Nekomata
| Nekomata | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Sniper Rifle |
| Type | Tech |
| Ammo | Sniper Ammo |
| Headshot | +300% |
| Armor Pen | 50% |
| Charge Time | 1.25 s |
The Nekomata is a Tsunami sniper rifle that fires charged shots like a railgun. A charged round can pierce armor and the walls enemies hide behind. The rifle can build its charge from the hip as well as while aiming. It works best in a Cool or Technical Ability build that wants to snipe enemies even when they take cover. Its in-game line promises precision without compromise. Two Iconic rifles are built on the Nekomata: Breakthrough and Foxhound. Weapon shops across Night City sell the Nekomata and enemies drop it, so a Tech sniper build can pick one up through most of the story.
Combat
The Nekomata is a Tech weapon, so holding the trigger charges the shot. A charged round can pass through surfaces that hide an enemy. Cover gives little protection against it. The rifle can charge from the hip. V can build a charge while moving and fire the moment a target appears, without waiting in the scope.
The rifle comes with a sniper scope that can be swapped for another sniper scope. Its magazine holds four rounds, so one charged shot that hits is worth far more than several quick misses. Headshots get a large damage bonus on a sniper rifle. The Cool perks add even more through Deadeye mode and guaranteed crits during it.
The Nekomata's weak point is speed. Each charge takes time, and the small magazine forces frequent reloads. It is at its best when V picks a target, charges the shot and fires through the cover the enemy trusts.
How to Get Nekomata Guide
- Buy the Nekomata from a weapon shop in Night City.
- Loot it from enemies who carry one.
Nekomata Map Location
The map shows the 2nd Amendment weapon shop in Little China, one of the weapon vendors that sell it.
Nekomata map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Compatible Mods
2 scopes and 11 weapon mods are compatible with Nekomata.
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| E305 Prospecta | 
|
Adds high zoom and lowers weapon sway |
| Gaki | 
|
Adds high zoom, lowers sway and speeds up a full charge |
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Better Half | 
|
Raises crit chance with the second half of the magazine |
| C-Thru | 
|
Charged shots pierce cover sooner and lose less damage |
| Equalizer | 
|
More damage against Elite enemies |
| Fleetshot | 
|
Lower Stamina cost and no heavy weapon slowdown, less armor penetration |
| Headtoll | 
|
A headshot kill streak grants stacking combat bonuses |
| Pax | 
|
Makes the weapon non-lethal, more damage outside combat |
| Shuffler | 
|
Drawing the weapon refills part of the magazine |
| Spinetickler | 
|
Fully charged hits can cause an EMP blast |
| Stabilizer | 
|
Better weapon handling when crouching or crouch-sprinting |
| Supercharger | 
|
Faster charge and lower Stamina cost, less armor penetration |
| Wallpuncher | 
|
Charges to 200%, full armor penetration, no cover penalty |
Upgrades
Only Iconic weapons can be upgraded, so the Nekomata improves by tier. Shop stock and loot rise with V's level. A looted rifle has the same stats as a bought one of the same tier.
Character Builds
The Nekomata uses perks from two attribute trees, Cool and Technical Ability. Cool holds the sniper rifle perks. Focus removes the Stamina cost of aimed shots for a short time. Deadeye raises headshot and weak-spot damage and unlocks Deadeye mode at high Stamina. Long Shot removes damage drop-off at range during Deadeye. Nerves Of Tungsten-Steel turns every Deadeye headshot into a guaranteed crit and adds damage with distance.
Technical Ability holds the Tech perks. Bolt shortens the charge. It also makes a shot count as fully charged if the trigger is released just before full charge. Internal Clock widens the timing window for a Bolt. Shock Value lets Bolt shots ignore armor. Chain Lightning makes Bolts spread Electrical damage to nearby enemies.
