Carapace
| Carapace | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Integumentary System |
| Tier | Tier 2 |
| Attribute | Technical Ability |
| Capacity | 16 |
The Carapace makes armor work harder when enemies hit V from the side or from behind. A fighter who wades into a crowd gets flanked all the time, and the Carapace softens those blows. It also adds a solid block of armor of its own. It fits a Technical Ability build, because that attribute adds even more armor through the implant. It is a good early choice for any character who plans to stay in close combat. The Carapace is an early to mid game implant that ripperdocs sell from level 10 onward.
Effect
The Carapace raises the armor effectiveness of V when an attack comes from the side or the rear. Armor reduces the damage V takes from each hit, so a stronger armor value means less Health lost to flanking enemies. The bonus switches on by itself, with no button or cooldown.
The implant also carries armor of its own, like most Integumentary System cyberware. That armor counts all the time, whatever the direction of the attack.
The Carapace is attuned to Technical Ability. Each point in that attribute adds half a point of armor through this implant. A character with high Technical Ability gets the most out of it.
How to Get Carapace Guide
- Reach level 10.
- Visit any ripperdoc clinic and open the Integumentary System slot.
- Buy and install the Carapace.
Carapace Map Location
The map shows Viktor Vektor's clinic in Little China, one of the ripperdocs that sell it.
Carapace map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Upgrades
Ripperdocs stock the Carapace at Tier 2 from level 10, Tier 3 from level 20, Tier 4 from level 30 and Tier 5 from level 40. An installed Carapace can also be raised a tier at a ripperdoc with the matching item components. Each tier raises the armor effectiveness bonus and the flat armor. Each implant costs Cyberware Capacity. V gains capacity with each level and from Cyberware Capacity Shards. The Edgerunner perk lets V go over the limit by up to 50 points, at the cost of some max Health.
The table shows what each tier step of Carapace costs at a ripperdoc.
| Upgrade | Components | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 to Tier 2+ | 30 Tier 2 components | - |
| Tier 2+ to Tier 3 | 22 Tier 3 components | - |
| Tier 3 to Tier 3+ | 30 Tier 3 components | - |
| Tier 3+ to Tier 4 | 22 Tier 4 components | - |
| Tier 4 to Tier 4+ | 30 Tier 4 components | - |
| Tier 4+ to Tier 5 | 22 Tier 5 components | - |
| Tier 5 to Tier 5+ | 30 Tier 5 components | - |
| Tier 5+ to Tier 5++ | 75 Tier 5 components | Phantom Liberty |
Character Builds
The Carapace works best in a Technical Ability build. Several perks in that tree help armor implants directly. All Things Cyber lowers the Cyberware Capacity cost of Integumentary System and Skeleton cyberware by 20%. Chrome Constitution cuts incoming damage by 5% when every Integumentary System and Skeleton slot is filled. License To Chrome adds 40 armor and raises all cyberware stat modifiers by 10%.
Kinetic Frame and NeoFiber add Mitigation Chance, which gives a second layer of defense besides armor. Countershell grants extra Mitigation Chance after a heavy burst of damage, and it shares the Integumentary System with the Carapace.
Select a Build
Modelled on Adam Smasher, the build carries heavy weapons and the Projectile Launch System. A light machine gun and arm rockets hit hard while armor and Health soak up return fire. Body perks keep Health regenerating in the middle of the fight.
Attributes: Body 20, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 3, Cool 18.
The perks, cyberware and weapon mods for this build are listed below.
