If you have watched (and loved) the Netflix anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, you will be happy to know that it is possible to recreate David Martinez and his Edgerunner build in Cyberpunk 2077.
Everything from his outfit to perks to cyberware to weapons can be found in Night City. While some of them may not be exact replicas, they do come pretty close.
The David Martinez build has become a bruiser build in Cyberpunk 2077 following Update 2.0, placing more focus on damage and maneuverability.
Whether you want to run a melee or ranged (pistol) build, the revamped cyberware and perk systems give you viable options to mimic David.
Here is how you can become a Night City legend as David Martinez; unless you are more interested in doing the game with the Lucy Build from Edgerunners.
Table of Contents
Recommended lifepath choice
All Lifepaths in Cyberpunk 2077 do not provide any significant change to your story and playstyle so choosing the one that resonates with you is generally the best option. If you want to fully immerse yourself in David Martinez’s character, then choosing the Streetkid origin is the best place to start.
David also came from the streets of Santo Domingo so it is only right you experience life through his eyes as well. Corpo is the most immersion-breaking Lifepath in this case and though Nomad is not that bad, it seems too out of character for him.
Best clothing outfit for David Martinez
You will be happy to know that the signature jacket of David Martinez can be found in Night City. This is purely an aesthetic option but will complete your Ederunner build in Cyberpunk 2077.
You get David’s Jacket as a reward for completing Over the Edge, a side gig that takes place in Arroyo, Santo Domingo. This will be right next to the megabuilding H4 fast-travel point as shown in the map image below.
Do note that the whole quest is a big Easter egg that was added with Phantom Liberty. You (V) will come across the memorials of several deceased characters from Edgerunners, including one for David.
In the anime series, David starts with a black T-shirt with a gold necklace before wearing no shirt at all in the latter episodes.
You can go with any black T-shirt to complete your look. We recommend checking out either the GOG Galaxy T-shirt which requires you to link your account or the Wolf School T-shirt.
Finally, the lower body. The closest pants that we could find to replicate David Martinez were the Caution Extra-Plastic and the Cyan Camo Composite-threaded cargo pants. Both of them can be purchased from clothing vendors in Little China and West Wind Estate.
Unfortunately, we could not find anything for the feet that resembles what David wore in the Edgerunner anime. You can pick any boots that you like. We recommend picking a pair that looks strong and bulky enough to smash down doors.
Required attribute points
The Body is one of the best-starting Attributes to invest in and is almost always needed regardless of build type. It increases your HP and regen abilities and also allows access to useful perks required for bringing the build together.
We recommend getting Body to 20 first simply because of the core utility it adds.
Technical Ability is a more Edgerunner-focused skill so you can grab it later in the game by resetting your Attributes in Cyberpunk 2077. It increases Cyberware capacity and improves their effects which you will learn are needed for the David Martinez playstyle and should be raised to 20, especially for end-game players.
Reflexes add flexibility to your movement and also provide additional Cri Chance. It should be the next thing that should have 20 allocated points and serve as a good alternative investment for Technical Ability for early-game players.
Cool serves as a dump stat since it has little contribution to the David Martinez build in Cyberpunk 2077. If you have access to the Phantom Liberty DLC, you will get 10 additional Attribute Points that you can put towards Cool to raise it to 18.
| Attribute | Allocated Points |
|---|---|
| Body | 20 |
| Cool | 8 (18 with Phantom Liberty) |
| Intelligence | 3 |
| Reflexes | 20 |
| Technical Ability | 20 |
Recommended perks and relics
The Body and Technical Ability perks form the core of this Edgerunner build in Cyberpunk 2077 with Reflexes not that far behind.
Here are the best perks we recommend investing in to complete your build and live out your dream of being like David.
Body
Best Perks: Adrenaline Rush (+secondary perks), Quake, Finisher: Savage Sling, Painkiller
All the perks in Body Attribute are important for executing David Martinez’s level of damage but there are a few that you should focus on first.
First Tree
The first Perk Tree has all the skills that you need to turn simple pistols into one-shot machines. It significantly improves your recoil, reload speed, and damage output and even grants damage mitigation.
Middle Tree
The middle Perks Tree provides health-related buffs like an increased HP pool and faster health regen rates. It also provides immunity against non-damaging statuses like Knockback, Blinding, etc.
Last Tree
The last Perk Tree favors blunt weapons by boosting their damage while giving you armor and the ability to apply non-damaging status effects. It reduces Stamina costs and consumption and increases the AoE damage of your plunge attacks.
Technical Ability
Best Perks: License To Chrome, Edgerunner, Cyborg, Extended Warranty
Technical Ability is a more end-game Attribute so for starters you can either focus on your weapon-related perks only or invest in another Tree instead.
