☠️New Iconic Weapon: Step by Step

Tutorial for gonks

Summary

Published: December 2023 by destinybu Last documented edit: Feb 07 2024 by manavortex

We'll be making a fully featured new Iconic weapon in this guide, which is designed for first-timers and goes into details into every aspect about weapon modding. (not appearances)

Wait, this is not what I want!

You can find other guides about this topic under ItemAdditions: Weapons and Standalone Weapon Appearance
For an overview of weapon properties, check Cheat Sheet: Weapon BaseStats
For an overview of weapon audio profiles, check Cheat Sheet: Weapon Audio

Prerequisites

Before beginning, ensure you have the following software installed and properly set up:

WolvenKit (8.12+) - Installed & Setup
MLSB (MultiLayerSetupBuilder 1.6.7+) - Installed & Setup
A text editor: Notepad++ or, if you want to get fancy, Visual Studio Code
Cyberpunk 2077 - 😑
Core mods: ArchiveXL, TweakXL, Red4Ext
Optional: RedHotTools, RedMod

If you are stuck, refer to the Troubleshooting (Check this when you're stuck) at the end of the page.

Iconic Weapons in a nutshell

Each Iconic weapon is a variant of a base weapon, with an hidden (from the player) mod. This "hidden" mod contains a statModifiers array (to list all the stat changes this Iconic will have from the base weapon) and an OnAttach array. The OnAttach array is where you'll want a GameplayLogicPackage to go. You may or may not need to define conditional effectors in there, but if you want your weapon to have the customary Iconic yellow description then be aware that there is where it's written (in the UIData of the GameplayLogicPackage).

Step 0: Understanding the structure

The rest of this guide will hold your hand through a deep dive, step-by-step, of your first custom Iconic made from zero. If you get lost through it, or if you'd rather find your own flow, you'll be well served by returning to check the code of an Iconic weapon already in the game (as you'll be building up from a base weapon in the same way, and it's solid footing).

RedMod tweak files are much more legible than a "TweakXL override" from WolvenKit for this, as each step there inherits redundant stuff passively and won't clutter your screen. Plus you'll see inlines content directly without having to track down flats. Just use something to search the insides of the files for the definitions (VS can, or some free tools like Agent Ransack)

Step 1: Create a New Project in WolvenKit

Start by opening WolvenKit and create a new project. This will be the base for your new iconic weapon mod.

Step 2: Choose the weapon and create an override

Decide on the weapon you want to modify to make a new new iconic.

For this tutorial, we will use the gun 'Unity' as our base (Items.Preset_Unity_Default). If you want to use a different weapon, you can refer to Spawn Codes (BaseIDs/Hashes) or find a list of all in-game items here.

To understand how the base gun works, open the Tweak Browser in WolvenKit and search for Items.Preset_Unity_Default.

After locating the Unity gun in the tweak browser, right-click on the item and select "Add TweakXL Override". This allows you to modify and customize the weapon’s attributes to create your new iconic weapon.

To read more about Tweak modding, check TweakDB: Game database. This isn't necessary for understanding this guide!

Step 3: Editing and understanding your new tweak

Before you start with this section, make sure to read the block below!

.yaml files use indentation (the number of spaces at the beginning of a line) to organize entries in groups. This is easy to break!

If you run into problems, you can check your file on yamllint.com. If that doesn't help, see if red4ext/plugins/TweakXL/TweakXL.log has any hits for your mod.

Open the overridden tweak file in a code editor of your choice (such as Notepad++ or VS Code). You will be presented with a .yaml file containing roughly a million fields.

How does it work?

For first time modders, understanding all this in one go will be difficult. You can just keep these explanations handy and revisit them when required.

The .yaml file may seem complex at first glance, but the actual structure is extremely simple. Your weapon has properties – those stand on the left side of the :, such as ammo. The properties have different values, and those stand on the right side of the :, such as Ammo.RifleAmmo.

An annotated example

Here's a breakdown of key fields in a different weapon (Items.Preset_Sidewinder_Default) : (Thanks to BuffMcMuff)

