This guide will show you how to create a male V in the character creator that looks like David Martinez, the protagonist of Netflix’s Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime, as well as where and how to obtain different clothing items to match his outfit and Cyberware to play his build!
This guide is up-to-date for Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.3
Important note: This guide aims to create the character of David Martinez as perfect and authentic to the anime in Cyberpunk 2077 as possible. In each section below I list some alternative options that may increase your build’s power and features at the expense of being true to the anime character from the Edgerunners series. At the end of each section, I have a list of essential things to pick up as soon as possible.
Table of contents
Lifepath Choice
We know that Lifepaths in Cyberpunk 2077 don’t provide significant unique opportunities, but if you want to stay true to David’s character from Edgerunners, you have to play with a Streetkid origin.
David is a typical kid from Santo Domingo. There’s hardly any better option than Streetkid to play if role-play is your top priority. Plus, you will see unique dialogue lines and some mini events here and there that differ compared to other lifepaths.
If you have already played that lifepath and want to explore other options, neither Corpo nor Nomad will break the David Martinez Build you will be going for. It’s a matter of personal preference and depends on how much of a role-player you want to be.
You could argue that Corpo is a viable path as well because David has been in Arasaka Academy up until we meet him in the show when he’s 17 years old, but the way Corpo is represented in the game, I think it’s a very lose fit at best. That’s why I recommend Streetkid.
Character Creation Process and Notable Choices
Some elements of David’s appearance have several great options while others don’t have a strong match.
With what is available in the character creator, clothing department and even gear, I will list everything you can use and explain why these are the best choices.
Of course, at the end I will summarize things and present you with a list of things to do to get the best matching result.
Skin Tone and Skin Type
David’s skin tone is slightly pinker than any of the options available, but I think Skin Tone 1 and 2 offer a similar level of brightness.
There isn’t a clear match for Skin Type. The 5th option offers very even skin without any blemishes that matches better with the lack of detail present in the anime style, but it comes with a beauty mark that David does not have.
Type 1 has more details that match closer to what an average person looks like without adding anything more substantial.
Hair
David’s hair is characterized by being quite tall and spiky on the top with a hard fade on the side that has a distinct pattern. There are 3 hairstyles that are quite similar to David’s hairdo, but each one deviates in a single way and it’s also impossible to match the pattern in his fade.
Option 18 matches the best from the front in terms of overall style, but David only has hair on the top of his head; he doesn’t have the rat tail:
Option 15 nails it in terms of overall volume and cut, while also featuring a unique fade on the neck. The only drawback is the hair is a lot more styled and manicured, like a hedge at a Corpo’s house, compared to David’s random bush growing out of the sidewalk:
Option 38 lacks the volume of David’s hair, but it’s the most accurate option in every other regard:
Eyes, Eyebrows, and Eyelashes
David has big brown eyes that aren’t set too wide or narrow, so Eyes 3 with the brownest color is what we’re after. His eyelashes are pretty pronounced though, to the extent that you might even want to incorporate a bit of brown eye shadow.
I opted instead to make his lashes a bit darker since eyelashes often are and it helps to accentuate this trait without using makeup.
His eyebrows are very thin but angular. You get to pick one. Eyebrows 2 gives you angularity while Eyebrows 3 gives you thinness.
Nose
David is an anime character, so he has a very small nose. It’s also pointed slightly up since we can often see his nostrils. It isn’t shown to be slanted towards either side of his face, so we can easily rule those options out.
Noses 8 and 18 are quite similar and both encapsulate what we’re after, though I think 18 accentuates those features a bit too much for a nose that should barely exist at all.
Jaw / Chin
David has a pretty pointy chin and a more slender face than is really possible with the character creator, though there are several Jaw options (1, 3, 13, and 19) that can move us in that direction. I had a hard time picking which Jaw is most fitting partially because the different options also make him look slightly different ages as well.
In my opinion, 3 and 19 are slightly better because they’re bigger, but neither is perfect.
Ears
David’s ears don’t stick out very far and have a sharp-ish bend about halfway up. It seems that the ears are not meant to be one of his main features like his hair. The bend is not always present either, so I think Ears 8 is one of the best options. None are really a great fit though.
