My Knife-Throwing Build

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1.5 hit during my previous play-through (my third) and by then I was well into the end-game at level 50. That build was initially going to be a knife-throwing build but when I realised you lost the knives I decided against that (I know you can manage despite that but I dislike mid-battle inventory management so... no thanks). So I completed that V, did DFTR ending on Very Hard (first time I tried it, so it was a personal moment for me) and then promptly started my fourth V :D I think I am now officially an addict.

Now that 1.5 has improved knife throwing, I thought it was the perfect time to try it out and now I've done that I thought I'd share my thoughts on it. It's on Very Hard (kind of can't play any other difficulty now, it's the only one that feels challenging throughout). My intention was to build this V only using two knives, a katana (just because I love the katana, but I think a third knife would be entirely viable still so I may switch it up to that) and, for the first time, a mono-wire (originally because it scales off cool, but also because it now scales off reflexes and I've just never tried it before). I did try to force myself to only use these weapons throughout the early stages but did have to switch to a rifle early on for one particular organised crime spot because Very Hard and melee only is brutal for the first few levels, particularly when you do it how I have (focused on leveling up tech early). I think in total I've only used a ranged weapon that once (excluding one small spree where I used it for a few fights to get to assault level 3 and a +1 perk point).

But I have used the throwing knives 90% of the time, if not more. It has been challenging! But it's a ton of fun. I'm now level 18 and it's all just starting to "click". And I think this will be one of the most fun builds I've done so far, if not the most powerful.

So this is my build plan (bear in mind this site is not up to date with 1.5 so the perks aren't all correct, it's just a guide - in reality, you can get way more perk points than 84 anyway so this is mostly just to show the level distribution I've chosen).


(PS if anyone knows an excellent quality V builder that's up to date, please hit me up, chooms).

My current V looks like this:

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Some of the items:
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As I'm limiting myself to 15 tech, I won't be crafting any legendary stuff so that's all bought or found, except for the outter and inner tops, which you get for free from Vik early on - as of 1.5 these two items can be upgraded enough times that they "level up" in rarity as you go, which is awesome. This is the same for the Black Unicorn katana, which is just two upgrades away from being Legendary. But two legendary knives is more than enough to almost constantly be able to throw them (the higher the quality, the faster they return to you). And I love katanas so there.

The Quick access is camo, of course. This is very powerful when engaging larger groups that have seen you but it's also very useful for stealth missions (and missions where stealth nets you an optional extra). As I'm going to max out cool (for the first time), I'm going to be able to get quite a few nice things I never had before. The main one I'm looking forward to is using the pain editor. This build will be all about taking damage (you simply cannot avoid it a lot of the time when using melee weapons) and dealing it more, but using stealth initially wherever possible to thin the herd.

I've decided to go with Berserk for this build too. I honestly think any option here works and so I thought about this one for a while and weighed up my options:

1) Using quick hacks and deamons. I've had enough of using QHs in previous builds (used them in two) and I really don't enjoy the whole "pause the game to do stuff" game play that comes with this. This is a primary reason I'll probably never go "full netrunner".
2) Sandevistan: I already used Sandevistan in one build and it's super strong but... it just wound up with most fights sort of being done and dusted before Sandevistan ran out and it just felt dull in the end, almost zero challenge, particularly when followed up using camo.

So this time I'm trying berserk (I'll be using the Militech one eventually) and it's going to be much more brutal, no slow-downs and no "pause to kill" game play. Just fun, melee and throwing combat. That's the plan anyway.

So how has it gone?

First up, trying to get by with just throwing gray/green knives in stealth on Very Hard at level 2-5 is really hard :D Even head shots don't do enough damage to one-shot kill and so you're frequently needing to fight open battles. This forced me VERY EARLY ON (like the second NPCD scanner fight I had, the one on the bridge near to the roundabout island Dex drops you off at in his car) to think about where I'm engaging my opponents.

With ranged weapons and guns, you're often able to fire enough to pin your enemies and so just finding one solid cover point to duck behind is enough to last most battles. But the delay between using knives doesn't give you this at all, not early on. I was rushed quickly and frequently by NPCs and they took no more than 3 hits to kill me and so I needed to retreat or reposition myself often. This meant I had to think what was behind me when I engaged, not just in front of me; do I have easy egress? Do I have lots of cover behind me that I can fall back to?

