Gorilla Arms - fist Build (Patch 1.63) - Cyberpunk 2077
This is a guide for the Best Gorilla Arms build in Cyberpunk 2077. I will go through all the details to best utilize this unique weapon.
This build emphasizes on hand to hand and melee combat. Due to this, it will make the Boxing quests a piece of cake.
Contents
Gorilla Arms build - King Kong
As the name suggests this build tries to imitate Gorilla. What does this mean? Large damage with your fists, enemy knockdowns, and stuns. Moreover, you will have a large pool of HP and armor to soak damage.
However, in case you fight a tougher enemy or are overwhelmed by enemies you can activate the Berserk operating system. It will boost your physical damage and improve the build defenses.
All of this makes the build very interesting.
Attributes
The main attribute that the Gorilla Arms build needs are the Body. It ensures both high survivability and increases Knuckle damage.
Start of the game
The start of the game with Gorilla Arms build relies either on melee or ranged weapons. So most importantly, we get attributes that provide general improvements.
- Body +3 - makes the early game a bit easier, by providing bonus stamina and health.
- Cool +3 - provides offensive bonuses and allows learning Cold Blood ability early in the game
- Technical Ability +1 - nothing special, just bonus armor.
Progression
Here is how I recommend progressing through the game with attributes:
| Level | Reflex | Body | Tech | Cool | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| 30 | 3 | 20 | 9 | 16 | 3 |
| 50 | 3 | 20 | 12 | 20 | 16 |
- Body -The main attribute that directly increases Gorilla Arms cyberware effectiveness. Also gives bonus health and stamina.
- Cool - this attribute will provide bonuses for overall combat and Cold Blood perk tree.
- Intelligence - We will need it for some Cyberware
- Technical Ability - This stat will provide a bonus to armor and gives some nice crafting-related perks.
Perks
In this section, I will go through the perks that I recommend for this build for maximum damage.
Athletics
| Level | Skill | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regeneration | essential perk, to allow you to regenerate health when in combat. The pillar stone of this build survivability |
| 7 | Wolverine | Health will start regenerating faster during combat. Thanks to this perk your chances of survival will increase greatly |
| 9 | Steel and Chrome | more melee damage as you will be fighting with your Gorilla arms this perk will increase your damage |
| 12 | Invincible | Increases the Gorilla Arms build maximum HP. |
| 16 | Dog of War | more health regeneration during combat, to increase your chances of survival during close combat |
| 16 | Cardio Cure | more health regeneration as you move, and you will move most of the time during combat as you will be using melee to get to the enemies |
| 18 | Steel Shell | more armor for you to survive gunshots. |
| 20 | Indestructible | amazing perk, which will reduce ALL damage by 10%, much better than increasing armor |
| 20 | The Rock | you cannot be knocked down from any of the attacks or damage types. Be careful, if you get hit by a car you may die instantly. |
Street Brawler
| Level | Skill | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flurry | 50% more damage, with combo attacks. As you will be using them constantly this perk is essential |
| 1 | Crushing Blows | great perk if you plan to use strong attacks. Your Gorilla arms will charge, so at a full charge if you use a Strong attack it will deal a tremendous amount of damage |
| 4 | Dazed | amazing perk which allows your normal attacks to stun for a 30% chance. Will greatly synergize with other perks. Also if you will be fighting strong enemies, you can now stun-lock them. |
| 6 | Rush | you will regenerate hp during each hit, for 2 seconds, so the faster you attack the more hp you will regen, amazing perk |
| 6 | Efficient Blows | mandatory skills, so that you would not deplete all of your stamina during encounters |
| 8 | Opportune Strike | will deal more damage to stunned enemies, will greatly synergize with Dazed perk |
| 10 | Payback | the less hp you have the more damage you do. Because some enemy shots will deal a lot of damage to you, take this chance to deal more damage by using this perk |
| 15 | Thrash | reduces target armor if you use strong attacks. Results in more damage dealt for 10 seconds |
| 15 | Frenzy x2 | For 5 seconds the damage is increased by 50% once an enemy is killed |
| 18 | Unshakable | works great with Dazed as you will restore both HP and Stamina when hitting stunned enemies |
| 20 | Guerilla | Increases Critical Damage by 60% for 10 seconds. This effect activates at the start of the combat |
Ninjutsu tree