Mouth, Teeth, and Beard
David doesn’t have lips or a beard, so we can turn the latter off and have to resort to using the smallest lips available. You’ll find those on Mouth 10. David also has regular white teeth, so the default Teeth 00 are fine.
Overall body appearance
Here is an overall appearance of David Martinez’s body type and features that I suggest for the closest match wit the anime character:
- Male
- Skin Tone 1
- Skin Type 5 (1 is less smooth, but no mole)
- Hairstyle 18 (15 and 38 also work well)
- Hair Color 27 (brownest)
- Eyes 3 (big)
- Eye Color 1
- Eyebrows 2 (3 is also good)
- Eyebrow Color 27 (brownest)
- Eyelash Color 6 (darker brown)
- Nose 8 (uniform, small, slight upward slant)
- Mouth 10
- Jaw 19 (1, 3, and 13 are also good)
- Ears 8 (14 is also good)
- Beard Off
- Cyberware Off
- Facial Scars Off
- Piercings Off
- Teeth 00
- Eye Makeup Off
- Lip Makeup Style Off
- Cheek Makeup Off
- Blemishes Off
- Nails Short
- Nail Color 1
- Body Tattoos Off
- Body Scars Off
These choices match David’s appearance as best as it is possible to do with the Character Creation tool in Cyberpunk 2077. We know that for the majority of the series David is a 17 years old teenager, but in the final few episodes we see him a year older, 18, and he has bulked up a lot thanks to the new chrome he’s placed on his body.
You could attempt to replicate the face and to some extend shoulder area of David’s cyberware upgrades from the final episodes, but I leave that choice to you as none of the options the game offers looks close enough to call it a match, in my opinion.
David Martinez’s Clothing Outfit
This section concerns only the visual appearance of your character. Thanks to the newly released Wardrobe feature in Cyberpunk 2077, you can transmog your gear and have one set of clothing to make you look cool and another set to provide stats for your build. The build-related clothing I have explained in a separate section further below in this guide.
Besides David’s Jacket, you are at the mercy of RNG for the rest of his clothing pieces, and just like with the character creator, you’ll have to make some major concessions. All shops cycle their available clothing every 24 hours, so you’ll have to keep skipping a day ahead to see if that shop has the available clothing in stock.
Outer Torso – Jacket
David’s Jacket is the only piece of his wardrobe that was added directly to the game. The yellow jacket was too unique for anyone to try and replicate, so to make things easier CD Projekt Red just added it to the game.
You receive it as part of a reward for a new mission that was added with update 1.6. Check out our dedicated guide on how to obtain and complete this mission and receive David’s Jacket.
Inner Torso – shirt
David Martinez wears a black shirt and a necklace with a cross, we can replicate the former, but not the latter. In the later episodes, he has no shirt, so his shiny chrome could shine.
Since it’s not easy to find a full black short-sleeved shirt in the game, my personal favorite is the GOG Galaxy promo t-shirt.
I’ll leave you to find the best match. If you do, and want to share it with all of us, please leave a comment under this guide.
Pants
David wears long, blueish gray pants that bunch up at the bottom. It’s difficult to get all of those traits in a single pair of pants, but I recommend the Caution Extra-Plastic Cargo Pants, which can be found at the clothing vendors in Charter Hill and Arroyo.
I could not find a proper pair of pants that at least remind me of the pants David wears throughout the show, so I leave that to you if you want the challenge.
Feet
I could not find anything at all in the game that looks even remotely close to what David wears on his feet. Not the teenager David, nor the bulked-up one-year older David. Entirely up to you.
The David Martinez Build in Cyberpunk 2077
David’s Build I recommend will focus on melee combat. In the show we see David shooting with a few different ranged weapons, but in the game, to best utilize the Sandevistan operating system cyberwar, you should focus on melee. Bullets don’t get affected by the Sandevistan. David’s fists do.
David’s Attributes and Perks
To match David’s build, you will want a lot of points invested in the Body, Technical Ability, Cool and Reflexes
I recommend aiming for 18-20 in Body, Technical Ability, Cool, and Reflexes prioritizing them in this order as you level up. Anything else is optional.
Investing in Reflexes is up to you and going for Intelligence is “against the rules” if you want to play as David. David has two netrunners in his team, he doesn’t have anything to do with netrunning himself.
