We provide all information about the Lifepaths in Cyberpunk 2077 and make it easier for you to decide between nomad, street child and corporate with a psycho test.
The countdown is on, the release of Cyberpunk 2077 is just around the corner! And for many players, an important question now arises: Who do I want to be? In Cyberpunk 2077, you choose one of three personal backgrounds for your character V, which has an impact on the story and decision-making options. The system is similar to Dragon Age: Origins, so you are replaying a part of your past. The prologue is different for all three Lifepaths, but ends at the same point in Night City.
Freedom-loving nomad, cunning street kid, or unscrupulous corporation – what suits you best? If you don’t want to leave it to chance (yes, there is a random selection): Don’t worry, we’ll help you with this difficult decision! We’ll introduce you to all three life paths in more detail and clarify the differences between them. Below you will find a quiz that will tell you which background suits you best.
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How do the Lifepaths affect the gameplay?
All effects can only be seen after we have played Cyberpunk 2077 extensively. But from our experiences with the innuendo events so far, we can estimate that the origin of the game will open up new solutions or dialogue options for you:
- For example, as a nomad you can save an NPC by sending him to a friendly clan. Without this origin you won’t even see the option.
- As a corporate citizen, you can see through the machinations of other Corpos: In the mission around the Flathead robot, you therefore recognize that there is a virus on the Militech chip.
- As a street kid you have a better connection to the gangs of Night City and can negotiate with them more easily.
The life paths are not to be confused with classes, they do not exist in Cyberpunk 2077. What comes closest are the game styles: You can sneak, hack, fight your way through with guns and katana or choose a way in between, regardless of the background story.
The three paths of life
Who is that?
The Nomads are the inhabitants of the hostile badlands that surround Night City as a dry desert landscape. Without a fixed abode, the nomads live together in closely related groups and regard their clan as a family. In the badlands, resources are scarce, so the nomads have learned to make the best of their situation. They are experts in survival, help each other and attach great importance to their freedom. Most of them earn their money as travelling craftsmen or transport goods and people in huge convoys through the badlands.
Some Nomad groups have degenerated into organized bandits who want to get fast money by extortion and robbery. They do not even shy away from exploiting other Nomads – a serious violation of all the rules of the community.
Strangely enough, by the way, nomads enjoy a particularly good education, because they still fall back on “outdated” sources of information such as books. Furthermore, the close family relationship passes on values and cultural identity to the children.
You are an outsider among outsiders in Night City. As a nomad, you know a lot about survival in the wilderness and the value of friendships, but nothing about the intrigues of power-hungry corporations.
How the story begins as a nomad
As Nomad V starts in the Badlands. You left your Clan Bakkers to look for work in Night City. Together with a guy named Jackie you try to smuggle something in the trunk of your jeep to Night City. But already on the way there the difficulties start: Your car breaks down and you have to repair it in a rotten garage. Besides, nasty customs officers make your life difficult.
Street Kid
Who is that?
In the dirty slums of Night City, whole generations grow up without hope for a better life. On the streets, it’s best to trust only your closest friends – the Street Kids have internalized this. Many become thieves, mercenaries or worse, in order to survive. Drugs, gangs, violence and constant danger determine the life of the street kid, always in the shadow of the rich districts. For the wasteful wealth of Night City is unequally distributed.
Bloody gang wars shape your everyday life in Night City. As a Street Kid, you are a street kid who knows all the tricks of the trade, knows the alleys and secrets of the city and hates the rich Corpos with their luxury cars and designer clothes. But you have little idea about the world outside the city limits.
How the story begins as a street kid
You grew up in the Heywood neighborhood and hang out in a Latino bar at the start of the game. Your buddy, the bartender, tells you about his troubles. He has debts he cannot pay. Of course V will help you! You talk to the fence and get a chance to pay off the debt with a tiny little job – stealing a car. Too bad a guy named Jackie has the same idea. So you are rivals for the time being, but both of you get a pounding from the police. From then on you try your luck together.
Corporate
Who is that?
The big corporations are the true rulers of Night City. Those who work for them are rewarded with luxury and wealth, but in return they have to assert themselves in a cold and ruthless entrepreneurial world. Those who fail, fall deeply. And those who rise to the top have probably paid for it with the blood of others.
The wealthy corporations enjoy the comforts of Night City to the full: Tailor-made and priceless clothing, the latest cyberware implants, the fastest cars. You have already come to know and love all this as Corpo.
This is how the story begins as Corpo
If you choose the Corpo background for V, you will start the game with a big defeat. You work for the Arasaka corporation, and you have just ruined an important project. Your boss isn’t very happy about this – and disappointing the powerful corporations can be deadly.
That’s why V is trying to make up for his mistake. But everything comes much worse than expected and V has to say goodbye to a life of luxury. At least for now. At least you have your old friend Jackie at your side, together you try your luck as mercenaries.
Which Lifepath is the right one?
Still undecided? Then just answer the following questions and we’ll let you know whether Street Kid, Nomad or Corpo suits you best.