| Level | Skill | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Assassin | Most enemies in the game are humans, take this perk to deal 15% more damage |
| 12 | From the Shadows | at the start of combat, a more critical chance will benefit you with more DPS |
| 16 | Hasty Retreat | great perk, which at the start of the encounter increases movement speed. You can now reach enemies like snipers or netrunners before they deal any substantial damage to you |
| 18 | Cheat Death | truly remarkable skill, making your chances of surviving encounters higher. You will be able to run around and kill more enemies and your health regen should pick up as the damage you take decreases |
| 20 | Jeepers Creepers | Very powerful perk. That guarantees a critical hit and provides 100% bonus damage. This effect applies when attacking from stealth. Use it to take out a few enemies before entering combat. |
Cold Blood
| Level | Skill | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cold Blood | 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. |
| 5 | Blood Brawl x2 (optional) | Although it should provide bonus damage, after testing I did not see any difference |
| 9 | Rapid Bloodflow | I think it is the perfect perk for Gorilla Arms build. It provides bonus health regeneration making you, even more, sturdier during combat |
| 9 | Defensive Clotting | more armor means more survivability in combat |
| 11 | Coolagulant | you will not lose all Cold Blood stacks, but they will be removed one by one. This means that you can extend the length of buffs 3-4 times. |
| 12 | Predator x2 (optional) | To be honest, did not see that it would provide any attack speed with Gorilla Arms. |
| 14 | Pain is an Illusion | essential skill, decreasing overall received damage while Cold Blood is active |
| 14 | Cold and Calculating | The Gorilla Arms build now can get Cold Blood stacks after each critical hit |
| 16 | Critical Condition x2 | longer Cold Blood duration will mean that the buffs last longer and you will not lose them while behind cover regenerating hp or waiting for a better opportunity to position yourself. |
| 16 | Coldest Blood x2 | The maximum amount of Cold blood stacks is increased by 2 |
| 18 | Immunity | The perk provides immunity to various effects like electricity, burn, etc. Makes you very effective against netrunners. |
| 20 | Bloodswell | Allows the Gorilla Arm build to survive a lethal attack by consuming all Cold Blood stacks. This happened once every 15 seconds |
| 20 | Merciless | Only available when Cold BLood perk reaches level 20. However, provides a 25% bonus for critical damage and a 5% critical chance. Definitely recommend this for Gorilla Arms build |
Tactics
In this section I will go through some tips and tactics that you should use with Gorilla Arms build:
- This build is very powerful for boxing missions. Makes them very easy as you have one of the most powerful melee weapons during the fights
- As this is a melee build you have to be smart about the approaches against enemies. Try to start fights by taking out enemies in stealth.
- Stamina management is important early in the game. If you drain too much of it you will become exhausted, which will slow your movement speed. Due to this especially early in the game always follow the stamina bar.
Equipment recommendations
Armor Mods
| Mod name | Description |
|---|---|
 Fortuna |
Increases Crit Chance by 4% |
 Bully |
Gives an 8% Crit Damage bonus. |
 Armadillo |
Provides bonus armor. Good for increased survival |
 Zero Drag |
Increases movement speed. Great for Gorilla Arms build as it allows to reach enemies faster. |
Cyberware - Frontal Cortex
| Slot | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Limbic System Enhancement |
Due to high Intelligence, we can equip the Legendary version that provides a 7% Crit Chance increase. |
| 2 |  Visual Cortex Support |
This cyberware will greatly boost critical damage. Making the Gorilla Arms even more powerful |
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. |
Cyberware - Circulatory System
| Slot | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Biomonitor |
Instantly restores HP when Hp drops below a certain threshold. |
| 2 |  Bioconductor |
Reduces cooldowns of all Cyberware. |
| 3 |  Second Heart |
This cyberware will resurrect you when HP reaches 0. Greatly increases Gorrila Arms build combat capacity, especially when there are multiple enemies with guns. |
Cyberware - Immune System
| Slot | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Shock-n-Awe |
Gives a chance that you will release electroshock when enemies deal damage to you. |
| 2 |  Pain Editor |
Reduces all incoming damage by 10%. Essential for Gorrila Arms build |
Cyberware - Nervous System
Unfortunately, Gorilla Arms build does not utilize this Cyberware well. The main reason being is that you do not have high reflexes. So get whatever is available.