If you own the Phantom Liberty Expansion, you will be able to get three Attributes to 20 at level 60 and another up to 18. Body and Technical Ability need to get to 20 for the build to be “complete”. You can choose to have Reflexes or Cool maxed based on your preferences.
Note: At the end of this section I have a short list of Essential Perks you should get first or as early as possible.
Body Perks
This is the main and most important Attribute for this build. You want to invest heavily in this skill tree.
Left Perks Tree:
This one is for David’s DB-2 Satara Shotgun (read everything about weapons later in the guide).
Middle Perks Tree:
The middle Perks Tree contains a ton of buffs to your Health, HP and Stamina regeneration and defensive boosts. Here is the list of Skill perks you should pick for a complete build:
Right Perk Tree:
This one will benefit your Gorilla Arms because this cyberware acts as Blunt Weapon in the game. The Quake ability is not something we see David doing in the show, but it is a required Perk to unlock to get to the top Perk Finisher: Savege Sling. This one is optional as well, but it’s so awesome to see and perform, it’s not something you would want to miss out on. The bottom perk Fury Road is optional, but it’s one of the new features in Update 2.0, so why not pick it up and have fun with it.
Technical Ability Perks
The Edgerunner Perk is the definition of a David build. You need 20 in this attribute just to get this perk. The rest of the perk points you can spend based on what type of weapon(s) you prefer. If you opt to use the Satara Shotgun, the right perks tree will give you nice boosts for it.
Left Perks Tree:
This one is all about grenades and explosions. Cool, but not exactly David’s style.
Middle Perks Tree:
I get the feeling that CD Projekt RED designed this one specifically for the David Martinez build. Here the Edgerunner perk is the ultimate cap for your build.
Right Perks Tree:
If you opt to play with a DB-2 Satara, which is a Tech Shotgun, you would want to invest into the Bolt and Chain Lightning Perks. Those are not typical for David, but if you use the shotgun, you might as well stack those boosts as well.
Cool Perks
If you are not cool, you are not David. Although this Attribute’s Perk Trees have been dramatically changed with 2.0, if you like playing with a Pistol as your main weapon, the left tree is mandatory for you.
Left Perks Tree:
These I recommend if you plan to invest into pistol gameplay. They are not required for a David Sandevistan-focused build. But we know David uses a Lexington pistol and a Satara shotgun. The vehicle perk at the bottom is optional as it’s not directly related to David’s build, but is fun!
Middle Perks Tree:
David is not one to go stealth nor he likes to hide. From the middle tree the best Perk to get is Ninjitsu at tier 1.
Right Perks Tree:
None of the perks from the right tree represent David’s style.
Reflex Perks
The David Martinez build should not heavily rely on guns, but the character from the anime uses some ranged weapons. In Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.0 the Dash and Air Dash are new abilities and it would be cool to play with something new.
Left Perks Tree:
David’s main weapons are his speed and Gorilla Arms. He also uses Mantis Blades for a brief moment. Assault Rifles and SMGs are not in his arsenal.
Middle Perks Tree:
This is all great for a quick melee Sandevistan David build. The middle tree provides abilities like Dash and Air Dash and all sorts of fun bonuses when performing them.
Right Perks Tree:
Mantis Blades is a cool melee weapon that benefits from the Blades Perks in this tree. However, because of the way the game is structured, you have to choose to either use Mantis Blades or Gorilla Arms. The image below focuses on Gorilla Arms as this is what David uses a lot more in the anime.
Relic Perks
The Relic attribute and its perks are only available if you own the Phantom Liberty expansion. The essential for this build is the Jailbreak perk and the Limiter Removal sub-perk that adds a knock-down effect to a charged Gorilla Arms attack. If you follow our guide to the Relic Skill Tree you will be able to collect all Relic Points in Dogtown and get all Perks, just for fun.
Essential Perks to Unlock First
It may be impossible (or at least not possible early enough) to get all of the above-mentioned perks. Below I will list the most important and crucial for the authentic David build Perks that you should get as early as possible.
Reminder: You can reset your perks at any time in the game. If you load up an existing save file from before Update 2.0, you will be able to reset your Attributes once. Typically, you cannot reset Attribute points. They are permanent.
Body
Nearly everything in this skill tree is very authentic and important for David’s build. Among the best things to get right away are the Painkiller (along with its sub-perks) and Wrecking Ball.
