Cyberpunk 2077: Throwing Knife Build | Headhunter, Agaou + Sandevistan (P2.5)

Welcome to the best Throwing Knife Build for Cyberpunk 2077 (Patch 2.5). Throwing knives & axes are the most fun I have had in Night City: I open from Optical Camo, slow the fight down by 85% with the Apogee Sandevistan, and every crit or headshot kill resets my knives instantly, so I just keep throwing.

The Throwing Knife Build combines Headhunter, Agaou, Juggler, Style Over Substance and the Apogee Sandevistan: guaranteed crits while you dash, a knife that marks the target for +200% headshot damage, and an axe that sends a shockwave through the whole group.

You can find more builds here on the Cyberpunk 2077 Builds Database page.

Table of Contents for the Throwing Knife Build:

• Build Overview
• Attributes
• Perks (Skills)
• Cyberware
  • With all Capacity Shards
• Weapons
  • How to get Headhunter
  • How to get Agaou
  • How to get Blue Fang
• Gear
• Skill Progression
• Leveling Tips
  • Perfect Start
  • How to make Money
  • Upgrade Weapons
  • How Gear Scaling Works
  • How to get Perk Points Fast
  • Dogtown Consumables

Strengths and Weaknesses list for the Throwing Knife Build:

Would you rather keep the blade in your hand? Read my Mantis Blades Build. If you like the headshots but want more range, check out my Sniper Build.

Cyberpunk 2077 Throwing Knife Build Overview

This Cyberpunk 2077: Throwing Knife Build is aggressive with a bit of finesse. I start every fight under Optical Camo, where Killer Instinct adds +25% damage, then pop the Apogee Sandevistan and Ticking Time Bomb stuns everyone around me. Headhunter goes into the toughest enemy first and marks them, so my next headshot deals +200% damage.

Then I dash and slide around the room and throw: Style Over Substance makes every throw during a dash, slide or dodge a guaranteed crit, and every crit or headshot kill resets all my knives instantly with Juggler. When I need to leave a fight, Emergency Cloaking makes the enemies lose track of me, and I open again from Optical Camo.

My rotation: This is how almost every fight goes for me.

1. Optical Camo: Open from cloak. Killer Instinct adds +25% damage outside of combat, and Creeping Death heals you and gives Stamina for every kill while you are still hidden.
2. Sandevistan: Pop the Apogee. Time slows by 85%, and Ticking Time Bomb stuns everyone nearby 1 second later.
3. Mark: Throw Headhunter at the toughest enemy’s head or weakspot. The next headshot on that enemy deals +200% damage.
4. Dash and throw: Swap to the Agaou, which triggers Handle Wrap, then dash, slide or dodge and throw. Style Over Substance makes it a guaranteed crit, and the crit sends a shockwave through the group.
5. Keep throwing: Every crit, headshot or Poison kill resets all your throwables with Juggler, and every reset adds +20% Crit Damage with Sleight of Hand.
6. Heal or leave: Finish a low-Health enemy with Act of Mercy to heal, or activate Optical Camo and let Emergency Cloaking take you out of combat.

Before the iconics: Headhunter and Blue Fang are sold by melee weapon vendors, so I buy both as soon as Act 2 opens up the map. The Agaou needs Phantom Liberty. Until then, a Punknife from any vendor does the job. The Dynalar Sandevistan from level 10 holds the Operating System slot until the Apogee unlocks at level 40.

Attributes – Throwing Knife Build

Distributing Attributes correctly for the Throwing Knife Build is important. Attributes dictate the direction of the build and give access to different tiers of perks depending on how many points you invest in each category.

The Cyberpunk 2077 Throwing Knife Build’s primary Attribute is Cool, because the whole throwable branch is in Cool. We also invest points in Body, Technical Ability and Reflexes. Intelligence stays at 3.

Throwing Knife Build Start Attributes

At the start of the game, select the following Attribute allocation to give us the optimal start for the Throwing Knife Build in Cyberpunk 2077.

Attribute	Points	Description
Cool	+3	Unlocks Killer Instinct right away, and gets you closer to Scorpion Sting at 9.
Reflexes	+2	Unlocks Slippery and the movement row.
Technical Ability	+1	Unlocks Glutton for War, First Aid and Transfusion for better health items.
Body	+1	Unlocks Painkiller and the health regen row.
Intelligence	None	N/A

Max Level Attributes

At max level, you want to have the following distribution of Attributes for the Throwing Knife Build in Cyberpunk 2077:

• 20 Cool
• 20 Body
• 20 Technical Ability
• 18 Reflexes
• 3 Intelligence

Why these numbers: Cool goes to 20 for Style Over Substance, and every Cool point adds +1.25% Crit Damage, so that is +25% Crit Damage on every throw. Body goes to 20 for Pain to Gain, and Chitin gives +10% Health Regen for every Body point. Technical Ability goes to 20 for Edgerunner and Ticking Time Bomb. Reflexes sits at 18, which covers Air Dash at 15. Body, Reflexes, Technical Ability and Cool are all at 9 or higher, so Renaissance Punk gives +16 Cyberware Capacity.

Why not stack crits instead of 20 Cool: You can get very close to 100% Crit Chance without Style Over Substance: +27% from Handle Wrap, +20% from Stabber, +20% from the Apogee and +40% from level 60 Shinobi. But the Apogee and Shinobi bonuses only work while the Sandevistan is active. Outside of it, you sit around 50%, and Style Over Substance is the only thing that guarantees the crit. With 20 Cool and 20 Body you get both, and the only thing you lose is Tailwind in Reflexes.

Perks – Throwing Knife Build Cyberpunk 2077

In this section of the Cyberpunk 2077 Throwing Knife Build, I will explain the perks that we use for each attribute.

• Cool
• Technical Ability
• Reflexes
• Body
• Intelligence
• Relic

Perk Points: To get perk points, you can either simply level up or farm Perk Shards. Read our guide on all 13 Perk Shard Locations in Cyberpunk 2077, with map locations, screenshots, and the nearest fast travel point for each shard.

