I think the mantis blades would be better if they had abilities from the E3 2019 trailer like using them to climb and cling to walls. It could be a very useful feature, especially when paired with the new movement system.
@@marcelinehvh That would actually be pretty cool too, but that was only the one scene if I recall correctly, and I’m not sure how that could work realistically, but it’s not like it *has* to be realistic. That’s still a really cool idea, and could work pretty well for netrunners, it just makes more sense with the mantis blades.
@@marcelinehvh i downloaded the "Grappling Hook" mod from nexusmods, and paired them with the monowire, and upgraded the grappling hook from the mod accordingly, and holy shit was that a lot of fun swinging from NCart rails to skyscraper rooftops, it was godly. Highly recommend tuning that mod to your liking, if you want this "Cyber-Spiderman" build.
There's no way that movement would have ever been added without a complete rework of the entire city and all the quests as the devs said it nuffified basically everything
The funniest thing about taking out Rory for the MaxTac Mantis Blades is Zane, the store clerk, texting you later to give you gossip about Rory like he didn't see you go cyberpsycho on MaxTac at all.
The thermal projectile launch system is amazing with the errata, literally guarantees crits by proccing burn. I like to hide behind cover to overcharge it, then pop a sandevistan and dash in to aim all of the shots and start going to town with the errata. Gives you a bunch of mitigation chance from pyromania too which is great for melee.
Personally I think the Scalpel with Sandevistan just outperforms everything else. My crit chance is over 100 and it does more damage than certain katanas like Errata.
I've been using this exact same build! Kind of just happened upon it by chance because none of the other arm cyberware seemed particularly useful for a katana-centered blade build.
@@Majin_Koolaid at the moment I'm thinking about a katana to replace the Scalpel. I already have my 100% crit chance without it. Something like the old Satori that had a ton of crit damage would be nice. The Errata was okay but you mostly just change electric damager to burn damage. I'll try out the Byakko next. Maybe you go best with a non-iconic one you can mod
A note about Mantis Blades, because they are blades they can use the Deflect ability to tank ranged attacks in a very squishy build like 4-Body 3-Tech while still having 3 weapon slots for guns
that is why i am torn between a sandi and the bserserk. i can deflect bullets endlessly with the beserk until it ends. i know there is a perk that makes defelcting bullets cost no stamina with slowed time but it seems pointless to stand still long enough with time slowed to wait for the bullets to get to me to defelct them back. having 3 guns is fun and when i pop the beserk it instantly pulls out the mantis blades for me so i don't even have to cycle through
a build with 0 survivability like that is only viable on lower difficulties anyway where pretty much anything is viable, on very hard maybe someone can pull it off with a broken netrunner build but you'd need to get pretty gamey or play really safe and boring at least in my experience
@@DMSBrian24 i beat the game on very hard with a glass cannon blade build pre 2.0 and it wasn't too bad. I imagine its more difficult now but im sure its still doable
Fun fact I learned while trying to make a Adam smasher build. For the projectile launch systems. You don’t NEED to charge and aim it everytime you wanna use it. You can just charge it while behind cover or something, draw weapon. Then momentarily hold it again in order to fire off a charged shot or shots immediately.
I fell in love with mantis blades while playing with optical camo and becoming the Predator, slaughtering enemies while their chooms were confused and horrified that the victims just died from nothing. But I do like returning to monke. Especially after they made Berserk amazing.
Yeah, being a predator, is fun, not to mention the perk that delays enemies detection when you hit them lets you roll around invisible in sandy time and slice goons up before their friends notice. But once you unlock savage sling for G arms, you get cyberpsychosis. And by "you" I mean you the player, not V the protagonist. There's just something cathartic about hitting a dude with another dude or grabbing an big dude mid fight and shoving him (still alive) into a locker he barely fits into like you're some high school bully
Nu hu maxtac mantis got 4.9 % more health after killing a bleeding ennemies but if you have the final perk on blade every hit make a bleeding pretty op
If you're using Firecracker with an LMG, make sure that you use the MA70 HB instead of the Defender. It's got a slower rate of fire and doesn't burn through ammo to the same degree, but more importantly: It has built-in explosive rounds that are further upgraded by the Firecracker mod, increasing the size of the explosion and allowing the rounds to trigger Pyromania stacks.
I love that build, but I recently logged in and noticed my MA70HB wasn't proc'ing any more. My other explosive weapons do proc it. I havent found another MA70 yet but i really wish it would work. The legendary large mag mod paired with the instant 20% reload on kill from the LMG tree is beautiful.
@@Fearisfreedom MA70 HB (with Firecracker) still procs Pyromania for me, and I doubt that's changed since last night. Might be you encountered a bug or something?
@@fr0nc0 they knew they couldn't skimp big or small if they wanted that proper redemption arc. Seriously, incredible work ethic to move past the massive L and deliver what was promised.
@@fr0nc0except food. You used to get the health regen bonus in combat if you ate before a fight. Now it only adds regen out of combat. Food is even more useless after 2.0 and they should just remove it.
@@double-n-glennima be honest i didnt use food even before 2.0 😂 and i think its better for what their aiming for anyways bc if food still gave health thatd almost make the update to where u cant hoard bounce backs or health things useless
Launcher got a lot better with the Relic perk. And it actually has some perks to go along with it-and the tracking feels so much better. I run the electric round, which has 100% shock chance.
@@fr0nc0he meant adam smasher's smart shotgun. which is the best shotgun in the game cause it fires explosives rounds and guaranteed dismemberment. since its a smart weapon its also auto track enemies head. pretty insane, the only weakness it has is its slow af reload, imo its the slowest reload of all guns in the game. but it also hit the hardest. so it kinda balance it out.
I use mantis blades since Katana takes up precious gun slot. And i have found they are most useful when you lower enemy hp, jump on them and instantly use finisher to gain hp. This way makes me feel like some sort of a monster who shoots behind cover then quickly jumps from enemy to enemy like a panther finishing off each pray one by one.
I like katana for sandy stealth builds, especially the junchi maru (i butchered that sorry its the one you get from killing oda) combined with optical camo Its exclusively crits for the duration of your sandy if you activate optical camo first
The projectile launcher pairs really well with an SMG build. Everytime you use the launcher it counts as swapping your weapon which will reload your SMG at lvl20 reflexes
I went through about three different builds in my first PL playthrough (Sniper then Knives then Mantis Blades) and though it's easily the most risky with the least reward, the Mantis Blades were pretty easily the most fun, and are a very different way to play. If you add second heart to the suggested build with the Apogee, you basically become unkillable if you're in a public setting, as civilian kills actually proc Axolotl. Jumping around with air dashes and strong Mantis Blade attacks is enormous fun and definitely worth checking out. Also worth mentioning that it's quite handily the easiest time I've ever had with Don't Fear The Reaper as well, at least up until Adam Smasher. Physical melee seems to be pretty terrible against him nowadays.
I based my build around Mantis Blades at first, only to realize that I had basically created a perfect bleed build to use the Butchers Cleaver with, so I don’t really use them anymore. But with the right build, you can essentially kill anyone in 2 hits with any bladed weapon, either by deflecting a single bullet back to them and using a finisher, or by striking them directly and using a finisher. The first method is far more viable if you get the perk that extends your finisher range, and is so much fun
last night i managed to beat don't fear the reaper on hard with the electrifying gorilla arms and apogee after figuring out there were a couple of spots where i could save. Adam's vulnerability to electricity very much helped here lmao😅
I wish they had Iconic for arm Cyberwares. Like 2013 trailer mantis blade (or go full brutal and put a small cut-o-matic on it something like what Tyberos the red as in WH40k) or Maine's Gorilla projectile launcher and such.
@@unknownunknown-cd7rxtechnically but still just a normal mantis with a slightly different look. The other slots get some great iconics but for some reason they completely ignored iconic arms which would have been awesome and is a huge missed opportunity imo
i think it would end up being to OP if there were iconic cyberarms, because if you have the right perks and stuff, you can leap across like half the map using the manits blades, and im not even exagerating@@transgirl2106
You may have missed this in testing but the mantis blade jailbreak leap also does about 5-6x the damage of a normal swipe as you do 3 in a row at increased damage. ALSO flash and thunderclap WORKS FOR MANTIS BLADES. you may notice while using mantis blades that when you hover over someone, your cursor becomes red. That is incredibly small. When you have flash and thunderclap, their red arrow becomes surrounded and you automatically aim and arrive at their location, with all the leap benefits.
