Key Takeaways
Prototype: Shingen Mark V is an Iconic Smart SMG built around explosive, multi-target bursts rather than conventional sustained fire. Its value depends on Smart weapon support and on using its distinctive targeting behaviour deliberately.
Iconic Smart SMG
The Prototype: Shingen Mark V belongs to the Smart weapon class and is an Iconic variant, making its special firing behaviour more important than a generic weapon-stat comparison.
Three-projectile burst behaviour
Its defining mechanic is a burst that can distribute projectiles across locked targets, with explosive impact behaviour. This gives it a clear multi-target role instead of treating it as an ordinary automatic SMG.
Smart Link matters
The weapon is intended for use with Smart weapon targeting. A compatible cyberware setup is therefore a practical requirement for accessing its intended homing behaviour effectively.
Strong against grouped targets
Explosive, target-seeking bursts let the Shingen Mark V pressure several nearby enemies and reward fights where targets can be locked and engaged together.
Burst logic limits sustained-fire flexibility
Its burst-and-targeting pattern is less straightforward than a conventional SMG: target availability, lock-on behaviour and projectile distribution can affect how efficiently it handles a single priority enemy.
Found during Gimme Danger
The weapon is associated with the Arasaka Industrial Park section of the main-job mission Gimme Danger, where it can be found in a shipping container. Its acquisition is therefore tied to a specific mission area rather than ordinary store stock.
Distinct from ordinary Smart SMGs
Compared with a standard Smart SMG, the Prototype: Shingen Mark V is defined by its Iconic explosive multi-target burst, so the relevant comparison is special area pressure versus more conventional automatic fire.
Overview
Prototype: Shingen Mark V is an Iconic Smart SMG in Cyberpunk 2077, built around multi-target burst fire and explosive impact behavior rather than conventional single-target spray.
Prototype: Shingen Mark V is an Arasaka-associated Iconic variant of the Shingen Smart SMG family. It belongs to Cyberpunk 2077’s Smart weapon category, so its identity is tied to target tracking as much as to its submachine-gun role. The weapon is available in the main game and is not a Phantom Liberty-exclusive item, although its performance still follows the post-2.0 tier-based weapon system.
Its defining behavior is a burst pattern that can distribute smart projectiles among nearby targets instead of treating every burst as ordinary automatic fire. The rounds also have explosive impact behavior, giving the weapon an area-damage element that distinguishes it from more conventional Smart SMGs. This makes positioning and target grouping relevant: the weapon is most distinctive when several enemies are close enough for its targeting system to matter.
In practical terms, the Prototype: Shingen Mark V occupies a close-to-mid-range combat role. It is suited to aggressive encounters where the user can maintain target locks and exploit clustered opponents, while its burst-based delivery gives it a different rhythm from a standard spray weapon. The explosive effect can add pressure around the primary target, but it does not turn the weapon into a substitute for a dedicated shotgun or explosive weapon.
The weapon is best understood as a specialized progression option rather than a universal replacement for every Smart firearm. A conventional Smart SMG may offer a simpler sustained-fire experience, while a Smart pistol or rifle can better suit players who prioritize precision or longer-range engagement. Prototype: Shingen Mark V instead rewards players building around Smart Weapons and cyberware that supports their targeting system, with its Iconic behavior providing the main reason to keep it in consideration as tiered alternatives become available.
Statistics
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Class | Submachine Gun |
| Subtype | Submachine Gun |
| Technology | Smart |
| 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 |  Prototype: Shingen Mark V | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Submachine Gun | Submachine Gun | Submachine Gun | Submachine Gun | Submachine Gun |
| Technology | Smart | Power | Smart | Smart | Power |
| Ammo | Handgun Ammo | Handgun Ammo | Handgun Ammo | Handgun Ammo | Handgun Ammo |
| Iconic | Yes | — | — | — | — |
How to Obtain
- Cyberpunk 2077 main job Gimme Danger must be available.
- The Phantom Liberty expansion is not required for the original pickup route.
- Collect it during the Arasaka Industrial Park section rather than relying on later access; a separate post-mission recovery route is not asserted here.
