Cyberpunk 2077 is filled to the brim with genuinely exciting weapons, including all manner of submachine guns, pistols, and even smart weapons loaded with functional artificial intelligence to guarantee pinpoint accuracy. One such smart weapon is the jovially named Skippy, a lost AI machine pistol players will stumble upon somewhere in Heywood, and there’s a choice to be made in this quest line!
Like other named weapons in Cyberpunk 2077, Skippy features a unique appearance but is an iconic version of the Arasaka HJKE-11 Yukimura, complete with a voiced AI component and often a mind of its own. During the The Machine Gun quest, players must choose to either keep the pistol or return the weapon to its rightful owner, and the decision may prove challenging for some. It’s a strong weapon that could hold many over until new items become available in Phantom Liberty.
Updated by Brandon Morgan on 10/9/2023: Included additional relevant links within the content for Cyberpunk 2077.
There are minor spoilers for one side quest, The Machine Gun, involved in this guide.
What Is Skippy?
Skippy is an iconic pistol found in Cyberpunk 2077. It is a smartgun complete with a voice-over interface that occasionally makes decisions for itself and the user, which, in this case, is the player. The weapon is found randomly in an alleyway beside an unknown deceased man and will activate ‘The Machine Gun’ side quest in Cyberpunk 2077 after a few days of in-game use.
Until then, however, players can enjoy toying around with the AI. When players first scoop up Skippy, they’ll have a choice:
- Puppy-Loving Pacifist (Limbs Only Mode)
- Stone Cold Killer (Headshot Only Mode)
Most will likely choose the latter, as it means insta-kills on low-level enemies and high-damage strikes against all others. But there’s a catch! After 50 kills and approximately five days have passed, Skippy will once more initiate dialogue with the player and then permanently switch to the Puppy-Loving Pacifist mode if the player chooses Stone Cold Killer.
- If the player chooses Puppy-Loving Pacifist instead, Skippy will retain the firing mode selected if the player chooses “Killing is wrong” in the dialogue tree.
- Alternatively, if the player selects “I’m not having a conversation with my gun,” Skippy will swap to Stone Cold Killer.
Or, the player can pause the kill count altogether by installing the Pax Mod.
Skippy may occasionally decide to fire at enemies during stealth mode, fire at anyone when swapping to aim-down-sight mode, or ensure all projectiles miss their target for the duration of a combat encounter.
Where To Get Skippy
As Night City is loaded with back-alley secrets, stumbling across the one players want most may prove difficult without a helping hand. In the map above, you’ll note the red-circled location in Heywood, near the bridges, where an alley is located. This alley is blocked by trash and a fence, which players can easily hop over. It’s here that Skippy rests peacefully beside a corpse.
To find Skippy, fast travel to College St. Metro Station in Heywood. From this fast travel point, head south on foot or via car toward the question mark on the map. It’s an optional side mission that players have yet to discover. When the player approaches, they’ll want to climb over the trash heaps, then scoop up Skippy to begin a brief yet annoying conversation with the smartgun.
To Keep Or Not To Keep Skippy
After Skippy swaps its firing mode permanently, via the above-mentioned dialogue, players will have approximately eight days before Skippy requests the player return him to his rightful owner. In this case, the rightful owner is Regina Jones. This activates the side quest, The Machine Gun, and players will have a choice. Do you return Skippy or keep the powerful weapon for yourself? It does scale with the player’s level, making it quite the damage dealer.
If you decline to return Skippy to Regina before the factory reset, his dialogue will swap to what is essentially a tantrum. He’ll repeat “no” and “bad user” repeatedly.
If the player chooses to return the weapon, Regina will factory reset the smartgun, rename it to Daisy, and offer it to the player. The choice is between keeping the iconic weapon or cashing out for $7,000 Eurodollars.
Returning the weapon is the smart choice, so long as Skippy — now Daisy — isn’t permanently set to Puppy-Loving Pacifist. Even with the factory reset, that choice remains.
You cannot sell, dismantle, or store Skippy after starting The Machine Gun. If players want the AI-loaded smartgun out of their inventory, handing it over to Regina is the only option.