Perk Order: The bold perks are the core of the build, so pick them up before the non-bold ones. While you are leveling, rush Cool: Killer Instinct at 4, Scorpion Sting at 9, then Juggler and Sleight of Hand at 15. Reflexes to 9 comes next for Dash, then Technical Ability to 9 for All Things Cyber and Renaissance Punk, and Body to 15 for Adrenaline Rush. Style Over Substance at 20 Cool is the big one after that. Pain to Gain, Edgerunner and Ticking Time Bomb come last.

Perk Points: This build uses all 80 Perk Points at level 60: 27 in Technical Ability, 24 in Cool, 17 in Reflexes and 12 in Body.

Cool Perks

The Cool Perk-Tree is the heart of the Throwing Knife Build, and we max it out at 20. The whole throwable branch on the right is ours, plus the Ninjutsu branch in the middle for crouch-sprinting and Optical Camo.

Perk Prioritization: Prioritize perks in bold.

Level 4 Perks

Killer Instinct opens the throwable branch, and Feline Footwork opens the Ninjutsu branch.

Perk	Description
Killer Instinct	+25% damage with knives, axes and silenced guns outside of combat, plus a damage preview. Every fight starts from Optical Camo, so the first throw always gets it.
Feline Footwork	+15% movement speed and +15% Mitigation Chance while crouched. It opens the way to Ninjutsu.
Gag Order	Hit an enemy right after they detect you, and the enemies around them take longer to detect you.
Quick Getaway	A burst of movement speed after a kill while you are undetected.

Level 9 Perks

Scorpion Sting and the Poison perks around it.

Perk	Description
Scorpion Sting	-15% recovery time for throwables, then crits, headshots and weakspot hits with throwables apply Poison. A Poison kill also counts for Juggler.
Neurotoxin	Poison from Scorpion Sting also blinds the enemy and stops them from sprinting for 1 second.
Corrosion	You can poison mechs, robots, drones and turrets too.
Parasite	Crits and headshots with thrown weapons restore a bit of Health.
Accelerated Toxin Absorption	Thrown weapons and Strong Attacks against a poisoned enemy instantly deal a big chunk of Poison damage, then remove the Poison.

Level 15 Perks

Juggler and everything around it on the right, Ninjutsu in the middle.

Perk	Description
Juggler	Faster throwable recovery, +20% headshot and weakspot damage with throwables, then an instant cooldown reset for all throwables after a kill via headshot, crit or Poison. Throw, kill, throw again. Max it out.
Sleight of Hand	+20% Crit Damage for 8 seconds every time Juggler activates, stacking 5 times. A few kills in a row and you are at +100% Crit Damage.
Finisher: Act of Mercy	Unlocks a throwable finisher on low-Health enemies that restores Health and automatically activates Juggler. My emergency heal.
Pounce	Finishers from further away once you have hit the enemy with a throwable, and every throw makes them easier to finish.
Pay It Forward	+200% damage on your first melee attack with a throwable after you pick a thrown knife or axe back up from an enemy.
Ninjutsu	Faster crouch movement, +15% Mitigation Chance when crouched, then crouch-sprinting. Style Over Substance counts crouch-sprinting too.
Creeping Death	Kills while Optical Camo is active or while you are undetected restore Health and Stamina and give +10% movement speed for 6 seconds.
Serpentine	+30% Mitigation Chance while crouch-sprinting.
Vanishing Act	Optical Camo turns on by itself while you crouch-sprint or slide, draining its charge slowly.

Level 20 Perks

Cool is at 20, so we take the throwable capstone.

Perk	Description
Style Over Substance	Guaranteed Crit Hits with thrown attacks while crouch-sprinting, sliding, dodging or Dashing, and from a motorcycle while airborne, drifting or jumping off. Aiming a throwable no longer slows you down. This is the perk the whole build is built around.

Technical Ability Perks

The Technical Ability Perk-Tree keeps you alive and powers the chrome. The left branch gives us more health items and leads to Ticking Time Bomb, and the middle branch handles the cyberware and leads to Edgerunner. Max it out to 20.

Perk Prioritization: Prioritize perks in bold.

Level 4 Perks

The health item perks on the left.

Perk	Description
Glutton for War	+1 health item charge. Every health item also fills your Adrenaline once Adrenaline Rush is unlocked.
First Aid	+15% recharge speed for health items when you have only used one charge.
Transfusion	+30% health from the final charge of your health item.

Level 9 Perks

Health items on the left, the Cyberware perks in the middle.

Perk	Description
Health Freak	Faster recharge for health items and grenades, then an instant partial recharge after every kill. Max it out.
Borrowed Time	If you are below 25% health and out of health item charges, your next kill instantly recharges a health item.
Coming in Hot	+50% grenade recharge speed when you have no grenades left.
Field Medic	15% faster health item use in combat.
All Things Cyber	+10% to all cyberware stat modifiers and -20% Cyberware Capacity cost for Integumentary System and Skeleton chrome. That discount saves about 29 capacity in this build. Max it out.
Driver Update	Every cyberware gets an additional stat modifier.
Renaissance Punk	+4 Cyberware Capacity for each Attribute at 9 or higher. Cool, Body, Technical Ability and Reflexes all count, so that is +16 capacity.
Chrome Constitution	-5% incoming damage while all your Integumentary System and Skeleton slots are filled. This build fills all of them.
Lucky Day	+25% crafting components from looting. Upgrading three iconic throwables and all the chrome to Tier 5++ eats a lot of components.
Chipware Connoisseur	When you upgrade cyberware, you can choose between two stat modifiers, and from Tier 3 between three. You get to pick Crit Chance and Crit Damage instead of hoping for them.

Level 15 Perks

Pyromania on the left for Ticking Time Bomb, chrome in the middle.

