The BEST Shotgun Build In Cyberpunk 2077 – The Strong Solo

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Build Introduction

The Strong Solo is a classic build in the world of Cyberpunk. Brutal, Unstoppable and a whole lot of fun! Ready to blast your enemies to pieces while quickly regenerating your Health and taking minimal damage? Then read on!

Starting Attributes

The primary focuses for the Strong Solo build will be Shotguns and Light Machine Guns (LMGs) for close range firepower. Both of these Skill Trees can be found in Annihilation, so to get an early start with these powerful weapons, we’ll want 6 total points into the Body attribute. The Body Attribute also increases our Health and Stamina for each attribute level.

The next primary attribute we’ll want to invest in is Cool which will power the Cold Blood Skill Tree which provides many combat advantages such as increased speed and armor – so 6 total points here right away. The final attribute point I recommend is in Technical Ability as this will eventually allow you to Craft higher level weapons that deal more damage!

The distribution of attribute points at level 50 can be found below.

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 Strong Solo Build is as follows:

Body: 20 (+14)
Intelligence: 3 (+0)
Reflexes: 8 (+5)
Tech: 20 (+16)
Cool: 20 (+14)

Life Path

For Lifepath I decided to play my Strong Solo build as a Street Kid. Growing up on the streets and back alleys of Night City adds just the right kind of credibility and toughness to a charater like this, plus some of the Lifepath specific dialog choices actually did fit with this theme so I do recommend it if that’s the theme you’re going for as well.

On the streets of Night City, only the strong survive.

Weapons And Gear

Let’s talk Weapons and Gear next.

This build is all about the WEAPONS. You will want three weapons on hand at all times: a Shotgun for close range combat, a LMG for medium range combat, and some type of backup weapon if you happen to run out of Ammo! This build is very dependent on having the Best Weapons, so read on below for some powerful options that will get you FAR in Night City.

For the Shotgun, I recommend you try to pick up a Carnage as soon as possible. The name says it all for this one. The Carnage shotgun can be absolutely devastating with the right mods equipped. Luckily, these can be found fairly easily at Weapon Shops throughout Night City or picked up from fallen enemies. Nothing fancy here, just pure Carnage!

If you’re looking for an Iconic weapon that packs an even bigger punch then you should also pick up the Bloody Maria Shotgun. This weapon was added to the game back in Patch 1.5 and has some amazing stats! The Bloody Maria shotgun is actually fairly easy to get as well so it’s definitely recommended for this build!

Next, let’s talk about Light Machine Guns (LMGs) which are another staple of the Strong Solo Build. These massive weapons can clear out dozens of enemies at once and add some much needed medium and long range fire-power to this build. There is an Iconic LMG in Cyberpunk 2077 that is perfect for this build: the Defender. This unique LMG eliminates vertical recoil, making it much easier to aim at and efficiently eliminate groups of enemies.

Weapon Mods

One of my favorite mods for Shotguns in Cyberpunk 2077 is something like the Pulverize Mod which increases limb damage. Multiple Pulverize mods can be stacked for tons of close-range damage. Another great option for Shotguns is a Combat Amplifier which will increase the chance your Shotgun has to apply status effects like Bleeding and Burning. This is a great option for finishing off enemies rather than wasting shells.

Ammo

You will go through TONS of ammo using this build, so make sure to regularly invest Attribute Points into Engineering and Perk Points into the Crafting Skill Tree because we want to craft ammo when possible. This means with enough components you’ll never run out of the supplies you need. Try to never go below having a few 100 rounds on your character at all times.

Cyberware

Moving on to Cyberware next. Some of my favorites options for the Strong Solo Build are the more defensive Cyberware items like Dermal Plating – this can be found in all different strengths and rarities that give you higher innate armor rating. Other forms of subdermal armor give you protection from specific status effects like the Fireproof coating which protects you from Burn.

Anything else that increases Health, Stamina or Armor should be used as much as possible. For example, a Synaptic Signal Optimizer can give a large boost to your Health, ensuring greater survival in combat.

The Berserk Cyberware implant is another great option for lowering recoil and increasing your armor and resistances.

Skills And Perks

Moving on to Skills and Perks we have quite a bit to cover in this section involving Annihilation, Athletics, Crafting, Cold Blood and a few secret Perks that give us a massive damage increase! 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 play style.

Recommended Annihilation Perks

The Annihilation Skill Tree includes all of our Shotgun and LMG focused Perks so we will obviously be spending quite a bit of Perk Points here. The most import of these have to do with increased damage, increased Crit Chance and Crit Damage, and reduced Weapon Recoil.

For the complete list of updated Annihilation Perks be sure to check out our Annihilation Perk Guide.

