Best Stealth Assassin Builds - Update 2.0 - Cyberpunk 2077

Stealth Assassin - Time Slow

The variation of the build will utilize Sandevistan to enhance Stealth and assassination capabilities. Usually, one would use this operating system for all-out combat. However, it can also be used to avoid enemies, getting behind them, or just easily one-shotting them.

Probably, the most difficult part will be dealing with Elite enemies. Silenced pistols are not enough to one-shot them (there are some exceptions). However, we overcome this by utilizing Sniper Rifles or just plain takedowns. It will be very easy to reach the target while the time is slowed, even not require you to crouch.

I hope this got you interested and let's dig deep into the build

Attributes

First, let's go through attributes, they will decide the direction of the build and give access to different tiers of perks. The higher tier gives better actions and passives to further support the build. Let's take a look at what we need for the Assassin Build.

Starting Game

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

Attribute	Allocation	Description
Cool	+3	Unlock stealth-related perks, and gives bonus critical damage.
Reflexes	+3	Unlocks first-tier mobility perks and increases critical chance
Body	+1	We will need one perk at the start of the game.

End Game Attributes

Here is the goal of Stealth Time Slow Build.

Attribute	Total Allocation	Description
Reflexes	20	The attribute will ensure the highest critical chance bonus and all mobility perks unlocked.
Body	8	Dump the rest of the points to get additional HP.
Technical Ability	20	It will unlock perks that can be useful for particular weapons and more cyberware. As an addition, it will give bonus armor.
Cool	20	The main attribute, that will unlock stealth-related perks. Moreover, it will unlock pistol and sniper rifles perks.
Intelligence	3	Not needed for this build

Leveling Progression

To improve the build understanding and give you some direction here is the recommended leveling progression. Use it more as a guideline to create your Assassin Time Slow build. Once you start "Feeling" your playstyle you can deviate and pick your perks to better suit your style!

Level	Attribute	Perk
1	+3 Cool +3 Reflexes +1 Body	-
2	+1 Cool 7	Killer Instinct​
3	+1 Cool 8	Painkiller​
4	+1 Cool 9	Focus​

Perks

Let's go through the perks of the Stealth Build. We will go through about 60~ perk points for the build, and the game awards about 80. So you will have perk points left to adjust the build to your needs.

Cool Perks

This is the main perk tree for the Stealth Time Slow build to work. It will give stealth-related perks and improve the handling of pistols and Sniper rifles. We are mostly interested in bonus headshot 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 based on the mitigation chance.
Small Target​	This will activate while you are standing still.
Killer Instinct	Ensures that silenced weapons deal bonus damage when shooting outside of combat (or stealth)
Gag Order	Delay detection is useful when you are playing stealth build

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Focus	Amazing perk, giving full stamina for a short duration. It greatly improves with the next subperks we take.
No Sweat	Reduces the stamina consumed after Focus ends, if an enemy was neutralized
Rinse and Reload	A small helping perk to increase reload speed
Head to Head	Now, the Focus duration can be reset by neutralizing an enemy. We will be doing a lot of that with this build when silently headshooting.
Deep Breath	Wonderful perk that gives better weapon control as time is now slowed down while in Focus.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Deadeye	Boosts headshot and weak spot damage, ensuring that it's easier to make a headshot kill.
California Reaper	Regenerates stamina after neutralizing an enemy with a headshot.
High Noon	Allows evaluating combat as time slows down while reloading.
Long Shot	No penalty for long shots with Deadeye
Quick Draw	A good perk to have in case you need to switch weapons mid-combat
Ninjutsu	Together with the Vanishing Act, this will allow to move while being partially visible
Serpentine	With Blind Spot, this will increase detection time when using stealth
Creeping Death	As optical Camo is part of the build, this perk will give nice bonuses to movement speed, health, and stamina.
Vanishing Act	Optional perk. You can use Optical Camo whenever you crouch sprint or slide. However, this can be a problem as you are not fully in control of the effect. However, if you do not take this perk and want to use Optical Camo be sure to take Axolotl Cyberware for shorter cooldown times.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Nerves of Tungsten-Steel​	Gives a boost on headshots when using Sniper Rifles.
Run 'N' Gun​	Optional perk, that activates while hip firing.