First Tree
It is related to explosives, their Area-of-Effect, restock speed, holding capacity, etc. but not needed for a David-centric build.
Middle Tree
The middle Perk Tree of Technical Ability is the most important as it provides Cyberware upgrades that will help you become David Martinez in Cyberpunk 2077. It reduces cooldown, improves stat modifiers, and increases effect durations, all of which seem tailor-made for Edgerunner.
Last Tree
It is related to Tech weapons and if you are planning to use David’s shotgun, the DB-2 Satara, then getting them is just free damage.
Reflexes
Best Perks: Slippery, Dash, Air Dash, Finisher: Bladerunner, Multitasker
First Tree
The best David Martinez 2.0 Build focuses more on melee and close-range weapons in Cyberpunk 2077. The perks favor Assault Rifles and SMGs so if you prefer them, you should see what other perks you can compromise to make room here.
Middle Tree
This Perk Tree has all the maneuverability that you need in the game including all the dashes and mid-action movements. These perks are also necessary If you are planning to rock the Mantis Blades or Gorilla Arms just like David in the anime.
Last Tree
Opposite the first Perk Tree, it focuses on Blade damage, its attack speed, range, and stamina costs. You should focus on this instead of the middle tree if you are looking to rock the Mantis Blades exclusively.
Cool
Best Perks: Focus, Deadeye, Nerves Of Tungsten Steel
First Tree
The First Perk Tree has great pistol-related perks that will get you reduced recoil and reload, improved damage and stamina consumption, etc. If you want to use the Lexington pistol that David uses, investing in a few perks here is mandatory.
Middle Tree
The Middle Perk Tree focuses on stealth-related skills that are not required for the David build.
Last Tree
The Last Perk Tree is related to throwable weapons that are not part of this Edgerunner build in Cyberpunk 2077.
Relic Perks
Best Relic: Jailbreak with Limiter Removal or Spacial Mapping
Relics are exclusive perks for Phantom Liberty which have their own Relic Skill Tree along with Attributes. If you want to remain authentic to David Martinez, you should drop the relics as he did not use any in the anime.
Jailbreak provides unique abilities to your Arm Cyberware which is perfect for David in Cyberpunk 2077. No matter what you are using, the Mantis Blades or the Gorilla Arm, the bonus it provides is something you just can’t overlook.
Under the Jailbreak Relic Skill Tree, you should get the Limiter Removal for Gorilla Arms which creates a knockback shockwave along with the original Jailbreak buff.
For Mantis Blades lovers, you should get the Spacial Mapping instead which adds crippling to your leap attacks with Jailbreak.
Recommended cyberware mods
There are a lot of cyberwares that were used by David during the anime series which makes for a more authentic build rather than a stronger one.
Here’s a list of the best Cyberware mods you can use to replicate David Martinez in Cyberpunk 2077 with some lore-accurate options.
Frontal Cortex
Axolotl reduces Cyberware cooldown after neutralizing enemies
Newton Module also reduces Cyberware cooldown after neutralizing enemies.
Kerenzikov Boost System if you don’t have access to Phantom Liberty in place of Axolotl.
Arms
Gorilla Arms deal physical damage with a 20% chance of inflicting Bleeding on enemies. It is also used by David during the anime so go with them for a more lore-accurate experience.
Mantis Blades allows you to leap at your enemies dealing physical damage with a 20% of inflicting Bleed. It is a great alternative if Gorilla Arms are not your style.
Skeleton
Titanium Bones Cyberware increases your carrying capacity.
Dense Marrow increases Melee Damage and melee Stamina cost.
Bionic Joints and Epimorphic Skeleton are good alternatives till you can get your hands on either of the aforementioned cyberwares.
Nervous System
Adrenaline Converter boosts movement speed when you enter combat
Neofiber increases Damage Mitigation Strength and Chance. It helps increase defense making your Dasid 2.0 build sustainable in Cyberpunk 2077.
Reflex Tuner slows time by 60% for 4 seconds when your Health drops below 25%
Integumentary System
The Integumentary System Cyberware provides defensive utility like armor and damage mitigation. Since there are limited sources of armor, we recommend using the best ones that are available for you. If you are not sure what to go with, we have shared a few options that we found the most suitable for this build.
Subdermal Armor simply increases Armor by 49.
Pain Editor reduces the damage taken by 7% and increases Armor by 108.
Cellular Adapter requires the Build Different perk to function. It increases Tech weapon damage, Health regen speed, and Grenade recharge speed. You also get 146 Armor and some explosion resistance.
Painducer increases Armor by 138 and converts 30% of damage taken into damage over time.
