Best Mantis Blades build (Patch 1.63) - Cyberpunk 2077

By zanuffas
Last updated: 21 September 2023

This post will cover ideas on how to make a build specifically for the Mantis Blade weapon. This is a unique weapon introduced in the Cyberpunk universe. A sharp claws spread from the forearms, that you can use to pierce or cut enemies.

Mantis Blades allow you to rapidly attack, lunge long distances, and instantly kill with a strong attack ( if the enemy is weak enough). The weapon provides some thrilling combat moments

So let's start

Mantis Blade Stealth build
Equipment - what items should you use?
Conclusion

Mantis Blade Stealth build

Just my personal preference, but for me, Mantis Blades plays extremely well with a stealth approach. Due to how Cyberpunk is balanced, melee builds are at an extreme disadvantage on how much damage they can soak on the highest difficulties

With this in mind, my preferred recommendation is to use stealth and use it to remove enemies one by one, until you are detected. Once that happens, engage in fast hand-to-hand combat, to jump around the battlefield. To make it easier, we will use Sandevistan, which slows time and makes it much more difficult for enemies to attack you.

Attributes

In this section, I will go through recommended attributes and how you should progress with them. Picking the correct ones will ensure that you have sufficient stats to kill enemies. Moreover, it will allow getting very important perks for the Mantis blade build

Starting the game

Here are the starting attributes that I recommend:

Reflexes +3 - main damage attribute for blade-type weapons (you will not have Mantis Blades early in the game)
Body +2 - increases survivability
Cool +2 - increases offensive and stealth-related stats.

Progression

Here is how I recommend allocating attribute points as you progress through the game:

Level	Reflex	Body	Tech	Cool	Int
10	12	6	3	7	3
30	18	11	3*	16	3
50	20	20	3*	20	8

Reflexes - You want to get this maximize very soon. It will ensure that you can mitigate damage, and have higher damage and critical chance.
Cool - this attribute will ensure that you are able to perform well during stealth and increase critical damage and overall resistance.
Body - this one is used to maximize the Mantis blade build survivability. There will be many cases where you will be in open combat and you need to be able to soak up some amount of damage.

*If you plan or want to add Blade - Thermal modification on Mantis Blades, this requires you to craft it. You can do that with the True Craftsman perk. However, it requires 5 Technical Ability. You can take out points from Intelligence and put them toward Technical Ability.

Perks

In this section let's go through how to allocate your perk points as you progress through the game. They are very important as they give improvements to current actions and give new gameplay options.

Blade tree

This is the main tree for Mantis Blade build. More or less, you should prioritize it

stealth mantis blade build blades tree Cyberpunk 2077

Level	Skill	Description
1	Sting Like a Bee x3	Increases attack speed by 10%. It will ensure that you have very fast attacks to take out enemies as fast as possible.
1	Roaring Waters x3	Gives a 30% increase to Strong attacks. You will use these often with Mantis Blade when jumping from one enemy to another
4	Slow and Steady x2	As the build is prone to enemy shots, having increased armor by 30% while moving is essential not to die instantly
4	Crimson Dance x2	Gives a 30% chance to apply Bleed. Although it does not deal massive damage it will provide other benefits later on
6	Flight of the Sparrow x2	Reduces the Stamina cost of all attacks with Mantis Blades by 50%. Especially early you don't want to drain your stamina bar and get fatigued.
8	Shifting Sands	Another great ability that you can use to recover stamina when dodging is being used.
10	Blessed Blade	Gives a flat 10% critical chance if wearing Mantis Blade
12	Bloodlust x2	This ability complements Crimson Dance and gives health regeneration when the enemy is Bleeding. Thanks to this perk, the build survivability increases greatly.
12	Float Like A Butterfly x2	Dodging will give 50% more damage for 5 seconds. Very high increase for something that you will constantly be doing to avoid bullets or enemy attacks.
15	Judge, Jury and Executioner x3	Huge damage boost on the first hit to the enemy
18	Deathbolt	This is an ability that you need for encounters with many enemies. Each enemy that you kill will restore your health by 20% and increase the movement speed by 30% for 5 seconds.
15	Fiery Blast x3	Very strong perk. It gives a bonus of 3% damage for every 1% health the enemy is missing.
20	Dragon Strike	The last ability in the blade perk tree. It provides a 40% critical damage boost

Athletics Tree

The athletics tree will ensure that the Mantis Blade build can survive long enough during the encounters.

