Best Smart Weapon Build In Cyberpunk 2077 (2.0)

From the cold edge of a katana to shotgun slugs, there are plenty of ways to kill in Night City. To get the most value from a Smart Weapon requires someone just as smart. Thankfully, V is the most dangerous mercenary around, thanks to CD Projekt Red. These weapons do the aiming for you, with automatic targeting systems that make sure your shots land exactly where they’re supposed to. The 2.0 update has put these weapons in a better place than they’ve ever been, in terms of balance and enjoyment. Here’s the best Smart Weapon build in Cyberpunk 2077 2.0.

Cyberpunk Smart Weapon Build Playstyle

Smart Weapons are an unusual category. Unlike Snipers or Shotguns, you aren’t dedicating yourself to a single range. Instead, the best Smart Weapon build is capable of performing well at any distance. That grants you a great degree of flexibility in terms of how you approach encounters. Although this build leans into the unique strengths of the Intelligence Attribute, the focus here is on gunslinging, not netrunning. There’s no need to hack systems and enemy cyberware when you can blast right through them, so netrunning is a secondary concern. Take an aggressive approach to encounters, letting your Smart Weapons do the heavy lifting of lining up your shots, leaving you free to focus on mobility and area control.

Attributes

Intelligence is easily the most important Attribute for the best Smart Weapon build. Though this is typically the favored Attribute for netrunners, it also features a variety of Perks dedicated to improving Smart Weapons. You gain +1 Max RAM per four points of Intelligence, to a max of +5 Max RAM at Level 20. That’s a serious boon if you plan on doing any quickhacking. That isn’t the focus of this build, but you can easily switch to that strategy simply by substituting one or two pieces of cyberware, so feel free to experiment. This is the recommended prioritization for Attributes:

• Intelligence
• Technical Ability
• Reflexes
• Body
• Cool

This build makes little use of stealth, so you’re free to use Cool as a dump stat. Likewise, Body isn’t necessary here, even though it offers some useful regenerative abilities. If you find your healing needs lacking, you can always put points into Body later. Reflexes Perks grant you important mobility skills, such as Dash and Air Dash, all of which pair well with Smart Weapons. Other than Intelligence, the most important Attribute for this build is Technical Ability. Having a higher threshold for cyberware installations greatly increases your tactical options, which is only fitting for a build this diverse.

Perks

Intelligence provides Perks that directly improve Smart Weapons, which is the obvious starting point for the best Smart Weapon build in Cyberpunk. The best Smart Weapon Perks are found at the top of the Intelligence tree, but Perks on the tree’s lower branches are still important. It pays to invest as heavily as you can in this Attribute right away. Once you’ve obtained all of the Intelligence Perks you can start working your way through the Technical Ability and Reflexes trees. Alternatively, you can alternate between Intelligence and Technical Ability early on, especially if you decide to go the netrunner route. The most important Intelligence Perks are the following:

• Smart Synergy
• Target Lock Transfer
• Targeting Prism
• Recirculation
• Terminal Velocity
• Acquisition Specialist
• Precision Subroutines
• No Escape
• Overclock
• Spillover

The main goal with this combination of Perks is to buff your Smart Weapons themselves as much as possible. Smart Weapons have a unique feature that other guns don’t possess: lock-on times. After acquiring a lock, these weapons will automatically direct your shots toward the targeted location. That makes it much harder for certain enemies to dodge your shots and also makes it much easier to land hits in the chaos of battle, so it makes sense to double down on this unusual advantage. Unlike the assassin and similar builds, you have the luxury of diverting your focus to other matters. That’s another reason that netrunner Perks like Overclock and Spillover work so well as part of the best Smart Weapon build in Cyberpunk.

Smart Weapon Build Cyberware

In terms of cyberware, there are two main approaches you can take here. The first uses a high-tier cyberdeck to allow as much quickhacking as possible. The combination of quickhacks and Smart Weapon shots will chew through most enemies quickly and also makes stealth missions much easier, so it’s the traditional route. Another option is to take a Sandevistan, trading quickhacking capability for the ability to slow time. If you choose to do so, you’ll need to respec the hacking-related Perks listed above, but that can be done at will from the character menu, so there’s no harm in experimenting.

For those interested in pursuing a more combat-oriented approach, consider using the Militech Apogee Sandevistan. This exceptional Sandevistan slows time 85%. That’s the best slowdown effect in the game and gives you more than enough time to let your Smart Weapons do the work for you. Though there are several other great Sandevistans in the game, arguably none are better fit for this build. In addition to slowing time, the Militech Apogee offers the following effects:

• +10% headshot damage
• +9% Crit Chance
• +13% Crit Damage
• +20% extended Duration after neutralizing an enemy
• +22% Stamina after neutralizing an enemy

Whether you go with a Sandevistan or the more traditional hacking route, cyberware will only make the best Smart Weapon build in Cyberpunk better.

Weapons

The 2.0 update and new DLC changed countless things, and many of those changes are great news for the best Smart Weapon build. Along with some much-needed balance adjustments, the game also received an influx of new weapons. One of the best things about Smart Weapon builds is you aren’t locked into one playstyle. Instead, you can change tactics as easily as you change equipment. As a result, there’s no single perfect weapon for this build.

That said, it’s easy to recommend the L-69 Zhuo. This Smart Shotgun is heavy and slightly reduces your movement speed and jump height. The tradeoff is worth it, however. With a 1.15-second lock-on time, 8 projectiles, and excellent damage, this shotgun shreds enemies. You can one-shot many opponents, and even tougher foes go do quickly with multiple shots. Best of all, because this is a Smart Weapon, this exceptional shotgun aims itself.