Perk	Description
Pyromania	Faster health item and grenade recharge, a bigger explosion radius, then Pyromania stacks. I only take it because Ticking Time Bomb sits behind it.
License to Chrome	+10% to all cyberware stat modifiers, +40 armor and an extra Skeleton slot. Max it out.
Ambidextrous	A second Hands slot, so Handle Wrap fits next to a second implant and Cyborg stays active.
Extended Warranty	+15% duration for all cyberware effects. The Sandevistan, Optical Camo and Kerenzikov all last longer.
Cyborg	-15% cooldown for all cyberware while every cyberware slot is filled. This build fills every one, so the Sandevistan and Optical Camo come back faster.
Built Different	Unlocks the Cellular Adapter for the Integumentary System, which you can then buy and install at any Ripperdoc.

Level 20 Perks

Technical Ability is at 20, so we take two capstones.

Perk	Description
Ticking Time Bomb	Every time you activate the Sandevistan, you charge an EMP that hits nearby enemies 1 second later. It stuns them and deals damage based on how many cyberware implants you have and their tier. Stunned enemies are easy headshots.
Edgerunner	Go up to 50 points over your Cyberware Capacity, for -0.5% Max Health per point. Kills can also put you into a Fury state with +10% damage, +30% Crit Chance and +50% Crit Damage, and the further you are over capacity, the higher the chance. This build sits about 42 points over, see the Cyberware section.

Reflexes Perks

The Reflexes Perk-Tree is only used for its middle branch: movement. Style Over Substance needs you to dash, slide or dodge, and Reflexes gives you all of it. Reflexes sits at 18.

Perk Prioritization: Prioritize perks in bold.

Level 4 Perks

Slippery and the movement row, and Stuntjock for your car or bike.

Perk	Description
Slippery	The faster you move, the harder you are to hit. It also opens the movement branch.
Multitasker	Shoot while sprinting, sliding and vaulting. Only useful if you carry a gun as backup.
Muscle Memory	Reload while sprinting, sliding and vaulting. Knives don’t reload, so this one is also only for a backup gun.
Power Slide	Longer slides. Every slide is a chance for a guaranteed crit.
Parkour	Faster vaulting and climbing.
Stuntjock	Jump or slide out of a vehicle at speed and draw your weapon during the stunt. Style Over Substance also gives guaranteed crits from a motorcycle while airborne, drifting or jumping off.

Level 9 Perks

Dash and the perks around it.

Perk	Description
Dash	Rank 1 cuts dodge and dash stamina cost, rank 2 unlocks the Dash itself. Dash and throw is the core move of this build, and aiming during a Dash also triggers Kerenzikov.
Can’t Touch This	+100% mitigation chance while dashing.
Mad Dash	+100% Dash range toward enemies. Handy for picking your knife back up, or for getting into range for Pounce.
Steady Grip	Shoot while Dashing. I take it so nothing interrupts my attacks mid-Dash.
Mean Streak	+40% Stamina after a kill while dashing.

Level 15 Perks

Air Dash and the two midair perks.

Perk	Description
Air Dash	Lower dash stamina cost, faster dashes, then the ability to dash in midair. An Air Dash counts as a Dash for Style Over Substance.
Aerial Acrobat	Better control in midair.
Aerodynamic	A big boost to Mitigation Strength while you are in midair.

Level 20 Perks

We don’t use any level 20 perks. Reflexes sits at 18.

Body Perks

The Body Perk-Tree is only used for its middle branch: health regen and Adrenaline Rush. Body goes to 20 for Pain to Gain, and every Body point also adds +10% Health Regen with Chitin.

Perk Prioritization: Prioritize perks in bold.

Level 4 Perks

The health regen row.

Perk	Description
Painkiller	Unlocks passive health regeneration during combat. Chitin multiplies it.
Comeback Kid	The lower your health, the faster you regenerate.
Speed Junkie	+100% Health Regen while sprinting.
Army of One	More health regen for each nearby enemy.
Dorph-head	Using the Blood Pump or a health item gives you a big boost to Mitigation Chance for 1 second.

Level 9 Perks

We don’t use any level 9 perks. They are all for Body weapons and Blunt weapons.

Level 15 Perks

Adrenaline Rush and the perks that branch off it.

Perk	Description
Adrenaline Rush	+35 max health, +20% to all health regen, then Adrenaline Rush itself. Health items and the Blood Pump now also give Adrenaline equal to 30% of your max health, shown as a yellow second health bar.
Juggernaut	+20% movement speed and +10% damage while Adrenaline Rush is active.
Calm Mind	A 3 second delay before Adrenaline starts decaying.
Unstoppable Force	Immunity to movement penalties, knockdown and blinding while Adrenaline Rush is active.

Level 20 Perks

Body is at 20, so we take the Adrenaline Rush capstone.

Perk	Description
Pain to Gain	While Adrenaline Rush is active, every kill gives +20% health item recharge. With Juggler resetting your knives, kills come fast, so a health item is almost always ready.

Intelligence Perks

We don’t spend any perk points or Attribute Points in Intelligence. It stays at 3.

Relic Perks (Phantom Liberty DLC)

The Relic tree runs on Relic points from Phantom Liberty rather than attribute levels, so there are no level tiers here. We spend 12 points across all three branches: one for Optical Camo, one for the Gorilla Arms, and one to make every throw count.

Perk	Description
Emergency Cloaking	Activating Optical Camo during combat makes enemies lose track of you, which gives you a chance to leave combat. Back out of combat means Killer Instinct and Creeping Death work again. Optical Camo has to be on your Combat Gadget quickslot.
Sensory Protocol	If an enemy detects you while you are crouched, time slows down. Dodge or Dash out of their line of sight and you leave combat right away.
Jailbreak	Unlocks new abilities for all Arm cyberware. For the Gorilla Arms, it adds a charged attack that releases a shockwave.
Limiter Removal	The shockwave from a charged Gorilla Arms attack knocks down every enemy in range.
Vulnerability Analytics	Lets you spot Vulnerabilities in enemy armor and cyberware during combat. Hitting one gives 100% Crit Chance and +25% Armor Penetration, and destroying it sets off an EMP blast in a 3 metre radius. A guaranteed crit also counts for Juggler.
Machine Learning	Destroying a Vulnerability makes new ones appear more often and grants Crit Damage against them, stacking five times with the effects doubled at max stacks.

