Punknife

Punknife

Class	Melee Weapon
Type	Throwable
Weapon	Knife
Headshot	+150%

The Punknife is a small, balanced combat knife made for throwing. Its in-game line calls it perfectly balanced, lethal and fun. It also warns that a throw could, and will, poke someone's Kiroshi out. Its database entry says it can be drawn and put away faster than any other knife. It is a light blade for a Cool build that throws often, and its cuts can cause Bleeding. The Punknife is the base knife for the Iconic blade Headhunter. Coach Fred's melee shop in Little China sells the Punknife from early in the story, and other melee weapon sellers and enemies supply it later.

Combat

The Punknife is a throwable weapon. A thrown knife comes back to V on its own after its recovery time. The throwing perks cut that time further, so the Punknife works well in a build that throws again and again. Headshots with a thrown knife deal the most damage. The Cool perks also make those headshots poison the target, heal V and reset cooldowns.

The fast draw suits a V who swaps weapons often. The knife can come out between gunshots, fly at a target and go away again with little delay. In stealth, Killer Instinct raises knife damage while V is out of combat. A first throw at an unaware guard therefore hits hard. Its cuts can cause Bleeding, which keeps damaging enemies after V moves on.

How to Get Punknife Guide

Buy the Punknife from Coach Fred in Little China or another melee weapon seller.
Loot it from enemies who carry one.
Buy the crafting spec from a melee weapon seller and craft it.

Punknife Map Location

The map shows Coach Fred's melee weapon shop in Little China.

Punknife map location:

Map credit by Map Genie.

Compatible Mods

8 weapon mods are compatible with Punknife.

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

Melee weapon vendors sell the Punknife spec. The spec lets V craft Punknife in the crafting menu. Every spec in the game is listed on the Crafting Specs page.

The table shows what crafting Punknife costs at each tier.

Tier	Components
Tier 1	30 Tier 1 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

Only Iconic weapons can be upgraded, so a stronger Punknife is a higher-tier one. Shop stock and loot scale with V's level. A crafted Punknife matches a bought one of the same tier. Its crafting spec lets V make a new one at the current tier.

Character Builds

The throwing perks are in the Cool tree. Scorpion Sting shortens throw recovery. It also poisons targets on crits, headshots and weak-spot hits. Juggler shortens recovery further and raises thrown headshot damage. It also resets every throwable's cooldown after a thrown kill by headshot or crit. Parasite restores Health on each thrown crit or headshot. Sleight Of Hand adds crit damage every time Juggler triggers. Pounce lets V start a finisher from farther away after hitting an enemy with a throw. Style Over Substance makes every throw during a slide, dodge or crouch-sprint a guaranteed crit.

For cyberware, Handle Wrap boosts crit chance with throwables for a few seconds after each throw. It helps a lot with a knife that is thrown so often. Stabber adds crit chance with blades and throwables. Its mod slots take throwable and blade mods. Boomerang can return the knife at once after a headshot kill. Zero-G makes the throw fly straight and adds range. Bleedout raises the crit chance of Bleeding damage.

Select a Build

Throwing Knife 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.

PerksCyberwareMods

Name	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	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

Headhunter is the Iconic variant of the Punknife. A hit marks the enemy, and the next headshot on that enemy deals bonus damage and returns the knife at once.
Headhunter is sold by the melee weapon vendor in West Wind Estate, Pacifica.

Weapon Categories

All Melee Weapons

Every melee weapon is listed below. The Iconic weapons come first, then the standard ones.

Iconic Melee Weapons

Name	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	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%