Items.Preset_Sidewinder_Default: # item "code" for your weapon. use this when giving item.
  $type: gamedataWeaponItem_Record # the type of record. (records need to be defined with either a $type or a $base)
  ammo: Ammo.RifleAmmo # ammo type used (Fun Fact: Dex's Gun has ammo type - Items.Money)
  baseEmptyReloadTime: 1.54999995 # base reload time when mag empty NOTE: DO NOT EDIT RELOAD SPEED HERE see statModifierGroups: Items.Base_Sidewinder_Handling_Stats
  baseReloadTime: 1.54999995 # base reload time when mag is not empty NOTE: DO NOT EDIT RELOAD SPEED HERE see statModifierGroups: Items.Base_Sidewinder_Handling_Stats
  damageType: DamageTypes.Physical # damage type
  effectiveRangeFalloffCurve: StandardFalloff # damage fall of curve
  evolution: WeaponEvolution.Smart # what type of weapon none, power, tech and smart for ranged weps
  forcedMinHitReaction: -1
  fxPackage: WeaponFxPackage.SmartRifle # visual effects used for bullets. trail, bullet hole, impact, etc
  fxPackageQuickMelee: WeaponFxPackage.QuickMeleeFxPackage
  hudIcon: HUDWeaponIcons.Sidewinder # hud icon used
  IsIKEnabled: False # are inverse kinematics enabled.
  manufacturer: WeaponManufacturer.Corporation # weapon manufacturer type. not sure if used ingame.
  primaryTriggerMode: TriggerMode.FullAuto # trigger mode when hip firing and aiming if secondaryTriggerMode is not set.
  projectileEaseOutCurveName: ProjectileEaseOut
  rangedAttacks: Attacks.SmartBulletLowPackage # what type of bullet to fire. explosive, smart, projectile, standard hitscan, etc
  triggerEffectName: te_wea_aim_mid
  uninterruptibleEmptyReloadStart: 0.5 # point after which reload cannot be cancelled by other animations such as running. with empty mag
  uninterruptibleReloadStart: 0.5 # point after which reload cannot be cancelled by other animations such as running. with non empty mag
  useForcedTBHZOffset: False # Time before hit offset? used by npc
  UseShootVFXOnlyOnFirstShot: False # if bullet vfx is used again when firing in non semi-auto
  animFeatureName: WeaponData
  animName: ui_garment_pose
  animSetResource: ''
  appearanceResourceName: Preset_Sidewinder_Default # used to set .app file used by weapon
  audioName: wea_set_sidewinder # used to set weapon sounds not related to reloading and and first equip anim.
  blueprint: Items.Base_Smart_AR_SMG_LMG_NoAttachments_Blueprint # "blueprint" used to create the gun. different versions for guns with no barrel or scope attachments. also generic ones for iconics
  crosshair: Crosshairs.SmartGun # what crosshairs to use
  deprecated: False # TODO. used with items from before v2.0?
  dropObject: defaultItemDrop
  enableNpcRPGData: True # if npc should use npcRPGData found below
  entityName: weapon_root
  equipArea: EquipmentArea.Weapon # equip area. see equipment.EX
  friendlyName: w_rifle_assault_nokota_sidewinder # used to set player arm animations in first person see player_ma_fpp.ent and player_wa_fpp.ent. reload and first equip sounds are set in .anims files also. see weapon anim files beginning with pwa_ and pma_
  garmentOffset: 0
  icon: UIIcon.ItemIcon # Used when setting inventory icon
  iconPath: '' # Used when setting inventory icon
  isCached: False
  isCoreCW: False
  isCustomizable: False
  isGarment: False
  isPart: False # this is set to true in weapon parts such as scopes
  isSingleInstance: False
  itemCategory: ItemCategory.Weapon # item category used for inventory
  itemSecondaryAction: ItemAction.Equip # second action shown when looking at weapon on the ground for example.
  itemType: ItemType.Wea_Rifle # what type of item. used in inventory and perks i think? maybe affects animations?
  localizedName: '' 
  mass: 20 # weight of weapon.
  minigameInstance: minigame_v2.DefaultItemMinigame
  npcRPGData: Items.Base_Sidewinder_inline1 # stats used when the weapon is equipped by an NPC
  parentAttachmentType: ParentAttachmentType.Slot # used for weapon attachments such as scopes and muzzles
  powerLevelDeterminedByParent: False # TODO. not used since 2.0?
  quality: Quality.Random # default quality for weapon. CET ignores Quality.Random and always gives normal. Other quality settings work fine in CET and random works normally when found normally ingame.
  qualityRestrictedByParent: False
  replicateWhenNotActive: False
  stateMachineName: Weapon # used by game logic.
  upgradeCostMult: 1
  useHeadgearGarmentAggregator: False # TODO. probably not used by weapons?
  useNewSpawnMethod: False
  usesVariants: False
  savable: False
  attacks: # used to set different types of projectiles that can be shot by the gun. not used in 2.0?
    - Attacks.Bullet_GameEffect
       ...
    - Attacks.ChimeraPowerMod_ExplosiveBulletEffect
  gameplayDescription: LocKey(92674) # used to set the description when inspecting weapon.
  ikOffset: {x: 0, y: 0, z: 0}
  shootingPatternPackages: [] # used by npc
  triggerModes: # trigger modes available to weapon. should have primary and secondary trigger modes here also
    - TriggerMode.FullAuto
  animationParameters: []
  appearanceSuffixes: [] 
  appearanceSuffixesOwnerOverride: []
  attachmentSlots: [] # TODO. used by attachments such as scopes and muzzles
  buyPrice: # price multipliers used when buying weapon.
    - Price.BaseWeaponPrice
    - Price.ItemQualityMultiplier
    - Price.PlusTierMultiplier
    - Price.BrokenItemPriceMult
    - Price.IconicMultiplier
    - Price.BuyPrice_StreetCred_Discount
    - Price.AssaultRifleMultiplier
    - Price.SmartWeapon
  cameraForward: {x: 0, y: 0, z: 0}
  cameraUp: {x: 0, y: 0, z: 0}
  connections: []
  displayName: LocKey(3599) # name of weapon
  equipAreas: []
  equipPrereqs: [] # TODO. used by game logic packages(GLP)?
  gameplayRestrictions: # restrict weapon usage in certain situations.
    - GameplayRestriction.VehicleCombatNoInterruptions
  hairSkinnedMeshComponents: []
  localizedDescription: LocKey(3600) # white text description when hovering over an item.
  OnAttach: # used to apply effects to player and weapon whean equipping weapon. stamina regen speed, stagger when shooting, etc
    - Items.Base_Assault_Rifle_inline0
    - EquipmentGLP.MediumStaminaRegen
    - EquipmentGLP.LightStaminaDelay
    - Items.SmartWeaponTargetsPriorityQueues
  OnEquip: [] 
  OnLooted: [] 
  parts: []
  placementSlots: # slots in Which this item can be placed in. see equipmentEX?
    - AttachmentSlots.WeaponRight
    - AttachmentSlots.WeaponLeft
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotSniperRifle
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotSMG
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotTechRifle
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotHandgunLeftJackie
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotHandgunRightJackie
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotGenericMelee
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotHammer
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotKatana
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotKnifeRight
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotKnifeLeft
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotGenericRanged
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotHandgunRight
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotHandgunLeft
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotTechRifle
    - AttachmentSlots.ItemSlotSMG
  previewBBoxOverride: []
  requiredSlots: []
  sellPrice:
    - Price.BaseWeaponPrice
    - Price.ItemQualityMultiplier
    - Price.PlusTierMultiplier
    - Price.WeaponSellMultiplier
    - Price.BrokenItemPriceMult
    - Price.IconicMultiplier
    - Price.AssaultRifleMultiplier
    - Price.SmartWeapon
  slotPartList: # what models to load when weapon has attachments and when it has mag inserted(or not)
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_inline2
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_inline4
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_inline6
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_inline8
  slotPartListPreset: # same as above but specific to the preset of the weapon, also used to set attachment and mod slots
    - Items.Preset_Sidewinder_Default_inline0
      …
    - Items.Preset_Sidewinder_Default_inline5
  tags: # tags signalling the game about weapon being smart, melee, ranged, etc....
    - Weapon
    - RangedWeapon
    - inventoryDoubleSlot
    - Preload
    - Weapon
    - Rifle Assault
    - Smart
    - SmartWeapon
    - Preload
    - Weapon
    - Rifle Assault
  variants: []
  visualTags: # visual tags used to set what look to use from the app file set in appearanceResoureName
    - Default
  effectors: []
  objectActions:
    - ItemAction.Drop
    - ItemAction.Disassemble
    - ItemAction.WeaponDisassemble
  statModifierGroups: # this section is for actually modifying weapon stats
    - Items.Base_Smart_Stats
    - Items.Base_Smart_Assault_Rifle_No_Sway_Stats
    - Items.Base_Assault_Rifle_RPG_Stats
    - Items.Base_Assault_Rifle_Misc_Stats
    - Items.Base_PlayerState_Spread_Stats
    - Items.Base_Weapon_Damage_Type_Min_Max
    - Items.Base_Weapon_Damage_Type_Physical
    - Items.QualityRandomization
    - Items.ItemPlusRandomizer_MaxQuality
    - Items.ItemPlusRandomizer_Below_MaxQuality
    - Items.WeaponModsWeights_On_Tier2Plus
    - Items.WeaponModsWeights_On_Tier3Plus
    - Items.WeaponModsWeights_On_Tier4Plus
    - Items.WeaponModsWeights_On_Tier5Plus
    - Items.WeaponModsWeights_On_Tier5PlusPlus
    - Items.Base_Smart_Assault_Rifle_Mult_Stats
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_Technical_Stats # used to set: bullet amount fired, projectiles fired per bullet, smart weapon accuracy, fire 
rate(cycle time), mag size, smart range
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_Handling_Stats # used to set: reload speed, weapon zoom, speed of first equip anim.
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_Recoil_Stats # used to set: recoil stats
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_SmartGun_Stats # used to set: smartgun accuracy, projectile stats(speed), lock on stats
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_SmartGun_SmartLink_Stats # used to set: smartlink requirement and how stats in Base_Sidewinder_SmartGun_Stats are affected by link
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_SmartGun_Projectile_Stats # used to set: projectile miss conditions and other stuff like spirals
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_Spread_Stats
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_Flags # unknown
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_Aim_Stats
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_Constant_Stats # more spread stats, firepower, effective range
    - Items.Base_Sidewinder_Damage_Stats # used to set: DPS
  statModifiers: # this section is primarily used to set stuff intrinsic to all weapons
    - Items.Base_Weapon_inline0
      …
    - Items.Base_Weapon_inline149
  statPools: [] # used to set stat pools like tech weapon charge and overheating
  weakspots: []
  position: {x: '0,000500000024', y: 0, z: '0,0900000036'}
  price: Items.Base_Sidewinder_inline0
  weaponVignetteRadius: 0.648199975
  weaponEdgesSharpness: 0.495799989
  weaponFarPlane_aim: 23.7000008
  weaponFarPlane: 29.5
  weaponEdgesSharpness_aim: 0.495799989
  weaponVignetteCircular_aim: 0.174500003
  offset: -0.100000001
  safeActionDuration: 2
  weaponVignetteIntensity_aim: 0.135700002
  weaponNearPlane_aim: 12.4700003
  weaponVignetteRadius_aim: 0.681400001
  weaponNearPlane: 8.31000042
  weaponVignetteIntensity: 0.135700002
  weaponBlurIntensity_aim: 1
  weaponVignetteCircular: 0
  weaponBlurIntensity: 1
  hide_nametag: True

