Lucyna Kushinada or Lucy is an iconic hacker from the Netflix series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Unlike David Martinez’s build, her kit was more unique and complex with a combination of Quickhacks and Monowire.
The 2.0 Update brought in some massive changes and it was no different for Monowire builds. Other than the Cyberware revamp, the Intelligence perk also got boosted with now having more synergy with Quickhacks like the new Overclock branch.
The Quickhacks, themselves, also received some significant changes which included rebalancing RAM costs and removing their Cooldowns completely.
The Monowire is also not considered a melee weapon anymore which made the previous builds almost unusable. It is now more compatible with Intelligence perks with a few Cyberware options tailored for it as well.
The Lucy Monowire build in Cyberpunk 2077 follows the old hack-and-slash aggressive playstyle with the modern touch of cyber hacking into your enemy’s mind.
If you are looking to play like Lucy or simply enjoy beheading your enemies with a rope, we have compiled all that you need to know to master the art of the Monowire.
Table of contents
Recommended lifepath choice
Considering her past as an Arasaka Netrunner, the Corpo Lifepath is more in line with Lucy’s background. However, she later gets involved with the Maine’s crew which makes the Streetkid option viable as well.
The Nomad path is the most out of place for her, so we recommend against it if you want to really replicate Lucy from the Edgerunners anime.
Best clothing outfit for Lucyna Kushinada
Unfortunately, Lucy does not have a dedicated outfit piece like David’s Jacket to replicate her signature clothing. You can, however, get a mod for hair and clothing if you want to perfect the look with your Lucy build.
The Edgerunners Lucy Outfit Mod allows you to dress exactly like Lucy. The clothes are added to your inventory so you can still customize them along with regular outfits in the game if you want.
Required attribute points
Intelligence forms the core of the Lucy’s Monowire build in Cyberpunk 2077 and is more of an end-game Attribute. It includes all the Quickhack perks and Monowire damage boosts that you will need to make the Edgerunner Lucy build possible in the first place.
We recommend investing 20 points towards it but if you are a starter you can dump spare points here till you reach a higher level.
Cool is best used with Lucy because she uses pistols throughout the series and you can grab pretty useful stat boosters for them here. Though it provides stealth as well, it is not necessarily required for this build to function. We recommend investing at least 15 points at least for those pistol perks.
Technical Ability is another end-game Attribute that provides Perks for Cyberware upgrades and tech weapon enhancements. Unlike Intelligence, it shines better when placed in a complete build so you should leave leveling it to 20 for last.
Reflexes is one of the best-starting attributes you can get in the game simply because of the immense maneuverability and weapon proficiency it provides.
You can invest heavily in it if you are still in the early game but later on, you will need to reset your Attributes and invest these points elsewhere since only a few are beneficial.
If you have Phantom Liberty DLC, you will get an additional 10 Attribute points that you can put towards Body for damage boosts and health perks.
| Attribute | Allocated Points |
|---|---|
| Intelligence | 20 |
| Technical Ability | 20 |
| Body | 9 |
| Reflexes | 15 |
| Cool | 15 |
Recommended perks and relics
You should focus on the Body and Intelligence perks while building Lucy as they are core to her build in Cyberpunk 2077. Here are the best perks that we recommend to cut the life thread of your enemies short.
Intelligence
Best Perks: Hack Queue, Overclock, Spillover, Speculation, Eye In The Sky, Queue Mastery
Intelligence houses all the necessary Perks that Lucy needs in Cyberpunk 2077, so we recommend grabbing all of them.
First Tree
This Perk Tree also serves as a starting point for your Edgerunner Build as it is the first one you will need to max out. It provides additional RAM and RAM recovery rates, lets you add your hacks to a queue that automatically executes one after the other, and lets you stack Quickhacks as well.
Middle Tree
The Middle Tree is more utility-based and provides the necessary support your Quickhacks need for taking down an enemy. It increases RAM recovery rates, reduces RAM costs, increases Quickhack damage, and even spreads these hacks to additional targets.
Last Tree
The Last Tree focuses on Smart Weapon damage and hacking so if you are planning to use them, it is great to add them to your list.
Additionally, the Carhacker Perk allows you to hack cars and make them do different things like explode, move, and run over enemies which adds a more fun playstyle.
Cool
Best Perks: Feline Footwork, Ninjutsu, Unexposed, Serpentine, Focus, Deadeye, Deep Breath
First Tree
This Tree increases Pistol and Rifle damage which is needed if you are going for a more lore-accurate Lucy build. It increases Headshot damage, movement speed, and range while reducing Stamina costs and activation requirements.