Body Perks

We are only interested in a few perks, to give minimal survivability.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Painkiller​	Enables health regeneration while in combat, pretty useful, especially in the early game.
Comeback Kid​	Gives some bonus regeneration on low HP.

Technical Ability Perks

This perk tree is really important for the build. It will give both defensive and offensive improvements. The stealth build will also get some valuable cyberware improvements.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Glutton for War​	Some bonus health items recharge while in combat

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
All Things Cyber​	Reduces some cyberware costs.
Renaissance Punk​	Provides bonus Cyberware Capacity, to equip the most important one faster.
Driver Update​	Unlocks additional stat modifiers, that can be very powerful, like higher headshot multiplier or Decreased enemy vision.
Chipware Connoisseur​	Allows you to choose better stat modifiers once you start upgrading cyberware.
Health Freak​	Unlocks a third healing item, that can be useful

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
License to Chrome​	An additional slot for the skeleton, and unlocks progression to the next perks.
Cyborg​	This perk is hard to activate, so it should be taken late in the game.
Ambidextrous​	Needed for Cyborg, but also gives some decent options for combat
Extended Warranty​	Increases the duration of cyberware effects.

The next set of perks is optional. I enjoy using weapons like Rasetsu, especially if enemies are alerted of your presence and enter a combat state. Tech weapons can easily take out Elite enemies when you have lost stealth bonuses.

Perk	Description
Bolt​	Enables fully charged shots earlier, gives bonus damage, and unlocks further perks
Shock Value​	Bolt​ shots now deal more damage as they ignore the enemy's armor
Internal Clock​	Easier Bolt​ activation window.
Lightning Storm​	A small improvement for Bolt​ to make it charge up faster.
In Charge​	Gives better control of Tech weapons.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Edgerunner​	Although this perk lowers the total amount of HP, it is a good option as it allows the use of more cyberware.

Reflexes Perks

We are interested in the middle perks of the tree. They will provide a huge mobility boost and make the game very fun, as you can glide through the city as you explore. They are not mandatory but do make the game much more exciting.

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Slippery	We mainly take this for progression.
Muscle Memory​	Allows reloading while sprinting. Useful, during loud combat.
Parkour!​	Just a small improvement when moving through covers or obstacles. Saves some time on Sandvesitan when moving around.

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Dash	The main perk enables you to move longer distances.
Can't Touch This​	A small boost to survivability while using Dash​

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Air Dash​	Another layer of mobility is activated while in the air.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Tailwind​	This perk is not as important, so can be taken in the late game.

Perks - Relic

These perks are available with Phantom Liberty DLC. They will give further improvements to some of the game mechanics.

Priority	Perk	Description
1	Emergency Cloaking​	As this is a stealth build, you will now have a way to escape combat if needed.
2	Sensory Protocol​	An easy way to leave combat if you are accidentally detected.
3	Vulnerability Analytics	Shows vulnerabilities, that allow for huge damage boosts when hit with Monowire. Especially useful against stronger enemies.
4	Machine Learning	Increases the frequency of vulnerabilities.

Combat and Tips

Here I would like to share some suggestions on how to utilize the Time Slow Assassin build to the maximum.

Use Sandevistan to reach targets quickly

Using this operating system makes the game much easier, no matter what is the build. The time slow effect only works on the world, but not on V. So for example, if you are feeling too lazy to crouch, activate it, run down to the enemy, and grab them.

The same is true with multiple enemies. Thanks, to Gag Order, you can take out one enemy with a headshot, another gets alerted, and you take them out. This way the combat phase does not reach other members of the group and you can continue your stealth.

Switch to Sniper against Elites

Once you get Overwatch, I recommend using it against Elite enemies (if you are playing on Very Hard). The stealth shot from the pistol is not enough to take them out unless it is Pride, which can only be obtained by finishing the game.

