Night City has more Iconic weapons than most players will ever use in one save. This guide cuts the list to 15 picks that are strong, memorable, or useful enough to plan around, then gives the exact quest or location for each one.
The four weapons in the Phantom Liberty section require the expansion. Everything else can be collected in the base game. Location details reflect the current 2.31 version.
Best Cyberpunk 2077 Iconic weapons at a glance
- Dying Night — early Power pistol — The Gun in Megabuilding H10 (base game)
- Fenrir — early Power SMG — Sacrum Profanum/Losing My Religion at the Northside docks (base game)
- Satori — katana — The Heist on the Konpeki Plaza roof (base game; missable)
- Widow Maker — Tech precision rifle — Ghost Town, looted from Nash (base game)
- Overwatch — suppressed Power sniper — Riders on the Storm (base game)
- Skippy — Smart pistol — Vista del Rey alley in Heywood (base game)
- Byakko — katana — complete all eight of Wakako Okada's gigs (base game)
- Guts — Power shotgun — Memorial Park in Corpo Plaza (base game)
- Malorian Arms 3516 — Power pistol — Chippin' In, taken from Jeremiah Grayson (base game)
- Yinglong — Smart SMG — Living the Big Life crafting spec (base game)
- Ba Xing Chong — Smart shotgun — post-game Ebunike chest (base game)
- Her Majesty — suppressed Power pistol — Get It Together (Phantom Liberty)
- Hawk — Power assault rifle — Lucretia My Reflection/Kress Street hideout (Phantom Liberty)
- Mancinella — suppressed Power revolver — Run This Town (Phantom Liberty)
- Pizdets — suppressed Smart SMG — Spy in the Jungle (Phantom Liberty)
How Iconic weapons work in the current game
Iconics are named weapons with unique effects. Most do not accept normal weapon mods, but they can be upgraded through the crafting menu with Item Components. Their tier still matters, so a favorite early weapon can keep moving up with V instead of being thrown away after a few levels.
Phantom Liberty also adds x-MOD2 Iconics with guaranteed mod slots, but those are a separate branch from the named quest rewards below. Herold Lowe at the EBM Petrochem Stadium can sell selected Iconics that were missed in earlier quests. His shop is useful, but it does not erase every choice-based or ending-based requirement.
Best base-game Iconic weapons and locations
Dying Night
Type: Power pistol | Best for: Early handgun builds
Where to find it: Complete The Gun and take the pistol from Robert Wilson in the 2nd Amendment shop inside Megabuilding H10.
What to know: Base game. Free and available near the start of the story.
Fenrir
Type: Power SMG | Best for: Close-range SMG and cyberware-disruption builds
Where to find it: Go to the Northside docks for Sacrum Profanum, also called Losing My Religion. The gun is on a table beside the captive monk inside the warehouse.
What to know: Base game. Easy to walk past while rescuing the monk.
Satori
Type: Katana | Best for: Bleed and blade builds
Where to find it: During The Heist, go up to Saburo Arasaka's AV on the Konpeki Plaza roof and take the katana from inside the aircraft.
What to know: Base game. Missable during the mission; Phantom Liberty owners may later find it at Herold Lowe's Black Market shop.
Widow Maker
Type: Tech precision rifle | Best for: Tech weapons and charged-shot builds
Where to find it: Help Panam kill Nash during Ghost Town and loot the rifle from his body. If Nash survives that job, he can appear later during Queen of the Highway.
What to know: Base game. Phantom Liberty can provide a Black Market fallback if it was missed.
Overwatch
Type: Power sniper rifle | Best for: Stealth snipers and long-range openers
Where to find it: Finish Panam's Riders on the Storm side job. She gives Overwatch to V after Saul is rescued.
What to know: Base game. Its custom suppressor makes it one of the easiest sniper rifles to build around.
Skippy
Type: Smart pistol | Best for: Smart weapon builds and collectors
Where to find it: Find the talking pistol beside a body in a Vista del Rey alley in Heywood. Picking it up starts the Machine Gun questline.
What to know: Base game. Its behavior changes after 50 neutralizations, and returning it to Regina can eventually let you reclaim a version without the AI.
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Byakko
Type: Katana | Best for: Fast blade builds
Where to find it: Complete all eight of Wakako Okada's Westbrook gigs. Professional Widow then sends the reward to V's stash.
What to know: Base game. Open any stash, including a vehicle stash, to collect it.
Guts
Type: Power shotgun | Best for: Body and shotgun builds
Where to find it: Search the bushes in the southern part of Memorial Park in Corpo Plaza, close to the three praying monks.
What to know: Base game. It is Rebecca's shotgun and is not tied to a quest.
Malorian Arms 3516
Type: Power pistol | Best for: Johnny Silverhand fans and aggressive pistol builds
Where to find it: Play Chippin' In and take Johnny's pistol from Jeremiah Grayson on the Ebunike.