Operating System
There are two Operating Systems that you can choose from for your David Edgerunner build in Cyberpunk 2077 2.0.
The Militech “Apogee” Sandevistan can be activated and deactivated on command, but there is a small delay before the switch.
It slows down time by 85% and increases Headshot Damage Multiplier, Crit Chance, and Crit Damage with duration extension and stamina boosts upon enemy neutralization.
If you are using guns with your David Martinez build, we recommend going with Apogee which was used by him in the anime series.
The Zetatech Sandevistan can also be toggled on and off as per your demand but only when it is charged. If you activate it while on the ground, it slows down time by 30% and increases damage by 3%.
Upon activation in mid-air, it slows down time by 60%, increases damage by 6%, boosts headshot and weakspot damage by 25%, and reduces fall damage by 30%.
It works great with melee weapons and we recommend using it because of its shorter cooldown making the rotations easier.
Face
Kiroshi “The Oracle” Optics scans and highlights enemies within a 19.5m radius, cameras and turrets in 39m, and explosives and traps near the crosshair within 29m for 60 seconds. The zoom level of the scanner is increased by 10 times.
Kiroshi “Cockatrice” Optics increases Crit Chance by 35% and increases zoom level by 10 times.
Hands
Smart Link enables smart-targeting for smart weapons with increased target lock duration, Crit Damage, and Max RAM.
Ballistic Coprocessor increases ricochet Damage and Chance of Power weapons and gives you the ability to map out ricochet trajectory.
Shock Absorber is also a good alternative if you don’t have other options available. If you have the Ambidextrous perk active, you can equip 2 Cyberware in the Hands slot so you won’t have to think too much about it.
Circulatory System
Microrotors greatly increase the melee attack speed.
Blood Pump restores a large fixed amount of Health instantly and then a smaller amount over the next 6 seconds.
Heal-on-Kill regenerates health when you neutralize enemies.
Legs
Fortified Ankles was used by David in the anime so it is a must-have for your 2.0 Edgerunner build in Cyberpunk 2077. It allows you to charge your jump to cover greater distances.
Reinforced Tendons is also a great alternative, as it allows you to perform a second jump while you are in mid-air.
Recommended weapons
The best weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 for your Edgerunner build vary between canon David Martinez options and a few iconic variants that also pack a mean punch.
Canon weapons
If you want to completely follow David Martinez, he, fortunately, has his canon variants available in the game. His weapons are not the strongest in the game so do note this if your damage numbers are lacking.
M-10AF Lexington is a Power Pistol that has quick attack speed and utilizes ricochet technology to deal damage. The ricochet bullets deal Poison and Chemical damage and have increased Headshot Damage Multiplier and Crit Damage.
M-76E Omaha is another Tech Pistol that David used and is based on the Lexington pistol as well. It shoots charged shots that have a 170% Headshot Damage Multiplier, and 50% Armor Penetration which is split into three projectiles.
DB-2 Satara is a Double-Barrel Tech Shotgun that has high base damage and Headshot Multipliers along with 50% Armor Penetration.
Alternative weapons
If you don’t want to use the canon weapons, we have a few other recommendations that still work great.
Comrade’s Hammer is a Tech Revolver and is one of the best tech weapons that you can use in the game. It has 75% Armor penetration, 50% Crit Damage, and 40% Burn Chance with a 1 sec-long charged shot.
The Headsman is an Iconic Shotgun that is designed for taking out enemies with a single shot with its high damage. It has a 215% Headshot Damage Multiplier, 25% Armor Penetration, 7% Crit Chance and 50% Damage. It works wonders with the Sandevistan and will fit right in your Edgerunner build.
Ratetsu is a Tech Sniper Rifle that is designed to take out your enemies with a single shot thanks to its ridiculously high damage. It also has a 300% Headshot Damage Multiplier and 50% Armor Penetration, making even the most armored enemies killable.
How to play the David Martinez build in Cyberpunk 2077
This Edgerunner build does not have any complex rotations that you need to follow but if you want to play like David Martinez in Cyberpunk 2077, we have a few tips that you might helpful.
David always had his Sandevistan while he was in combat so make sure you have it active as long as you can. It also benefits you since neutralizing enemies when the time is slowed, prolongs its duration, giving you more time to make those headshots count.
Cyberware like the Axolotl and the Technical Ability perks reduce the cooldown of your Cyberware, which helps keep the Sandevistan downtime fairly short.
Play aggressively and use your Arms Cyberware for the most part. David did not depend on weapons to get his job done so talk with your fists first before you draw your weapon. Don’t worry too much about Health since the Blood Pump Cyberware and the Body Perks like the Adrenaline Rush will keep you alive.
