A-22B Chao
| A-22B Chao | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Pistol |
| Type | Smart |
| Ammo | Handgun Ammo |
| Headshot | +85% |
| Lock-On Time | 1.25 s |
The A-22B Chao is Kang Tao's compact smart pistol, a gun that does much of the aiming for V. Its rounds home in on locked targets, so it lands hits even while V is moving or shooting around cover. The Chao is a handy sidearm for an Intelligence build with a Smart Link. It also suits anyone who wants a pistol that rarely misses. It is a common gun, sold at weapon shops across Night City and carried by many enemies. The A-22B Chao turns up in weapon shops from around the middle of the game, and enemies drop it throughout Night City.
Combat
The Chao is a smart pistol. With a Smart Link installed in V's hands, it locks onto enemies and its rounds curve toward them. Smart rounds can bend around obstacles to reach a target behind light cover. Without a Smart Link, it fires like an ordinary pistol.
Like other smart weapons, it deals less damage per hit in return for being easy to use. It works best with steady, continuous fire. The lock-on takes a moment, so the first shot after switching targets lands a little later than a normal pistol shot would. Once the lock is set, V can stay in cover and let the rounds find the target.
The smart rounds also help players who struggle with recoil or fast enemies. The weapon handles the tracking, and V only has to keep the target inside the crosshair. V can then pay more attention to quickhacks, cover and movement.
How to Get A-22B Chao Guide
- Buy the A-22B Chao from a weapon vendor, such as the shops in Kabuki, The Glen or West Wind Estate.
- Loot it from enemies who carry one.
- Buy the crafting spec from the weapon vendor in West Wind Estate and craft it.
A-22B Chao Map Location
The map shows the weapon shop in West Wind Estate.
A-22B Chao map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Compatible Mods
11 weapon mods are compatible with A-22B Chao.
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Better Half | 
|
Raises crit chance with the second half of the magazine |
| Equalizer | 
|
More damage against Elite enemies |
| Gambiteer | 
|
Faster bullets and more armor penetration, less homing |
| Hackatomy | 
|
Hits can apply a quickhack effect based on the body part hit |
| Headhopper | 
|
More lock-on targets, faster lock-on and more headshot damage |
| Panorama | 
|
Larger smart reticle that holds a lock longer, slower lock-on |
| Parallax | 
|
Longer range and less sway when aiming, Stamina stops regenerating |
| Pax | 
|
Makes the weapon non-lethal, more damage outside combat |
| Pinpoint | 
|
Tighter bullet spread after each headshot, stacking |
| Shuffler | 
|
Drawing the weapon refills part of the magazine |
| Zenith | 
|
More crit chance, tighter spread and faster swap after drawing |
Crafting Spec
The weapon vendor in West Wind Estate sells the A-22B Chao spec. The spec lets V craft A-22B Chao in the crafting menu. Every spec in the game is listed on the Crafting Specs page.
The table shows what crafting A-22B Chao costs at each tier.
| Tier | Components |
|---|---|
| Tier 3 | 30 Tier 3 components |
| Tier 4 | 30 Tier 4 components |
| Tier 5 | 30 Tier 5 components |
Upgrades
Standard weapons like the Chao are improved by finding or crafting a higher tier. Its crafting spec is sold by the weapon vendor in West Wind Estate. With enough crafting components, V can craft the pistol at a higher quality.
Character Builds
The Chao uses perks from two attribute trees, Intelligence and Cool. Intelligence holds the smart weapon perks. Acquisition Specialist widens the targeting circle and speeds up lock-on. Target Lock Transfer keeps the lock when switching between the hip and aiming. Targeting Prism adds one more target to each lock. Smart Synergy gives instant lock-on and bonus damage on hacked enemies while Overclock is active. Cool holds the pistol perks: Focus, Deadeye, Quick Draw and Run 'N' Gun.
Smart Link is the most important cyberware for the Chao. It enables smart targeting and adds target-lock duration and crit damage with smart weapons. A Recon Grenade speeds up lock-on against the enemies it affects.
The Chao's two mod slots take smart weapon and pistol mods. Panorama widens the smart targeting circle. Hackatomy adds a chance to apply a quickhack effect based on the body part hit. Zenith grants crit chance and less bullet spread for a few seconds after drawing the pistol. Pinpoint reduces bullet spread after each headshot. Pax makes the pistol non-lethal.
Select a Build
Each fight starts with Overclock, then a control quickhack, then a combat quickhack. Smart guns lock on and finish the hacked enemies while Dashes and air Dashes keep the character moving. Silenced Smart guns and stealthy quickhacks also handle quiet gigs.
Attributes: Body 18, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 20, Cool 3.
