All Precision Rifles Ranked Worst to Best in Cyberpunk 2077 2.1

The mid-point between snipers and assault rifles, precision rifles can be powerful one-shotting aids more equipped for various ranges in Cyberpunk 2077. Here's my ranking for all of them!
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:18 Build
01:37 SOR-22
04:11 Achilles
06:46 Widow Maker
08:49 Hypercritical
11:11 Conclusion

[@squared_nation]

never stop uploading

[@ShxtUp_]

fr

[@SamBram]

I will run out of weapons soon. But I'll just go back to other videos :)

[@linkaima5403]

You could say... that he'll Never Fade Away

[@Surasia]

what a thing of beauty, I know

[@Qbert2030]

​@@SamBramwhat about armor or vehicles or something?

[@FrostReach66]

So strange PR and LMG’s never really got much in terms of iconics and different weapon models. Definitely something I’d like to see expanded on in the sequels, along with new archetypes of course

[@RicochetForce]

Yeah, they need to massively develop this category. Maybe different types leaning on different elements like Fire, Electricity, pure concussive blasts, etc...

[@Hrrrrrrrrrreng]

Lmgs and prs are kind of niche? Idk. It would be nice if they made niche weapons in the niche, like one that’s great at laying down fire from medium range. One that’s great for hipfiring, and one that hits like a truck but acts like a full auto heavy rifle. Those are my ideas for lmgs. I would’ve really loved to see faster firing precision rifles. Like the “Hawk” iconic or the kyubi it’s base version. Idk why it’s an assault rifle. But it is.

[@MorizonPlays]

The widow maker, compared to the other ones on this list, is particularly good for just hipfiring and not charging shots at all. It is, in my opinion, the best gun in the game to get through the main story including its bosses quickly in order to make a build around Act 3 or DLC weapons

[@maskedman5657]

You're forgetting Pride exists

[@thecopperandroid8989]

Yeah, play that bitch like it’s a shotgun and every boss just falls at your feet

[@MorizonPlays]

@@maskedman5657 not really. Pride would be one of those weapons you would use widowmaker to get to. You get pride at the end of a story ending that requires some act 3 Sidequests to unlock

[@himbimbly]

Widow maker got me through my very first adam smasher fight, I don't think I could have done it without it. Goated gun IMO

[@virtualrain]

I feel like the new Osprey is better now in that roll.

[@6vitamin]

REMEMBER: the Engineer Skill Progression gets you way more Tech weapon damage AND YOUR CHAIN LIGHTNING ALSO BURNS! if you slap an EMP on the XMOD2...OOF

[@Hifuutorian]

Yeah IMO Wallpuncher+Spinetickler on the x-MOD2 is fucking insane.

[@RicochetForce]

Yeah, I've had situations where the Widowmaker will poison a target and then they explode because the chain lightning ignited them. Just mean as hell.

[@anonymousguineapig6174]

Good stuff Sam! Hyped for the sniper ranking!

[@eldiablo73077]

I was about to say this!!!!

[@lol_phillip6072]

I wont even cap this man's voice is so calming. I like to just put his videos on while doing whatever. And also of course the content is great too 🙏✨

[@qrangejuice8225]

The inability to put long scopes on these (besides the SOR) while we can put them on assault rifles is really disappointing. Precision rifles feel like they're in an ugly spot between sniper and assault, not being able to reach out as far as the former while not handling as smoothly as the latter. Shame, since the idea of the weapon class is really cool, and I'd love to combo one with my 20 Cool NetGunner build.

[@AlexanderVRadev]

Yeah you could use scopes on Achilles type weapons once. But CDPR decided to kill long range combat at the same time they killed stealth. I am running the same SOR setup just with Jue scope for the extra range. The only other gun that handles remotely as a precision rifle funny enough is the Overwatch sniper as it has 5 rounds and does not encumber you and take you out of cover when shot, like other GRAD variants do. Very slow fire rate though. And the Kyubi but that one has the wrong perks. Its sad really.