If you chose to play with a Shotgun, the Die! Die! Die! and Spontaneous Obliteration are great choices. Picking Like a Feather will allow you to move quickly and easily.
Technical Ability
The middle perks tree is the definition of a David build. You need those. But you don’t need them in the early game. You will not have the resources available to upgrade your cyberware early on so you would benefit properly from these perks. Invest points into Body or into the Perk tree for your chosen ranged weapon – Pistol or Shotgun.
Cool
David is cool, right? That’s pretty much the only reason you would be investing into the skill tree. Joking, of course.
David is known to have a Lexington. There are other great options in the Pistols department that you could use, but they are not true to the build. In any case, if you want to develop yourself as a pistoleer, you should invest into Focus and Deadeye as soon as possible.
Reflexes
I would not consider any of the Perks in this attribute to be vital for this build early on. Slippery is helpful to mitigate incoming damage. Invest in it if you play on higher difficulties. You can swap for something else later on and bring points back into this attribute’s perks as you gain more levels and upgrade your cyberware.
David’s Weapons
The way Sandevistan works suggest that you should primarily play it with melee weapons, your fists, as I will explain below in the Cyberware segment.
In the show we see David using a pistol – Lexington. Maine gives this gun to the young boy in the beginning of their partnership. Later, in Episode 8, we see David trash-talking the pistol and recommending the Satara double-barrel shotgun to a rookie in his team of edgerunners.
I don’t think a gun is required or even recommended, but if you want to stay true to the show, these are the two options you have to use. After you acquire your Sandevistan and mod it, you should be using its effect most of the time you are in combat. The effect slows down everything, that includes your weapons and the shots you fire with them. This is the main reason I recommend using melee weapons, your fists preferably.
If you do want to go for pistols, but don’t like the Lexington, here are a few of my favorite ones: Comrade’s Hammer, Johnny’s pistol Malorian Arms 3516 and Crash. Crash got nerfed a bit in one of the post-launch updates, but it still does great headshot damage.
David uses a couple of other weapons in some very brief moments in some scenes, but they aren’t his typical style. We can even see him use Mantis Blades, but that’s as part of a Braindance, so it doesn’t really count.
I’d personally recommend that you pick up and use the O-Five Iconic Sniper. It’s an amazing long-distance weapon with a great large explosion effect tweaked to be even better in Update 1.6, in my opinion.
While David doesn’t use Guts, we do have direct access to this awesome new shotgun from the anime. It is used by Rebecca there. It’s a lot of fun to play with that weapon.
If you want to get it for yourself, it’s very easy. You’ll find it in the bushes behind the three monks in Corpo Plaza. I have included this gun in my guide to all Weapons from Edgerunners in Cyberpunk 2077.
David’s Cyberware
This section will take a closer look at the available cyberware in Cyberpunk 2077 that matches David’s chrome. The goal here will be to replicate David’s equipment as closely as possible and not to make the strongest build.
I’ll leave some suggestions and recommendations here and there for you to decide if you want to deviate from your choice with cyberware in an attempt to make a stronger build to play with.
I am listing all the highest tiers of equipment, but you do not have to wait for them to be accessible to you in the game. You can easily pick up all of the cyberware items at much lower tiers if you are starting a new game and don’t have access to the Legendary and Iconic variants.
You can easily pick up the most important pieces early on for cheap and then swap out and upgrade them as you progress.
After Update 2.0 all Ripperdocs in the game offer the entire catalog of cyberware. It doesn’t matter which one you are going to visit to upgrade your chrome. There is one exception with the ripperdoc in Dogtown, but this is for the later game as it sells a few iconic and quite expensive items.
Please note that I have every single one of the Legendary and Iconic cyberware items locations listed and explained how to get to them in my gigantic Legendary and Iconic Items Locations Guide for Cyberpunk 2077.
Note: At the end of this section I have a short list of Essential Cyberware you should get as soon as possible.
Operating System
Obviously, we start with the operating system. This is the best part of David’s build both in the show and in the game when you want to play a character that matches his style and skills.
There are a few Sandevistan cyberdecks available at the highest tier in the game – Legendary. To best match David’s build, you’d have to go for the Militech “Apogee” Sandevistan. When fully upgraded, its cooldown drops to 25 seconds.
