The weapons of Cyberpunk 2077 are not lumps of nonexistent materials. They don’t do impossible things. Nor do they look alien. They are extraordinary in that they offer ultra exciting ways of spontaneous obliteration; also, their designs are out of this world! Some are old-school, others are high-tech, futuristic weaponry. Most of them have multiple iconic variants, out of which a few give you an edge over the enemy. Those are the ones we’ll rate here because you’re going to need them in order to survive Night City’s free-for-all. So, let’s check out Cyberpunk’s top 10 absolutely OP weapons from early to late game.

10. Sovereign

The break action shotgun is perfect for Microgenerator’s bonus damage; it fires both shells at once, so hostiles don’t have to wait too long

Stats

• Type: Shotgun
• Class: Power
• Attack Speed: 5
• Damage: 208.08
• Reload Speed: 1.03
• Effective Range: 7.99
• Weapon Handling: 2.68
• Headshot Damage Multiplier: +85%

This double-barrel Power shotgun is the iconic variant of DB-4 Igla; the break-action rifle tops the fire rate and handling of earlier shotguns; has 2 chambers to load 2 shells, which means a constant need to reload. But with the proper hands implant, that can be exploited to amplify its power. For its devastating blasts, Sovereign is the go-to shotgun for Cyberpunk 2077 OP builds.

What Sovereign Excels In

• It has great Attack speed for a break-action shotgun; it fires both barrels simultaneously, doubling the fire rate. Constant reload is going to take time; but it won’t affect the fire rate, since OP builds run Sandevistan OS. Body shots with Sovereign speed up reload; but you can stick to headshots if you pick Axolotl and Reflex Tuner for an always-on Sandevistan.
• It’s capable of doing several times its base damage; with Microgenerator, every shell also does electrical damage over double its impact; these Electroshocks intensify with each shell loaded into the chambers. So, Sovereign’s constant reload is a plus! The electrical damage further multiplies, with Pyromania.
• It's effective against all types of hostiles, especially at close range. Point-blank shots with Sovereign will do Crit damage without fail; if you opt for headshots, it deals an extra 85 percent damage, which is enough to shred all human targets. The electroshocks make Sovereign even more lethal against Mechs and drones; in the controlled environment of Sandevistan, with a few headshots, you’ll take out the giant Minotaurs with no trouble.

How To Get Sovereign

The crafting Spec is at the Suspected Organized Crime Activity, Modern Labor Market, in Japantown, Westbrook. You ought to neutralize and loot Shinobu Imai to get it.

9. Scalpel

The cool black blade lets you do laser cuts in a humane way, by electrocuting the victim first

Stats

• Type: Blade
• Class: Katana
• Attack Speed: 2.12
• Damage Per Hit: 163.06
• Stamina Cost: 6.40

This iconic Katana is the lightning sword of Cyberpunk 2077. The single-edge longsword gives its victims a Shock, as in electroshock. The black steel is surgically sharp, as the name suggests. You shouldn’t let Scalpel’s cool-looking, blue grip deceive you; it is Cyberpunk’s most lethal, early Katana.

What Scalpel Excels In

• It is particularly effective against hybrids and Mechs, for its electroshocks. Chopping up robots could be challenging; not for Scalpel though! Its intense Electrical damage fries their Cyberware, with a few strikes. It’ll cut down even the giant Minotaurs, with massive electroshocks.
• It is customized for annihilation in Sandevistan. Crit damage is way more devastating than a weapon’s plain damage; and so, higher Crit chance leads to more lethal strikes. With Scalpel, you get an extra 50 percent Crit chance in Sandevistan, for free! Something you would otherwise need to spend a lot of eddies and Perk points to get. With the Crit hits, Scalpel will dissect everything in its way; and the carnage will go on forever, with a perfect OS such as Apogee Sandevistan and a little help from Axolotl.
• It is pretty fast for an early Katana. Scalpel is lightning fast, especially in Sandevistan’s pause mode. You just cannot lunge at targets with it; not without Flash And Thunderclap though, which has a similar effect. With Adrenaline Rush and Bloodlust, it holds up even at late game. To further speed up the slice and dice, you can get the Circulatory System implant Microrotors.

How To Get Scalpel

You find it right next to Dennis, at the end of the side job Big In Japan. It’s your reward for delivering Haruyoshi in one piece. Dennis will offer it to you after you ask for payment.