- 01During the main job Gimme Danger, enter the Arasaka Industrial Park in the Santo Domingo district and search the industrial area for a sealed shipping container near the warehouse/loading facilities. Prototype: Shingen Mark V is loot inside that container rather than a mission-completion reward; collect it before leaving the job area.
- 02Approach the container carefully and open it to claim the weapon. The container area is trapped with explosives, so disarm or avoid the hazards before looting. The weapon is a fixed Iconic pickup for this route, not a random enemy drop or vendor purchase.
Availability
Cyberpunk 2077 — base game, Story mode
The Prototype: Shingen Mark V is acquired as loot rather than through a standard vendor purchase. Its displayed weapon tier is determined by the current post-2.0 progression state when obtained; no universal tier or price should be assumed.
- Requires
- Reach the Gimme Danger mission and access its Arasaka Industrial Park section.
Cyberpunk 2077 — Phantom Liberty installed
No separate Dogtown, Black Market Vendor, or Phantom Liberty-only availability is established for this weapon.
- Requires
- The base-game Gimme Danger progression remains required.
Mechanics and Handling
Prototype: Shingen Mark V is a Smart Weapon whose defining behavior comes from its explosive ammunition rather than from a charge mechanic or alternate firing stance. It retains the fast, automatic handling expected of a submachine gun, while successful shots can produce explosive impact damage around the point of contact. This gives the weapon value against clustered enemies and makes missed shots near a target less wasteful than they would be with a conventional firearm.
The explosion is part of the projectile’s impact behavior, not a separate grenade-like ability that can be freely aimed or deployed independently. Treat the weapon as a firearm first: it still depends on line of fire, Smart Weapon targeting, ammunition, and magazine management. Explosive rounds can improve pressure against groups, but they do not remove the need to control distance or account for cover and enemy positioning.
Explosive rounds and target grouping
The Mark V’s special effect is most useful when enemies are close enough for an impact explosion to catch more than one target. It is therefore better suited to breaking up a group or maintaining pressure in a crowded encounter than to carefully isolating a single distant enemy. The splash effect should not be treated as guaranteed crowd control: it adds area damage, but it does not by itself stun, knock down, or incapacitate every enemy caught nearby.
Because the weapon fires explosive projectiles, shots that strike surfaces or nearby targets can still contribute to an engagement even when the primary target is not hit cleanly. That benefit is conditional on the explosion reaching another enemy, so open spacing and widely separated targets reduce the value of the effect. Avoid firing carelessly at point-blank range when allies, objectives, or the player character could be caught in the blast area.
Smart targeting and firing rhythm
As a Smart Weapon, the Mark V is designed to work with the game’s Smart Weapon targeting system and the required cyberware. The tracking assistance helps keep fire on moving targets, but it is not a substitute for choosing targets or managing sightlines. Cover, distance, target movement, and the weapon’s lock-on behavior still determine how consistently the rounds reach their intended destination.
The weapon’s automatic submachine-gun pattern favors controlled bursts or short sustained strings when the target is vulnerable. Holding the trigger through every encounter can spend ammunition quickly and makes the explosive effect less efficient against enemies who are already separated. Focusing fire on a group’s most exposed member can allow the impact explosions to affect nearby enemies without abandoning target selection entirely.
Magazine use and practical role
Prototype: Shingen Mark V remains a magazine-fed firearm, so its explosive effect does not provide an independent ammunition pool or bypass reloading. Its combat loop is to acquire targets, fire through the magazine, and reload before the next engagement; the unique behavior is delivered by the rounds themselves. The weapon is consequently most comfortable in encounters where the user can stay mobile and repeatedly re-engage at short-to-medium combat distances.
The Mark V is a poor substitute for a precision rifle when the encounter rewards single-target accuracy at long range. Its strengths are concentrated in mobile fights, groups that remain within blast distance, and builds already invested in . Perks or cyberware that improve Smart Weapon use support its targeting role, while general explosive-damage or area-damage bonuses should only be treated as relevant when their current descriptions explicitly affect this weapon’s projectiles.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- Smart targeting helps the Prototype: Shingen Mark V keep pressure on moving targets, reducing the manual tracking burden that conventional SMGs demand when its smart-weapon functionality is active.
