Headhunter
| Headhunter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Melee Weapon |
| Weapon | Knife |
| Tier | Iconic |
| Headshot | +150% |
| Attack Speed | 3.1 |
| Weight | 2.3 |
| Location | West Wind Estate |
Headhunter is an Iconic throwing knife, a customised Punknife. It is mainly a tool for setting up a kill. A thrown Headhunter marks the enemy it hits. The next attack to that enemy's head, from any weapon, deals a large damage bonus. That attack also clears the mark and brings the knife straight back to V's hand. The knife is the first step of a combo. V throws it, then finishes the target with a headshot from a revolver, a sniper rifle or the knife itself. Unlike most Iconics, it is simply bought from a shop. Headhunter is sold by the melee weapon vendor in West Wind Estate, Pacifica.
Combat
Headhunter is a throwable weapon. It can be swung like a normal knife at close range, or thrown at targets further away. A thrown knife returns to V after a short recovery time. When the combo lands, Headhunter skips that wait, because the marked headshot sends it back at once.
The best use is a two-step kill on an important target. Throw the knife at a netrunner, a sniper or an elite to mark them. Then swap to a gun and shoot them in the head, or throw again at the head. The bonus makes that second hit far stronger than a normal headshot. Against a crowd, the quick return means the knife can mark a new target almost straight away.
How to Get Headhunter Guide
- Travel to West Wind Estate in Pacifica.
- Find the melee weapon vendor at the West Wind Apartments.
- Buy Headhunter from his stock.
Headhunter Map Location
Headhunter map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Upgrades
Headhunter comes from a shop, but it can still be upgraded. Its tier goes up in the crafting menu's Upgrades tab. Upgrades cost crafting components from looting, crafting or scrapping unwanted gear. The knife has to be carried, not stored, for the tab to offer it.
The table shows what each tier step of Headhunter 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
Throwable weapons use the Cool tree, next to the headshot perks. Scorpion Sting shortens the recovery time of thrown weapons. It also makes crits and headshots with them apply Poison. Juggler cuts recovery further and adds headshot damage for throwables. It also resets the cooldown after a kill. Sleight Of Hand adds crit damage every time Juggler triggers. Pay It Forward boosts the first melee attack after V picks up a thrown knife. Style Over Substance guarantees crits with throwables while crouch-sprinting, sliding, dodging or dashing. Finisher: Act Of Mercy adds a throwable finisher that restores Health.
For the follow-up shot, the Cool perks for pistols, revolvers and rifles all help. Focus and Deadeye, for example, add headshot damage. Killer Instinct adds damage with knives outside combat, which helps the first throw in stealth. Handle Wrap raises crit chance with throwables after equipping or throwing one. Stabber adds crit chance with blades and throwables.
Select a Build
The build stays in stealth and lands critical headshots. Tanky cyberware and every Health perk make up for a fragile body. If the character gets caught, Tailwind refills Stamina on air Dashes so the movement never stops.
Attributes: Body 8, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 3, 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 |
| Parasite | 
|
Cool 9 | Health back on thrown crits and headshots |
| Scorpion Sting | 
|
Cool 9 | Thrown crits and headshots apply Poison |
| Finisher: Act Of Mercy | 
|
Cool 15 | Throwable weapon finisher that restores Health |
| Juggler | 
|
Cool 15 | Thrown weapon cooldown resets on a headshot or crit kill |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Dash replaces the dodge |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| Tailwind | 
|
Reflexes 20 | Stamina from air dashes and double jumps |
| 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 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heal-On-Kill | 
|
Circulatory System | Health on each kill |
| Blood Pump | 
|
Circulatory System | A Health item that heals over time |
| Mechatronic Core | 
|
Frontal Cortex | More damage against drones, robots and turrets |
| Handle Wrap | 
|
Hands | Crit chance for throwable weapons |
| Reinforced Tendons | 
|
Legs | Double jump |
| Visual Cortex Support | 
|
Nervous System | Crit chance rises with distance |
| Epimorphic Skeleton | 
|
Skeleton | More max Health |
| Bionic Joints | 
|
Skeleton | More armor |
Lore
The Punknife is a small combat blade made to be drawn, thrown and picked up again. Headhunter is a customised one, and its name says what it is for. The mark it leaves makes the next headshot deadly. Every throw chooses the enemy who dies next.
Notes
- Headhunter has its own display spot on the weapon wall in V's apartment.
- Headhunter is the Iconic variant of the Punknife.
Weapon Categories
All Melee Weapons
Every melee weapon is listed below. The Iconic weapons come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic Melee Weapons
| Name | Image | Weapon | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agaou | 
|
Axe | +125% | 25% | Dogtown |
| BFC 9000 | 
|
One-Handed Club | Rancho Coronado | ||
| Baby Boomer | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Baseball Bat x-MOD2 | 
|
Two-Handed Club | Dogtown | ||
| Black Unicorn | 
|
Katana | 25% | ||
| Blue Fang | 
|
Knife | +150% | Badlands South | |
| Butcher's Cleaver | 
|
Knife | 25% | Coastview | |
| Byakko | 
|
Katana | 25% | Little China | |
| Caretaker's Spade | 
|
Hammer | 25% | Corpo Plaza | |
| Claw x-MOD2 | 
|
Axe | |||
| Cocktail Stick | 
|
Katana | 25% | Japantown | |
| Cottonmouth | 
|
One-Handed Club | 25% | Japantown | |
| Crowbar | 
|
One-Handed Club | |||
| Cut-o-Matic x-MOD2 | 
|
Chainsword | Dogtown | ||
| Errata | 
|
Katana | 25% | Arroyo | |
| Fang | 
|
Knife | +50% | ||
| Gold-Plated Baseball Bat | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | North Oak | |
| Gwynbleidd | 
|
Sword | |||
| Headhunter | 
|
Knife | +150% | West Wind Estate | |
| Jinchu-Maru | 
|
Katana | 25% | Japantown | |
| Murphy's Law | 
|
One-handed Club | 50% | Dogtown | |
| Nehan | 
|
Knife | +150% | Arasaka Waterfront | |
| Sasquatch's Hammer | 
|
Hammer | 75% | Coastview | |
| Satori | 
|
Katana | 25% | Arasaka Waterfront | |
| Scalpel | 
|
Katana | 25% | Northside | |
| Sir John Phallustiff | 
|
Blunt | 25% | Kabuki | |
| Stinger | 
|
Knife | +150% | Badlands East | |
| Tinker Bell | 
|
One-Handed Club | 50% | Badlands East | |
| Tsumetogi | 
|
Katana | 25% | Japantown | |
| Volkodav | 
|
Machete | 25% | Dogtown |
Standard Melee Weapons
| Name | Image | Weapon | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball Bat | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Chef's Knife | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Claw | 
|
Axe | +125% | 25% | |
| Cut-O-Matic | 
|
Chainsword | 50% | ||
| Electric Baton Alpha | 
|
One-Handed Club | Rancho Coronado | ||
| Electric Baton Beta | 
|
One-Handed Club | 50% | ||
| Electric Baton Gamma | 
|
One-Handed Club | 50% | ||
| Hammer | 
|
Hammer | 25% | ||
| Kaiken | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Kanabo | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Katana | 
|
Katana | 25% | ||
| Knife | 
|
Knife | +200% | ||
| Kukri | 
|
Machete | 25% | ||
| Machete | 
|
Machete | 25% | ||
| Neurotoxin Knife | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Punknife | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Razor | 
|
Machete | 25% | ||
| Steel Pipe | 
|
One-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Tire Iron | 
|
One-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Tomahawk | 
|
Axe | +125% | 25% |