You may not need to activate it again in a single fight, but that’s what the show tells us – David can use his Sandevistan frequently. You could go for any of the other available Legendary and Iconic Sandevistan models if you wish to.
Thanks to Manuel for providing interesting datamined info in a comment below the guide regarding the file name of this item: “cw_system_sandevistanedgerunner”. It looks like CD Projekt RED meant for this iconic operating system implant to be the one that is featured in the anime.
Frontal Cortex
In the Frontal Cortex slot, one cyberware you should take benefit from is the Newton Module and its Iconic variant Axolotl.
Face
As pretty much everyone is using it in the show and you don’t have much of a choice for this slot, I recommend placing the Kiroshi “The Oracle” Optics or the Kiroshi “Cockatrice” Optics.
Circulatory System
You have a wide variety of options for the Circulatory system. Great options are Microrotors, Blood Pump and Heal-on-Kill.
The Syn-Lungs cyberware that we actually see David put on himself during his training, is not available in the game as of Update 2.0. The screenshot you see below is from an earlier version of this build. I left it in uou of nostalgia.
Nervous System
To stay true to David’s style, you’d have to pick the speed over anything else. The Adrenaline Converter is a great option for that. If you find yourself primarily playing under the effect of Sandevistan, you may want to opt for some defensive boosts from implants such as Neofiber and Reflex Tuner.
Integumentary System
This is where you stack up on Armor bonuses. Subdermal Armor is a good choice if you want to match David’s stats from the later episodes of the show. There aren’t any specific items that you have to pick. Go with what you have available or personally prefer for these three slots.
Skeleton
To succeed in Cyberpunk 2077, you need to loot everything all the time. Titanium Bones is your best friend here, and it nicely fits David’s build. Dense Marrow is a must-have for its damage boost. And next, you can place whatever you like.
Hands
Since this David build is primarily focusing on the brawler style of combat, it may not make much sense to go for ranged guns boosters in the Hands slots, but here’s what I recommend: Smart Link and Ballistic Coprocessor.
In the rare moments where you would want to use guns, you will surely benefit from both of these implants. David does use a pistol and a shotgun in the series, although we mostly see him “play melee”.
Arms
This is where the fun begins! An absolute must-have are the Gorilla Arms cyberware here. David’s fast movement extends to all parts of his body, as opposed to any shots he may fire with a gun.
This is why the Gorilla Arms is the most efficient and lore-appropriate upgrade you should get.
We see young David talking to Maine in one episode and discussing possibility of David obtaining Maine’s Gorilla Arms if or when he gets flatlined.
In the later episodes, after Maine is gone, we see David sporting exactly this type of cyberware. You can opt for an added DoT effect and a different Attribute Attunement.
You could also go for Monowire and (my personal favorite) Mantis Blades, of course. David is using Projectile Launcher in the later episodes as well, but this implant occupies the same cyberware slot as the Gorilla Arms, so in Cyberpunk 2077 you cannot combine them both.
I prefer to ignore completely the Projectile Launch. You could use it in a combination with a Pistol or Shotgun build, but if you focus on melee, Gorilla Arms is your number one choice.
Legs
In this slot, I would highly recommend that you use the Reinforced Tendons. The double jump is not something we ever see in the anime, but this is one of the best ever choices you will make for a cyberware implant in Cyberpunk 2077. If you haven’t used it, trust me, you’ll love it. It becomes like second nature to you in a few minutes.
Essential Cyberware for the David Build
I went a bit too deep with the recommendations above. If you feel confused, here is a short list of the most important cyberware I recommend that you slot on your character’s body to be able to play an authentic David in Cyberpunk 2077.
As promised, I did my best to stay true to the anime character from the Cyberpunk Edgerunners series on Netflix. I hope you have enjoyed this guide and am looking forward to see what builds you come up with.
If you are curious, check out my other guides from the Cyberpunk Edgerunners guides collection I have built since the release of the TV Series. It includes the complete list of all locations from Edgerunners in Cyberpunk 2077 and the full catalog of all weapons and cyberware from Edgerunners in Cyberpunk 2077.
For more, browse through our Cyberpunk 2077 Guides Master List of the most important and interesting guides VULKK.com has produced for the game and its expansion, split into categories!