Step 4: Making a new weapon

4.1: New weapon, same as the old weapon

Making a new weapon is fairly simple. In your tweak file, change the Item ID in the very first line to "Items.Hand_Of_Midas" and save (Hotkey: Ctrl+S).

Items.Preset_Unity_Default: -> Remove this
Items.Hand_Of_Midas: -> Add this

That's it, you've created a new weapon now. This weapon will look & behave exactly like the Unity handgun, but trust me, it's new.

To test it out, boot up your game and load any save.

Now open up the CET Console:

Type in the command below and hit Enter.

 Game.AddToInventory("Items.Hand_Of_Midas",1)

You can now see your newly created weapon in your inventory.

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell it apart from the Unity handgun.

We'll get to fixing that, but first, a little cleanup: open up your WolvenKit & rename your overridden tweak file to "hand_of_midas.yaml". We will store all the edits that need to be done to our new weapon in this file.

4.2: Changing the carbon copy

Let's change something that will differentiate our weapon from the default Unity.

To do this, open your renamed tweak file & find the crosshair tag (hotkey: Ctrl+F). Replace it as shown below, and save your file.

  crosshair: Crosshairs.Simple -> remove this
  crosshair: Crosshairs.Tech_Round -> add this

Now hot reload your game (Insert how to link here) or close it, reinstall your mod in WolvenKit & relaunch your game (From here on, this will be referred to as hot reload).

Spawn in both the Unity & Hand of Midas using the CET console:

Game.AddToInventory("Items.Hand_Of_Midas",1)
Game.AddToInventory("Items.Preset_Unity_Default",1)

You should now be able to see that both the Unity & Hand Of Midas, although otherwise identical, now have different crosshairs.

How did we figure out the crosshair ID?

How do we know that it's called "Crosshairs.Tech_Round" ?

Method 1: The REDmod DLC

If you have the REDmod DLC installed, you can use a text editor like Notepad++ to do a full-text search under Cyberpunk 2077/tools/REDmod. By searching for crosshair:, you can find all value assignments in the game files.

Method 2: The Wolvenkit Tweak Browser

By searching for "Crosshairs." in the Tweak Browser. Most things we find inside the weapon tweak will be searchable within the Tweak Browser, and some within the Asset Browser.

Editing the Tweak will allow us to modify all of our gun's behaviors, and I encourage you to play around with these.

Step 5: Removing redundant code

We're only changing a single property in the Hand of Midas. For that, we have a tweak file with more than 200 lines of code. Can't we do this in a better way?

We can, and we should!

In later steps of this guide, you'll need to look up properties. Either keep a copy of your full tweak file (e.g. on your desktop), or refer to An annotated example above.

Using $base instead of $type

Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $base: Items.Preset_Unity_Default
  Just the properties we want to edit ...

OR

Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $type: gamedataWeaponItem_Record
  All the other properties ...

As shown above, when using $type to define a tweak, we need to add all the required properties for the type, but when using $base to define one, we only need to add the properties we are changing, the rest are taken from the parent.

Now go ahead and change it so we use a $base & only define the crosshair. Your entire tweak should now look like this:

Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $base: Items.Preset_Unity_Default
  crosshair: Crosshairs.Tech_Round

Step 6: The personal touch

What good is a new gun without a new name? We need to tell our game about these.

Open your WolvenKit project and navigate to the archive folder
Create a new folder named after your mod, for example midas_collection
Within this folder, make a subfolder named localization

How does the game assign display names?

In your full tweak file, search for the field called displayName. You'll likely encounter something like displayName: LocKey#49794.

This connects the displayName property of your item with a locaization key, which is the mechanism that the game uses to support multiple languages. Think of the LocKey of a list entry, with different lists being used for different languages.

If you want to take a look at these lists, use WolvenKit's LocKey browser or search for onscreens.json.

So we edit onscreens.json?

Good thinking, but no. In Cyberpunk, only one mod can edit any given file. That is why ArchiveXL exists, and we'll use it to create a new translation entry for us.

Place a dedicated en-us.json file in your midas_collection\localization folder. This is where we'll add our own translation entries – after that, we only need to tell ArchiveXL about the file and lean back.