8. Overwatch

It’s a great way to one-shot the enemy from far away. And with that silencer, they won’t even know what hit them

Stats

• Type: Sniper Rifle
• Class: Power
• Attack Speed: 0.37
• Damage: 170.17
• Reload Speed: 2.55
• Effective Range: 90.00
• Weapon Handling: 4.51
• Headshot Damage Multiplier: +300%

This iconic SPT-32 Grad comes with an undetachable custom suppressor; the bolt-action rifle tops the handling and range of earlier sniper rifles; has a 4-round mag, and just like SPT-32 Grad, comes with a Militech HPO Kanone MAX scope. For its high-precision silent treatment of hostiles, Overwatch is a favorite Cyberpunk 2077 long gun.

What Overwatch Excels In

• It does serious damage for an early-game rifle. The nondetachable silencer qualifies Overwatch for an extra 25 percent damage, with Killer Instinct; the power sniper rifle does triple headshot damage by default; quadruple, when Focus and Deadeye chip in; once you get your hands on Vendetta, you can max out plain headshot damage; but solo Valentinos, dead ones to be precise, can help you with that!
• It has perfect accuracy and quick ADS. The green dot sight, HPO MK.77 Kanone MAX, allows for much better visibility, and thus faster target acquisition; also reduces ADS time; it won’t limit FOV because of the panoramic sight and minimal crosshairs; which makes Overwatch a perfect choice for surveillance as well.
• It is a highly effective anti-personnel solution, especially for stealth missions. No other Cyberpunk 2077 sniper rifle has the extra mod for silencer; Overwatch is the only one; and with the right Cool Perks, you can fully unlock its power; Once Deadeye kicks in, you can one-shot any human target from a hundred yards away, with the help of Long Shot. The nearby hostiles will start searching, but they won’t know what hit them.

How To Get Overwatch

To get this weapon, there’s a price to pay: You’re going to have to romance Panam! At the end of the side job Riders On The Storm, she’ll gift it to you as a token of gratitude, among other things.

7. Overture

“You think hiding will help you?”, calls out the Valentinos thug itching to blow your brains out with Overture. Just make sure you grab the ultracool revolver once you’ve finished with them

Stats

• Type: Revolver
• Class: Power
• Attack Speed: 2.50
• Damage per Hit: 101.55
• Reload Speed: 1.15
• Effective Range: 42
• Weapon Handling: 4.05
• Headshot Damage Multiplier: +200%

This power revolver remains Malorian’s undefeated bestseller, despite having multiple iconic variants; the automatic six shooter outperforms early as well as later revolvers in effective range and speed; has a double-action trigger plus automatic hammer cocking. It’s also the only revolver that comes in a variety of eye-popping colors. For that and the one-of-a-kind design, Overture is the coolest pistol of Cyberpunk 2077, if not the deadliest!

What Overture Excels In

• It is surprisingly fast for a heavy revolver; reloading Overture almost happens in a flash, with its hassle-free swing-out cylinder; it comes with speed loaders that allow the full 6 cartridges to be inserted in the charge holes at once. It wastes no time on hammer cocking either, being a self-loading revolver; the blowback of each shot cocks the hammer and indexes the next chamber. The fire rate is great as well; it stops short of full auto in slo-mo with Apogee Sandevistan OS!
• It has the highest accuracy of all revolvers. Overture provides great visibility, because of its bright front sight, dark rear sight combination; especially at a distance, with its narrow front sight. It also has more precision, even in recoil, thanks to the wide, deep rear sight. That makes scoring headshots with Overture so easy; while its low spread makes spamming headshots possible. The spread can be minimized with Focus and Deadeye, as well as Zenith mod.
• In terms of lethality, it ranks higher than most early-game handguns. It can score quick headshots of triple damage, making it uniquely qualified for gunslinger builds. It’s also a perfect midrange solution for late game, with the Crit damage of Nerves Of Tungsten-Steel; whose impact allows you to drop high-threat hostiles from over 40 yards away.

How To Get Overture

You could neutralize and loot the Valentinos; it’s their handgun of choice. You can also find it lying on Leah Gladen’s bed during Greed Never Pays, one of Wakako Okada’s gigs. It spawns at Weapon Shops on level 17.

