Cyberpunk 2077 Melee Build – Street Brawler

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Build Introduction to the Street Brawler

Welcome to a brand new Cyberpunk 2077 Build: The Street Brawler! This build is a balls to the wall melee fighter that manages huge damage spikes with whatever weapon you can get your hands on, from hammers to bats to nothing but your bare fists!

In this guide we’ll cover everything you need to know to make it work including the primary attributes, best weapons, armor, cyberware, and all the best perks you’ll want to pick up, so let’s get started.

Starting Attributes

Alright, let’s talk starting attributes. Our primary focuses on this build will of course be Blunt Melee Weapons, empowered through the Street Brawler Skill Tree which increases through the Body Attribute. This Stat will also be helpful in selecting higher Perks from the Athletics Skill Tree and Annihilation Skill Tree which can actually benefit this build as well. So you’ll want to put three early attribute points into Body for a total of 6.

The next primary attribute we’ll want to invest in is the Cool Attribute. Cool empowers the very useful Cold Blood Skill Tree which unlocks some very powerful offensive and defensive Perks based on how many enemies we defeat in quick succession. You’ll also get a few nice Perks from the Stealth Skill Tree as well. I recommend putting three starting points into the Cool Attribute for a total of 6.

Your final starting attribute point is up to you but I would recommend placing that point into the Technical Ability Attribute. Technical Ability will allow us to fully customize and upgrade our Build through the Crafting Skill Tree.

Suggested Starting Stats.

Attribute Progression

You’ll earn 49 additional Attribute points throughout your journey to level 50 in Cyberpunk 2077. The recommended distribution for The Street Brawler Build is as follows:

Body: 20 (+14)
Reflexes: 11 (+8)
Tech: 18 (+13)
Int: 3
Cool: 20 (+14)

Life Path

Finally for the Life Path of the Street Brawler, choosing Street kid makes the most sense from a thematic point of view. Your story as the Street Kid begins with recovering from a recent fist fight, so the background does tend to fit.

Weapons And Gear

Let’s talk Weapons and Gear next.

In terms of weaponry, this build will focus almost entirely on mastering Blunt Melee Weapons, whether they be Bats, Hammers, Canes or Sticks!

My absolute favorite weapon for this build is a Unique Iconic weapon from the series of side missions involving Johnny Silverhand. This is the Gold-Plated Baseball Bat. You get this from one of Johnny’s former bandmates, and it’s easy to miss – plus the mission series is optional. If you want to unlock this powerful weapon make sure to begin the side quests with Johnny as soon as possible.

Assuming you missed the side missions with Johnny or you just aren’t at that point yet in the story, you can make due with any standard Blunt Melee Weapon as well. Keep an eye out for something with increased Crit Chance or Crit Damage especially. Below is an example of a Legendary Wrench we can be purchased from Melee Vendors.

Weapon Mods

The Pacifier Mod is a good choice for any Melee Build as this will increase your Crit Damage even further.

Armor Mods

A wide variety of stat-boosting Armor Mods are also available in Cyberpunk 2077. Keep an eye out for any legendary mods that may drop from random encounters in Night City. My favorite option is the Fortuna Clothing Mod which increases Crit Chance by a further 15%.

Cyberware

Moving on to Cyberware next.

The centerpiece cyberware option for this build will be the Sandevistan. Multiple different forms and rarities of the Sandevistan exist in Cyberpunk 2077, available from different manufacturers. The exact model you pick up does not make a huge difference, though higher quality pieces will grant you better stats and more time spent in Time Dilation mode.  

The Sandevistan is one of the most powerful types of active cyberware in the game.

Within the Skeletal System the Synaptic Signal Optimizer is a great option for the increasing your maximum Health.

The Bionic Lungs, also attached to the Skeletal System, is a similar Stat-boosting option – this time increasing your maximum Stamina.

If you want to attempt using your Bare Fists on this build, then the Gorilla Arms cyberware attachment is recommended. This makes your strong and light attacks with fists do nearly as much damage as a Blunt Melee Weapon, and can be further empowered by Mods.