What to know: Base game. The Quick Melee attack burns the target but empties the remaining magazine.
Yinglong
Type: Smart SMG | Best for: Smart weapon and Electrical damage builds
Where to find it: Clear the Living the Big Life Suspected Organized Crime Activity in Wellsprings, Heywood. Loot the crafting spec from Denzel Cryer, then craft the weapon.
What to know: Base game. This is a crafting-spec reward, not a finished gun pickup.
Ba Xing Chong
Type: Smart shotgun | Best for: Endgame Smart shotgun builds
Where to find it: Defeat Adam Smasher, take his access token, then return to the locked room on the Ebunike. The crafting spec is in the chest behind the desk.
What to know: Base game, post-game access. It appears on the apartment stash wall once crafted.
Best Phantom Liberty Iconic weapons and locations
Her Majesty
Type: Suppressed Power pistol | Best for: Optical Camo and stealth headshot builds
Where to find it: In Phantom Liberty, finish Get It Together and take the pistol from the weapon case beside the diving gear.
What to know: Phantom Liberty required. Its accuracy and headshot bonuses activate with Optical Camo.
Hawk
Type: Power assault rifle | Best for: Controlled rifle builds and tougher targets
Where to find it: After Lucretia My Reflection, return to the Kress Street hideout and collect the rifle President Myers left behind.
What to know: Phantom Liberty required. Headshots weaken and mark enemies.
Mancinella
Type: Suppressed Power revolver | Best for: Stealth revolver and headshot builds
Where to find it: Accept Run This Town. Mr. Hands gives V the Aguilar disguise and Mancinella for the job.
What to know: Phantom Liberty required. Its stealth damage bonus lingers briefly after combat starts.
Pizdets
Type: Suppressed Smart SMG | Best for: Stealth Smart weapon builds
Where to find it: Complete Spy in the Jungle and loot the gun from Boris Ribakov after the boss fight.
What to know: Phantom Liberty required. The built-in suppressor makes it unusually flexible for a Smart weapon.
Which Iconic should you get first?
Grab Dying Night as soon as Wilson calls, then detour to Fenrir once Watson opens up. Those two cover a basic pistol and an aggressive SMG without forcing a late-game build decision. Blade players should treat Satori as the first major missable: the rooftop detour during The Heist is short, but returning to Konpeki Plaza is not part of normal play.
Once Act 2 opens, let the build choose the route. Overwatch rewards patient stealth, Widow Maker carries a Tech setup, Byakko turns blade combat into a much faster loop, and Yinglong gives Smart weapon users a reliable long-term target. Guts is the simple answer for a shotgun V who wants recoil, damage, and chaos instead of subtlety.
Missable Iconic weapons and the Black Market vendor
The safest habit is to loot every named enemy and scan mission rooms before leaving. Satori is the classic example because its rooftop pickup happens during a story sequence. Widow Maker can also disappear from the obvious route if Nash is not fought during Ghost Town.
Phantom Liberty owners can check Herold Lowe inside the EBM Petrochem Stadium for selected weapons missed in earlier jobs. Treat that shop as a recovery option, not permission to skip every pickup: quest choices, expansion access, crafting specs, and post-game doors still control parts of the collection.
Cyberpunk 2077 Iconic weapons FAQ
What is the best Iconic weapon in Cyberpunk 2077?
There is no single winner for every build. Byakko is a superb blade choice, Widow Maker is one of the strongest Tech recommendations, Yinglong works well for Smart weapon builds, and Her Majesty is the cleanest stealth-pistol pick for Phantom Liberty owners.
Can Iconic weapons be upgraded?
Yes. Open Crafting, select the Iconic, and spend Item Components to raise its tier. This is why an early reward can remain useful much later in the playthrough.
Can you get missed Iconic weapons later?
Sometimes. Phantom Liberty's Black Market vendor sells a selection of missed Iconics, and a few quests provide a second route. He does not stock every choice-locked or post-game weapon, so manual saves are still useful before major missions.
Do you need Phantom Liberty for Iconic weapons?
No. The base game has a large Iconic collection. Only Her Majesty, Hawk, Mancinella, and Pizdets in this 15-weapon list require Phantom Liberty.
Is this a list of every Iconic weapon?
No. It is a practical shortlist of 15 strong or memorable options with clear acquisition routes. Completionists should use it as a priority route, then continue with the full in-game stash-wall and crafting-spec collection.
Build around the weapon you actually enjoy
If you are still choosing a combat style, use the Cyberpunk 2077 best builds guide to match weapons with Netrunner, Sandevistan, and Solo setups. New players can start with the Ultimate Edition first-play guide, while returning players can see how the game changed in the Cyberpunk 2077 comeback timeline.