Setting up a localizationKey

Open the file in Wolvenkit and create a new entry in localizationPersistenceOnScreenEntry. It has the following properties:

Property name

your value

explanation

femaleVariant

Hand Of Midas

the default translationse

maleVariant

only set this if you want to show a different translation when your item is equipped by a person of the male body gender

primaryKey

The actual entry in the translation list, make sure to set this to 0 so that it's autogenerated

secondaryKey

MC_gun_name

The key used in tweak files to identify this translation string

secondaryKeys must be globally unique, or they will overwrite each other.

Create another entry with the secondaryKey of MC_gun_description and write a little fluff text for the description.

For more detailed guidance on these properties, check out the ArchiveXL Wiki.

Tell ArchiveXL about our new translation file.

In your WolvenKit project, go to the resources folder and create a plain text file with the following contents:

localization:
  onscreens:
    en-us: midas_collection\localization\en-us.json

Rename this file to midas_collection.archive.xl.

Wolvenkit will move the .xl file to the same directory as your mod's .archive file, where ArchiveXL will see and process it.

Next, revisit your "hand_of_midas" tweak file to establish the weapon's name and description in the game.

Add the following lines under the existing properties:

Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $base: Items.Preset_Unity_Default
  crosshair: Crosshairs.Tech_Round
  displayName: LocKey("MC_gun_name")
  localizedDescription: LocKey("MC_gun_description")

This localizedDescription: is not the yellow text you see on the weapon, but the red-colored description that is shown in the Inspect screen. The text that is shown (as yellow-colored) on the weapon is instead defined in the UIData of the Iconic Mod (at Step 12)

These lines set the display name and the description of your weapon using the keys defined in your localization file. The values on the right side of the : must match the secondaryKey values from your en-us.json file and be globally unique.

After completing these steps, install your mod and launch the game. Your new weapon, "Hand Of Midas", should now appear with its unique name and description, fully integrated into Cyberpunk 2077's multi-language environment.

Step 7: Make it Iconic

To elevate the 'Hand of Midas' to its iconic status, we need to modify the .yaml again, where we set all of the gun's unique features:

# Hand of Midas weapon tweak
Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $base: Items.Preset_Unity_Default # $base makes it so all the properties are taken from the specified tweak (in this case, "Items.Preset_Unity_Default") and the properties specified in this tweak overwrite the parent.
  crosshair: Crosshairs.Tech_Round # other crosshairs can be found by looking for "Crosshairs." in Tweak Browser
  displayName: LocKey("MC_gun_name") # name of the gun (will be fetched from "LocKey#MC_gun_name" secondary key in "en-us.json")
  localizedDescription: LocKey("MC_gun_description") # description of the gun (can be seen when previewing the gun from inventory with "V" key)
  tags:
    - !append-once IconicWeapon # prevent the gun from being dissassembled
  statModifiers: # stats for a weapon - reload time/aim speed/magazine size/recoil kick/damage per second/etc.
    - !append-once Quality.IconicItem # makes the weapon iconic
  statModifierGroups: # stats for a weapon also, but grouped (generally by category)
    - !append-once Items.IconicQualityRandomization

The new things you're seeing are arrays, which is a technical term — you can think of them as lists, since they can hold multiple items.

You can read more about how array operations work in TweakXL.

statModifiers will hold all the stats for your gun. from recoil to damage. Since the $base: Items.Preset_Unity_Default already defines statModifiers, and we'd like to keep those. So we're adding an entry to the list, using!append-once followed by the new entry Quality.IconicItem.

This makes the weapon iconic, which means:

it has a fancy golden background
there's a dialogue box when you disassemble it

To prevent it from being disassembled, we also add IconicWeapon to its tags array.

Upgrade compatibility

We make sure that the weapon updates correctly by setting the

statModifierGroups: # stats for a weapon also, but grouped (generally by category)
    - !append-once Items.IconicQualityRandomization

What exactly it does is somewhat of a mystery, so let me know if you find out.

Go test

Once these modifications are in place, install your mod and enjoy the newfound Iconic status of the 'Hand of Midas' in the game.

Technically, you've already made a new Iconic weapon & I should call quits on this tutorial, but it's never as easy as that, is it? Give yourself a pat on the back & onto the next step.

Step 8: Audio - Gun Go Boom

Let's talk theme.

The gun is called Hand Of Midas, so it would be fitting to have the gun sounds be more… gold-ish, right? How do we achieve this?

We could add custom sounds using RedMod, but due to how that works, we could end up with conflicts that we don't want to bother with. So let's look for guns that already have a sound like that. Dex's gun Items.Preset_Liberty_Dex already has a nice metallic ring to it, so let's just steal its sound effect. To do this, find the gun in Tweak Browser and look for the property audioName.

Now add this value to your weapon tweak as shown below.

# Hand of Midas weapon tweak
Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $base: Items.Preset_Unity_Default # $base makes it so all the properties are taken from the specified tweak (in this case, "Items.Preset_Unity_Default") and the properties specified in this tweak overwrite the parent.
  crosshair: Crosshairs.Tech_Round # other crosshairs can be found by looking for "Crosshairs." in Tweak Browser
  tags:
    - !append-once IconicWeapon # prevent the gun from being dissassembled
  displayName: LocKey("MC_gun_name") # name of the gun (will be fetched from "LocKey#MC_gun_name" secondary key in "en-us.json")
  localizedDescription: LocKey("MC_gun_description") # description of the gun (can be seen when previewing the gun from inventory with "V" key)
  statModifiers: # stats for a weapon - reload time/aim speed/magazine size/recoil kick/damage per second/etc.
    - !append-once Quality.IconicItem # makes the weapon iconic
  audioName: wea_set_liberty_dex -> add this
  statModifierGroups: # stats for a weapon also, but grouped (generally by category)
    - !append-once Items.IconicQualityRandomization

Install your mod and test it out, Hand Of Midas now sounds metallic like we intended it to.

Step 9: Weapon Design 101 - Conceptualization of your Iconic (Optional)

So now let's make it completely overpowered and take all fun out of using it!

Joking. Let's talk about how we can avoid that trap.

The 'Hand of Midas' is envisioned to be a unique piece with its own character - ideal for players who relish precision and skill. So we need strengths and limitations to give it a clear identity. Here's how we achieve this:

Increased Recoil: This adds a layer of complexity and skill. High recoil means each shot requires careful consideration, appealing to players who enjoy a challenge and the satisfaction of mastering a weapon.
Smaller Magazine Size & Increased Reload Time: Every bullet counts. A smaller magazine encourages accuracy over spray-and-pray, and a longer reload time not only adds a strategic layer to combat but also gives players time to appreciate the weapon's aesthetics.

