The deep dive beyond the Blackwall of new perk trees continues here at GameLuster. In our first guide, we covered the rough-and-tumble Body perk tree. This time, we’re looking at the updates and changes to the Reflexes perk tree.
The old saying, “Speed kills” sums up the Reflexes tree perfectly. The tree primarily centers around increasing your maneuverability in combat, helping you get your attacks in before the enemy’s well as buffing your proficiency with Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns (SMGs), and Blades like machetes and swords. It also opens up quick, pithy dialogue options when talking to NPCs. Each point spent on Reflexes grants you a flat 0.5% bump to your Critical Hit Chance, giving you a maximum of 10% at Level 20. While that doesn’t sound like much, it pairs quite well with the rate of fire on SMGs and Assault Rifles.
The following guide covers every perk available in the reworked Reflexes tree, and includes a few thoughts on which are worth investing in and which pair well together to create a truly deadly fighter.
Rookie Tier (Stat Level 4)
Slippery (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – The foundational perk for most of this tree. The perk simply states, “The faster you move, the more difficult for enemies to shoot you.” It doesn’t quantify much at all whether this reduces enemy hit probabilities or improves your Mitigation. It does, however, state that the perk’s effects increase when using the Dash action (unlocked later in the tree), dodging, vaulting, sprinting, and sliding.
Power Slide (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk increases the distance you can slide. Like Slippery, it doesn’t quantify how much, so you may have to experiment with this one.
Parkour! (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk increases your vaulting and climbing speed. Again, exactly how much isn’t quantified, but anything that gets you up a ladder faster has to be helpful to at least a small degree.
Muscle Memory (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk allows you to reload weapons while sprinting, sliding, and vaulting. Tactically, very useful since it keeps you on the move while reloading. Probably not a bad perk to pick up if you’re planning to focus on guns in combat, though it will require buying Slippery first.
Multitasker (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk lets you shoot while sprinting, sliding, and vaulting. Honestly surprised they didn’t name this perk “Run and Gun,” but ah well. Bottom line, if you’re looking to keep the maximum amount of lead in the air while getting to a new position, this is a perk to grab.
Stuntjock (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – A standalone vehicle combat perk, this one helps in a couple different ways. Double-tapping the dodge button will let you jump out of a vehicle while it’s moving. Or, you can hold the dodge button down to slide out of your car while it’s moving at high speed. Both of these stunts allow you to draw and fire while performing them. Additionally, there’s no bullet spread penalty while driving, and a 50% reduction in bullet spread overall. If you’re gonna go full James Bond on other motorists, this isn’t a bad perk to have.
Pro Tier (Stat Level 9)
Ready, Rested, Reloaded (Major Perk, 2 Perk Points) – This perk and its surrounding perks center on Assault Rifles and SMGs. The first point reduces the Stamina cost for firing Assault Rifles and SMGs by 10%. The second bumps your reload speed by 30% while you’re above 50% Stamina. By itself, it’s pretty modest, but in terms of firepower, particularly with SMGs and their generally high rate of fire, it’ll help keep you in the fight.
Mind Over Matter (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk grants a flat 25% reduction in recoil while aiming an SMG or Assault Rifle. While certain mods like muzzle brakes help control recoil more predictably, a straight reduction is a major boon to putting steel on target consistently.
Tunnel Vision (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk grants a 20% buff to Effective Range and accuracy. Effective Range is a new weapon stat introduced in the v2.0 update. You can fire at targets beyond that point, and even hit them, but the damage will be significantly reduced. This perk helps you reach out and touch someone (with fatal results) over a longer distance.
Spice Of Life (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk has two effects to it. The first is a simple 15% bump in speed when swapping weapons. This, in and of itself, is helpful when you find yourself in a situation where it’s faster to swap guns than it would be to reload. The second effect further improves that situation by reducing bullet spread by 30% for a brief period. The length of that period isn’t quantified, but it should be enough to do some real damage.
Dash (Major Perk, 2 Perk Points) – This perk and its satellites are all about moving through threatening environments quickly and with a minimal amount of injury to yourself (ideally). The first point reduces the Stamina cost for dodging and Dashing by 20%. The second point actually unlocks the Dash move, which replaces your dodge entirely. It lets you cover more ground than a dodge would, as well as letting you automatically vault over low obstacles. It may take some getting used to, but the greater range of movement will likely be a game changer once you get familiar with it.
