Iconic weapons have been part of Cyberpunk 2077 since launch, but they, like most gameplay elements, have changed a bit with the introduction of Patch 2.0. They’re functionally the game’s unique weapons with special properties that set them apart from their non-iconic counterparts, a role they’ve largely retained in patch 2.0. To further entrench iconic weapons as the cream of the crop, many such weapons were added to the Phantom Liberty DLC, and this page will list all the new iconic weapons in Dogtown, where to find them, and what stats and effects they have.

What Are Iconic Weapons in Phantom Liberty?¶

As mentioned before, iconic weapons are typically unique variants of more common weapons, albeit with a bonus effect that sets them apart. If anything, their status has been further bolstered in patch 2.0, since many non-iconic legendary-tier weapons have had their special properties removed. On the other hand, iconic weapons used to be unique in that they could be reforged, moving up a quality tier (and having their level scaled to yours) each time they were upgraded like this - take an uncommon (green) Dying Light and you can use it to craft a rare (blue) Dying Light. So many redundant terms in that sentence… now weapons don’t scale to your level and the old rarities have been replaced by tiers that are mostly analogous (common = Tier 1, uncommon = Tier 2, rare = Tier 3, epic = Tier 4, legendary = Tier 5). Furthermore, all gear can be upgraded now, and it’s no longer prohibitively expensive to do so. To compensate for this, iconic weapons are now the only weapons capable of being upgraded to Tier 5++, and between their higher stat caps and special properties, they’re usually the best weapons in the game.

Iconic Weapons and Airdrops¶

Several iconic weapons can be found via airdrops, a gameplay mechanic unique to Dogtown. Periodically a dropship will fly overhead (you’ll get used to the sound, which helps let you know when they’re happening) and discharge an airdrop, which can be spotted by the red smoke they emit. Head over to the airdrop and dispatch the enemies nearby (if any - some airdrops require platforming instead of combat) and loot the airdrop (some airdrop caches must be breached) to get the contents within. You’ll almost certainly get several items scaled to your level, including weapons and cyberware, and some of these may be iconic. You’ll also likely get a carrying capacity shard that improves your maximum carry weight. The exact items you’ll get are random, so you may have to plunder numerous airdrops to get the iconic weapons you’re looking for, but even if you don’t find an iconic weapon, intercepting an airdrop is always worth the effort. For more details, check out the How Airdrops Work page.

Agaou¶

To obtain the axe Agaou, you must clear the “Increased Criminal Activity” event near the Luzor High Wellness Spa along the eastern end of Dogtown, near the stadium. There are plenty of Voodoo Boys running around here, with an unusually high number of Netrunners. Most dangerous of all is their leader, a cyberware-riddled netrunner by the name of Ayo Zarin, who breaks convention by also being handy enough in melee. Defeat her and she’ll drop this weapon.

Named after a thunder deity this weapon’s special is to “emit a shockwave” when you land critical hits with this weapon while throwing it. It’s a pretty niche use, honestly, especially since it has a 9-second cooldown after being thrown, which effectively makes it a more unreliable grenade. On the other hand, its melee stats are quite good, roughly comparable to various iconic katanas. It has no mod slots.

Alabai¶

A power shotgun that’s part of the Techtronika weapon series, you can claim it by intercepting airdrops. It’s a random drop, however, so it may take some time and luck to get ahold of it. Like the other weapons in the Techtronika series, the Alabai fires burning pellets which can set enemies on fire. Against burning enemies, you’ll always deal critical damage, and the more burning enemies nearby, the higher your crit damage will be, albeit at the expense of accuracy. It deals good damage, fires and reloads fast, has a good clip size, and is all-around a decent gun to use, even if the burn chance is somewhat low.