I used berserk as sandevistan is almost useless for mantis blades (IMO) since mantis blades are all about attack speed and leaping, you just run around while immortal and since you have the ultra powerful leap that one shots most enemies you can keep berserk lasting forever with axolotl even against maxtac@@anonymous99632
Interestingly, Pyromania is triggered by Contagion explosions. So you can go Contagion + Thermal Monowire or Contagion + Overheat and stack Pyromania that way.
At the moment it appears mantis blades are bugged when it comes to attack speed both from cyberware and the blades part of the reflexes tree. This leaves them felling really clunky as they should be attacking as fast as a katana(actually faster since AS is higher for mantis blades) hopefully this is addressed in a later patch!
My first build when I came back for Phantom Liberty was a blades build with Scalpel as my main weapon and Apogee Sandevistan paired with it, but I used the Electric Projectile Launcher with it since it gave me a ranged attack to go with my blade build. It actually worked out really nicely. The blade aspect was the main idea and like 99% of my gameplay but there was times where having that projectile launcher came in clutch. I thought Mantis Blades would've been redundant since I already have a top notch bladed weapon, Monowire wasn't really a consideration since I wasn't building for crit hits from quickhacks, and Gorilla Arms again seemed redundant since I already had the close combat covered with the Scalpel. A+ build, highly recommended.
I used a gorilla fist build in 1.0 and had to run it back again in 2.0. The movement ability changes in 2.0 made melee builds so much more fun. I've probably spent less than 8 hours actually shooting a gun in my ~190 hours played.
This makes me happy. I haven't had a chance to play 2.0 yet, but loved the gorilla/sandy combo back in 1.6 . Heard a few people saying using the arms weren't as good anymore which got me worried my fav play style wasn't viable in 2.0 .
@@LowBrowHighJinxI’ve been a gorilla fist build since 1.0 and while they are a little bit weaker, they’re still in a great spot. It is absolutely viable still. I play on Very Hard.
Same. My first build was all Fisting, and 2.0 changed things up while keeping the overall build viable. I only used a pistol in my very first fight, and that was only because I had not yet learned how to use my fists effectively. Sure, it was mostly hit-and-run tactics before I had the Body and equipment to take a beating, but the final result was virtually unkillable. Beating your enemies senseless while their weapons bounce off you and you heal all the damage back makes you feel pretty dang strong for a "pacifist."
The best role-playing I've done in this game: driving around town in the black Caliburn, dresed in a black leather coat, beating up gangoons with the gorrilla arms while yelling in a growly voice "I'm Murkmaaaan!!!!" The gorrilla arms get top spot from me just for that alone.
A fun and semi-challenging way to run mantis blades on Vhard is with chrome compressor, axolotl and optical amo, rest into healing/armor/stamina regen/attack speed etc. Once you get into the groove, you just leap between enemies at ridiculous distances, ohk most of them, while invisible and staying invisible as long as you keep getting kills for axolotl returns. You're like a cat overdosed on catnip
Gorilla Arms are just a nice sweet spot. I use them on my net runner as Solo is cumbersome to level and there are some nice bonuses to be had in that progression. As well as things you mentioned of +6 strength and off course fisty cuffs. Sometimes it is just fun to net run foes blind and crippled or whatever and punch them :) I hate feeling forced into monowire.
What I love about this game is that every build is viable and combat is so fun that trying new things is always a good time. Been using optimal camo for a while but switched it out for cellular adaptor and the projectile launcher which makes me feel like Maine.
I fell in love with the gorilla arms when I started cyberpunk, and now the movements being changed and smoother my god I felt so badass going full melee
Honestly one of your best videos, really good breakdown of your logic and reasoning. I’d chose another music track for backing though, was a bit hard to focus on you’re content when I’m having feels.
@@boristhedonk I kind of like the way they look for a male V, but for a female V I just can't bring myself to use them. Reaching up to tenderly stroke Judy's cheek with your big, fat plastic knuckles is a bit of a mood-killer. They also remove fingernails, which is the only customisation feature we ever really get to see during actual gameplay.
always loved the gorilla arms >.< i like that they augment your body for ability checks and it's actually kind of satisfying to punch stuff and watch it smash :p
Im using the projectile launcher with the Apogee & Scalpel Katana Build. The 5 shot Relic perk gives it some good crowd control, it also works as an excellent diversion, find a group of enemies? Overcharge the Launcher and carpet bomb them, activate sandy and dash around with your katana slicing and dicing any remaining enemies to pieces. Axolotol & Quantum Tuner combined with the Apogee's natural duration extension for kills just makes it an incredibly overpowered build.
Glad the videos are helpful! I might consider a sponsorship if I thought the product genuinely useful to the viewers. But thus far none of the offers have been such...
@@SamBram Yeah sponsorships are fine but many are borderline scams or just bad products. Or the youtuber has never tried them before or has no idea what they are selling. As long as those things dont happen they got my respect! Most youtubers do it so I cant really blame them. It just gets a bit exausting to see.
Other point for Gorilla arms: you can run then use the block button to ram to the enemies and throw them to the ground. If you're surrounded it is incredibly useful.
Fair evaluation and pretty much agree with the ranking. Maybe you mentioned this and I missed it but you can use the monowire to level netrunner skill without actually netrunning. I did that on my sandi shotgun build just to get the perk point at level 35.
Its worth noting, Maxtac mantis blades have an increased bleed damage boost when upgraded, as well as have an exclusive bonus stat. When killing enemies that are bleeding, you have a massive hp recovery boost. So, it is the best when it comes to just running and killing down everything you want to, since you can just recover any damage taken.
Thing is, with the relic tree mantis blades can leap onto enemies from across the map, while the similar melee perk that adds a leap to strong attacks doesn't have nearly the same range. This simple perk makes mantis blades the best blades option because ranged enemies like snipers are no longer a threat when you can just zip to them in an instant.
Yep the gap closing you can pull off with double jump, air dash, Sandevistan, and mantis leap is definitely an underrated feature compared to Katanas. There is truly no escape.
@@electrified0 my issue is they have no style. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't all the attacks the same and pretty much one iconics? Just different forms of dealing damage over time right. Honestly youre giving up more going for mantis blades if that one perk is all you get. With good movement swords can cover a lot of ground. Honestly, it doesn't need to go as far when you could just shoot from cover or out snipe a sniper with a throwing knife. And when it all boils down you are usually horded by the enemies. Gotta admit this is a nitpicking. There's 7 Iconic swords all synergizing with Cyberware(OS included), another weapon or a certain playstyle. I'll admit, what I've seen of most katana users has been no different from mantis blades users. Spam the hell out of attack, leap, repeat. With that said, there's still 6-8 different attacks can combo'd and use on many way for katanas while mantis blades leave no room for creative expression. There's even a blade that encourages using nonstandard attacks. It's cool you like mantis blades but that's no reason to downplay katanas.
Didn't know about elemental damage versions attune to different attribute. Struggled many times which one to go with. This information helps a lot. Thanks 👍
Honestly I'm all about style, so going with mantis blades and netrunner is a power trip. And crippling their movements then going ham on mantis blades is the best feeling
14:16, we got a sub zero cosplay on that scav! Also, not really arm related, but getting wrecking ball makes you run about 50 mph. I’ve chased cars on foot without a sandy
Regardless of whether you'd like to use Errata or not, the Projectile Launch System is essentially a reverse Gorilla-arms. I already found myself mixing Reflexes with Tech and it just works very naturally. You don't *need* Thermal damage, you can also use Electric damage for anti-machines.
I have no points in intelligence and run a sandevistan, which is exactly why I run monowire. Being able to apply and spread cripple movement makes it a fun item in my tech ninjas toolkit.
