Gunslinger Build - 70K damage per Shot (Patch 1.63) - Cyberpunk 2077

By zanuffas
Last updated: 21 September 2023

The Gunslinger Build for Cyberpunk 2077 is for those that are looking to make pure mayhem using their bullets. We dive deep into different weapon types - pistols, revolvers, and various rifle types to make them do the highest damage possible. The build is an extremely versatile gunzerker dream leading to damage of thousands per shot

Gunslinger Build - each shot kills
Conclusion

Gunslinger Build - each shot kills

As I mentioned this build is for those that love all the guns in Cyberpunk and want to try them out. Probably, it will not be enough to have one playthrough to find the one that you like the most, but I am here to guide you. Thanks to Tabula Rasa you can easily access any weapons by respeccing your perks.

Now, why go for Gunslinger build? Let me show some numbers. Here is the damage with the Overwatch, and how it deals hundreds of thousands of damage

Gunslinger build headshot damage sniper

What about pistols? Well no problem, you can still one-shot enemies with Crash revolver while also having it silenced. This is enough to one-shot most of the enemies in the game. Of course, some tougher ones will have higher armor values.

Gunslinger build headshot damage pistol

Okay, but there is also a very well-liked rifle Widow Maker. It is Precision Rifle that can charge up its shot for increased damage and shoot through walls. This can make the game too easy even on Very Hard difficulty

Gunslinger build headshot damage precision rifle

So thanks to the perks, weapons, and cyberware we pick with the Gunslinger build we are able to deal this crazy amount of damage.If this caught your attention let's get into the details.

Attributes

Picking attributes is one of the most important things for the build. It will decide what skills you can unlock and what perks you gain at each level as you improve the attribute level. I would like to lead through some recommendations on how to best optimize.

Starting the game

Reflexes +3. Improves gun damage early in the game.
Cool +2.
Technical Ability +1
Body +1. Gives some bonus HP for better early survival chances.

Progression

Level	Reflex	Body	Tech	Cool	Int
10	10	6	6	6	3
30	15	11	14	8	3
50	20	12	20	16	3

Reflexes 20.
Body 12.
Technical Ability 20.
Cool 16.

The Gunslinger build does not rely on Intelligence (probably this is obvious). The main reason is that we will forgo Cyberdecks and only use Sandevistans as the operating system. This will allow you to slow down time and spray bullets at multiple enemies that you encounter before they can do anything.

Perks

This section will go into great detail about what perks you should pick with the Gunslinger build. I will try to cover what perk trees you should invest in based on the weapon of your choice. This is a great way to find what you need and don't waste any perk points on what you do not need

Handguns - Pistols and Revolvers

Handguns skill tree covers all revolvers and pistols.

Engineer build Handguns cyberpunk 2077

Reflexes Level	Skill	Description
1	Gunslinger x3	Reduces reload time for Pistols and Revolvers by 25%.
1	High Noon x3	Increases Crit Chance with Pistols and Revolvers by 6%.
5	Desperado x3	Increases damage with Pistols and Revolvers by 10%.
5	Rio Bravo x3	Increases headshot damage multiplier with Pistols and Revolvers by 15%.
7	Long Shot Drop Pop x2	Increases damage with Pistols and Revolvers to enemies 5+ meters away by 25%.
9	Steady Hand	Reduces Pistol and Revolver recoil by 20%.
9	O.K. Corral	Deal 50% more damage with Pistols and Revolvers to enemies whose Health is below 25%.
9	Vanishing Point	Increases Mitigation Chance by 20% for 5 sec. after performing a dodge with a Pistol or Revolver equipped.
11	A Fistful of Eurodollars x2	Increases Crit Damage with Pistols and Revolvers by 30%.
11	From Head to Toe x2	Increases damage done to limbs with Pistols and Revolvers by 7/15%.
12	Acrobat	You can now perform dodges while aiming a Pistol or Revolver.
12	Grand Finale	The last round in a Pistol or Revolver clip deals double damage.
14	Attritional Fire	Firing consecutive shots with a Pistol or Revolver at the same target increases damage by 10%.
14	Wild West	Removes the damage penalty from Pistols and Revolvers when shooting from a distance. Now you can maximize your damage when fighting enemies from long distances with this Pistol build.
16	Snowball Effect	After defeating an enemy, the fire rate for Revolvers increases by 5% for 6 sec. Stacks up to 5 time(s).
16	Westworld	Increases Crit Chance for Pistols and Revolvers by 5% if fully modded.
18	Lead Sponge	Enables you to shoot with Pistols and Revolvers while dodging.
20	Brainpower	After a successful headshot with a Pistol or Revolver, Crit Chance increases by 7% for 5 sec.
20+	The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly	After a successful Crit Hit with a Pistol or Revolver, damage and Armor increase by 30% for 5 seconds. +1% per Perk level.