In summary, these design choices don't just balance the weapon; they enhance its identity. The "flaws" don't destroy the gun — instead, they contribute to making the 'Hand of Midas' feel powerful and rewarding for those who can wield it effectively.

Building on Strengths

Once the limitations are set, focus on the weapon's strengths to complement its defined character.

Increased Headshot Damage & Crit Chance: This change rewards accuracy and skill, making the weapon ideal for players who excel in precision shooting.
Increased Zoom on ADS & Extended Effective Range: Enhances the weapon's utility in long-range combat, aligning with its identity as a sharpshooter's choice.

Step 10: Be a stat wizard

You can find an overview of existing weapon stats under Cheat Sheet: Weapon BaseStats

To change the stats discussed in the step above, we again need to tinker with the statModifiers & statModifierGroups in your weapon tweak. Open up the tweak for Items.Preset_Unity_Default and navigate till you find the two arrays.

statModifiers:
    - Items.Base_Weapon_inline0
    - Items.Base_Weapon_inline1
    - Items.Base_Weapon_inline2
    - Items.Base_Weapon_inline3
    ...
statModifierGroups:
    - Items.Base_Weapon_Damage_Type_Min_Max
    - Items.Base_Weapon_Damage_Type_Physical
    - Items.QualityRandomization
    - Items.ItemPlusRandomizer_MaxQuality
    ...

These arrays don't directly contain the stats, but have inline objects, which in turn will contain the actual stats. I recommend browsing to each of these stats in the Tweak Browser to find out what each one does. You can also read about Base Stats and what they do here.

You can add the code below to a new tweak (.yaml) file, or add it to your weapon's file.

To change the gun's recoil, we'll add a new statModifierGroup tweak as shown below

# Recoil related stats for Hand of Midas
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Recoil_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 2
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilTime # time taken by gun to reach the recoil distance
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilKickMin # minimum sway on camera/gun on shooting
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilKickMax # maximum sway on camera/gun on shooting
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilRecoveryTime # time taken to return to normal position after recoil

Now add this stat group to your weapon's tweak (see the last line).

# Hand of Midas weapon tweak
Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $base: Items.Preset_Unity_Default # $base makes it so all the properties are taken from the specified tweak (in this case, "Items.Preset_Unity_Default") and the properties specified in this tweak overwrite the parent.
  crosshair: Crosshairs.Tech_Round # other crosshairs can be found by looking for "Crosshairs." in Tweak Browser
  tags:
    - !append-once IconicWeapon # prevent the gun from being dissassembled
  displayName: LocKey("MC_gun_name") # name of the gun (will be fetched from "LocKey#MC_gun_name" secondary key in "en-us.json")
  localizedDescription: LocKey("MC_gun_description") # description of the gun (can be seen when previewing the gun from inventory with "V" key)
  statModifiers: # stats for a weapon - reload time/aim speed/magazine size/recoil kick/damage per second/etc.
    - !append-once Quality.IconicItem # makes the weapon iconic
  audioName: wea_set_liberty_dex # sets the sounds of Dex's gun - Plan B
  statModifierGroups: # stats for a weapon also, but grouped (generally by category)
    - !append-once Items.IconicQualityRandomization
    - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Recoil_Stats -> add this

Install your mod, launch the game and test your changes. You should see that the gun's recoil is increased, but doesn't feel overwhelming.

You now know how to change your weapon's behavior. Play around & discover other stats and modify your gun to make it feel unique.

Stats can be added individually to statModifiers or in groups to statModifierGroups .

After a bit of tinkering, this is what my weapon tweak now looks like (expand the box below):

See the full thing

# Hand of Midas weapon tweak
Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $base: Items.Preset_Unity_Default # $base makes it so all the properties are taken from the specified tweak (in this case, "Items.Preset_Unity_Default") and the properties specified in this tweak overwrite the parent.
  crosshair: Crosshairs.Tech_Round # other crosshairs can be found by looking for "Crosshairs." in Tweak Browser
  tags:
  - !append-once IconicWeapon # prevent the gun from being dissassembled
  displayName: MC_gun_name # name of the gun (will be fetched from "LocKey#MC_gun_name" secondary key in "en-us.json")
  localizedDescription: MC_gun_description # description of the gun (can be seen when previewing the gun from inventory with "V" key)
  statModifiers: # stats for a weapon - reload time/aim speed/magazine size/recoil kick/damage per second/etc.
  - !append-once Quality.IconicItem # makes the weapon iconic
  audioName: wea_set_liberty_dex # sets the sounds of Dex's gun - Plan B
  statModifierGroups: # stats for a weapon also, but grouped (generally by category)
  - !append-once Items.IconicQualityRandomization
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Recoil_Stats
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Technical_Stats
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Handling_Stats
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Aim_Stats
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Range_Stats
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Damage_Stats
  - !remove Items.Base_Unity_Technical_Stats

# Damage stats for Hand of Midas 
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Damage_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: ConstantStatModifier
    modifierType: Additive
    statType: BaseStats.HeadshotDamageMultiplier # damage multiplier for headshots
    value: 0.5
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.1
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.DPS # weapon DPS
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 0.25
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.HeadshotCritChance # crit change on headshots

# Range stats for Hand of Midas 
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Range_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier 
    statType: BaseStats.EffectiveRange # range beyond which damage drop off begins
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.MaximumRange # range beyond which bullet will despawn

# Magazine capacity for Hand of Midas
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Technical_Stats:
  $base: Items.Base_Unity_Technical_Stats
  statModifiers:
  - !append-once 
    $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 5
    modifierType: Additive
    statType: BaseStats.MagazineCapacityBase # sets the magazine capacity
  - !remove Items.Base_Unity_Technical_Stats_inline2 # remove stat setting the magazine capacity

# Reload related stats for Hand of Midas
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Handling_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 0.25
    modifierType: Additive
    statType: BaseStats.ReloadTimeBase # reload time when magazine is not empty
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 0.25
    modifierType: Additive
    statType: BaseStats.EmptyReloadTime # reload time when magazine is empty

# Aim/Zoom related stats for Hand of Midas
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Aim_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.ZoomLevel # zoom level of a weapon
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: -5
    modifierType: Additive
    statType: BaseStats.AimFOV # FOV when aiming (Illusion of zoom)

# Recoil related stats for Hand of Midas
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Recoil_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 2
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilTime # time taken by gun to reach the recoil distance
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilKickMin # minimum sway on camera/gun on shooting
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilKickMax # maximum sway on camera/gun on shooting
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilRecoveryTime # time taken to return to normal position after recoil

Step 11: Finishing up the Tweak

There are a lot of values to play around with in a tweak file. You are often better off leaving most of them alone. These are some properties you probably should look at when designing a gun.