Skills And Perks

Moving on to Skills and Perks next, we have quite a bit to cover in this section involving Street Brawler, Athletics, Annihilation, Cold Blood and Stealth. I’m going to go through what I think are the most important Perks to pick up so you can plan ahead. Keep in mind that this is just what I recommend and you can obviously mix and match the Perks you prefer to suit your playstyle.

Recommended Street Brawler Perks

The Street Brawler Skill Tree includes several melee weapon related Perks for increased damage and better sustain. The recommended Perks for this build are below. For the full list of Perks, see the Street Brawler Skill Line.

LEVEL 1
NAME EFFECT
Crushing Blows Increases damage from Strong Attacks with Blunt Weapons by (10% | 20% | 30%). (3 Ranks)
Flurry Increaees damage from combo attacks with Blunt Weapons by (30% | 40% | 50%). (3 Ranks)
LEVEL 4
NAME EFFECT
Juggernaut Increases Armor by (15% | 30%) while blocking with a Blunt Weapon. (2 Ranks)
Dazed All attacks with Blunt Weapons have a (15% | 30%) chance to apply Stun. (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 6
NAME EFFECT
Rush Successful attacks with Blunt Weapons regenerate (3% | 5%) Health over 2 seconds. (2 Ranks)
Efficient Blows Reduces the Stamina cost of all attacks with Blunt Weapons by (25% | 50%). (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 8
NAME EFFECT
Opportune Strike Increases damage with Blunt Weapons against enemies affected by Stun by 50%.
LEVEL 10
NAME EFFECT
Reinvigorate Defeating an enemy by performing a Strong Attack with a Blunt Weapon restores (10% | 20% | 30%) Stamina. (3 Ranks)
LEVEL 12
NAME EFFECT
Relentless Successful attacks with Blunt Weapons against enemies affected by Stun restore (20% | 30%) Stamina. (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 15
NAME EFFECT
Thrash Strong Attacks with Blunt Weapons reduce the target’s Armor by (20% | 40%) for 7 seconds. (2 Ranks)
Frenzy Defeating an enemy increases damage with Blunt Weapons by (30% | 50%) for 5 seconds. (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 18
NAME EFFECT
Unshakable Successful attacks with Blunt Weapons against enemies affected by Stun restore (5% | 10% | 15%) Health and (5% | 10% | 15%) Stamina. (3 Ranks)
LEVEL 20
NAME EFFECT
Guerrilla

Increases Crit Damage by 60% for 10 seconds after entering combat.

+2% per Perk level.

Recommended Athletics Perks

The Athletics Skill Tree is focused primarily on improving our movement and maximum stats. The recommended Perks for this build are below. For the full list of Perks, see the Athletics Skill Line.

LEVEL 1
NAME EFFECT
Pack Mule Increases Carrying Capacity by 60.
Regeneration Health slowly regenerates during combat.
LEVEL 5
NAME EFFECT
True Grit Increases max Stamina by (10% | 20% | 30%). (3 Ranks)
LEVEL 7
NAME EFFECT
Wolverine Health regeneration activates (20% | 40% | 60%) faster during combat. (3 Ranks)
Epimorhosis Increases Health regeneration threshold from (60% | 65% | 70%)  to (65% | 70% | 75%) in combat and to 100% out of combat. (3 Ranks)
LEVEL 9
NAME EFFECT
Steel And Chrome Increases Melee Damage by (10% | 20%). (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 11
NAME EFFECT
Like A Butterfly Dodging does not drain Stamina.
LEVEL 12
NAME EFFECT
Invincible Increases max Health by 15%.
Tenacious V Getting hit does not interrupt Health regeneration.
LEVEL 14
NAME EFFECT
Marathoner Sprinting does not drain Stamina.
LEVEL 16
NAME EFFECT
Dog Of War Increases Health regeneration in combat by (30% | 60%). (2 Ranks)
Cardio Cure Health regenerates (15% | 30% ) faster as you move. (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 18
NAME EFFECT
Steel Shell Increases Armor by 10%
LEVEL 20
NAME EFFECT
The Rock Enemies cannot knock you down.
Indestructible Reduces all incoming damage by 10%.
Hard Mother When entering combat, Armor and Resistances increase by 10% for 1 second.
+1 per Perk level.

Recommended Annihilation Perks

While Shotguns and LMG’s are not a focus of this Melee Build, you can gain some extra speed and mobility from the Annihilation skill line. The recommended Perks for this build are below. For the full list of Perks, see the Annihilation Skill Line.