| Slot | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kerenzikov |
Slows time when you dodge or slide |
| 2 |  Reflex Tuner |
Slows time when HP drops below a certain threshold |
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
With this Gorilla Arms build we go all-in on Berserk Operating System. It provides various buffs, but mainly increases damage resistance and damage output.
| Priority | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Zetatech Berserk Mk.5 |
A great operating system that provides a 20% boost to melee damage, 10% armor, and resistances. Most importantly it has a fairly short cooldown of 30 seconds |
| 2 |  Militech Berserk Mk.5 |
The bonuses are a bit lower but have a whooping 60 seconds duration. |
| 3 |  Moore Tech Berserk Mk.3 |
Although this is an epic version it provides very good bonuses. Try to get it as early as possible. |
| 4 |  Moore Tech Berserk Mk.2 |
The rare version is the best that you can get in early to mid-game. |
Now, you can upgrade the Berserk operating system to perform better. Here are some options that I suggest to use:
| Mod name | Description |
|---|---|
 Beast Mode |
While Berserk is active, increases Armor, Resistance, and Health regeneration by 15%. Melee attacks deal 100% more damage when Berserk is active. A must for Gorilla Arms build |
 Bruising Berserk |
Increases Berserk melee damage bonus |
 Devastating Berserk |
While Berserk is active, increases Crit Chance |
 Chained Berserk |
Reduces Berserk cooldown |
 Sharpened Berserk |
While Berserk is active, increases Crit Damage |
Cyberware - Skeleton
| Slot | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Synaptic Signal Optimizer |
With this Cyberware Gorilla Arms build becomes a bullet-soaking monster. The Legendary version provides a 60% health increase. |
| 2 |  Dense Marrow |
Increases damage with melee weapons. However at the cost of higher stamina consumption |
I avoid Reflexes and reflex-related Cyberware. Unfortunately, Microrotos does not seem to provide any attack speed boost from my testing
Cyberware - Arms
This section is where the main weapon of the build lies. For this you will need a ripperdoc who can install your Gorilla Arms.
| Slot | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gorilla Arms |
This will be your main weapon. Try to go for the highest rarity that you can get. |
Gorilla Arms mods
| Slot | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Animals Knuckles |
If you wish to deal physical damage, this mod is perfect. It only adds a Bleeding effect. |
| 1 |  Knuckles - Thermal Damage |
Deals thermal damage and can apply burn. Very effective against human enemies |
| 1 |  Knuckles - Electrical Damage |
Use this modification against mechs and drones as they are weak to electricity. |
| 2 |  Black-Market Battery |
Increases maximum charge for Gorilla Arms by 100% |
| 2 |  Battery, High-Capacity |
Increases maximum charge for Gorilla Arms and damage by 50%. |
| 3 |  Sensory Amplifier (Crit Chance) |
Increases Crit Chance by 2%. Very good, when you have low Crit Chance. |
| 3 |  Sensory Amplifier (Crit Damage) |
Increases Crit Damage by 20%. Once you have a high Crit Chance, these stats will provide a larger DPS increase |
Cyberware - Legs
| Slot | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Reinforced Tendons |
My personal favorite makes traversing much easier. |
Conclusion
This build took a while for me to learn to play it. Unfortunately, on higher difficulties, the enemies hit hard no matter your armor/health. So I had to utilize stealth more than I expected, moreover, you should avoid open areas, so that enemies cannot shoot you easily. Grenades can also help you, to knock down enemies if they are clustered.
All in all, once I got the hang of the build it felt really rewarding to use it. Beating enemies with your fists with a few hits, wreaking havoc in their line. This is really fun for me
Please leave your comments below on the experience with the build :)
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