6. Hypercritical

It fires exploders detonated by a proximity fuze, so there’s a high risk of collateral damage – civilian casualties – with Hypercritical; it’s a beast of a rifle, and so a great choice for OP one-shot builds

Stats

• Type: Precision Rifle
• Class: Power
• Attack Speed: 2
• Damage: 223.55
• Reload Speed: 4.10
• Effective Range: 60
• Weapon Handling: 5.24
• Headshot Damage Multiplier: +200%

Code name: Rostovic NC-85, this power precision rifle is made in Night City, by Tiny Mike; the iconic semi-automatic rifle dwarfs the damage and accuracy of its rivals, SOR-22 and Widow Maker. It has a 6-round mag, the sixth being a Crit Hit; it detonates the bullets before hitting the target, knocking down the survivors. Hypercritical’s huge death toll has made it a major must-have for Cyberpunk 2077 OP builds.

What Hypercritical Excels In

• It has the highest accuracy of all precision rifles. Since Hypercritical fires exploding bullets, you don’t need to have the target in sight for a direct hit; just by aiming close enough, the fragments will find their way onto their target! That is made possible by using some sort of a proximity fuze that automatically detonates the bullet when it approaches the target; like the kind they use in anti-aircraft missiles!
• Because of its stopping power, Hypercritical is an effective crowd control solution. On detonation, the exploder shards knock down the surviving targets. That gives you a second chance to finish the stunlocked hostiles, unimpeded; as well as a mitigation chance in case there are other active threats that you need to engage. It is also very effective at stopping high-threat types such as Cyberpsychos.
• In terms of lethality, it’s in the top few percent of Cyberpunk 2077 rifles. The collateral damage of the blast allows Hypercritical to neutralize and incapacitate multiple targets near the point of impact; which is why it’s a perfect midrange rifle for targeting a tight crowd. It’ll triple the damage if you opt for headshots; may be kind of glacial on reload, but that becomes irrelevant in Sandevistan; where you can one-shot the toughest humans or hybrids with it, especially if they’re lucky enough to receive the round No. 6 in the mag!

How To Get Hypercritical

You get the Crafting Spec during Concrete Cage Trap, one of Regina Jones’ gigs, in Kabuki, Watson. It’s next to the sink in the bathroom where you find Tiny Mike.

5. Byakko

You get to chop and toss their heads and limbs in the air while teleporting from one MaxTac operative to the next, with this meat grinder aka Byakko

Stats

• Type: Blade
• Class: Katana
• Attack Speed: 2.12
• Damage Per Hit: 117.27
• Stamina Cost: 6.40

This iconic katana is the most authentic-looking samurai sword of Cyberpunk 2077. The single-edge longsword is as ferocious a tiger as its name suggests. And when it comes to Attack speed, Byakko is in a league of its own. It is hands down Cyberpunk’s deadliest Katana.

What Byakko Excels In

• It is an effective ranged weapon as well as a sword. It gives you the ability to lunge from yards away, which you ought to pair with Apogee Sandevistan’s pause mode for a crippling surprise attack; by allowing you to freeze the target right before lunging, Apogee would render them defenseless against Byakko’s meat grinder.
• It is the fastest of all Katanas. Byakko’s Attack speed doubles for 5 seconds once you cut down a target. And as long as you keep chopping up hostiles, Byakko’s ultrafast combo attacks continue uninterrupted. With BioDyne Berserk MK.5 OS, you can further boost the speed, plus remove the stamina cost; meaning there’ll be no lag between the attacks.
• It is the most lethal of all Katanas, for its superior speed. Byakko’s double speed multiplies the slice toll; so does the Crit chance from Kiroshi Cockatrice Optics and BioDyne Berserk. There’s also Byakko’s Bleed damage, which helps the lucky survivors bleed to death! But the real party begins when Axolotl and Reflex Tuner come to BioDyne’s assistance; and you get to play hell-raiser armed with a blood gusher, in the subsequent always-on Berserk!

How To Get Byakko

You find it in V’s stash, after finishing Wakako Okada’s last gig, Professional Widow; it’s your compensation for not disappointing Wakako.

4. Sparky

You get to decimate masses of hostiles with collateral damage caused by Sparky’s bolt shots

Stats

• Type: Sniper Rifle
• Class: Power
• Attack Speed: 0.37
• Damage: 275.19
• Reload Speed: 2.70
• Effective Range: 82.54
• Weapon Handling: 3.81
• Headshot Damage Multiplier: +250%

Sparky is the supercharged variant of SPT-32 Grad; the bolt-action rifle beats all the other sniper rifles in mass impact and handling; has a 4-round detachable mag, and comes equipped with a Nokota E255 Percipient scope. It’s Cyberpunk’s new favorite sniper rifle for its one shot one kill plus maim a couple more effect. Sparky is a recent, Phantom Liberty, addition, so we count it as a late-game weapon.