Another option is to approach these enemies with either Sandevistan or Optical Camo and just do a takedown. This is of course a more risky approach, but effective and can provide good satisfaction.

Look for Cyberware with Decreased enemy vision

This is a very useful stat modifier for stealth build. It allows you to avoid enemy hits and makes it very hard for enemies to fully detect you. With high enough bonuses, you can lower it to 1%, where you will be practically invisible most of the time.

Cyberware

Cyberware is a unique mechanic that allows us to fill the build with implants. Early games can be quite difficult as you will have limited capacity. However, as you progress and drop more Capacity Shards, you will be able to equip more. I will be covering here what is your goal for the end game, to make the build as powerful as possible

First Priority Cyberware

This is what is essential to make the build work. I would even recommend dropping everything else to equip these if cyberware capacity doesn't allow it. These cyberware selections make the core of the build.

Slot	Cyberware	Description
Frontal Cortex 1	Axolotl	This cyberware will take the build to the ultimate level. It has a very steep cyberware capacity cost, and probably without Edgerunner,​ you will need tons of farming. But it gives cooldown reductions for everything - Optical Camo, Sandevistan, etc.
	Newton Module	Gives a cyberware cooldown reduction after taking out an enemy. It is not much, however, with multiple kills, the effect adds up.
Nervous System 1	Synaptic Accelerator	Slows down time, when you are about to be detected, allowing you to make a split-second decision on what to do next.
Nervous System 2	Neofiber	Gives a higher mitigation chance which makes it harder for enemies to detect you
Integumentary System 1	Optical Camo	The main action that can be used to avoid enemies or get behind their lines.
Integumentary System 2	Subdermal Armor	A simple cyberware that has a high armor-to-cyberware capacity cost ratio.
Operating System 1	Militech "Apogee" Sandevistan	The best Sandevistan gives the highest duration extension for taken-out enemies during its activation. However, comes with the highest cyberware capacity cost.
	Militech "Falcon" Sandevistan	A weaker version compared to Militech "Apogee" Sandevistan, but can be obtained earlier.
	Dynalar Sandevistan	A cheap Sandevistan version, that has low cyberware capacity cost.
Face 1	Kiroshi "Cockatrice" Optics	The best option if you can use it, giving a huge 30% boost to critical chance.
	Kiroshi "Clairvoyant" Optics	Similar to the basic version, just highlights enemies in 17m.
	Basic Kiroshi Optics	An alternative if you need additional cyberware capacity.
Circulatory System 1	Biomonitor	Automatically heals, makes the combat somewhat easier, as you do not have to worry how long it takes to use a healing item.
Legs	Reinforced Tendons	My personal favorite makes traversing much easier.
	Fortified Ankles	Gives the highest jumps and high boost to armor compared to cyberware capacity cost. But you need to hold the jump button.

Second Priority Cyberware

This cyberware will give general improvements to survivability and also allow to activate Cyborg​ for a huge reduction in the cooldown of Optical Camo and Sandevistan.

Slot	Cyberware	Description
Frontal Cortex 2	Mechatronic Core	Just taking it to fill slots, although bonus damage to mechs is a good addition
Frontal Cortex 3	Self-ICE	Only taking this to fill the slot.
Arms	Any	Nothing of note here, maybe Gorilla Arms, for some quests.
Skeleton 1	Epimorphic Skeleton	Gives a huge armor and health boost, greatly improving survivability.
Skeleton 2	Kinetic Frame	Increases mitigation chance while stamina is high, meaning that you are also harder to detect during stealth.
Skeleton 3	Bionic Joints	Gives bonus armor for higher survivability.
Nervous System 3	Visual Cortex Support	Increases Crit Chance, based on the distance.
	Atomic Sensors	A very cheap cyberware that improves movement speed while in stealth. Great synergy for takedowns as you can easily reach foes while in Sandevistan.
Integumentary System 3	Rangeguard	Gives better armor while enemies are attacking you from a long-range
Hands	Microgenerator	If you have cyberware capacity, this option is good for something like Sniper rifles, which have low clip sizes and reload often. The first shot will deal bonus electric damage.
	Any Tatoo	Costs 0 cyberware, capacity. Perfect for filling the slots.
Circulatory System 2	Isometric Stabilizer	Iconic cyberware that reduces any stamina consumption, perfect for crouch-sprinting.
	Clutch Padding	Reduces stamina consumption for shots.
Circulatory System 2	Anything that you prefer	You can add anything that you prefer here - Heal-On-Kill, Blood Pump, etc.