- Its explosive ammunition gives a successful hit more area impact than a purely single-target projectile, making clustered enemies and targets using nearby cover more practical engagements.
- When aimed at an enemy, its projectiles split into three, creating several opportunities for the weapon’s explosive effect to contribute within the same attack and giving it a distinctive burst profile among smart SMGs.
- The combination of automatic SMG handling, smart targeting and explosive projectiles makes it useful for aggressive close-to-mid-range crowd pressure rather than careful single-target marksmanship.
Weaknesses
- Its special projectile behavior is less valuable against widely separated enemies, where the additional projectiles cannot meaningfully affect nearby targets.
- Explosive ammunition can be awkward in confined spaces or around objectives and allies, because area damage makes target selection more important than with ordinary smart rounds.
- The Shingen Mark V’s identity depends on smart-weapon support; without the relevant Smart Link functionality, its tracking advantage is reduced and the weapon becomes a less distinctive SMG choice.
- Projectile splitting and explosions do not remove the normal limitations of an SMG. Long sightlines, distant precision targets and encounters that reward deliberate weak-point shots are less favorable than close or mid-range fights.
- Its explosive, multi-projectile behavior can make ammunition and hit results less predictable than a conventional automatic firearm, particularly when only one target is exposed.
Best uses
- Use it for close-to-mid-range engagements against groups or enemies moving between cover, where smart tracking and explosive impact can work together.
- Choose it when a Smart Weapons-oriented loadout needs an automatic weapon that adds area pressure instead of relying only on direct bullet hits.
- Aim at a priority enemy when several hostiles are close enough for the split projectiles and explosions to matter; against isolated targets, a simpler single-target weapon may be more efficient.
- Avoid making it the default choice for long-range precision encounters or tightly controlled fights where collateral area effects are a liability.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Attribute | Prototype: Shingen Mark V | Shingen Mark V |  Yinglong |  Fenrir |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | Smart-linked fire can engage multiple targets, with explosive rounds as its defining behavior | Standard smart-SMG targeting and automatic fire | Automatic smart-SMG fire with standard smart targeting | Conventional projectile fire rather than smart tracking |
| Firing and targeting profile | Combines multi-target tracking with explosive impact effects | The non-Iconic family baseline, without the Prototype's distinctive explosive behavior | Chance to trigger an EMP effect, making it more relevant against mechanical enemies and devices | Chance to apply Burn, giving its sustained fire a status-effect focus |
| Distinctive trait | Players who want crowd control from a close-range smart SMG | A conventional smart-SMG option when the Prototype is unavailable | Smart-weapon builds that value electronic disruption over explosive crowd control | Close-range builds that prefer direct Power-weapon handling and incendiary pressure |
| Best fit | — | — | — | — |
Used In
- Gimme DangerPrototype: Shingen Mark V can be found during this main job at Arasaka Industrial Park.
- Arasaka Industrial ParkThe location where Prototype: Shingen Mark V is obtained during Gimme Danger.
Lore and Design
Corporate Prototype Status
Prototype: Shingen Mark V is presented as an Arasaka smart-weapon prototype rather than a conventional production firearm. Its naming places it within the Shingen line while the “Prototype” designation marks it as an experimental or restricted variant. The weapon’s lore significance is therefore tied to Arasaka’s corporate weapons development and to the wider role of smart-gun technology in Cyberpunk 2077, not to a separately established personal history for the weapon.
The available in-game framing supports treating the Shingen Mark V as a corporate test piece encountered through Arasaka-related material and facilities. That association helps distinguish it from ordinary Shingen models, but it does not establish a named inventor, a documented real-world design source, or a specific development project beyond the weapon’s prototype designation. Claims about its intended manufacturer, cultural inspiration, or the designers’ motives should not be treated as canon without stronger documentation.
Trivia
- The Prototype: Shingen Mark V combines Smart Weapon targeting with explosive projectiles: a single firing sequence can distribute shots among multiple locked targets, with impacts capable of catching nearby enemies in the blast. This makes its behavior distinct from a conventional Shingen Mark V rather than functioning as a simple damage-tier upgrade.
