Cyberpunk 2077 Headhunter Skill explained: how to level up fast and all bonuses

Headhunter is a Cyberpunk 2077 skill that is associated with the Cool attribute. Increasing your Headhunter rank will make V, well, cooler. In this case, “cooler” means harder to detect while sneaking and more deadly when shooting enemies in the head. You know, the standard definition of “cool.”

This guide will walk you through every rank of Headhunter as well as how you can quickly increase your skill. For anybody who wants to do a stealth build, Headhunter is a must-have skill. The skill also includes tons of bonuses that are beneficial no matter what playstyle you’re going for, so this is one skill that you want to increase no matter what.

Cyberpunk 2077: Headhunter Skill bonuses

There are 60 total ranks of Headhunter in Cyberpunk. The skill starts at Rank One, and an additional passive bonus is gained every five ranks. To track your progress in the Headhunter skill, go to Character>Skill Progression. Here, you will see your current rank and exactly how much XP you need to rank up.

The bonuses for each rank of Headhunter are:

• Rank five—Decreases Visibility to Enemies by 10 percent.
• Rank 10—Increases headshot damage and Vulnerability damage by 10 percent.
• Rank 15—Gain one Perk Point.
• Rank 20—Eliminates weapon sway when crouched.
• Rank 25—Decreases Visibility to Enemies by 10 percent.
• Rank 30—Increases headshot damage and Vulnerability damage by 15 percent.
• Rank 35—Gain one Perk Point.
• Rank 40—Optical Camo (invisibility) is active while grappling enemies.
• Rank 45—Decreases Recovery time after a throwing a weapon by 30 percent.
• Rank 50—Gain 30 percent speed when crouch-walking and crouch-sprinting.
• Rank 55—Undetected damage bonuses persist for three second after entering combat.
• Rank 60—Gain 15 percent Optical Camo charge after neutralizing an enemy during Focus mode, during Deadeye mode, or with a thrown weapon.

The higher your rank in Headhunter, the higher the amount of XP you’ll need to progress. As such, it’s important that you know exactly which sort of actions grant Headhunter progression, or else you may end up ceasing to advance altogether.

Cyberpunk 2077: How to progress the Headhunter Skill fast

Just like the Cool Attribute, Headhunter covers a couple of different things. Anything that has to do with stealth will give you XP towards Headhunter, but there is an even easier way to progress the skill: landing headshots.

No matter what weapon you are using, headshots will grant a big chunk of XP to Headhunter, and this is the most efficient and constant way to progress the skill. There are other things you can do to make it increase even faster, too.

• Use pistols.
  • Pistols are the quintessential “cool” weapon, and any kill with a pistol will grant Headhunter XP.
• Use silencers.
  • Any kill with a silenced weapon grants additional Headhunter XP. Either find a silenced weapon or craft one yourself by going to Inventory>Crafting.
• Neutralize enemies from stealth.
  • Grabbing and killing foes (or using a nonlethal takedown) grants a big chunk of Headhunter XP, and any other stealth kill will grant a decent chunk of Headhunter XP.
• Aim for the head.
  • As we mentioned above, this is something you should always do when trying to improve your Headhunter rank. Not only will it help with progression, but you’ll also do tons of extra damage.
• Find or purchase Skill Shards
  • As of the 2.0 update, Skill Shards can be found or purchased throughout Night City and Dogtown. They are available in five tiers, and higher tiers will grant more XP.