Stealth Assassin - Hacking

With this build the aim is to create the ultimate stealth assassin that utilizes quickhacks to enhance its capabilities. The build does not go for Combat Quickhack explosions as if we went that way, it's better to go pure Netrunner. However, we will use them as a support in disabling enemies, increasing damage are leaving them blind

Of course, if you are playing on Very Hard this becomes challenging, enemies become bullet sponges, and what usually could one shot enemy does not work. However, by utilizing the game knowledge we can use silencer pistols against normal grunts and silenced snipers against elites.

Sometimes you may risk revealing yourself if the single shot does not remove the target. For this reason, you have Reboot Optics, Cyberware Malfunction, and other quickhacks to allow you to reach the foe easily and do a takedown. If everything goes wrong, we can just pop Overclock​ and System Collapse for an instant kill.

If this has inspired you to try out the build, let's go!

Attributes

First, let's go through attributes, they will decide the direction of the build and give access to different tiers of perks. The higher tier gives better actions and passives to further support the build. Let's take a look at what we need for the Assassin Build.

Starting Game

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

Attribute	Allocation	Description
Cool	+3	Unlocks stealth-related perks, and provides bonus critical damage.
Body	+1	Will give us bonus HP early in the game and unlock the first perk.
Intelligence	+2	Starting progression toward better quickhacking.
Reflexes	+1	Unlocks the first-tier perks.

End Game

Here are the attribute allocations for the Stealth Hacking build at level 50.

This is a very fragile option as you are using Edgerunner to get a cyberware capacity boost. I like the iconic ones from Dog Town. However, if you want more survivability, then I suggest going 20 Intelligence and skipping Edgerunner

Attribute	Allocation	Description
Reflexes	12	We get reflexes for mobility perk Dash and  bonus critical chance
Body	4	As this is a stealth build, we should be avoiding direct combat. Of course, some bosses are not avoidable, but this should not pose a problem with a few practice runs.
Technical Ability	15	I like the Edgerunner perk. For this reason, I get 20. However, if you want more health, skip it, and just leave 15.
Cool	20	Gives a boost to critical damage, specifically useful when we will be doing headshots or weak spot shots.
Intelligence	20	Will unlock some great perks to improve quickhacking capabilities. It will also give additional RAM.

Leveling Progression

To improve the build understanding and give you some direction here is the recommended leveling progression. Use it more as a guideline to create your Stealth build. Once you start "Feeling" your playstyle you can deviate and pick your perks to better suit your style!

Level	Attribute	Perk
1	+3 Cool +1 Body +2 Intelligence +1 Reflexes	-
2	+1 Cool 7	Killer Instinct
3	+1 Cool 8	Painkiller
4	+1 Cool 9	Slippery
5	+1 Intelligence 6	Multitasker

Perks

Let's go through the perks of the Stealth build. We will go through about 60~ perk points for the build. This will cover the base perks that you get from level to level 50, skill progression, and perk shards.

Cool perks

This is the main tree for the build and gives most of the perks needed for stealth.

Level 4 Perks

Now, we mainly unlock stealth-related perks. These will help avoid detection and move faster.