Blueprint

blueprint: Items.Iconic_Ranged_Weapon_Blueprint # blueprint decides what kind of attachments/mods are allowed on a weapon

Item Quality

Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  ...  
  quality: Quality.Rare # minimum item quality

Buy & Sell Price

Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  ...
  buyPrice: # multipliers to decide the buy price of the gun
  - Price.Hand_Of_Midas
  - Price.BuyPrice_StreetCred_Discount
  sellPrice: # multipliers to decide the sell price of the gun
  - Price.Hand_Of_Midas
  - Price.WeaponSellMultiplier

# Static price for Hand of Midas
Price.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
  value: 100000
  modifierType: Additive
  statType: BaseStats.Price

Step 12: Making an Iconic Mod (Special Ability)

The main thing that makes an iconic weapon so special is its iconic mod. These are like any other weapon mod, but hidden from the UI. Before you start hacking up your own, it is very important you have a look at the existing Iconic Mods in game.

For now, let's look at Items.Preset_Lexington_Wilson (also known as "Dying Night").

A big part of tweak modding is exploration — poking through tweaks until you find just the right thing to copy or change, or looking for something specific in hundreds of files.

Wilson's iconic iron

The example (together with instructions on finding your way around the TweakDB) has moved to Browsing the tweak database -> Example: browsing .tweak files

We'll end up with WilsonWeaponModAbility, which defines the abilities and stats that we care about.

mods_abilities.tweak

WilsonWeaponModAbility : IconicWeaponModAbilityBase
{
    UIData = 
    {
       iconPath = "ability_offensive";
       localizedDescription = "LocKey#50743";
    };
    effectors = 
    [
       {
          prereqRecord = "Prereqs.ProcessHitTriggered";
          percentMult = 0.25f;
          unitThreshold = 10f;
       } : MultiplyDamageWithVelocity, 
       {
          prereqRecord = "Perks.IsHitQuickMelee";
          value = 1.5f;
       } : MultiplyDamage
    ];
}

For an explanation of what these do, please see Types of tweak records -> Effector

MultiplyDamageWithVelocity Effector

Condition: Prereqs.ProcessHitTriggered - Does the bullet hit anything? Effect: MultiplyDamageWithVelocity - Increases the guns damage with 25% if the Player velocity is greater than 10.

MultiplyDamage Effector

Condition: Perks.IsHitQuickMelee - Is the attack a Quick Melee attack? Effect: MultiplyDamage - Increase damage by 50%

Adding an iconic mod

We have found an iconic mod in the mods_abilities.tweak for Wilson's gun, so now let's see that we apply this to the Hand of Midas.

Since our weapon demands perfection, we'll punish the player for not hitting headshots & reward them for hitting headshots. And because we want to make it hurt, we'll use HP reduction & Healing rewards.

You can add the tweaks below to your weapon's file or create a new tweak file.

Defining the ability

In this section, we first define our special ability Cranial_Cashback:

# Hand of Midas Iconic mod ability
Items.Cranial_Cashback:
  $base: Items.IconicWeaponModAbilityBase
  # effectors:
  # - !append-once Effectors.Punish_Miss
  # - !append-once Effectors.Heal_On_Headshot
  UIData:
      $type: GameplayLogicPackageUIData
      localizedDescription: LocKey("MC_gun_iconic_description") # iconic description shown in yellow text when hovering over a weapon

The ability contains

two effectors, which we are yet to implement
the description for our iconic ability as a localizedDescription

Let's start by registering the description.

Open the .json file that you've created when Setting up a localizationKey
Add another entry (you can duplicate an existing entry)
Set the secondaryKey to the value in your tweak file, MC_gun_iconic_description
Set femaleVariant to your text — this will be showin on the tooltip in yellow.
. Make sure that it has the correct secondary key , and enter your fluff text as femaleVariant.

Defining the mod

Now that we have an ability, we need to register it as a mod:

# Hand of Midas Iconic mod
Items.Cranial_Cashback_Mod:
  $base: Items.IconicWeaponModBase
  OnAttach: 
    - Items.Cranial_Cashback

Adding the mod to the weapon

Now we can finally add the mod to the weapon by adding it to the slotPartListPreset:

# Hand of Midas weapon tweak
Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  # your other properties - cut out for readability
  slotPartListPreset: # attachments & mods 
  - !append-once
    $type: SlotItemPartPreset
    itemPartPreset: Items.Cranial_Cashback_Mod # iconic mod
    slot: AttachmentSlots.IconicWeaponModLegendary

Everything hangs together now, let's see if it works.

The full tweak

# Hand of Midas weapon tweak
Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  ...
  slotPartListPreset: # attachments & mods 
  - !append-once
    $type: SlotItemPartPreset
    itemPartPreset: Items.Cranial_Cashback_Mod # iconic mod
    slot: AttachmentSlots.IconicWeaponModLegendary 

# Hand of Midas Iconic mod
Items.Cranial_Cashback_Mod:
  $base: Items.IconicWeaponModBase
  OnAttach: 
    - Items.Cranial_Cashback

# Hand of Midas Iconic mod ability
Items.Cranial_Cashback:
  $base: Items.IconicWeaponModAbilityBase
  # effectors:
  # - !append-once Effectors.Punish_Miss
  # - !append-once Effectors.Heal_On_Headshot
  UIData:
      $type: GameplayLogicPackageUIData
      localizedDescription: LocKey("MC_gun_iconic_description") # iconic description shown in yellow text when hovering over a weapon

Go test

Install your mod — if your gun shows the yellow iconic description on hover, you're good to go. If not, you may have to respawn it via CET.

Designing effectors

Now that we have The full tweak, we'll fill in the two effectors, one to punish the player for missing, and the other to reward them for headshots.

Heal on headshot

We'll heal for 80 HP every time the player pops somebody else's skull with the Hand of Midas. How do we do that?