Steady Grip (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk lets you shoot while Dashing. Simple and to the point – and deadly!
Can’t Touch This (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk grants you a 100% Mitigation Chance (a new mechanic added with the update) while performing a Dash. You’ll shrug off some damage, which is better than waltzing face-first into a bullet and having your day completely ruined. However, do be mindful that you’ll still need Stamina to help make this happen.
Mean Streak (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk adds 40% to your Stamina after you drop an enemy. In a major firefight, this is probably the best way to keep the totentanz going while you’re using Dash.
Mad Dash (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk increases your Dash range towards enemies by 100%. If you’re surrounded by enemies, this could potentially let you move around quite a bit. If they’re spread out and you’re not entirely certain of their position relative to yourself, you might have to do some turning and recentering before reaping the benefits of this perk.
Lead And Steel (Major Perk, 2 Perk Points) – This perk and its satellites center around the use of Blades. The first point reduces the Stamina cost of Blade attacks by 15%. The second point unlocks the ability to block incoming fire with Blades. Doing so costs Stamina, but it still beats catching a bullet to the dome.
Bullet Deflect (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – Yeah, blocking bullets with a Blade is cool. But you know what’s preem? Sending them right back at the gonk shooting at you. With this perk, if your Stamina is over 33%, blocking projectiles will deflect them to wherever your reticle is aimed. If you time things right and block just before being hit, you’ll do more damage with the deflected bullet. The possibilities for creative mayhem with this perk boggle the mind.
Bullet Time (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk improves the Bullet Deflect perk directly. Whenever time is slowed for you, Bullet Deflect does not consume Stamina, and deflected bullets automatically hit enemies for Critical Damage. If your cyberware builds involve high-end Kereznikov and Sandevistan pieces, expect a lot of fools to suddenly sprout holes and shocked looks on their faces.
Flash And Thunderclap (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk bridges the Lead And Steel and Dash clusters. When making a Strong Attack with a Blade, you automatically leap towards enemies in range. These “leap attacks” can also be done in midair, dealing additional damage that scales with the distance of the leap. This damage caps out at 50%. In essence, it’s a highly conditional version of Dash. If you’re going to play with knives but don’t want to burn perk points in the Dash cluster, this perk will help with your mobility.
Phenom Tier (Stat Level 15)
Finisher: Bladerunner (Major Perk, 3 Perk Points) – This perk, along with its satellites, is a continuation of the Lead And Steel cluster. The first point reduces the Stamina cost for Blade attacks by another 15%. The second point buffs your attack speed with Blades by 20%. The third point unlocks the Bladerunner finishing move. When fighting an enemy with low health, pressing the Interact/Reload button when prompted will let you finish the gonk off in a spray of blood. You’ll also restore 25% of your health.
Going The Distance (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk increases the range of your Bladerunner Finisher by 100%.
Opportunist (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk twists the knife, so to speak, by making enemies affected by the Stagger, Stun, Blinding, or Bleeding conditions more susceptible to a Finisher. You might still need to drop their health a little bit, but being able to dish out surprise shankings is worth the investment.
Flash Of Steel (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk grants you a 25% buff to both movement speed and attack speed for 6 seconds after performing a Finisher with Blades.
Air Dash (Major Perk, 3 Perk Points) – This perk, along with its satellites, is a continuation of the Dash cluster. The first point reduces the Stamina cost of Dash by another 20%. The second point boosts your Dash speed by 20%. The third point allows you to use Dash while in mid-air. Paired with cyberware that boosts your jump height, this perk definitely lets you become a threat on the ground or in the air.
Aerodynamic (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk bumps your Mitigation Strength by 30% while you’re in mid-air. It doesn’t improve the Mitigation Chance, but if Mitigation does get applied, you’re going to be shrugging off more damage.
Aerial Acrobat (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk is vague, saying only “Improves mid-air manueverability.” You’ll probably have to play around with this one to get the full measure of how it improves your Air Dash and related shenanigans. But, if it lets you get into position and out of danger faster, it’s probably worth grabbing.
