Best Samurai build in Cyberpunk 2077 version 1.6

After a disastrous release back in 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 is finally turning heads with consistent patch fixes and DLCs that have been released over the past few months. With the recent Edgerunners patch finally out, players have been giving the game another try.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a role-playing game that allows players to design a unique character. Builds are very important when it comes to such games, and they allow players to tailor the character to suit their playstyle. Although there are numerous builds that players can try out, the Samurai build is exceptionally fun to play. Here are a few pointers on how to get the best Samurai build in Cyberpunk 2077.

Note: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.

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Perk and skill setup for a Samurai build in Cyberpunk 2077

Samurais are traditional Japanese warriors who are usually trained to use the Katana in combat. Cyberpunk 2077 has a few Katanas that players can use in the game. This build is fun to play and offers a fast-paced combat experience with the right perks and attributes.

Since Katanas will be the prime focus of the build, the Reflex stat should be considered the primary attribute here. With more points invested in Reflex, players will be able to get up close and personal with their enemies very quickly. However, this is a melee build at the end of the day, so players will be prone to taking damage while moving from enemy to enemy in Cyberpunk 2077.

To limit the amount of damage that a player takes, the Body stat is the secondary attribute for this build. A high Body stat will result in a high Health and Stamina pool, turning players into potential bullet sponges. Here's what the initial stat point distribution should look like while starting a Samurai build in Cyberpunk 2077:

• Body: 5
• Intelligence: 3
• Reflexes: 7
• Technical: 3
• Cool: 4

As players continue to level up, they will receive more points to spend on their attributes. Players should ideally invest most of these points on the Reflex and Body stats. They can also focus on the Cool stat because it helps unlock some Crit Chance upgrades, but that completely depends on the player.

Because the Samurai build is a melee build that makes use of Katanas, the Blades perk tree will be the main focus of the build. There are some other perk trees like the Street Brawler perk tree and the Athletics perk tree that also have some useful perks.

Here are the perks that players need to acquire in the game:

Blades perk tree

• Sting Like a Bee: Increases attack speed by 10% / 20% / 30%.
• Bloodlust: Recovers 7% / 10% health when applying the bleed debuff to an enemy or hitting an enemy with the bleed debuff.
• Flight of the Sparrow: Reduces the stamina cost for all attacks by 25% / 50%.
• Crimson Dance: Combo attacks have a 15% / 30% chance of applying the bleed debuff to an enemy. Works well when paired with Bloodlust.
• Blessed Blade: Increases Crit Chance by 20%.
• Fiery Blast: Increases damage by 1% for every 1% / 2% / 3% of health that the enemy is missing.
• Judge, Jury and Executioner: Damage against targets at maximum health is increased by 50% / 75% / 100%.
• Slow and Steady: Armor increases by 15% / 30% while moving.
• Dragon Strike: Increases Crit Damage with Blades by 25%. An additional 1% is gained every time this perk is leveled up.
• Deathbolt: Defeating an enemy grants 40% health recovery and increases movement speed by 30% for 5 seconds.

While these are the perks that fall under the Blades category, here are a few more perks that can come in handy when opting for a Samurai build in Cyberpunk 2077.

Athletics perk tree

• Cardio Cure: Health regenerates faster while moving.
• Wolverine: Increases Health regen activation speed by 50% / 90% in combat.
• Dog of War: Increases Health regen by 15% / 20% in combat.

Street Brawler perk tree

• Reinvigorate: Defeating an enemy with a strong attack restores 10% / 20% / 30% stamina.
• Frenzy: Defeating an enemy increases damage by 100% for 10 seconds.
• Guerilla: Increases Crit Damage by 60% for 10 seconds when entering into combat.

Since it's a Samurai build, the Katana will be the obvious choice of weapon. There are a lot of Katanas that players can find in Night City. Some of the vendors in the city sell different variants of this weapon as well. For armor and the other equipable pieces in the game, anything that increases DPS and adds to Crit Chance should be picked up. This will increase the damage that the Katana does.

This build comes with sufficient health regeneration, so having a lot of armor isn't mandatory, but it doesn't hurt to have some additional protection.

At the end of the day, the efficacy of this build depends largely on the playstyle used. Players can swap out perks from the given list and mix them up with other available perks to see what results they get. In fact, swapping out a perk or two could yield some really interesting results in Cyberpunk 2077.