Katanas are among the best melee weapons in Cyberpunk 2077. These elegant-bladed weapons are capable of striking quickly and dealing great damage with each slice of the blade. Combine this with some interesting weapon mods and abilities, and they make the player a force to be reckoned with.

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There are at least seven Katanas in Cyberpunk 2077, ranging from standard Arasaka designs to powerful iconic melee weapons only obtained through quests. For players interested in wielding these finely crafted swords, it’s important to know which ones are the best and how to obtain them.

Updated on June 28, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Katanas are some of the best weapons that players can use in any video game. The idea of slicing and dicing foes without a care in the world makes for a great time as players use these blades to carve up a nice set of memories in any video game they use it in. Cyberpunk 2077 understood the assignment and added a ton of close-combat options, including a fair share of imposing katanas that can cut up any foe into ribbons who's unlucky enough to get in V's way as they try to get a cure for the biochip that is slowly eating away at their body.

There are a variety of katanas that players can use in Cyberpunk 2077 to great effect, ranging from standard variants of this weapon to special ones that players can get for completely various quests, looting a specific place, or anything else along the same lines. Regardless of which specific katana players opt for, they can rest assured that the game is going to become a celebration of gore and fast-paced action as players close the distance to their enemies and mow them down in no time flat!

Here's a brief look at all the katanas in the game and where they can be found.

Standard Katana

The basic Katana in the game is capable of five attacks per second making it a fast striking weapon. It comes in Rare, Epic, and Legendary variants, each with its own color scheme and design. Weighing only 4.5 pounds, it’s a solid melee weapon for close encounters or stealth attacks.

If players want to experiment around with the blades in the game first before settling on a playstyle, then messing around with a Standard Katana is the way to go. It feels great to use and serves as a template for the other unique katanas in the game to build off of. If slicing through enemies ends up being a ton of fun, then there's no reason why players shouldn't invest in the various Blades perks!

How To Get It

Katanas are wielded by a variety of opponents in the game in both Rare and Epic tiers with the latter being much harder to find. For players wanting a Legendary Katana, there are two ways to get it:

• Buy one from Coach Fred at the Megabuilding H10 in Little China.
• Craft One: Requires Level 18 Crafting, Requires Edgerunner Artisan Perk, Costs 25 Rare Item Components, Costs 15 Epic Item Components, Costs 2 Legendary Item Components

Katana Variants

Black Unicorn

The Black Unicorn is a unique variant of the standard Katana. Its main perk is the unique design as the attack rate is lower at 2.91 strikes a second. It boasts more slots than a standard Katana with up to four slots at Legendary rarity. Aside from these modest advantages, it’s more for players with a passion for The Witcher 3.

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The fact that the Black Unicorn was updated with more symbols to reference The Witcher shows how much love and care CD Projekt Red has put into developing this weapon. Since this weapon is available in V's Stash from the get-go, it essentially serves as a great weapon that players can use early on in the game to get a feel for this weapon type.

How To Get It

The Black Unicorn can be obtained in the GOG version of the game. Once the player owns this version of the game they’ll find the Black Unicorn waiting in V’s stash when they start playing. Alternatively, they can simply link their GOG account to the game and get this great katana instead!

Cocktail Stick

The Cocktail Stick is an interesting Iconic Katana. The purple blade deals a base damage of 63 with each strike and can attack 2.9 times per second. This results in a decent DPS of 191. It also comes with some handy abilities and perks:

• +40-49 boost to Physical damage
• +18% boost to Critical Damage
• +10% chance to inflict Bleed.

It’s a bit slow, but the damage is decent, and the Bleed shortens fights when it applies. While these buffs might not be the most powerful around, the Cocktail Stick is still a great weapon in the early game for Blade builds.

