Key Takeaways
Buzzsaw is an Iconic Power SMG whose identity comes from combining automatic fire with a charged, wall-penetrating shot. Its value depends on whether the player can exploit cover, upgrade its tier, and manage the extra commitment imposed by charging.
Iconic Power SMG
Buzzsaw is an Iconic weapon in the Power SMG class, so its defining effect is part of the weapon rather than a detachable upgrade or ordinary vendor variation.
Charged penetration
Its signature mechanic is a charged shot that can penetrate cover. This gives Buzzsaw a way to pressure enemies behind walls instead of relying only on conventional automatic fire.
Acquisition is tied to an organized-crime activity
The weapon or its crafting route is associated with a Northside NCPD Scanner Hustle, making the activity's availability and completion the relevant acquisition condition rather than a standard shop purchase.
Strong against covered targets
Buzzsaw is most distinctive when enemies use cover or when a firing position allows the player to line up its penetrating shot. In open close-range fights, its special effect is less central.
Charging limits immediacy
The penetrating shot requires preparation, so Buzzsaw does not replace the faster response of ordinary automatic fire in every encounter. Its handling and firing rhythm matter as much as its raw damage output.
Upgrades preserve its role
As an Iconic weapon, Buzzsaw can follow Cyberpunk 2077's tier-based upgrade progression; higher-tier versions improve its combat profile without turning it into a different weapon class.
Compared with other Power SMGs
Buzzsaw offers a more specialized cover-penetration option than a conventional Power SMG, while remaining distinct from Tech weapons whose charge and penetration behavior comes from the broader Tech weapon system.
Overview
Buzzsaw is an Iconic Power submachine gun in Cyberpunk 2077, built around automatic fire and a charged, cover-piercing shot. It suits aggressive close-to-mid-range play while retaining a distinct answer to enemies protected by light cover.
Buzzsaw occupies the submachine-gun role but is more than a conventional spray weapon. Its defining Iconic effect adds a charged high-penetration round to the normal Power-weapon firing pattern, letting a fully charged shot pass through cover. That gives the weapon a situational precision option without changing its primary identity as a compact automatic firearm.
In ordinary encounters, Buzzsaw is most naturally used at close or medium distance, where sustained fire and its handling profile matter more than deliberate long-range marksmanship. The charged shot changes how targets behind cover are approached: instead of waiting for an opening or switching immediately to a different weapon, the user can prepare a penetrating attack when the situation allows. The mechanic rewards players who alternate between pressure and timing rather than holding the trigger continuously.
Its closest comparisons are other SMGs and Power firearms, but the distinction is functional rather than cosmetic. A standard SMG generally asks the player to solve range and cover through movement, positioning, or volume of fire. Buzzsaw adds a weapon-specific penetration tool, while remaining separate from Tech weapons' charge-and-penetration framework and Smart weapons' targeting behaviour. It therefore fits a Power-weapon loadout without being interchangeable with either technology class.
Buzzsaw is an Iconic weapon from the base Cyberpunk 2077 arsenal and does not require Phantom Liberty simply to define its identity. Under the post-2.0 weapon system, its effectiveness is tied to the current tier and available progression rather than to one universal damage profile. The page is consequently most useful when read as a guide to its firing behaviour and role: choose it for an automatic SMG that can also challenge enemies using cover, not merely for an assumed numerical advantage over every competing firearm.
Statistics
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Class | Submachine Gun |
| Subtype | Submachine Gun |
| Technology | Power |
| Ammo | Handgun Ammo |
| Stat Scaling | Tier-dependent |
| Iconic | Yes |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Content Scope | Base game / free update |
Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
Compared to similar submachine guns
| Attribute |  Buzzsaw | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Submachine Gun | Submachine Gun | Submachine Gun | Submachine Gun | Submachine Gun |
| Technology | Power | Power | Smart | Smart | Power |
| Ammo | Handgun Ammo | Handgun Ammo | Handgun Ammo | Handgun Ammo | Handgun Ammo |
| Iconic | Yes | — | — | — | — |
How to Obtain
- Access to Watson and the “Just Say No” NCPD Scanner Hustle; no separate DLC, New Game Plus, or vendor-stock requirement is associated with this route.
- The specification is tied to the activity’s leader encounter. Complete the activity and check the leader’s loot before leaving; no alternate recovery route is established here.
- 01Travel to Northside in Watson and complete the NCPD Scanner Hustle titled “Just Say No,” the organized-crime activity associated with the weapon’s acquisition route.
- 02Defeat Yelena Sidorova, the activity’s organized-crime leader, and loot the Buzzsaw crafting specification from her. Use that specification to craft the Iconic Buzzsaw; the weapon is not obtained by buying it from a vendor.
Availability
Cyberpunk 2077 base game — Story mode, post-2.0 weapon system
Phantom Liberty is not required. Buzzsaw is not ordinary rotating vendor stock; its availability is tied to its specific base-game Iconic acquisition route.
- Requires
- Base-game progression and completion of the encounter associated with Buzzsaw’s Iconic acquisition
Mechanics and Handling
Buzzsaw is handled as a close-to-mid-range Power SMG, but its defining behaviour is not simply its automatic fire. Its Iconic effect gives the weapon a chargeable shot with substantially better penetration than its ordinary rounds. That changes how it approaches protected targets: instead of waiting for an enemy to leave cover, the user can hold the trigger to prepare a shot intended to pass through intervening protection.