What Sparky Excels In

• It is built to decimate masses of hostiles with collateral damage. Headshots with sparky cause Electric Bolts that spread to 2 nearby targets; so, with every headshot, you get one dead plus two wounded targets that will drop on the next headshot; which means you can get up to three KIAs per headshot with Sparky, making it the ultimate anti-personnel sniper rifle.
• It is also a powerful anti-materiel solution because of its Electric Bolts. Mechs are tough to take down with plain damage, for their massive armor. They can survive plain headshots, even with multiplied damage. They don’t, however, fare as well against Electric shots or EMP. By scoring a few headshots with Sparky, you can wreck giant mechs as well as take out multiple human targets with collateral damage.
• It has great effective range and quick ADS. Nokota E255 Percipient scope reduces ADS time while improving zoom; more importantly, it increases range by 40 percent. With Focus and Deadeye, Sparky can drop any human target from 120 yards away, with one headshot. For a little aim cheat, Deep Breath will slightly slow time on focus; for way more aim cheat, you can use Militech Apogee Sandevistan OS, to hit pause on the target right before aiming!

How To Get Sparky

It’s inside a second floor room at the Increased Criminal Activity spot near Terra Cognita in Dogtown, Pacifica; a space museum with the words, Mercy Is For The Weak, painted in red above its entrance. You cannot miss it.

3. Raiju

An elegant, compact SMG with great precision and fire rate; as if all of this wasn’t enough, it goes full auto while ADS

Stats

• Type: Submachine gun
• Class: Tech
• Attack Speed: 7.69
• Damage per Hit: 32.86
• Reload Speed: 1.10
• Effective Range: 28.00
• Weapon Handling: 8.88
• Headshot Damage Multiplier: +100%

Raiju is the overpowered Senkoh LX; the iconic Tech weapon outperforms later SMGs in handling and Attack speed. It has a 5-round burst mode, up from Senkoh LX’s 3-round, and a 30-round mag; also has full auto capability at full charge. What earns Raiju the top SMG title in Phantom Liberty is its minimal bullet spread and high Crit damage.

What Raiju Excels In

• It is extremely precise for an SMG. Rapid-fire mode in general reduces accuracy with firearms because of the consequent recoil. With Raiju, however, the 5 rounds are fired in such rapid succession that the burst’s accuracy improves; they land right on target long before the recoil kicks! The Tech weapon Perk Tunnel Vision further increases Raiju’s precision while Mind Over Matter minimizes ADS recoil.
• It has the highest fire rate of all SMGs. With one pull, it shoots the full 5 rounds; there’s no need to hold the trigger down! But if you do hold it down while ADS, Raiju autofires the entire mag of 30 rounds in just 4 seconds; in 3 if you switch to Raiju, with Submachine Fun! You can further speed up the fire rate by canceling the reload delay with Ready, Rested, Reloaded.
• It does incredibly high damage for a compact SMG. Its extra 33 percent Crit damage almost doubles with Sharpshooter and Practice Makes Perfect; it goes even higher with headshots, before gaining plasma power when Bolt and Chain Lightning chip in; Raiju starts firing Bolt shots that can electrocute up to 4 targets; the resulting force gets multiplied by 30, with each full mag, before impact! And is renewed every 4 seconds for as long as there’s ammo. The bullets penetrate obstacles, regardless of charge level, and shred their targets. Raiju is thus uniquely effective against masses of hostiles in close-quarters combat.

How To Get Raiju

It is behind a locked door, deep in the tunnels at the Increased Criminal Activity site near Kress Street in Dogtown, Pacifica. For the access card, you ought to neutralize and loot the boss, Ross Ulmer.

2. Pride

You’d be blowing out lots of brains with this one; the high fire rate doesn’t help its victims either. You’d expect nothing less from the Queen of Afterlife

Stats

• Type: Pistol
• Class: Power
• Attack Speed: 3.33
• Damage per Hit: 113.46
• Reload Speed: 0.90
• Effective Range: 36
• Weapon Handling: 7.18
• Headshot Damage Multiplier: +150%

This iconic Liberty used to belong to Rogue, Night City’s No. 1 fixer. The power pistol tops the speed and damage of every other semi-automatic pistol, early or late game. It is recoil operated and has a double-action trigger. Its previous 14-round mag has recently been downsized to 10; for which it redeems itself by having gained much more power. With the right mods, Pride is Cyberpunk 2077’s No. 1 pistol for OP builds.

