☠️New Iconic Weapon: Step by Step
Tutorial for gonks
Summary
Published: December 2023 by destinybu Last documented edit: Feb 07 2024 by mana vortex
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 another guide about this topic under ItemAdditions: Weapons
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 - 😑
Optional: RedHotTools, RedMod
If you are stuck, refer to the Troubleshooting (Check this when you're stuck) at the end of the page.
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
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)
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).
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.
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.
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:
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
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:
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_collectionWithin 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.
LocKey#49794So 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:
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
0
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:
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:
Instead of displayName: MC_gun_name, you can also write displayName: LocKey#MC_gun_name. However, TweakXL will do this for you!
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:
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
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.
audioName for Items.Preset_Liberty_DexNow add this value to your weapon tweak as shown below.
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.
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
Now add this stat group to your weapon's tweak (see the last line).
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):
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
Item Quality
Buy & Sell 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.
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:
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
.jsonfile that you've created when Setting up a localizationKeyAdd another entry (you can duplicate an existing entry)
Set the
secondaryKeyto the value in your tweak file,MC_gun_iconic_descriptionSet
femaleVariantto 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:
Adding the mod to the weapon
Now we can finally add the mod to the weapon by adding it to the slotPartListPreset:
Everything hangs together now, let's see if it works.
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:
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):
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
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
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 playerPerks.HitIsBodyPartHead_inline0-> Actual condition to check for headshotsPrereqs.Is_Attack_Ranged-> (Custom) We don't want quick melee attacks to healPrereqs.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.
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:
We've done a lot so far, so I'll leave all our changes here:
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 mana vortexfor (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.logand 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\tweaksArchive Folder -
Cyberpunk 2077\archive\pc\modLook at WolvenKit logs located towards the bottom. Yellow or Red text means there's warnings/errors in your file that need addressing.
Last updated