How To Get It

The weapon can be obtained during the Automatic Love questline. It’s recommended to be at least level eight when starting this quest to get the Cocktail Stick katana. To get it players will need to call Judy Alvares and then meet her at Lizzie’s bar. After talking to Judy and getting Evelyn’s Cigarette Case head to Megabuilding H8. Before getting on the elevator make sure to have at least $700 on hand for the quest. The Cloud won't open until after 7 pm, so players might have to wait awhile.

It doesn’t matter if players choose Angel or Skye upon entering, but both require $500 and drop-off weapons. Use the safeword to end the encounter with the doll and get information on Evelyn leading to Booth 11.

Afterward, sneak into the VIP area. Find Tom who will direct V to seek out Woodsman. At this point go into the hostile room on the left at the end of the hall. Pass a Tyger Claw sitting at a table and enter Evelyn’s dressing room, the Cocktail Stick katana is on the table below the “Bliss” sign.

Players can upgrade it to the Epic version with:

• Grease Monkey Perk
• 25 Uncommon Item Components
• 40 Rare Item Components
• 50 Epic Item Components
• 2 Legendary Item Components

It can be further upgraded to Legendary with:

• Edgerunner Artisan Perk

Scalpel

The surgically precise Scalpel Katana is a fast-hitting weapon with five attacks per second. With each strike dealing 145 damage that can result in a DPS of 728.4. Adding to that damage are the following perks:

• +92 - 113 Chemical damage
• +92 - 113 Electric damage
• +92 - 113 Physical damage
• +92 - 113 Thermal damage

It all but guarantees to have an advantage against any opponent type. On top of this, it's just fun to see enemies be absolutely annihilated by the elements after being slashed by this katana over and over again.

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How To Get It

The Scalpel is a reward for completing the Side Job Big In Japan. To start Big In Japan and get the Scalpel katana, go to the Afterlife during Act 2 of the game. Talk to Dennis and accept his job. Follow the directions to the outer edges of Kabuki and look for a box labeled “No Future”.

Open the tall container and call Dennis. Either kill Tyger Claws and lead the package to safety or sneak around with the package. Whatever path make sure the package isn’t discovered. Place the package in the back of a car and drive safely to the rendezvous point. After talking with Dennis the Scalpel katana will be rewarded.

Upgrading to Epic tier requires:

• Grease Monkey Perk
• 25 Uncommon Item Components
• 40 Rare Item Components
• 50 Epic Item Components
• 2 Legendary Item Components

For Legendary, the player needs:

• Edgerunner Artisan Perk

Tsumetogi

The Tsumetogi is fast dealing five attacks per second with each attack dealing 150 base damage. That results in a nice DPS of 754.4 It also comes with some nice perks and abilities:

• +96-118 Electrical Damage
• +10 Electrical Resistance
• +5% Critical Hit Chance
• +10% Critical Hit Damage
• +20% Chance to inflict Shock

This is a great Katana to use against more robotic units vulnerable to Shock effects and Electrical damage. Given the number of mechanical enemies in the game, this can serve as a specialized weapon to deal with such enemies.

How To Get It

The weapon is easiest to find if players are completing the Pisces Side Job. After completing the quest Talking Bout A Revolution, talk to Judy. Go to Megabuilding H8 and follow Judy up the elevator to maintenance to fight Tyger Claws. Ride the elevator to the roof and drop down into the glass room.

At this point head to Maiko’s office in the Clouds and join the meeting. Players can make whatever decisions they want. Before leaving that office be sure to grab the Tsumetogi katana lying nearby.

Upgrading this weapon to its Epic variant only requires the Grease Monkey Perk and Legendary only requires the Edgerunner Artisan. This makes it a cheap but powerful weapon to upgrade.

Jinchu-Maru

The Jinchu-Maru is a phenomenal Katana. It strikes 4.8 times a second dealing 111 damage with each hit. This means a DPS of about 536.9. Then the following abilities nudge that damage even higher:

• 100% critical hit chance when Kerenzikov is active
• The Last Strike in a combo deals double damage
• Enemies with twice the player’s health receive double the damage

Basically, if the player deals the last strike against a boss it’ll quadruple the normal damage. And that’s not factoring in the critical damage bonus if the player had Kerenzikov active when they did it. To put it simply, if the player has Kerenzikov active against a boss or opponent with a lot of health, it’s the best sword in the game by a country mile.

