool move that can greatly open up combat options |
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Base perk, that we will need to progress to other levels |
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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. |
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Want to do cool kills? Well, this is for you |
Level 9 Perks
Perk | Description |
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Another new perk that gives a short dash to avoid or get close to the enemies. |
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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. |
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Shooting while Dashing? What can be cooler? |
Technical Ability Perks
This tree is responsible for higher cyberware capacity, better healing, and improvements to Sandevistan. Also, I will cover some variations of the build with the perk selection.
Level 4 Perks
Perk | Description |
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Faster health item restoration after each kill |
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Increased recharge time for healing items |
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Even more health restoration from the last item. |
Level 9 Perks
Perk | Description |
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3rd health item will give a huge survivability increase. |
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Easily regain health items when close to death. |
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Mandatory perk as we will need as much Cyberware as we can. Reduces its costs for Skeleton and Integumentary Systems |
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With this build, we will have 4 attributes above 9, so worth taking it. |
Level 15 Perks
Perk | Description |
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Additional cyberware slot and higher stat modifiers. We also want this for progression to get the next perks. |
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The increased duration is useful for Sandevistan |
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This is an optional perk. However, Cellular Adapter cyberware looks to be very strong and gives a huge boost to Armor |
Level 20 Perks
Perk | Description |
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Unlocks a higher capacity for cyberware and gives a unique Fury mechanic that drastically improves critical damage and other offensive stats. |
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 |
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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 |
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It seems an obvious choice, who does not want higher health regen closer to death? |
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Blood Pump is one of the mandatory cyberware for the build, and getting a 100% mitigation chance is great |
Level 15 Perks
Perk | Description |
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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. |
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Optional perk. Because you will be under constant fire, the three seconds may never come. Pick this perk once you have everything else covered |
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20% movement speed and 10% damage while Adrenaline Rush is active? Let's go |
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Being squishy and getting knocked down is the worst thing that can happen. |
General Tips
Here I would like to share some general tips that I would like to recommend for the best approach with this build.
Early game - no knives
Unfortunately, an early game is not good for knives. The build only starts to shine once we get Juggler maximized and can capitalize enemy kills via headshot, Crit Hit, or Poison. For this reason, I recommend using Ranged Weapons. The perfect alternative? Sniper or Revolver will require you to practice precise shots to land the headshot.
Sandevistan
In my opinion for this build, Sandevistan is the lifesaver. It allows you to concentrate and land the perfect shot, which is essential for a fast-moving build like this. Moreover, in the early game, you may need to wait for Sandevistan cooldowns a lot, but this becomes better once you reach level 30 and get access to Militech ones.
You use all knives, now what?
Unfortunately, this will happen, especially when fighting stronger enemies like elites or bosses. What can you do then?
- Wait
- Run and pick it up
- Equip a ranged weapon.
The first two options can be fatal especially if Sandevistan is on cooldown. So definitely have a ranged weapon in inventory if this situation happens.
Gear Recommendations
This section will cover what gear I recommend using with the Best Throwing Knife build. Always try to obtain the highest tier equipment as it provides the best stats and most modification slots.
For weapons, I recommend having one weapon for stealth kills that use a suppressor. Then, a second one will be used in most of the encounters.
Throwing Knives
Item | Description |
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I think this is the best option for Throwing Knives. In case the first headshot does not kill, the second gets a 200% damage bonus. | |
This knife has the unique effect of stunning an enemy. However, there is a slight delay, so that could be problematic. Use this on Elite enemies, to better crowd control them. | |
Although not as strong as the others, it can apply bleeding which is additional damage over time effect. |
Axe
Although, technically it is not a throwing knife, it can be still thrown. One option that I recommend getting:
Item | Description |
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Okay, this is an amazing weapon, although not stealthy. Use this one if you fight mechs and robots. Critical hits release a shockwave. Moreover, by default, the weapon has a 30% shock chance. It is also perfect after you use up all the knives and they are on cooldown. |
Cyberware
With the cyberware capacity system and quite high costs of it, you should evaluate which ones you will take first. Overall, the iconic versions are expensive, but they can make the build even more overpowered.