Once I started asking myself these sorts of questions, I began to cope quite well. I dismissed stealth initially (no point, couldn't realiably one shot kill with knives) and so just threw my first two knives quickly then relocated whilst they "returned to me". Even now I do still plan ahead before fights and this definitely helps, although I can go in "all knives blazing" now in Watson and Japantown so it does get easier. Having good cover is essential and a lot of my earlier fights involved me ducking behind cover whilst my knives returned so I could pepper my opponents with them. It began to be quite fun at this point.

As soon as I was level 16 (the requirement) I bought two legendary knives. I can now one-shot level appropriate targets (helps that I have the +50% headshot damage Kiroshi mod!) and so I can implement stealth properly into most of my engagements. This has helped a lot. One thing I had to learn (and only really just got used to last night) was the best way to hit the head and do the most damage is to be reatively close (10m or so) and to aim just above the head, not directly at it. This results in a 100% headshot every time. You can get decent damage much further out, it's just harder to hit the head or get a critical hit.

But if I get a crit, my knives are deadly now. And it's so much fun to run into a fight, thwack, thwack, to kill two targets then sprint in to take another down the katana/mono before switching back to knives again.

I actually think the way CDPR fixed knives has been very well balanced as an initial pass. They are challenging early on but practice and patience really pays off. I cannot wait to push Cool up to max! The build will really come into its own then.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my build. If you have tried a throwing build since 1.5, please do share your thoughts/builds too!
 

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My current "1.5 build" (started in 1.5).
Maybe not the best, by it work and more important I have fun with. Because yeah, throwing knives are way too fun now :)
  • A little in COOL to have the base stealth perks.
  • Like always, TECH to 18 (for obvious reasons).
  • A little in BODY (for doors, health regen, able to install some useful cyberwares and in view of "Beat On the Brad" fights).
  • Correct INT level for stealth it's very useful. Optic Reboot (legendary) with Camo cyberware are the most useful "things" to get close without been detected. If I don't "one shot" a guy (by unluck^^), he see me indeed, but Optic Reboot QH is applied directly so I have time to quickly "finish" him.
  • I'll go at mininmum to 15 in REFLEX, because some perk are very useful for Blades (like Blessed Blade crit chance +10% with blades and Judge, Jury And Executioner who provide at max, +150% damages to blades on enemies with full health).
And for stuffs, a legendary knife with mods to increase damages and nothing special on armor (except "deadeye" on glasses). I just wait to get my hand on Sorpion's knife to replace my current one :)

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Cool tree have on max lvl some really ultimate perks including one offering assured critical hit, which may mean also immediate return of thrown knife (with proper perk). I did not tested yet whether that assured critical hit perk is applied also for thrown knifes, but if yes, this one may be very usefull for this build type.
 
Cool tree have on max lvl some really ultimate perks including one offering assured critical hit, which may mean also immediate return of thrown knife (with proper perk). I did not tested yet whether that assured critical hit perk is applied also for thrown knifes, but if yes, this one may be very usefull for this build type.
Yep ;)
"Juggler" - level 16 - immediate return of throwing knives.
"disloyal attack" - level 20 - +100% damages and always deal a crit while crouching (melee weapons).
Not sure about the perk's names (french translation), but yeah, could be very, very useless* (if you plan to go at level 20 in cool at least).

*edit : useful
 
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this sounds fun, i usually try to use as few shots to take targets out as possible, so i try for headshots most of the time.

Seems a bit silly that a knife that hits someones head doesnt kill them. seems like knife throwing should result in 100% chance of death but be more difficult to aim. for me the idea of maybe using a large circle where the center is where the knife is thrown might work since the larger it is, the harder it would be to figure out where the center is. shrinking the circle as levels raise would be a good representation of improved skill.

Though ive never tried this skill, im relatively new to the game and this update pretty much stopped my ability to play it until the devs respond about a potential bug. what i hate the most with bugs is having to go back and redo what ive done before. no point playing.
 
Yep ;)
"Juggler" - level 16 - immediate return of throwing knives.
"disloyal attack" - level 20 - +100% damages and always deal a crit while crouching (melee weapons).
Not sure about the perk's names (french translation), but yeah, could be very, very useless (if you plan to go at level 20 in cool at least).
Juggler is correct. The other is called "Jeepers Creepers" in the English version.

