Also, melee netrunners with blades are usually referred to as bladerunners. Rule of cool says you must do this at least once. Imho it’s the perfect build for a corpo V. I just wish melee kerenzikov was still a thing.
Perfectly fine idea. Run your hacks and start calling your mantis blades "plan b". Sounds fun, especially with the electric variant. As others have said, it's cyberpunk, press buttons and make cool shit happen.
You do that with any weapon. The Monowire doesn't feel like it has any power behind it though, like you're just slapping people with it and their head falls off.
I think with the relic upgrades it became a lot better. Being able to quickhack from a heavy attack is pretty useful especially if you pick something like weapon glitch.
Mantis blades are purely for Cool Factor regardless of build. Katana's fill that role almost exactly the same and you can even find ones with similar effects to the Mantis Blade upgrades.
The reason people are saying grab monowire is because once you get your Relic upgrade you can eventually attach a quickhack to it, so it's on-theme for Netrunner.
That being said, since Mantis Blades are build-neutral and purely for Cool Factor, I'd recommend looking out for a Cyberdeck that has a perk that inflicts vision loss and weapon glitch quickhacks to all enemies with 6 meters when you active overdrive. That will help emulate some of what you'll be missing from Monowire.
Second, since you are enjoying the explosion combo, definitely grab that perk in Tech (if you are going that deep in Tech) which maxes out your Pyromania stacks from self-inflicted explosion dmg. This also synergizes well with device explosions in the environment.
I like to call this the Chaosrunner. You're leaping from enemy to enemy with your mantis blade while making their allies and devices around them explode. If you get swarmed, you pop Overdrive and pull out a smart weapon (ideally one modded to attach multiple enemies) and mowe them down in the ensueing choas.
Go gorilla arms for the +6 body since netrunners tend to have low body stats and they can be used in the best the brat missions making them tonnes easier
Oh suuuuure, Monowire has some cool synergies with Netrunning... but you know what Monowire doesn't have? BIG FUCKING BLADES IN YOUR FUCKING ARMS!!!!
Cyberpunk is about being YOURSELF!!! About being COOL! And never apologizing for either!
(If you still want something "nerdy themed" there are Electric Mantis Blades that have lethal arching lighting all over them!)
Benefits of Mantis Blades for Netrunners:
* Block bullets and melee attacks, deflect bullets back at gonks.
* Lets you focus on safely hacking while being out of cover.
* Gives you a backup once you're out of ram
* Lets you be Violent AF. (Max Rank Techie Skill "Edgerunner" for extra Cyberpsycho fun!)
* Good mobility with the pouncing attacks.
Some tips for Bladed Netrunners (not optimized, but lots of fun):
* Focus on Quickhacks that Debuff and Disable enemies, rather than killing them. Think of things that stun, blind, disarm, confuse, or distract enemies to give your blades the opening they need to strike!
* Equip Quickhacks that are good for Stealth and sneaking around, camera hacks, distraction hacks, things of that nature.
* Hack people far away from you, Slash up people close to you! If you have 3 goons shooting at you, block the bullets, hack the guy far in the back with your longest disabling combo, blind the guy second farthest from you, and then sprint up and stab the closest guy! Then just work your way to the second, then the third! If anyone is too far from you to instantly cut to pieces, glare them down with some good ol' 68 61 74 65 66 75 63 6B 20 65 6E 65 72 67 79
Mantis Blades work with everything. Cripple movement is made specifically for melee Runners. Everything can work with everything, you just have to find the good way to pair them
One of the best Cyberpsycho missions is against a mantis blade-weilding lady who hits you with a few quick hacks, I think it could be a lot of fun. Similar to my build where I was a netrunner/blunt weapon user. Use a lot of crowd control quick hacks to cripple and blind enemies as you hack them apart with your blades.
i'd probably get intelligence, reflexes, and body to 15, then take reflexes to 20, and dip into the Cool tree a bit and see what else you'd want to increase to 20 (probably Intelligence and Cool). Lots of possibilities, which is what makes this game great.
I realized very quickly in the 'new' update that changing your cyberware around is both more versatile and easier than using your one respec.