The other 3 Relic points: I leave them unspent. Launch Capacity Override, Data Tunneling and Spatial Mapping are for the Projectile Launch System, Monowire and Mantis Blades, and our Arms slot holds the Gorilla Arms.

Cyberware for the Throwing Knife Build in Cyberpunk 2077

Crit Chance, slow motion and a cloak: Handle Wrap and Stabber push the Crit Chance of every throw up, the Sandevistan and Kerenzikov slow time, Optical Camo opens every fight, and Chitin, the Skeleton and the Circulatory System keep you alive. Every slot is filled, so Cyborg and Chrome Constitution are always on.

Cyberware Capacity: At level 60 you have 201 Cyberware Capacity, plus 15 from the Engineer skill tree and 16 from Renaissance Punk, so 232 in total. Everything marked bold or without a note below costs about 274 at Tier 5++, already including the -20% from All Things Cyber on the Skeleton and Integumentary System.

That is 42 points over, and Edgerunner lets you go up to 50 over. It costs -0.5% Max Health per point, so about -21% Max Health. The Epimorphic Skeleton gives some of that back, and Chitin makes up for the rest with a lot of Health Regen. Edgerunner needs 20 Technical Ability, so until you have it, run the Dynalar Sandevistan instead of the Apogee and Subdermal Armor instead of Chitin. That brings you down to about 212, and you won’t have the Apogee before level 40 or Chitin before Dogtown anyway.

Once you have collected Capacity Shards, you can go further. I explain the swaps in With all Capacity Shards below.

Important: Priority Cyberware is marked in bold.

• Operating System (Most Important)
• Frontal Cortex
• Face
• Arms
• Hands
• Skeleton
• Nervous System
• Circulatory System
• Integumentary System
• Legs
• With all Capacity Shards

Operating System

Cyberware	Description
Militech “Apogee” Sandevistan	Slows time by 85% while you move at full speed, with +20% headshot damage, +20% Crit Chance and +20% Crit Damage on top. Every kill while it is active extends it by 10% and gives you Stamina back. With Juggler resetting your knives, the kills come fast. Max duration 6 seconds, plus 0.1 seconds per Reflexes point and +15% from Extended Warranty. 25 second cooldown, minus 15% from Cyborg. Every activation also triggers Ticking Time Bomb, so every Sandevistan starts with an EMP. Don’t keep it running the whole fight. I turn it on for the big moments and off again to save the charge.
Militech “Falcon” Sandevistan (Alternative)	Slows time by 70% for 10 seconds with +15% Crit Chance, and every kill while it is active restores Health. Less damage, more sustain.
Dynalar Sandevistan (Early Game)	Slows time by 50% with +15% Crit Chance and +15% Crit Damage for 9 seconds. The Sandevistan I use until the Apogee unlocks, and it only costs 18 capacity.

Location of items:

• Militech “Apogee” Sandevistan: Iconic, any Ripperdoc once you reach level 40.
• Militech “Falcon” Sandevistan: Iconic, any Ripperdoc after level 30. You also get it during Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos (Phantom Liberty) if you enlist Carol Emeka’s help.
• Dynalar Sandevistan: Any Ripperdoc from level 10, with tier improving as you level.

Frontal Cortex

Cyberware	Description
Kerenzikov Boost System	Time slows even more while Kerenzikov is active. Only 3 capacity, and it keeps the slot filled for Cyborg.
Self-ICE	Automatically negates an enemy quickhack, with a 20 second cooldown. Only 5 capacity.
Mechatronic Core	+40% damage against drones, robots, mechs and turrets. Only 5 capacity.
Axolotl (With all Capacity Shards)	-7.5% cooldown for all your cyberware after every kill. Takes the place of the Kerenzikov Boost System once you have all Capacity Shards.

Location of items:

• Kerenzikov Boost System: Any Ripperdoc after level 20, scaling up to Tier 5.
• Self-ICE: Any Ripperdoc after level 20.
• Mechatronic Core: Sold by Ripperdocs, with quality scaling as you level.
• Axolotl: Iconic, from Regina Jones after the gig Last Call, also sold by Dogtown Ripperdocs and found in airdrops.

Face

Cyberware	Description
Kiroshi “Clairvoyant” Optics	When you scan, it highlights every enemy within 19.5 metres for 60 seconds, so I can plan my throws before the fight starts. Every Cool point adds +0.2% headshot and weakspot damage, so +4% at 20 Cool.
Kiroshi “Cockatrice” Optics (Alternative)	+35% Crit Chance, but it costs 30 capacity, and Style Over Substance already guarantees the crit when you throw on the move. Only worth it if you also use guns.

Location of items:

• Kiroshi “Clairvoyant” Optics: Any Ripperdoc from level 20. There is also one in the airdrop at Tranquil Terrace in Luxor Heights (Phantom Liberty) after Lucretia My Reflection.
• Kiroshi “Cockatrice” Optics: Iconic, Dogtown Ripperdocs from level 35 (Phantom Liberty DLC), also found in Dogtown airdrops.

Arms

Cyberware	Description
Gorilla Arms	Heavy punches with a Bleeding chance, and +6 to Body Attribute checks, so you can force open doors you otherwise couldn’t. With Jailbreak, a charged attack releases a shockwave, and Limiter Removal makes that shockwave knock down every enemy in range. Gorilla Arms don’t use the Combat Gadget quickslot, so Optical Camo can have it.

Update 2.5 added Glamdocs, so you can now give your Gorilla Arms a new look. Visit one of the 5 Glamdocs (spray paint icon on the map) once you have them installed.

Location of items:

• Gorilla Arms: Any Ripperdoc from level 10, with quality scaling by level.

Hands

Cyberware	Description
Handle Wrap	+27% Crit Chance with throwable weapons for 6 seconds every time you equip or throw one. Swapping to a throwable counts, and so does getting it back from Juggler. Every Cool point also adds +0.2% headshot and weakspot damage, so +4% at 20 Cool.
Ballistic Coprocessor	It does nothing for knives. It only costs 2 capacity and fills the second Hands slot, so Cyborg stays active.

