Ripperdocs are Cyberpunk 2077’s version of a cosmetic surgeon, but instead of only amping up someone’s physical appearance, they provide them literal superpowers. Ripperdocs are very helpful in Night City, especially those who engage in dangerous activities, which is rampant already to begin with.

Cyberpunk 2077, while mixed in terms of fan reception, does have a lot of cyberware upgrades provided by Ripperdocs that make the game more fun for its players. Some cyberware upgrades are better than others, of course, in terms of power, usefulness in combat and traversal, and increasing V’s survivability. There are plenty of Ripperdocs all around and outside Night City, and the following upgrades are some of the best that players can make use of in the game.

27 Mantis Blades

  • Effect:
  • Allows V to attack with melee weapons, leaping toward targets and dealing massive damage.
  • Location:
  • Downtown, City Center or Heywood, Wellsprings (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 100,350 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • None (All)

The Mantis Blades are an Arms Cyberware that installs lethal blades on V’s arm. They’re designed with concealment in mind, making it useful for those who prefer a stealthy approach. It will also allow the players to unlock the ability to leap toward an enemy for massive damage.

The Mantis Blades Cyberware can be found at several locations and earned for free by completing certain missions. One is dropped at a footlocker during a Cyberpsycho Sighting mission called Phantom of Night City. Another can be found while undergoing an Assault in Progress located near Epistrophy: Wellsprings. It can also be picked up during an Assault in Progress at Heywood.

26 Camillo RAM Manager

  • Effect:
  • Instantly restores 30% of RAM when it drops to 2 units (4-minute cooldown)
  • Location:
  • West Wind Estate in Pacifica (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 14,000 (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 16 Intelligence (Legendary)

The Camillo RAM Manager Ripperdoc upgrade is a Frontal Cortex Cyberware. The epic variation found in Cassius Ryder’s shop on the Northside will instantly restore 20% of the player’s RAM when it drops to two units. The legendary variation will restore 30%.

25 Shock-N-Awe

  • Effect:
  • Getting hit has a 10% chance of dealing 20% max health damage to enemies around V
  • Location:
  • Downtown, City Center (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 7000 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 15 Cool (Legendary)

The Shock-N-Awe Ripperdoc upgrade is an Immune System Cyberware. Upon getting hit, this cyberware will provide a 10% chance of releasing an electroshock blast that deals damage to nearby enemies. The damage will be equal to 20% of an enemy’s max health.

It may be an affordable piece of tech, but it is one of the most useful cyberware upgrades in the game, considering how often V will get hit by incoming gunshots and melee attacks.

24 Militech ‘Falcon’ Sandevistan

  • Effect:
  • Activate to enter Sandevistan mode for 18 seconds. Sandevistan slows time by 30%, increases damage dealt by 15%, increases Crit Chance and Crit Damage by 20% (1-minute cooldown)
  • Location:
  • Wellsprings, Heywood (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 43,750 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 20 Reflexes (Legendary)

The Militech “Falcon” Sandevistan is an Operating System Cyberware. It is considered to be Militech’s best and most advanced model. Militech elite soldiers exclusively used previous Sandevistan operating systems, but now they’ve been made available as cyberware to the average consumer.

This operating system will slow time by 30% for 18 seconds. On top of that, it will also increase any damage dealt by 15% and increase crit chance by 20%.

23 Biodyne Berserk MK 4

  • Effect:
  • Hold to activate Berserk for 30 seconds, significantly boosting V’s strength and resilience and reducing weapon recoil by 25%, and weapon sway by 25%; also increases melee damage by 5%, ranged attacks by 20%, and armor and resistances by 5% (1-minute cooldown). Defeating enemies restores 4% max health when Berserk is active
  • Location:
  • Japantown, Westbrook (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 35,000 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 16 Body (Legendary)

The Biodyne Berserk MK 4 Operating System cyberware is the brand’s newest version of Berserk implants. These implants are notable for their improved ranged combat and defense algorithms, making them popular among soldiers and mercenaries alike. It reduces weapon recoil by 25%, increases melee damage by 5%, and armor and resistance by 5%.