The charge mechanic is weapon-specific and should not be confused with the general behaviour of Tech weapons. Buzzsaw remains a Power firearm, while its special charged shot supplies the penetration-focused option. The weapon is therefore most distinctive when the encounter includes enemies behind cover or targets lined up along the same firing path. Its value comes from converting part of the normal automatic-fire pattern into a deliberate, higher-commitment shot rather than from a separate melee action or alternate inventory weapon.
Automatic fire and charge timing
Uncharged fire gives Buzzsaw its normal SMG role: keep the weapon on a nearby target and use sustained fire while managing the weapon's handling. Charging changes the timing of the attack. The player gives up the immediacy of an ordinary shot to prepare the special penetrating round, so the mechanic rewards anticipating an enemy's position rather than beginning the charge after the target has already moved into safety.
The charge is most useful when the target is protected or when a clear firing line passes through more than one enemy. Against an exposed opponent at very close range, ordinary automatic fire is generally the simpler response because the special shot's main advantage is penetration, not a universal replacement for the weapon's basic attack pattern.
Cover and target-line penetration
Buzzsaw's charged shot is designed to penetrate cover and can also pass through enemies along its path. This gives the weapon a different engagement pattern from an SMG that must rely on flanking or waiting for repeated openings. The effect is positional: the player needs a usable line between the muzzle and the protected target, and the shot does not remove the need to aim or account for movement.
The penetration effect should be treated as conditional to the charged attack. It does not mean that every round fired by Buzzsaw automatically ignores cover, and it should not be described as a general armor-penetration value for the whole weapon. The ordinary firing mode and the charged shot are mechanically distinct parts of the same weapon.
Recoil, ammunition, and sustained use
Buzzsaw uses the ammunition and reload loop of its SMG class. Its special shot is part of the weapon's firing behaviour rather than a separate resource-consuming ability, so the relevant management concern is the time spent charging and the ammunition spent on the resulting attack. Sustained automatic fire remains subject to the weapon's normal magazine and reload cycle; the charge mechanic does not replace that cycle or create an independent ammunition pool.
The practical trade-off is therefore between immediate volume of fire and a slower, more deliberate penetration attempt. Use automatic fire when an enemy is exposed and the fight is already inside the weapon's comfortable range. Use the charged shot when cover, a protected angle, or a line of enemies makes penetration more valuable than uninterrupted SMG fire. Exact charge timing, damage, fire rate, magazine size, and reload values require a stated game version and tier and are not specified here.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- The charged-shot mechanic gives the Buzzsaw a way to pressure enemies behind cover, rather than relying exclusively on exposed targets.
- As a Power SMG, it combines automatic fire with the Power weapon system's potential for bullet ricochets when the environment provides suitable surfaces.
- Its SMG format supports rapid close- to medium-range follow-up fire, making missed shots less punishing than with a slower single-shot weapon.
- It suits characters already investing in SMG and Power-weapon perks, allowing its automatic fire and charged rounds to serve different engagement conditions.
Weaknesses
- Charging a shot introduces a timing and exposure tradeoff: using the penetration effect is less immediate than simply firing the weapon's standard automatic shots.
- The Buzzsaw's SMG role makes it a less dependable choice for deliberate long-range engagements, where spread and target distance reduce the value of sustained fire.
- Cover penetration is situational. It is most useful when enemies are positioned behind suitable cover and does not remove the need to manage line of sight or positioning.
- Using the weapon only as a conventional automatic firearm leaves part of its distinctive utility unused; using only charged shots can reduce responsiveness during sudden close-range encounters.
Best uses
- Use it in urban or interior fights where enemies frequently break line of sight behind cover, switching to charged shots when penetration is more valuable than immediate volume of fire.
- Use standard automatic fire for close and medium-range pressure, then reserve the charged attack for protected, priority, or difficult-to-reach targets.
- Choose it for an SMG-focused Power-weapon loadout when you want one weapon to cover both fast automatic engagements and occasional cover-piercing attacks.
- Pair it with a separate long-range weapon if the build must handle open sightlines, since the Buzzsaw's strengths are concentrated in close-to-medium-range combat and cover-heavy encounters.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Attribute | Buzzsaw | Saratoga |  Fenrir |  Yinglong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class / technology | Can charge shots for increased penetration, allowing charged fire to pass through cover and targets. | The conventional Power-SMG baseline for comparison; it does not provide Buzzsaw’s distinctive charged penetrating-shot behavior. | A close-range Power SMG whose unique behavior is centered on incendiary ammunition and status application rather than charged penetration. | Smart targeting and an EMP-oriented effect give it a different engagement pattern from Buzzsaw’s manually aimed Power fire. |
| Defining behavior | Choose for a Power-SMG setup that can exploit cover penetration while retaining automatic close- to mid-range fire. | Choose for a more straightforward automatic Power-SMG role when the Iconic effect is not required. | Choose when sustained close-range pressure and burn application matter more than shooting through cover. | Choose for a Smart Weapons build with compatible targeting cyberware and a preference for guided fire over cover-penetrating shots. |
| When to choose | — | — | — | — |
Used In
- Suspected Organized Crime Activity: Just Say NoCompleting this NCPD Scanner Hustle and looting the relevant enemy provides the crafting specification for Buzzsaw.
- Denzel CryerDenzel Cryer is the named enemy associated with Buzzsaw's crafting specification during Just Say No.
- NorthsideThe Just Say No activity takes place in Northside, where the Buzzsaw crafting specification can be recovered.