Ambidextrous gives you the second Hands slot.

Location of items:

• Handle Wrap: Any Ripperdoc from level 20, with quality scaling by level.
• Ballistic Coprocessor: You get it during the intro quest The Ripperdoc, and Ripperdocs sell better versions as you level.

Skeleton

Cyberware	Description
Epimorphic Skeleton	+13% Max Health. It gives back part of what Edgerunner takes.
Spring Joints	+16% Mitigation Strength. Slippery, Can’t Touch This, Feline Footwork and Serpentine all give Mitigation Chance, and this makes every one of those mitigated hits hurt less.
Bionic Joints	Armor for only 8 capacity. It fills the third slot for Chrome Constitution.

License to Chrome gives you the third Skeleton slot. Fill all three for Chrome Constitution. Dense Marrow doesn’t boost throwing damage, so skip it.

Location of items:

• Epimorphic Skeleton: Any Ripperdoc upon reaching level 30.
• Spring Joints: Any Ripperdoc from level 10, with quality scaling by level.
• Bionic Joints: Any Ripperdoc, with tier scaling by character level.

Nervous System

Cyberware	Description
Stabber	+20% Crit Chance with Blades and throwable weapons for only 12 capacity. Together with Handle Wrap, most throws crit even when you stand still.
Kerenzikov	Aim during a slide, dodge or Dash and time slows by 60% for 3.75 seconds, with a 6 second cooldown. Every Dash throw is already a guaranteed crit, and this gives you the time to aim it at the head.
Reflex Tuner	Slows time by 60% for 4.5 seconds when your Health drops below 25%. Time to heal, dash away or cloak. Only 5 capacity.
Neofiber (With all Capacity Shards)	+11% Mitigation Chance and +11% Mitigation Strength. Takes the place of the Reflex Tuner once you have all Capacity Shards.

Location of items:

• Stabber: Any Ripperdoc from level 10, with tier scaling by level.
• Kerenzikov: Any Ripperdoc from level 10, with quality scaling by level.
• Reflex Tuner: Sold by Ripperdocs, with quality scaling as you level.
• Neofiber: Any Ripperdoc after level 20.

Circulatory System

Cyberware	Description
Blood Pump	Works as a second health item: 110 health right away, then 23 health per second for 6 seconds. With Adrenaline Rush it also fills your Adrenaline.
Biomonitor	Automatically uses your health item when your health drops below 50%, and +16% health item effectiveness. You never have to stop throwing to heal.
Heal-on-Kill	+7.5% Health for every kill.

Location of items:

• Blood Pump: Ripperdocs from level 10.
• Biomonitor: Sold by Ripperdocs, with quality scaling as you level.
• Heal-on-Kill: Sold by Ripperdocs, with quality scaling as you level.

Integumentary System

Cyberware	Description
Optical Camo	-90% visibility to enemies for 7 seconds, plus 0.1 seconds per Cool point. I open every fight with it for Killer Instinct and Creeping Death, Vanishing Act turns it on by itself while I crouch-sprint or slide, and Emergency Cloaking uses it to get me out of combat. Put it on your Combat Gadget quickslot.
Chitin	A very durable shell under your skin, plus +10% Health Regen for every Body point. At 20 Body, that is +200% Health Regen on top of Painkiller and Adrenaline Rush.
Cellular Adapter	Faster health item and grenade recharge and more explosion resistance for every Technical Ability point, for only 10 capacity. It only shows up at Ripperdocs once you have the Built Different perk.
Shock-n-Awe (With all Capacity Shards)	Every time you take damage, there is a chance to release an electroshock that damages nearby enemies. It also hits civilians, which brings the NCPD down on you. Takes the place of the Cellular Adapter once you have all Capacity Shards.
Subdermal Armor (Early Game)	A big chunk of Armor for only 5 capacity. My pick until I reach Dogtown and have Edgerunner.

Location of items:

• Optical Camo: Sold by Ripperdocs from level 10, with quality scaling by level.
• Chitin: Iconic Subdermal Armor variant (Phantom Liberty DLC), sold by Dogtown Ripperdocs and found in airdrops.
• Cellular Adapter: Any Ripperdoc once you have the Built Different perk.
• Shock-n-Awe: Any Ripperdoc, with tier scaling by level.
• Subdermal Armor: You get it during the intro quest The Ripperdoc, and Ripperdocs sell better versions as you level.

Legs

Cyberware	Description
Reinforced Tendons	Double jump. Double jump, Air Dash, throw: the Air Dash makes it a guaranteed crit, and nobody sees it coming from above.

Location of items:

• Reinforced Tendons: Any Ripperdoc from level 10 onward.

With all Capacity Shards

Capacity Shards permanently raise your Cyberware Capacity by +2, +3, +4 or +6 each, depending on their tier. They drop from enemies, police scanner activities and airdrops until you have them all: 60 capacity from the base game and 14 more from Phantom Liberty. With all of them, you have 306 Cyberware Capacity, and 356 with Edgerunner.

That is enough room for three more expensive pieces. These are the swaps I make:

• Axolotl: -7.5% cooldown for all cyberware after every kill. The Apogee and Optical Camo come back much faster.
• Neofiber: +11% Mitigation Chance and Mitigation Strength instead of the emergency slow motion from the Reflex Tuner.
• Shock-n-Awe: Free damage every time you get hit. Skip it if you play near civilians a lot.

That brings the total to about 340 of 356. You are about 34 points over 306, so Edgerunner costs about -17% Max Health.

Weapons for the Throwing Knife Build in Cyberpunk 2077

Three throwables: Headhunter marks the target, the Agaou hits the whole group, and Blue Fang stuns anything that gets too close. A lot of throwing knives in the game are good, so don’t be afraid to use one that isn’t on this list.