Let's do what Edison did — we find something to be inspired by. A search for effector in the Tweak Browser finds an awful lot of entries, so I've picked an example for us — a Netrunner item that restores memory:

Items.MemoryReplenishmentEffector:
  $type: gamedataModifyStatPoolValueEffector_Record
  setValue: False
  usePercent: True
  effectorClassName: ModifyStatPoolValueEffector
  prereqRecord: Items.MemoryReplenishmentEffector_inline0
  removeAfterActionCall: False
  removeAfterPrereqCheck: False
  statPoolUpdates:
  - Items.MemoryReplenishmentEffector_inline4
  statModifierGroups: []

The player's health is also a statPool item, it's called BaseStatPools.Health. We can copy this example and change it to meet our needs (for the final result, see The final effector):

Effectors.Heal_On_Headshot:
  $type: gamedataModifyStatPoolValueEffector_Record
  setValue: False
  usePercent: True
  effectorClassName: ModifyStatPoolValueEffector
  prereqRecord: Items.MemoryReplenishmentEffector_inline0
  removeAfterActionCall: False
  removeAfterPrereqCheck: False
  statPoolUpdates: 
  - $type: StatPoolUpdate
    statPoolType: BaseStatPools.Health
    statPoolValue: 80
  statModifierGroups: []

However, the prerequisite for this effector is Items.MemoryReplenishmentEffector_inline0, which doesn't sound helpful.

We could now try to find an existing preReq that checks for headshots, but we can also write our own.

Creating a custom prereq

# Prereq to check if headshot & target is alive and hit with a ranged weapon
Prereqs.Is_Target_Alive_And_Headshot:
  $type: gamedataHitPrereq_Record
  callbackType: HitTriggered
  ignoreSelfInflictedPressureWave: True
  isSynchronous: True
  pipelineStage: Process
  pipelineType: Damage
  prereqClassName: HitTriggeredPrereq # how to refer to it later - Prereqs.HitTriggeredPrereq
  conditions:
  - Perks.IsHitTargetAlive_inline2 # hit target is alive (health != 0)
  - Perks.HitIsBodyPartHead_inline0 # headshot condition
  - Prereqs.Is_Attack_Ranged # condition to check if it's the bullet hitting the target and not a quick melee
  - Prereqs.Is_Weapon_Ranged # condition to check that the gun is source of damage and not a grenade
  processMiss: False # process shots that hit npcs only

Now we have a custom preqrequisite, but we still have to fine-tune and link it:

Creating a custom condition

For more information on this, check Types of tweak records ->Condition

# Condition to check if attack type is ranged
Prereqs.Is_Attack_Ranged:
  $type: gamedataHitPrereqCondition_Record
  invert: False
  onlyOncePerShot: True
  type: Prereqs.AttackType
  attackType: Ranged

# Condition to check if weapon type is ranged
Prereqs.Is_Weapon_Ranged:
  $type: gamedataHitPrereqCondition_Record
  invert: False
  onlyOncePerShot: True
  type: Prereqs.WeaponType
  weaponType: Ranged

Conditions are at the heart of a prerequisite, and here we have four.

Perks.IsHitTargetAlive_inline2 -> We don't want headshots on deadbodies to heal the player
Perks.HitIsBodyPartHead_inline0 -> Actual condition to check for headshots
Prereqs.Is_Attack_Ranged -> (Custom) We don't want quick melee attacks to heal
Prereqs.Is_Weapon_Ranged -> (Custom) We don't want grenades to be counted for this check.

The final effector

Now let's change our effector to use this prerequisite.

# Effector to heal player if they hit a headshot
Effectors.Heal_On_Headshot:
  $type: ModifyStatPoolValueEffector
  prereqRecord: Prereqs.Is_Target_Alive_And_Headshot
  usePercent: False
  statPoolUpdates: 
  - $type: StatPoolUpdate
    statPoolType: BaseStatPools.Health
    statPoolValue: 80

Instead of punishing the player for just missing headshots, we can make our job easier by removing the HP every time they shoot, and compensating for the reduction in HP when hitting headshots by increasing our heal. Here's how we can do that:

# Effector to inflict damage on player when they shoot
Effectors.Punish_Miss:
  $type: ModifyStatPoolValueEffector
  prereqRecord: Prereqs.Has_Player_Shot
  usePercent: False
  statPoolUpdates: 
  - $type: StatPoolUpdate
    statPoolType: BaseStatPools.Health
    statPoolValue: -20

# Prereq to check if the player has shot (bug - currently detects if a player has hit anything, not if shot)
Prereqs.Has_Player_Shot:
  $type: gamedataHitPrereq_Record
  callbackType: HitTriggered
  ignoreSelfInflictedPressureWave: True
  isSynchronous: True
  pipelineStage: PreProcess
  pipelineType: All
  prereqClassName: HitOrMissTriggeredPrereq
  processMiss: True # process shots that miss npcs
  conditions:
  - Prereqs.Is_Attack_Ranged # condition to check if it's the bullet hitting the target and not a quick melee
  - Prereqs.Is_Weapon_Ranged # condition to check that the gun is source of damage and not a grenade

We've done a lot so far, so I'll leave all our changes here:

The full tweak file

# Hand of Midas weapon tweak
Items.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $base: Items.Preset_Unity_Default # $base makes it so all the properties are taken from the specified tweak (in this case, "Items.Preset_Unity_Default") and the properties specified in this tweak overwrite the parent.
  crosshair: Crosshairs.Tech_Round # other crosshairs can be found by looking for "Crosshairs." in Tweak Browser
  tags:
  - !append-once IconicWeapon # prevent the gun from being dissassembled
  displayName: LocKey("MC_gun_name") # name of the gun (will be fetched from "LocKey#MC_gun_name" secondary key in "en-us.json")
  localizedDescription: LocKey("MC_gun_description") # description of the gun (can be seen when previewing the gun from inventory with "V" key)
  statModifiers: # stats for a weapon - reload time/aim speed/magazine size/recoil kick/damage per second/etc.
  - !append-once Quality.IconicItem # makes the weapon iconic
  audioName: wea_set_liberty_dex # sets the sounds of Dex's gun - Plan B
  statModifierGroups: # stats for a weapon also, but grouped (generally by category)
  - !append-once Items.IconicQualityRandomization
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Recoil_Stats
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Technical_Stats
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Handling_Stats
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Aim_Stats
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Range_Stats
  - !append-once StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Damage_Stats
  - !remove Items.Base_Unity_Technical_Stats
  buyPrice: # multipliers to decide the buy price of the gun
  - Price.Hand_Of_Midas
  - Price.BuyPrice_StreetCred_Discount
  sellPrice: # multipliers to decide the sell price of the gun
  - Price.Hand_Of_Midas
  - Price.WeaponSellMultiplier
  blueprint: Items.Iconic_Ranged_Weapon_Blueprint # blueprint decides what kind of attachments/mods are allowed on a weapon
  quality: Quality.Rare
  slotPartListPreset: # attachments & mods 
  - !append-once
    $type: SlotItemPartPreset
    itemPartPreset: Items.Cranial_Cashback_Mod # iconic mod
    slot: AttachmentSlots.IconicWeaponModLegendary 

# Static price for Hand of Midas
Price.Hand_Of_Midas:
  $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
  value: 100000
  modifierType: Additive
  statType: BaseStats.Price