Frontal Cortex
Slot | Item | Description |
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1 | ![]() |
This is crazy powerful cyberware for Sandevistan. I would make this a top priority. 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 | ![]() |
Gives a cyberware cooldown reduction after taking out an enemy. It is not much, however, with multiple kills, the effect adds up. |
2 | ![]() |
Increases damage against drones, mechs, and robots. Optional cyberware |
3 | ![]() |
Not a priority but a decent protection against enemy quickhacks |
Arms
Slot | Item | Description |
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1 | ![]() |
A good option instead of grenades. It has decent damage, with Phantom Liberty getting special relic perks and you can perfectly control where projectiles hit. |
Skeleton
Here, there are multiple options that you can go for. Generally, this is mostly armor, health, and mitigation buffs. On higher difficulties without these enemies may easily one-shot you.
Slot | Item | Description |
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1 | ![]() |
Gives bonus buffs after the healing item is activated and a large chunk of armor |
2 | This cyberware greatly boosts overall health. This will be very useful to provide some bonus survivability. | |
3 | ![]() |
Ultimate cyberware for protection. However, has steep cyberware costs. Only take this once you have everything else covered, especially damage. |
3 | ![]() |
A normal version of Rara Avis provides less armor and has lower cyberware capacity costs. |
3 | ![]() |
Gives higher mitigation strength, allowing the build to absorb higher amounts of damage. However, this is not a substitute for armor, and rather a progression to Para Bellum. |
3 | ![]() |
Gives bonus armor and has low cyberware cost |
Nervous System
Slot | Item | Description |
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1 | ![]() |
Mandatory cyberware that ensures a higher crit chance with throwable weapons |
2 | ![]() |
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. |
2 | ![]() |
Gives higher mitigation chance and strength and scales with Reflexes for bonus critical chance. |
3 | ![]() |
If you like to play with Takedowns, this would give a huge boost to headshots and movement damage after you do one. |
3 | ![]() |
A superior version of Adrenaline Converter, giving a better bonus to movement speed. Of course, this comes as a higher cost of Cyberware Capacity |
3 | ![]() |
Gives a movement speed boost at the start of combat. Pair this with sandevistan and you run like a wind |
Integumentary System
Slot | Item | Description |
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1 | ![]() |
Provides flat armor increase. Has a low cyberware capacity cost. |
2 | ![]() |
Makes it harder to be detected outside of combat. During combat reduces the chances of being hit |
3 | ![]() |
A perfect option if you are constantly dashing, negates projectile damage. |
Operating System
For the endgame, my recommendations would be these two operating systems. Unfortunately, other ones fall off in comparison
Item | Description |
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The most powerful Sandevistan. Each kill increases the duration by 20% and Stamina. Moreover, it gives a decent boost to critical chance and damage. |
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A junior version of Apogee. Has a smaller Cyberware capacity, but unfortunately, the bonuses are a bit smaller also. |
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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 |
Ocular System
Slot | Item | Description |
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1 | ![]() |
We are mainly interested in critical chance boost based on the Reflexes attributes |
Hands
Slot | Item | Description |
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1 | ![]() |
This is the perfect cyberware for Throwing Knives. Upon equipping it (and this will happen often), you will get a huge boost to Critical Chance. |
2 | ![]() |
An option if you have taken ![]() ![]() |
Circulatory System
Slot | Item | Description |
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1 | ![]() |
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 | ![]() |
Another option, that restores stamina after each kill |
2 | ![]() |
The most powerful healing item in the game |
3 | ![]() |
Similar to the normal version provides -18% stamina costs, but also scales with reflexes for even lower stamina cost of attacks. I would only recommend this one if you are min-maxing and have everything else covered, especially damage-related cyberware. |
3 | ![]() |
The legendary version reduces stamina costs by 18% for all attacks. |
Legs
Slot | Item | Description |
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1 | My personal favorite makes traversing much easier. | |
1 | ![]() |
Iconic leg cyberware, providing faster movement speed. |
1 | ![]() |
Take these for the ultimate stealth experience and approaches. Also gives bonus headshot damage. Comes with low cyberware cost. |
1 | ![]() |
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 Best Throwing Knives build in Cyberpunk 2077. The build offers a perfect balance between style and combat capabilities. You can easily go in loud with the support of Sandevistan or take s tleathy approach and let enemies wonder where are all their comrades gone.
