Cyberpunk 2077 rankings written before 2.0 are describing a different game. Cyberware has a capacity limit now, perks are structured around weapon types, and the Relic tree adds a fourth layer. This is ranked for the current version.
Build archetypes
| Tier | Build | Why |
|---|---|---|
| S | Sandevistan blades | Slowed time plus front-loaded melee damage clears rooms before anything reacts. Highest ceiling in the game. |
| S | Netrunner | Contagion spreads through a group and kills it without entering. Weakest against single high-health targets. |
| A | Shotgun solo | Berserk, Body, and a tech shotgun. The most forgiving build and it holds up on Very Hard. |
| A | Tech sniper | Charged rifles through walls, plus Cool headshot multipliers. Slow and methodical. |
| B | Pistol / revolver | Strong crits, weak sustained output against armoured groups. |
| B | Katana without Sandevistan | Fine. Considerably worse than the same build with one. |
| C | Throwing knives | Genuinely fun, genuinely underpowered. |
Cyberware
Capacity is the real budget, not eddies. The best implant in a slot is often the wrong pick because two cheaper ones use the capacity better.
Buy Edgerunner Artifacts before implants. Raising the ceiling first makes everything after it cheaper.
The one decision that shapes everything
You cannot run a cyberdeck and a Sandevistan. That single exclusivity is the largest branch in the game and it decides whether you are playing a shooter or a puzzle.
Attributes
Body and Reflexes carry the strongest builds. Technical Ability is the near-universal third pick because it gates cyberware capacity perks. Intelligence is its own game. Cool pairs with everything and dominates nothing.
Perks refund freely, attributes reset once. Spend the first recklessly and the second carefully.
Weapon tiers, briefly
Iconic weapons carry unique effects that ordinary rarity upgrades cannot match, so an Iconic at a lower tier frequently beats a crafted Legendary.
Tech weapons charge and pierce cover, smart weapons track, power weapons ricochet. Which is best depends entirely on the build above rather than on a number, which is why a flat weapon tier list for this game is close to useless.
Difficulty
On Normal any of these clear the game comfortably. Very Hard is where the ranking starts to bite, and it is also where the netrunner's weakness against single high-health targets becomes a real problem worth carrying a tech pistol for.
Phantom Liberty's content is tuned harder than the base game throughout.
Lifepath
Corpo, Nomad and Streetkid change dialogue and one early quest branch. They do not affect stats, perks or anything you will care about at level 40, so pick the opening you want to play rather than treating it as a build decision.
Patch drift
2.0 rewrote perks, cyberware and the police system wholesale. Any Cyberpunk ranking written before it is describing a different game, and a surprising amount of advice still circulating predates it.
The Cyberpunk 2077 builds guide covers all four archetypes in detail.
