Knife
| Knife | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Melee Weapon |
| Type | Throwable |
| Weapon | Knife |
| Headshot | +200% |
The Knife is the plain combat knife of Night City, a light blade that can slice, stab and be thrown. The in-game text calls it a balanced weapon and a great tool for anyone with a knack for quiet kills. The Knife is a good first weapon for a Cool build that uses stealth and thrown blades. A knife also works as a backup weapon in any loadout. It is the base blade for the Iconic knife Stinger. Knives turn up throughout the story, both on enemies and at melee weapon sellers.
Combat
The Knife is a throwable weapon. Aiming sets up a throw, and a hit to the head deals the most damage. Once thrown, the knife returns to V by itself after a recovery period. V can then throw it again. Cuts from the blade can cause Bleeding, which keeps hurting a target that runs.
The knife is strongest in stealth. Killer Instinct, an early Cool perk, raises damage with knives while V is out of combat. The first throw from the shadows is therefore the most important one. In open combat, the knife works as a sidearm between gunshots. It becomes much more useful once the Cool perks start resetting throw cooldowns after kills.
How to Get Knife Guide
- Buy a Knife from a melee weapon seller, such as the one in West Wind Estate.
- Loot one from enemies who carry it.
- Craft it at the crafting bench with its crafting spec.
Knife Map Location
The map shows the melee weapon vendor in West Wind Estate.
Knife map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Compatible Mods
8 weapon mods are compatible with Knife.
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Airstrike | 
|
Raises crit chance and crit damage for midair attacks |
| Boomerang | 
|
A headshot kill with a thrown weapon can return it at once |
| Cyclone | 
|
A sprint attack opens unlimited combos with stacking attack speed |
| Javelin | 
|
More armor penetration with melee, doubled on throws |
| Pax | 
|
Makes the weapon non-lethal, more damage outside combat |
| Severance | 
|
Hits to the head or limbs of a weakened enemy can dismember and kill |
| Silencio | 
|
More crit chance and crit damage when crouched and undetected |
| Zero-G | 
|
More effective range, thrown weapons fly straight |
Crafting Spec
The spec lets V craft Knife in the crafting menu. Every spec in the game is listed on the Crafting Specs page.
The table shows what crafting Knife costs at each tier.
| Tier | Components |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 30 Tier 1 components |
Upgrades
A standard knife gets stronger by tier. Shops and loot follow V's level. Two knives of the same tier have the same stats, however they were obtained. With the crafting spec, V can turn crafting components into a knife at the current tier.
Character Builds
Throwing perks are in the Cool tree. Scorpion Sting is the first big step. It shortens throw recovery and lets crits, headshots and weak-spot hits poison the target. After that, Neurotoxin adds blinding and stops poisoned enemies from sprinting. Parasite heals V on thrown crits and headshots. Juggler resets the cooldown of every throwable after a thrown kill that lands as a headshot or crit. Sleight Of Hand adds crit damage each time Juggler triggers. Style Over Substance makes throws during a slide, dodge or crouch-sprint guaranteed crits.
For cyberware, Handle Wrap boosts crit chance with throwables for a few seconds after a throw. Stabber adds crit chance with knives and other blades. The Tyrosine Injector adds headshot damage after a takedown, which helps a build that starts fights from stealth. Its mod slots take throwable and blade mods. Boomerang can bring the knife straight back after a headshot kill. Zero-G lets it fly straight with no drop and longer range. Silencio adds crit chance while V is crouched and undetected.
Select a Build
The build opens from stealth and removes a few targets before the fight starts. Headshots and crits with thrown knives bring the knife back to hand through Juggler. When the character is detected, the Sandevistan or Kerenzikov slows time to finish the enemies who spotted it.
Attributes: Body 18, 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 |
| Adrenaline Rush | 
|
Body 15 | More Health and the Adrenaline Rush mode |
| Feline Footwork | 
|
Cool 4 | Faster and safer while crouched |
| Killer Instinct | 
|
Cool 4 | More damage with knives, axes and silenced guns before combat |
| Gag Order | 
|
Cool 4 | A quick hit after being spotted delays detection by others |
| Scorpion Sting | 
|
Cool 9 | Thrown crits and headshots apply Poison |
| Neurotoxin | 
|
Cool 9 | Poison also blinds and stops sprinting |
| Parasite | 
|
Cool 9 | Health back from thrown crits and headshots |
| Accelerated Toxin Absorption | 
|
Cool 9 | Strong attacks and throws on poisoned enemies deal a burst of Poison |
| Corrosion | 
|
Cool 9 | Poison works on mechs, robots, drones and turrets |
| Ninjutsu | 
|
Cool 15 | Sprint while crouched |
| Creeping Death | 
|
Cool 15 | Health, Stamina and speed from kills while hidden |
| Vanishing Act | 
|
Cool 15 | Optical Camo turns on while crouch-sprinting |
| Juggler | 
|
Cool 15 | Thrown headshots and crits return the weapon at once |
| Sleight Of Hand | 
|
Cool 15 | Crit Damage stacks each time Juggler triggers |
| Finisher: Act Of Mercy | 
|
Cool 15 | A thrown weapon Finisher that heals |
| Pay It Forward | 
|
Cool 15 | Big melee hit after picking up a thrown blade |
| Pounce | 
|
Cool 15 | Finishers from range after a throw |
| Style Over Substance | 
|
Cool 20 | Guaranteed crits when throwing on the move |
| Slippery | 
|
Reflexes 4 | Harder to hit while moving fast |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Unlocks the Dash and makes it cheaper |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| All Things Cyber | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| License To Chrome | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Ambidextrous | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | A second Hands cyberware slot |
| Edgerunner | Technical Ability 20 | Cyberware past the capacity limit for a small Health cost |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Mamba | 
|
Circulatory System | More damage against poisoned enemies |
| Kerenzikov Boost System | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Stronger Kerenzikov with free shooting Stamina |
| Mechatronic Core | 
|
Frontal Cortex | More damage against drones, robots and mechs |
| Handle Wrap | 
|
Hands | More crit chance with throwables |
| Shock Absorber | 
|
Hands | Less recoil |
| Optical Camo | 
|
Integumentary System | Near invisibility for a few seconds |
| Defenzikov | 
|
Integumentary System | Mitigation after Kerenzikov ends |
| Kerenzikov | 
|
Nervous System | Slows time when aiming during a slide or dodge |
| Stabber | 
|
Nervous System | More crit chance with Blades and throwables |
| Militech Apogee Sandevistan | Operating System | Slows time by 85% with crit bonuses | |
| Dense Marrow | 
|
Skeleton | More melee damage |
| Spring Joints | 
|
Skeleton | Stronger Mitigation |
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Zero-G | 
|
Longer throws on a straight path |
| Slice 'Em Up | 
|
Enemies are easier to finish after a kill |
| Bleedout | 
|
Bleeding damage can crit |
Notes
- Stinger is the Iconic variant of the Knife.
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% |