[@lv83bloodknight]

@@AlexanderVRadev Try Nekomatas, much better than Grads or any precision rifle in my experience.

[@erbsenthron2548]

Sadly, Precision Rifles just seem like a suboptimal choice compared to most other weapon types. They are really fun to use, just never the best option.

[@PvtFlowers]

you are correct pistol and revolver do what they do but better in pretty much every way.

[@origanami]

@@PvtFlowers 100% agree. Since 2.0 and deadeye I find hip firing a handgun is easier to get a headshot at any range than using a precision rifle, and you don’t need kerenzikov

[@lv83bloodknight]

Or use tech snipers. Especially if you find the T5 scope that keeps the weapon at half charge.

[@xBintu]

That's absolutely not true, they are perfect for one shooting enemy's with headshots and deal more damage as the pistols and revolvers. But I would like to see more iconics of them

[@PvtFlowers]

@@xBintu From my rather extensive testing on ultra hard, the only precision rifle that one shots people is the hypercritical. The tech ones 2 shot with headshots, and thats with correctly charged shots. The SOR-22, 2 shot regular enemies. Being able to hipfire a pistol/revolver makes killing people so fast i can kill 2 people before the precision rifles fire twice. You also do not get the benefit of stealth kills since none of the precision rifles can be suppressed. I think the tech rifles bring something to the table with AoE damage and wall penetration, but handguns do seem to out damage them. Hypercritical does seem to be on par with them damage wise, but it's far more unwieldy. And the SOR is just ass and that bums me out like you wouldn't believe.

[@umptibum3863]

These videos have enhanced my game play and enjoyment of the Night City experience even more. Thanks for doing them. Keep up the good work!

[@kinsan89]

My first re-play of 2.0 was a throwing knife stealth build... that used the Hypercritical if things got loud. So many hilarious ragdoll moments with that beauty

[@Ghostfacee_619]

Love you, Sam Bram. Randomly stumbled upon your vids during the recent sale of cyberpunk + phantom liberty on Playstation, and your vids helped me realize i should've bought this game years ago. It has become my favorite game, and I've already logged nearly 500 hours. I must say thank you, sir.

[@unknowndestroyer-eh4fi]

ever since i bought cyberpunk i never stopped watching you videos. Keep up the good work

[@ABadassDragon]

Same, dudes awesome

[@unknowndestroyer-eh4fi]

i agree 100%@@ABadassDragon

[@nhall129]

God i love these videos Completely blows my mind how much of the game i haven’t engaged with yet, and these vids get me excited for messing with these weapons in new play throughs

[@connorhilchie2779]

As someone playing the game again after beating it at laucnh, thank you so much for the ranking videos. I am a little sad some of the old guns arent as broken as they were before, but these videos still help a lotnin choosing my gear

[@XxeffinbackStabrxX]

I’ve been waiting for this one. Thanks Sam.

[@Tom29_]

i really love your weapon ranking vids they help me better choose what weapons to use and even just see what kinds of weapons there are incase i wanna use them for my future playthroughs

[@TheOppossum]

You are the reason why I enjoy playing Cyberpunk so much.. you’re awesome!

[@6vitamin]

Oracle over Cockatrice for Tech Rifles. The "SEE EVERYTHING THROUGH WALLS" is just SUUUUPER useful. Drop a buzzsaw, and shoot through walls forever!

[@neoey]

Awesome Video as usual. I would love to see different edgerunner build videos. Like a David build, a Lucy build, Rebecca and so on

[@patsonical]

Another top quality video... the guy just does not stop! ❤

[@TwilightRunner]

Looooove all the content! I'm curious for a "all smart guns" video, I'm addicted to my smart SMG build but wonder how it compares to the others. Either way keep doing what you're doing choom, some of the best Cyberpunk content, from lore/theories to builds. Edit: typo

[@Jay-ho9io]

Man you are just knocking them out this week. 🏆

[@georgeyoung3791]

Would love to see some of your favorite cosmetic items. Keep it up, love your content!!