Feel free to leave a comment below!
Discussion
the iconic cockatrice optics give 25-35% crit chance. much better than doomsayer.
Definitely! But it has a steep cyberware cost, so priority would be Axolotl and Apogee Sandevistan. I have a few improvement ideas, like Countershell when updating the build :)
To add to the knife recommendations, a regular knife has a headshot modifier of 200%, 50% higher than most if not all Iconic knives. They also have the versatility of additional mods, making them just as deadly if you are trying to go on a headshot spree
Hey, that's a good point, thank you.
Bad build. And that you reset the dislikes is the proof of that you are a really pathetic person.
If you really know what you are talking about you would bring constructive criticism and tell zanuffas which part of the build is bad.
Nah I don't reset them, I just remove spam :) If it is a viable critique I am always welcome to hear it. However, again, you are not able to critically tell what is wrong with the build. Hope you can learn from this
Cheers!
what is a good point to strive for for each piece? (Example you should have xyz cyberware equipped by level x etc)
Hmm, it is hard to say what to reach at what level, but I would prioritize these ones - Axolotl, Militech Sandevistan and Reinforced Tendons. The last one should be obtainable at level 10, the second one at level 25 (I think) and the last one is rewarded after you are done with Regina Jones gigs.
that is more or less what I am talking about, but also need to account for the cyberware limit and assume no shards as they are very rng. Little tiny details I know but it's the tiny "details" that sink ships as my old mentor used to say.
All in all playing with this at level 45 and having fun.
Yeah unfortunately, very hard to account what is cyberware limit of each player :)
Glad that you are enjoying it, Cheers!
bad build
Cool! Care to share what is bad and how to improve it? :)
The build has been updated for 2.0, enjoy!
Not a bad build, but it could be seriously improved upon, because as-is it is really hurting because of wasted synergy.
What do I mean by that? The 9 Intelligence that is seemingly only there to qualify for the +4% Crit Chance bonus of the Limbic System Enhancement. It is a massive waste of Attribute points that could be much better spent elsewhere, and the measly 4% Crit Chance is not worth a whopping 6 points of Attribute investment. With Intelligence you are either using a Cyberdeck and spending at least 12 points into it so you can attain Legendary Quickhacks with the Datamine Virtuoso perks from Breech Protocol, or you are using Berserk/Sandevistan and anything above 3 does nothing for you. Outside of extra Perk Points, there would be no benefit (outside of bonus perks points) to this type of build from getting your Breech Protocol and Quickhacking up to Lv9, and even then that would require you spending a lot of time using a Cyberdeck instead of Sandevistan. Wasted time, wasted potential.
I'd keep Cool at 20 since both Ninjutsu and Cold Blood have some really nice 18+ perk options. Same for keeping Technical at 18 for crafting Legendary gear. But I'd keep Intelligence at 3, and only raise Reflex to 18, losing Dragon Strike but still keeping Deathbolt and Crimson Tide. That frees up enough points to raise Body up to 12, which pays massive dividends in terms of increased health, stamina, and base melee damage. You're giving up a bunch of useless bonuses to RAM/quickhacks and 0.5% to Crit Chance in exchange for a 12% (1.5% x 8) boost to melee damage.
