Cyberpunk 2077 Bosses Ranked Worst To Best

Cyberpunk 2077 is designed to let the player play almost however they want. But even if your playstyle is to avoid direct confrontation, there are still times when you'll have to throw down with a boss. Some of these boss fights offer pulse-pounding thrills (assuming the game doesn't glitch out on you.) Others are just a task to be completed before venturing back out to explore Night City. 

Most boss fights in Cyberpunk 2077 follow a similar pattern, which should be familiar to anyone who's played a few action games before. Each boss usually specializes in one or two fighting styles. As always, the first step is learning these styles and how to counter them. Then, most bosses have a prominent feature or weak spot that the player should target and destroy, like a battery pack or an arm-mounted machine gun. Focusing on these features will always make the fight easier.

There are more bosses in the game than just these four. But some bosses, like Woodman or Akira, don't have any special weapons or attacks and aren't particularly difficult. Basically, these are the four big bosses worth arguing about.

Sasquatch is one of the game's early bosses, encountered during the "Walk the Line" quest. She's the leader of the Animals, a gang that believes using modification to make the most perfect version of themselves possible. In practice, that means taking lots and lots of steroids, which they refer to as "the Juice." Oh, and Sasquatch is a roided-up monster who wields a massive sledgehammer. 

As far as boss fights go, Sasquatch isn't too difficult. The fight is one-on-one, so there aren't any henchmen to distract V. Sasquatch moves slowly and telegraphs most of her hits, making it easy to avoid her. She starts with the sledgehammer and eventually drops it and attacks with her fists. If she can overpower V, she'll upload a virus into their system, but it doesn't hinder the player much. Her weak spot is a purple crystal on her back. Destroy it quickly or it will refill her health bar. After that, focus fire on her head and she should go down easily. Alternately, a stealthy player can sneak past Sasquatch and avoid the fight entirely. 

Royce is the boss at the end of the quest called "The Pickup," which has V and Jackie Welles stealing an experimental military drone from the Maelstrom gang. The Maelstroms are a criminal gang in Cyberpunk 2077 that is mostly made up of people with cyberpsychosis, a kind of psychopathy caused by using too many cybernetic augmentations. Royce is their new leader and the biggest monster of all. 

Royce's body is a heavily modded exoskeleton with energy shields. His main weapons are a sweeping laser beam, as well as rockets, making him dangerous at any distance. Before fighting Royce, V will have to eliminate his crew, but V will also have help from their partner Jackie.

The fight is a fast-paced adrenaline-fueled challenge. The best way to defeat Royce is by using cover and shooting the battery pack on his back with a shotgun. If you prefer the quiet approach, you can also sneak up on him for a takedown.

Cyberpunk 2077 spends most of the game building up Adam Smasher as the Big Bad. He murdered Alt Cunningham, the girlfriend of V's digital ally, Johnny Silverhand. So by the time V actually gets to fight him, it's satisfying — almost as satisfying as wiping that 'borg smirk off his face.

Part of the fun of the Adam Smasher boss fight is that it takes away most of your cyberware. If you've used cyberware for most of the game, you'll have to get familiar with more conventional weapons. You'll also have to change up your tactics during the fight. 

In the first phase, Adam will alternate between devastating melee attacks with his fists and suffocating fire from his wrist-mounted smart gun. In order to defeat Adam Smasher, focus fire on his right arm to destroy it and take away his punching ability. Once his health is low enough, he'll retreat and fire missiles at you while pairs of henchmen attack in waves. Kill the henchmen with grenades, keep shooting Adam in the face, and avenge Alt.

Sandayu Oda is found during the "Play It Safe" quest, in which V teams up with former Arasaka CEO Saburo Arasaka's old bodyguard, Goro Takemura. Oda is the current CEO's bodyguard and his augments represent the best tech Arasaka has to offer. Even if you love the ruthless Arasaka corporation, this is still the most fun boss fight in the game.

Oda's fight feels partly like an old school Jedi lightsaber duel. A Cyberninja, Oda attacks with a combination of martial arts moves and slashes from his two glowing red Mantis Blades. His augments give him blinding speed, allowing him to quickly close in for melee attacks or dodge in almost any direction. He'll also attack from a distance with an SMG that uses homing bullets. Finally, once V damages Oda enough, he will activate a stealth cloaking device and heal.

The ideal weapon to counter Oda's quickness would be a tech weapon with homing bullets. Problem is, Oda's also wearing an Oni mask that disrupts tech weapon abilities. Destroying his mask will make the fight easier, but only a little.