[@johnroberts838]

Thank you Sam, appreciate the excellent content, 👍👍👍

[@SamBram]

Thank you for watching John!

[@Jhunta]

love your content bro. i watch every video.

[@siddharthsingh-hs3yv]

Just found your channel and video which i needed and you just uploaded it 😂

[@xBintu]

I waited for this video, great work! I would put the sor every day above the tech weapons, they are just much weaker compared in a one shot to one shot ratio. Also i like to play stealth/with cover and range so close range is something for my katana but definitely not for a precision rifle imo. All in all I'm not the biggest fan of tech weapons, I'm more the old school guy of real rounds 😂 But the hypercritical is something i will definitely try out as soon as possible! lools awesome and could fit my play style very well

[@tavinho9070]

Sam can u please do a "Smart Weapon Rank" ? I do love playing the SmartWeapon NetSoldier! Love your work! ❤

[@user-us6mr5kb6y]

Funny thing about the Hypercritical: you can use it with the Pyromania perks as the explosion from the shots stack it. So if you go tech tree, defo go for it, pair it with incendiary grenades, the perks around pyromania to go along, and you're now a tank constantly chucking grenades and headshotting people with the HC in-between throws. It's great fun

[@RicochetForce]

I remember finding this out with the Ogou's explosive homing rockets and laughing my ass off a the Pyromania perk activating.

[@karammelkon]

Man I can't stop watching your videos! Why don't you do a video about your personal favorite builds regardless of tier lists and power? :D

[@Skuchinie]

Very nice vid, as they all are!

[@noaironi]

once you get the hang of bolt shots and start hitting them back to back its a whole different story

[@Mir1189]

I took SOR-22 as a single large weapon to Tamayura with silencer and Genjiroh. Scope is Arasaka SO-21 Saika (because its unobstructive) and enhanced with Kang Tao ocuset and 2x swiss cheese. Delivers up to 1000 dmg to MaxTac.

[@Alexandru1996_]

Aha, i just got the hypercritical in my curent build which i was specing mostly into shotguns but honestly i think i am going to switch to this gun. My build is kind of tanky with 15 strength so far and 15 in tech, probably next i will put points into cool to be able to use the perks for precision rifles. And in reflexes for the air dash. About operating system i'm probably going to use cyber decks simply to use noncombat hacks and becouse it helps so much in knowing where are your enemies ahead of trying to crash their bones. Thanks for the top, as usual, realy helpful. And i also think i will inspire from your build :)

[@CMFL77]

I REALLY enjoy the SOR22, wish this class was expanded on for sure. For an early game blunderbus the Widowmaker is always great. Its no wonder you have to do 18 or 19 Regina gigs to unlock the Little Mike one with Hypercritical - that gun is so much fun. You're clearly spoiling us with content right now, really hope that 100k milestone isnt too far off Sam!

[@xBintu]

Me too, just found it with ++ didn't even know this was possible. Its awesome, I really hope they patch a xmod2 variant or something close to that in the game

[@preciousfarris7097]

We are eating good with these ranking vid drops😍

[@snowmanii]

Widowmaker is still my favorite precision rifle. Love that gun

[@TheStrategist314]

Can you make a vid on the different weapon classes in general. So like best tech weapons, power weapons, and smart weapons?

[@pascaldifolco4611]

Went with Widiw Maker for most of my latest run (was a stealth one, but for when it fails..) Really good rifle

[@cinninnimonskoda2017]

I FOUND KNEEL IN THE WILD. When we go to that party with Songbird and play roulette with the runners. When you first sneak in to that balcony spot and then start walking towards the doors to the main hall, keep walking all the way to the end of the balcony. There is a box on the ground with KNEEL in it.

[@Teh_Akod]

I'm running a Sandevistan build these days and while my guns and katana usually get the job done, when I need something that really packs a punch, I use the hypercritical. Great video as always!

