Arms

The Arms slot turns a limb into a weapon. It holds one implant, picked from four families: Mantis Blades, Gorilla Arms, the Monowire and the Projectile Launch System. The first three are melee weapons that take the place of a held blade or club. The launcher is the only ranged arm implant, and it fires like a grenade. Each family comes in four variants, one for each damage type. Every variant also scales with a different attribute, so almost any build can find arm cyberware that suits it.

Effects

Mantis Blades are arm blades for fast slashes at close range. Holding and then releasing the Melee Attack button performs a Leap Attack. The user jumps at a target within range and deals heavy damage on landing. The blades count as Blades, so the whole blade perk line in the Reflexes tree applies.

Gorilla Arms turn the fists into heavy weapons. They hit harder per blow than the other melee arms. They also add a bonus to Body Attribute checks, from +1 at the lowest tier to +6 at Tier 5. Gorilla Arms count as Blunt Weapons for perks.

The Monowire is a whip-like cutting wire. Its range is the longest of any melee weapon in the game. One wide swing can hit several enemies at once. In exchange, each hit deals less damage, and attacks are a little slower. The Monowire also shows an empty quickhack slot, which a Phantom Liberty Relic perk puts to use.

The Projectile Launch System fires an explosive shell from the arm. It sits in the Combat Gadget quickslot and fires with the Combat Gadget button. A charged shot deals 30% more damage and has a 25% larger blast. The launcher uses charges that refill over time.

The four variants of each family share the same attack speed and Stamina cost. Damage per hit differs only slightly. The real differences are the damage type, the status effect and the attribute.

On the melee arms, Physical variants cause Bleeding, Thermal ones Burn, Chemical ones Poison and Electrical ones Shock. The Thermal and Chemical variants are named Thermal and Toxic, and the Electrical ones are named Electrifying. Each point in the matching attribute adds 0.5% damage with the implant.

Pros

• Mantis Blades close the gap to a distant enemy with a single Leap Attack.
• Gorilla Arms raise Body Attribute checks as well as damage.
• The variant table lets a netrunner, a gunfighter or a brawler use the same weapon family.
• The Monowire hits groups from farther away than any other melee weapon.
• The launcher fires from the gadget slot, so a gun can stay in hand.

Cons

• The slot holds one implant, so each family rules out the other three.
• The Monowire trades damage per hit for reach.
• The launcher shares the Combat Gadget quickslot with grenades and Optical Camo.

Cyberware Categories

Best Arms Cyberware

Name	Image	Why
Mantis Blades		Leap Attack and the full blade perk line
MaxTac Mantis Blades		Heals on killing a bleeding enemy
Gorilla Arms		Highest damage per hit of the arms
Monowire		Longest melee reach, hits groups
Projectile Launch System		Explosive shells from the gadget slot
Electrifying Mantis Blades		Intelligence blades, free from a Watson gig

The MaxTac Mantis Blades suit a Reflexes blade build that wants to stay in the fight longer. The Monowire is the natural weapon for a netrunner who also fights up close.

Character Builds

The attribute comes first, because it decides the variant. A Reflexes character with blades takes the Mantis Blades. A Body brawler takes Gorilla Arms. An Intelligence netrunner takes the Monowire, and a Technical Ability character takes the launcher.

• Finisher: Bladerunner cuts the Stamina cost of blade attacks and raises their attack speed. Its Blade Finisher restores 25% Health.
• Flash And Thunderclap makes Strong Attacks with Blades leap to nearby enemies.
• Slaughterhouse makes every attack apply Bleeding and raises the dismemberment chance.
• Quake lets blunt fighters slam the ground and stagger nearby enemies. Finisher: Savage Sling adds a Blunt Weapon Finisher that restores Health.
• Siphon makes Monowire attacks recover RAM. Finisher: Live Wire adds a Monowire Finisher that restores Health and RAM.
• Doomlauncher adds one launcher charge and speeds up the recharge. Pyromania widens the blast of grenades and the launcher.

Phantom Liberty adds Relic perks for this slot. Jailbreak unlocks a new ability for each family. The Mantis Blades gain a charged Leap Attack with a far longer reach. Gorilla Arms charge up to a Strong Attack with a staggering shockwave. The Monowire gains a Control quickhack slot. The launcher can overcharge into a burst of five shells. Spatial Mapping makes Leap Attacks cripple enemies. Limiter Removal makes the Gorilla Arms shockwave knock enemies down. Launch Capacity Override adds a launcher charge.

For other cyberware, Microrotors raise melee attack speed. Dense Marrow raises melee damage and lowers its Stamina cost.

Notes

• Ripperdocs sell arm cyberware from level 10.
• The MaxTac Mantis Blades are a Phantom Liberty variant that starts at Tier 4. Mr. Hands leaves them in V's apartment on Reed's route. Melissa Rory can also drop a pair after the side job Bullets.
• The Electrifying Mantis Blades are the reward of the gig Occupational Hazard in Northside, Watson. The cyberpsycho there drops them.
• The Jailbreak quickhack slot of the Monowire takes Control quickhacks only.
• A charged shell from the Physical launcher has a 40% higher chance to dismember.

All Arms Cyberware

Every Arms implant is listed below. The Iconic ones come first, then the standard ones.

Iconic Arms Cyberware

Name	Image	Attribute	Capacity	Location
MaxTac Mantis Blades

Standard Arms Cyberware

Name	Image	Attribute	Capacity	Location
Electrifying Gorilla Arms		Technical Ability	8
Electrifying Mantis Blades		Intelligence	8	Northside
Electrifying Monowire		Reflexes	8
Electrifying Projectile Launch System		Cool	8
Gorilla Arms		Body	8
Mantis Blades		Reflexes	8
Monowire		Intelligence	8
Projectile Launch System		Technical Ability	8
Thermal Gorilla Arms		Reflexes	8
Thermal Mantis Blades		Body	8
Thermal Monowire		Cool	8
Thermal Projectile Launch System		Intelligence	8
Toxic Gorilla Arms		Cool	8
Toxic Mantis Blades		Cool	8
Toxic Monowire		Technical Ability	8
Toxic Projectile Launch System		Body	8