Middle Tree
Middle Tree provides the most important buffs required for this build. It increases your movement speed, and damage mitigation chance and reduces Stamina Costs and movement speed penalties.
Last Tree
This Tree provides damage boosts for throwable weapons.
Technical Ability
Best Perks: Edgerunner, License To Chrome, All Things Cyber, Extended Warranty
First Tree
It is related to mostly explosives, increasing their damage, Area of Effect, range, and recharge rate. Since they are not needed for this build, you can overlook this Tree completely.
Middle Tree
The Middle Tree has all the Cyberware-related Perks that you need to complete your Monowire build in Cyberpunk 2077. It gets you additional Cyberware slots, increased Cyberware effect duration, reduced ability Cooldowns, and incoming damage.
Last Tree
It provides buffs to Tech weapons and similar to other weapon-related Skill Trees, you can look into it if you are planning to use them.
Reflexes
Best Perks: Slippery, Dash, Multitasker, Can’t Touch This
First Tree
The First Tree is related to Assault weapon buffs and increases Crit stats, range, accuracy, and handling while reducing Stamina Costs and recoil.
Middle Tree
This is the main focus of this Attribute, you can improve your flexibility and movement while performing a variety of tasks. They allow you to dodge and dash quickly which is important because of the limited armor sources which leaves you more vulnerable to damage.
Last Tree
The Last Tree is related to blade weapons like throwing knives and Katanas. Unless you want Lucy to divert to a Katana build, you can skip the tree altogether.
Body
Best Perks: Painkiller, Droph-Head, Comeback Kid, Army Of One
First Tree
This Tree increases Shotgun and LMG damage, which are weapons that Lucy is not fond of using.
Middle Tree
Middle Tree provides the most important buffs required for this build. It increases your HP pool, Health regen rates, and immunity against non-damaging statuses like Knockback and Blinding.
Last Tree
This Tree provides damage boosts for melee damage but since you will be using the Monowire mostly, you can avoid it completely.
Relic Perks
Relic: Jailbreak with Data Tunneling
You can find the Relic Skill Tree along with your Attributes if you have the Phantom Liberty DLC in Cyberpunk 2077.
For your Lucy build, you need Jailbreak Relic which grants new abilities to Arm cyberwares. It unlocks a dedicated slot for Control Quickhacks for your Monowire and the uploaded Quickhacks through this method cost no RAM.
Under the Jailbreak skill tree, you should grab the Data Tunneling Relic which is tailored towards Monowire only. It increases damage against enemies affected by Monowire-uploaded Quickhacks and also spreads these hacks to nearby enemies.
Recommended cyberware mods
The Cyberware will mostly be related to Quickhacks with more focus on RAM management and how you can use Intelligence perks.
Here are the best Cyberware mods that you can use with your Lucy Monowire build 2.0 in Cyberpunk 2077.
Frontal Cortex
RAM Reallocator recovers 30% of Max RAM when available RAM falls under 20%.
COX-2 Cybersomtic Optimizer allows your Quickhacks to do Critical damage which can go up to 100% but decreases your Max RAM
Ex-Disk increases your Max RAM and upload speed for Quickhacks.
You can alternatively use the Camilo RAM Manager or the Bioconductor if you don’t have any of the above-mentioned ones.
Arms
Monowire, the bread and butter of your Lucy 2.0 build in Cyberpunk 2077, allows you to deal affiliated element’s damage in melee and short-ranged combat and can be modified using Quickhacks.
The Monowire comes in Electrical, Thermal, Physical, and Toxic variants so you can choose any one that fits your playstyle best. The best thing is you can easily get Monowire from various Ripperdocs around Night City
Skeleton
Bionic Joints simply increase Armor by 120.
Para Bellum increases Armor by 13%
RAM Recoup restores a small percentage of RAM based on the damage received
Nervous System
Adrenaline Converter greatly increases movement speed when you engage in combat.
Synaptic Accelerator slows down time by 50% for 4.5 seconds when the detection rate of the enemy reaches 50%
Integumentary System
The Integumentary System Cyberware for Lucy mostly focuses on Armor acquisition. You can go for more offensive options but we recommend against it since it is one of the few places you can get defensive options in this build.
Chitin increases Armor by 200.
Subdermal Armor increases Armor by 49.
Pain Editor reduces incoming damage, increases Mitigation chance, and provides Resistance to Damage Over Time.
Operating System
The choice of Operating System for your Monowire build depends on what you want to focus on more: your Quickhack damage or your weapon damage. The choice will come down to what you have available and what your playstyle is.
Tetratonic Ripler MK.5 enables Quickhacks while scanning and increases damage to enemies affected by non-combat Quickhacks by 15% and by 40%.
