Cyberpunk 2077 explains a lot, but not everything. For example, whether there is a New Game+. Or whether you can make mistakes in the skill system. We help.
After what feels like eons of waiting, you can finally get going. Cyberpunk 2077 is here. And don’t worry, we won’t spoil anything for you here, we’ll just give you a little jump-start. As with any role-playing game, there are some things that you only discover late in the game, but would have liked to know earlier.
That can be annoying. For example, you bet on a romance and leave other options aside, only to find out at the end of the quest that your V is not compatible with the corresponding partner. Again, we won’t spoil you with specific names, but we’ll give you a compass to help you navigate through the campaign much more smoothly.
Overview:
- Don’t worry about the “Life Paths”
- Leave secondary emissions to the left in the prologue
- Skills you should definitely take with you
- Do not always trust the quest markers
- There is no “New Game+”
- Do not forget the cyberware
- Close combat is cursed strong
- Romances have sexual preferences – and are sometimes well hidden
- Take your time!
- Drones and crafting are not worth it
1. do not worry about the Life Path
Character editors can take up several hours of your time, because you simply cannot decide on a perfect nose. Cyberpunk 2077 also offers a wide range of possibilities in terms of character creation, but in terms of gameplay, one option seems to be essential: Which life path does V follow?
You have the choice between Nomad, Street Kid and Corporate, so you can decide for yourself whether V comes from the desert, was employed by the Araska Corporation or had to fight his way through the gutter night cities. Depending on the Life Path you choose, the first half hour of the game changes drastically, because you play this background story actively.
Don’t let this stress you out! Yes, your chosen life path changes the prologue and gives you additional flavor conversation options in many dialogs. The effects on the actual main and side quests are very limited, though. Decide here primarily from a roleplay perspective: Who should be your V? A failed corporate agent? A hard-boiled nomad? Don’t worry about blocking any gameplay-relevant path in the game.
2. LEAVE SECONDARY EMISSIONS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PROLOG
Sounds for an open world play like the worst tip of all times, but leave the side missions out for the time being. Cyberpunk 2077 has an extensive prologue. You play for almost five hours before the title screen pops up for the first time. Only then the actual story of the game begins. You’ll know what we mean when you get there. Saving the side quests has a decisive advantage:
After the prologue, you’ll have an additional companion that can also massively enhance older side missions with its chatter. Be sure to take this with you.
You also don’t have to worry about any side missions being cancelled. All missions you receive before the prologue is finished (e.g. paying back debts to Vic) will remain after the prologue is over.
3. skills that you should definitely take with you
You can specialize V as you wish, making her a pure Shotgun Armor Mercenary, for example. Go. But if you want to keep some flexibility in your play style – sneaking around, hacking, and so on – you need to know Very few skills per tree are enough to make hacking or sneaking wonderfully useful. Even for a Rambo build.
With this ensemble of affordable skills, you’ll get to the starting line for the entire spectrum of playing styles:
- Big sleep (in Intelligence -> Breach Protocol): Paralyze all cameras in the network by hack for three minutes. If you level this to level 2, the time will even increase to six minutes. This makes sneaking a lot easier!
- Turret Shutdown (in Intelligence -> Breach Protocol): Works like Great Sleep, but with turrets. If you want to go one step further, you should level the following skill:
- Gun Taming (in Intelligence -> Breach Protocol): We don’t have to explain to you why hacking gun turrets on allies in the whole area is a very, very good thing.
- I spy (in Intelligence -> Quickhacks): Shows enemy Netrunners, probably the most annoying enemies in the turmoil. Helps a lot when it comes to switching off the netrunner.
- Spirit (in Coolness -> Stealth): The most important skill for silent runners. At level 2 you are 40 percent less easy to detect by enemy guards. This changes the stealth feeling enormously. Make sure you get to level 2!
- Fighting Machine (in Coolness -> Fighting Machine): As soon as you kill an enemy, you fall into a ten-second rush. This whole tree is worth a lot. With Mechanical Precision, for example, you increase the headshot damage by 50 percent. You can also stack Kampfmaschine several times if you put a few points into it. Fighting Machine has made our lives a lot easier. If you are discovered sneaking around or generally like to shoot, make sure you take the tree with you.
- Slowly but surely (in reflexes -> blade): 30 percent less damage when you move with blade in your hand. Essential for melee builds with Mantis blades or Katana.
- Recycling (in Technical Ability -> Item Creation): Pure comfort skill that automatically breaks down collected scrap (barbed dildos, card packs, etc.) into raw materials. No must-have, but still comfortable and cheap.
