Famously, machine guns have been the harbinger of gratuitous violence and destruction in any game. These overpowered guns occupy the top tier regarding firing rate and damage inflicted on enemies. Cyberpunk 2077 is no exception to this rule, incorporating three weapons that will make your enemies tremble in fear when they see you approaching. This guide analyzes machine guns, their strengths and weaknesses, and what build will best suit these highly destructive weapons. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Machine guns in Cyberpunk 2077 are of two types; Light Machine-guns and Heavy Machine guns. The LMGs are the MA70 HB LMG and the M2607 Defender. There’s only one heavy machine gun in the game: the Militech MK.31. These guns allow players to stand there and pump an extraordinary amount of lead into enemies’ limbs.
Militech MK.31
The Militech MK.31 is a very powerful large, automatic Heavy Machine gun, one of its kind, and is usually mounted on turrets. Cyberpunk 2077 allows players to rip out the heavy machine gun from the turret and use it as a weapon. To yield this heavy weapon, you need a Body Level of at least 11. The heavy machine gun can’t be fitted in your inventory, and this gun gets dropped when switching to another weapon. It also has no scope, muzzle, or additional mod slots to enhance its abilities.
Players can’t run or dodge when yielding the weapon, and their movement speed greatly decreases. A tremendous movement penalty can be slowly negated by levelling up Body skills. It’s a temporary weapon, housing 300 rounds, and when those run out, the weapon has to be dropped. The 300 rounds are enough for infiltrating enemy bases such as the Arasaka Industrial Park or the Wraith camp, provided players time their shots and don’t overheat the weapon. The weapon is prone to overheating, rendering it inactive for a few minutes after shooting 72 rounds without stopping.
The Militech MK.31 is the most violent gun in the game, as dismembered limbs and gory internal bleeding is the norm when players use the gun. The heavy machine gun surprisingly has very little recoil and weapon sway, which is a bonus for using this gun. This impressive all-range weapon has only one major drawback, which is the scarcity of the weapon. As this weapon can’t be stored, players must go out of their way to source it every time. The limited availability is a big hassle and involves much traveling.
Turrets located throughout the world are the best place to get one. The Autowerks in the Badlands, shown in the picture below, has two of these turrets, and all players have to do, is rip the gun out of the turret and utilize the 300 rounds for maximum carnage and damage. The lack of reloading, the movement penalty, and the inability to rebound bullets make this weapon an occasional treat rather than a long-time addition to any build. This gun is designed to be used this way, with no mods, no scopes, no reloads, and no recoil; very rare to source but extremely powerful.
MA70 HB
The Midnight Arms MA70 is one of the two light machine guns in Cyberpunk 2077. It boasts a base DPS of 1164. This LMG requires a Body level of 10. Otherwise, the user will experience significant weapon recoil and sway, a slightly reduced firing rate, and cannot sprint while wielding the weapon. Unlike the HMG, this weapon allows users to equip a scope and rare mods combined with 70 rounds per clip. Make no mistake; finding even the epic tier of this weapon is a hassle, and players will have to refresh multiple weapon vendors to find this weapon. The best bet for acquiring this weapon is going to the Japan Town weapon vendor and refreshing the inventory until it’s available. This weapon has no Crafting specifications, paired with a completely randomized acquisition method. It will take time for players to acquire the legendary tier of this weapon.
Compared to the other LMG, its smaller clip size, slower reload, and reduced firing rate, this gun has a lower base DPS than its counterpart. Still, it’s a very versatile and impressive machine gun, making this a walking, screeching nightmare for your enemies. The MA70 registers upward recoil with little horizontal recoil, making it a perfect weapon for ricocheting bullets into enemies. The ricocheting method is an incredibly effective way to target enemies’ limbs and lower bodies, helping manage the efficiency and bullets in the gun. The MA70 is a versatile gun with lots of firepower and packs a deadly punch for those unfortunate enough on the receiving end of it.
Constitutional Arms M2067 Defender
The legendary M2067 Defender is the crowning jewel of this machine gun guide. It sports 100 rounds per clip and has a base DPS of an incredible 1282. Like the previous LMG, users can add a scope and rare mods to transform it into a perfect instrument of death. The weapon requires a minimum Body attribute of Level 10 to wield this weapon efficiently. Otherwise, the user will experience an increased weapon recoil and sway, decreased firing rate, and unable to sprint with the weapon. These effects can also be countered by equipping the Gorilla Arms.
The Legendary variant of this weapon can be bought from the Kabuki weapon vendor for 65,000 eurodollars. But this guide recommends the epic variant, which can be gotten by completing the Cyberpsycho Sighting: Ticket to the Major Leagues in Little China, Watson. This quest involves defeating the Cyberpsycho Alec Johnson, who wields a modified epic variant of the weapon that eliminates vertical recoil while aiming. The difference between the modified epic variant and the legendary variant is day and night, as the picture below shows the difference in the firing pattern of the two guns.
Although the modified epic variant is less powerful than its legendary counterpart, with zero vertical recoils, the epic variant allows players to execute consistent Headshots in combat, increasing damage values significantly. It also helps to eliminate enemies quickly and thus uses fewer bullets. Early in their playthrough, players can pick up the Crafting specifications for this weapon from Barry Alken in crime activity in Little China, Watson. Players will find a rare crafting specification for this gun by defeating Barry Alken and using the True Craftsman perk, and players can craft this gun. Members of law enforcement also carry this gun, but it’s a matter of luck finding the right target. The gun guarantees you the firepower of a small army and is quite advantageous during the game’s earlier stages.
The Defender has a quick firing rate with a faster reload time for its size and is equipped with a larger clip than the MA70. The added relentlessness of this machine gun makes it far better than any other automatic weapon in the game. The base variant of this gun has a medium upwards and slightly horizontal recoil, making the epic modified variant more powerful and desirable. The ricochet effect of this machine gun is incredibly fast, and the damage from the ricochet often exceeds the normal damage. For the ricochet effects, players must get the Draw the Line perk in the Engineering section of the Technical Ability skill tree. This perk allows you to see the trajectory of bullets after they have ricocheted off the ground.
Recommended Build for Machine Guns
Machine guns are directly tied to the Annihilation section in the Body Skill tree. Players must upgrade the Body attribute to Level 20. The rest of the skill distribution is as follows: Reflexes 10, Technical Ability 18, Cool 18, Intelligence 3, and Body 20.
Players should buy all the perks in the Annihilation Skill tree, as it will boost their performances with heavy and light machine guns. Next, players should upgrade their Technical AbilityAbility to 18, buying most of the perks from the Crafting section. In the Engineering section of Technical AbilityAbility, the two ricochet perks are essential for enhancing the damages and ricochets of LMGs. The perks are Draw the Line and Play the Angles. In the Cool Skill tree, 19 points should be utilized in the Cold Blood section, prolonging the Cold Blood mode for as long as possible. The build will also use a legendary Militech Berserk MK.5 implant in its operating system and the Beast Mode mod in its primary mod slot. These two implants reduce weapon recoil and sway. The Bionic Joints and Microrotors should also be equipped to enhance our skill with ranged weapons.
That’s all from this guide. Thanks for reading this through.