The Headsman
| The Headsman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Shotgun |
| Type | Power |
| Ammo | Shotgun Ammo |
| Tier | Iconic |
| Armor Pen | 25% |
| Attack Speed | 1.2 |
| Projectiles | 1 |
| Weight | 9.6 |
| Location | North Oak |
The Headsman is an Iconic M2038 Tactician that fires a single slug instead of a spray of pellets. With its own scope, the pump shotgun works more like a heavy rifle. Headshots briefly speed up its reload and improve its accuracy. The next headshot after that is a guaranteed crit. The Headsman is a shotgun for players who aim carefully, and it has real reach for a shotgun. Its spec comes from a Militech mech guarding a crime site in North Oak. The Headsman is crafted in the middle of the game. Its spec comes from the Suspected Organized Crime Activity at Impala Automatics in North Oak, Westbrook.
Combat
The Headsman works very differently from a normal shotgun. A single slug goes where V aims, so it rewards headshots at ranges where pellets would scatter. The scope helps V aim those shots.
The Iconic effect rewards headshots in a row. A headshot gives a short burst of faster reloading and better accuracy. If the next shot is also a headshot, it lands as a crit. Moving from one enemy's head to the next keeps the bonus active through a fight.
The slug also changes the gun's weaknesses. A single slug hits one target. The Headsman is therefore less forgiving than a pellet shotgun in a chaotic fight at arm's length. It is at its best in mid-range fights, against enemies who stay in sight long enough for careful aim.
How to Get The Headsman Guide
- Explore North Oak in Westbrook until the Suspected Organized Crime Activity at Impala Automatics appears on the map.
- Fight through the compound and destroy the Militech Minotaur mech.
- Loot The Headsman crafting spec from the mech.
- Craft The Headsman in the crafting menu.
The Headsman Map Location
The Headsman map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Compatible Mods
7 scopes are compatible with The Headsman.
| 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 |
Crafting Spec
A Militech mech drops the The Headsman spec at the Suspected Organized Crime Activity at Impala Automatics in North Oak. The spec lets V craft The Headsman in the crafting menu. Every spec in the game is listed on the Crafting Specs page.
The table shows what crafting The Headsman costs at each tier.
| Tier | Components |
|---|---|
| Tier 5 | 40 Tier 5 components |
Upgrades
The Headsman is crafted from its spec, then raised through the tiers in the Upgrades tab of the crafting menu. Both cost crafting components. A spec looted early has to be crafted at a low tier, which makes the later upgrades more expensive. Disassembling spare weapons keeps the components coming.
The table shows what each tier step of The Headsman 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
As a shotgun, The Headsman uses the Body tree. Die! Die! Die! adds crit chance at low Stamina. It also improves fire rate and handling as Stamina drops. Like A Feather removes the shotgun movement penalty. Dread cuts enemy armor with ranged attacks. Spontaneous Obliteration and Close-Quarters Carnage add the chance to Obliterate weak enemies at close range. Rush Of Blood speeds up the reload after a dismemberment. Rip And Tear adds damage to a quick melee attack after a shotgun hit, which helps when an enemy rushes in.
For cyberware, Kiroshi Cockatrice Optics raise crit chance. The Tyrosine Injector adds headshot damage after a takedown. Visual Cortex Support adds crit chance the farther V is from the target. It helps a shotgun that can hit at range. The Militech Apogee Sandevistan adds headshot damage, crit chance and crit damage while time is slowed.
Select a Build
Dashes close the gap so the shotgun can blast enemies at point-blank range. A quick melee hit after a shot boosts the next one through Rip and Tear. The shotgun and LMG perks grow stronger at low Stamina, so the build keeps shooting and dashing without a pause.