| Name | Image | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comeback Kid | 
|
Body 4 | Faster Health regeneration at low Health |
| Dorph-Head | 
|
Body 4 | Brief full Mitigation after using a Health item |
| Painkiller | 
|
Body 4 | Slow Health regeneration in combat |
| Bullet Ballet | 
|
Body 9 | Tighter bullet spread while moving |
| Die! Die! Die! | 
|
Body 9 | Higher crit chance and fire rate at low Stamina |
| Don't Stop Me Now | 
|
Body 9 | Damage mitigation at low Stamina |
| Like A Feather | 
|
Body 9 | No movement penalty with shotguns and machine guns |
| Adrenaline Rush | 
|
Body 15 | More Health and the Adrenaline Rush mode |
| Bloodlust | 
|
Body 15 | Dismemberments refill Adrenaline |
| Calm Mind | 
|
Body 15 | Adrenaline lasts longer before it decays |
| Close-Quarters Carnage | 
|
Body 15 | Higher Obliterate chance at close range |
| Dread | 
|
Body 15 | Ranged hits lower enemy Armor |
| Juggernaut | 
|
Body 15 | More speed and damage during Adrenaline Rush |
| Rush Of Blood | 
|
Body 15 | Faster reload after a dismemberment |
| Spontaneous Obliteration | 
|
Body 15 | Chance to instantly kill enemies at low Health |
| Unstoppable Force | 
|
Body 15 | Immunity to knockdown and blinding during Adrenaline Rush |
| Onslaught | 
|
Body 20 | Light Machine Gun kills refill ammo |
| Pain To Gain | 
|
Body 20 | Kills recharge Health items during Adrenaline Rush |
| Multitasker | 
|
Reflexes 4 | Shoot while sprinting, sliding and vaulting |
| Muscle Memory | 
|
Reflexes 4 | Reload while sprinting, sliding and vaulting |
| Parkour! | 
|
Reflexes 4 | Faster climbing and vaulting |
| Slippery | 
|
Reflexes 4 | Harder to hit while moving fast |
| Can't Touch This | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Full Mitigation Chance while Dashing |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Dash replaces the dodge |
| Steady Grip | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Shooting while dashing |
| Aerial Acrobat | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Better control in midair |
| Aerodynamic | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Stronger Mitigation in midair |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| Jailbreak | 
|
Relic | New abilities for every Arms cyberware |
| Launch Capacity Override | 
|
Relic | One more Projectile Launch System charge |
| Machine Learning | 
|
Relic | Crit damage builds on enemy Vulnerabilities |
| Vulnerability Analytics | 
|
Relic | Hits on enemy Vulnerabilities always crit |
| First Aid | Technical Ability 4 | Faster Health item recharge after one use | |
| Glutton For War | 
|
Technical Ability 4 | Kills recharge Health items and grenades |
| Transfusion | 
|
Technical Ability 4 | More Health from the last Health item charge |
| All Things Cyber | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| Borrowed Time | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | A Health item refills after a kill at low Health |
| Chipware Connoisseur | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | A choice of stat bonus when upgrading cyberware |
| Chrome Constitution | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | Less damage taken with full Skeleton and Integumentary slots |
| Driver Update | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | An extra stat bonus on every cyberware |
| Health Freak | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | One more Health item charge and faster recharge |
| Renaissance Punk | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | More cyberware capacity for each attribute at 9 or higher |
| Ambidextrous | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | A second Hands cyberware slot |
| Burn This City | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Five Pyromania stacks refill a grenade charge |
| Cyborg | Technical Ability 15 | Shorter cyberware cooldowns with every slot filled | |
| Doomlauncher | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | An extra Projectile Launch System charge and faster recharge |
| Extended Warranty | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Cyberware effects last longer |
| Friendlier Fire | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Less damage from the character's own explosions |
| Heat Shield | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | More Mitigation Chance for each Pyromania stack |
| License To Chrome | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Pyromania | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Faster Health item and grenade recharge and bigger blasts |
| Edgerunner | Technical Ability 20 | Cyberware past the capacity limit for a small Health cost |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projectile Launch System | 
|
Arms | Arm launcher that fires explosive shots |
| Blood Pump | 
|
Circulatory System | A Health item that heals over time |
| Heal-On-Kill | 
|
Circulatory System | Health on each kill |
| Kiroshi Doomsayer Optics | 
|
Face | Scanning highlights explosives and traps |
| Mechatronic Core | 
|
Frontal Cortex | More damage against drones, robots and mechs |
| Newton Module | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Kills cut cyberware cooldowns |
| Shock Absorber | 
|
Hands | Less recoil |
| Subdermal Armor | 
|
Integumentary System | More armor |
| Fortified Ankles | 
|
Legs | Charged jumps |
| NeoFiber | 
|
Nervous System | More mitigation chance and strength |
| Epimorphic Skeleton | 
|
Skeleton | More max Health |
Gorilla Arms punch enemies apart up close, and Body perks turn sprints and jumps into charges and ground slams. Air Dashes cover the distance to the next group. A shotgun handles enemies that stay out of reach.
Attributes: Body 20, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 3, Cool 18.