If Combat Quickhacks are followed by non-combat ones in the queue immediately after. It also increases Max RAM and uploads Reboot Optics and Weapon Glitch to all enemies within an 8m radius after activating Overclock.
Militech Paraline MK.4 allows you to perform Quickhacks while scanning, increases Quickhack damage, and increases Monowire Damage per RAM unit up to 30% max.
It can be paired with Overclock and while it’s active, Smart Weapons and Monowire deal increased Electrical damage based on their normal attack. You can also shoot an enemy with a Smart Weapon while uploading quickhack to increase upload speed.
It incentivizes you to use Smart Weapons with your Monowire and is a more flexible option for your Lucy Monowire build in Cyberpunk 2077.
You can also use the Netwatch Netodriver MK.1 alternatively which allows you to perform Quickhacks on your enemies.
When equipped it reduces Traceability for Quickhacks uploaded through cameras, lowers the RAM cost for device and vehicle quickhacks, and increases damage and effect duration of Combat Quickhacks uploaded through devices.
Face
Kiroshi “Sentry” Optics highlights cameras and turrets within a 35m radius.
Hands
Smart Link increases your Max RAM and makes your Smart Weapons use Smart Targeting which auto-locks onto enemies and also increases their Crit Damage.
Microgenerator makes your next shot after reloading release an electroshock that deals electrical damage to nearby enemies.
Shock Absorber greatly reduces recoil.
Circulatory System
Threatevac greatly increases your movement speed when your Health drops below 25%
Heal-On-Kill regenerates a small percentage of Health after you neutralize an enemy.
Blood Pump restores a large amount of Health instantly and then continues regenerating small amounts over the next 6 seconds.
Legs
Reinforced Tendons allow you to jump again mid-air after the first one.
Recommended weapons
Besides the Monowire, Lucy depended on pistols as a secondary source of damage, specifically the Unity pistols.
Other than this, you can use any weapon of your choice for your Lucy build in Cyberpunk 2077 because aside from the Cyberware and perks, there is nothing that contributes to the damage.
Here are our recommendations for the best weapons you can use, both in the base game and with Phantom Liberty DLC.
Phantom Liberty
Ogou is an Iconic Smart Pistol that shoots two rounds that split and can cause dismemberment to your enemies.
With successful dismemberment, your Crit Chance increases with the ability to apply Bleed as well. It has a 50% Headshot Damage Multiplier, 25% Armor Penetration, and 50% Crit Damage, making it a reliable sidearm.
Her Majesty is an Iconic Power Pistol that pairs with the Optical Camo cyberware. It has great accuracy and precision with high damage output thanks to the 150% Headshot Damage Multiplier.
Warden is a Smart Machine Gun that shoots homing projectiles that lock onto targets. Its fire rate increases with each consecutive shot, each of which has a 50% Headshot Damage Multiplier.
Base Game
Unity is a Power Pistol that has decent damage but is a more authentic pick for Lucy’s Edgerunner build in Cyberpunk 2077. It deals more damage by ricocheting bullets off surfaces, has a 150% Headshot Damage Multiplier, and increases Physical Damage by 13%.
Malorian Arms is an Iconic Power Pistol that trades its fire rate for the ridiculous amount of damage it can dish out. The pistol has a 150% Headshot Damage Multiplier with 25% Armor Penetration.
Yinglong is an Iconic Smart Machine Gun that requires Smart Link Cyberware to function. It deals Electrical damage, creates small EMP on impact, and has a 20% Shock Chance.
How to play the Lucy Monowire Build in Cyberpunk 2077
The Lucy Monowire build in Cyberpunk 2077 will sound pretty complex with Quickhacks and everything but is relatively simple once you get a hang of it. Here are a few tips to make the learning process easier for you.
Right before you jump into combat, always activate your Overclock so you can upload the maximum amount of hack onto the enemy. With the Militech Paraline MK.4 Operating System, the Monowire damage gets boosted and you can quickly hack through the hordes quickly.
The Tetratonic Operating System also makes use of this by applying useful Quickhacks on nearby enemies which in turn boosts your damage as well.
Also, apply your Quickhacks beforehand to not only boost your Quickhack damage but also your weapons. This is also what Lucy does in Edgerunners.
Speaking of the Militech Operating System, when you are in a pinch we recommend switching to Smart Weapons instead. This way you don’t lose out on damage and can have a breather till you can return to the Monowire and takedown enemies using it like Lucy.
Use your charged attacks when you can if you have the Data Tunneling Relic equipped. It will upload the Quickhacks onto the enemies while you are hitting them which makes it a deadly combo.
Do note that the build is a bit squishy so you need to calculate your movement. You can switch out some perks and invest in the Body attribute more to increase survivability.
