How to upgrade & modify weapons - Cyberpunk 2077

Learn how to improve your weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 through modifications and upgrades.

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Weapons are one of the many ways of interacting with Night City in Cyberpunk 2077. As you progress through the game, upgrading and modifying weapons will be a top priority, especially as the enemies and situations you find yourself in get more difficult.

How to upgrade weapons

Upgrading your weapons and gear in Cyberpunk 2077 is a complex process. When you first start the game, it’s likely you won’t actually have the resources to upgrade and improve your weapons. However, as you work through the game, you will inevitably need to boost your weapon’s damage output.

upgrade weapons cyberpunk 2077

To upgrade your weapon, navigate to the Crafting area of the pause screen. This is the tab to the left of Inventory. Once in this tab, you will see a Crafting and Upgrades tab. Select the Upgrades tab to see what gear is currently available for upgrade.

Find the weapon you want to upgrade and select it. A list of required resources will be highlighted in the middle of the screen. On the right-hand side will be what is changing about the weapon. In the image above, the Skippy Iconic weapon will have its DPS improved along with its overall damage.

Keep in mind you will need to be at the correct level in order to upgrade items. You will also need to be able to craft Legendary items in the event an upgrade will make the weapon boost to the Legendary tier.

How to modify weapons

As for modifying weapons in Cyberpunk 2077, this can be done in the Inventory. Select the weapon in your inventory you want to modify, this will open a new screen. Here you can see the individual attachment and mod slots.

modify weapons cyberpunk 2077

Each of the attachments and mods will be listed on the right-hand side. There will be a small cost associated with equipping an attachment. You can also unequip any attachments you no longer want to use or want to put on another weapon. It's worth noting you cannot remove mods unless you have the skill to do so.

Upgrading and modifying your weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 takes a few resources and there may be some other requirements. However, taking the time to level the required skills and find the necessary resources will allow you to improve your weapons. Stop by the Shacknews Cyberpunk 2077 guide and walkthrough for more overviews of the game's mechanics as well as explanations of different systems.

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler 

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    December 16, 2020 11:10 PM

    Sam Chandler posted a new article, How to upgrade & modify weapons - Cyberpunk 2077

    • reply
      December 17, 2020 1:26 AM

      I would have liked a mention of where you get the materials you need for upgrading.

      Is that part of the "dismantling weapons for scrap" mentioned in "Can you get Iconic Items Back"?

      Does the Tier of an item change the scrap?
      Subquery: Again, is that a different Tier of Crafting Material? If not how *do* you find higher Tiers of Crafting Material?

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        December 17, 2020 1:29 AM

        I'm not sure if you can get iconic items back if you scrapped it. You might be able to craft it again, but I don't want to try it lol.

        I am fairly certain you get the scrap tier of the item you scrap. Maybe there's a small chance for higher tier scrap. You DO get higher tiers of scrap when you successfully hack consoles. You can also get the scrap at weapons vendors (and other vendors). The most expensive scrap goes for about 1k per pop.

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          December 17, 2020 1:46 AM

          Nah I mean I glanced through the Guidelist and the only other thing I saw that might have mentioned deconstructing was that "Can You Get Back Iconic" and the answer was NO DO NOT SCRAP IF YOU DOUBT ME TRY IT FOOL HAHAHAHAHA NOW LOOK AT YOU. Well, Sam didn't put it in exactly those terms, but there was still nothing about what that scrap is used for. Is that just a vendor item for money, like in Wasteland 2?

          So that Scrap from deconstructing IS the Upgrade Material?

    • reply
      December 17, 2020 1:31 AM

      I think I ended up disassembling a gun because I couldn't figure out how to remove a mod. Shame.

      • reply
        December 17, 2020 2:17 AM

        The guide is wrong. You can’t remove mods unless you take a perk that recovers them when you scrap them. It’s a fairly high level one if I recall correctly.

        • reply
          December 17, 2020 2:52 AM

          You can remove attachments, though. I'll make the clarification so there's no further confusion!

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