Assault - Assault, Sniper, SMG and Precision Rifles

Going for the Assault tree ensures that you are most effective while using Rifle type weapons and SMGs.

Assault rifle build assault cyberpunk 2077

Reflexes Level	Skill	Description
1	Bulletjock x3	Increases damage with Rifles by 10%.
1	Eagle Eye x3	Reduces time to aim down sight with Rifles by 50%.
5	Covering Killshot x2	Increases Crit Chance with Rifles and Submachine Guns by 8% when firing from behind cover.
7	Bullseye	Increases Rifle damage while aiming by 10%.
7	Executioner	Deal 25% more damage with Rifles and Submachine Guns to enemies whose Health is above 50%.
9	Duck Hunter x2	Increases Rifle and Submachine Gun damage to moving enemies by 10/20%.
9	Shoot, Reload, Repeat x2	Defeating an enemy with a Rifle or Submachine Gun reduces reload time by 20/40% for 5 sec.
11	Feel the Flow x2	Defeating an enemy with a Rifle or Submachine Gun reduces reload time by 20/40% for 5 sec.
11	Nerves of Steel x2	Increases headshot damage with Sniper Rifles and Precision Rifles by 10/15%. The Assault rifle build can still use precision rifles.
12	Hunter's Hands x2	Reduces recoil with Rifles and Submachine Guns by 5/10% when firing from behind cover.
12	Trench Warfare x2	Rifle and Submachine Gun damage increases by 5/10% when firing from behind cover.
14	Named Bullets	Increases Crit Damage with Rifles and Submachine Guns by 20%.
14	Skull Skipper	Each headshot reduces recoil with Rifles and Submachine Guns by 4% for 10 sec. Stacks up to 5 time(s).
16	Bunker	Increases Armor and Resistances by 15% while aiming with Rifles and Submachine Guns from behind cover.
16	Recoil Wrangler	Reduces recoil with Rifles and Submachine Guns by 5%.
18	In Perspective	Bullets fired from Power Rifles and Power Submachine Guns ricochet an additional 1 time(s).
18	Long Shot	Rifle and Submachine Gun damage increase the farther you are located from enemies.
20	Savage Stoic	Increases damage with Rifles and Submachine Guns by 35% when standing still.
20+	Punisher	After defeating an enemy with a Rifle or Submachine Gun, weapon sway is nullified and weapon spread does not increase for 10 sec. +0.2 sec. per Perk level.

Engineering - Tech Weapons

Pistol build tech pistol Engineering cyberpunk 2077

Tech Level	Skill	Description
9	Up to 11	Allows you to charge Tech weapons up to 100% capacity.
12	Tesla x3	Increases the charge multiplier for Tech weapons by 55%.
14	Ubercharge	Fully charged Tech weapons deal 30% more damage.
14	Gun Whisperer	Fully charged Tech weapons do not shoot automatically. Does not apply to revolvers.
16	F*** All Walls	Reduces the charge amount needed for Tech weapons to penetrate walls by 30%.
18	Lickety Split x2	Tech weapon charge time is reduced by 20%.
20	Superconductor	Tech weapons ignore Armor.
20	Revamp	Increases damage from Tech weapons by 25%. Increases charge damage from Tech weapons by 10%. +1% charge damage per Perk level.

Engineering - Smart Weapons

If you are using Smart Weapons, I recommend taking this skill from the engineering tree. It is the only one we need for now.

Tech Level	Skill	Description
9	Lock and Load x2	Increases Smart weapon reload speed by 10%.

Engineering - Power Pistols

Pistol build power pistol Engineering cyberpunk 2077

Tech Level	Skill	Description
5	Draw the Line	Preview bullets' ricochet trajectory when aiming with Power Weapons if Ballistic Coprocessor cyberware is installed.
12	Play the Angles x3	Ricochets deal an additional 50% damage.

