Key Takeaways
Installed blade cyberware
Mantis Blades replace an ordinary weapon slot with retractable melee blades installed through a Ripperdoc. Their page should be read alongside their Cyberware Capacity cost and tier, rather than as a conventional inventory weapon.
Close-range attack loop
They focus on rapid blade attacks, stronger charged strikes, blocking and parrying, with a distinct leap-attack option when the relevant progression is unlocked. Their effectiveness depends on staying within melee range.
Capacity and progression gate
Availability is tied to Ripperdoc cyberware stock, character progression and the current tier system. Installing them also consumes Cyberware Capacity, so the opportunity cost matters alongside any Reflexes- or perk-based synergy.
Variants and Relic upgrades
Mantis Blades can be obtained in elemental variants that alter their damage or status behavior, while the Relic tree can add cyberware-specific attack options and improvements. These effects should be evaluated separately from the base arm cyberware.
Strength and limitation
Their main advantage is sustained close-range pressure with blade-specific perks and finisher support. Their limitation is equally direct: they provide no meaningful ranged solution and compete for capacity with other high-value cyberware.
Role comparison
Compared with Gorilla Arms, Mantis Blades serve a blade-focused melee role rather than a blunt-force one; Monowire offers a different reach and quickhack-oriented profile, while Projectile Launch System covers ranged explosive attacks.
Overview
Mantis Blades are a cyberware weapon in Cyberpunk 2077: retractable forearm blades that replace conventional melee attacks with fast, close-range slashes. They occupy an arm-cyberware role rather than an inventory weapon slot, and their tier and cyberware capacity cost matter alongside their combat performance.
Mantis Blades give a character a dedicated blade-focused melee option. Their defining behaviour is the deployment of blades from the forearms, allowing attacks at close range without equipping a conventional sword or knife. This makes them a natural fit for characters built around Blade perks and aggressive melee engagements, while keeping the weapon’s progression tied to cyberware availability and tier rather than ordinary weapon drops.
How to Obtain
- Sufficient eurodollars for the listed tier.
- Enough available Cyberware Capacity to install the selected Mantis Blades tier.
- Cyberware availability must meet the character-level or progression requirement displayed in the current Ripperdoc inventory.
- No Phantom Liberty or New Game Plus requirement applies to the standard Night City acquisition route.
- 01Visit a Ripperdoc in Night City and open the Arms cyberware category. Purchase Mantis Blades at the tier currently offered by that clinic, then install them in the Arms slot. The purchase is a guaranteed vendor acquisition when the cyberware is listed; Mantis Blades are not obtained as a mission reward or enemy drop.
- 02No specific mission, boss, region, or character is required for the standard acquisition route. The cyberware is not missable and is not limited to one purchase per playthrough. Availability and tier follow the post-2.0 cyberware progression shown by the vendor; check the clinic’s current inventory rather than relying on a fixed early-game unlock claim.
Availability
Base game — post-2.0 system
Phantom Liberty is not required. Exact availability can vary with progression and the Ripperdoc's current stock.
- Requires
- Purchase and installation through a Ripperdoc; the offered cyberware tier follows current character progression, and installation requires sufficient Cyberware Capacity.
Mechanics and Handling
Mantis Blades replace the normal melee weapon set with retractable arm-mounted blades. Their attacks are close-range and directional, so positioning matters more than a firearm-style aim point: the user must stay within striking distance and manage the target’s movement while the attack chain plays out.
The post-2.0 version uses the current melee stamina and finisher framework rather than the pre-2.0 cyberware rules. Avoid treating the blades as an inventory weapon: they do not use ammunition, have no magazine or reload cycle, and their combat resource considerations come from melee stamina, blocking, charged attacks, and cyberware progression. The exact damage and status output depends on the installed tier and selected variant.
Blade attacks, blocking, and finishers
Light attacks form the fast basic melee chain, while heavier attacks trade commitment for a stronger hit. Mantis Blades can block and parry like other blade-focused melee options; timing a block against an incoming attack can create an opening, while holding a defensive stance consumes stamina and limits offensive momentum. Their short reach makes missed swings costly against mobile or ranged enemies.
When an eligible enemy is sufficiently weakened, the standard melee finisher system can trigger. A finisher is a contextual execution rather than a separate ammunition-based ability, so it should not be treated as a guaranteed attack or a universal damage multiplier.