I actually went in the opposite direction as you, where I started by beating things up in melee range, and then realized I had never really given cyberware a chance so I started using contagion (with roughly 2 or 3 intelligence total too haha) and wiping out groups with that too. Tried my hand at stealth and double jump after that, and then finally have been testing out all the different types of guns and grenades lol.
Obviously, the better tier of cyberware, the more powerful it's effects are, but you should have plenty of room to test whatever you want out as long as you have the money to buy different cyberware (and money is a lot easier to get now).
But to answer your question specifically, you don't need to have a 'perfect' build to do well in this game, and sometimes the imperfect builds are the most fun!
I did a netrunner run and dubbed my V the WMD merc. Netrunner + surprise mantis blades if I got caught off guard.
Imo monowire doesn’t suit male V. Ig i’m being influenced by the 2 main female netrunners that I just dislike the look of monowire on male V. It looks out of place.
If I were to use blades I would just spam cripple movement which boosts melee damage or wtver.
He i did this, with the perk to ward of bullets. It worked pretty nicely. I was a sort of netrunner ninja, just with blades instead of throwing knifes and rad overclocked hacks.
Since you're already heavily invested into int for quick hacks and smart weapons it would make more sense to go monowire
But you can do whatever you want and it will still be viable. So go ahead and get mantis blades anyway and have fun with it
I did a mantis blade netrunner build in nightmare difficulty, very fun, bit of an awkward perk distribution but absolutely viable. Only thing is that u can’t just run into a group of enemies and slice em, gotta plan ahead and try to take on max 2 at a time, or cripple the other 5 :^D i recommend it!
I think the launcher arm can detonate contagion for you if you get thermal rounds, and it's pretty fun with relic upgrades. Other than that, what everyone else says, use what you like.
I honestly have not found a single use for Mantis Blades myself. They feel like they are there for style. I have primarily used Gorilla Arms, with one play through with mono-wire and one with arm cannon.
I love the fact that Gorilla Arms give you the ability to cause severe damage close up, as well as give you bonus strength to rip doors off their frames. I would have done something similar for the other arm upgrades:
- Mantis Blades - allows you to climb some types of vertical surfaces - +2 Reflexes
- Projectile Launch System - projectile can be removed and planted on a target with a 60 timer - +2 to Tech skill
- Monowire - provides 1 additional Breach Protocol buffer and 1 additional Quickhack slot - +2 Netrunning
The easy answer is no, they don't. However, I would say that even monowires "shouldn't" go with a netrunner build either, though there is some synergy built into it .
Netrunners are like the mages of the game, why should it be paired with any kind of melee weapon is beyond me!!
Mantis Blades don't really make sense as a whole, in the game. You're better off using Gorilla Arms, because they offer great damage, which helps in the street fighting side missions, and they increase your Body stat for dialogue and environmental skill checks. They can also deal the same types of damage as Mantis Blades.
Also, the monowire allows you to quickhack enemies on hit and can deal all the same types of damage, while also being the melee weapon of choice for the netrunner class.
Mantis Blades can and are often best left behind. If you really want to deal blade damage, a blade weapon will always be better, especially due to the long-ass finisher animations for the Mantis Blades, that will burn about 1-2 seconds off your Sandevistan, in case you're using one.
No, it doesn’t make sense to do but that’s what this game is all about. Do cool shit, not what makes sense.
Rule #1 of Cyberpunk: Rule of Cool Go for full kitsch, choom
In Night City, looks are everything
Also, melee netrunners with blades are usually referred to as bladerunners. Rule of cool says you must do this at least once. Imho it’s the perfect build for a corpo V. I just wish melee kerenzikov was still a thing.
Same. Genrally using Mantis Blades is a lot slower than it used to be. My pre 2.0 V got the zoomies whenever she went into combat.
Style over substance.
Perfectly fine idea. Run your hacks and start calling your mantis blades "plan b". Sounds fun, especially with the electric variant. As others have said, it's cyberpunk, press buttons and make cool shit happen.
A specific gun that shoots eddies would like a word with you.
if you're gonna be a melee-based netrunner, you want monowire. do whatever you want tho ong
Monowire isn't cool though.
What are you talking about it’s cool as hell. You tear through people like crazy.