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	Ensures that silenced weapons deal bonus damage when shooting outside of combat (or stealth)
Gag Order	Delay detection is useful when you are playing stealth build

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Focus	Amazing perk, giving full stamina for a short duration. It greatly improves with the next subperks we take.
No Sweat	Reduces the stamina consumed after Focus ends, if an enemy was neutralized
Head to Head	Now, the Focus duration can be reset by neutralizing an enemy. We will be doing a lot of that with this build when silently headshooting.
Deep Breath	Wonderful perk that gives better weapon control as time is now slowed down while in Focus.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Deadeye	Boosts headshot and weak spot damage, ensuring that it's easier to make a headshot kill.
California Reaper	Regenerates stamina after neutralizing an enemy with a headshot.
High Noon	Allows evaluating combat as time slows down while reloading.
Long Shot	No penalty for long shots with Deadeye
Quick Draw	A good perk to have in case you need to switch weapons mid-combat
Ninjutsu	Together with the Vanishing Act, this will allow to move while being partially visible
Serpentine	With Blind Spot, this will increase detection time when using stealth
Creeping Death	As optical Camo is part of the build, this perk will give nice bonuses to movement speed, health, and stamina.
Vanishing Act	Optional perk. You can use Optical Camo whenever you crouch sprint or slide. However, this can be a problem as you are not fully in control of the effect. However, if you do not take this perk and want to use Optical Camo be sure to take Axolotl Cyberware for shorter cooldown times.

Level 20 Perks

Perk	Description
Nerves of Tungsten-Steel	Very valuable perk for Sniper Rifles, now shots guarantee critical hits with Deadeye.

Intelligence Perks

Using perks from this tree will improve our quickhacking capabilities

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Eye in the Sky	Nothing, special we mainly take it for progression
Warning: Explosion Hazard	I recommend always checking for red canisters. If you explode them via quickhacks this perk gives bonus damage.
Optimization	Provides a higher recovery rate of RAM and unlocks the next tier of perks.
Encryption	Reduces quickhack traceability amount, meaning that you can stay undetected for longer.
Subordination​	Makes control quickhacks work longer, useful against bosses, or groups of enemies.

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Hack Queue	Allows uploading multiple quickhacks in succession. The second and later ones, get increased upload speed. This will unlock some great combinations
Data Recycler	Once we get Overclock this can be used to recover RAM for the cost of HP.
Counter-a-hack​	We only take this perk to unlock the next one.
Copy-Paste​	With this ability, you can easily trivialize some of the fights, where an enemy netrunner starts hacking you. Just upload System Collapse or Burnout Synapse
Embedded Exploit	You can now increase combo quickhack damage by uploading something like Cyberware Malfunction, Sonic Shock, etc. first.
ICEpick	Just a reduction in quickhack costs.
Shadowrunner	The highlight of this build. Because we will be using stealth a lot, we can easily take down enemies and reset the tracing to 0.

Level 15 Perks

Perk	Description
Overclock	With this perk, stealth build can utilize quickhacks to the maximum at the cost of HP. It also unlocks some good combos with Synapse Burnout.
Queue Acceleration	Larger Quickhack queue, giving a bigger bonus from Blood Daemon and Data Recycler
Queue Hack_Root	A small reduction of RAM costs with multiple uploads.

Technical Ability Perks

Because the build requires a lot of perk points, we take her just the essential ones. Of course, many of them would be very useful, but we would need more perk points for that.

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
All Things Cyber	We need it for progression but also gives a reduction to cyberware costs on Integumentary slots.
Renaissance Punk	Gives a small boost to Cyberware Capacity.
Driver Update​	Gives an additional bonus modifier. Something like Decreased Enemy Vision can be a very valuable addition.

Level 15 Perks

Cyborg​ is also an awesome perk. However, it requires filling all the slots with cyberware, which then requires an Ambidextrous​ perk. Moreover, you will have to skip on some cyberware that I recommend.

Perk	Description
License to Chrome	Provides good bonuses like +40 armor. Moreover, we also need it for the next perk
Extended Warranty​	Increased duration of cyberware effects

If you plan on using Tech weapons like BReakthrough or Nekomata, these perks are also valuable to the build:

Perk	Description
Bolt​	Enables fully charged shots earlier, gives bonus damage, and unlocks further perks
Shock Value​	Bolt​ shots now deal more damage as they ignore the enemy's armor
Internal Clock​	Easier Bolt​ activation window.
Lightning Storm​	A small improvement for Bolt​ to make it charge up faster.
In Charge​	Gives better control of Tech weapons.