[@digivagrant]

Hypercritical with a gun sight is the best precision rifle

[@Rigel_6]

I noticed that Widowmaker's doubleshot feature fires almost instantenously in Sandevistan slowed time, turning it into a sort of cyberpunk AN-94. Either this gun is an amazing DMR in that way, with no charging at all unless you want to nail someone through the wall... or I got one helluva fun bug to play around

[@heekychad6427]

Its also good to mention that Widow Maker is perfect for throwing knives build because of the poison.

[@mathieushifera135]

Poison chance from Widowmaker really shines against Smasher

[@erutherford]

During missions where you're without your normal loadout OR if you didn't go out of your way to get S-Tier gear it sure was nice to be able to craft up an Achilles to get out of a tight spot. As long as I could hunker down I could whittle away HPs from safety and was happy to do that ...

[@imaencuru]

I so wish the SOR-22 could take a muzzle slot, it would make a nice counterpoint to Overwatch for stealth-sniping, trading a bit of damage and range for rof and mag size.

[@JonatanNoponen]

I've found my favourite build to be a Sandy, Achilles x-MOD2 with Wallpuncher, complimented by the Kaiju SMG and Stinger.

[@tvalles343]

I use the hypercritical in my pistol belt. Her majesty for stealth, Morian for when the action pops off. I use the hypocritical as a close range large damage option with also the ability to whittle down, stronger photos from the distance.

[@osamudazai579]

I used to absolutely LOVE the Widowmaker. But Its just another gun that got hit with major tech weapon nerfs via not being able to shoot enemies through 60 feet of cover.

[@harriemrkx6452]

keep up the good information, :)

[@SerpenTyx]

It should be noted that the Achilles can be fired as fast as you can pull the trigger/click, there´s barely any downtime between shots if your not charging them. And if your hipfiring it fires in more of a spread instead of all projetiles at the same spot, making it far easier to use in close quarters than the other two. With Widowmaker you can unload your entire clip in like a second or so.

[@xBintu]

Ok but there is literally no point of using a precision rifle anymore, everything it stands for is gone when using it close range, any shotgun or katana is better imo

[@RicochetForce]

@@xBintu Shotguns don't get giant EMP splash damage. Ironically an Achilles with the Spinetickler can clear out close range assholes faster than a shotgun.

[@s3eriousbl9ck26]

​@@xBintuthat's not your opinion thats just facts. But the flip side to that is true as well. At longer ranges those weapons are useless

[@perfectparadox7389]

Gotta say I do miss the way you could absolutely SPAM widowmaker before, it felt so powerful

[@gamesforever5038]

Sam, an idea for a video: As a new player I am trying not to spoil my game with too much info and now all these alternative endings too... 😅 How about making a video on essential places to make a hard save?! Like a forks in the road, so if/when you decide to explore alternative ending or romance or creating a legendary mod or a different path etc you could always come back to without trying to find "closest save"... I know many would find that very helpful!!!😇

[@Stoic_grimace]

Apart from my first playthrough where I used Widow Maker, precision rifles are my most slept on weapons. I did enjoy Hypercritical in what I call my fireworks loadout. Comrade's Hammer, hypercritical and 5'O with Ozob's Nose. Just like Baldrick's war poem.

[@Marcin-qy6cn]

Great wideo, in my opinion Achilles X-Mod 2 is the best, if you have some tech abilities.

[@daphatboi5443]

Let’s go new ranking

[@indiexanna]

Amongst all the nerfs they introduced in 2.0+ I feel like Widowmaker is the one that's gotten the hardest hit of nerf

[@audiashk]

Comrade's hammer beep boop 🌚

[@froget67]

Achilles X-MOD w/wallpuncher is my way to play and fav gun

[@user-fd9pq4vm2t]

My build always allows for every type of gun because I love them all (except strength for lmgs and shotguns since I personally find the perks have minimal effect

[@Kohcta]

with NDI Osprey you get the same feeling of firing mini rocket launcher but it is actually a sniper and it has auto

[@loonyman83]

This is probably the one gun category that i've never devoted a lot of time towards. I have tinkered with them, but just never found them as enjoyable as a good pistol, shotgun, smg, or assault rifle buid provides. IMO, Snipers are just better all around, and if I do have to get up close then other guns just outshine the precision rifles. Maybe I'm missing something though lol. Good vid man.