I've been using a build with the projectile launch system, sandevistan, SMGs/Rifles, and the Ba Xing Chong smart shotgun... its the most OP and fun build I've used in this game!!! If you want to focus your build around the projectile launch system and explosives use the Ba Xing Chong. The explosive damage will give you Pyromania and refill the launch system. Also, to get around the negative effects of the sandy, use the problem solver SMG because of its fast fire rate and velocity. Ill put a link to the build planner in the replies to this comment because I'm not sure if YT will remove it.
I've been enjoying PLS with Kerensikov thoroughly, as it allows you to charge in cover, quickly dart out and use the time dilation to make sure your shots find their marks effectively.
The funny thing is my mind is that your ranking holds true even early game, pre-cohesive build and without the supporting cyberware. I started a new character and have been cycling through the various arms just goofing around with them and have the same ranking. Mantis Blades are the worst for me overall and the only set of arms that saw me dying. Just seems they really rely on cyberware and perks to be good. The projectile launcher was nice and I found it really useful and easier to use than grenades but having only 1 charge compared to having 2 grenades, really limited their usefulness. That leaves the the Monowire and Gorilla arms. Monowire is nice because of its range and AoE effect while Gorilla arms took top spot for versatility i.e. the fight quests and that extra bit of body boost. That being said, I would recommend the Gorilla arms for any new player or playthrough, at least until you have settle into a build with the relevant perks and cyberware.
17:37 "Choosing Damage Type" was very useful thanks man. My 1.0-1.6 character was a netrunner+katana (int,ref,cool). My new 2.1 character is like a cyberpsycho with maxed out cyberwares and katana/arms wares/guns (tech,ref,body), loads of fun.
100% agree about Mantis Blades in a blade build, I only ever accidentally pull them out when scrolling the mousewheel and with a shrug, give them a few charity kills.
It has been a long time, but I feel like they really should have made each arm give something. Being Body, Reflex, Tech, and Intelligence. Given that the Gorilla Arms just give you 6 body, they should have just done that for all of em with each having a respective thing. Either to supplement something already powerful, or to help make up for a weakness. Don't know what a Cool rigged arm would be though... gun hand maybe? Built in knives to throw?
I had a silly build going for a while which just focused around triggering the contagion explosion and the best thing I found for that was a thermal projectile launch system it just annihilates groups of enemies I'm sure it's even better if you actually spec into int
Im currently using the projectile launch system with a melee build and its super strong. Its what got me through very hard. It can knock down the heavy enemies and can disrupt large groups. Pop sandy run around and chop off heads!
I’m doing a Netrunner/Smart Weapons/Projectile Launch System playthrough and it’s incredibly fun. Primarily using combat quickhacks (tons of contagion and cripple movement) on enemies, switching to the Smart Weapons to replenish RAM, and using the Projectile Launch System if it starts getting overwhelming. The PLS is like a delete button at that point. Attributes I’m investing in is primarily Intelligence, then Technical Ability, and finally reflexes for quick dodges when it comes to fighting. I’m kind of squishy and a glass cannon, so I can’t be in combat for a long time.
Ive found that the upgraded 3x shells 5x shots at a time arm cannon was like an area explosion weapon double jumping and unleashing it on group up enemies calls out MaxTac quick so you can save on ammunition
I like that Tech seems to really mesh well with all the skills. Every build can benefit from Health Item and Cyberware Upgrades, and many builds well take Grenade and Tech Gun skills. IMHO, 20 points in Tech would be good for any playthrough, although not discounting the others.
There's something poetic about some of the most powerful builds in this game being "Ultra-intelligent Cyber Mage" (Netrunner) or "King Kong" (Gorilla Arms + Max Body melee build) 😂😂😂
Growing up constantly playing Fallout 3/ 4/ New Vegas with god tier Unarmed builds made me so happy to see that was possible in Cyberpunk with Gorilla Arms, especially. Nothing is more satisfying than just knocking the teeth out of every foe and collecting a theoretical "rainy day fund" for the Tooth Fairy.
In my humble opinion, it’s absolutely possible to use the PLS as your main weapon, provided you spec into Technical Ability (specifically Pyromania and its enhancements) and get the launch cap override from the relic data. Kills will net you an extra charge and as long as you land all 5 shots on SOMEONE, you’ll gain a charge as well. Doom launcher also helps keep these charges up with additional cap override
Just wanna say the projectile launcher build outlined in this video is so fucking insanely fun it should be illegal, I've been playing something very similar for a couple weeks and I cannot put it down. Gives the game Doom vibes. As for items being unusable while launching, the biomonitor cyberware fixes that problem. And sandevistan can still be very useful if you charge first, and then slow time to launch. Or when youre just using your shotty.
Good tip with the biomon! Probs should switch mechatronic core for that at my cyberware capacity in the video. Then use both after finding a few more shards
Mantis is amazing for vertical encounters. With katanas, you just have to switch to a different weapon. With Mantis, you can pounce up to higher walkways, across giant gaps, etc.
Very funny to me that the build you recommended for the projectile launcher was pretty much exactly what I had been building in my game, only difference was that I also specced into tech weapons for Bolt shots on tech shotguns. For mid to long range using the launcher to build up mitigation stacks and a few perks to make the Omaha pistol do a ton of damage
I wish mantis blades would add to parkour in general, climbing but also imagine having a sprinting animation like youre feral, using your blades to run faster or vaulting faster on objects etc... lean in a quick and feral playstyle
I'm convinced that 20 str talent that gives 20% health item recharge on kill is absolutely essential for hacking. Way more important then tech tree. With it, you can just stack 3 synapses on every enemy and still be at 800 (yellow) hp the whole time.
You doing something wrong then. With overclock and under fire I can wipe out whole squads without even using health items. If you pick quickhacks for queue right - the damage and health regeneration is crazy by themselves
For the projectile launch system an insane thing you can do with that build is go shock and awe/ticking time bomb and microgenerators, grab the sovereign. Everytime u reload and shoot which is every shot, you’ll trigger microgenerators which will hurt u and trigger shock and awe . Additionally if I have a sandy u can spam it for ticking time bomb and just have everyone perma stunned and popping open and throw grenades around with your arms as you please. It’s fun asf
Electric Gorilla Arms are just good all around...I'm playing a dedicated Boxer build with a Sandevistan and no weapons, and it's the most fun I've had so far in Cyberpunk.
I want to try neurotoxin knives, toxic mantis blades and the black mamba cyberware. Sandevistan: slow time -> throw a knife or two -> rush during time slow with the blades -> finisher?? Cyberdeck: sonic shock -> cripple movement -> knife throw -> mantis blades -> finisher???? Berserk: Activate -> throw knife -> mantis blades
I have an insane Sandevistan build with gorilla arms and I have been beating the ever loving shit out of MaxTac. This is the first time I’ve made my own build with no help from build tutorials that has absolutely destroyed everything. Sandi is definitely my favorite type of build for maximum fun and cool.
I finally managed to beat the MaxTac battle with a squishy netrunner build on "very hard" difficulty. Cyberpunk is typically too easy in most situations, but this battle is no joke on the highest difficulty, where they can take you down in 1-2 hits. I managed to overclock, take out 4-5 of them in my opening salvo of hacks, grab the arms, and flee like a coward before all the reinforcements surrounding me inside the building. I would definitely recommend a sandevistan build for this one.
Gorilla arms are super fun with throws, leapquakes, stuns, finishers, charged attacks, you can even grapple an enemy, although it's not consistent! I llike using Machine guns - 'cause I have "infinite" bullets, plus a chance to insta kill. Rebeca's shotgun is nice too, but it's mostly flavor
Kind of wish the elemental types for each weren't locked to being attuned to a set attribute. Always feels like I'm unlucky in that the element I want for a build is attuned to an attribute that I'm not using. I know the over all stat gain isn't that big it just always bothers me more then it should.
Same, keep hoping for a mod that let's us change the attunement the same way the perk let's us pick between sets of bonus stats when we upgrade our cyberware
Funny thing is I’m actually running pretty much the exact same body and tech build for projectile launcher. When there are tough enemies that can dodge explosives I shoot the ground in front of them so they still get hit by the splash damage and get staggered. This also avoids the projectile disappearing when hitting them.