Reflexes perks

These perks are mainly used for mobility during exploration and combat with Stealth Assassin build

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Slippery	Mainly we take this for progression
Muscle Memory	Now weapons can be reloaded while sprinting or running away.

Level 9 Perks

Perk	Description
Dash	Gives a huge mobility boost.

Body Perks

I only recommend one perk from this tree. If you do not need combat health regeneration you can even skip it

Level 4 Perks

Perk	Description
Painkiller	I think this is mandatory for every build, especially early in the game, when encounters are difficult and healing items recharge slow

Perks - Relic

Priority	Perk	Description
1	Emergency Cloaking	The build uses Optical Camo, for this reason, I recommend getting this perk as it allows escaping combat state and taking out enemies with stealth again
2	Sensory Protocol	Slow time when being detected and escape combat.
3	Vulnerability Analytics	Shows enemy weak spots, which when shot, do electricity explosion. This is not better than a critical headshot, but it can be useful against boss encounters or when in a shoot-out
4	Machine Learning	Improves Vulnerability Analytics by making them appear faster and giving a higher critical damage boost.

Combat Showcase and Tips

Here I would like to share some general tips that I would like to recommend for the best approach with this build.

Shoot with Full stamina

To fully utilize Cool Tree and perks like Focus and Deadeye, make sure that your stamina is 100%. This way you get a lot of bonuses like increased headshot damage, time slow, no stamina consumption, etc. This can be hard to manage with Ninjutsu but, with some practice it is doable. Just give a short pause after crouch-sprinting.

Combat against elites

Enemies with a skull above their health bar are a superior version of normal ones. They come with three health bars, more damage, and better armor

Generally, what changes against them that one shot kills may not be doable. However, thanks to the Reboot Optics and Killer Instinct the damage improvement will help. Moreover, the latter perk also shows how much damage you will do, so that is a good indicator of whether you will need a second shot.

Utilize environment - Explosive Canisters, lamps, etc.

Another thing to note in the world is what can be hacked around you. For example, some lamps can be used to attract enemy attention, or you could overload and blind them for a brief period.

However, my favorite is exploding canisters. When you see red ones in the world they can be overloaded and made explode. This deals substantial damage to the enemies and creates confusion

Managing Traceability

With the 2.0 Update, a new mechanic was introduced for quickhacks - Tracing. This is a timer, that starts when you activate the control, combat, and other offensive quickhacks. Once it fills up Combat state starts and enemies know where you are.

Although this sounds daunting it's not. First, there is plenty of time, second, there are various ways that you can minimize it. First, of course, there are special cyberdecks, like Arasaka one. However, there is a Shadowrunner perk that instantly reduces it to 0%

This perfectly synergizes with the Stealth build as you will be using takedown on multiple enemies throughout the encounter. Moreover, there is another way, that I cover in the next section.

Maximizing weapon damage

Generally, if you are attacking an enemy with a silenced pistol from stealth, this should ensure a kill. However, once Elites start appearing this may no longer work. There are a few quickhacks that make this easier. Here is the combo that I recommend using:

1. Upload Sonic Shock if you plan this encounter to be longer and don't want tracing to start
2. Apply Reboot Optics for bonus headshot damage
3. Use Cyberware Malfunction for additional general damage from weapons.
4. Land a headshot, and if the enemy must most probably die instantly without revealing your location

Fighting Mechs and Drones

Unfortunately, the weapons that you use are not effective against robots, except Tech weapons. However, for this, there are two quickhacks that you can use. Cyberware Malfunction + Short Circuit should instantly take out normal drones. Short Circuit gets bonus damage from Cyberware Malfunction stacks. For Elites, you may need to repeat this a second time or finish them off with weapon shots.

