The best Cyberpunk 2077 weapons and guns

The best Cyberpunk 2077 weapons and guns are hard to narrow down, with hundreds of weapons available, not to mention all those getting added along with Phantom Liberty. Between sniper rifles, katanas, shotguns, and plenty more besides, there's a whole range of killing machines found on the streets of Night City, the best of which are often Iconic Weapons, special named gear that can only be obtained via specific locations or quest rewards.

With that in mind, here's all the best weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 and a guide to getting them all. Note that we won't include the Cyberpunk 2077 Mantis Blades or Gorilla Arms in this list, because they're considered cyberware rather than weapons. Also, we have a separate guide for the Cyberpunk 2077 Skippy gun, a talking weapon you can find that's... its whole own thing. You'll see if you click on the link.

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The best Cyberpunk 2077 weapons

Below we've listed all the best weapons in Cyberpunk 2077, including Phantom Liberty, where you can get them, and what makes them so deadly...

Dying Night 

Type: Power
Class: Pistol

Kicking things off is one of the first iconic weapons you can get in the game. Dying Night is available from Robert Wilson's gun shop, which is in Megabuilding H10 - the same place as V's apartment at the start of the game. As soon as you get the side quest called The Gun, you'll be able to go in and buy Dying Night for free.

Dying Night is a handgun that does +125% headshot damage and has +25% armor penetration. While it doesn't have particularly high damage, it's accurate and reliable, especially early on in the game.

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Divided We Stand 

Type: Melee
Class: One-handed Club

Over to the Phantom Liberty expansion now with Murphy's Law, one of the best blunt melee weapons in the game. You can get it if you kill Murphy during the mission Firestarter, when V and Alex attempt to rescue Songbird.

It has 50% armor penetration - impressive for a blunt weapon when you think about it - but it also has +20% chance to bleed, stun, and shock with every hit. If you're hitting an enemy that has already been knocked down, your attack speed increases, and strong attacks deal more damage. Wowzer.

Overwatch

Type: Power
Class: Sniper Rifle

Snipers are a huge asset in Cyberpunk 2077, and Overwatch is possibly the best of the lot - especially if you like to stay hidden for as long as possible. You can get your hands on it by completing the Riders on the Storm side mission, at which point Panam will gift it to you.

Overwatch has a very slow attack speed since it's a bolt action sniper, but as long as you can hit your shots, the +300% headshot damage means you can one-hit any standard enemy, and two or three-shot boss foes. It also has +50% armor penetration, but it's arguably the best sniper in the game because it comes with a silencer, so you can pick enemies off from afar and their pals won't hear a thing. 

 Malorian Arms 3516 

Type: Power
Class: Pistol

The Malorian Arms 3516 is a simple weapon, but it's a damn reliable one. This is Johnny Silverhand's pistol, and you can get it from Greyson during the Chippin' In quest. This should replace Dying Night when you get your hands on it - the Malorian Arms 3516 has the same +25% armor penetration, but it deals +150% headshot damage, and it has some serious oomph.

 Murphy's Law 

Type: Melee
Class: One-handed Club

Over to the Phantom Liberty expansion now with Murphy's Law, one of the best blunt melee weapons in the game. You can get it if you kill Murphy during the mission Firestarter, when V and Alex attempt to rescue Songbird.

It has 50% armor penetration - impressive for a blunt weapon when you think about it - but it also has +20% chance to bleed, stun, and shock with every hit. If you're hitting an enemy that has already been knocked down, your attack speed increases, and strong attacks deal more damage. Wowzer.

Lizzie, Tech Pistol

Type: Power
Class: Pistol

What's this, another pistol? If you're rocking the aforementioned Overwatch, this must be your sidearm, because as you'd expect, it comes with a silencer. Again, this is obtained during Phantom Liberty - slightly earlier on though, as Alex gives it to you around halfway through the main story.

Alongside the silencer, it deals +150% headshot damage, +10% crit damage, and has a +5% crit chance. It excels if you have Optical Camo however - which you definitely should if you're rocking a stealth build - as when it's active, Her Majesty gains perfect accuracy, increased damage, and guaranteed headshot crits.

O'Five 

Type: Power
Class: Sniper Rifle

If stealth isn't your thing but you still want to pick foes off from afar, you need the O'Five sniper rifle. You can get it during the Beat on the Brat: Arroyo side quest in the main game. Beat Buck in the fight, then raise the wager and taunt him. Beat Buck again - and his pals - and you can get O'Five from him.

This thing is heavy, so when wielding it, you'll be unable to sprint, dodge, or dash, and your movement speed and jumping reach are reduced. What you get in return is a sniper rifle that heals +50% armor penetration and crit damage, has a 40% chance to burn your target, and the bullets themselves are packed with explosives. The more enemies you have burning simultaneously, the faster your reload speed and the higher your crit chance. Damn.

Hawk 

Type: Power
Class: Assault Rifle

Finally, we have Hawk. An Assault Rifle from the Phantom Liberty expansion you'll get when you're free to explore your Dogtown hideout

Alongside offering +175% headshot damage and +25% armor penetration, the Hawk stands out because headshots "temporarily weaken and mark enemies". This means that enemies are slower, can't use abilities, deal less damage, and may also lose their balance. Plus it has an empty scope and muzzle slot - two customisation options a lot of iconic weapons are missing.

M251S Ajax

This is the only generic weapon I've included and it's by far the best assault rifle because of how balanced it is; not too much recoil, deals a hefty amount of damage, and it's automatic so no worrying about firing bursts. You'll be able to find a number of M251S Ajax assault rifles by killing enemies, although it's not as common as the Copperhead or Masamune assault rifles. Stick a scope on one of these bad boys and you'll be headshotting like never before.

Cyberpunk 2077 Power, Tech, and Smart guns explained

Every gun in Cyberpunk 2077 comes under one of three categories: Power, Tech, and Smart. Understanding the difference between the three is crucial to finding the best weapons for you, especially if you've made certain Cyberpunk 2077 build choices. So here how they all work? 

• Power weapons are your run of the mill, closest-to-standard-weapons you'll find in Cyberpunk 2077. However, bullets can ricochet off surfaces, and if you have the Ballistics Coprocessor cyberware, you can control where they ricochet to. 
• Tech weapons aren't too dissimilar from your usual guns, but you can charge these for much more powerful bullets. Charged shots can penetrate through walls to hit enemies behind cover 
• Smart weapons are for those of you rocking a cyberware-focused Cyberpunk 2077 build. You don't actually have to aim accurately, as Smart weapons fire homing bullets and can lock onto targets - provided you have Smart Link installed, a cyberware mod for your hands 

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