The perks, cyberware and weapon mods for this build are listed below.
| Name | Image | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army Of One | 
|
Body 4 | Faster Health regeneration for each nearby enemy |
| Comeback Kid |
|
Body 4 | Faster Health regeneration at low Health |
| Dorph-Head |
|
Body 4 | Brief full Mitigation after using a Health item |
| Painkiller |
|
Body 4 | Slow Health regeneration in combat |
| Speed Junkie | 
|
Body 4 | Faster Health regeneration while sprinting |
| Breakthrough | 
|
Body 9 | Strong attacks strip enemy Armor for a short time |
| Clapback | 
|
Body 9 | Defensive attacks knock down and counterattacks stun |
| Fly Swatter | 
|
Body 9 | Less ranged damage while blocking with a blunt weapon |
| Kinetic Absorption | 
|
Body 9 | Blocking gives Stamina and blunt weapon damage |
| Wrecking Ball | 
|
Body 9 | Cheaper blunt attacks and a sprinting shoulder charge |
| Adrenaline Rush |
|
Body 15 | More Health and the Adrenaline Rush mode |
| Aftershock | 
|
Body 15 | Stamina for each enemy hit by Quake |
| Calm Mind |
|
Body 15 | Adrenaline lasts longer before it decays |
| Epicenter | 
|
Body 15 | Midair Quake hits harder from higher falls |
| Juggernaut |
|
Body 15 | More speed and damage during Adrenaline Rush |
| Quake | 
|
Body 15 | Faster blunt attacks and a ground slam |
| Ripple Effect | 
|
Body 15 | Health for each enemy hit by Quake |
| Unstoppable Force |
|
Body 15 | Immunity to knockdown and blinding during Adrenaline Rush |
| Finisher: Savage Sling | 
|
Body 20 | Blunt weapon finisher that can throw the enemy |
| Pain To Gain |
|
Body 20 | Kills recharge Health items during Adrenaline Rush |
| Parkour! |
|
Reflexes 4 | Faster climbing and vaulting |
| Slippery |
|
Reflexes 4 | Harder to hit while moving fast |
| Can't Touch This |
|
Reflexes 9 | Full Mitigation Chance while Dashing |
| Dash |
|
Reflexes 9 | Dash replaces the dodge |
| Mad Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Double Dash range toward enemies |
| Aerial Acrobat |
|
Reflexes 15 | Better control in midair |
| Aerodynamic |
|
Reflexes 15 | Stronger Mitigation in midair |
| Air Dash |
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| Tailwind | 
|
Reflexes 20 | Stamina from air dashes and double jumps |
| Jailbreak |
|
Relic | New abilities for every Arms cyberware |
| Machine Learning |
|
Relic | Crit damage builds on enemy Vulnerabilities |
| Vulnerability Analytics |
|
Relic | Hits on enemy Vulnerabilities always crit |
| First Aid | Technical Ability 4 | Faster Health item recharge after one use | |
| Glutton For War |
|
Technical Ability 4 | Kills recharge Health items and grenades |
| Transfusion |
|
Technical Ability 4 | More Health from the last Health item charge |
| All Things Cyber |
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| Borrowed Time |
|
Technical Ability 9 | A Health item refills after a kill at low Health |
| Chipware Connoisseur |
|
Technical Ability 9 | A choice of stat bonus when upgrading cyberware |
| Chrome Constitution |
|
Technical Ability 9 | Less damage taken with full Skeleton and Integumentary slots |
| Driver Update |
|
Technical Ability 9 | An extra stat bonus on every cyberware |
| Health Freak |
|
Technical Ability 9 | One more Health item charge and faster recharge |
| Renaissance Punk |
|
Technical Ability 9 | More cyberware capacity for each attribute at 9 or higher |
| Extended Warranty |
|
Technical Ability 15 | Cyberware effects last longer |
| Friendlier Fire |
|
Technical Ability 15 | Less damage from the character's own explosions |
| Heat Shield |
|
Technical Ability 15 | More Mitigation Chance for each Pyromania stack |
| License To Chrome |
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Pyromania |
|
Technical Ability 15 | Faster Health item and grenade recharge and bigger blasts |
| Edgerunner | Technical Ability 20 | Cyberware past the capacity limit for a small Health cost | |
| Ticking Time Bomb | 
|
Technical Ability 20 | An EMP blast after the Operating System turns on |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gorilla Arms | 
|
Arms | Hard hitting fists |
| Blood Pump |
|
Circulatory System | A Health item that heals over time |
| Newton Module |
|
Frontal Cortex | Kills cut cyberware cooldowns |
| Reinforced Tendons | 
|
Legs | Double jump |
| NeoFiber |
|
Nervous System | More mitigation chance and strength |
| Dense Marrow | 
|
Skeleton | More melee damage for a higher Stamina cost |
| Epimorphic Skeleton |
|
Skeleton | More max Health |
Ping reveals enemies behind walls, and Tech weapon shots pierce the cover between them. A charged shot released at the click of Bolt deals the most damage. With a Militech Sandevistan, the charge starts first and time slows at half charge so the Bolt shot lands as a headshot.