Electro PLS + Sandy + explosive tech revolver (W/electric shots perk) = OP as hell. Easily my new favourite way to play, with Kerenzikov and air dodges you can also make rain death from above in slow mo.
Bit of advice for those going for the projectile gun blazing method, prepare Crusher or Pozhar, essentially shotguns with high capacity magazine and can be trigger-spammed, while quick to reload (yes, try not to use tactician) for the sandevistan guys (the one that seems to keep dodging everything shot at them. the dodging have time limit, and once they burn up all those sandevistan time, or if one of the shotgun pellet youspammed hit the guy, it will stagger him, just long enough to unload your mag empty. Using electrifiying projectile gun one also will guaranteed stun when charged so even for tanky enemy the charged shot will stun them, at least long enough for you to finish them. P.S If you have enough cyberware capacity to not use chrome compressor, normal cyberdeck does wonder. Get synapse burnout and system collapse (this quickhack is also untraceable means you can slap this to a single enemy that you don't want to wake up the whole team for) or if didn't have it yet, cripple movement and reboot optics still works good or for big groups take detonate grenade (suicide is also a good option), and the blindspot of the build is easily covered. If you had more intelligence point to give, get the perk that allows you to queue up quickhack, since triple synapse burnout (if you have overclock)will make sure no single boss still alive after being on the receiving end.
A blades and projectile launcher build is stupid fun for me. slice and dice with a katana and if the enemies bunch up give em a missile. Makes me feel like a real human weapon. Take the emp perk and a shock and awe cyberwear and you are a walking bomb blowing up everything around you constantly.
Not sure anyone mentioned this, but I have to make a point for using Mantis Blades with the Berserk cyberware. If you get bored of a Sandy (its pretty OP after all, even on Very Hard) then one way to help improve your Berserk Mantis build's health regen and options is to spec into throwing knives. While ranged, throwing knives still count as melee weapons and get the bonuses from the Berserk cyberware, making them perfect for when you need to take someone out who's too far away for your leap or to regain health from a crit throw. I have a no-guns melee build that uses only mantis blades and throwing knives, and it's just this wild flurry of death. Bosses thwacked with a knife to the head also get blinded and poisoned, giving you a great opening to slice them up. The only caveat is that it can be difficult to aim the knives in Berserk. No crosshair means you have to be good at centering you enemies. But that too adds to the fun.
Guerilla Arms suffer from the same issue as Mantis Blades, which is that regular melee weapons (in this case blunt melee, obviously), just do the job better. If you are speccing into Body anyway, you are generally better off just removing the arm cyberware entirely to save 8 points and equipping the dildo as your weapon. Or anything else, just pointing out how low tier the arms are by comparison. They DO have a small niche in the boxing matches, as well as in any situation where you are disarmed.
I'm hard into grinding in RPGS and I have several achievements in World of Warcraft that prove it. That having been said, I dove head first back into this game that I honestly barely played before 2.0. Now I have played through it a few times legit and now I'm into playing it modded to see what kind of shenanigan's I can get into. Let me tell you, it is such a blast to play a full maxxed character with Ex-Cyberwear mod letting me have extra slots for all of my cyberwear. I almost feel bad for the Scavers when I'm pounding their friends into the ground with my gorilla arms... lol... good times :)...
As much as I love mantis blades, I wish there was more attack speed to them. Because honestly, Wakako's katana is literally a MaxTac blender. I got it before I met Melissa Rory absolutely dismantled everything in the store and outside it in seconds. The stacking attack speed if that katana makes it the single most OP melee in the game.
Personnaly, I’m on a Sandy build with the projectile launcher. The trick is that I also equip a Kerenzikov to shoot with the overcharged projectiles and then, use fully the Sandevistan to rush foes with katanas and shotgun. Simply said, I just Kerenzikov to not waste my Sandy time with slowdown animations and put my enemies on the ground before rushing them while they are trying to getting up (and the “burn this city” perk allows me to have infinite grenades if I can aim accurately with the barrage).
15:26 This is a bug. The body stat bonus you gain do not reset when you unequip the gorilla arms, . So When you equip it again you gain 12 body instead of 6.
To diffetentiate from Katanas, Mantis Blades should be more piercing instead of slicing, making your moves straight punches instead of hooks. This would give Mantis Blades a range advantage over katanas and possibly a chance to go through blocks. Also since the hands are basically free, they could make it so that you don't need to unequip your pistol/revolver or knife to bring out the mantis blades in a sort of unique synergy with them small weapons.
As a pure Netrunner I only use Gorilla Arms on all my playthroughs as all I care about is the bonus for opening doors and having more damage in the Beat on the Brat quest. In my patch 2.0 playthrough I went for 20 Body anyway at some point to have more health for Overclock, I then unequipped Gorilla Arms to have more cyberware capacity for other cyberware.
To me theres just something insanely awesome about launching 5 rpg rockets from your arms and using the burn the city perks to make it almost endless. During MaxTac fights Im almost never out as they love to just hang around in groups and getting the 5 stacks is pretty easy especially when you charge it up and the group with all 5 shots. As a neat little thing I love using overclock with a Raven cyberdeck, hitting a group with contagion then hitting them with charged up thermal rockets to just turn them all into a giant fireball of death. Against the groups the constant exploding even melts MaxTac.
I think the mantis blades would be better if they had abilities from the E3 2019 trailer like using them to climb and cling to walls. It could be a very useful feature, especially when paired with the new movement system.
Omg yes that would be a shit ton of fun
And being able to use monowires to swing around like Lucy from edgerunners
@@marcelinehvh That would actually be pretty cool too, but that was only the one scene if I recall correctly, and I’m not sure how that could work realistically, but it’s not like it *has* to be realistic. That’s still a really cool idea, and could work pretty well for netrunners, it just makes more sense with the mantis blades.
@@marcelinehvh i downloaded the "Grappling Hook" mod from nexusmods, and paired them with the monowire, and upgraded the grappling hook from the mod accordingly, and holy shit was that a lot of fun
swinging from NCart rails to skyscraper rooftops, it was godly.
Highly recommend tuning that mod to your liking, if you want this "Cyber-Spiderman" build.
There's no way that movement would have ever been added without a complete rework of the entire city and all the quests as the devs said it nuffified basically everything
The funniest thing about taking out Rory for the MaxTac Mantis Blades is Zane, the store clerk, texting you later to give you gossip about Rory like he didn't see you go cyberpsycho on MaxTac at all.
I think he went up to the Men In Black and asked them to undo some of the trauma from seeing what V did to them. 😭
“I want her arms”
The thermal projectile launch system is amazing with the errata, literally guarantees crits by proccing burn. I like to hide behind cover to overcharge it, then pop a sandevistan and dash in to aim all of the shots and start going to town with the errata. Gives you a bunch of mitigation chance from pyromania too which is great for melee.
Personally I think the Scalpel with Sandevistan just outperforms everything else. My crit chance is over 100 and it does more damage than certain katanas like Errata.
Crits are not hard to get
Same, additionally when i run out of projectile charges i use the CHAR incindiary grenades to get more fire
I've been using this exact same build! Kind of just happened upon it by chance because none of the other arm cyberware seemed particularly useful for a katana-centered blade build.
@@Majin_Koolaid at the moment I'm thinking about a katana to replace the Scalpel. I already have my 100% crit chance without it. Something like the old Satori that had a ton of crit damage would be nice. The Errata was okay but you mostly just change electric damager to burn damage.
I'll try out the Byakko next.
