Which difficulty level suits you best? We explain how the levels differ and what is especially important – with details that the game doesn’t tell you.
You want to get started with Cyberpunk 2077 and plunge into the wild turmoil of Night City, but don’t know which difficulty you should choose? In this article, we’ll explain which difficulty level is worth it for you.
We also asked CD Projekt how the higher levels differ from the easy ones. Details that the game doesn’t explain to you.
- Easy: If you are only interested in the story about V and the former rock star Johnny Silverhand and want to enjoy it lightheartedly, the easiest difficulty level is the best choice. This is also particularly suitable for genre newcomers, since the battles don’t pose much of a challenge. Enemies basically behave like Star Wars stormtroopers. The easiest difficulty level is also recommended for trophy hunters. This does not affect the achievements.
- Normal: The normal difficulty level brings a bit more challenge to the battles, but still remains fairly beginner-friendly. Smaller enemies shouldn’t be too much of a hurdle, but stronger enemies and bosses can demand a bit more from you.
- Hard: The hard difficulty level is suitable for experienced role-players who have already gained experience in games like Fallout. The battles become a challenge and the player should put more thought into his equipment and strategy.
- Very Hard: At the highest level, the most important thing is careful character development and skillful handling of items, game mechanics and the environment. This difficulty level is not worth it for the first playthrough, since you should already know the game and its mechanics.
Not sure how to allocate your skill points yet? Check out our build guide for inspiration: we’ll tell you what you need for the ultimate melee fighter and give you tips on how to stand up to groups and bosses:
What the game doesn’t tell you
The fact that the confrontations with enemies and bosses become increasingly difficult on the higher difficulty levels does not only have to do with the fact that the life energy of the enemies increases. Miles Tost, Senior Level Designer at CD Projekt, tells us what else changes in the enemy behavior.
- The life energy and resistances of the enemies increase: Probably the most obvious change. You’ll now have to deal more damage with your weapons to get an enemy around the corner. At the same time, the resistance of your enemies increases, which makes it harder for you to take them out with a sneak attack or your grenades, for example.
- Your enemies will act smarter: the higher the difficulty level, the more abilities your enemies will use in battle. For example, they will approach you prancing and groups of enemies will flank you better. Even if you take cover, you can’t feel safe. This is because enemies use grenades more aggressively on the higher difficulty levels to scare you out of hiding.
- You’ll take more damage: On the higher difficulty levels, your enemies won’t get stronger weapons, but they will hit better. If you’re really unlucky, you’ll bite the dust after just one lucky hit from a sniper. This makes the cover mechanics very important. Conversely, on the lower difficulty levels, enemies behave like amateurs. Although the weapons are deadly, more shots miss, which means you’ll suffer less damage in the end – especially when you take cover.