[@ravingtac0896]

Style over substance, rock in that Midas look with the x-mod achillies

[@FredericoASousa]

The Widowmaker was my main gun for most of the game. I got it very early in the game and it was far better than all other of my guns that I kept it and levelled it and invested into bolt perks. Cool name, cool look, very cool effect, powerful, plus the electric explosions are a unique to tech weapons and you get tons with this gun. Too bad I only found the Hypercritical at the end of the game when I was finishing up the gigs that I missed, so I didn't use it.

[@lifewithcristian2644]

I’m excited for the SMGs hopefully next!(?)

[@marty2129]

It is damn shame that neither Achilles nor Hypercritical can mount scopes despite having the scope rail modelled. Also, looking at Achilles, I can't shrug of a feeling that it also might have been initially designed as Tech AR instead... there is "AUTO" mode on the display, kinda telling me it was to fire full auto, and moreover that thing looks like the german caseless G11 assault rifle (that was almost put into production during late 80's) down to having similar-looking firing mechanism for the Widowmaker (a hyperburst of sorts with the barrel, bolt, long rectangular magazine and whole clockwork of around themrecoiling much like those two long side barrels do)...

[@AlexanderVRadev]

It was possible to use scopes when the game launched. Hell Widow maker with long scope was my go to for a huge part of the game back then. And now I got it, used it for 2 minutes realizing its just worse Satara shotgun and trashed it in the pile of never touch again garbage. Funny enough if you put 2 mods on a Satara for tighter spread and get the proper perks and cyberwere it can shoot accurately at longer range than the Achilles. Headshots galore with obliteration and better rate of fire. XD But seriously if you want precision rifle it's SOR 22, Overwatch or Kyubi and the latter 2 barely function as precision rifles.

[@cadenturnley5772]

You just have that golden accent man, keep talking !!!

[@FunkStyles]

If you could get into the rhythm of consecutive bolt shots, a 5++ Achilles with Wallpuncher had the highest DPS of any of the rifles. The only thing I found that could put out more damage faster was a very specific Overclock/5++ Paraline/Submachine Fun smart SMG build.

[@xBintu]

I tell you what is better than high DPS, enough damage to one shot an enemy and that's something for both power weapons not the tech ones here ;)

[@snakems6936]

Love Hypercritical it was such a fun gun to use, explosive rounds are the best

[@raydavis8530]

Love this😊

[@LASAGNA_LARRY]

Perfect! Now I got something to watch while I eat! ☺

[@Wuoffan1]

i picked up widow maker on a Cowboy themed character and was shocked by how good it was, I desperately tried to fit it into the playstyle but couldn't justify it lol

[@davidwebb5271]

I loved the Widowmaker. it carried me through the game until I hit the FL content. Then the Xmod-2 Achillies with the wall puncher mod became my favorite. Carried me though the rest of the game.

[@alexiblier1494]

Please rank the unobtainable vehicles, like the Basalisk and behemoth. There’s also a behemoth with a turret but might only be available through a mod on nexus???

[@qazserNOS]

The Hypercritical is so good and the explosions fun that I occasionally actually used it over snipers.

[@mrstronk]

Personally i use widowmaker as a shotgun. I dont bother aiming unless i use a sandi where id go point blank and fire 2 charged shots but even then the hipfire makes it feel like a burst shotgun that literally just gives you passive poison damage

[@TheWetToaster]

Hypercritical might be the best gun in the whole game. You can reliably hip-fire with it, so I only ever use the iron sights during Kerenzikov. Sandy builds can just dash around and click heads like it’s going out of style. The only thing it doesn’t absolutely melt is max tac, but once you learn that they’re notably weak to car explosions, it hardly matters.

[@omgodification]

hypercritical is basically johnny's malorian on steroids. pure serotonin.

