Assault Rifles

Assault rifles are the all-purpose guns of Night City. They work well at every range except the longest. Most fire in full auto, and they handle close fights and mid-range firefights equally well. They work best in a Reflexes build. One dependable rifle can handle most fights, in the open or from stealth.

Combat

Pros

They work at close, middle and long range, so one rifle covers most encounters.
Power rifles deal +100% to +175% headshot damage. Hawk has the highest bonus.
Smart rifles track their targets. Divided We Stand can smart-target up to five enemies at once.
Iconic rifles bring strong effects, from Hawk weakening enemies on a headshot to Psalm 11:6 setting them on fire.
Most Power rifles can take muzzle brakes and scopes. These mods lower recoil and add range.

Cons

Very long shots are still a job for a sniper rifle.
Smart rifles carry only +50% headshot damage.
Some Iconic effects come with a drawback. Moron Labe fires at an uneven rate, which makes it harder to aim. Divided We Stand can lose its target lock and miss.

Weapon Categories

Best Assault Rifles

Name	Image	Why
Hawk		+175% headshot damage, top of the class
Kyubi x-MOD2		+150% headshot damage and long range
Nowaki		+150% headshot damage on a standard rifle
Carmen		50% armor penetration, highest of the Iconic rifles
Divided We Stand		Smart lock on five enemies, with Poison
Psalm 11:6		+30% Burn chance
Moron Labe		Dismembering raises crit chance

Hawk has the highest headshot damage in the class. Carmen has the highest armor penetration of the Iconic rifles. Kyubi x-MOD2 has the longest effective range of them.

Character Builds

Reflexes perks improve assault rifles, SMGs and blades. Kills with a rifle level up the Shinobi skill. Shinobi is the skill tied to Reflexes, and it gives movement and dodge bonuses at its milestones.

Ready, Rested, Reloaded cuts the Stamina cost of shooting rifles and SMGs by 10%. It also speeds up reloads while Stamina is above half.
Mind Over Matter cuts recoil by 25% while aiming.
Tunnel Vision adds +20% effective range and accuracy.
Sharpshooter gains a stack with every hit. Shoot To Chill gives automatic weapons +4% armor penetration for each stack.
Spray And Pray cuts the Stamina cost of hip-firing by 10%.
Spice Of Life speeds up weapon swaps and reduces bullet spread right after a swap.

Smart rifles also benefit from the Intelligence perks for target lock. They need Smart Link to track targets at all.

For cyberware, a Sandevistan slows time while the user moves at full speed. Shock Absorber and Immovable Force cut recoil. A Ballistic Coprocessor raises the ricochet chance of Power rounds. Among mods, a muzzle brake such as RC-7 Strigoi reduces recoil, and a long scope such as Jue adds range.

Notes

Hawk weakens and marks enemies on a headshot. Weakened enemies move slower, cannot use abilities, deal less damage and lose their balance more easily.
Rosalind Myers leaves Hawk behind at the Kress Street Hideout during Lucretia My Reflection.
Carmen gains crit chance on limb shots. It also gets better handling, more damage and more Bleeding while V runs, jumps or slides.
Kyubi x-MOD2 lies at the bottom of a water-filled pit across from the Golden Pacific Data Term.
Umbra x-MOD2 appears at the Wild Blue hotel at Terra Cognita a day after the first scripted Airdrop of Lucretia My Reflection.
Divided We Stand is the reward for beating Walker's score in Stadium Love, or for choosing to fight the 6th Street members there. Its rounds can cause Chemical explosions that apply heavy Poison.
Carmen is the reward for helping Paco Torres in Balls to the Wall.
Psalm 11:6 sets its targets on fire, with +30% Burn chance.
D5 Sidewinder is the standard Smart rifle, sold by weapon vendors across Night City.
Hercules 3AX is a prototype rifle that mixes Power and Smart technology. Its rounds curve when fired from the hip and track enemies while aiming, with no Smart Link needed.
Prejudice pairs with the pistol Pride. After a kill with Prejudice, Pride uses no ammo for a short time.

All Assault Rifles

Every assault rifle is listed below. The Iconic weapons come first, then the standard ones.

Iconic Assault Rifles

Name	Headshot	Armor Pen	Location
Carmen	+100%	50%	Dogtown
Chinook
Divided We Stand	+50%		Rancho Coronado
Hawk	+175%	25%	Dogtown
Hercules 3AX	+50%	25%	Dogtown
Kyubi x-MOD2	+150%	25%	Dogtown
Moron Labe	+85%	25%	Badlands South
Pit Bull
Prejudice	+100%	25%	Little China
Psalm 11:6	+100%	25%	Northside
Umbra x-MOD2	+100%	25%	Dogtown