To Sonic Shock or not

Sonic Shock is a hidden gem. It is a quickhack that makes the foe disappear from the net or enemy group. For this to work you need at least Epic tier (Tier 4). It also costs 4 RAM, compared to the Legendary version's 6. While the Iconic version costs only 2 RAM. You can then start any quickhack sequence with it and no tracing starts. This guarantees total stealth kill

It also works well on small groups. Use Sonic Shock on one enemy, while you take out the other one, with a silencer or takedown. However, if you need a bit more damage I recommend using Reboot Optics.

Using Sniper Rifles for Long Distances

As we are heavily invested in Cool Tree, the build is effective with sniper rifles. Unfortunately, there are not many that allow us to fully immerse in Stealth. However, during Act 2, you are able to obtain Overwatch from Panam. It comes with a Silencer by default

As you can see, we can freely neutralize enemies without drawing unnecessary attention. Also, using Reboot Optics further increases headshot damage, ensuring a kill even on Elite enemy.

Cyberware

Cyberware is a unique mechanic that allows us to fill the build with implants. Early games can be quite difficult as you will have limited capacity. However, as you progress and drop more Capacity Shards, you will be able to equip more. I will be covering here what is your goal for the end game, to make the build as powerful as possible

First Priority Cyberware

This is what is essential to make the build work. I would even recommend dropping everything else to equip these if cyberware capacity doesn't allow it. These cyberware selections make the core of the build.

Slot	Cyberware	Description
Frontal Cortex 1	Axolotl	All of the cyberware that this build uses including Overclock​ will get huge cooldown reduction bonuses after each kill
	Newton Module	Gives a cyberware cooldown reduction after taking out an enemy. It is not much, however, with multiple kills, the effect adds up.
Frontal Cortex 2	Ex-Disk	Gives a substantial boost to the total amount of RAM and upload speed.
Nervous System 1	Synaptic Accelerator	Slows down time, when you are about to be detected, allowing you to make a split-second decision on what to do next.
Integumentary System 1	Optical Camo	The main action that can be used to avoid enemies or get behind their lines.
Integumentary System 2	Subdermal Armor	A simple cyberware that has a high armor-to-cyberware capacity cost ratio.
Operating System 1	Tetratronic Rippler Mk.5	Purely offensive cyberdeck. Gives a large boost to total RAM, and increases combat quickhack damage under certain conditions. I also love the 15% bonus weapon damage against enemies affected by non-combat quickhacks. This includes Reboot Optics, Sonick Shock, etc.
	Arasaka Mk.5	The ultimate stealth cyberdeck. Arasaka ones give -2 RAM cost for Covert quickhacks, restore RAM on takedowns (that the build concentrates on), and increase Trace duration.
	Netwatch Netdriver Mk.1	I listed this one as an option but did not use it myself. It works well on paper, but you need to use quickhacking through cameras often. I personally do not like this mechanic as I just disable or shoot them down.
Face 1	Kiroshi "Cockatrice" Optics	The best option, giving a huge 30% boost to critical chance. I recommend this one, as using pistols doesn't gain benefits from Nerves of Tungsten-Steel​ so you need as high critical chance as you can get.
	Kiroshi "Clairvoyant" Optics	Similar to the basic version, just highlights enemies in 17m.
	Basic Kiroshi Optics	An alternative if you are in need of additional cyberware capacity.
Circulatory System 1	Biomonitor	Automatically heals, makes the combat somewhat easier, as you do not have to worry how long it takes to use a healing item. Also works well with Overclock.
Legs	Reinforced Tendons	My personal favorite makes traversing much easier.
	Fortified Ankles	Gives the highest jumps and high boost to armor compared to cyberware capacity cost. But you need to hold the jump button.

Now for quickhacks, the situation is simple. We are not really aiming at creating huge combos like with Netrunner Build, but they still play an important role in maximizing damage.