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 |
| Dorph-Head | 
|
Body 4 | Brief full Mitigation after using a Health item |
| Speed Junkie | 
|
Body 4 | Faster Health regeneration while sprinting |
| Die! Die! Die! | 
|
Body 9 | Higher crit chance and fire rate at low Stamina |
| Bullet Ballet | 
|
Body 9 | Less bullet spread while moving |
| Like A Feather | 
|
Body 9 | No speed penalty with Shotguns and machine guns |
| Don't Stop Me Now | 
|
Body 9 | Mitigation at low Stamina |
| Adrenaline Rush | 
|
Body 15 | More Health and the Adrenaline Rush mode |
| Juggernaut | 
|
Body 15 | More speed and damage during Adrenaline Rush |
| Unstoppable Force | 
|
Body 15 | Immunity to knockdown and other status effects during Adrenaline Rush |
| Calm Mind | 
|
Body 15 | Adrenaline lasts longer before it decays |
| Spontaneous Obliteration | 
|
Body 15 | Chance to instantly kill enemies at low Health |
| Close-Quarters Carnage | 
|
Body 15 | Higher Obliterate chance at close range |
| Skullcracker | 
|
Body 15 | Quick melee hits harder at low Stamina |
| Dread | 
|
Body 15 | Ranged attacks strip enemy armor |
| Rush Of Blood | 
|
Body 15 | Faster reload after a dismemberment |
| Bloodlust | 
|
Body 15 | Dismemberments refill Adrenaline |
| Rip And Tear | 
|
Body 20 | Shotgun shots and quick melee attacks boost each other |
| Onslaught | 
|
Body 20 | Light Machine Gun kills refill ammo |
| Pain To Gain | 
|
Body 20 | Kills recharge Health items during Adrenaline Rush |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Unlocks the Dash and makes it cheaper |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| Tailwind | 
|
Reflexes 20 | Stamina back from Air Dashes and double jumps |
| 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 |
| Ambidextrous | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | A second Hands cyberware slot |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| ThreatEvac | 
|
Circulatory System | Faster movement at low Health |
| Mechatronic Core | 
|
Frontal Cortex | More damage against drones, robots and mechs |
| Self-ICE | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Blocks an enemy quickhack |
| Microgenerator | 
|
Hands | Reloading an empty gun charges an electroshock shot |
| Painducer | 
|
Integumentary System | Turns part of damage taken into damage over time |
| Reinforced Tendons | 
|
Legs | Double jump |
| NeoFiber | 
|
Nervous System | More Mitigation Chance and Strength |
| Militech Apogee Sandevistan | Operating System | Slows time by 85% with crit bonuses | |
| Epimorphic Skeleton | 
|
Skeleton | More max Health |
| Spring Joints | 
|
Skeleton | Stronger Mitigation |
Lore
The base gun is the Constitutional Arms M2038 Tactician, a Power shotgun. The Headsman keeps the Tactician's frame but swaps its pellets for a single round. Its in-game text promises ridiculous accuracy for its range, thanks to that slug and its unique scope. The description plays on the name. It calls The Headsman the go-to choice for when V has lost track of the enemies.
The spec waits at Impala Automatics, a compound in North Oak. The site is one of the NCPD scanner hustles marked as a Suspected Organized Crime Activity. Among the defenders is a Militech Minotaur mech, and the spec drops from that machine.
Notes
- Bloody Maria is the other Iconic built on the M2038 Tactician.
Weapon Categories
All Shotguns
Every shotgun is listed below. The Iconic weapons come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic Shotguns
| Name | Image | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabai | 
|
+85% | 25% | Dogtown |
| Amstaff | 
|
+150% | 25% | |
| Ba Xing Chong | 
|
Northside | ||
| Bloody Maria | 
|
+85% | 25% | Little China |
| Dezerter | 
|
+85% | 75% | Dogtown |
| Guts | 
|
+85% | 75% | Corpo Plaza |
| Mox | 
|
+85% | 25% | Kabuki |
| Order | 
|
+50% | 100% | Dogtown |
| Pozhar x-MOD2 | 
|
+85% | 25% | Dogtown |
| Sovereign | 
|
+85% | 75% | Japantown |
| The Headsman | 
|
25% | North Oak |
Standard Shotguns
| Name | Image | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnage | 
|
+85% | 50% | Downtown |
| Crusher | 
|
+135% | ||
| DB-2 Satara | 
|
+85% | 50% | |
| DB-2 Testera | 
|
+85% | 50% | |
| DB-4 Igla | 
|
+85% | 25% | Northside |
| DB-4 Palica | 
|
+35% | ||
| L-69 Zhuo | 
|
+35% | 25% | |
| M2038 Tactician | 
|
+85% | 25% | |
| VST-37 Pozhar | 
|
+85% | 25% |