Acquiring Legendary Items: Crafting vs. Buying
In Cyberpunk 2077, obtaining legendary quality items, whether weapons, armor, or mods, is crucial for maximizing your combat effectiveness and defensive capabilities. Players have two primary avenues for acquiring these top-tier items: crafting them or finding them. While finding legendary items can sometimes happen through exploration or as quest rewards, crafting offers a more consistent and often superior method, especially for specific iconic gear.
Legendary quality items generally boast the highest damage per second (DPS) for weapons, the best defensive stats for armor, and the most mod slots available. However, pursuing the crafting route requires a significant investment in your character’s Technical Ability attribute and the associated Crafting skill.
The Crafting Path to Legendary Gear
Crafting legendary items is a powerful way to ensure you have the best gear available. To craft legendary quality items, you first need to acquire the corresponding legendary crafting specs. Once you have the spec, you can craft the item, provided you meet the skill requirements.
A major commitment for players aiming to craft legendary items is investing in the Technical Ability attribute. Crafting is tied directly to this attribute, and to unlock the ability to craft legendary quality items, your Crafting skill typically needs to reach at least level 18. This requires dedicating up to 20 Attribute Points to Technical Ability, which are limited and cannot be reallocated once spent. Beyond creating new legendary items, the Crafting skill also allows you to upgrade existing items, improving their DPS or protection. Upgrading items consumes upgrade materials, with higher quality items like legendaries requiring more resources.
Obtaining Legendary Crafting Specs
Legendary crafting specs are essential blueprints for creating the highest rarity gear. These specs can be found through various means across Night City:
- Vendor Inventories: Some vendors sell specific legendary quality crafting plans. These often become available for purchase once your Street Cred reaches level 50.
- Boss Loot Tables: Challenging bosses, particularly those encountered in Gang Activity locations throughout Night City, can drop legendary quality plans.
- Iconic Weapon Plans: Many powerful and unique Iconic Weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 come with their own crafting plans. While most Iconic Weapons are initially found at lower rarities (Rare or Epic), you can craft higher rarity versions, including legendary, by using their specific crafting plans. This process involves upgrading the item one rarity tier at a time; for example, you can take a Rare Iconic Weapon, craft its Epic version, and then craft its Legendary version.
Here are some examples of how to obtain specific legendary iconic weapon crafting specs:
- Crafting Spec: Amnesty: Obtain the Epic version to unlock automatically. This can be found by accomplishing Cassidy’s shooting challenge during “We Gotta Live Together.”
- Crafting Spec: Apparition: Get the Epic version to unlock automatically. This pistol is found on Frank’s body after he is defeated during “War Pigs.”
- Crafting Spec: Archangel: Acquire the Rare version and craft the Epic version to unlock automatically. Kerry gives this item to you at the end of “A Like Supreme.”
- Crafting Spec: Ba Xing Chong: Found in Adam Smasher’s vault (the shipping container unlocked by Grayson’s key during the “Chippin’ In” side job) after entering the elevator to Embers during the “Nocturne OP55N1” main job.
- Crafting Spec: Breakthrough: Craft the Epic version to unlock automatically. The crafting spec is dropped by the leader in a “Suspected Organized Crime Activity” hustle in Rancho Coronado.
- Crafting Spec: Buzzsaw: Craft the Rare and Epic versions to unlock automatically. The crafting spec is dropped by the leader in a “Suspected Organized Crime Activity” hustle in Northside.
- Crafting Spec: Chaos: Get the Rare version and craft the Epic version to unlock automatically.
FAQ
Is investing in crafting worth it for legendary items? Yes, for most builds, reaching at least level 18 in the Crafting skill and investing in Technical Ability is very useful. It allows you to craft legendary quality items, which generally have the best stats and mod slots, and to upgrade your existing gear.
Can I find legendary items without crafting? Yes, legendary items can be found as loot or quest rewards, but crafting provides a more reliable method for obtaining specific legendary gear, especially for Iconic Weapons.
Do all legendary items require crafting specs? To craft a legendary item, you need its corresponding legendary crafting spec. Iconic items often provide a path to legendary quality through upgrading their lower rarity versions using their unique crafting specs.
What is the minimum Technical Ability required to craft legendary items? To craft legendary quality items, your Crafting skill, which is tied to the Technical Ability attribute, typically needs to reach at least level 18. This often means investing up to 20 Attribute Points into Technical Ability.
Can I redistribute Attribute Points if I decide crafting isn’t for me? No, Attribute Points are limited and cannot be redistributed once they are applied in Cyberpunk 2077. This makes the decision to invest in Technical Ability for crafting a significant commitment.