The leap attack
The blades’ defining mobility tool is their leap attack. With the relevant current ability available, the attack can be charged and released to launch V toward a targeted enemy, closing distance before the strike. This is useful for entering melee against separated targets and for converting vertical or open space into an attack route, but it is still a committed movement: a poor target or mistimed release can leave V exposed.
In Phantom Liberty, the Relic progression adds a dedicated Mantis Blades interaction that expands this leap behaviour. That Relic-dependent version should be kept distinct from the base cyberware’s ordinary blade attacks when describing the move or its upgrade path.
Elemental variants and handling limits
Mantis Blades can be installed in elemental variants, which change the associated damage or status behaviour. The variant should therefore be recorded with the cyberware state rather than presented as a universal property of every installation. Status application is conditional and should not be described as guaranteed on every hit.
Their strengths are sustained close-range pressure, defensive blade play, and rapid engagement through the leap. Their limitations are equally important: they require melee distance, expose V during committed attacks, and offer no ranged fallback by themselves. Perks and attributes that improve blades, melee stamina management, finishers, or the chosen elemental effect directly shape how reliably those strengths appear in combat.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- Built-in arm blades keep the weapon available without occupying a conventional weapon slot, making it useful when a loadout needs an always-accessible melee option.
- Rapid close-range attacks can maintain pressure on isolated targets, while the leap attack helps close a short gap and begin an encounter quickly.
- Blade-oriented Reflexes perks can improve the surrounding melee playstyle, so Mantis Blades fit builds already investing in blade attacks and melee mobility.
- Elemental variants provide a way to align the cyberware with a status-focused setup without changing its fundamental melee role.
Weaknesses
- Mantis Blades are restricted to melee range; enemies outside closing distance must be approached or handled with another weapon.
- Their effectiveness depends on reaching the target safely, which is more difficult against groups, elevated enemies, and opponents with strong ranged pressure.
- Sustained melee attacks and defensive actions compete for stamina, so uncontrolled attacks can leave the user less able to evade or continue pressure.
- Installing them consumes Cyberware Capacity and competes with other cyberware, making the opportunity cost significant for builds that do not regularly use melee attacks.
Best uses
- Close-quarters combat against isolated or tightly packed targets.
- Blade-focused Reflexes builds that want a cyberware-based melee weapon available alongside firearms.
- Aggressive hit-and-move play where the leap attack shortens a gap, followed by brief melee pressure before repositioning.
- Status-oriented cyberware setups that can take advantage of an appropriate elemental variant.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Attribute | Gorilla Arms | Monowire | Projectile Launch System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comparator | Close-range blunt melee | Close-to-mid-range melee sweep | Ranged explosive cyberarm |
| Combat role | Charged punches and heavy melee attacks; supports Body-focused play | Wide-area lash attacks with a Quickhack slot in the current system | Launches explosive projectiles, with charged and status-oriented behavior |
| Defining behavior | Body and blunt-melee builds | Netrunner or crowd-control builds that still want melee reach | Explosive, ranged, or area-control builds |
| Best fit | Uses cyberware capacity that could instead support a blade, hacking, or ranged cyberarm role | Competes for cyberware capacity while offering hacking utility rather than leap-based blade pressure | Trades Mantis Blades' sustained melee pressure for distance and area damage |
| Opportunity-cost consideration | — | — | — |
Lore and Design
Mantis Blades have limited weapon-specific narrative in . They are presented as an established cyberware weapon available through Night City's ripperdoc network, rather than as a unique relic tied to one character, faction, or quest. Their concealed forearm installation gives them a distinctive place in the setting's body-modification culture: the weapon is part of the user's body and can remain unobtrusive until deployed.
The design emphasizes the contrast between an ordinary human silhouette and sudden mechanical violence. The “mantis” name and folding-blade profile provide the visual identity, but the game does not establish a specific real-world prototype, inventor, or canonical cultural inspiration for the weapon. Any broader claim about their origin or developer intent should therefore be treated as interpretation rather than documented Cyberpunk 2077 lore.
Trivia
- Mantis Blades are not an invention unique to Cyberpunk 2077: the name and cyberware concept also appear in the earlier Cyberpunk tabletop setting. The video game therefore adapts an established piece of Cyberpunk equipment rather than introducing the weapon solely for V’s arsenal.
