Cyberpunk 2077: Best perks for Shotguns

If you ask anyone what their favorite weapons are in Cyberpunk 2077, I’d bet a few would say shotguns. And who can blame them because shotguns are a very cool weapon to use in the game. Plus, thanks to the new progression system in the 2.0 update, Shotguns play very differently now. So if you have a shotgun build in mind from the previous state of the game, toss it out the window. Here are the best perks for shotguns now in Cyberpunk 2077.

Cyberpunk 2077: Best Shotgun perks

Shotguns are a very satisfying weapon type in Cyberpunk 2077. But using them to their full potential can be pretty dangerous. So you may want to pair up these Shotgun perks with ones like Adrenaline Rush which boost your health. That way, you can take the pain for longer and dish out as much carnage as you want.

Related: Is Cyberpunk 2077 good now — Is 2.0 enough to save the game?

Screenshot: PC Invasion

As far as Shotgun perks go, CD Projekt Red has lumped this gun type, as well as LMGs and HMGs, into the same skill tree. Head over to Body and look at the branch on the left. This is where you’ll find all of the Shotgun perks in Cyberpunk 2077 now. The first is Die! Die! Die!, which suitably has a little picture of Rebecca from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. This perk lowers your recoil and increases your fire rate as your stamina gets lower. And if you want to stay mobile with your shotgun, grab Like a Feather as it gets rid of the movement speed penalty.

Screenshot: PC Invasion

Further up the skill tree, we have Spontaneous Obliteration. At max level, this unlocks Obliterate, which gives you the chance to instantly kill enemies if they’re at low health. And as an enemy’s health gets lower, the chance will increase to a maximum of 20%. This has accompanying perks like Dread, which reduces an enemy’s armor by 15% with ranged attacks. But the added bonus here is that if Obliterate dismembers an enemy and those remains spread to another foe, they share the -15% armor debuff. This paired with Close-Quarters Carnage, which increases the chance of causing Obliterate, makes Shotguns very messy to play with in Cyberpunk 2077.

The best perk in this skill tree is Rip and Tear. And this seems to be more than just a simple reference to Doom Eternal as it actually wants you to play similarly to the Doom Slayer. It gives you a +100% damage buff to the next quick melee attack after you shoot an enemy with a shotgun. And then you also get the inverse where the next Shotgun shot gives a +100% damage bonus to the next melee attack. It essentially has you quickly alternating attacks from enemy to enemy, and it makes large encounters a blast, literally. Shotguns are already powerful, but these perks make you even more dangerous in Cyberpunk 2077.