Maybe you go best with a non-iconic one you can mod
A note about Mantis Blades, because they are blades they can use the Deflect ability to tank ranged attacks in a very squishy build like 4-Body 3-Tech while still having 3 weapon slots for guns
that is why i am torn between a sandi and the bserserk. i can deflect bullets endlessly with the beserk until it ends. i know there is a perk that makes defelcting bullets cost no stamina with slowed time but it seems pointless to stand still long enough with time slowed to wait for the bullets to get to me to defelct them back.
having 3 guns is fun and when i pop the beserk it instantly pulls out the mantis blades for me so i don't even have to cycle through
@@devildavindeflected bullets while time is slowed also auto lock with that perk
a build with 0 survivability like that is only viable on lower difficulties anyway where pretty much anything is viable, on very hard maybe someone can pull it off with a broken netrunner build but you'd need to get pretty gamey or play really safe and boring at least in my experience
@@DMSBrian24 i beat the game on very hard with a glass cannon blade build pre 2.0 and it wasn't too bad. I imagine its more difficult now but im sure its still doable
@@DMSBrian24 I did it on very hard in 2.0, it's fine
Fun fact I learned while trying to make a Adam smasher build.
For the projectile launch systems. You don’t NEED to charge and aim it everytime you wanna use it.
You can just charge it while behind cover or something, draw weapon. Then momentarily hold it again in order to fire off a charged shot or shots immediately.
Also fun reminder: kerenzikov works with projectile launcher, simply holding down the charge and dodging activates the kerenz.
@@mrsexy5680I have to try it
@@mikhailromanov9027With Smart-Link cyberware also equipped, the PLS will have a mild homing effect on enemies. Works incredibly well with Kereznikov
@@TacoLoverPersonI think tracking now works all the time, I got no smart link and the missles are homing
I fell in love with mantis blades while playing with optical camo and becoming the Predator, slaughtering enemies while their chooms were confused and horrified that the victims just died from nothing.
But I do like returning to monke. Especially after they made Berserk amazing.
Yeah, being a predator, is fun, not to mention the perk that delays enemies detection when you hit them lets you roll around invisible in sandy time and slice goons up before their friends notice. But once you unlock savage sling for G arms, you get cyberpsychosis. And by "you" I mean you the player, not V the protagonist. There's just something cathartic about hitting a dude with another dude or grabbing an big dude mid fight and shoving him (still alive) into a locker he barely fits into like you're some high school bully
Nu hu maxtac mantis got 4.9 % more health after killing a bleeding ennemies but if you have the final perk on blade every hit make a bleeding pretty op
Yep. Was gonna say I actually found it better than the katana in very hard because of this.
…. Isn’t that a bonus thing you can roll from ALL cyberware?
@@destroyercreater98yeah I had identical standard mantis blades
You can add this stat to any arm cyberwear
@@osric729only works on blades
If you're using Firecracker with an LMG, make sure that you use the MA70 HB instead of the Defender. It's got a slower rate of fire and doesn't burn through ammo to the same degree, but more importantly: It has built-in explosive rounds that are further upgraded by the Firecracker mod, increasing the size of the explosion and allowing the rounds to trigger Pyromania stacks.
Really? The Firecracker mod doesn't really work for me
I love that build, but I recently logged in and noticed my MA70HB wasn't proc'ing any more. My other explosive weapons do proc it. I havent found another MA70 yet but i really wish it would work. The legendary large mag mod paired with the instant 20% reload on kill from the LMG tree is beautiful.
In real life, slower rates of fire are often preferred for similar reasons, and because they tend to be more controllable.
@@Fearisfreedom MA70 HB (with Firecracker) still procs Pyromania for me, and I doubt that's changed since last night. Might be you encountered a bug or something?
Anyone know where to find an LMG with 2 mod slots?
all of these ranking videos you make just reinforce in me how good 2.0 has been for the game. Thanks for creating and sharing these with us!
Literally everything was improved in some way. Its amazing
@@fr0nc0 they knew they couldn't skimp big or small if they wanted that proper redemption arc. Seriously, incredible work ethic to move past the massive L and deliver what was promised.
@@fr0nc0except food. You used to get the health regen bonus in combat if you ate before a fight. Now it only adds regen out of combat. Food is even more useless after 2.0 and they should just remove it.
@@double-n-glennima be honest i didnt use food even before 2.0 😂 and i think its better for what their aiming for anyways bc if food still gave health thatd almost make the update to where u cant hoard bounce backs or health things useless
Launcher got a lot better with the Relic perk. And it actually has some perks to go along with it-and the tracking feels so much better. I run the electric round, which has 100% shock chance.
I use that too along side Adam's rocket launcher. I call it my demolition man build.
@@illegalfoodz8402what rocket launcher?
@@fr0nc0he meant adam smasher's smart shotgun. which is the best shotgun in the game cause it fires explosives rounds and guaranteed dismemberment. since its a smart weapon its also auto track enemies head. pretty insane, the only weakness it has is its slow af reload, imo its the slowest reload of all guns in the game. but it also hit the hardest. so it kinda balance it out.
Why is it so inaccurate relative to the reticle tho. Like I can't even use that thing to aim its so off
I use mantis blades since Katana takes up precious gun slot. And i have found they are most useful when you lower enemy hp, jump on them and instantly use finisher to gain hp.
This way makes me feel like some sort of a monster who shoots behind cover then quickly jumps from enemy to enemy like a panther finishing off each pray one by one.
I like katana for sandy stealth builds, especially the junchi maru (i butchered that sorry its the one you get from killing oda) combined with optical camo
Its exclusively crits for the duration of your sandy if you activate optical camo first
same thing also works by using quickhacks to damage everyone in a group and then finish them all off
The projectile launcher pairs really well with an SMG build. Everytime you use the launcher it counts as swapping your weapon which will reload your SMG at lvl20 reflexes
It WHAT??? Oh damn that's broken
@@RickReasonnz it also counts as swapping a weapon when you're using amnesty the revolver and triggers its buff.
It's insane how diverse the game style might be in this game.
I went through about three different builds in my first PL playthrough (Sniper then Knives then Mantis Blades) and though it's easily the most risky with the least reward, the Mantis Blades were pretty easily the most fun, and are a very different way to play. If you add second heart to the suggested build with the Apogee, you basically become unkillable if you're in a public setting, as civilian kills actually proc Axolotl. Jumping around with air dashes and strong Mantis Blade attacks is enormous fun and definitely worth checking out. Also worth mentioning that it's quite handily the easiest time I've ever had with Don't Fear The Reaper as well, at least up until Adam Smasher. Physical melee seems to be pretty terrible against him nowadays.
This little detail with the civilians adds so much to cyberpsychos using them I love it
I'd suggest using sandi to slow time and deflect his bullets back at him. way easier way to fight him with melee blades than slapping him
I based my build around Mantis Blades at first, only to realize that I had basically created a perfect bleed build to use the Butchers Cleaver with, so I don’t really use them anymore. But with the right build, you can essentially kill anyone in 2 hits with any bladed weapon, either by deflecting a single bullet back to them and using a finisher, or by striking them directly and using a finisher. The first method is far more viable if you get the perk that extends your finisher range, and is so much fun
style over substance tho, if it doesn't look cool i just can't use it xd
last night i managed to beat don't fear the reaper on hard with the electrifying gorilla arms and apogee after figuring out there were a couple of spots where i could save. Adam's vulnerability to electricity very much helped here lmao😅
Your narration and straight to the point content is absolutely fantastic! Please keep doing what you're doing!
I wish they had Iconic for arm Cyberwares.
Like 2013 trailer mantis blade (or go full brutal and put a small cut-o-matic on it something like what Tyberos the red as in WH40k) or Maine's Gorilla projectile launcher and such.
thats what the maxtact mantis blades are, they are the mantis blades from the trailer
@@unknownunknown-cd7rx It doesn't look like it tho
@@unknownunknown-cd7rxtechnically but still just a normal mantis with a slightly different look. The other slots get some great iconics but for some reason they completely ignored iconic arms which would have been awesome and is a huge missed opportunity imo
i think it would end up being to OP if there were iconic cyberarms, because if you have the right perks and stuff, you can leap across like half the map using the manits blades, and im not even exagerating@@transgirl2106
@transgirl2106 yea! And its not even in the iconic category too!
You may have missed this in testing but the mantis blade jailbreak leap also does about 5-6x the damage of a normal swipe as you do 3 in a row at increased damage.