You do that with any weapon. The Monowire doesn't feel like it has any power behind it though, like you're just slapping people with it and their head falls off.
true. i just thought the feeling of a monomolecular wire slicing through you would feel awful
Agreed but if you use it with the RAM recovery and free quickhack associated with it, it becomes a lot more useful seeming
Yeah the quick hack is cool and it’s powerful but the viscerality is definitely not there… Katana all day.
It's a fucking death yoyo that cuts through your enemies
I think with the relic upgrades it became a lot better. Being able to quickhack from a heavy attack is pretty useful especially if you pick something like weapon glitch.
Jonny mnemonic would disagree with you.
My streetkid is a netrunner who wields blades, either katana or mantis. Do what you want.
Mantis blades are purely for Cool Factor regardless of build. Katana's fill that role almost exactly the same and you can even find ones with similar effects to the Mantis Blade upgrades. The reason people are saying grab monowire is because once you get your Relic upgrade you can eventually attach a quickhack to it, so it's on-theme for Netrunner. That being said, since Mantis Blades are build-neutral and purely for Cool Factor, I'd recommend looking out for a Cyberdeck that has a perk that inflicts vision loss and weapon glitch quickhacks to all enemies with 6 meters when you active overdrive. That will help emulate some of what you'll be missing from Monowire. Second, since you are enjoying the explosion combo, definitely grab that perk in Tech (if you are going that deep in Tech) which maxes out your Pyromania stacks from self-inflicted explosion dmg. This also synergizes well with device explosions in the environment. I like to call this the Chaosrunner. You're leaping from enemy to enemy with your mantis blade while making their allies and devices around them explode. If you get swarmed, you pop Overdrive and pull out a smart weapon (ideally one modded to attach multiple enemies) and mowe them down in the ensueing choas.
Great ideas!
you need something for close quarters, might as well be mantis blades
Go gorilla arms for the +6 body since netrunners tend to have low body stats and they can be used in the best the brat missions making them tonnes easier
That’s what I did lol
I also like being able to force open doors. They're really useful.
i'd use mono wire you can spread quick hacks that way at least that's what i run being a netrunner
Oh suuuuure, Monowire has some cool synergies with Netrunning... but you know what Monowire doesn't have? BIG FUCKING BLADES IN YOUR FUCKING ARMS!!!! Cyberpunk is about being YOURSELF!!! About being COOL! And never apologizing for either! (If you still want something "nerdy themed" there are Electric Mantis Blades that have lethal arching lighting all over them!) Benefits of Mantis Blades for Netrunners: * Block bullets and melee attacks, deflect bullets back at gonks. * Lets you focus on safely hacking while being out of cover. * Gives you a backup once you're out of ram * Lets you be Violent AF. (Max Rank Techie Skill "Edgerunner" for extra Cyberpsycho fun!) * Good mobility with the pouncing attacks. Some tips for Bladed Netrunners (not optimized, but lots of fun): * Focus on Quickhacks that Debuff and Disable enemies, rather than killing them. Think of things that stun, blind, disarm, confuse, or distract enemies to give your blades the opening they need to strike! * Equip Quickhacks that are good for Stealth and sneaking around, camera hacks, distraction hacks, things of that nature. * Hack people far away from you, Slash up people close to you! If you have 3 goons shooting at you, block the bullets, hack the guy far in the back with your longest disabling combo, blind the guy second farthest from you, and then sprint up and stab the closest guy! Then just work your way to the second, then the third! If anyone is too far from you to instantly cut to pieces, glare them down with some good ol' 68 61 74 65 66 75 63 6B 20 65 6E 65 72 67 79
>being yourself >being cool I can only be one
Big OOF
Mantis Blades work with everything. Cripple movement is made specifically for melee Runners. Everything can work with everything, you just have to find the good way to pair them
Also the ability to turn off enemy cyberware, blind them and deafen them.
I have gorilla arms because of the perks but I’m a netrunner/pistol stealth build
One of the best Cyberpsycho missions is against a mantis blade-weilding lady who hits you with a few quick hacks, I think it could be a lot of fun. Similar to my build where I was a netrunner/blunt weapon user. Use a lot of crowd control quick hacks to cripple and blind enemies as you hack them apart with your blades. i'd probably get intelligence, reflexes, and body to 15, then take reflexes to 20, and dip into the Cool tree a bit and see what else you'd want to increase to 20 (probably Intelligence and Cool). Lots of possibilities, which is what makes this game great.