Sharpshooter (Major Perk, 3 Perk Points) – This perk, along with its satellites, is a continuation of the Ready, Rested, Reloaded cluster. The first point grants a 15% buff to aim speed, which is very important in a big gun fight. The second point says it improves weapon handling, but doesn’t give any numbers to quantify it. The third point unlocks the Sharpshooter condition buff. Every successful shot with an Assault Rifle or SMG grants a stack of the Sharpshooter buff. This improves your Stamina regeneration rate by 7% for 2 seconds. The buff stacks seven times, and each stack resets the duration. When the duration ends, all stacks go away. For big gnarly targets, this is probably not going to eliminate the Stamina costs associated with prolonged shooting, but it will do a lot to help reduce the amount of Stamina lost.
Spray And Pray (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk reduces the Stamina cost of firing an Assault Rifle or SMG from the hip by 10%.
Shoot To Chill (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk refines the Sharpshooter buff, reducing the Stamina cost for automatic weapons by 7% for each stack of Sharpshooter. A nice improvement for an already helpful buff!
Practice Makes Perfect (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – A further refinement to Sharpshooter, this perk adds 7% to Crit Chance and Crit Damage for each stack of Sharpshooter. You might just finish your fights faster with this kind of bump.
Gundancer (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk helps in two ways. First, it allows you to shoot while vaulting, which is helpful when you need to advance and keep the enemy at bay. The second effect allows you to aim without slowing down, which is a priceless advantage in any situation.
Air Kereznikov (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk bridges the Sharpshooter and Air Dash clusters. With this perk, activating Kereznikov cyberware in mid-air keeps you suspended and extends the Kereznikov’s duration. This one probably needs more points in the Air Dash cluster than the Sharpshooter cluster, since Kereznikov only activates under certain conditions, and it only applies to Assault Rifles and SMGs. That said, hanging in the air for a few seconds while everybody’s staring slack-jawed at you while you light them up isn’t the worst tactical situation to be in.
Legend Tier (Stat Level 20)
Salt In The Wound (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This is one of two perks representing the culmination of the Ready, Rested, Reloaded and Sharpshooter clusters. It is specific to Assault Rifles and is effectively a further refinement to the Sharpshooter buff. Shooting the same target a 7th consecutive time (easy to do with an Assault Rifle) deals bonus damage equal to 100% of the total damage from the preceding shots. For example, if you’re doing 100 points of damage per round, and you land seven rounds on the target, that seventh round will be doing its base 100 points of damage plus an extra 600 points of damage based off the six rounds which landed before that. The gonk in question will be getting a total of 1300 damage ((100 x 7) + 600). Quite the aptly named perk!
Submachine Fun (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This is the other perk representing the culmination of the Ready, Rested, Reloaded and Sharpshooter clusters. It is specific to SMGs, and makes it faster to swap to an SMG. It also automatically reloads the SMG in question. Additionally, it bumps the firing rate of an SMG by 22% after you swap to it. There’s an old saying about “beware the one-gun man,” but this perk provides a delicious opportunity for creative mayhem by simply carrying three different SMGs around. The only practical limit is going to be your ammunition. You’ll probably run out of ammo really, really fast. But it’ll be entertaining to watch while it lasts.
Tailwind (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk is the culmination of the Dash and Air Dash clusters. It gives you 25 Stamina when performing Air Dashes and double jumps. Plus, Air Dashes no longer cost you any Stamina. This is a very handy perk, since it leaves more Stamina for shooting and slashing.
Slaughterhouse (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk is the culmination of the Lead And Steel and Bladerunner clusters. All attacks, counterattacks, and deflected bullets using a Blade apply Bleeding, which in turn increases the chance of dismemberment. Bleeding won’t outright kill an enemy, but it will leave them open to a finisher. As a final little gift, you’ll gain 25 Stamina for dismembering a target. Truly, the definitive answer to the age old question, “Is this gonna hurt?” Yes. Yes, it will. A lot.
If you subscribe to the theory of “peace through superior firepower,” or just really want to up your iaijutsu game, then you’ll find definitive proof that it really is all in the Reflexes. They may see you coming, but they’ll never see what it was that flatlined them.
Do you not like the smell of gunpowder or the sight of blood and body parts scattered hither and yon? Are your Reflexes perhaps not what defines you? Check out GameLuster’s other Cyberpunk 2077 v2.0 perk tree guides for other expressions of ultraviolence.
