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The world ofCyberpunk 2077is filled to the brim with sleek, compact, and stylish handguns that are just as lethal as the other weapons in the game. They’re easy to handle and pack a mean punch that only gets meaner with the right combination of passive skills and gear mods.
The following is a gunslinger-style pistol build that relies on high crit stats and the player’s ability to chain kills and score headshots. It’s great at all stages of the game, and it’s more than capable of one-tapping almost every enemy inCyberpunk 2077, even in the hardest of difficulties. Here’s how to set it up.
Updated Jul 13, 2025, by Marc Santos:The patches following update 2.1 for Cyberpunk 2077 did not implement any new changes that drastically affect the most important parts of this Cyberpunk Pistol build. However, one patch did add a hard cap to cyberware, which might throw some players in for a surprise if they’re just starting the game again. We’ve updated this guide to take note of that, and we’ve also improved the skill build section to include perk descriptions.
Cyberpunk 2077 Pistolero Skill Build
The important perks needed for this build to work have remained untouched by the 2.1 update.
The total revamp for the skills and perk system intheCyberpunk 2077 2.0update drastically changedhow pistols are played. Instead of spending the majority of perk and attribute points into Reflexes, players now need to invest inCoolandTechnical Ability(and also a little bit into Reflexes still).
Long story short, to get a strong pistol build, players need tounlock every pistol-related skillin theCoolskill tree, starting withFocusand ending withNerves of Tungsten Steel,including most (if not all) of the sub-nodes connected to them. Here’s what each of the major skills do:
Run ‘N’ Gunis the only optional major skill here. Having no Stamina cost for hip-firing means Deadeye will always be active, but players will miss out on all the benefitsFocusand its sub-nodes provide.
Speaking of sub-nodes,Head to Head, Deep Breath,andQuickdraware the most important ones for this build because of the following:
With all these in mind, the newCyberpunkpistol build playstyle revolves aroundscoring and chaining together headshot kills.Any weapon mod that helps make this easier (Zenith, Shuffler, Pinpoint) will help immensely.
Effect
Slippery
Enemies have a harder time hitting you the faster you move. Dashing, dodging, sliding, sprinting, and vaulting increases this effect.
Lets you reload while sprinting, vaulting, and sliding.
Lets you shoot while sprinting, vaulting, and sliding.
Dash
Replaces Dodge with a longer-ranged Dash. Also reduces dodge and dash stamina costs by 20%.
All Things Cyber
Increases the stat modifiers of all cyberware by 10%. Also reduces cyberware capacity costs for Integumentary and Skeleton implants.
All cyberware gain an extra modifier.
Chrome Constitution
Receive 5% less damage when all Integumentary and Skeleton cyberware slots are filled.
License to Chrome
Gives +10% cyberware stat modifiers, +40 armor, and unlocks, a new cyberware slot for your Skeleton. Additionally, it boosts Skeleton cyberware stats.
Increases all cyberware effect durations by 15%.
Cyborg
Reduces cyberware cooldown if all your cyberware slots are filled.Only get this when all slots are filled.
Edgerunner
Lets you exceed your cyberware capacity at the cost of 0.5% max HP per point over capacity. Defeating an enemy while over cyberware capacity has a chance to grant you bonus damage, crit chance, and crit damage.
The Reflexes skillsallow for more agile movementin combat while enabling the use ofKerenzikovwhen sliding or dashing. Meanwhile, the Technical Ability skill build above is more or less mandatory for all builds, and this one is no different. Spend any remaining points on preferred Reflexes, Cool, or Body skills.
Technical Ability skills should be saved for when you have enough resources to fully invest in cyberware. There’s no need to rush anything here, so feel free to spend your points elsewhere unless you have a piece of chrome that you really want to use.
Recommended Weapons
The 2.1 update has given crafted weapons two mod slots instead of one. However, weapons crafted before this update are not affected, so you’ll need to make new ones.
Since 2.0 removed almost all the go-to weapon mods that make the old pistol build strong, players will need to make do with what’s available. Thankfully, the pistol skills above guarantee that pistols and revolvers still have access to improved Critical Hit Damage and 100% Critical Hit Chance (as long as players hit headshots), which play core parts in the original playstyle.
TheOverturerevolver remains the most well-rounded option for this build thanks to its solid damage profile and easy handling compared to other revolvers. The heavierRT-46 Buryacan also be a good choice if players manage its hard-kicking recoil.
Legendary variants are recommended for their modding capabilities,though some IconicCyberpunk 2077gunslikeAmnesty, Archangel,and theDoom DoomDR-5 Nova are all worthy alternatives.
Regular pistols follow the same rules applied to revolvers, though they are better suited for stealth builds since revolvers can no longer use silencers. Still,hard-hitting handguns like the Nue and Tamayuracan also be used in a loud build like this one.
Given the killstreak-focused nature of pistol skills, it’sbest to equip two or even three revolvers at a time. Don’t bother reloading and just swap to another gun if one runs out of ammo. Keep the streak alive and reap the benefits of the build.
Recommended Weapon Mods
Cyberware
Patch 2.11 introduced a hard cyberware cap of 450. ensure to check if your equipped implants can fit this new cap, and if needed, downgrade defensive ones first. Just make sure that all slots are filled to get Cyborg’s cooldown reduction.
Cyberware now plays a significantly bigger part in this build than before. The simple stat bump implants are now gone, and players need toimprove their cyberware capacity inCyberpunk 2077and equip more advanced ones to get the most out of this setup. Priority implants include:
Players should fill the remaining empty cyberware slots with their preferred implants for the sake of enabling theCyborgskill, which reduces the cooldowns of all cyberware by 15% if all slots are filled. UseSandevistanwhenever it’s available for quicker kills and easier aiming.
If you need more critical hit chance, or if you want to make space for other damage modifiers, replace the Kiroshi Clairvoyant Optics with the Kiroshi Cockatrice. This is only available in Dogtown.
