Cyberpunk 2077: how to get more ammo via crafting and looting

While it is a role-playing game, one big difference between Cyberpunk 2077 and CD Projekt RED's Witcher titles is the nature of the weaponry. Unless you go for a very specifically different sort of character build, your primary method of attack will likely be firearms - and that means you're going to need plenty of ammo. 

Early on in the game, you actually won't have an ammo counter on-screen, which you might find a little disorienting. This is because in the universe of Cyberpunk there's actually a proper explanation for why a character might have a heads-up display. The body modification that gives you the ability to see your ammo counter is introduced early in the game - so keep following the main story path and visit Vic the Ripperdoc to get an eyeball upgrade that'll install an ammo counter.

For the rest of the game, you'll be able to see ammo on-screen - which is great, but can also lead to concerns about running short.

How to get more Ammo in Cyberpunk 2077

You shouldn't run into too many issues with ammunition in Cyberpunk 2077 as it's generally quite plentiful around the world, but if you're all guns, all the time, you might find yourself running out of ammo for your favorite weapon. This dilemma becomes more likely if you have one of those unique and legendary iconic weapons and want to keep using it - you can burn through compatible ammo quickly. 

Ammo comes in four themed flavors for guns: pistol ammo (used by pistols and revolvers), rifle ammo (used by assault rifles and submachine guns), shotgun ammo, and sniper rifle ammo. There's basically three ways to get more ammo in Cyberpunk: buying it, scavenging it, and crafting it. 

Looting Ammo from enemies and around the world

There's actually more than enough ammo for you to get by just available out in Cyberpunk 2077's world. It's there for the taking - all you have to do is nab it. Often, downed enemies will have a little bit of ammo on them, so you should always loot downed enemies. But also, ammo is laying around everywhere in Cyberpunk 2077, often in a more easily identifiable form.

Simply look out for these ammo boxes that are scattered everywhere in the world. Certainly, any location where you take on quests will have these scattered around - the gang bases and strongholds you visit for gigs, the story locations that make up main jobs and side jobs - all have these ammo boxes frequently hanging around. These boxes tend to have more generous amounts of ammo in them than you might loot from an enemy. 

Craft Ammo of your own

Even if you're midway through a mission and running out of ammo, there is one reliable way to get more: you can simply craft your own. No special perks are required for this - you simply have to open the crafting menu, which admittedly sort of sucks, and scroll all the way to the bottom of the crafting recipes.

There, at the bottom, buried below loads and loads of legendary tier weapons you can't craft without spending on some big perks, are the very same ammo boxes you'll see out as loot in the world. There's a crafting option for every single type of ammo, so all you need to do is select whichever gun type you desperately need ammo for and craft some.

Crafting ammo only requires the most basic of common crafting materials, which can easily be had by dismantling weapons - which you should be constantly doing throughout the earlier stages of the game, picking up enemy weapon drops and dismantling anything not of use to you rather than leaving it behind. The amount of materials required is reasonable, but you can even lower it if you invest in the Technical Ability attribute and associated crafting perks. 

Buying Ammo from Stores

While it's for some reason impossible to change your appearance or even get a haircut in Night City, there are weapon shops scattered fairly liberally around the open world, represented on the map with a handy little gun symbol. If you visit these shops, you'll find them selling pretty basic guns that are fine but generally not all that incredible compared to the loot you'll find out in the world. However, they do sell all four types of ammo in various quantities that'll very from store to store. This obviously costs cash, but we've got some tips on how to earn lots of money if you need them.