Important: Attribute points are rare. Only one of these points is awarded per level up. With 50 levels you can calculate: There are not enough attribute points to increase each attribute to the maximum of 20. But that is not necessary either. Our stealth build, for example, was competent enough on “Hard” (third of four difficulty levels) for every challenge with a coolness value of 12.
Maximum levels are only necessary if you want to max out a very specific type of weapon. For example, you need a reflex value of 20 points (maximum level) to learn the skill “Brutal and Stoic”. This increases damage with submachine guns and rifles by a remarkable 35 percent when you stand still.
If you choose the Rambo path with submachine guns at high levels of toughness, such a strong specialization is worthwhile to make a submachine gun build survive. All other paths (sneaking, hacking) allow you more flexibility because they are not as difficult. As a rule of thumb, allow yourself a little flexibility in all talent trees. Not all game styles have to be optimized to the maximum to be fun.
4. do not always trust the quest markers
Cyberpunk 2077 takes you by the hand. You’re always told where to go in a quest, what to do and who to talk to. But appearances can be deceptive. Cyberpunk 2077 tells you a lot, but not everything. In some missions there are hidden decisions, which the mission description does not tell you.
Here is the rule: Always pay attention to what the people in a quest say. Can you trust the statements? Is an alternative conceivable? Try to push the limits of a mission, try crazy things.
Besides, the search for secrets is worthwhile in every big campaign mission. Take the hotel mission of the prologue, for example, and have a rummage on the roof. You will be surprised.
5. there is no New Game+
The last mission of Cyberpunk 2077 is indeed the last mission. After that it is over. No “New Game+” like in The Witcher 3, where you start a new game, but keep level and weapons. Instead, the game teleports you back to the last save point before the finale after the credits. You can then tackle the remaining side quests and play the showdown over and over again.
Our recommendation: Take as many side quests as possible before you go into the finale. The first time will always be special, so don’t rush through the door, but do the important character stories first so that your first story comes to a close. Because side-quests have an effect on the final. That much is said.
6. do not forget the cyberware!
In Cyberpunk 2077 you can give V certain implants. This so-called cyberware optimizes your eyes and gives you a scanner. Or a double jump for your legs. Or the dangerous mantis blades with which you can shred your opponent in no time.
At the beginning of the campaign, many cyberware upgrades are sinfully expensive. And indeed, it’s worth the money especially for these lucrative upgrades. So it may well be that you’ll have to struggle through Night City for a while without much cyberware. But don’t forget them!
The mantis blades alone are such a blessing. They occupy an additional fourth weapon slot, so you no longer need to leave room for dedicated melee weapons in your three main slots. The katana is fun too, but the mantis blades really rock. Your Quickhacks can also be expanded via cyberware.
So be sure to visit the ripperdocs in the various districts regularly and see if you can unlock new expansions.
7. close combat is cursed strong
As the great philosopher Obi-Wan Kenobi said: “Firearms are for the feet. If you don’t feel like shooting, then why not use a katana, baseball bat or the good old pipe? Cyberpunk 2077 offers a fairly wide range of melee combat options, including a non-lethal giant dildo beating. And it’s worth using.
You can make melee weapons incredibly deadly with just a few skill points. In the Blade Talent Tree, you can activate the skill “Bloody Dance” with a lousy reflex value of 6 (you start at 4). This will cause your opponent to bleed with a probability of 15% as soon as you strike. This bleeding also helps enormously in the fight against invisible enemies, because a dripping trail of blood is difficult to conceal.
8. romances have sexual preferences – and are sometimes well hidden
Unlike in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, for example, not all potential love partners in Cyberpunk 2077 are bisexual. The male and female candidates have clear sexual preferences. For example, one woman is exclusively attracted to men, the other exclusively to women. The game will also tell you that, as long as you listen to the people (that never hurts anyway). So don’t block any romantic options, because you are hoping for something from another person that you will never get.
The male romances (with male partners) are also well hidden in side missions. If you want to unlock them, follow the Rogue Quest and the Peralez Quest in the campaign.
9. take your time!
Sounds like a banal tip, but at some point in the story, Cyberpunk 2077 puts constant pressure on you to move forward in the campaign. Ignore that. There is no time limit in the game – and you’ll miss so many exciting stories if you just push the envelope. Night City is full of details, full of little background information that can easily be overlooked.
10. drones and crafting are not worthwhile
Skill and attribute points are rare in Cyberpunk 2077. Sure, you won’t get skipped with two or three points in the wrong category, but it’s still worth it to keep a reasonable budget. That’s why we recommend you to be careful of crafting and anti-drone skills. Drones are quite rare in the game and can be killed with a few volleys, except for very fat mechs. Only for the big mechs in some missions can anti-drone skills help you noticeably.