ALSO flash and thunderclap WORKS FOR MANTIS BLADES. you may notice while using mantis blades that when you hover over someone, your cursor becomes red. That is incredibly small. When you have flash and thunderclap, their red arrow becomes surrounded and you automatically aim and arrive at their location, with all the leap benefits.
Got any tips for mantis blade build or a good build video? I wanna combine mantis with two pistols. One for stealth and other for ranged.
I used berserk as sandevistan is almost useless for mantis blades (IMO) since mantis blades are all about attack speed and leaping, you just run around while immortal and since you have the ultra powerful leap that one shots most enemies you can keep berserk lasting forever with axolotl even against maxtac@@anonymous99632
Interestingly, Pyromania is triggered by Contagion explosions.
So you can go Contagion + Thermal Monowire or Contagion + Overheat and stack Pyromania that way.
Basic a Net Bomber
At the moment it appears mantis blades are bugged when it comes to attack speed both from cyberware and the blades part of the reflexes tree. This leaves them felling really clunky as they should be attacking as fast as a katana(actually faster since AS is higher for mantis blades) hopefully this is addressed in a later patch!
My first build when I came back for Phantom Liberty was a blades build with Scalpel as my main weapon and Apogee Sandevistan paired with it, but I used the Electric Projectile Launcher with it since it gave me a ranged attack to go with my blade build. It actually worked out really nicely. The blade aspect was the main idea and like 99% of my gameplay but there was times where having that projectile launcher came in clutch. I thought Mantis Blades would've been redundant since I already have a top notch bladed weapon, Monowire wasn't really a consideration since I wasn't building for crit hits from quickhacks, and Gorilla Arms again seemed redundant since I already had the close combat covered with the Scalpel. A+ build, highly recommended.
I used a gorilla fist build in 1.0 and had to run it back again in 2.0. The movement ability changes in 2.0 made melee builds so much more fun. I've probably spent less than 8 hours actually shooting a gun in my ~190 hours played.
This makes me happy. I haven't had a chance to play 2.0 yet, but loved the gorilla/sandy combo back in 1.6 . Heard a few people saying using the arms weren't as good anymore which got me worried my fav play style wasn't viable in 2.0 .
Lol im a katana user so i just use gorilla arms for the stat buffs
@@LowBrowHighJinxI’ve been a gorilla fist build since 1.0 and while they are a little bit weaker, they’re still in a great spot. It is absolutely viable still. I play on Very Hard.
Same. My first build was all Fisting, and 2.0 changed things up while keeping the overall build viable. I only used a pistol in my very first fight, and that was only because I had not yet learned how to use my fists effectively. Sure, it was mostly hit-and-run tactics before I had the Body and equipment to take a beating, but the final result was virtually unkillable. Beating your enemies senseless while their weapons bounce off you and you heal all the damage back makes you feel pretty dang strong for a "pacifist."
The best role-playing I've done in this game: driving around town in the black Caliburn, dresed in a black leather coat, beating up gangoons with the gorrilla arms while yelling in a growly voice "I'm Murkmaaaan!!!!" The gorrilla arms get top spot from me just for that alone.
A fun and semi-challenging way to run mantis blades on Vhard is with chrome compressor, axolotl and optical amo, rest into healing/armor/stamina regen/attack speed etc. Once you get into the groove, you just leap between enemies at ridiculous distances, ohk most of them, while invisible and staying invisible as long as you keep getting kills for axolotl returns. You're like a cat overdosed on catnip
Gorilla Arms are just a nice sweet spot. I use them on my net runner as Solo is cumbersome to level and there are some nice bonuses to be had in that progression. As well as things you mentioned of +6 strength and off course fisty cuffs. Sometimes it is just fun to net run foes blind and crippled or whatever and punch them :) I hate feeling forced into monowire.
what are your attributes looking like?
solo is ez to level by just always bringing along a shotgun and unloading it into people's face once in a while, never gets old xD
The max tac mantis blades also have a heal on them which the normal MB's don't have.
What I love about this game is that every build is viable and combat is so fun that trying new things is always a good time. Been using optimal camo for a while but switched it out for cellular adaptor and the projectile launcher which makes me feel like Maine.
Another top tier cyberpunk 2077 video. Looking forward to many more videos from you.
I really like Gorilla Arms, it's nice having a good back up that's non-lethal always at hand.
My first PL build was thermal projectile launcher and errata with apogee. It's glorious.
I fell in love with the gorilla arms when I started cyberpunk, and now the movements being changed and smoother my god I felt so badass going full melee
Honestly one of your best videos, really good breakdown of your logic and reasoning.
I’d chose another music track for backing though, was a bit hard to focus on you’re content when I’m having feels.
One of the biggest advantage of gorilla arms is their looks, they look cool even when they are not in use
i took off the gorilla arms because i thought they looked ugly, lol
@@boristhedonk I kind of like the way they look for a male V, but for a female V I just can't bring myself to use them. Reaching up to tenderly stroke Judy's cheek with your big, fat plastic knuckles is a bit of a mood-killer.
They also remove fingernails, which is the only customisation feature we ever really get to see during actual gameplay.
they look bad, thats why i installed a mod to change how they look
Do gorilla arms still reduce requirements to force open doors?
@@bryanmckeithen899 yes
always loved the gorilla arms >.< i like that they augment your body for ability checks and it's actually kind of satisfying to punch stuff and watch it smash :p
Plus, seeing them react to you ripping a door open is cool. How they open and you hear the whirring in your forearm as you pull.
@j.vinton4039 yea that was also something I loved about them :p
Im using the projectile launcher with the Apogee & Scalpel Katana Build. The 5 shot Relic perk gives it some good crowd control, it also works as an excellent diversion, find a group of enemies? Overcharge the Launcher and carpet bomb them, activate sandy and dash around with your katana slicing and dicing any remaining enemies to pieces. Axolotol & Quantum Tuner combined with the Apogee's natural duration extension for kills just makes it an incredibly overpowered build.
Getting back into this game is confusing after 2.0. This channel is really helpful. And without any sponsorships!! heck yeah!
Glad the videos are helpful! I might consider a sponsorship if I thought the product genuinely useful to the viewers. But thus far none of the offers have been such...
@@SamBram Yeah sponsorships are fine but many are borderline scams or just bad products. Or the youtuber has never tried them before or has no idea what they are selling. As long as those things dont happen they got my respect! Most youtubers do it so I cant really blame them. It just gets a bit exausting to see.
Other point for Gorilla arms: you can run then use the block button to ram to the enemies and throw them to the ground. If you're surrounded it is incredibly useful.
Fair evaluation and pretty much agree with the ranking. Maybe you mentioned this and I missed it but you can use the monowire to level netrunner skill without actually netrunning. I did that on my sandi shotgun build just to get the perk point at level 35.
Its worth noting, Maxtac mantis blades have an increased bleed damage boost when upgraded, as well as have an exclusive bonus stat.
When killing enemies that are bleeding, you have a massive hp recovery boost. So, it is the best when it comes to just running and killing down everything you want to, since you can just recover any damage taken.
Thing is, with the relic tree mantis blades can leap onto enemies from across the map, while the similar melee perk that adds a leap to strong attacks doesn't have nearly the same range. This simple perk makes mantis blades the best blades option because ranged enemies like snipers are no longer a threat when you can just zip to them in an instant.
Yep the gap closing you can pull off with double jump, air dash, Sandevistan, and mantis leap is definitely an underrated feature compared to Katanas. There is truly no escape.
@@electrified0 my issue is they have no style. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't all the attacks the same and pretty much one iconics? Just different forms of dealing damage over time right. Honestly youre giving up more going for mantis blades if that one perk is all you get. With good movement swords can cover a lot of ground. Honestly, it doesn't need to go as far when you could just shoot from cover or out snipe a sniper with a throwing knife. And when it all boils down you are usually horded by the enemies. Gotta admit this is a nitpicking.
There's 7 Iconic swords all synergizing with Cyberware(OS included), another weapon or a certain playstyle. I'll admit, what I've seen of most katana users has been no different from mantis blades users. Spam the hell out of attack, leap, repeat. With that said, there's still 6-8 different attacks can combo'd and use on many way for katanas while mantis blades leave no room for creative expression. There's even a blade that encourages using nonstandard attacks.