Athletics

gunslinger build athletics cyberpunk 2077

Body Level	Skill	Description
1	Regeneration	Health slowly regenerates during combat.
7	Epimorphosis	Increases Health regen threshold from 60% to 65% in combat and to 100% out of combat.
11	Multitasker	Allows you to shoot while sprinting, sliding, and vaulting.
11	Divided Attention	Allows you to reload weapons while sprinting, sliding, and vaulting.

Ninjutsu

gunslinger build ninjutsu cyberpunk 2077

Cool Level	Skill	Description
1	Silent and Deadly	Increases damage dealt by silenced weapons by 25% while sneaking. This is very useful as Assault Rifles can have a silencer on.
	Strike From the Shadows
7	Assassin	Deal 15% more damage to human enemies.
9	Sniper x2	Increases headshot damage outside combat by 20%.
12	From the Shadows x2	Upon entering combat, Crit Chance increases by 20% for 7 sec.

Cold Blood

gunslinger build Cold blood cyberpunk 2077

Cool Level	Skill	Description
1	Cold Blood x3	After defeating an enemy, gain Cold Blood for 7 sec. and increase movement speed by 2%. Stacks up to 1/2/3 time(s). The duration of each additional stack is 1 sec. shorter.
7	Easy Out x2	While Cold Blood is active, increases ranged weapon damage by 20% to enemies within an area of 5m.
11	Coolagulant	Stacks of Cold Blood are removed one by one, not all at once.
11	Frozen Precision	Increases headshot damage by 5% per stack of Cold Blood.
16	Critical Condition x2	Increases duration of Cold Blood by 50%.
16	Coldest Blood x2	Increases max stack amount for Cold Blood by 2.

Build tactics

Okay so to be honest there are not many tactics and tips that I can suggest with this build. Generally, you have to be good and accurate with the guns you have equipped. However, I can still share some general guidelines:

Tech weapons are excellent for shooting enemies through walls. For example, Widow Maker can make any encounter very easy as you hide behind cover.
Although you would think pistols are weak, they are very strong, especially once you do headshots.
I do recommend Sandevistan as Operating System. It boosts damage, critical chance, and critical damage. Of course, you will need legendary versions for that. Moreover, it slows time allowing you to land precise headshots.
Because this build concentrates on maximizing damage, you should shoot while sneaking/crouching. Some of the perks only activate in this state

Cyberpunk 2077 silencer

Using a silencer will lower your overall damage. However, it will increase it greatly while shooting from stealth. So use it based on your approach.

Equipment recommendations

This section will cover the best equipment that you can use on Gunslinger Build in Cyberpunk 2077

Pistols and Revolvers

Item	Description
Chao	A smart pistol that is very effective against single targets.
Crash	An iconic revolver that has high base damage. It is a simple weapon that has no gimmicks and relies on wearers' accuracy.
Comrade's Hammer	A hand cannon. It has single shot in a clip, but can be charged and the bullet explodes
Lizzie	A very powerful tech pistol. It shoots multiple projectiles from a single shot. Can hit enemies through walls.
Malorian Arms 3516	Although it may not be the most powerful it is definitely cool. This is Johhny's iconic pistol.

Assault Rifles

Item	Description
Psalm 11:6	Deals additional thermal damage and can burn enemies. I think it is very effective against most human enemies throughout the game
Moron Labe	A very powerful assault rifle that I think is mandatory to try on Gunslinger build. Has a very high fire rate.
Divided We Stand	This is an amazing Smart Assault Rifle. It can target multiple enemies, and with some practice, you can get guaranteed headshots.

Sniper Rifles and Precision Rifles

Item	Description
Overwatch	It is a unique variation of SPT32 Grad and comes with a silencer. Its drawback is that it requires 10 Body to properly utilize it.
Widow Maker	Although not Assault Rifle it can come in very handy in many fights as this precision rifle can shoot through walls.
SPT32 Grad	Although not a Tech Sniper rifle, this one can shoot through walls and ricochet. Although it has a very slow fire rate.
Nekomata	This tech sniper rifle is readily available throughout the game. It can shoot through walls. You can also try getting the iconic version of it called Breakthrough
Ashura	Smart Sniper rifle, usually guarantees a kill without making the most accurate shots. However, has only 1 round per clip.

