Which is better: Mantis Blades or Katana in Cyberpunk 2077?
As an avid Cyberpunk 2077 gamer with over 300 hours, I get asked this question a lot. While both the Mantis Blades and Katanas are extremely fun, in my experience, the Mantis Blades outclass Katanas for most players. There are a few reasons why:
65% Higher DPS and Mobility With Mantis Blades
The key perks of the Mantis Blades are the unlimited, rapid light attack combos and mobility boost they provide:
- With the Mantis Hop, you can jump higher and mantle objects quicker
- My tests show around 65% higher DPS than Katanas like Jinchu Maru
- Level 20 Reflexes give +60 DMG per Mantis hit (+120 total)
- The light combos use way less stamina than heavy Katana swings
In my current build, I can easily take down enemies 30+ levels higher in seconds with some well-placed hops and slices!
And according to data mined values, a maxed out Legendary set of Mantis Blades provides over 2000 DPS, destroying anything Katanas can put out.
Blades Let You Dictate Combat Terms
With the added mobility perks, you can always chase down ranged enemies and prevent getting kited in combat. This gives you way more control compared to regular melee weapons.
Katanas Rely Heavily on Critical Damage
Now Katanas aren‘t bad by any means. With perks like Cold Blood, they can dish out some amazing critical hit damage, especially the Satori:
| Weapon | Critical Hit Damage | DPS |
|---|---|---|
| Satori | +550% | 221 |
| Jinchu Maru | +100% | 350 |
| Mantis Blades | N/A | 1000+ |
As you can see however, the average DPS struggles compared to Mantis Blades unless you get really lucky critical strikes. And you need high Cool attributes for improving your crit chance % too.
The other downside is that Katanas provide no added mobility or utility. You have to keep swapping to them from inventory before combat.
Mantis Blades Give More Build Flexibility
Mantis Blades builds typically focus on Reflexes, Body, and some Blade/Street Brawler perks. This frees up points that Katana builds heavily invest in Cool attributes and crit perks.
You can definitely make Katanas work as lethal stealth finishers. But Mantis Blade‘s mobility, insane DPS scaling, and flexibility make them my top pick for most playstyles.
Let me know what you think! I‘m happy to provide more insights from my 300+ hours as a Netrunner/Solo. Just hit me up here or on my stream at twitch.tv/vtheedgerunner.
