Cyberpunk 2077 is home to a great number of devastating weapons. When melee attacks don’t work as well as they could, many players might find themselves drawn to shotguns if they want to get up close to their enemies. Making use of these weapons is fairly simple, but taking advantage of all their strengths will allow them to be much more effective. Those wishing to blow their foes apart with bullets should consider the best perks and skills for a shotgun build in Cyberpunk 2077.
Best Perks for a Cyberpunk 2077 Shotgun Build
Most of the best shotgun-related perks can be found in the Body tree. The entire left side of the tree will cover perks to increase the effectiveness of these weapons alongside LMGs and HMGs. You’ll need 20 Attribute Points allocated into the Body tree if you want to get all of the perks that help shotguns out. You might also want to check out the Reflexes tree so you can have maximum mobility with your weapon, alongside the Intelligence and Technical Ability trees for Smart shotguns and Tech shotguns respectively.
These are all of the best perks you can make use of as a shotgunner:
| Perk Type | Perks |
|---|---|
| Body | Die! Die! Die! — Increases the effectiveness of shotguns while moving and depleting stamina. Like a Feather — Eliminates movement speed penalties when wielding shotguns. Spontaneous Obliteration — Reduces recoil, increases damage, and has a chance to instantly kill and dismember low-health foes. Close-Quarters Carnage increases that instant-kill chance. Rush of Blood — Increases reload speed for a short time after dismembering enemies. Rip And Tear — A quick melee attack will increase the next shotgun shot’s damage by 100% and vice versa. Adrenaline Rush — Increases health and health regen. Its related perks can greatly assist shotgunners by increasing speed and mitigating status effects. It can also unlock the Bloodlust perk to synergize with Spontaneous Obliteration, granting adrenaline after dismembering foes. |
| Reflexes | Muscle Memory and Multitasker — These perks let you reload and shoot while sprinting, vaulting, or sliding. Dash — Grants a new movement option to let you cover areas more quickly. Can’t Touch This — Increases damage mitigation while dashing. Mad Dash — Vastly increases dash range when using it to reach enemies. Steady Grip — Allows you to shoot while dashing. |
| Intelligence | Acquisition Specialist — Makes the lock-on reticle larger and keeps it active while reloading. No Escape — Shooting an enemy will reset target lock when it’s about to end. |
| Technical Ability | Bolt — Unlocks Bolt shots for increased damage when releasing a charge at the right moment. In Charge — Allows you to control when a Bolt shot is fired. Shock Value — Allows Bolt shots to ignore enemy armor. Chain Lightning — Gives Bolt shots extra electric capabilities for AOE damage. Cyberware-related perks — Always helpful for any build if you find yourself requiring more Cyberware to increase your capabilities. |
Many perks in the Reflexes tree involve increasing or restoring stamina, while numerous shotgun-related perks in the Body tree grant bonuses for keeping it low. Because of this, you might not want to get other useful perks like Air Dash or Tailwind, since those perks will keep your stamina high more often. Either way, the extra mobility will get you closer to enemies with greater speed, so pick what’s most comfortable to you depending on your playstyle.
Related: Best Cyberpunk 2077 Sniper Build (2.0)
Best Shotgun to Get in Cyberpunk 2077
Your choice of shotgun is primarily up to you, with a few Smart and Tech weapons being found throughout the world. But the most accessible choice — and arguably the best one even when considering other late-game weapons — is Guts, the shotgun Rebecca uses in Edgerunners. This weapon is insanely powerful, allowing you to take out a great number of enemies in just one hit. With the speed boost you get from perks, you’ll be able to unleash killing blows before your foes ever knew what hit them.
Best Cyberware for Shotguns
Since you’ll want to get close to foes with your shotgun, forego recoil reduction and accuracy. Instead, focus on damage, armor, and health, since you’ll likely be unable to avoid a few hits when rushing down your foes. The Ballistic Coprocessor works well with Guts since its bullets can ricochet, and the Adrenaline Converter will let you increase your speed to even greater heights. Also consider the Proxishield to mitigate damage from close-range foes, on the off chance your shotgun doesn’t take them out in one hit.