[@rowanlarson7807]

X-mod 2 Achilles carried me through very hard it’s so good

[@sunr3lic985]

Please do best tech weapons next

[@Dilenchik]

Can't wait for quickhacks ranked

[@ronchu4453]

so-21 saika, head toll, and maybe pax for the SOR-22

[@The1981Johndoe]

I still miss the original widow maker from the start of the game when it still could have a scope, fired 16 projectiles with 1 charged shot and obliterated everything from hundreds of meters away through several walls, floors and ceilings with 2 million damage headshots. xD Ever since they changed the precision rifles and took away the scopes I never used them again favouring katana, netrunner or shotgun builds instead. ^^

[@luisitobardajibenitez8013]

I remember the rostovich being craftable atleast in 1.6

[@chadhardt6136]

playing with the hardcore damage mod, they have become one, if not the best weapon type imho

[@Somerandom1922]

I really wish there was a silenced dmr/precision rifle. I'm a fan of the stealth sandevistan gameplay and while there are plenty of great pistols that can honestly do insane headshot damage meaning I don't really need the additional damage to 1 shot people, it just feels wrong to be using a pistol at range, but still too close to use panam's sniper.

[@atpyro7920]

My build transitioned from a handgun/sniper/blade/throwing knife build to a handgun/sniper(in stealth)/blade/PR(in combat) build thanks to Hypercritical. It’s so satisfying just plugging explosive rounds into whoever spotted me and watching the bodies start hitting the floor. Plus it didn’t require any real retooling, since PR perks are shared with snipers and handguns.

[@muhammadothman844]

How do you have a 2nd cyberware slot for face? Is that unlocked later in Phantom liberty? Cuz I just recently started the DLC

[@drl4018]

Hypercritical is one of my favorites weapons in general

[@ABadassDragon]

Achillies is cannonicaly used by Maxtac. That should tell you everything about the gun. Wish gameplay reflected this just a bit more

[@huronblackheart]

Rebecca also used a SOR-22

[@TheNightrider88]

I thought that PRs should mirror Designated Marksman Rifles from real life. And then I realize that they are scopeless.

[@Rich-fr2yv]

You missed two rifles from PL. The Tsunami rifle you get from helping Reed get into the black Sapphire and the three round burst with explosive rounds you get from the FIA safehouse after one of the debriefings

[@AlexanderVRadev]

Technically those are classified as snipers. But again the "precision rifle" category has 1 such gun and 3 variants of a pseudo shotguns so.....

[@sargentpickles3777]

Babe wake up Sam got a new vid up ccccc:

[@rehanrheinendra1197]

yo, testing

[@mikedittsche]

The best precision rifle is the Kyubi X-Mod2 while Widowmaker is one of the best shotguns ;)

[@SamBram]

I'd agree with that

[@StormCrownSr]

I wait every day for a M1 Garand mod.

[@Matthis1112]

thank god, I thought after the last video this might have been your last cyberpunk one

[@SamBram]

Why would it be?

[@Matthis1112]

@@SamBram I counted the weapon categories left for you to do

[@SamBram]

@@Matthis1112 don't worry, we got smgs, blunt weapons, quickhacks and snipers still to go. And I've got tonnes more Cyberpunk ideas after that

[@necrodamus5481]

Really wish they woulda added an M1 Garand into the precision rifles category

[@IntrusiveThot420]

Hypercritical is one of very very few weapons that can stack Pyromania, which makes it incredible on mitigation based builds.

[@nathankelly5976]

Ye I made a build around that the xmod2 lmg with firecracker oh five and hypercritical

[@IntrusiveThot420]

@@nathankelly5976 my xmod2 firecracker LMG build stopped working :/ i think they changed it...

[@ixiahj]

Does the Achelies have built in electricity damage? I'm using it on a low level character with no perks in tech weapons. The Achelies causes blue pip numbers to finish off enemies and its unmodded. But nothing in its stat sheet says it causes electricity damage.

[@jays2551]

what about the ndi osprey? or is that considered a sniper rifle? I can't remember rn but i thought it was a precision rifle