• Cool perks like Juggler, Scorpion Sting and Style Over Substance boost all throwables, knives and axes alike.
• Juggler resets the cooldown of all your throwables after a headshot, crit or Poison kill, not just the one you threw.
• Swapping to a throwable triggers Handle Wrap, so swapping between knives is part of the rotation.
• Knives come back faster than axes. Headhunter is ready again in a few seconds, the Agaou takes much longer.

Upgrade: Weapons can be upgraded when you go to the crafting section and then swap to upgrades.

Item	Description
Headhunter (Main)	My opener on tough enemies. It marks the enemy it hits, and the next headshot on that enemy deals +200% damage, and that includes thrown weapons. On bosses, I hit the weakspot with Headhunter first, then follow up with a headshot from the Agaou. It also has a short recovery, so it is great for general use too.
Agaou (Main)	My favorite throwable. An iconic throwing axe whose Crit Hits release a shockwave that damages every enemy around the target. With Style Over Substance, every throw on the move is a crit, so every throw on the move is a shockwave.
Blue Fang (Main)	The stun knife. Every enemy it hits gets stunned, and a headshot makes the stun kick in faster. Basically a guaranteed kill on anything you throw it at.
Claw x-MOD2 (Alternative)	An iconic throwing axe with two mod slots. Swap it in for the Agaou if you want to choose your own mods.
Fang (Alternative)	Kurt Hansen’s knife. Thrown hits slow the enemy, and every consecutive melee hit on a slowed enemy deals more damage.
Punknife (Early Game)	The standard throwing knife, with the shortest recovery of them all. Sold by weapon vendors and found as loot, so it is what I use until I have the iconics.

Location of items:

• Headhunter: Sold by the melee weapon vendor in West Wind Estate, Pacifica. See below.
• Agaou: Dropped by Ayo Zarin in the Increased Criminal Activity at the Luxor High Wellness Spa in Dogtown (Phantom Liberty DLC). See below.
• Blue Fang: Sold by the melee weapon vendor in Jackson Plains, Badlands. See below.
• Claw x-MOD2: Stuck in the peak of the Heavy Hearts Club pyramid in Dogtown (Phantom Liberty DLC). Climb the neon bulbs on the outside of the pyramid to reach it.
• Fang: Dropped by Kurt Hansen during the Phantom Liberty main job Firestarter if you side with Solomon Reed (story spoiler).
• Punknife: Sold by weapon vendors across Night City and found as loot, with quality scaling as you level.

Grenades: Any grenade you like. The Technical Ability perks in this build make them recharge faster, but they are not the focus.

Health item: MaxDOC MK.5 for the big instant heal. Every heal also fills Adrenaline Rush, and Pain to Gain recharges it with every kill.

Vehicle: A motorcycle. Style Over Substance gives guaranteed crits when you throw from a bike while airborne, drifting or jumping off, and Stuntjock lets you draw your knife during the stunt.

Headhunter (Iconic Throwing Knife) – How To Get It

“Throwing this knife is like imposing a death sentence.” Headhunter is the knife I open with on every tough enemy, and you can buy it as soon as Pacifica opens up.

• Prerequisites: Act 2, when the rest of Night City opens up.
• Where: The melee weapon vendor in West Wind Estate, Pacifica.
• How to Get It: Buy it from the vendor.
• What to Do: Upgrade it to Tier 5++ like any other iconic.
• Note: The +200% headshot bonus works with thrown weapons too, so you don’t need a gun to use the mark.

Agaou (Iconic Throwing Axe) – How To Get It

“Henceforth thou shall be known as V, Goddess of Thunder.” The Agaou is my favorite throwable in the game, and you have to take it from a Voodoo Boys boss in Dogtown.

• Prerequisites: Phantom Liberty DLC, and Dogtown has to be unlocked.
• Where: The Increased Criminal Activity at the Luxor High Wellness Spa in Dogtown, a Voodoo Boys stronghold. There is a fast travel point right at the spa.
• How to Get It: Clear the area and loot the Agaou from Ayo Zarin, the leader of the group.
• What to Do: Ayo Zarin is tanky and rushes you in close combat. Below 50% Health she moves into a water pool, so turn off the power generator above it first, or the water gets electrified. She also drops a Cache Access Card that opens a loot room nearby.
• Note: It is an axe, but it counts as a throwable, so every Cool perk works with it.

Blue Fang (Iconic Throwing Knife) – How To Get It

“The neurotoxin coating the blade of this prototype knife is stunningly effective.” Blue Fang is the best base game throwing knife, and all you need is the eddies.

• Prerequisites: Act 2, when the Badlands open up.
• Where: The melee weapon vendor in Jackson Plains, Badlands.
• How to Get It: Buy it from the vendor.
• What to Do: Upgrade it to Tier 5++ like any other iconic.
• Note: The stun takes a moment to kick in, and less time on a headshot.

Gear for the Throwing Knife Build in Cyberpunk 2077

Since gear is mostly cosmetic, you can wear whatever you want. All of this build’s defense comes from cyberware instead, mainly Chitin, the Epimorphic Skeleton, Spring Joints and Adrenaline Rush.

My Throwing Knife character uses the following items:

• Head: Modified Snake-Skin Cowboy Hat
  • Location: The clothing vendor at the trailer park in the Badlands, right across the border from Santo Domingo. The shop is under a food stand.
• Face: Photovoltaic Technosight
  • Location: Satoshi Ueno’s clothing shop in the Longshore Stacks, Dogtown (Phantom Liberty DLC).
• Outer Torso: Marbre Doré Suit Jacket with Discreet Bulletproof Lining
  • Location: Free in Kabuki, Watson, on the body of “Drunk Philip” in the water next to a sunken car and a cat. Appel de Paris in Corpo Plaza and Jinguji in Downtown also sell it.
• Inner Torso: Reinforced Breathable Dress Shirt
  • Location: The clothing vendor in Charter Hill, Westbrook (nearest fast travel: Lele Park), or Jinguji in Downtown.
• Legs: Uniware Brass Office Pants with Membrane Support
  • Location: Appel de Paris in Corpo Plaza, City Center (nearest fast travel: Arasaka Tower).
• Feet: Chaman Métallique Street Shoes with Thermoactive Alloys
  • Location: The clothing vendor in West Wind Estate, Pacifica (nearest fast travel: West Wind Apartments).