22 Smart Link

  • Effects:
  • Enables the use of smart weapons, increases chance for bullets to hit targets by 15%, increases crit damage by 25%
  • Location:
  • Little China, Watson (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 16,800 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • None

It must be noted that players can’t even use smart weapons without the Smart Link. Some weapons are actually magical, but smart weapons work just as well. Even if players don’t intend to use the Smart Link, the increased critical hit damage and bullet accuracy make this a core upgrade in any build.

21 Titanium Bones

  • Effects:
  • Increases carrying capacity by 60%
  • Location:
  • Wellsprings, Heywood (Rare)
  • Price:
  • 2,000 Eddies (Rare)
  • Requirements:
  • 13 Body

There aren’t enough eddies in all of Night City to buy everything. If players want to save up for a modded flying car, they’ll need to carry the loot away from their instances and sell it. This weight limit is very low, give it a boost with Titanium Bones.

20 Heat Converter

  • Effects:
  • When affected by Burn, instead of receiving damage from it, V deals 10% more damage
  • Location:
  • Little China, Watson (Epic)
  • Price:
  • 16,000 Eddies (Epic)
  • Requirements:
  • 14 Cool

Immunity alone would be an extremely useful effect, but the Heat Converter goes one step further. It converts all that burn damage into regular damage. For a wacky and effective build, set V on fire before every fight and get a damage upgrade for the skirmish.

19 Optical Camo

  • Effects:
  • Grants invisibility for 45 seconds (1-minute cooldown)
  • Location:
  • West Wind Estate, Pacifica (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 28,000 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • None

As great as weapon mods can get, it’s tough for any of them to top straight-up invisibility. This piece of cyberware was in early versions of the game, seemed to disappear, and has now come back. Cloaking is as overpowered as it sounds and probably shouldn’t be used by gamers who want a challenge.

18 Reflex Tuner

  • Effects:
  • Slows time by 80% for 4 seconds when V’s health drops to 25% (40-second cooldown)
  • Location:
  • Japantown, Westbrook (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 14,000 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 18 Reflexes

Anybody who needs something to do after getting bored with the game should try a build that slows time. This will happen automatically when V hits 25% health or less, allowing the player to eliminate any threats before time reverts back to its normal flow.

17 Synaptic Accelerator

  • Effects:
  • Slows time by 50% for 4 seconds when V is detected
  • Location:
  • Japantown, Westbrook (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 28,000 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 20 Reflexes

While the community is aiming to make the whole game more like Deus Ex, perhaps the easiest way to get the slo-mo effect is to purchase the Synaptic Accelerator. When V gets detected, time slows down, usually giving the player the first shot in any given combat situation.

16 Pain Editor

  • Effects:
  • Reduces all incoming damage by 10%
  • Location:
  • Japantown, Westbrook (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 22,400 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 16 Cool

Not every build can afford to stack armor and damage reduction, but the Pain Editor fits right into most builds by taking a clean 10% cut of the damage and just getting rid of it. Unless fans are trying to make the game harder on themselves, installing this is a smart move.

15 Cataresist

  • Effects:
  • Increases all resistances by 35%
  • Location:
  • Japantown, Westbrook (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 11,200 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 15 Cool

The fixers in the game have terrifying lives than have often left them scarred, both literally and figuratively. V doesn’t need to have their terrible lives. Avoid taking damage from extra sources by reducing element damage with the Cataresist.

14 Blood Pump

  • Effects:
  • Activate to restore 90% of max health (3-minute cooldown)
  • Location:
  • Aldecaldos, Rocky Ridge (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 28,000 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 16 Body

Several entries on this list will prevent death passively. For various reasons, this can be inconvenient; maybe it’s a cooldown players want to save or an effect that occurs at an inopportune moment. Hop on a motorcycle, the only vehicle worth using, and head toward the desert to buy to Blood Pump from the Ripperdoc there. This player-controlled death prevention is the solution to these problems.

