Cyberpunk 2077 is filled to the brim with high-powered weapons that scream futuristic. But even with the overwhelming amount of firepower available to V, can anything beat a talking smartgun that hums Rihanna in the future?
Of the many iconic weapons available to the player, Skippy may be one of the most versatile, powerful, and entertaining, but acquiring and keeping the gun requires some labor.
Updated by Brandon Morgan on 10/9/2023: We’ve included additional links to relevant content.
Where To Find Skippy, The AI Smart Pistol
As a unique weapon in Cyberpunk 2077, Skippy isn’t just lying out in the street waiting for the player to wander by. Oh, wait. Skippy actually does wait in an alleyway for the player, and that alley is located in Heywood. It’s beside a random corpse in a back alley near the funeral home, in the Vista Del Rey Suburb, just along the east side of Heywood.
To pinpoint the precise location, it’s recommended that the player first fast travels to the College St. fast travel point. From there, it’s a short walk to the place indicated on the map above.
Once players find the general area, they should watch for a blue-green building with metal pillars. Along the side of said building, there is an alley fenced off and covered in trash; the player will need to parkour over to find Skippy.
Stone Cold Killer Or Puppy-Loving Pacifist?
Upon finding Skippy in his alleyway, the player will sit through a bit of dialogue, making a few choices to learn more about the AI-powered smart pistol before finally reaching a choice: Stone Cold Killer or Puppy-Loving Pacifist.
- Puppy-Loving Pacifist: While using Skippy, the AI will only target enemies’ limbs, incapacitating foes but not killing them outright.
- Stone Cold Killer: The AI will only target headshots, dealing large amounts of damage and increasing crit chance.
Now, of the two choices, only one sounds ideal. Most players will opt for the Stone Cold Killer pathway, as it deals the most damage, and seriously, auto-targeting headshots seems like the right choice for a Night City mercenary.
But wait, there’s a catch! No matter which setting the player selects, after 50 kills and a few days, Skippy will open a new dialogue with V. In said conversation, Skippy will ask why V enjoys killing if the player chose Stone Cold Killer, and when V cannot correctly answer to Skippy’s satisfaction, the AI will automatically revert to Puppy-Loving Pacifist forever. That’s right; players cannot change the firing mode once Skippy swaps to the opposite.
Instead, players will want to choose Puppy-Loving Pacifist during the first dialogue choice. Sure, incapacitating enemies makes for more challenging gameplay, and players must follow up with downed enemies by firing a few more rounds into their unconscious bodies to finalize the kill. But the weapon becomes an absolute powerhouse when Skippy reverts to Stone Cold Killer. Then, players can choose to keep Skippy instead of returning the smart pistol to its rightful owner. From there, Skippy will continue to target headshots with damage that scales alongside the player until the game’s conclusion.
Completing Skippy’s Side Quest
He’ll eventually reveal his true owner after playing with Skippy for a few in-game days. Upon doing so, players will start the Machine Gun questline, which tasks them with returning Skippy to Regina Jones — a known fixer in Night City. Before this point, players will likely have previously worked with, or at the very least spoken to, Regina.
Regina is in a pretty bog-standard location, in a building near Lizzie’s Club. Here, players have a choice. They can return Skippy for a lump sum of cash — $7,000 Eurodollars — to complete the quest. Alternatively, players can keep Skippy for themselves. But before making a choice, ensure Skippy is set to the proper firing mode. Again, players will want Stone Cold Killer. If Skippy is stuck in Puppy-Loving Pacifist, he’s useless as an iconic weapon.