Clothing vendors rotate their stock, so if an item isn’t there, skip 24 hours and check again.

Skill Progression in Cyberpunk 2077

This is often overlooked; in the character menu, you can actually click on “Skill Progression”. This will send you to a very powerful mechanic in Cyberpunk 2077.

By leveling up these trees you gain powerful effects.

For our Cyberpunk 2077: Throwing Knife Build you want to focus on Headhunter, Shinobi and Engineer. Headhunter is the big one: every thrown weapon kill and every headshot levels it. It gives +10% headshot damage at level 10, another +15% at level 30, and at level 45 -30% recovery time after a throw. Shinobi levels up with every dash, Air Dash and slide in combat, and at level 60 the Sandevistan gives +40% Crit Chance. Engineer gives you the extra Cyberware Capacity this build counts on.

Headhunter (Cool)

• Level 5: -10% Visibility to enemies
• Level 10: +10% Headshot & Vulnerability damage
• Level 15: +1 Perk Point
• Level 20: No weapon sway when crouched
• Level 25: -10% Visibility to enemies
• Level 30: +15% Headshot & Vulnerability damage
• Level 35: +1 Perk Point
• Level 40: Optical Camo is active while grappling enemies
• Level 45: -30% Recovery time after a throw
• Level 50: +30% Crouch walk & sprint speed
• Level 55: Undetected damage bonus lasts 3s in combat
• Level 60: +15% Optical Camo charge on stealth/special kills

How to Level Up Headhunter (Cool)

• Looting Skill Shards from chests and enemies.
• Perform stealth takedowns and neutralizations on unaware enemies.
• Get headshots and hit enemy weakspots using any weapon type.
• Defeat enemies using pistols, revolvers, sniper rifles, precision rifles, or thrown weapons (knives and axes).
• Deal damage and secure kills while crouching or using Optical Camo.

Shinobi (Reflexes)

• Level 5: +5% Movement Speed
• Level 10: -5% Dodge/Dash Stamina cost
• Level 15: +1 Perk Point
• Level 20: Better accuracy after dodging/dashing
• Level 25: +5% Movement Speed
• Level 30: -10% Dodge/Dash Stamina cost
• Level 35: +1 Perk Point
• Level 40: Increased Mitigation Chance the faster you move
• Level 45: +25% Fast Attack damage
• Level 50: Sliding & Air Dashing reload 20% of your weapon
• Level 55: Mid-air/Slow-mo: low stamina does not penalize combat
• Level 60: Sandevistan Mode: +40% Crit Chance; No movement Stamina cost

How to Level Up Shinobi (Reflexes)

• Looting Skill Shards from chests and enemies.
• Defeat enemies using blade weapons (Katanas, Machetes, Chainswords, or Mantis Blades).
• Actively dodge, dash, air-dash, slide, and vault while in active combat.
• Defeat enemies using Assault Rifles or Submachine Guns (SMGs), especially while moving at high speeds.

Engineer (Technical Ability)

• Level 5: +15 Armor
• Level 10: +5 Cyberware Capacity
• Level 15: +1 Perk Point
• Level 20: +10% Grenade damage & explosion radius
• Level 25: +25 Armor
• Level 30: +10 Cyberware Capacity
• Level 35: +1 Perk Point
• Level 40: Increased Shock chance when charging Tech weapons
• Level 45: +15% Health Item effectiveness
• Level 50: +30% to all Cyberware stat modifiers
• Level 55: +10% Bolt damage, +40% Bolt burn, Chain Lightning burns
• Level 60: Fury Mode: You occasionally release a massive EMP blast

How to Level Up Engineer (Technical Ability)

• Looting Skill Shards from chests and enemies.
• Defeat enemies using Tech weapons, especially by firing fully charged shots or Bolt shots.
• Get kills using damage-dealing grenades or the Projectile Launch System (PLS) cyberware.
• Craft new weapons, quickhacks, and item components.
• Upgrade weapons and cyberware at Ripperdocs or through your crafting menu.
• Dismantle weapons, armor, and junk items into crafting components.

Solo (Body)

• Level 5: +50 Carrying Capacity
• Level 10: +10 Max Health
• Level 15: +1 Perk Point
• Level 20: +20% Fist/Gorilla Arms damage & speed (Fists bleed)
• Level 25: +100 Carrying Capacity
• Level 30: +15% Max Health
• Level 35: +1 Perk Point
• Level 40: +10% Crit Chance within 5 meters
• Level 45: +25% Strong/Quick Melee damage
• Level 50: +25% Health after performing a Finisher
• Level 55: Adrenaline decays 50% slower, min 10% floor
• Level 60: Berserk Mode: +30% Finisher threshold, +50% Finisher heal, +30% duration

How to Level Up Solo (Body)

• Looting Skill Shards from chests and enemies.
• Defeat enemies using Heavy Weapons (Shotguns, Light Machine Guns, and Heavy Machine Guns).
• Defeat enemies using blunt weapons, Gorilla Arms, or bare fists.
• Force open locked doors, rip heavy turrets from their mounts, and pass physical Body attribute checks in the world.
• Execute physical melee finishers.

Netrunner (Intelligence)

• Level 5: +5% RAM Recovery Rate
• Level 10: +1 Max RAM
• Level 15: +1 Perk Point
• Level 20: +20% Smart Weapon lock-on range
• Level 25: +5% RAM Recovery Rate
• Level 30: +1 Max RAM
• Level 35: +1 Perk Point
• Level 40: -20% RAM cost for hacking devices/vehicles
• Level 45: +15% Control/Covert duration; +5% Combat hack damage
• Level 50: +40% Overclock duration
• Level 55: -10% Health loss during Overclock
• Level 60: Overclock Mode: Reveals enemies (10m) & hacks through cover

How to Level Up Netrunner (Intelligence)

• Looting Skill Shards from chests and enemies.
• Use offensive, control, or covert quickhacks on enemies during combat.
• Hack environmental objects, security cameras, and devices to distract enemies or trigger explosions.
• Successfully jack into and hack Access Points (Data Terminals) using Breach Protocol.
• Defeat enemies using Smart weapons or the Monowire.