13 Limbic Enhancement System

  • Effects:
  • Increases crit chance by 25%
  • Location:
  • Japantown, Westbrook (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 16,800 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 15 Intelligence

While the game has many redeeming qualities, very few experiences within it are as satisfying as witnessing a massive critical hit pop up on screen. Amplify the number of times this effect occurs with the Limbic Enhancement System.

12 Kiroshi Optics MK.3

  • Effects:
  • Enhances V’s vision, has three mod slots
  • Location:
  • Viktor’s Clinic (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 5,000 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • None

Kiroshi Optics are the first piece of cyberware that V gets installed at the beginning of the game. Still, not many players are aware that better options become available as the game goes on. The Kiroshi Optics MK.3 are particularly amazing, and are the best version of the optics so far in the game.

These optics not only make V see better while scanning, but they also come up with three additional mod slots. The amount of customization helps to make this cyberware even more powerful.

11 Subdermal Armor

  • Effect:
  • Increases armor by 200
  • Location:
  • Dr. Chrome, Kabuki Market (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 14,000 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • None

One of the biggest gripes people have about Cyberpunk 2077 is the fact that V needs to sometimes wear silly clothing options simply due to its powerful armor rating. In the end, the game becomes a choice between looking good, or looking bad but actually surviving in combat.

Luckily, there’s a solution to this. The Subdermal Armor cyberware is ideal for bumping up V’s armorsignificantly, without having to look like a clown on the streets of Night City. Its Legendary version gives the wearer a whopping 200 armor points.

10 Visual Cortex Support

  • Effects:
  • Increases crit damage by 45%
  • Location:
  • West Wind Estate, Pacifica (Legendary)
  • Price:
  • 21,000 Eddies (Legendary)
  • Requirements:
  • 16 Intelligence (Legendary)

If V’s build relies on Crit Damage, it’s best to invest in powerful cyberware that further enhances that aspect. A great option is the Visual Cortex Support, which comes in four different types and is a generally pretty common cyberware to find. However, its Legendary version is what players should really go for.

The Legendary version ups V’s Crit Damage by 45%, nearly doubling it. Pair this with a stealth build relying on stealth Crit Damage and V becomes unstoppable.

9 Reinforced Tendons

  • Effect:
  • Enables double jumping
  • Location:
  • Viktor’s Clinic, Finger’s Shop or Cassius Ryder’s Shop (Rare)
  • Price:
  • 45,000 Eddies (Rare)
  • Requirements:
  • None

Mobility is highly underrated among Cyberpunk 2077 players. It’s good to remember that Night City is, above all, a map built with a ton of verticality. Players miss out on so many things if V just stays on the street level of the city.

That’s why the Reinforced Tendons cyberware upgrade is an absolute must-have regardless of V’s build. The added mobility is not just fun to exploit in combat, but it also works well when exploring the city’s secret locations.

8 Netwatch Netdriver MK.5

  • Effects:
  • 11 Base RAM, 8 Buffer Size, 6 Slots, allows V to perform quickhacks on targets and devices while scanning, offensive quickhacks can be uploaded to 3 targets within a 6-meter radius, increases damage dealt by quickhacks by 30%, increases cyberdeck RAM recovery rate by 9 units per minute, increases quickhack spread distance by 60%
  • Location:
  • Heywood, Wellsprings, near the shore area
  • Price:
  • 43,750
  • Requirements:
  • 49 Street Cred

For netrunner V’s, there’s no better cyberware upgrade than this beast of a cyberdeck. It only comes in its Legendary edition, with tons of bonuses.

These include great RAM recovery (9 RAM per minute), increased quick hack distance (60% further), and increased quick hack damage (30% damage boost) with a multiple target radius of 6 meter, as well as the ability to quick hack while still scanning.​​​​​​​