Cheetah¶

During the side job No Easy Way Out you’ll be tasked with escorting the quest-giver, Aaron, to a Ripperdoc named Damir. After you succeed at this you’ll be pestered by a woman named Angie, who has her own designs for Aaron - kill her and loot her to get this gun. Bog-standard in its fundamentals, it’s a semi-automatic pistol with a decent punch, clip size, and fire rate - it even has two mod slots (scope and muzzle). Along with +150% headshot damage and +50% crit damage, it boasts a 20% chance to inflict bleeding, and while it might seem like a fine sneaky headshotter, its unique properties veer in another direction, as this guns give bonus damage against nearby enemies, and when you land torso shots. It’s meant for the run-and-gunner, and while it works well enough in both roles, its lack of specialization prevents it from being special.

Cut-o-Matic X-Mod2¶

Bring the wrath of the God Emperor to Night City! You can find this chainsword near Terra Cognita, just fast travel to the fast travel station of the same name (it’s on the southern end of Dogtown). From here, head up some stairs to the southwest and look a bit to the right to spot a rocketship display. Head over to the base of this display (the stylized exhaust swoosh that serves as the rocket’s support), then continue into the swampy trench behind it, moving past various supports until you reach a dead end, where you’ll find a grisly scene - a bucket, a pile of trash, discarded limbs, a severe head… and lodged into this severe head is the Cut-o-Matic X-Mod2. Like most X-Mod2 weapons, the Cut-o-Matic is mostly noteworthy for its modability. Unfortunately, since it’s a melee weapon, this just means it has two mod slots. It does natively inflict bleed and burn, however.

Gris-Gris¶

During the main quest The Damned, after meeting with Alex you’ll accompany Reed in search of a netrunner named Slider. Enter the building and continue southeast into a large, multi-story circular room crawling with Voodoo Boys (you can also take a side route through a vent - beware the trap door in the vents!) and once cleared, make your way up to the second level of this circular room and go through a door to the southwest. You’ll find this gun in a weapon case on a desk.

Basically a unique Quasar, once one of our favorite weapons, now greatly diminished in patch 2.0 (the Quasar in general - not Gris-Gris, specifically), on its own Gris-Gris is a fine weapon, with a 150% headshot damage multiplier and 50% armor penetration, with the ability to charge up and fire in full-auto (otherwise firing semi-auto). What makes it special, however, is its ability to inflict a random quickhack on an enemy when you shoot them, which basically gives every shot a chance at afflicting a debuff. Unfortunately, the proc rate is so low that you really can’t rely on it, especially if your aim is halfway decent - if you can pull off headshots with some regularity you’ll probably kill enemies before a quickhack procs. While a fun Netrunner-themed weapon on paper, the Gris-Gris’s unique effect and the Quasar weapon, in general, both leave something to be desired.

Hawk¶

One of the few weapons you can’t find immediately after the leash is taken off during the main job Lucretia My Reflection, you’ll have to play a teeny bit more. Advance the aforementioned quest until you’re forced to return to the apartment Meyers is hiding out in, then leave again. When Reed informs you he and Meyers have left and he’ll be back in two days, return to the apartment to find the gun leaning against the wall near the storage. Guess madame president won’t be needing it anymore, and it’d be a real shame if it fell into the wrong hands… Meyer’s former weapon is a headshot machine, with a whopping +175% headshot damage multiplier. It also debuffs enemies after they sustain a headshot. Otherwise, it’s roughly comparable to the Kyubi X-Mod2, both being semi-auto assault rifles with similar stats, although the Hawk has fewer mod options. Not a bad sniper option, honestly.

Her Majesty¶

During the main job Get It Together you’ll have to jump through a bunch of hoops for Mr. Hands, namely by completing three gigs to get some intel from him. After this is done, meet with Mr. Hands at the Heavy Hearts club (the pyramid near the stadium), then report back to Reed at The Moth. After another relic episode, Reed will take you down to an underground bunker where V, Reed, and Alex will plan the upcoming mission. During this, Alex will give you this weapon - just take it out of the gun case and it’s yours.