The perks, cyberware and weapon mods for this build are listed below.
| Name | Image | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painkiller | 
|
Body 4 | Slow Health regeneration in combat |
| Adrenaline Rush | 
|
Body 15 | More Health and the Adrenaline Rush mode |
| Optimization | 
|
Intelligence 4 | Faster RAM recovery |
| Embedded Exploit | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Quickhacks hit harder on controlled enemies |
| Precision Subroutines | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Smart weapon accuracy scales with max RAM |
| No Escape | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Shooting a fading lock resets it |
| Recirculation | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Smart weapon kills restore RAM |
| Acquisition Specialist | 
|
Intelligence 15 | Wider Smart reticle and lock kept through reloads |
| Overclock | 
|
Intelligence 15 | More quickhack damage and the Overclock mode |
| Power Surge | 
|
Intelligence 15 | Overclock heals on activation |
| Sublimation | 
|
Intelligence 15 | RAM recovery heals during Overclock |
| Target Lock Transfer | 
|
Intelligence 15 | Wider Smart reticle and locks kept on swap |
| Targeting Prism | 
|
Intelligence 15 | Lock onto more targets |
| Terminal Velocity | 
|
Intelligence 15 | Faster Smart rounds after a kill |
| Smart Synergy | 
|
Intelligence 20 | Instant lock and more damage during Overclock |
| Spillover | 
|
Intelligence 20 | Quickhacks spread during Overclock |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Unlocks the Dash and makes it cheaper |
| Ready, Rested, Reloaded | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Cheaper rifle and SMG fire and faster reloads |
| Sharpshooter | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Faster aim and stacks that ease Stamina use |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| Submachine Fun | 
|
Reflexes 20 | SMG swaps reload and raise fire rate |
| Tailwind | 
|
Reflexes 20 | Stamina back from Air Dashes and double jumps |
| Glutton For War | 
|
Technical Ability 4 | Kills recharge Health items and grenades |
| Health Freak | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | One more Health item charge and faster recharge |
| All Things Cyber | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| License To Chrome | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Edgerunner | Technical Ability 20 | Cyberware past the capacity limit for a small Health cost |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood Pump | 
|
Circulatory System | A Health item that heals over time |
| Heal-On-Kill | 
|
Circulatory System | Health back from each kill |
| Memory Boost | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Kills restore RAM |
| Smart Link | 
|
Hands | Turns on Smart weapon tracking |
| Defenzikov | 
|
Integumentary System | Mitigation after Kerenzikov ends |
| Reinforced Tendons | 
|
Legs | Double jump |
| Kerenzikov | 
|
Nervous System | Slows time when aiming during a slide or dodge |
| NeoFiber | 
|
Nervous System | More Mitigation Chance and Strength |
| Visual Cortex Support | 
|
Nervous System | More crit chance at long range |
| Militech Paraline | 
|
Operating System | Cyberdeck with Smart weapon bonuses |
| RAM Recoup | 
|
Skeleton | Damage taken restores RAM |
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Headhopper | 
|
More lock-on targets and more headshot damage |
Lore
The in-game line for the Chao says that Kang Tao does the thinking, so the shooter can focus on everything else. It is a small, compact pistol built around its smart targeting system.
Notes
- Ogou is the Iconic variant of the A-22B Chao.
Weapon Categories
All Pistols
Every pistol is listed below. The Iconic weapons come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic Pistols
| Name | Image | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambition | 
|
+150% | 25% | |
| Apparition | 
|
+150% | 50% | Kabuki |
| Catahoula | 
|
|||
| Chaos | 
|
+150% | 50% | Kabuki |
| Cheetah | 
|
+150% | Dogtown | |
| Crimestopper | 
|
+85% | Dogtown | |
| Death and Taxes | 
|
+125% | Japantown | |
| Dying Night | 
|
+125% | 25% | Little China |
| Genjiroh | 
|
+85% | Japantown | |
| Her Majesty | 
|
+150% | ||
| Kappa x-MOD2 | 
|
|||
| Kongou | 
|
+150% | Arasaka Waterfront | |
| La Chingona Dorada | 
|
+100% | 25% | The Glen |
| Lexington x-MOD2 | 
|
+175% | Little China | |
| Lizzie | 
|
+150% | Kabuki | |
| Malorian Arms 3516 | 
|
+150% | Northside | |
| Ogou | 
|
+50% | 25% | |
| Pariah | 
|
|||
| Plan B | 
|
+200% | Badlands East | |
| Pride | 
|
+150% | Corpo Plaza | |
| Riskit | 
|
+150% | 25% | |
| Rook | 
|
Dogtown | ||
| Scorch | 
|
|||
| Second Opinion | ||||
| Seraph | 
|
Little China | ||
| Skippy | 
|
+85% | Vista Del Rey |
Standard Pistols
| Name | Image | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-22B Chao | 
|
+85% | ||
| AR Raygun Supreme 9000 | 
|
Badlands East | ||
| HA-4 Grit | 
|
+125% | ||
| HJKE-11 Yukimura | 
|
+85% | ||
| JKE-X2 Kenshin | 
|
50% | ||
| Kappa | 
|
|||
| Liberty | 
|
+150% | ||
| M-10AF Lexington | 
|
+125% | ||
| M-76e Omaha | 
|
50% | ||
| Nue | 
|
+125% | 25% | |
| Slaught-O-Matic | 
|
+150% | 25% | |
| Tamayura | 
|
+150% | 25% | |
| Ticon | 
|
50% | ||
| Unity | 
|
+150% |