M221 Saratoga
| M221 Saratoga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Smg |
| Type | Power |
| Ammo | Handgun Ammo |
| Headshot | +100% |
The M221 Saratoga is a Militech submachine gun, a light and compact Power weapon that empties its magazine very quickly. It works best in a Reflexes build that likes to fight at close range and keep moving. The in-game line, shared with the Arasaka Shigure, says it purrs like a kitten. It is also the base gun for the Iconic SMGs Fenrir and Problem Solver. Weapon shops in Arroyo, The Glen, Rancho Coronado and other districts stock the Saratoga, and enemies drop it. It turns up through the whole story.
Combat
The Saratoga is a gun for spraying bullets. Its very high rate of fire puts many bullets on a target at short range. Its forty-round magazine runs dry in a few seconds of steady fire. As a Power weapon, its bullets can ricochet off surfaces and hit enemies behind cover. It takes a short scope and a muzzle attachment, so a suppressor can make it quiet for stealth.
Each SMG bullet deals little damage, but the gun fires a great many of them. The Saratoga works best up close. The Reflexes perks help it most when V keeps swapping and moving. Submachine Fun reloads an SMG automatically when V swaps to it and adds a burst of fire rate. With two SMGs, V can keep up an almost constant stream of fire.
How to Get M221 Saratoga Guide
- Buy the M221 Saratoga from a weapon shop, such as the ones in Arroyo, The Glen or Rancho Coronado.
- Loot it from enemies who carry one.
- Craft it at the crafting bench with its crafting spec.
M221 Saratoga Map Location
The map shows the weapon shop in Arroyo.
M221 Saratoga map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Compatible Mods
7 scopes, 9 muzzles and 11 weapon mods are compatible with M221 Saratoga.
| 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 Aswang | 
|
Lowers recoil angle and direction, slightly lowers crit chance |
| RC-7 Ifrit | 
|
Lowers recoil, slightly lowers crit chance |
| RC-7 Strigoi | 
|
Lowers recoil |
| RC-7 Varkolak | 
|
Raises ricochet chance and ricochet angle |
| RC-7 Zaar | 
|
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 |
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Better Half | 
|
Raises crit chance with the second half of the magazine |
| Big Mag | 
|
Bigger magazine, slower reload |
| Critochet | 
|
Raises crit chance with ricochets |
| Equalizer | 
|
More damage against Elite enemies |
| Firecracker | 
|
Shoots explosive rounds |
| Focus Fire | 
|
Tighter hipfire spread, shorter effective range |
| Pax | 
|
Makes the weapon non-lethal, more damage outside combat |
| Pyro | 
|
Turns part of the damage into Thermal damage with a chance to Burn |
| Ready Steady | 
|
Lowers recoil, more so when aiming from cover |
| Shuffler | 
|
Drawing the weapon refills part of the magazine |
| Swiss Cheese | 
|
More armor penetration, higher Stamina cost per bullet |
Crafting Spec
Weapon vendors sell the M221 Saratoga spec. The spec lets V craft M221 Saratoga in the crafting menu. Every spec in the game is listed on the Crafting Specs page.
The table shows what crafting M221 Saratoga costs at each tier.
| Tier | Components |
|---|---|
| Tier 2 | 30 Tier 2 components |
| Tier 3 | 30 Tier 3 components |
| Tier 4 | 30 Tier 4 components |
| Tier 5 | 30 Tier 5 components |
Upgrades
The Saratoga improves by tier. Shops and loot rise with V's level. A crafted SMG matches a bought one of the same tier. Its crafting spec turns crafting components into a new Saratoga at V's current tier.
Character Builds
The SMG perks are in the Reflexes tree. Ready, Rested, Reloaded lowers the Stamina cost of shooting and speeds up reloads at high Stamina. Mind Over Matter cuts recoil while aiming. Spray And Pray lowers the Stamina cost of hip-fire, the usual way to fire an SMG. Sharpshooter gains a stack on each hit. The stacks raise Stamina regeneration and lower Stamina cost. Practice Makes Perfect gives crit chance and crit damage for each stack. Submachine Fun speeds up swaps and reloads the gun on the swap.
For cyberware, Clutch Padding lowers the Stamina cost of shooting, which matters for a gun that fires this fast. Shock Absorber reduces recoil. Kerenzikov slows time when V aims during a slide or dodge. Its mod slots take SMG and Power weapon mods. Big Mag makes the magazine larger, but reloads get slower. Focus Fire reduces spread when firing from the hip. Pyro turns part of the damage into Thermal damage and adds a chance to set enemies on fire.
Select a Build
The build plays as run and gun, shooting while sprinting, sliding and dashing. Air Dashes and Tailwind keep the character moving through a fight. Kerenzikov slows time when aiming during a Dash, so the shots stay precise on the move.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painkiller | 
|
Body 4 | Slow Health regeneration in combat |
| Muscle Memory | 
|
Reflexes 4 | Reload while sprinting, sliding and vaulting |
| Multitasker | 
|
Reflexes 4 | Shoot while sprinting, sliding and vaulting |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Unlocks the Dash and makes it cheaper |
| Steady Grip | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Shoot while Dashing |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| Aerial Acrobat | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Better control in midair |
| Gundancer | 
|
Reflexes 15 | No slowdown while aiming |
| Air Kerenzikov | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Kerenzikov in midair holds the character in the air |
| Submachine Fun | 
|
Reflexes 20 | SMG swaps reload and raise fire rate |
| Tailwind | 
|
Reflexes 20 | Stamina back from Air Dashes and double jumps |
| Extended Warranty | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Cyberware effects last longer |
| Ambidextrous | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | A second Hands cyberware slot |
| Cyborg | Technical Ability 15 | Shorter cyberware cooldowns with every slot filled |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerenzikov Boost System | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Stronger Kerenzikov with free shooting Stamina |
| Immovable Force | 
|
Hands | Less recoil and tighter spread |
| Defenzikov | 
|
Integumentary System | Mitigation after Kerenzikov ends |
| Kerenzikov | 
|
Nervous System | Slows time when aiming during a slide or dodge |
Notes
- Fenrir and Problem Solver are Iconic variants of the M221 Saratoga.
Weapon Categories
All SMGs
Every SMG is listed below. The Iconic weapons come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic SMGs
| Name | Image | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buzzsaw | 
|
+100% | 25% | Northside |
| Chesapeake | 
|
|||
| Erebus | 
|
|||
| Fenrir | 
|
+100% | Northside | |
| Guillotine x-MOD2 | 
|
Dogtown | ||
| Pizdets | 
|
+85% | ||
| Problem Solver | 
|
+100% | Badlands East | |
| Prototype: Shingen Mark V | 
|
+50% | Arroyo | |
| Raiju | 
|
West Wind Estate | ||
| Yinglong | 
|
+50% | Wellsprings |
Standard SMGs
| Name | Image | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DS1 Pulsar | 
|
+100% | ||
| G-58 Dian | 
|
+50% | ||
| Guillotine | 
|
+100% | ||
| HA-7 Warden | 
|
+50% | ||
| M221 Saratoga | 
|
+100% | ||
| Senkoh LX | 
|
+100% | Arroyo | |
| Shigure | 
|
+100% | ||
| TKI-20 Shingen | 
|
+50% |