Thermal Mantis Blades
| Thermal Mantis Blades | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Arms |
| Tier | Tier 2 |
| Attribute | Body |
| Capacity | 8 |
Thermal Mantis Blades are arm blades that set enemies on fire. Every slash deals Thermal damage and can apply Burn, which keeps hurting the target after the hit. The blades also let V leap across the room at an enemy for a heavy opening strike. They suit an aggressive melee build that closes the gap fast and cuts through one target at a time. Unlike the standard Mantis Blades, this variant draws extra damage from Body. Thermal Mantis Blades are an early game implant that every ripperdoc in Night City and Dogtown sells from level 10.
Effect
Thermal Mantis Blades work as a melee weapon. Every slash deals Thermal damage. Each hit also has a chance to apply Burn. The chance is 10% at Tier 2 and rises to 20% at Tier 5.
Burn is a status effect that deals Thermal damage over a short time. A burning enemy keeps losing Health while V turns to the next target. The blades swing quickly, so a combo gives many chances to set an enemy alight.
The leap is the blades' signature move. Holding and then releasing the Melee Attack button makes V leap at a target and strike for massive damage. The leap closes the distance to enemies with guns in a moment.
Mantis Blades are Blade weapons. Reflexes perks for Blades therefore work with them.
Thermal Mantis Blades are attuned to Body. Each point of Body adds 0.5% damage with the blades. At 20 Body, that is 10% more damage on every slash. Their stat bonuses add Explosion Damage and, from Tier 2, Grenade Recharge Speed.
The Arms slot holds only one implant. Thermal Mantis Blades take the place of Gorilla Arms, the Monowire or the Projectile Launch System.
How to Get Thermal Mantis Blades Guide
- Reach level 10.
- Visit any ripperdoc clinic in Night City or Dogtown and open the Arms slot.
- Buy and install Thermal Mantis Blades.
Thermal Mantis Blades Map Location
The map shows Viktor Vektor's clinic in Little China, one of the ripperdocs that sell them.
Thermal Mantis Blades map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Upgrades
Ripperdocs sell Thermal Mantis Blades at Tier 2 from level 10, Tier 3 from level 20, Tier 4 from level 30 and Tier 5 from level 40. An installed copy can be raised a tier at a ripperdoc with the matching item components. Each tier raises the damage and the Burn chance. The Driver Update perk adds one more stat bonus. The Chipware Connoisseur perk offers a choice of bonuses when V upgrades the implant. V gains Cyberware Capacity with each level and from Cyberware Capacity Shards. The Edgerunner perk lets V go over the limit at the cost of some max Health.
The table shows what each tier step of Thermal Mantis Blades costs at a ripperdoc.
| Upgrade | Components | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 to Tier 2+ | 75 Tier 2 components | - |
| Tier 2+ to Tier 3 | 37 Tier 3 components | - |
| Tier 3 to Tier 3+ | 75 Tier 3 components | - |
| Tier 3+ to Tier 4 | 37 Tier 4 components | - |
| Tier 4 to Tier 4+ | 75 Tier 4 components | - |
| Tier 4+ to Tier 5 | 37 Tier 5 components | - |
| Tier 5 to Tier 5+ | 75 Tier 5 components | - |
| Tier 5+ to Tier 5++ | 200 Tier 5 components | Phantom Liberty |
Character Builds
Thermal Mantis Blades use Blade perks from the Reflexes tree. Lead And Steel lowers the Stamina cost of Blade attacks and lets blades block bullets. Flash And Thunderclap makes strong attacks leap at enemies in range, with extra damage for a longer leap. Finisher: Bladerunner unlocks a Blade Finisher that restores Health. Flash Of Steel adds movement speed and attack speed after a Finisher. Slaughterhouse makes every attack apply Bleeding, which raises dismemberment chance.
Body points add raw damage to this variant. A build can split points between Reflexes for the Blade perks and Body for the damage and the extra Health. The Stabber implant adds crit chance with Blades.
With Phantom Liberty, Relic perks improve Mantis Blades. Jailbreak charges the next Leap Attack after a dismemberment or a Finisher. A charged leap reaches much farther and hits the target and nearby enemies with a wide slash. Spatial Mapping makes every Leap Attack cripple enemies and raise their dismemberment chance for a short time.
Select a Build
A close range build that runs a Sandevistan with Thermal Mantis Blades and a katana. The Pozhar X-Mod2 shotgun is aimed at the knees or the ground to drop enemies quickly, and the Agaou axe is thrown between strikes. Against MaxTac the heavy katana attack keeps finishers coming while the Sandevistan is active.
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 | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biomonitor | 
|
Circulatory System | Uses a Health item when Health runs low |
| Behavioral Imprint-Synced Faceplate | 
|
Face | A disguise that escapes the police |
| Axolotl | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Kills cut all cyberware cooldowns |
| Tattoo: Tyger Claws Dermal Imprint | 
|
Hands | A Hands tattoo |
| Reinforced Tendons | 
|
Legs | Double jump |
| Reflex Tuner | 
|
Nervous System | Slows time at low Health |
| Militech Apogee Sandevistan | Operating System | Slows time and adds crit chance while active | |
| Dense Marrow | 
|
Skeleton | More melee damage |
Lore
Arasaka manufactures the Mantis Blades. Their in-game line describes arm blades designed with lethality and concealment in mind, as effective as they are flashy. The effect text promises swift, deadly slashes that slice and dice enemies. The Thermal variant is the fire variant of the same design. The other variants are the standard Mantis Blades, the Electrifying Mantis Blades and the Toxic Mantis Blades.
Notes
- Installing Thermal Mantis Blades replaces any other Arms implant, such as Gorilla Arms or the Monowire.
Cyberware Categories
All Arms Cyberware
Every Arms implant is listed below. The Iconic ones come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic Arms Cyberware
| Name | Image | Attribute | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MaxTac Mantis Blades | 
|
Standard Arms Cyberware
| Name | Image | Attribute | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrifying Gorilla Arms | 
|
Technical Ability | 8 | |
| Electrifying Mantis Blades | 
|
Intelligence | 8 | Northside |
| Electrifying Monowire | 
|
Reflexes | 8 | |
| Electrifying Projectile Launch System | 
|
Cool | 8 | |
| Gorilla Arms | 
|
Body | 8 | |
| Mantis Blades | 
|
Reflexes | 8 | |
| Monowire | 
|
Intelligence | 8 | |
| Projectile Launch System | 
|
Technical Ability | 8 | |
| Thermal Gorilla Arms | 
|
Reflexes | 8 | |
| Thermal Mantis Blades | 
|
Body | 8 | |
| Thermal Monowire | 
|
Cool | 8 | |
| Thermal Projectile Launch System | 
|
Intelligence | 8 | |
| Toxic Gorilla Arms | 
|
Cool | 8 | |
| Toxic Mantis Blades | 
|
Cool | 8 | |
| Toxic Monowire | 
|
Technical Ability | 8 | |
| Toxic Projectile Launch System | 
|
Body | 8 |