Leveling Tips for the Throwing Knife Build in Cyberpunk 2077

Here are a few general leveling tips for the Throwing Knife Build in Cyberpunk 2077.

• Perfect Start
• How to make Money
• Upgrade Weapons
• How Gear Scaling Works
• How to get Perk Points Fast
• Dogtown Consumables

Perfect Start in Cyberpunk 2077

Here are the steps that I recommend taking with a new Cyberpunk 2077 playthrough.

Starter Build: You can also check out my Cyberpunk 2077 Starter Build that takes you from level 1 to level 15.

1. Regular Start (Don’t skip ahead to Phantom Liberty).
2. Immediately after the prologue, once you are out of your room and go downstairs before you enter the elevator.
   1. Weapon Vendor: Buy the Iconic pistol Dying Night.
   2. Coach Fred: Capacity Boosters (in case you get over capacity so you can still move).
3. Buff Routine: Sleep & Shower. This gives you 20% Skill XP acquisition and Health Regen.
4. Watson Clean Sweep (NCPD Missions):
   1. Watson is the first district you play in.
   2. Clearing all missions takes 1-2 hours. This will give you at least 10 levels, 15 Street Cred and over 150k Eddies Cash. 
   3. Loot all enemies and either disassemble for materials or sell them at the vendor for extra Eddies.
5. Get the Fenrir SMG from the monk mission. This SMG is insanely good at the start because it often stuns enemies.
6. Visit a Ripperdoc at level 10: After you have enough money, it’s time to get chromed up.
   1. Dynalar Sandevistan (Operating System): Sold from level 10. Slow motion for your knives until the Militech “Apogee” unlocks at level 40.
   2. Reinforced Tendons (Legs): Allow you to double jump
   3. Kerenzikov (Nervous System): Slows Time by 60% for 2s.
   4. Synaptic Accelerator (Nervous System): Slows time by 20% for 2s when enemy detection reaches 50%.
   5. Whatever else you can fit!
7. Time to start playing for real. The Pickup mission is waiting for you!

How to make Money

It is actually fairly easy to make money in Cyberpunk 2077. The best way to make money is to clear all the NCPD and Cyberpsycho missions in each district. As previously mentioned, clearing most of the Watson district NCPD mission alone already gives you approximately 150k Eddies Cash.

Upgrade Weapons

This often gets overlooked, but you can upgrade early-game weapons in Cyberpunk 2077. Go to the crafting section, then move to the Upgrade tab. Here you can upgrade all weapons if you have the necessary crafting components.

Gear Scaling in Cyberpunk 2077

Gear scaling is automated in Cyberpunk 2077. The moment you reach a certain level, you will start finding more and more high-quality items. Meaning the faster you reach a higher level the sooner you will find better gear from chests or enemies. That counts for Gear, Weapons, Cyberware, Outfits, etc.

• Tier 1: Level 1-9
• Tier 2: Level 10-19
• Tier 3: Level 20-29
• Tier 4: Level 30-39
• Tier 5: Level 40-44
• Tier Iconic: Level 45-50

How to get Perk Points in Cyberpunk 2077

You need Perk Points to unlock additional Perks for the Throwing Knife Build in Cyberpunk 2077. Perks are the bread and butter of any CP2077 Build, as they significantly enhance your power.

1. You get one Perk Point per character level.
2. Skill Progression awards you with Perk Points.
3. You can farm up to 13 Perk Shards (10 base game, 3 Phantom Liberty DLC)

Perk Point per Character Level

Not much needs to be said here; leveling up gives you one extra Perk Point.

Skill Progression

This is often overlooked; the Skill Progression system also awards you Perk Points at 15 and 35. So you can get an additional 10 Perk Points from this.

Character menu > bottom right Skill Progression.

Perk Shards

There are 10 base-game Perk Shards and 3 Phantom Liberty DLC Perk Shards you can collect to earn additional perks in Cyberpunk 2077.

Read Guide: All 13 Perk Shard Locations in Cyberpunk 2077

Here is the full list, click on the hyperlink of each location to see images, it will send you to the full Cyberpunk 2077: Perk Shards Location Guide.

Dogtown Consumables (Phantom Liberty DLC)

During the starter quest of the Phantom Liberty DLC in Cyberpunk 2077 called “Dog Eat Dog” you eventually enter the marketplace area (You can also access the area later at any time). Here you can buy various new stuff that isn’t available in the base game.

Some vendors also sell permanent consumable upgrades, 12k each. Best you go talk to all the vendors in that area and see what they offer.

• Bartender Shop: Dendritic Protoplasma Supplier permanent +1% Ram Recovery Rate.
• Netrunner Shop: Dendritic Protoplasma Supplier permanent +2% Ram Recovery Rate.
  • Note: The items are called the same, but they both work, so you get a total of 3% Ram Recovery Rate.
• Food Vendor: Prototype Pseudo Embryonic Cell Builder permanent +2 Health.
• Meds Vendor: Prototype Pseudo Embryonic Cell Builder permanent +3 Health.
  • Note: The items are called the same, but they both work, so you get a total of +5 Health.
  • Note: You find the Meds vendor on the opposite side of the Netrunner Vendor in a hallway.
• Food Vendor: Military-Grade Lactic Acid Recyclers: +1% Stamina Regen Rate.
• Herold Weapon Vendor: Sells you all the Iconic Weapons you have missed during your playthrough.
• Marcin/ Michal Kicinski Junk Vendor: 1 Perk Shard and 1 Progression Shard of each type.

Additionally, make sure to check all other vendors in Dogtown. For example at the Longshore Stacks fast travel point, you also have vendors that sell you permanent upgrades.

Related Cyberpunk 2077 Content

• Cyberpunk 2077 Builds Database