Attributes: Body 17, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 4, Cool 20.
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 |
| Juggernaut |
|
Body 15 | More speed and damage during Adrenaline Rush |
| Calm Mind |
|
Body 15 | Adrenaline lasts longer before it decays |
| Focus | 
|
Cool 9 | More headshot damage and free shots while aiming |
| Head To Head | 
|
Cool 9 | Kills reset Focus |
| Deep Breath | 
|
Cool 9 | Time slows while Focus is active |
| Rinse And Reload | 
|
Cool 9 | Faster reload after a kill while aiming |
| Deadeye | Cool 15 | More headshot damage and no spread at high Stamina | |
| California Reaper | 
|
Cool 15 | Stamina back after a headshot kill |
| Long Shot | 
|
Cool 15 | Full damage at any range during Deadeye |
| High Noon | 
|
Cool 15 | Fast slowed reload after a headshot kill |
| Nerves Of Tungsten-Steel | 
|
Cool 20 | Guaranteed crits on headshots during Deadeye |
| Slippery |
|
Reflexes 4 | Harder to hit while moving fast |
| Dash |
|
Reflexes 9 | Unlocks the Dash and makes it cheaper |
| Ready, Rested, Reloaded | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Cheaper rifle and SMG fire and faster reloads |
| Air Dash |
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| Sharpshooter | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Faster aim and stacks that ease Stamina use |
| Gundancer | 
|
Reflexes 15 | No slowdown while aiming |
| Glutton For War |
|
Technical Ability 4 | Kills recharge Health items and grenades |
| All Things Cyber |
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| Bolt | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Faster charge and Bolt shots that hit harder |
| In Charge | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Tech weapons hold a full charge |
| Shock Value | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Bolt shots ignore armor |
| Lightning Storm | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Faster charge after each Bolt |
| Internal Clock | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Wider timing window for a Bolt shot |
| License To Chrome |
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Chain Lightning | 
|
Technical Ability 20 | Bolt shots arc Electrical damage to 3 nearby enemies |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heal-On-Kill |
|
Circulatory System | Health back from each kill |
| Kiroshi Cockatrice Optics | 
|
Face | More crit chance |
| Microgenerator | 
|
Hands | Reloading an empty gun charges an electroshock shot |
| Immovable Force | 
|
Hands | Less recoil and tighter spread |
| Cellular Adapter | 
|
Integumentary System | Tech weapon damage and resistances from Technical Ability |
| Optical Camo | 
|
Integumentary System | Near invisibility for a few seconds |
| Reinforced Tendons |
|
Legs | Double jump |
| Para Bellum | 
|
Skeleton | More armor |
Lore
The in-game description jokes that with the Carapace installed, there is no need for 360 vision anymore.
Notes
- Cyberware is the main source of armor for V, and the Integumentary System carries much of it.
Cyberware Categories
All Integumentary System Cyberware
Every Integumentary System implant is listed below. The Iconic ones come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic Integumentary System Cyberware
| Name | Image | Attribute | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chitin | 
|
Body | Dogtown | |
| Peripheral Inverse | 
|
Dogtown |
Standard Integumentary System Cyberware
| Name | Image | Attribute | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carapace | 
|
Technical Ability | 16 | |
| Cellular Adapter | 
|
Technical Ability | ||
| Cogito Lattice | 
|
|||
| Countershell | 
|
Reflexes | 12 | |
| Defenzikov | 
|
|||
| Nano-Plating | 
|
|||
| Optical Camo | 
|
Cool | 20 | |
| Pain Editor | 
|
Cool | 35 | |
| Painducer | 
|
Body | 30 | |
| ProxiShield | 
|
Body | 10 | |
| RangeGuard | 
|
Cool | 14 | |
| Shock-N-Awe | 
|
Technical Ability | ||
| Subdermal Armor | 
|
Technical Ability | 5 |