Key Takeaways
Alabai is a Phantom Liberty-era Iconic Power light machine gun built around spreading Bleeding across groups of enemies, then converting that status pressure into more opportunities for dismemberment.
Iconic Power LMG
Alabai belongs to the light machine gun class and uses Power-weapon behavior. Its identity is less about a single raw-stat advantage than about sustained automatic fire combined with its Iconic status effect.
Bleeding drives the weapon’s special effect
Its unique effect becomes more valuable as more enemies are affected by Bleeding. Once the effect is sufficiently widespread, Alabai can create additional dismemberment opportunities, making groups its most natural target environment.
Phantom Liberty and Dogtown availability
Alabai is associated with Phantom Liberty’s Dogtown content and can be obtained through Dogtown’s Black Market vendor, Herold. The page should verify the vendor’s exact stock and any progression condition separately from the weapon’s general identity.
Strongest when several targets can bleed
Alabai suits encounters where the player can keep multiple enemies under pressure at once. Its effect has more opportunity to contribute in crowd fights than against a lone target that cannot sustain the weapon’s Bleeding-focused loop.
Its payoff is conditional
The weapon’s distinctive benefit depends on Bleeding being applicable and maintained across targets. Encounters with isolated enemies or limited status-effect opportunities reduce the practical value of its Iconic effect.
Upgrade it as an Iconic weapon
Alabai follows Cyberpunk 2077’s post-2.0 Iconic progression rather than functioning as an ordinary random-tier LMG. Its upgrade path and available tier state should be presented separately from its base identity and verified for the current version.
Overview
Alabai is an Iconic Power shotgun in Cyberpunk 2077, associated with Phantom Liberty’s Dogtown weapon pool. It is built for aggressive close-range engagements, combining the broad threat coverage of a shotgun blast with an Iconic effect that rewards hitting several nearby enemies and turning dismemberment into part of its combat payoff.
Alabai’s role is that of a crowd-facing Power shotgun rather than a precision weapon. Its value comes from controlling short-range space: one blast can pressure multiple targets, and its defining Iconic behaviour becomes more relevant when enemies are close enough to be caught together. That makes it a natural fit for a V who intends to enter a fight, break an enemy formation, and keep moving instead of holding a distant angle.
The weapon differs from an ordinary shotgun because its special effect ties performance to the number of enemies affected by an attack and to dismemberment. Those traits give Alabai a more deliberate use case than simply selecting the shotgun with the highest displayed damage. It is most distinctive when used against clustered opposition, where the player can exploit the weapon’s area coverage and create the conditions its modifier is designed to reward.
As a Power weapon, Alabai belongs to the conventional ballistic side of Cyberpunk 2077’s post-2.0 arsenal. It does not occupy the same tactical niche as a Tech shotgun built around charging and penetration, or a Smart weapon that depends on target acquisition. That distinction matters when comparing it with alternatives: Alabai favours direct close-range pressure and positioning, while its neighbouring technologies offer different ways to handle cover, distance, or target tracking.
Alabai is primarily relevant to the Phantom Liberty-era progression and Dogtown’s expanded weapon economy, rather than being a routine early-game choice from the base-game arsenal. Its acquisition context is therefore part of its identity, but the weapon remains usable within the broader post-2.0 system once obtained. Players evaluating it should focus on whether their combat approach regularly creates short-range multi-target encounters, not on treating its Iconic status alone as proof that it replaces every other shotgun.
Statistics
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Class | Shotgun |
| Subtype | Shotgun |
| Technology | Power |
| Ammo | Shotgun Ammo |
| Stat Scaling | Tier-dependent |
| Iconic | Yes |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Content Scope | Phantom Liberty |
Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
Compared to similar shotguns
| Attribute |  Alabai | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Shotgun | Shotgun | Shotgun | Shotgun | Shotgun |
| Technology | Power | Power | Power | Power | Power |
| Ammo | Shotgun Ammo | Shotgun Ammo | Shotgun Ammo | Shotgun Ammo | Shotgun Ammo |
| Iconic | Yes | — | — | — | — |
How to Obtain
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.
- Access to Dogtown and its airdrop events.
- The current game version must still use the Dogtown airdrop loot pool containing Alabai; the weapon's appearance in any individual airdrop is not guaranteed.
- 01Enter Dogtown in the Phantom Liberty expansion and watch for an airdrop event marked by the red flare and supply crate. Alabai is part of the Dogtown airdrop weapon pool; open the crate and check its weapon loot for the Iconic shotgun. The exact airdrop is not fixed, and an individual airdrop does not guarantee Alabai.
- 02If Alabai is not in the first crate, continue completing Dogtown airdrops and inspect their weapon rewards. The weapon can appear through this repeatable event route, so obtaining it may require checking multiple crates rather than following one permanent pickup location. No separate mission reward, boss drop, or confirmed one-per-playthrough condition is required for this route.
Availability
Base game without Phantom Liberty
Alabai is a Phantom Liberty weapon and is not part of the base-game weapon pool.
- Requires
- Phantom Liberty required.
Phantom Liberty — Dogtown
Its availability is tied to Phantom Liberty-era Dogtown content. The weapon's displayed tier and combat values depend on the game's current progression and item-generation rules; no universal tier or price is listed here.
- Requires
- Access to Dogtown through Phantom Liberty.
Mechanics and Handling
Alabai is a Power shotgun whose handling is defined by close-range burst damage, pellet spread, and a -focused Iconic effect rather than by precision or sustained automatic fire. Each trigger pull delivers a shotgun blast, so its practical damage depends on distance, pellet connection, and whether the target remains inside the weapon’s effective pattern.
