The Phantom Liberty expansion introduced a major game-changer to Night City through the Relic skill tree. Unlocked early during the Dogtown campaign, this specialized skill branch empowers players with powerful tactical tools and combat augmentations. Understanding how these unique perks interact with your existing equipment is essential for building an unstoppable mercenary.
How the Relic Skill Tree Works
Unlike standard perk trees that rely on attribute points gained from leveling up, the Relic tree operates on dedicated Relic Points. Players receive an initial boost of points from Songbird, while additional points require finding hidden Militech Data Terminals scattered throughout Dogtown. Investing these points unlocks three primary keystones along with secondary utility nodes.
Each major branch focuses on enhancing specific playstyles, ranging from arm cyberware to stealth and weak-point detection. Because total Relic Points are limited during a single playthrough, choosing upgrades that directly support your core build is critical. Players can also respec their Relic points freely outside of combat if they wish to test alternative playstyles.
Major Relic Abilities Overview
The Jailbreak ability serves as the ultimate upgrade for arm cyberware like Mantis Blades, Gorilla Arms, and the Monowire. It unlocks unique combat actions such as extended leap attacks, explosive shockwaves, and multi-target quickhack spreading. This makes melee and cyber-arm combat significantly more dynamic during chaotic engagements.
The Vulnerability Analytics tree highlights structural weaknesses on enemy armor and cyberware in real time. Striking these highlighted points delivers guaranteed critical hits and armor penetration bonuses. Meanwhile, Emergency Cloaking enhances Optical Camo to immediately force enemies out of combat when activated.
Best Relic Upgrades for High-Impact Builds
For aggressive melee builds, Jailbreak stands out as the single best investment on the entire tree. Pairing Mantis Blades with Spatial Mapping grants massive leap range while increasing dismemberment chances against incoming target groups. Gorilla Arms users also benefit greatly from Limiter Removal, which generates sweeping shockwaves to knock down entire waves of enemies.
Ranged combat enthusiasts and gunfighters should prioritize Vulnerability Analytics alongside Machine Learning. Destroying exposed weak spots triggers localized EMP blasts and stacks bonuses that spawn new vulnerabilities faster. Netrunners will find Data Tunneling indispensable, as simple Monowire swings quickly spread quickhacks across tightly grouped hostiles.
Strategic Tips for Optimizing Your Relic Perks
To maximize the efficiency of your Relic upgrades, align your chosen perks with your active cyberware loadout. Purchasing arm-specific Jailbreak nodes provides zero value if your character relies strictly on traditional firearms. Visiting a local ripperdoc ensures your cyberware capacity and stat scaling complement your selected Relic abilities.
Always prioritize hunting down Data Terminals early in your Dogtown exploration to collect missing Relic Points. Experimenting with different perk combinations allows you to handle elite encounters on higher difficulties with ease. Combining these high-tier abilities with strong weapon loadouts completes V's transformation into Night City's ultimate mercenary.