Quick Links
Cyberpunk 2077 might be a game that sells itself as a futuristic first-person RPG, but that doesn't mean it lacks ties to the comic book genre. It's one thing to feel heroic as you cut down mobsters and corrupt corpo overlords on your way to bringing peace to Night City, but there is one piece of equipment that can make you feel super-heroic while doing so.
The Gorilla Arms are nothing like the Monowire and Mantis Blade alternatives. They're all technically melee weapons, but while the first two force players into a series of rapid and twitchy techniques, the Gorilla Arms prefer to maximize powerful punches that culminate into a singular devastating blow that rips apart titanium robots and sends enemy combatants into the stratosphere.
Updated June 24, 2023, by Sean Murray: Gorilla Arms are still the most versatile arms upgrade in Cyberpunk 2077, so we've updated this guide with refreshed formatting to make it a little easier to read.
Find The Legendary Gorilla Arms
Most every Ripperdoc in Night City has these in stock, but they'll be of the rare variety. If you plan on using the Gorilla Arms, then go all-in with the legendary version! The difference between having to smack every goon twice versus ten times is the difference between life and death, so head on over to the Ripperdoc in Wellsprings, Heywood or Downtown, City Center to pick up the legendary Gorilla Arms.
The legendary Gorilla Arms, unfortunately, cannot be found on the streets like the others, so you're going to have to shell out 55,250 eddies.
There is one other way to get these legendary arms at any Ripperdoc and you can get them for free, but there is the world's largest asterisk with this method; you'll get a free pair after you've beaten the game. So, if you're looking for these and have already seen the credits roll, great news! Otherwise, you'll be shelling out the big bucks.
The good news is that, when you have them, any Ripperdoc will install them for free.
Why Use The Gorilla Arms
The Mantis Blades rip apart low-threat targets with powerful leaps. The Monowire rapidly staggers these same targets and has a high chance of a one-hit decapitation. So why would players elect to use a piece of equipment that takes longer to kill these targets? There are several valid reasons.
The first is that the Gorilla Arms hit these same targets hard enough to put them on the ground. They might not be dead, but they are out of commission. After several such attacks, you then have the freedom to find a medium or high-threat target and give it a devastating uppercut that one-shots them even on higher difficulty settings.
Next, they are useful against robots and turrets. The other options are great at killing human targets, but that goes for most weapons in the game. The Gorilla Arms are versatile enough to truly have no weak part of their game in terms of enemy variety.
Frankly, they are fun to use! The visual effects are great and there are unique animations for destroying targets that you won't get with any other weapon. The game doesn't keep them lying around Night City because it's meant to be a reward for players who put in the work, pay the eddies, and want to enjoy their investment.
Also, if you're sick of locked doors, and don't want to change your entire build just to bypass the locks, Gorilla Arms increases your Body score so that you'll be able to rip open some doors that you otherwise wouldn't have been able to.
How To Use The Gorilla Arms Effectively
The first thing to remember is that offense is your defense. Without a shield, stealth, movement boosts, or cover, you'll be very exposed during fights. You will be taking damage. So the goal is to end these fights as quickly as possible. Run in and get to thumping.
You'll want to start on at least one low-threat target. You can strong attack even without any charges, and it will knock them off of their feet. Then, use a few regular punches while they are down to finish them off.
At this point, you've most assuredly kicked the hornet's nest. That's perfectly fine. If the next enemy you run into is a medium or higher, unleash the charges you gained from finishing off the first minion with a strong attack, and you'll likely instantly kill it. If it's alive, once again, it will be knocked down, so just get a few sucker punches in there to finish the job.
If there is a turret, then all of this goes out the window. Toss a grenade or make some other distraction, approach the turret, and with the click of a button, you'll rip out the machine gun and start using it.
This thing is an absolute monster and, while it can't last forever, you'll have access to the best automatic weapon in the game until the encounter ends.
Target Skills
The Gorilla Arms do count as a blunt weapon, so any skills that involve blunt weapons are a great choice. Perks are not given away freely in Cyberpunk 2077, so spend them wisely.
These come highly recommended:
|
Street Brawler |
|
|---|---|
|
Crushing Blows |
Increases damage from strong attacks with blunt weapons by 30%/40%/50%. Your strong attack is going to be what takes down bosses and cyberpsychos. After building up a few hits, you'll set up even big dogs for one-hit kills. |
|
Payback |
Increase damage with blunt weapons by 1%/2%/3% for every 1% missing health. The tooltip on this is stated incorrectly, but this is the accurate way it should read. You'll be taking lots of hits and you can convert every bit of that into extra power. |
|
Rush |
Successful attacks with blunt weapons regenerate 3%/6% health over 2 seconds. This will help you stay alive and if your fists are flying, even after a hailstorm of bullets, you'll be just about topped off by the time the fight is over. |
After getting everything you want from the Street Brawler tree, head on over to Cold Blood. It gives you a buff that can be buffed that incentivizes killing one enemy and moving on to another quickly. This is exactly how you'll be playing, so do consider these perks.
Upgrades
The Gorilla Arms come with three mod slots. Here is the way to fill those out so that you will be packing the hardest hits possible:
|
Animals Knuckles |
Causes internal bleeding on hits. This is another upgrade to the Gorilla Arms that places it about the Monowire and Mantis Blades, which don't have a legendary option. You'll find this at the Ripperdoc in Charter Hill. |
|---|---|
|
Black Market Battery |
Increases damage by 100%. Double damage is ridiculous, buy it from Dr. Chrome in Watson. |
|
Rin3U Battery |
Restores stamina to full after defeating an enemy. As though it wasn't overpowered enough, the community has identified that there is potentially a hidden damage boost on the item as well. The Ripperdoc in Kabuki, Watson has one available. |
Please savor your time as a cybernetic Hulk in Night City!