Cyberpunk 2077 Weapons — Iconic Weapons Guide & Tier List

Weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 are divided into three main projectile categories plus melee. Power weapons are traditional ballistic firearms with ricocheting bullets. Tech weapons fire electromagnetic projectiles that pierce cover. Smart weapons fire homing projectiles that require Smart Link cyberware. Melee weapons include katanas, knives, blunt weapons and Mantis Blades — they pair especially well with Sandevistan builds. Iconic Weapons are unique one-of-a-kind weapons with special modifiers — many are missable if you skip specific quests. There are dozens of iconic weapons across the base game and Phantom Liberty.

Iconic Weapons are unique, one-of-a-kind weapons with special modifiers that cannot be found on regular versions. They have unique visual appearances and effects. Many are permanently missable if you skip specific quests, dialogue choices, or loot opportunities. Some can be crafted from specs found in the world or dropped by bosses. A significant number were added or reworked with Update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty. They can be displayed on weapon racks in V's apartments.

If you searched for "legendary weapons" and landed on iconic lists — that is not a mistake. Update 2.0 replaced the old rarity colors (common through legendary) with the Tier 1–5 system, and the weapons the community called "legendary" before 2.0 map onto today's Iconics: unique, one-of-a-kind guns and blades with special effects that regular weapons never roll. Older guides and pre-2.0 saves still say "legendary", Google serves iconic results for legendary searches, and both words mean the same target: the free iconic weapons checklist has every location.

• Every "best legendary" pick from the old rarity era has an iconic counterpart today — the category winners table below is the current answer to "best legendary pistol/rifle/blade".
• "Legendary crafting" in 2.x means iconic upgrading: components of the tier you are moving into, with Tier 5→5+ at 75 and 5+→5++ at 200 Tier 5 components.
• Act 1 "legendary" grabs are the same as the early iconic list: Satori, Kongou, Skippy and Fenrir — see the free checklist for exact spots.

The most popular and highly rated iconic weapons from the base game, with their acquisition methods and special properties.

Melee iconic weapons pair extremely well with Sandevistan builds. The best katanas provide crit, bleed and chain attack bonuses that stack with time-slow windows.

Phantom Liberty and Dogtown add a significant number of new Iconics, tied to gigs, main jobs with Reed/Songbird, airdrops, and Increased Criminal Activity zones. Several are designed around the Relic skill tree.

How to efficiently build your weapon arsenal and match iconic weapons to your build archetype.

• Save often before major quests and boss fights — many Iconics are permanently missable.
• Explore thoroughly during jobs — many Iconics are off the critical path (bedrooms, side rooms, containers). Don't rush through missions.
• NCPD Scanner Hustles (skull icons) frequently contain crafting specs for powerful Iconics. Check your scanner regularly.
• Upgrade and craft — once you have a crafting spec, you can create higher-tier versions. Invest in Technical Ability for better crafting.
• Match to your build: Smart weapons favor Intelligence + Smart Link; Tech weapons shine with charged shots; Power weapons work with almost any combat style; Blades excel with Reflexes + Sandevistan.
• Display them — place collected Iconics in your apartment weapon racks for collection completion and bragging rights.
• Phantom Liberty players should systematically clear Dogtown gigs and Increased Criminal Activity markers — these are the primary source of PL-exclusive Iconics.
• Keep a secondary weapon for every build — even blade-focused Samurai builds benefit from a legendary pistol for drones and MaxTac.
• Power weapons + Ballistic Coprocessor = bullet ricochets that hit enemies behind cover. This is an underrated combo for Power weapon builds.
• Tech weapons + Technical Ability perks = charged shots that pierce through walls and shields. Essential for armored enemy encounters.
• Vehicle combat synergy — weaponized vehicles (marked ⚔️ in our cyberpunk 2077 cars tier list) let you mount mounted machine guns and missile launchers. The Herrera Outlaw Weiler and Quadra Type-66 Hoon are the top picks for drive-by combat.

The strongest pick per class as of Update 2.x. Iconics drop at a tier tied to your level when you find them, so early grabs start weak — upgrade them rather than ditching them. Picks include Phantom Liberty additions.

Every weapon class rewards a different aim skill. Learn these systems once and any build gets twice as lethal.

Update 2.0 replaced rarity colors with tiers. Only Iconic weapons can be upgraded — each upgrade raises the weapon one tier and rescales its damage; regular weapons get replaced, never upgraded.

• Components come in five tiers. An upgrade costs components of the tier you are moving into — dismantle same-tier weapons and junk to feed the loop.
• Iconics max out at Tier 5++. The last steps are brutal: Tier 5 to 5+ costs 75 Tier 5 components, and 5+ to 5++ costs another 200.
• Cheapest Tier 5 components: buy cheap high-tier clothing from vendors and dismantle it — better eddies-per-component than buying components outright.
• Iconic crafting specs are sold by weapon vendors and drop from bosses of NCPD Suspected Organized Crime Activities (the skull-icon hustles). Picking up an iconic also unlocks its spec for the next tier.
• A weapon must be in your inventory — not the stash — to show up in the Crafting > Upgrades menu.
• A find at level 10 drops at a low tier, so that Satori from The Heist is worth upgrading repeatedly instead of replacing.

Regular weapons get one or two mod slots depending on tier; most iconics have none — their unique effect replaces mods. Scopes and suppressors attach separately on weapons that support them. Mods come from weapon vendors and loot drops.

Every gun draws from one of four shared ammo pools. An empty sniper pool next to a full handgun pool is a loadout problem, not a loot problem.

• Craft a case of ammo from 10 Tier 1 components — you can craft all four types from the start, and Tier 1 components fall out of every dismantled common weapon.
• Every weapon vendor sells ammo. Grab a stack each time you sell loot.
• Enemies rarely drop ammo — the white ammo crates inside hideouts and NCPD hustles are the real resupply points.
• Grenades recharge on a cooldown instead of being consumed. Throw them freely.
• Melee weapons and quickhacks cost zero ammo — blade builds and netrunners never face the drought.

Blunt weapons scale with Body and hit hard enough to knock enemies off balance; blades and knives scale with Reflexes. Heavy attacks break enemy blocks, and a timed block of your own parries incoming melee swings. Knives are the stealth pick — thrown knives reward headshots and can be recovered from bodies and the ground.

Arm cyberware turns your arms into permanent weapons — no ammo, no inventory slots, always equipped. They occupy your arm cyberware slots, so pick one loadout and build around it.