For Sandevistan, I think the winner is the Quaint Sandevistan Mk.4 and its 15 second cooldown. It is tied for the lowest cost (28K) and lowest requirements (15 Reflexes), meaning it is tied for the earliest Legendary option you can slot in. Upgrade slots are not type specific, so you can stack multiple Legendary Heatsinks, potentially bringing down that already short 15 seconds to as little as 3 seconds (I prefer having one Arasaka Software for better stealth and a still fast 7 second cooldown), and you can purchase the crafting spec for the Heatsinks in Arroyo for little over 1K.
But what other cyberware can you now equip with 12 Body? Rare Adrenaline Booster (+30% Stamina on kill), Bioconductor (10% cyberware cooldown reduction), Rare Synaptic Signal Optimizer (+40% health), Supra Dermal Weave (bleeding immunity).
Plus not only will getting to 12 in Athletics net you some nice useful bonuses (+60 carry weight, +5% stamina, +10% stamina regen, +10% health), you'll also get access to a much better suite of combat and quality of life perk options. 15% more health with Invincible, the ability to do stuff while sprinting and vaulting with Divided Attention and Multitasker, +20% more melee damage with Steel & Chrome. Plus, if you want to double down on HP regen in combat, you now have access to most of the perks you need to enable and improve that capability; Regeneration, Epimorphosis, Wolverine, and Tenacious V. These all dovetail nicely with Rapid Bloodflow from the Cool tree and both Bloodlust and Deathbolt from the Blades tree.
So in exchange for a small drop in Crit Chance (4.5%), you get a whole heck of a lot more health, stamina, base melee damage, better Cyberware options, better passive bonuses, and a generally more usefully and far more survivable V. If you ever really need to force a reset of Juggler to get some knives back (and just 1-shotting isn't an option, like in a boss fight), remember that Critical Antidote gives you 100% Crit Chance with a strong or thrown knife attack against a poisoned enemy, Venomous Fang makes all knife attacks cause poison, and Corrosive Poison lets you poison machines; so you are never more than a light/strong combo away from getting your thrown knives back.
Wow, thank you. This is a good comment (maybe even a post). The thing with a critical chance it is now (After the big 1.5 patch update) hard to get this stat and you need to make sacrifices to obtain it.
The thing with your suggested options is they do not provide any DPS increase. This is the only downside I see. Otherwise, in terms of versatility (bonus hp, faster movement, health regen, etc.), it is a way to go :)
Cheers!
Except, that's factually not true. It does provide a DPS increase. Not only does it show up in the Stats menu, but it is demonstrable in the game as well.
20 Cool, 20 Reflex, 18 Technical, 9 Intelligence, 4 Body
Lv50 crafted Legendary Tanto
103 Base Damage, 303 Physical Damage, 1083 DPS
20 Cool, 18 Reflex, 18 Technical, 3 Intelligence, 12 Body
Lv50 crafted Legendary Tanto
142 Base Damage, 331 Physical Damage, 1184 DPS
Hey,
Does this improve the ranged damage of the build?
Are the DPS values here with Visual Cortex and Limbic System Enhancement?
Unfortunately, when I was making the build (it may have changed now), many of the perks did not affect the ranged damage with the blade, so I had to remove them. That is why the flat increase to critical damage and the critical chance is valuable
Another aspect, especially if you are playing on Very Hard, is more HP does not necessarily provide an equal amount of survivability. At level 40+ the scaling is broken and no matter how many bonuses you have enemies still take you out with a few shots. Again this may have been fixed with the recent 1.61 patch
Cheers!
but why you didn't buy ninjitsu skill in ninjitsu skill tree? this is one of the best right?
This is now called Jeepers Creepers. Unfortunately, it does not work with Throwing Knife, only with melee hits.
What is the overall best cyberpunk build?
I would say netrunner. No need to engage enemies directly with it
Hi! What build is the most fun?
Exactly. Depends on you role playing fantasy. I am a NetRunner with knifes. I need knifes because the Cyberdeck is useless against single boosses with mass health.
Hey! I think it depends on you role playing fantasy :) For me personally it is either a sniper or katana samurai build