Looking to maximize your Reflexes build in Night City? Choosing the right assault rifle can mean the difference between cleanly wiping an entire MaxTac squad and getting overwhelmed.
While the base game offers plenty of firepower, the Phantom Liberty expansion introduced incredibly strong hybrid tech. If you are searching for the Cyberpunk 2077 Best Assault Rifles, this guide breaks down the absolute top-tier Iconic weapons and exactly where to find them.
Table of Contents
Tier 1: The Best Power Assault Rifles
Note: Power weapons allow bullets to ricochet off hard surfaces to hit targets behind cover.
Hawk (Phantom Liberty Expansion)
The Hawk trades away full-auto spray for devastating, semi-automatic precision. It behaves like a scout rifle. It packs a massive headshot multiplier and cripples enemy combat capabilities on impact.
- Key Stats (Tier 5): +175% Headshot Damage Multiplier, +25% Armor Penetration.
- Iconic Effect: Headshots temporarily weaken and mark enemies. Weakened enemies move slower, cannot use cyberware abilities, deal significantly less damage, and lose their balance easily.
- How to Get It: During the Phantom Liberty main quest “Lucretia My Reflection,” after you escort President Myers to the Kress Street safehouse and meet Solomon Reed. As they leave the apartment, the gun will be leaning against the wall right next to the exit doors.
Moron Labe
If your playstyle is fast and aggressive, the Moron Labe easily ranks among the Cyberpunk 2077 Best Assault Rifles for close-quarters combat. Built on the Militech Ajax frame, this full-auto rifle has an incredibly high fire rate optimized for shredding armor.
- Key Stats (Tier 5): +100% Headshot Damage Multiplier, +25% Armor Penetration.
- Iconic Effect: Grants a massive +400% bonus chance to dismember targets. Dismemberments instantly drop standard enemies and apply bleeding to surrounding targets.
- How to Get It: You must craft it. The crafting spec drops from the Maelstrom boss Anton Kolev during an NCPD Suspected Organized Crime Activity scanner hustle in West Wind Estate/Pacifica.
Psalm 11:6
An incredible early-game weapon that scales beautifully into the late game. It is a modified Nokota Copperhead that abandons standard kinetic bullets in favor of chaos-inducing explosive ammo.
- Key Stats (Tier 5): +100% Headshot Damage Multiplier, +25% Armor Penetration, +30% Burn Chance.
- Iconic Effect: Fires custom thermal explosive rounds that deal fire damage in a tight 3-meter radius, boasting a high probability of igniting crowds.
- How to Get It: You must craft it. The crafting spec drops from Tom Ayer during an NCPD Suspected Organized Crime Activity hustle located in the northern area of Watson (Northside).
Tier 2: The Best Smart Assault Rifles
Smart weapons utilize self-guided micro-projectiles that automatically track targets inside your reticle.
Hercules 3AX (Phantom Liberty Expansion)
The Hercules 3AX is a prototype powerhouse. It acts as a hybrid Power/Smart rifle, but its greatest asset is its accessibility.
- Key Stats (Tier 5+): +50% Headshot Damage Multiplier, +25% Armor Penetration, +20% Poison Chance, 90-Round Magazine.
- Iconic Effect: Projectiles track targets automatically without requiring Smart Link cyberware equipped. Neutralizing an enemy causes them to explode into an acid cloud.
- How to Get It: Found during Mr. Hands’ Side Gig “Roads to Redemption” inside the EBM Petrochem Stadium. It is located inside a case in the weapon manufacturing/sublevel swimming pool area. (Note: If you miss it, you can buy it later from Herold Lowe, the Black Market weapon dealer in the stadium).
Divided We Stand
This weapon is the ultimate answer to crowd control. This allows you to lock onto multiple targets simultaneously while saturating the area with toxic explosions.
- Key Stats (Tier 5): +50% Headshot Damage Multiplier, 1.2s Lock-on time, +20% Poison Chance.
- Iconic Effect: Tracks up to five enemies simultaneously. Neutralized targets have a high chance to cause Chemical explosions that apply a heavy Poison effect, ticking away 8% of enemy health per second.
- How to Get It: Rewarded for completing the “Stadium Love” side job in Rancho Coronado. You must win the 6th Street shooting contest by scoring 44/44 targets. Alternatively, you can simply slaughter the 6th Street members at the party and loot it off their leader’s corpse.
Tier 3: High-Utility & Customizable Rifles
Kyubi x-MOD2
The Kyubi x-MOD2 is a semi-automatic Power rifle designed for players who love optimizing through attachments. While many players debate the Cyberpunk 2077 Best Assault Rifles, stealth players consistently favor the Kyubi for its clean, silenced precision.
- Key Stats (Tier 5): +150% Headshot Damage Multiplier, +25% Armor Penetration.
- Iconic Effect: As an x-MOD2 variant, this rifle features completely optimized, predictable recoil and, crucially, allows you to freely attach and swap out weapon mods and scopes.
- How to Get It: Located at the bottom of a circular concrete pool/fountain structure in the center of Dogtown, directly across from the Golden Pacific fast travel point. You must dive underwater to retrieve it.
If you want raw, precision single-target damage, use the Hawk. If you want effortless crowd-clearing without changing your cyberware configuration, hunt down the Hercules 3AX.
Cyberpunk 2077