Her Majesty is a power pistol that occupies a useful niche - it’s a capable silenced pistol that can be used to pick off enemies sneakily at midrange. Any Nue with a silencer can do this, but it’s not the most common strong point for an iconic pistol. As compared to a Nue of the same tier, Her Majesty deals less damage, reloads slower, has a lower effective range, and sacrifices +25% armor penetration for 150% headshot damage (compared to the Nue’s 125%). It’s not a clear-cut winner, especially if you get a high-tier Nue with two empty mod slots, but if you have some Optical Camo cyberware active, Her Majesty gains further boons, including perfect accuracy, a damage boost and guaranteed crits when landing headshots. Her Majesty also has a built-in silencer, so you don’t have to worry about equipping one. It’s… fine at its role, and downright good if you use Optical Camo a lot, but it’s arguably not any better than a Nue of comparable rarity.

Kyubi X-Mod2¶

A consistent problem with open-world RPGs is water. Now, we’re not going to complain about some games having too much or too little, but it’s awfully odd how many games give you the ability to swim and then have absolutely nothing worth actually swimming for. In this, Cyberpunk 2077 is not without sin, but the Kyubi X-Mod2 tries to atone for this offense somewhat. From the Golden Pacific fast travel station in the heart of Dogtown, cross the street to the southeast and you’ll find a pool. Dive in and swim to the bottom to find a corpse whose career as a spelunker has been helped by a concrete block tied to its legs. How thoughtful! The Kyubi X-Mod2 is beneath the corpse, on the concrete block that contributed to its extended dive.

A semi-automatic assault rifle with good range and damage, the Kyubi is a fine all-around gun that, much like the other weapons in the X-Mod2 family, can boast a great degree of modability. The Kyubi X-Mod2 has four mod slots, which you can use to make it perform more to your tastes.

Laika¶

Another member of the Techtronika weapon series, like others of its type its shots can inflict burn, but more than that, the Laika’s bullets are explosive! This gives them a damage boost and minor AoE, but it prevents the rounds from penetrating cover, which is a fairly significant downside for a tech weapon, in all honesty. That said, the Laika revolver deals massive damage per shot, which smooths over all shortcomings. Like other guns in the Techtronika series, it can be obtained randomly via airdrops.

Ogou¶

During the gig Treating Symptoms you’ll eventually need to defeat numerous robots, led by the miniboss Robot R Mk.2. Defeat and loot the machine to obtain this gun. And what a gun it is! As a smart weapon, it locks onto enemies, and once done the projectiles subsequently fired will seek out enemies, often going over or around cover to strike at them (although not unerringly - clutter and confined spaces can frustrate smart weapons). You know, in case aiming isn’t really your thing. It’s a decent gimmick, but this weapon is just silly, as it fires two explosive rounds every time you pull the trigger and can be held down to simulate full-auto fire. On top of that, it deals surprisingly decent damage for a smart pistol, making it a potent, brainless weapon you can just fire as you move about. It’s not the best weapon for every situation, but when it shines, it shines bright.

Raiju¶

One of several weapons that can be found during “Increased Criminal Activity” events, you can find this event west of the Kress Street fast travel station - that’s right, just outside your apartment in Dogtown. From the aforementioned fast travel station, follow the wall to the right as best you can, navigating around support pillars, around corners, and past abandoned construction equipment until you find some stairs past some storage shelters that have been converted into housing units. Past these stairs is a hostile, fortified area full of enemies. Fight through the checkpoint and into an underground stronghold, which you’ll need to clear, defeating a brute named Ross Ulmer in two separate encounters. After the second time, loot your fallen foe to score a Cache Access Card, which will open a nearby shutter door. Raiju is inside, lying proudly in a weapon case, waiting for a worthy warrior to claim it.

Oh Raiju, how we love you, let us count the ways… It’s a semi-automatic SMG that fires five-round bursts at incredible speed, dealing moderate damage with each bullet. It can also penetrate cover with every shot (not just when charged) and when it’s charged it’ll fire in full auto. It’s got a healthy +100% headshot damage modifier, deals +33% extra critical hit damage and headshots are more likely to critically hit. In short, if you’re keen on popping off close-range headshots and aren’t remotely worried about ammo consumption (why would you be? Just craft more!), Raiju is a gun worth looking at. On the downside, it has no mod slots, chews through ammo, and reloads every six bursts… but when you’re just splattering enemies, that’s hardly a concern.