It's cool you like mantis blades but that's no reason to downplay katanas.
You got me really tempted to roll a build with the projectile launcher/no OS now. Just high-octane chaotic fun
Launcher katana sandy build was genuinely the most fun build I’ve done on the game so far
Didn't know about elemental damage versions attune to different attribute. Struggled many times which one to go with. This information helps a lot. Thanks 👍
Gorilla arms are definitely top tier, worth it for the body check alone!
Honestly I'm all about style, so going with mantis blades and netrunner is a power trip. And crippling their movements then going ham on mantis blades is the best feeling
14:16, we got a sub zero cosplay on that scav!
Also, not really arm related, but getting wrecking ball makes you run about 50 mph. I’ve chased cars on foot without a sandy
Regardless of whether you'd like to use Errata or not, the Projectile Launch System is essentially a reverse Gorilla-arms. I already found myself mixing Reflexes with Tech and it just works very naturally. You don't *need* Thermal damage, you can also use Electric damage for anti-machines.
I have no points in intelligence and run a sandevistan, which is exactly why I run monowire.
Being able to apply and spread cripple movement makes it a fun item in my tech ninjas toolkit.
My favorite arm weapon in 2.0 update is now the projectile launch system, its so cool the way you can just use it 5 times at once
I've been using a build with the projectile launch system, sandevistan, SMGs/Rifles, and the Ba Xing Chong smart shotgun... its the most OP and fun build I've used in this game!!! If you want to focus your build around the projectile launch system and explosives use the Ba Xing Chong. The explosive damage will give you Pyromania and refill the launch system. Also, to get around the negative effects of the sandy, use the problem solver SMG because of its fast fire rate and velocity. Ill put a link to the build planner in the replies to this comment because I'm not sure if YT will remove it.
I've been enjoying PLS with Kerensikov thoroughly, as it allows you to charge in cover, quickly dart out and use the time dilation to make sure your shots find their marks effectively.
The funny thing is my mind is that your ranking holds true even early game, pre-cohesive build and without the supporting cyberware. I started a new character and have been cycling through the various arms just goofing around with them and have the same ranking. Mantis Blades are the worst for me overall and the only set of arms that saw me dying. Just seems they really rely on cyberware and perks to be good. The projectile launcher was nice and I found it really useful and easier to use than grenades but having only 1 charge compared to having 2 grenades, really limited their usefulness. That leaves the the Monowire and Gorilla arms. Monowire is nice because of its range and AoE effect while Gorilla arms took top spot for versatility i.e. the fight quests and that extra bit of body boost. That being said, I would recommend the Gorilla arms for any new player or playthrough, at least until you have settle into a build with the relevant perks and cyberware.
17:37 "Choosing Damage Type" was very useful thanks man. My 1.0-1.6 character was a netrunner+katana (int,ref,cool). My new 2.1 character is like a cyberpsycho with maxed out cyberwares and katana/arms wares/guns (tech,ref,body), loads of fun.
100% agree about Mantis Blades in a blade build, I only ever accidentally pull them out when scrolling the mousewheel and with a shrug, give them a few charity kills.
Hahaha, gotta make them feel appreciated sometimes
It has been a long time, but I feel like they really should have made each arm give something. Being Body, Reflex, Tech, and Intelligence. Given that the Gorilla Arms just give you 6 body, they should have just done that for all of em with each having a respective thing. Either to supplement something already powerful, or to help make up for a weakness. Don't know what a Cool rigged arm would be though... gun hand maybe? Built in knives to throw?
I had a silly build going for a while which just focused around triggering the contagion explosion and the best thing I found for that was a thermal projectile launch system it just annihilates groups of enemies I'm sure it's even better if you actually spec into int
Im currently using the projectile launch system with a melee build and its super strong. Its what got me through very hard. It can knock down the heavy enemies and can disrupt large groups. Pop sandy run around and chop off heads!
I’m doing a Netrunner/Smart Weapons/Projectile Launch System playthrough and it’s incredibly fun. Primarily using combat quickhacks (tons of contagion and cripple movement) on enemies, switching to the Smart Weapons to replenish RAM, and using the Projectile Launch System if it starts getting overwhelming. The PLS is like a delete button at that point.
Attributes I’m investing in is primarily Intelligence, then Technical Ability, and finally reflexes for quick dodges when it comes to fighting. I’m kind of squishy and a glass cannon, so I can’t be in combat for a long time.
Ive found that the upgraded 3x shells 5x shots at a time arm cannon was like an area explosion weapon double jumping and unleashing it on group up enemies calls out MaxTac quick so you can save on ammunition
I like that Tech seems to really mesh well with all the skills. Every build can benefit from Health Item and Cyberware Upgrades, and many builds well take Grenade and Tech Gun skills. IMHO, 20 points in Tech would be good for any playthrough, although not discounting the others.
There's something poetic about some of the most powerful builds in this game being "Ultra-intelligent Cyber Mage" (Netrunner) or "King Kong" (Gorilla Arms + Max Body melee build) 😂😂😂
And then you mix both and become the king of kings.
Growing up constantly playing Fallout 3/ 4/ New Vegas with god tier Unarmed builds made me so happy to see that was possible in Cyberpunk with Gorilla Arms, especially. Nothing is more satisfying than just knocking the teeth out of every foe and collecting a theoretical "rainy day fund" for the Tooth Fairy.
I love how everybody is anatomy specialist when creating creative builds it’s cool as hell
In my humble opinion, it’s absolutely possible to use the PLS as your main weapon, provided you spec into Technical Ability (specifically Pyromania and its enhancements) and get the launch cap override from the relic data. Kills will net you an extra charge and as long as you land all 5 shots on SOMEONE, you’ll gain a charge as well. Doom launcher also helps keep these charges up with additional cap override
Just wanna say the projectile launcher build outlined in this video is so fucking insanely fun it should be illegal, I've been playing something very similar for a couple weeks and I cannot put it down. Gives the game Doom vibes.
As for items being unusable while launching, the biomonitor cyberware fixes that problem. And sandevistan can still be very useful if you charge first, and then slow time to launch. Or when youre just using your shotty.
Good tip with the biomon! Probs should switch mechatronic core for that at my cyberware capacity in the video. Then use both after finding a few more shards
Mantis is amazing for vertical encounters. With katanas, you just have to switch to a different weapon. With Mantis, you can pounce up to higher walkways, across giant gaps, etc.
Very funny to me that the build you recommended for the projectile launcher was pretty much exactly what I had been building in my game, only difference was that I also specced into tech weapons for Bolt shots on tech shotguns. For mid to long range using the launcher to build up mitigation stacks and a few perks to make the Omaha pistol do a ton of damage
I wish mantis blades would add to parkour in general, climbing but also imagine having a sprinting animation like youre feral, using your blades to run faster or vaulting faster on objects etc... lean in a quick and feral playstyle
I'm convinced that 20 str talent that gives 20% health item recharge on kill is absolutely essential for hacking. Way more important then tech tree.
With it, you can just stack 3 synapses on every enemy and still be at 800 (yellow) hp the whole time.
You are right. Also adrenaline is insane with overclock which edgerunner has antisynergy with
You doing something wrong then. With overclock and under fire I can wipe out whole squads without even using health items. If you pick quickhacks for queue right - the damage and health regeneration is crazy by themselves
For the projectile launch system an insane thing you can do with that build is go shock and awe/ticking time bomb and microgenerators, grab the sovereign. Everytime u reload and shoot which is every shot, you’ll trigger microgenerators which will hurt u and trigger shock and awe . Additionally if I have a sandy u can spam it for ticking time bomb and just have everyone perma stunned and popping open and throw grenades around with your arms as you please. It’s fun asf
The overhaul updated system has made everything worth a try. Cant lose with any build it just comes down to what you think is MORE badass
on very hard you gotta optimize at least to some degree to have decent survivability, other than that everything works
I would love to see a full vid on that mono wire build
Electric Gorilla Arms are just good all around...I'm playing a dedicated Boxer build with a Sandevistan and no weapons, and it's the most fun I've had so far in Cyberpunk.