stealth mantis blade build athletics tree Cyberpunk 2077

Level	Skill	Description
1	Pack Mule	This is a quality of life ability that gives 60 points more carrying weight. I think it helps very early in the game when you need money fast.
1	Regeneration	Allows regenerating health during combat. It is very useful for this build as you wait behind the cover for the enemy to come to you
5	True Grit	Increases stamina by 10% allowing to do more hits with Mantis Blade
7	Epimorphosis	Increases the threshold to which HP regenerates during combat. Moreover, HP now regenerates to 100% outside of it.
7	Wolverine	Health regeneration will now activate 20% faster. This will make long encounters easier to survive
9	Steel and Chrome x2	Increases melee damage by 10%
11	Like a Butterfly	Dodging will now not drain stamina. This will allow to better fight during long encounters
12	Invincible	As powerful as it sounds this ability only provides 15% health. However, that is still a good boost for overall survivability
12	Tenacious V	Health regeneration now continues even after being hit
16	Cardio Cure x2	Because you are moving this ability is essential. It will give 30% faster health regeneration.

Ninjutsu Tree

stealth mantis blade build ninjutsu tree Cyberpunk 2077

Level	Skill	Description
1	Crouching Tiger	Gives 20 %faster movement speed while sneaking
7	Assassin	Deals 15% more damage to humans. Almost all the enemies that you will fight will be humans, so the choice is obvious
7	Strike from the Shadows	Increases Critical Chance by 7% while sneaking. You will have a higher chance to deal a critical hit on the first hit before the enemy spots you.
12	From the Shadows x2	Provides a 20% bonus critical chance for the first 7 seconds of the combat.
12	Ghost	Increases the detection time before the enemy spots you.
16	Hasty Retreat	Gives a 50% boost after being detected for 5 seconds. Thanks to this ability you can run around very fast and take out a few enemies before your take damage
18	Cheat Death	Reduces damage by 50% when health drops below 50% for 10 seconds. The ultimate survivability perk.

Cool Blood

stealth mantis blade build cold blood tree Cyberpunk 2077

Level	Skill	Description
1	Cold Blood x3	This is a very important buff for almost any stat in the game. Although at first, it provides only faster movement speed, as you progress it will provide other benefits. I suggest upgrading this ability every 5 levels and not but all 3 points at the start o the game
5	Will to Survive	Increases Resistances by 3%. Good for an early Game. However, later on can be swapped for Immunity
5	Blood Brawl	Melee damage is increased by 5% while Cold Blood is active
12	Predator x2	Each stack of Cold Blood increases attack speed by 10%
14	Pain is an Illusion	Reduces damage taken by 5% while Cold Blood is active
16	Coldest Blood	Increases Cold Blood stack by 1
16	Critical Condition x2	Cold Blood will have its duration increased by 50%. Ensures that you can still maintain the buffs even after hiding from the enemy.
18	Immunity	Makes you immune to Bleeding, Poison, Burn, and Shock. Makes Will to Survive obsolete

Build tactics

This Mantis Blade build is quite fragile, due to this I would like to share some tips:

Take out as many enemies as you can using stealth. This will make combat much easier when you are detected as enemy numbers dwindle.
Optical Camo is another good option to use. Thanks to it you can move around hardly seen and take out enemies.
Mantis blades have a mechanic to jump on the enemy that you are targeting when you attack it from a distance. Use this to close the gaps. Have in mind you need a clear path to the enemy for this to work
Once I am detected and if there are many enemies I usually activate Sandevistan. This way, enemies take some time to target you and start shooting. You want to avoid it because on Very Hard few shots will kill you.
Grenades - always have a few of them. They are a good option to knockback a group of enemies. Use these to confuse them and create openings for attacks with Mantis Blade. The good thing is that they are effective even without any related perks.
It is okay to retreat and hide. Enemy guns can be brutal, due to this have no shame in hiding. Once you have perks to regenerate health during combat this is a good way to get a breather before jumping into the fray again.

Equipment - what items should you use?

Weapons

Although the build uses Mantis Blade they are only available when you have 20 Street Cred. Before that, I recommend using blade-type weapons like Katanas or Knives. It will allow you to learn the ins and outs of melee combat.