Both of these will be in my build. Your build is interesting. More based on netrunning than mine (I've just avoided it entirely). I just can't bring myself to do any Very Hard build without a lot of points into Body (Your Constitution) though :D

I'm definitely with you on Reflexes. It was actually something I was a little disappointed by (you can't just go full Cool without also needing to put a certain number of points into Reflexes; for so many builds it's a little too wide-reaching I think). But 15 is as low as I was willing to take it, which freed up some points for other stuff (like body :D)
 
Juggler is correct. The other is called "Jeepers Creepers" in the English version.

Both of these will be in my build. Your build is interesting. More based on netrunning than mine (I've just avoided it entirely). I just can't bring myself to do any Very Hard build without a lot of points into Body (Your Constitution) though :D

I'm definitely with you on Reflexes. It was actually something I was a little disappointed by (you can't just go full Cool without also needing to put a certain number of points into Reflexes; for so many builds it's a little too wide-reaching I think). But 15 is as low as I was willing to take it, which freed up some points for other stuff (like body :D)
For stealth, netrunning is very useful (for me).

Optic Reboot + Camo cyberware + Ping are perfect. With knives now, damn great :cool:
And at "high level" :
Legendary Optic Reboot for automatically apply Optic Reboot effect when an enemy see you (it can save your butt if at one moment you didn't pay attention^^).
Legendary Ping to distract enemies behind walls before entering in an area.

And the best, it's that Optic Reboot spread to another target. With level 16 in QH, it can afffect 3 more targets and finally with Contagion passive effect in legendary, it affects an additional target. So 6 targets in total. With Camo, you have almost 30-35 seconds of total invisibility to do what you want in middle of enemies :D

Now, knives are so cool, I absolutely love them and I play almost only with them (I cleared all the animals in the GIM with my throwing knife, so satisfying^^)
 
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For stealth, netrunning is very useful (for me).

Optic Reboot + Camo cyberware + Ping are perfect. With knives now, damn great :cool:
And at "high level" :
Legendary Optic Reboot for automatically apply Optic Reboot effect when an enemy see you (it can save your butt if at one moment you didn't pay attention^^).
Legendary Ping to distract enemies behind walls before entering in an area.

And the best, it's that Optic Reboot spread to another target. With level 16 in QH, it can afffect 3 more targets and finally with Contagion passive effect in legendary, it affects an additional target. So 6 targets in total. With Camo, you have almost 30-35 seconds of total invisibility to do what you want in middle of enemies :D

Now, knives are so cool, I absolutely love them and I play almost only with them (I cleared all the animals in the GIM with my throwing knife, so satisfying^^)
I decided to just go for it:

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:D
 
Btw, that perk giving critical hits is functioning for throwed knives, and they then immediate returns (with perk for that). There is just one small catch and this is the need to hit target ... if not, then no critical hit and knife returns with delay. For silent operations you also want to aim at head which means 99/100 kill once you are close to max in build. Using three legendary knives should work well, poison is also giving nice additional damage and there are more perks improving it even more.
 
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Btw, that perk giving critical hits is functioning for throwed knives, and they then immediate returns (with perk for that). There is just one small catch and this is the need to hit target ... if not, then no critical hit and knife returns with delay. For silent operations you also want to aim at head which means 99/100 kill once you are close to max in build. Using three legendary knives should work well, poison is also giving nice additional damage and there are more perks improving it even more.
Three knives is perfect. Zero down time.

I'm using the Cuthroat (80% melee damage after hitting with a thrown knife) perk too, which is very useful for the cyberpsychos, in particular those that dodge ballistics. Just need to switch Trajectory Analysis out for Target Analysis so it's non lethal and away you go; get one hit with a thrown knife and then it's stabby, stabby!

Heavy hits with the knife are so fun :) I'll switch throwing up with melee stabs when I'm feeling like mixing it up. Oh and you can throw knives whilst jumping, which makes this build even more fun to play.
 
Yup, with 1.5 is perfectly possible play silent assassin which is full time using knives :) . And with possibility to easily redistribute perks points can some builds go for full time or temporary use of knives too, anytime. Myself like using different combat styles from rifles, to revolvers, katana, knives or monowire and its all now possible. V is no longer so tanky, and also critical hits were seriously reduced ... on the other hand he/she still can go for really brutal actions with proper preparations and set of skills, or come in and out like a ghost :giggle: ...
 