How To Get It

Players can get this sword during the main quest Play It Safe. The main quest Play It Safe begins with a call from Takemura. Go to Japantown Market and speak to him and take the shard. After some time, jump across the footbridge and take out the first sniper. Follow the waypoints leading to the next sniper and take him out.

Quietly follow the waypoints to stealthily take out guards. When approaching the footbridge by the parade make sure to wait for a gap in the floats. Otherwise, V will be trashed by the reactors. Follow the path to take out guards and make sure to knock out the drones to avoid problems later. Finally, take out the last sniper.

Now head to the Foyer on the 30th floor. Inside events will lead to the boss Oda appearing. The key to this boss fight is to keep moving to avoid his Mantis Blades, use cover when he shoots his homing Smart SMB bullets, and be sure to prevent Oda from healing by keeping track of his hiding spots. Once defeated, he’ll drop the Jinchu-Maru katana.

It can be upgraded to Legendary with:

• Edgerunner Artisan Perk
• 25 Rare Item Components
• 40 Epic Item Components
• 3 Legendary Item Components

Satori

The best Katana in the game by far is the Satori. It can deal 3.85 strikes per second with each one having a base damage of 57. A DPS of 221 isn’t much compared to other Katanas, but this weapon's strength lies in its only perk:

• +500% – 600% Critical Hit Damage

If the player lands a critical hit, which isn’t hard to do with a critical hit-based build, the weapon will deal a whopping 1,105 – 1,326 with every single strike. The only Katana that even comes close is the Jinchu-Maru which requires very specific circumstances to reach this level of damage.

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How To Get It

To get the best katana in Cyberpunk 2077, players will need to complete The Heist. Meet Dex in Afterlife after completing The Information and The Pickup. After having a drink with Jackie in the bar, follow the bodyguard escort to Dex’s booth. Drop off the bot, be sure to grab the Militech suit, and talk with Dex.

After hashing out the details with Dex and riding to the hotel with Jackie, follow his lead to get to the 42nd floor. Guide the Flathead to the chosen location. After the long wait, follow Jackie to the penthouse and grab any useful items there. Once the window is open, use it to head to the roof where the best katana, the Satori, is sitting inside the AV on the landing pad.

It can be upgraded to Epic Status with:

• Grease Monkey Perk
• 25 Uncommon Item Components
• 40 Rare Item Components
• 50 Epic Item Components
• 2 Legendary Item Components

Upgrading it to Legendary requires:

• Edgerunner Artisan Perk

Byakko

The 1.5 Edgerunners Update added a ton of unique content to the game, tying several aspects of the game into the lauded anime that compelled many players to give this game another whirl to check out the wealth of content that CD Projekt Red has added to the game. One of these additions is an amazing katana that is truly unlike any other weapon in Cyberpunk 2077, and that is the Byakko.

This katana allows players to leap into the fray of battle and kill any enemy standing in their way. The heightened coolness factor of this weapon is quite impressive and goes a long way in ensuring that players will stick to this katana for the long haul. True to its name, the idea of jumping at an enemy's face like a white tiger seeking out its prey is truly unique and one of the best parts of using this powerful katana.

How To Get It

This katana is obtained as a reward for completing all of Wakako Okada's side gigs. To put things into perspective, players need to complete the following missions before they can obtain this powerful weapon.

After all these quests are complete, a side job called Professional Widow will be given to V. This is just a glorified quest that compels V to check their stash and gain access to the powerful Byakko.

It can be upgraded to Legendary with the following materials:

• 45 Rare Item Components
• 40 Epic Item Components
• 10 Legendary Item Components

Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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