LEVEL 1
NAME EFFECT
Hail Of Bullets Shotguns and Light Machines Guns deal (3% | 6% | 10%) more damage. (3 Ranks)
LEVEL 5
NAME EFFECT
Pump It, Louder! Reduces recoil of Shotguns and Light Machine Guns by (10% | 20%). (2 Ranks)
In Your Face Reduces reload time of Shotguns and Light Machine Guns by (15% | 30%). (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 7
NAME EFFECT
Dead Center Increases damage to torsos from Shotguns and Light Machine Guns by (10% | 20%). (2 Ranks)
Bloodrush Increases movement speed in combat by (5% | 10%) while carrying a Shotgun or Light Machine Gun. (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 9
NAME EFFECT
Bulldozer Increases Crit Chance with Shotguns and Light Machine Guns by 5%.
Mongoose Increases Mitigation Chance by 25% while reloading Shotguns and Light Machine Guns. By default, Mitigation grants a chance to reduce any damage taken by 50%.
LEVEL 11
NAME EFFECT
Momentum Shift Defeating an enemy using a Shotgun or Light Machine Gun increases movement speed by (10% | 15% | 20%) for 10 seconds. (3 Ranks)
Massacre Increases Crit Damage with Shotguns and Light Machine Guns by (10% | 20% | 30%). (3 Ranks)
LEVEL 12
NAME EFFECT
Skeet Shooter Deals 15% more damage to moving targets using Shotguns or Light Machine Guns.
LEVEL 14
NAME EFFECT
Manic When entering combat using a Shotgun or Light Machine Gun, your movement speed increases by 20% for 10 seconds.
LEVEL 16
NAME EFFECT
Burn Baby Burn Doubles the duration of burn.
Speed Demon You deal more damage the faster you’re moving.
LEVEL 18
NAME EFFECT
Popping Off Shotguns have a (25% | 50%) higher chance of dismembering enemies. (2 Ranks)
LEVEL 20
NAME EFFECT
Biathlete Weapon spread does not increase while moving.
Bloodbath Dismembering enemies reduces weapon recoil by 50% for 6 seconds.
+1% per Perk level.

Recommended Athletics Perks

The Athletics Skill Tree is focused on physical tasks primarily such as running, jumping, shooting and reloading. Many Perks in this Skill Tree will improve your overall combat experience in Cyberpunk 2077.

For the complete list of updated Athletics Perks be sure to check out our Athletic Perks Guide.

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 11
NAME EFFECT
Multitasker Allows you to shoot while sprinting, sliding and vaulting.
Divided Attention Allows you to reload weapons while sprinting, sliding and vaulting.
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%.

Recommended Cold Blood Perks

The Cold Blood Skill Tree will add to the overall speed, durability and damage of this build. With Cold Blood, the more kills you rack up in combat, the stronger you get!

For the complete list of updated Cold Blood Perks be sure to check out our Cold Blood Perks Guide.

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)
LEVEL 7
NAME EFFECT
Easy Out While Cold Blood is active, increases ranged weapon damage by (10% | 20%) to enemies within an area of 5 meters. (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.
Frozen Precision Increases headshot damage by 5% per stack of Cold Blood.
LEVEL 12
NAME EFFECT
Icy Veins Reduces weapon recoil by (3% | 6%) per stack of Cold Blood. (2 Ranks)
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 of Cold Blood.
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 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 10% and Crit Damage by 25%.

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

Recommended Ninjutsu (Stealth) Perks

The Ninjutsu (formerly Stealth) Skill Tree allows the Strong Solo Build to deal even more damage to human enemies.

For the complete list of updated Ninjutsu Perks be sure to check out our Ninjutsu Perks Guide.

LEVEL 7
NAME EFFECT
Assassin Deal 15% more damage to human enemies.

Recommended Engineering Perks

Similar to Ninjutsu, the Engineering Skill Tree will help us deal more damage to a specific type of enemy: mechs, robots and drones.

For the complete list of updated Engineering Perks be sure to check out our Engineering Perks Guide.

LEVEL 9
NAME EFFECT
Bladerunner Increases damage to drones, mechs and robots by (20% | 40%). (2 Ranks)

 

Pros And Cons

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

Pros

Under Pros this build does extremely well at close range, pumping out tons of damage with both our Shotgun and LMG. Remember that with the right Perks like Manic and Speed Demon, more speed equals more damage on this build, so don’t be afraid to rush in quickly. With our strong Athletics Perks we also have great Health Recovery on this build, so be sure to take advantage by ducking into cover to heal up whenever possible to save on stim packs.

Cons

In terms of disadvantages keep in mind that you don’t have the best range in the game, so dealing with Snipers can be tricky especially in more open locations if you can’t find cover. This is where you can use something like the Defender LMG to take out targets at longer range.

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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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