I finished the game with this build this week. I've not done my spiritual ending just yet (the Star ending) but I did do my favourite "to play" ending (DFTR) and this build was way more powerful than the last build I did this ending for. It was mostly very easy, despite being on Very Hard. I only used Second Heart once in the fight with Adam Smasher but that was really only because I just got complacent and was getting cocky. If I had wanted to, I could have stayed max health for most of it by using Maxdocs.

This build has been my most enjoyable by a long shot. In the end I did run entirely with three knives, no other weapon was used. Most of the time it was a one shot kill (when I hit the head). Otherwise it was a one shot and then they'd drop within a second from poison. Using synapse accelerator, I'd often clear a location before anyone saw me without even bothering to use stealth and then I had camo anyway so I'd finish off the rest long before that ran out most of the time. And if that did run out and I still had some enemies left I had berserk, which made me a godlike killing machine for 60 seconds anyway.

I used Gorilla Arms for Beat the Brat and that was hilariously rapid, too. Beat the final fight before I could get a full charge on the fists (berserk is the perfect tool for this series of jobs).

This build was a lot more sturdy than my previous. I think Cold Blood helped a lot with that. I've never used Cold Blood before but this build was 20 cool so I went all in with it. It's pretty powerful. I was stacking up to 5 times and by then I could seriously tank and murder without much difficulty. I think that's why DFTR was so much easier but Smasher was more "normal" (no npcs to kill to stack it up, not until partway through anyway).

I highly recommend trying out the knife throwing V since 1.5. It was so much fun.
 
I finished the game with this build this week. I've not done my spiritual ending just yet (the Star ending) but I did do my favourite "to play" ending (DFTR) and this build was way more powerful than the last build I did this ending for. It was mostly very easy, despite being on Very Hard. I only used Second Heart once in the fight with Adam Smasher but that was really only because I just got complacent and was getting cocky. If I had wanted to, I could have stayed max health for most of it by using Maxdocs.

This build has been my most enjoyable by a long shot. In the end I did run entirely with three knives, no other weapon was used. Most of the time it was a one shot kill (when I hit the head). Otherwise it was a one shot and then they'd drop within a second from poison. Using synapse accelerator, I'd often clear a location before anyone saw me without even bothering to use stealth and then I had camo anyway so I'd finish off the rest long before that ran out most of the time. And if that did run out and I still had some enemies left I had berserk, which made me a godlike killing machine for 60 seconds anyway.

I used Gorilla Arms for Beat the Brat and that was hilariously rapid, too. Beat the final fight before I could get a full charge on the fists (berserk is the perfect tool for this series of jobs).

This build was a lot more sturdy than my previous. I think Cold Blood helped a lot with that. I've never used Cold Blood before but this build was 20 cool so I went all in with it. It's pretty powerful. I was stacking up to 5 times and by then I could seriously tank and murder without much difficulty. I think that's why DFTR was so much easier but Smasher was more "normal" (no npcs to kill to stack it up, not until partway through anyway).

I highly recommend trying out the knife throwing V since 1.5. It was so much fun.
I don't know which level you have in Reflex, but the perk who increase blades damage on enemies with full life by 100% is damn great with knives. It's one shot even without aiming the head and yes at worst, the poison finish the job^^.
 
I don't know which level you have in Reflex, but the perk who increase blades damage on enemies with full life by 100% is damn great with knives. It's one shot even without aiming the head and yes at worst, the poison finish the job^^.
would the legendary QH Short circuit trigger with knives?
 
would the legendary QH Short circuit trigger with knives?
It does :)
Sometimes I have the progress bar (locate) which is launched due to Short Circuit effect, but enemies died almost instantly, so not a problem :D

On my side, I only use Scorpion Knife and I retrieve it almost instantly each time (except when I miss my dude^^)... So no need to have other knives equiped when you have the "Ninjustu perk" actived.
 
I don't know which level you have in Reflex, but the perk who increase blades damage on enemies with full life by 100% is damn great with knives. It's one shot even without aiming the head and yes at worst, the poison finish the job^^.
I deliberately got reflexes up just enough for this :)

It absolutely helps. It isn't necessary, mind. The poison sees to that.

The only thing I dislike about this build is the way poison == non lethal. It takes away that choice and somewhat randomises the outcome; it seems 50/50 even when I kill them in one shot, even a head shot. I can, of course, stab them in the face to end them but that feels really cruel :D

I would prefer it if poison was lethal and don't understand why it's not.
 
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