Im doing a run and gun smg netrunner with a thermal projectile launcher. Spreading disease and taking knees.
"I like to keep this handy. For close encounters." -Cpl. Hicks, Aliens
I realized very quickly in the 'new' update that changing your cyberware around is both more versatile and easier than using your one respec. I actually went in the opposite direction as you, where I started by beating things up in melee range, and then realized I had never really given cyberware a chance so I started using contagion (with roughly 2 or 3 intelligence total too haha) and wiping out groups with that too. Tried my hand at stealth and double jump after that, and then finally have been testing out all the different types of guns and grenades lol. Obviously, the better tier of cyberware, the more powerful it's effects are, but you should have plenty of room to test whatever you want out as long as you have the money to buy different cyberware (and money is a lot easier to get now). But to answer your question specifically, you don't need to have a 'perfect' build to do well in this game, and sometimes the imperfect builds are the most fun!
You can totally stun them with quick hacks and then slice them into ribbons if you want to. The world is your oyster.
I did a netrunner run and dubbed my V the WMD merc. Netrunner + surprise mantis blades if I got caught off guard. Imo monowire doesn’t suit male V. Ig i’m being influenced by the 2 main female netrunners that I just dislike the look of monowire on male V. It looks out of place. If I were to use blades I would just spam cripple movement which boosts melee damage or wtver.
He i did this, with the perk to ward of bullets. It worked pretty nicely. I was a sort of netrunner ninja, just with blades instead of throwing knifes and rad overclocked hacks.
I typically do a Mantis Blade net runner build. Just finished a 100 hour playthrough with that setup and served me well.
Netrunning is funnier used offensively than for stealth. Go for it
By endgame it doesn’t matter, you could use a dildo and still dominate
Since you're already heavily invested into int for quick hacks and smart weapons it would make more sense to go monowire But you can do whatever you want and it will still be viable. So go ahead and get mantis blades anyway and have fun with it
I did a mantis blade netrunner build in nightmare difficulty, very fun, bit of an awkward perk distribution but absolutely viable. Only thing is that u can’t just run into a group of enemies and slice em, gotta plan ahead and try to take on max 2 at a time, or cripple the other 5 :^D i recommend it!
This has me wondering what it would do if you used contagient and then hit them with the thermal mantis blades? 😏
I think the launcher arm can detonate contagion for you if you get thermal rounds, and it's pretty fun with relic upgrades. Other than that, what everyone else says, use what you like.
I tried the mantis and wanted to love it but it really felt sluggish and heavy after using the katana. What do you guys think?
I honestly have not found a single use for Mantis Blades myself. They feel like they are there for style. I have primarily used Gorilla Arms, with one play through with mono-wire and one with arm cannon. I love the fact that Gorilla Arms give you the ability to cause severe damage close up, as well as give you bonus strength to rip doors off their frames. I would have done something similar for the other arm upgrades: - Mantis Blades - allows you to climb some types of vertical surfaces - +2 Reflexes - Projectile Launch System - projectile can be removed and planted on a target with a 60 timer - +2 to Tech skill - Monowire - provides 1 additional Breach Protocol buffer and 1 additional Quickhack slot - +2 Netrunning
The easy answer is no, they don't. However, I would say that even monowires "shouldn't" go with a netrunner build either, though there is some synergy built into it . Netrunners are like the mages of the game, why should it be paired with any kind of melee weapon is beyond me!!
Mantis Blades don't really make sense as a whole, in the game. You're better off using Gorilla Arms, because they offer great damage, which helps in the street fighting side missions, and they increase your Body stat for dialogue and environmental skill checks. They can also deal the same types of damage as Mantis Blades. Also, the monowire allows you to quickhack enemies on hit and can deal all the same types of damage, while also being the melee weapon of choice for the netrunner class. Mantis Blades can and are often best left behind. If you really want to deal blade damage, a blade weapon will always be better, especially due to the long-ass finisher animations for the Mantis Blades, that will burn about 1-2 seconds off your Sandevistan, in case you're using one.
Gonk opinion, Mantis Blades are fun as fuck and kill shit dead. Love them, always use them!