# Damage stats for Hand of Midas 
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Damage_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: ConstantStatModifier
    modifierType: Additive
    statType: BaseStats.HeadshotDamageMultiplier # damage multiplier for headshots
    value: 0.5
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.1
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.DPS # weapon DPS
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 0.25
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.HeadshotCritChance # crit change on headshots

# Range stats for Hand of Midas 
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Range_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier 
    statType: BaseStats.EffectiveRange # range beyond which damage drop off begins
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.MaximumRange # range beyond which bullet will despawn

# Magazine capacity for Hand of Midas
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Technical_Stats:
  $base: Items.Base_Unity_Technical_Stats
  statModifiers:
  - !append-once 
    $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 5
    modifierType: Additive
    statType: BaseStats.MagazineCapacityBase # sets the magazine capacity
  - !remove Items.Base_Unity_Technical_Stats_inline2 # remove stat setting the magazine capacity

# Reload related stats for Hand of Midas
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Handling_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 0.25
    modifierType: Additive
    statType: BaseStats.ReloadTimeBase # reload time when magazine is not empty
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 0.25
    modifierType: Additive
    statType: BaseStats.EmptyReloadTime # reload time when magazine is empty

# Aim/Zoom related stats for Hand of Midas
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Aim_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.ZoomLevel # zoom level of a weapon
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: -5
    modifierType: Additive
    statType: BaseStats.AimFOV # FOV when aiming (Illusion of zoom)

# Recoil related stats for Hand of Midas
StatGroups.Hand_Of_Midas_Recoil_Stats:
  $type: gamedataStatModifierGroup_Record
  statModifiers:
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 2
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilTime # time taken by gun to reach the recoil distance
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilKickMin # minimum sway on camera/gun on shooting
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilKickMax # maximum sway on camera/gun on shooting
  - $type: gamedataConstantStatModifier_Record
    value: 1.5
    modifierType: Multiplier
    statType: BaseStats.RecoilRecoveryTime # time taken to return to normal position after recoil

# Hand of Midas Iconic mod
Items.Cranial_Cashback_Mod:
  $base: Items.IconicWeaponModBase
  OnAttach: 
  - Items.Cranial_Cashback

# Hand of Midas Iconic mod ability
Items.Cranial_Cashback:
  $base: Items.IconicWeaponModAbilityBase
  effectors:
  - !append-once Effectors.Heal_On_Headshot
  - !append-once Effectors.Punish_Miss
  UIData:
    $type: GameplayLogicPackageUIData
    localizedDescription: LocKey("MC_gun_iconic_description") # iconic description shown in yellow text when hovering over a weapon

# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Effector to inflict damage on player when they shoot
Effectors.Punish_Miss:
  $type: ModifyStatPoolValueEffector
  prereqRecord: Prereqs.Has_Player_Shot
  usePercent: False
  statPoolUpdates: 
  - $type: StatPoolUpdate
    statPoolType: BaseStatPools.Health
    statPoolValue: -20

# Effector to heal player if they hit a headshot
Effectors.Heal_On_Headshot:
  $type: ModifyStatPoolValueEffector
  prereqRecord: Prereqs.Is_Target_Alive_And_Headshot
  usePercent: False
  statPoolUpdates: 
  - $type: StatPoolUpdate
    statPoolType: BaseStatPools.Health
    statPoolValue: 80

# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Prereq to check if the player has shot (bug - currently detects if a player has hit anything, not if shot)
Prereqs.Has_Player_Shot:
  $type: gamedataHitPrereq_Record
  callbackType: HitTriggered
  ignoreSelfInflictedPressureWave: True
  isSynchronous: True
  pipelineStage: PreProcess
  pipelineType: All
  prereqClassName: HitOrMissTriggeredPrereq
  processMiss: True # process shots that miss npcs
  conditions:
  - Prereqs.Is_Attack_Ranged # condition to check if it's the bullet hitting the target and not a quick melee
  - Prereqs.Is_Weapon_Ranged # condition to check that the gun is source of damage and not a grenade

# Prereq to check if headshot & target is alive and hit with a ranged weapon
Prereqs.Is_Target_Alive_And_Headshot:
  $type: gamedataHitPrereq_Record
  callbackType: HitTriggered
  ignoreSelfInflictedPressureWave: True
  isSynchronous: True
  pipelineStage: Process
  pipelineType: Damage
  prereqClassName: HitTriggeredPrereq
  conditions:
  - Perks.IsHitTargetAlive_inline2 # hit target is alive (health != 0)
  - Perks.HitIsBodyPartHead_inline0 # headshot condition
  - Prereqs.Is_Attack_Ranged # condition to check if it's the bullet hitting the target and not a quick melee
  - Prereqs.Is_Weapon_Ranged # condition to check that the gun is source of damage and not a grenade
  processMiss: False # process shots that hit npcs only

# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Condition to check if attack type is ranged
Prereqs.Is_Attack_Ranged:
  $type: gamedataHitPrereqCondition_Record
  invert: False
  onlyOncePerShot: True
  type: Prereqs.AttackType
  attackType: Ranged

# Condition to check if weapon type is ranged
Prereqs.Is_Weapon_Ranged:
  $type: gamedataHitPrereqCondition_Record
  invert: False
  onlyOncePerShot: True
  type: Prereqs.WeaponType
  weaponType: Ranged

Test it!

Uncomment the effector in your weapon tweak and test your mod. You should now be healing every time you hit headshots.

Summary: The iconic weapon in action

Here's a demo for how iconic weapon should behave.

You are now a certified weapon modder. Pat your self on the back twice, you've done it. A special request from me (@DestinyBu). If you found this guide helpful, go ahead and document your own findings on the Wiki and maybe ping me if you ever get around to finishing your Mod. A big thanks to manavortexfor (inspiring) forcing me to do this.

Troubleshooting (Check this when you're stuck)

You've created/modified a tweak but it doesn't show effect in game, what next?

Open the CET Console in game search for your Tweak in the Tweak Browser. If your tweak doesn't show, there's a validation error in the tweak.
Validate your .yaml tweaks here to check for errors.
Open Cyberpunk 2077\red4ext\plugins\TweakXL\TweakXL.log and look for any error messages towards the end, this can help when TweakXL has issues loading a tweak.
Check for other mods with same Tweak/Archive names.
Tweak Folder - Cyberpunk 2077\r6\tweaks
Archive Folder - Cyberpunk 2077\archive\pc\mod
Look at WolvenKit logs located towards the bottom. Yellow or Red text means there's warnings/errors in your file that need addressing.

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Last updated 9 days ago