Weapon Mods

Item	Description
XC-10 Alecto	The best Muzzle allows for silent weapon shooting. Unfortunately, when using silencer ricochet bullets are disabled and damage is decreased.
Countermass	Eliminates horizontal recoil while aiming. This will make shooting with Assault Rifle a breeze
Crunch	Increases damage. This is a base mod that I recommend for Assault Rifle build.
Neon Arrow	Reduces weapon reload time by 5%.
Vendetta	Increases headshot damage by 10%.
Penetrator	Increases Crit Chance
Pacifier	Increases Crit Damage

Cyberware - Frontal Cortex

Slot	Item	Description
1	Heal-On-Kill	This item provides a certain percentage of health after each enemy that you kill. The effectiveness increases with the cyberware rarity
2	Mechatronic Core	I recommend this one because it will greatly boost damage against mechs. On higher difficulties, this helps a lot in certain encounters.

Cyberware - Ocular System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Kiroshi Optics Mk.3	Enables to have additional upgrades for the ocular system. Try to get the highest rarity which is Epic. It provides 3 upgrade slots.

Mods

Mod name	Description
Trajectory Analysis	Increases headshot bonus damage by 25%.
Weakspot Detection	Increases Crit Chance by 2%.

Cyberware - Circulatory System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Biomonitor	Instantly restores a large portion of health when it drops below a certain threshold.
2	Bioconductor	Greatly reduces cooldown duration of other cyberware. Cannot be equipped if you do not have at least 12 Body.
2	Microgenerator	Releases Electroshock when health drops below 15%.
3	Feedback Circuit	Instantly restores health if shooting a fully charged tech weapon

Cyberware - Immune System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Shock-n-Awe	Release electroshock when being hit. Has a certain activation chance.
2	Pain Editor	Reduces all the damage that you receive by 10%.

Cyberware - Nervous System

You can wear 2 pieces of cyberware for the Nervous System. Try to get the highest Rarity of the mentioned item

Slot	Item	Description
1	Kerenzikov	You can now slow time when dodging or sliding.
2	Reflex Tuner	I like this Cyberware as it gives you some time when you are in a critical situation and slows down time.

Cyberware - Integumentary System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Subdermal Armor	Provides flat armor increase. Try to obtain the highest rarity for the highest value.
2	Optical Camo	This is a bad boy. You will become invisible for a few seconds which you can use to take out enemies. Really neat cyberware for a stealth build
3	Heat Converter	Increases damage if you are burning

Cyberware - Operating System

I recommend using the Sandevistan operating system for this Gunslinger build. It will allow you to stop time and take out enemies without them reacting to your shots.

Priority	Item	Description
1	Militech "Falcon" Sandevistan Mk.5	Provides 20 Crit Chance and 35% Crit Damage while Sandevistan is active. The effect lasts 18 seconds. Enough for most of the encounters.
2	QianT Sandevistan Mk.4	Gives a 15% critical chance and a 15% damage dealt increase while Sandevistan is active.
3	Dynalar Sandevistan Mk.4	Increases damage and Crit Chance by 15%. Has a 30-second cooldown.
4	Dynalar Sandevistan Mk.3	I recommend getting the Epic version early as possible as it will greatly improve your gameplay.

Operating system mods

Mod name	Description
Heatsink	Reduces Sandevistan cooldown. The best versions can only be crafted, but they drastically reduce Sandevistan reuse rate.
Prototype Chip	While Sandevistan is active, increases Crit Chance by 5%.
Neurotransmitters	While Sandevistan is active, increases Crit Damage by 15%.
Overclocked Processor	Increases duration of Sandevistan

Cyberware - Skeleton

Slot	Item	Description
1	Bionic Joints	Reduces recoil of Ranged Weapons.
2	Synaptic Signal Optimizer	Increases Health. Greatly improves the survivability of Assault Rifle Build in the late game.

Cyberware - Hands

Slot	Item	Description
1	Smart Link	Take this one if you will use Smart weapons. It ensures they work correctly and are easy to use
1	Ballistic Coprocessor	Use this cyberware if you plan to take Power rifles. The legendary version gives +50% ricochet damage.

Cyberware - Legs

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

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the post on Gunslinger build in Cyberpunk 2077. I hope you enjoyed the build and found your favorite style with various guns in the game. Be sure to try them using Tabula Rasa respeccing as each of them offers different flavor and feel

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