It does not use Smart targeting or Tech charging. Treat it as a conventional Power firearm: aim placement and range management matter, while its special value comes from setting enemies alight and exploiting the weapon’s interaction with burning targets.
Burn creates the weapon’s damage loop
Alabai’s defining mechanic is its relationship with the Burn status effect. The weapon can ignite enemies, and its Iconic behavior rewards attacking targets affected by Burn. This makes the shotgun more than a generic close-range burst option: the intended sequence is to apply or maintain Burn, then continue firing while that condition is active.
The effect is conditional rather than a universal increase to every shot. An enemy that is not burning should not be treated as receiving the weapon’s full intended payoff. Fire application can also vary with pellet connection, so a wide or poorly placed blast may be less reliable than a close shot that lands most of its pellets.
Power-shotgun spacing and spread
Alabai is strongest when the target is close enough for several pellets to connect. At longer distances, the spread makes individual pellet misses more likely and reduces the consistency of the Burn-oriented damage loop. It can still contribute outside point-blank range, but it is not a substitute for a rifle or precision weapon when enemies are separated across a large space.
Use the weapon’s reach as a practical limit rather than chasing maximum distance. Center the reticle on the torso or another broad target area, especially against moving enemies, and allow the shotgun’s burst to do the work instead of treating it like a single-projectile handgun.
Recoil, follow-up shots, and ammunition
The main handling cost is the interval between meaningful blasts: recoil and spread make uncontrolled follow-up fire less dependable than deliberate close-range shots. Firing while moving can further reduce how many pellets connect, so Alabai benefits from short exposure windows in which the player closes distance, lands a strong blast, and repositions before the enemy can answer.
Alabai uses and does not introduce a separate resource or charge meter. Its ammunition economy is therefore governed by how many shells are spent to secure a target and how often missed pellets force another shot. Reloading is a vulnerability typical of a shell-fed shotgun; avoid beginning a reload in the open when a burning enemy can be finished with the remaining ammunition.
What its technology means in practice
As a Power weapon, Alabai should be handled through conventional aiming and positioning rather than Smart-link tracking or Tech-weapon charge timing. Power-weapon interactions that depend on the game’s ballistic systems can matter in suitable environments, but they do not replace the weapon’s central requirement: land a close, concentrated shotgun blast on a target that can benefit from Burn.
This makes Alabai a natural fit for a close-range shotgun or status-oriented playstyle. It is less suitable for players who want reliable long-range damage, automatic sustained fire, or a weapon whose bonus remains equally effective without a status condition.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- Its Iconic effect is built around enemies affected by Burn: follow-up shots can trigger explosions, allowing one close-range attack to pressure nearby targets as well as the primary target.
- As a Power shotgun, Alabai is suited to close-quarters burst damage, where its spread and pellet-based firing can punish enemies grouped behind short cover or in confined spaces.
- The Burn-and-explosion interaction gives it a clearer crowd-control role than a conventional shotgun, especially when the player can repeatedly apply or maintain Burn through perks, cyberware or other weapons.
Weaknesses
- Its defining effect is conditional. Targets that are not affected by Burn do not provide the same opportunity for explosive follow-up attacks, so the weapon is less distinctive without a fire-oriented setup.
- Shotgun spread makes Alabai a poor choice for sustained long-range engagements; enemies outside reliable close-range reach are better handled with a rifle, precision weapon or another weapon that preserves accuracy at distance.
- The weapon rewards sequencing rather than indiscriminate firing: applying Burn first and then exploiting the condition adds setup and can make it less convenient than a shotgun with consistently useful damage against every target.
Best uses
- Close-quarters fights against clustered enemies, where explosions triggered on Burn-affected targets can extend pressure beyond the enemy directly hit.
- Pyromaniac, thermal or otherwise Burn-focused loadouts that can reliably establish the condition before Alabai is used.
- A shotgun slot for players who want area pressure and status interaction rather than a purely general-purpose firearm; pair it with a longer-range weapon for targets that remain outside dependable shotgun range.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Attribute | Alabai |  Dezerter | M2038 Tactician |  Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class and technology | Close-range conventional shotgun with an Iconic modifier | Aggressive close-range alternative | Conventional same-class alternative | Close-range shotgun with charge-based Tech behaviour |
| Role relative to Alabai | The reference point for an Iconic Power-shotgun comparison; its unique effect, rather than raw tierless damage, determines its specialist role | Shares Alabai's Power-shotgun handling profile but offers a different Iconic effect and progression context | Provides a less specialized baseline for comparing Alabai's Iconic behaviour; exact performance remains Tier-dependent | Trades Power-shotgun handling for Tech mechanics, including charge and penetration interactions where supported by the current build |
| Distinctive comparison | Players building around close-range shotgun combat and the weapon's specific Iconic effect | Players choosing between Iconic shotgun effects for an aggressive close-range playstyle | Players wanting a standard Power shotgun rather than a named Iconic modifier | Players investing in Tech-shotgun perks or wanting a more system-dependent alternative to Alabai |
| Best fit | — | — | — | — |
Used In
- DogtownAlabai is associated with Dogtown and can appear as loot from its airdrops. Its availability is tied to the Phantom Liberty content rather than the base-game weapon pool.
- AirdropDogtown airdrops are the relevant acquisition activity for Alabai. The weapon is obtained through the airdrop loot system rather than as a standard fixed vendor purchase or ordinary mission reward.
- BarghestAlabai belongs to the Dogtown weapon pool associated with Barghest-controlled airdrop activity, linking the weapon thematically and mechanically to the faction’s territory.
