Death and Taxes
| Death and Taxes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Pistol |
| Type | Power |
| Ammo | Handgun Ammo |
| Tier | Iconic |
| Headshot | +125% |
| Attack Speed | 3.3 |
| Range | 42 m |
| Weight | 4.3 |
| Location | Japantown |
Death and Taxes is the pistol of Maiko Maeda, the manager of Clouds. Its description says nothing in life is free. Every powerful hit costs V a little Health. Once V's Health is low, its rounds start to Poison enemies. It is a risky Power pistol that is strongest when V fights close to death. Death and Taxes is a mid-game find from Judy's side job Ex-Factor, in Maiko's office at Clouds in Japantown.
Combat
Death and Taxes fires like the Nue it is built on. Its Iconic effect works in two stages. At normal Health, every powerful hit drains a bit of V's Health, so the pistol needs care in a long fight. Once Health falls low, each hit also poisons the target. The Poison keeps hurting enemies after the shot.
The pistol rewards careful Health management. Once Health is low, the Poison turns on. A heal at the right time then keeps V alive while the Poison works. The good headshot bonus makes aimed shots worth the Health they cost.
How to Get Death and Taxes Guide
- Help Judy after Evelyn's death to start the side job Ex-Factor.
- Meet Judy on the Clouds terrace on the 12th floor of Megabuilding H8 in the early morning.
- Follow Judy into Maiko's office.
- Take Death and Taxes from the sofa in the office.
Death and Taxes Map Location and Quest Guide
- Agree to help Judy when she calls with her plan, which starts the side job Ex-Factor.
- Go to Megabuilding H8 in Japantown in the early morning.
- Take the elevator to the 12th floor and meet Judy on the balcony above Clouds.
- Follow Judy into Maiko's office.
- Talk to Judy and Maiko in the office.
- Take Death and Taxes from the sofa in Maiko's office.
Death and Taxes map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Compatible Mods
7 scopes and 9 muzzles are compatible with Death and Taxes.
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Add-Vantage | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range |
| CQO Kanone MINI Mk.72 | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range |
| Handyman | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range, more headshot crit chance at top tier |
| Hyakume | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range |
| Kanetsugu | 
|
Adds zoom, effective range and crit chance |
| OS-1 GimletEye | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range |
| Type 2067 | 
|
Adds zoom and effective range, lowers bullet spread |
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| CS-1 Taipan | 
|
Silences shots and raises stealth damage, lowers base damage |
| RC-7 Babaroga | 
|
Raises ricochet chance and ricochet damage |
| RC-7 Dybbuk | 
|
Lowers recoil direction |
| RC-7 Kutrub | 
|
Lowers recoil, slightly lowers crit chance |
| RC-7 Liger | 
|
Lowers recoil angle and direction, slightly lowers crit chance |
| RC-7 Yokai | 
|
Lowers recoil angle, slightly lowers crit chance |
| TSX Tocororo | 
|
Raises stealth damage, lowers base damage |
| XC-10 Cetus | 
|
Raises stealth damage, lowers base damage |
| XC-10 Strix | 
|
Raises stealth damage, lowers base damage |
Upgrades
Like every Iconic weapon, Death and Taxes can be raised through the tiers in the Upgrades section of the crafting menu, paid for with crafting components.
The table shows what each tier step of Death and Taxes costs.
| Upgrade | Components | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 to Tier 1+ | 75 Tier 1 components | - |
| Tier 1+ to Tier 2 | 40 components | - |
| Tier 2 to Tier 2+ | 75 Tier 2 components | - |
| Tier 2+ to Tier 3 | 40 components | - |
| Tier 3 to Tier 3+ | 75 Tier 3 components | - |
| Tier 3+ to Tier 4 | 40 components | - |
| Tier 4 to Tier 4+ | 75 Tier 4 components | - |
| Tier 4+ to Tier 5 | 40 components | - |
| Tier 5 to Tier 5+ | 75 Tier 5 components | - |
| Tier 5+ to Tier 5++ | 200 Tier 5 components | Phantom Liberty |
Character Builds
Death and Taxes works best in a Cool build with pistol perks. Focus removes the Stamina cost of aimed shots at full Stamina and adds headshot damage. Deadeye adds more headshot damage, and High Noon speeds up the next reload after a headshot kill. Run 'N' Gun removes the Stamina cost of hip-firing pistols.