What Pride Excels In

• It tops the handling of all pistols. There’s minimal sway on rapid fire with Pride; and the recoil is low. That’ll help you keep the fire tight when going for repeat headshots. There’s a minor lag on changing mags, for racking the slide; but that doesn’t matter in Sandevistan’s slo-mo, especially if you pick Militech Apogee Sandevistan with Axolotl and Reflex Tuner. Also, it goes light on stamina. So, you get to empty the full mag while going hard on the Double Jump; even with scope and silencer attached!
• It has the highest headshot damage of all pistols. Attacking from cover, Pride can do almost 5 times its base damage on headshots, with an XC-10 Cetus silencer. That’s just plain damage. The first round in the mag is a Crit hit, meaning it’ll multiply the silencer’s boost. The same goes for every other round, on headshots with Nerves of Tungsten-Steel! If your target is an elite enemy agent, the impact is boosted once more; and if you maintain a high level of HP during the attack, it’s multiplied yet again! So, it’d be safe to say that in Sandevistan you can one-shot high-threat hostiles with Pride; and you’ll maintain your supremacy with a mag that size, firing such lethal shots.
• It’s the ultimate precision pistol. The sights’ serrated tops make it much easier to aim, while the wide rear sight significantly enhances precision. Even in rapid fire, accuracy won’t suffer! Thanks to the depth of the rear sight, which is ideal for scoring headshots. Also, the narrow front sight is great for acquiring midrange targets. Even hip fire is quite accurate with Pride, because of its minimal spread. With Focus and Deadeye, precision will be maxed out. It’d be overkill going with Zenith mod for less spread, then again, you cannot be too accurate!

How To Get Pride

You get it after avenging Rogue by finishing Adam Smasher, during the main job Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door. It’ll be near the roll-up door, where Smasher left Rogue’s body. But first you ought to turn down Hanako’s offer at Embers, and go to Mikoshi with Johnny and Rogue, in the final mission Nocturne OP55N1.

1. Ba Xing Chong

“Shotgun’s ought to seal the deal”, shouts the NCPD officer who’s about to shoot you full of holes with BA Xing Chong; it’s MaxTac’s shotgun of choice for a reason

Stats

• Type: Shotgun
• Class: Smart
• Attack Speed: 2
• Damage: 978.11
• Reload Speed: 2.30
• Effective Range: 30
• Weapon Handling: 2.51

This iconic L-69 Zhuo is capable of firing precision shots with Smart Link; the semi-automatic shotgun dwarfs the handling and aim of later Cyberpunk 2077 Smart weapons; and for a shotgun its size, has amazing range. The multi-barrel rifle used to have an 8-round mag that it fired in 4 shots, 2 barrels at a time. The current version is a 2 shot, with a 4-round mag. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is that the shells dismember and Burn on impact.

What Ba Xing Chong Excels In

• It allows you to target and hit multiple hostiles at a time, with max accuracy. You can tag as many as 6 targets simultaneously and get them all in one shot; for that, it’s best to Double Jump for a bird’s-eye view of the hostiles. With Smart Link Ba Xing Chong locks onto the hostiles’ Weakspots for maximum impact.
• It has excellent fire rate and reload speed. In just two shots, it empties its entire mag in the target, with minimal interval between the shots. Reload with Ba Xing Chong gets faster when you’re low on HP; here, Cyberware such as Reflex Tuner could jump in to slow time and further speed up reload.
• It has remarkably high damage for a compact shotgun. discounting the explosion and dismemberment, the damage of the fired projectiles gets as high as 1000 on impact; with way more room to grow with Perks such as Pyromania and Spontaneous Obliteration; it'd take only a few shots with Ba Xing Chong to decimate hordes of hostiles, at midrange.

How To Get Ba Xing Chong

It’s inside Adam Smasher’s vault, at the back of the cargo ship at the Ebunike Docks in Northside, Watson; you find it by taking a left after reaching the top of the neon-lined gangway. You ought to neutralize and loot Smasher for the access token, after finishing the final mission, Nocturne OP55N1.

You may also be interested in:

• [Top 5] Cyberpunk 2077 Best Builds
• [Top 5] Cyberpunk 2077 Best Pistols (Early To Late Game)
• [Top 10] Cyberpunk 2077 Best Melee Weapons (Early To Late Game)