I want to try neurotoxin knives, toxic mantis blades and the black mamba cyberware.
Sandevistan: slow time -> throw a knife or two -> rush during time slow with the blades -> finisher??
Cyberdeck: sonic shock -> cripple movement -> knife throw -> mantis blades -> finisher????
Berserk: Activate -> throw knife -> mantis blades
I have an insane Sandevistan build with gorilla arms and I have been beating the ever loving shit out of MaxTac. This is the first time I’ve made my own build with no help from build tutorials that has absolutely destroyed everything. Sandi is definitely my favorite type of build for maximum fun and cool.
Eh mantis blades may not be the best and a katana may be better, but they are by far the coolest looking so that's what I got lol
It’s the Body checks that do it for me being able to open 20 Body doors and dialogue while only having 15 is so worth it
I finally managed to beat the MaxTac battle with a squishy netrunner build on "very hard" difficulty. Cyberpunk is typically too easy in most situations, but this battle is no joke on the highest difficulty, where they can take you down in 1-2 hits. I managed to overclock, take out 4-5 of them in my opening salvo of hacks, grab the arms, and flee like a coward before all the reinforcements surrounding me inside the building. I would definitely recommend a sandevistan build for this one.
Gorilla arms are super fun with throws, leapquakes, stuns, finishers, charged attacks, you can even grapple an enemy, although it's not consistent! I llike using Machine guns - 'cause I have "infinite" bullets, plus a chance to insta kill. Rebeca's shotgun is nice too, but it's mostly flavor
Kind of wish the elemental types for each weren't locked to being attuned to a set attribute. Always feels like I'm unlucky in that the element I want for a build is attuned to an attribute that I'm not using. I know the over all stat gain isn't that big it just always bothers me more then it should.
Same, keep hoping for a mod that let's us change the attunement the same way the perk let's us pick between sets of bonus stats when we upgrade our cyberware
The doom launcher can slaughter so many cops to get MaxTac started in one go it's just beautiful
With specifically optimize right builds 1. Projectile launch system. 2. Monowire. 3. Mantis Blades. 4. Gorila arms.
I'm currently going with projectile launcher, sandevistan and catana, works surprisingly well
Funny thing is I’m actually running pretty much the exact same body and tech build for projectile launcher. When there are tough enemies that can dodge explosives I shoot the ground in front of them so they still get hit by the splash damage and get staggered. This also avoids the projectile disappearing when hitting them.
And here I am, just being a netrunner with mantis blades. Mostly for fun, but still pretty doable on Very Hard.
Electro PLS + Sandy + explosive tech revolver (W/electric shots perk) = OP as hell. Easily my new favourite way to play, with Kerenzikov and air dodges you can also make rain death from above in slow mo.
Bit of advice for those going for the projectile gun blazing method, prepare Crusher or Pozhar, essentially shotguns with high capacity magazine and can be trigger-spammed, while quick to reload (yes, try not to use tactician) for the sandevistan guys (the one that seems to keep dodging everything shot at them. the dodging have time limit, and once they burn up all those sandevistan time, or if one of the shotgun pellet youspammed hit the guy, it will stagger him, just long enough to unload your mag empty. Using electrifiying projectile gun one also will guaranteed stun when charged so even for tanky enemy the charged shot will stun them, at least long enough for you to finish them.
P.S If you have enough cyberware capacity to not use chrome compressor, normal cyberdeck does wonder. Get synapse burnout and system collapse (this quickhack is also untraceable means you can slap this to a single enemy that you don't want to wake up the whole team for) or if didn't have it yet, cripple movement and reboot optics still works good or for big groups take detonate grenade (suicide is also a good option), and the blindspot of the build is easily covered. If you had more intelligence point to give, get the perk that allows you to queue up quickhack, since triple synapse burnout (if you have overclock)will make sure no single boss still alive after being on the receiving end.
A blades and projectile launcher build is stupid fun for me. slice and dice with a katana and if the enemies bunch up give em a missile. Makes me feel like a real human weapon. Take the emp perk and a shock and awe cyberwear and you are a walking bomb blowing up everything around you constantly.
Not sure anyone mentioned this, but I have to make a point for using Mantis Blades with the Berserk cyberware. If you get bored of a Sandy (its pretty OP after all, even on Very Hard) then one way to help improve your Berserk Mantis build's health regen and options is to spec into throwing knives. While ranged, throwing knives still count as melee weapons and get the bonuses from the Berserk cyberware, making them perfect for when you need to take someone out who's too far away for your leap or to regain health from a crit throw. I have a no-guns melee build that uses only mantis blades and throwing knives, and it's just this wild flurry of death. Bosses thwacked with a knife to the head also get blinded and poisoned, giving you a great opening to slice them up. The only caveat is that it can be difficult to aim the knives in Berserk. No crosshair means you have to be good at centering you enemies. But that too adds to the fun.
Guerilla Arms suffer from the same issue as Mantis Blades, which is that regular melee weapons (in this case blunt melee, obviously), just do the job better. If you are speccing into Body anyway, you are generally better off just removing the arm cyberware entirely to save 8 points and equipping the dildo as your weapon. Or anything else, just pointing out how low tier the arms are by comparison.
They DO have a small niche in the boxing matches, as well as in any situation where you are disarmed.
I'm hard into grinding in RPGS and I have several achievements in World of Warcraft that prove it. That having been said, I dove head first back into this game that I honestly barely played before 2.0. Now I have played through it a few times legit and now I'm into playing it modded to see what kind of shenanigan's I can get into. Let me tell you, it is such a blast to play a full maxxed character with Ex-Cyberwear mod letting me have extra slots for all of my cyberwear. I almost feel bad for the Scavers when I'm pounding their friends into the ground with my gorilla arms... lol... good times :)...
Monke beserk build. It got so broken that I had to stop using it because it wasn't fun anymore.
As much as I love mantis blades, I wish there was more attack speed to them. Because honestly, Wakako's katana is literally a MaxTac blender. I got it before I met Melissa Rory absolutely dismantled everything in the store and outside it in seconds. The stacking attack speed if that katana makes it the single most OP melee in the game.
Personnaly, I’m on a Sandy build with the projectile launcher. The trick is that I also equip a Kerenzikov to shoot with the overcharged projectiles and then, use fully the Sandevistan to rush foes with katanas and shotgun. Simply said, I just Kerenzikov to not waste my Sandy time with slowdown animations and put my enemies on the ground before rushing them while they are trying to getting up (and the “burn this city” perk allows me to have infinite grenades if I can aim accurately with the barrage).
Didn't expect to see a demonslayer reference in cyberpunk, but here we are. (Flash and Thunderclap)
15:26 This is a bug. The body stat bonus you gain do not reset when you unequip the gorilla arms, . So When you equip it again you gain 12 body instead of 6.
Yeah that makes a lot of sense! Especially given that the pre 2.0 models kinda bug out if you had them equipped before
To diffetentiate from Katanas, Mantis Blades should be more piercing instead of slicing, making your moves straight punches instead of hooks. This would give Mantis Blades a range advantage over katanas and possibly a chance to go through blocks.
Also since the hands are basically free, they could make it so that you don't need to unequip your pistol/revolver or knife to bring out the mantis blades in a sort of unique synergy with them small weapons.
As a pure Netrunner I only use Gorilla Arms on all my playthroughs as all I care about is the bonus for opening doors and having more damage in the Beat on the Brat quest. In my patch 2.0 playthrough I went for 20 Body anyway at some point to have more health for Overclock, I then unequipped Gorilla Arms to have more cyberware capacity for other cyberware.
To me theres just something insanely awesome about launching 5 rpg rockets from your arms and using the burn the city perks to make it almost endless. During MaxTac fights Im almost never out as they love to just hang around in groups and getting the 5 stacks is pretty easy especially when you charge it up and the group with all 5 shots. As a neat little thing I love using overclock with a Raven cyberdeck, hitting a group with contagion then hitting them with charged up thermal rockets to just turn them all into a giant fireball of death. Against the groups the constant exploding even melts MaxTac.