Cyberware for low Health helps V survive while the Poison is active. The Revulsor and the Reflex Tuner slow time when Health drops below 25%. Second Heart restores Health once it reaches zero. The Blood Pump is a strong extra heal when the pistol costs too much Health.
Select a Build
Attributes: Body 15, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 9, 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 |
| Calm Mind | 
|
Body 15 | Adrenaline lasts longer before it decays |
| Juggernaut | 
|
Body 15 | More speed and damage during Adrenaline Rush |
| Unstoppable Force | 
|
Body 15 | Immunity to knockdown and blinding during Adrenaline Rush |
| Deep Breath | 
|
Cool 9 | Time slows while Focus is active |
| Focus | 
|
Cool 9 | Focus mode for free Stamina aimed shots |
| Head To Head | 
|
Cool 9 | Kills in Focus reset its duration |
| No Sweat | 
|
Cool 9 | Kills in Focus lower its Stamina cost |
| Rinse And Reload | 
|
Cool 9 | Faster reload after an aimed kill |
| California Reaper | 
|
Cool 15 | Stamina back after a headshot kill |
| Deadeye | Cool 15 | More headshot and weak spot damage | |
| High Noon | 
|
Cool 15 | Faster reload and slowed time after a headshot kill in Deadeye |
| Long Shot | 
|
Cool 15 | Full damage at any range during Deadeye |
| Quick Draw | 
|
Cool 15 | Faster swap to handguns and rifles with a Stamina boost |
| Nerves Of Tungsten-Steel | 
|
Cool 20 | Guaranteed crits on headshots during Deadeye |
| Run 'N' Gun | 
|
Cool 20 | Free Stamina hip fire |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Dash replaces the dodge |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| All Things Cyber | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| Chrome Constitution | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | Less damage taken with full Skeleton and Integumentary slots |
| Ambidextrous | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | A second Hands cyberware slot |
| Cyborg | Technical Ability 15 | Shorter cyberware cooldowns with every slot filled | |
| Extended Warranty | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Cyberware effects last longer |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood Pump | 
|
Circulatory System | A Health item that heals over time |
| Biomonitor | 
|
Circulatory System | Uses a Health item when Health runs low |
| Heal-On-Kill | 
|
Circulatory System | Health on each kill |
| Behavioral Imprint-Synced Faceplate | 
|
Face | A disguise that escapes the police |
| Ballistic Coprocessor | 
|
Hands | More ricochet chance and damage for Power weapons |
| Shock Absorber | 
|
Hands | Less recoil |
| Chitin | 
|
Integumentary System | Extra Health regeneration |
| Reinforced Tendons | 
|
Legs | Double jump |
| Epimorphic Skeleton | 
|
Skeleton | More max Health |
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| CQO Kanone MINI Mk.72 | 
|
Short scope |
| XC-10 Cetus | 
|
Silencer |
Lore
Death and Taxes is the Iconic variant of the Tsunami Nue and the signature weapon of Maiko Maeda. In Ex-Factor, Judy wants Maiko, the dollhouse's manager, on her side. Judy and V meet on the Clouds terrace early in the morning and slip into Maiko's office to talk to her. The pistol lies on a sofa in that office.
Notes
- If the pistol is missed during Ex-Factor, Maiko later sends a message to Judy's computer. The pistol can then be picked up from Judy's apartment.
- With Phantom Liberty, Herold Lowe at the EBM Petrochem Stadium also sells a missed Death and Taxes.
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% |