LEVEL 16
NAME EFFECT
Speed Demon You deal more damage the faster you’re moving.

Recommended Ninjutsu Perks

The Ninjutsu (formerly Stealth) Skill Tree will add to the overall effectiveness of this build including increased damage and damage reduction when at low health. The recommended Perks for this build are below. For the full list of Perks, see the Ninjutsu Skill Line.

LEVEL 7
NAME EFFECT
Assassin Deal 15% more damage to human enemies.
LEVEL 18
NAME EFFECT
Cheat Death When your Health drops below 50%, reduce all incoming damage by 50% for 10 seconds. Cannot occur more than once per minute.

Recommended Cold Blood Perks

The Cold Blood Skill Tree increases our overall damage and resistances based on how many kills we rack up in combat. The recommended Perks for this build are below. For the full list of Perks, see the Cold Blood Skill Line.

LEVEL 1
NAME EFFECT
Cold Blood After defeating an enemy, gain Cold Blood for 7 seconds and increase movement speed by 2%. Stacks up to (1 | 2 | 3) time(s). The duration of each additional stack is 1 second shorter. (3 Ranks)
LEVEL 5
NAME EFFECT
Will To Survive Increases all Resistances by (3% | 6%) per stack of Cold Blood. (2 Ranks)
Blood Brawl While Cold Blood is active, increases damage with melee weapons (5% | 10%). (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 9
NAME EFFECT
Defensive Clotting Increases Armor by (4% | 8%) per stack of Cold Blood. (2 Ranks)
Rapid Bloodflow Increase Health regeneration inside and outside of combat by (5% | 10%) per stack of Cold Blood. (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 11
NAME EFFECT
Coagulant Stacks of Cold Blood are removed one by one, not all at once.
LEVEL 12
NAME EFFECT
Predator Increases attack speed by (10% | 30%) per stack of Cold Blood. (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 14
NAME EFFECT
Cold And Calculating Landing a Crit Hit has a 50% chance of applying a stack fo Cold Blood.
Pain Is An Illusion While Cold Blood is active, reduces damage taken by 5%.
LEVEL 16
NAME EFFECT
Coldest Blood Increases max stack for Cold Blood by (1 | 2).  (2 Ranks)
Critical Condition Increases duration of Cold Blood by (25% | 50%). (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 18
NAME EFFECT
Immunity Grants immunity to Bleeding, Poison, Burn and Shock when at least 4 stacks of Cold Blood are active.
LEVEL 20
NAME EFFECT
Bloodswell Upon receiving lethal damage while Cold Blood is active, prevents death, consumes all stacks of Cold Blood, restoring 10% Health per stack and grants Damage Immunity for 5 seconds. Player cannot gain Cold Blood while perk is active. Cooldown 15 seconds.
Merciless

While Cold Blood is active, increases Crit Chance by 5% and Crit Damage by 25%.

+1% Crit Chance and +3% Crit Damage per Perk level.

Pros And Cons

Let’s discuss what works well on this build as well as the potential challenges you will face.

Pros

This build does great initial damage, especially when using Strong Attacks. We also have several sources of enhanced mobility and armor, especially after defeating multiple enemies to gain stacks of Cold Blood.

Cons

In terms of disadvantages keep in mind that you don’t have as much defense against Snipers and other long range builds that may take you more time to deal with.

Combat Tips

Finally, a few additional combat tips before you head out.

1) Use a Strong Attack as your opener for the additional Armor Shred provided by the Thrash Perk.

2) Use the Sandevistan to slow down time in order to close the gap between you and a long distance enemy.

 

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Hack The Minotaur (HTM) is a professional Gaming Blogger and Youtube Creator with decades of experience in Gaming. Hack is the owner of HackTheMinotaur.com – an Elder Scrolls focused site for character builds and guides, and now Cyberpunkcentral.com – your source for unique Cyberpunk 2077 guides, builds and more!

Hack loves gaming content, particularly Traditional RPG’s, Action RPG’s and MMO’s. Go check out his YouTube Channel for even more builds and guides on popular series like the Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Cyberpunk and make sure to check out his social media for updates on what content is coming next!

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