Rasetsu¶

During the main job You Know My Name you’ll eventually come to a segment where you’ll need to commandeer a sniper nest and cover Reed as he sneaks across the level in front of you. The embedded rifle you’ll use during this sniper nest part of the mission is the Rasetsu, a tech sniper rifle with a whopping +300% headshot damage multiplier, 50% armor penetration, and no mod slots, stacked on top of the decent damage output. You hit something in the head, it’s probably dead. Furthermore, you can charge this gun to penetrate enemies and cause your bullets to seek and strike multiple enemies.

While the main goal of the stealth sequence is to guide Reed across the level without being detected, this is entirely optional, and if you botch things you’ll just have to gun down enemies with the Rasetsu. Succeed or fail at the sniper nest sequence and V will rip the gun off its mooring when she leaves, adding the useful toy to her arsenal.

Sparky¶

Another weapon you can get from “increased Criminal Activity” events, this one doesn’t actually require you to defeat any named enemies (although there is a pesky drone which, somehow, is this event’s boss?). Head over to the Terra Cognita building along the southern edge of Dogtown - it’s the large building with the rocket statue out front, just go up some stairs to the southwest and look right and you should spot it. Plenty of unfriendly Voodoo Boys in here, but if you enter via the main entrance (the side of the building that’s has numerous panels forming a single “Mass Driver” screen) all you need to do is turn right, go up the nonfunctional escalators, enter the room ahead of you, and grab ol’ Sparky from its case.

If you like sniper rifles and don’t particularly care about going undetected (an odd combo, to be sure), Sparky is a weapon to consider. It deals massive damage, has great range and a passable built-in scope, and gets a whopping +250% headshot damage multiplier. On top of this, it has 50% armor penetration and a 30% chance to inflict shock. Oh, and it shoots chain lightning to nearby enemies if you land a headshot. No big deal. Now for some downsides - its fire rate is incredibly slow, as is its reload speed. Pair that with a four-round clip and this unwieldy weapon is obviously not ideal for all situations. Worse still, the chain lightning that arcs when you land a headshot does not discriminate, and this weapon has the unfortunate tendency to zorch nearby civilians. Still, something that can one-shot an elite with full health can’t be bad.

Taigan¶

Yet another iconic weapon from the Techtronika series, like its fellows it has a chance to burn enemies. It also fires explosive rounds, like the Laika, but it’s not a tech weapon, so you don’t have to feel sad when it can’t penetrate cover. Compared to the Laika it deals around half the damage, but its much larger clip means you won’t be spending nearly as much time reloading. Like the Laika, it still aspires to be a proper hand cannon, just don’t expect too much out of the explosive rounds in terms of AoE. You have a chance to randomly find this weapon when you loot airdrops.

Umbra X-Mod2¶

From the Terra Cognita fast travel station (along the southwestern edge of Dogtown), turn northwest to spot the entrance to a parking garage, now decorated with hanging corpses, as is the Dogtown manner. Pass through the parking garage and as soon as you’re back under the sky, keep going, following the elevated walkway to your left until it ends in some stairs. At this point, you should spot an overhang trimmed in blue lights, and if you look close you’ll see some large electrical lines running into the nearby building (look for the metallic blocks - also trimmed in blue light - that regularly segment these power lines). Jump onto some pipes and follow the wires into the building, around a corner, and over an electrified corpse. Poor dude just wanted to watch anime in peace… anyways, cross the current and you’ll find a bed, upon which this gun rests.

Compared to the Kyubi X-Mod2, another iconic power assault rifle of the X-Mod2 family, it deals around half the damage, fires over twice as fast, is full-auto, reloads faster, has a lower effective range, less headshot damage and one fewer mod slot - no scope on this bad boy, but given its range, that’s probably not the biggest loss.