For cyberware, the Kiroshi Stalker Optics highlight enemies behind cover while V aims a Tech weapon. They show exactly where to fire a shot through the wall. The Feedback Circuit heals V on every fully charged Tech hit. Its mod slots take sniper rifle and Tech weapon mods. C-Thru lowers the charge needed to pierce cover. It also reduces the damage lost when shooting through cover. Supercharger speeds up the charge. Wallpuncher, a Phantom Liberty mod, lets the rifle charge to double capacity without a longer charge time. Headtoll adds a bonus with each headshot kill in a row. Stabilizer improves handling while V is crouched.
Select a Build
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 |
The build keeps its distance and picks enemies off one by one with headshots. The Sandevistan goes on before shooting an Elite, so several headshots land if the first one is not enough. A pistol or shotgun stays on hand for enemies that flank the sniping spot.
Attributes: Body 15, Reflexes 13, 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 |
| Blind Spot | 
|
Cool 4 | Slower enemy detection 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 |
| Focus |
|
Cool 9 | More headshot damage and free shots while aiming |
| No Sweat | 
|
Cool 9 | Kills cut the Stamina cost of Focus |
| Rinse And Reload |
|
Cool 9 | Faster reload after a kill while aiming |
| Head To Head |
|
Cool 9 | Kills reset Focus |
| Deep Breath |
|
Cool 9 | Time slows while Focus is active |
| Deadeye | Cool 15 | More headshot damage and no spread at high Stamina | |
| California Reaper |
|
Cool 15 | Stamina back after a headshot kill |
| High Noon |
|
Cool 15 | Fast slowed reload after a headshot kill |
| Long Shot |
|
Cool 15 | Full damage at any range during Deadeye |
| Quick Draw | 
|
Cool 15 | Faster swaps to pistols and rifles |
| Ninjutsu | 
|
Cool 15 | Sprint while crouched |
| Nerves Of Tungsten-Steel |
|
Cool 20 | Guaranteed crits on headshots during Deadeye |
| Glutton For War |
|
Technical Ability 4 | Kills recharge Health items and grenades |
| Health Freak | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | One more Health item charge and faster recharge |
| All Things Cyber |
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| License To Chrome |
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Bolt |
|
Technical Ability 15 | Faster charge and Bolt shots that hit harder |
| Internal Clock |
|
Technical Ability 15 | Wider timing window for a Bolt shot |
| Shock Value |
|
Technical Ability 15 | Bolt shots ignore armor |
| Edgerunner | Technical Ability 20 | Cyberware past the capacity limit for a small Health cost |
| 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 |
| Kiroshi Clairvoyant Optics | 
|
Face | Scanning highlights nearby enemies |
| Axolotl | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Kills cut all cyberware cooldowns |
| Microgenerator |
|
Hands | Reloading an empty gun charges an electroshock shot |
| Immovable Force |
|
Hands | Less recoil and tighter spread |
| Reinforced Tendons |
|
Legs | Double jump |
| NeoFiber | 
|
Nervous System | More Mitigation Chance and Strength |
| Visual Cortex Support | 
|
Nervous System | More crit chance at long range |
| Militech Apogee Sandevistan | Operating System | Slows time by 85% with crit bonuses | |
| Epimorphic Skeleton | 
|
Skeleton | More max Health |
Notes
- Breakthrough is an Iconic variant of the Nekomata. Its rounds pass through walls without a charge and then ricochet several times.
- Foxhound is a BARGHEST Iconic variant from the Phantom Liberty expansion. Kills raise V's speed, and higher speed raises its damage.
Weapon Categories
All Sniper Rifles
Every sniper rifle is listed below. The Iconic weapons come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic Sniper Rifles
| Name | Image | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borzaya | 
|
Dogtown | ||
| Breakthrough | 
|
+300% | 100% | Rancho Coronado |
| Foxhound | 
|
|||
| O'Five | 
|
50% | Arroyo | |
| Osprey | 
|
Dogtown | ||
| Overwatch | 
|
+300% | 50% | Badlands East |
| Rasetsu | 
|
+300% | 50% | |
| Sparky | 
|
+250% | 50% | Dogtown |
Standard Sniper Rifles
| Name | Image | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashura | 
|
+150% | 25% | |
| Nekomata | 
|
+300% | 50% | |
| SPT32 Grad | 
|
+300% | 50% |