Assault rifles are the bread and butter of most builds in Cyberpunk 2077. With the right rifle, you can take on groups of enemies in close to mid-range combat. But not all assault rifles are created equal in the dark streets of Night City.
In this definitive guide, we’ll be breaking down the top tier assault rifles to help you lock and load the perfect weapon for your playstyle. Here’s what you need to know about the best—and most badass—assault rifles Cyberpunk 2077 has to offer.
What Makes a Great Assault Rifle in Cyberpunk 2077
Let’s level set on what you should prioritize when equipping an assault rifle:
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Damage Per Second (DPS) – The combination of damage per shot and fire rate. Key for taking down enemies quickly.
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Recoil – How much your aim is impacted after continuous fire. Lower recoil enables better aim.
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Reload Time – The time it takes to reload ammo. Faster is better, especially for sustained firefights.
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Ammo Capacity – Important for limiting downtime spent reloading.
Balancing these factors allows an assault rifle to dish out damage rapidly while maintaining shooting accuracy. Powerful single fire shots are also desirable for dropping foes efficiently.
Of course, the effectiveness of any rifle also depends on your character build and perks. But some rifles shine brighter than others on their own merits. Let’s get into the crème de la crème.
D5 Copperhead – Reliable Crowd Control
The D5 Copperhead assault rifle fires 5.56mm rounds that provide a balanced combination of fire rate and impact. It‘s a versatile, reliable weapon that gets the job done without breaking your bank account.
Key Stats
- Damage: Medium
- Fire Rate: High
- Reload Time: Medium
- Recoil: Medium-Low
Packed with a drum magazine with a whopping 60 round capacity, the Copperhead excels at taking out groups of enemies in close range without needing to stop and reload frequently.
Aim for the head and fire in short bursts to maximize accuracy. The minimal recoil helps land consecutive shots even under duress. With the Copperhead equipped, you’ll have the firepower to control the battlefield.
Ideal For
The Copperhead‘s rapid fire rate and large magazine size make it a great crowd control weapon. Use it to:
- Clear out areas filled with weak enemies like gang members and security forces.
- Provide suppressive fire and force enemies to take cover while allies flank them.
- Overwhelm tough enemies by unloading a barrage of rounds into them.
With its compromise of firepower and handling, the D5 Copperhead is likely to satisfy assault rifle purists looking for a versatile all-rounder.
Kyubi – Specialist Shotgun/Rifle Hybrid
Don‘t let its compact size fool you—the Kyubi assault rifle packs a devastating punch. Its burst fire shooting style and shotgun-like impact make it one of the most unique and potent assault rifles in the game.
Key Stats
- Damage: Very High
- Fire Rate: Low
- Reload Time: Fast
- Recoil: Extremely Low
Despite the low rate of fire, the Kyubi hits like a truck with every round. It delivers tremendous stopping power akin to a shotgun up close, obliterating unarmored targets.
Yet, it offers the range and handling of an assault rifle for engaging enemies in the mid field. With minimal recoil, you can accurately land shots in the Kyubi‘s sweet spot range of 10-25m. It also reloads lightning quick even without perks.
Ideal For
The Kyubi truly excels when used as a specialist weapon to open encounters with its devastating first shot. It rewards precise aim under fire. Use it to:
- One-shot unarmored enemies like cyberpsychoes with a round to the torso or head.
- Quickly eliminate the biggest threat before switching to another weapon.
- Initially damage armored enemies then switch weapons to finish them off while they reel from the Kyubi’s force.
For berserk users, the Kyubi allows you to capitalize on openings with a single powerful shot between dashes and melee attacks. Overall, it’s simply an absolute beast in the right scenarios.
Tactician’s Choice: Moron Labe (Ajax Variant)
The Ajax rifle tears through enemies with its sheer ballistic power. Boasting the highest DPS in its class, it also features strong customization potential once iconics are unlocked. Hence, the Moron Labe stands above other variants as the best-in-class Ajax that’s worth chasing down.
Key Stats
- Damage: Very High
- Fire Rate: Very Low
- Reload Time: Slow
- Recoil: High
- Ammo: 4/5 rounds
Despite the Ajax’s ability to eliminate waves of enemies rapidly, its biggest weakness is the glacial reload time. The Moron Labe solves this by increasing the clip size coupled with a faster reload—though still fairly slow by rifle standards.
Combined with the Ajax’s already outrageous damage output, the boosted ammo capacity significantly improves its staying power in long battles.
Ideal For
Bring the Moron Labe whenever you need raw stopping power from an assault rifle. It obliterates practically any enemy with a few rounds. Use it when you plan to:
- Clear out clusters of medium to heavy armored enemies mixed with unarmored ones.
- Maintain good positioning to avoid getting caught reloading.
- Swap to a secondary weapon like a shotgun or submachine gun to finish off stragglers when you expend the Moron Labe’s clip.
Used properly, the Moron Labe rewards astute ammunition management with the highest damage throughput in the assault rifle category. Though for most players, the improvements may not justify displacing the satisfaction of the base Ajax‘s sheer damage numbers.
Honorable Mentions
While the previous three assault rifles represent the pinnacle for most players’ needs, here are two other weapons that warrant discussion:
Masamune (and Variants)
The Masamune is the base (non-iconic) version of the legendary Prejudice assault rifle. As such, it shares the same reliability and well-rounded performance as that weapon with the added benefit that random dropped Masamunes can come preinstalled with rare bonuses.
With solid base damage output coupled with high elemental damage when found with an elemental modifier, the Masamune adapts well to many situations. The main limitation is its extended reload time, so pair it with abilities or perks that auto-reload.
Tactician’s Choice: Nowaki
Featuring excellent handling qualities with its fast reload speed and low recoil, the Nowaki burst fire assault rifle deserves special mention. While less versatile than the Prejudice, in capable hands, the Nowaki doles out focused damage rapidly.
It rewards disciplined trigger control to land all shots in a burst to vital areas, dropping enemies quicker than its modest damage per bullet suggests. The Nowaki is an excellent choice for Arasaka special forces builds to quickly eliminate targets without breaking cover.
The full automatic Zachariah variant trades handling for drastically boosted DPS—though suffers more in overall effectiveness compared to the base Nowaki.
Verdict: Best Overall Assault Rifle
Taking all factors into account, the D5 Copperhead currently reigns supreme as the most versatile complete package assault rifle in Cyberpunk 2077 after Patch 1.5 and the Edgerunners update.
Boasting well-rounded stats to handle the widest variety of combat scenarios, the Copperhead brings the firepower to rapidly clear out groups of enemies. Yet, retains the handling and control to precisely track and eliminate priority threats.
With flexibility to equip a variety of muzzles and scopes to further tune for your playstyle, the Copperhead stands above the competition as my top pick for an all-purpose assault rifle following the weapon rebalance. It simply allows you to dish out lead the most efficiently without any glaring deficiencies.
Of course, the Moron Labe takes top stop purely for its peerless alpha strike damage potential and the Kyubi fills the specialist role tremendously. But factoring versatility, the Copperhead now firmly holds best-in-class honors.
Give it a whirl on your netrunner, solo, or berserker to see the Copperhead’s impressive potential for yourself. Then once you lock down the necessary components and recipes, I highly recommend eventually upgrading to the HCH Outlaw iconic variant for even better performance befitting the best assault rifle in Night City.
Stay tuned for more Cyberpunk 2077 weapon guides as I put them through their paces on my road to becoming the ultimate Solo!