Mantis Blade is equipped as cyberware on arms, be sure to visit Ripper doc for that

Priority	Item	Description
1	Mantis Blade	The Legendary version provides the largest bonuses and has the highest damage.
2	Katana	Early in the game, you will not be able to obtain the Mantis blades. For this reason, I recommend using this Katana and farming some Street Creds.

Mods

As our main weapon will be Mantis Blade, here are what upgrades you can get for each of the slots

Slot	Item	Description
1	Blade - Thermal	Pick this against single human enemies. The only sure way to obtain it is to craft it. This requires a True Craftsman perk that you can get by having 5 Technical Ability. I suggest subtracting 2 points from Intelligence
1	Blade - Electrical	Perfect for mech and drone enemies as it applies Electrical damage.
2	Haming-8 Rotor	This is a very powerful upgrade, that gives Mantis Blades a 45% attack speed increase
2	Fast Rotor	Provides 35% attack speed increase for Mantis Blades
3	Sensory Amplifier (Crit Chance)	Increases Crit Chance by 2%. Very good, when you have a 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

Armor Mods

Nothing much here, try to always have armors with the highest rating. If you get a chance try to obtain mods that increase your critical rate and damage.

Here are the mods that I recommend using on the armor

Mod name	Description
Bully	Gives +8% Crit Damage. Great for maximizing damage late in the game
Armadillo	I recommend this mod for maximum survivability It gives bonus armor. Try to get the Legendary or Epic variant
Fortuna	Gives +4% Crit Chance.
Zero Drag	Increases movement speed. It can make the gameplay a bit more difficult as you may run through the enemies. But overall makes the experience even more enjoyable and the enemy kills much faster
Thick-Skinned	Provides higher Mitigation Strength. This means that when Mitigation activates the effect is stronger.

Cyberware

This section will cover all the Cyberware that Mantis Blade build should use.

Frontal Cortex

With 8 Intelligence you can get some cyberware that provides bonuses to crit chance and damage

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	Visual Cortex Support	Increases Crit Damage
3	Limbic System Enhancement	Increases Crit Chance

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
Weakspot Detection	Increases Crit Chance by 2%.
Explosive Analysis	If you plan on using Grenades, this is a great quality of life improvement

Circulatory System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Biomonitor	Instantly restores a large portion of health when it drops below a certain threshold. Very valuable for this Mantis Blade build
2	Bioconductor	Reduces all cyberware cooldowns
3	Second Heart	Another great option, especially early in the game when you may die often. It provides a second chance before you die.

You can replace Second Heart with Microgenerator once you have high survivability

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%.

Nervous System

You can wear 2 pieces of cyberwar 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. Very effective for the Mantis Blade build.
2	Nanorelays	Increases Sandevistan and Kerenzikov duration
2	Reflex Tuner	Slows time when your Health drops to 25%

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

Operating System - Sandevistan

I recommend Sandevistan. You lose the ability to use quickhacks, however, you can now slow time and this greatly helps in melee. During the fights, you can get to enemies using the shortest path, while avoiding the bullets

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. They will greatly improve your offensive

Mod name	Description
Heatsink	Reduces Sandevistan cooldown. This is a must, as it allows using the ability more often
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

Operating System - Berserk

You can also use Berserk Operating System. However, this could be difficult to use as you lose time slowing. Of course, your damage and damage protection greatly increases

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.

Berserk Mods

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.
Bruising Berserk	Increases Berserk melee damage bonus
Devastating Berserk	While Berserk is active, increases Crit Chance
Chained Berserk	Reduces Berserk cooldown

Skeleton

Slot	Item	Description
1	Dense Marrow	Increases the damage of melee attacks. However, they also drain more stamina. In the mid-game this stops becoming a problem
2	Microvibration Generator	Increases melee damage

Another option that you can use is Microvibration Generator which provides bonus melee damage. However, the bonus is lower than Dense Marrow

Arms

Slot	Item	Description
1	Mantis Blades	The only Cyberware that you need. Already described the different options in the weapons section

Legs

Slot	Item	Description
1	Lynx Paws	A perfect option for a stealth build. Running now generates less sound.
2	Reinforced Tendons	My personal favorite makes traversing much easier.

Conclusion

The build is really exciting. Even though it may take some time to learn to use Mantis Blades. However, once I got a hang of it, it was much more fun than using katana.

Another important part is that you need to play strategically. Unfortunately, you cannot just tank some enemies and you will have to look for moments where you can retreat or jump on the enemy without being detected. All of this and the Mantis blade weapon bring an exciting build to life.