Quickhack	Description
Reboot Optics	Amazing quickhack, that takes stealth to the next level. It can play two roles - first, allows you to sneak easier. For example, while one enemy is blind you can take down the second one nearby. Second, increases the headshot against enemies, ensuring that you can instantly kill some elites.
Sonic Shock	Another important quickhack for the build. At Tier 4 it removes the target from the allies' sensors, meaning no Trace starts when using the next quickhacks on it. For this reason, you can skip the Legendary version which costs more to use. However, the Iconic version only uses 2 RAM
Cyberware Malfunction	Another lovely quickhack in the arsenal. Perfect when you see an enemy netrunner to disable their cyberware. Moreover, enemies take more damage, so use it together with Reboot Optics, for the highest damage possible against elites.
Short Circuit	I like keeping this when you see a drone or robot. Perfect combo with Cyberware Malfunction.
Ping	Useful quickhack for revealing enemy locations. I would just use either common or uncommon variants due to their low RAM cost.
System Collapse	Do you really want to one-shot an enemy? Well, with the stealth build this ultimate quickhack is easily useable. By using takedown on two enemies, you can activate this one just for 4 RAM. The target instantly falls apart. On the other hand, just pop Overclock​ and delete 3-4 enemies easily.
Contagion	A combat quickhack option when things go south or you want to create some confusion. Poisons target and spread to nearby foes. Using fire effects like canister explosion, Overheat or anything else similar will create an explosion.
Overheat	I recommend using this one together with Contagion. You can also use it by itself followed by a weapon attack for bonus damage.

Second Priority Cyberware

Once you have the main parts covered here is what you should pick to further enhance the build

Slot	Cyberware	Description
Frontal Cortex 3	Kerenzikov Boost System	Improves Kerenzikov, by giving better control during the time slow.
Arms	Any	Nothing of note here, maybe Gorilla Arms, for some quests.
Skeleton 1	Epimorphic Skeleton	Gives a huge armor and health boost, greatly improving survivability.
Skeleton 2	Bionic Joints	Gives bonus armor for higher survivability.
Nervous System 2	Kerenzikov	One of two cyberwares that gives time slowing effect. Because the build does not use Sandevistan, getting this effect is very important to land the perfect shot.
Nervous System 3	Neofiber	Gives a higher mitigation chance which makes it harder for enemies to detect you
	Visual Cortex Support	Increases Crit Chance, based on the distance, making it easier to land more damage with pistols.
Hands 1	Shock Absorber	Provides bonus recoil reduction. Not critical, but useful for better weapon control.
Circulatory System 2	Clutch Padding	Reduces stamina consumption for shots.

Equipment

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

Snipers

Item	Description
Overwatch	The only Sniper Rifle with a Silencer. With stealth build, this makes the game much easier as you can pick enemies one by one as they do not understand what is happening
Rasetsu	Truly a powerful sniper rifle, but with no Silencer. I really like using it when things go south as it easily can hit multiple enemies. Be sure to pick perks like Bolt for maximum effectiveness
Breakthrough	Early to mid-game sniper rifle. It can shoot through walls without charging. The damage is not very high, however, as it is a Tech weapon, it increases with charge level.

Pistols

Item	Description
Pride	The most powerful Pistol, however, to obtain it you already need to have the game finished
Her Majesty	The new pistol that came with Phantom Liberty DLC. Deals critical hits while Optical Camo is active. This is both a positive and negative thing. You cannot see the reticle while in Optical Camo, only the sides of the scope, making it very hard to aim. A good choice in open combat, as a suppressor does not reduce damage.
Pariah	The only silenced tech pistol. Releases three bullets, making it deal substantial damage when charged up. For improvements be sure to take perks like Bolt
Death and Taxes	A simple and powerful pistol in terms of damage. What makes it special is that it releases two consecutive shots, which result in instant double damage. Pair it with a suppressor to make it the ultimate stealth killer.
Seraph	Another amazing weapon. Unfortunately, it is too weak for instant stealth kills, but two fast shots should close the deal. Prefer to use this one in open combat.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this post on the Stealth build in Cyberpunk 2077. I hope you enjoyed reading the post. We went through all the main details - perks, attributes, cyberware, and gear to maximize the effectiveness. Moreover, the combat showcase should help you understand how to use the build.

Leave your suggestions and opinions on the build in the comments below!