Cyberpunk 2077 had a rocky release, to put it mildly. Filled with bugs and glitches, the game faced widespread fan outrage and demands for refunds. Since then, developer CD Projekt Red has been releasing patches regularly to fix the game and bring it to playable condition. If you can look past the bugs, Cyberpunk 2077 is a true pen-and-paper RPG experience, with the choices you make and even the side quests you embark on having an impact on the game’s story. Whether you are willing to face the flaws because you crave the experience or already own the game, here are a few tips and tricks that can help newcomers on their Cyberpunk 2077 journey.
1. Choosing your Life Path
One of the first choices you will face in the game is choosing your own Life Path. Life Path refers to the three backstories you can choose for your main character. These choices are:
- Nomad
- Street Kid
- Corpo
Each Life Path gives you a unique prologue, with different starting positions and various characters that will help you along the way. While this might seem like a big decision at the start, during the course of the game you will learn that this choice does not have much of an impact. Instead, your Life Path is simply a good way to make a fresh start in the game once you have already completed a playthrough. So be sure to pick a Life Path that seems interesting to you, and don’t waste too much time pondering over this decision.
2. Stocking up on equipment
Now we get to the good stuff. Similar to its “older brother” The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 has a deep and complicated inventory system. The game allows you to loot anything you can get your hands on without consequences. This means that looting enemies after taking them down, and even picking up items from people’s homes, is encouraged. Once you pick up everything, it’s time to decide what to do with these items. An easy way to get rid of extra weapons and equipment is to sell them off, which can also make you a profit in the process. You can also store items at V’s home or in the trunk of your car, or go ahead and dismantle them to create crafting equipment.
3. Don’t ignore the side-quests
Cyberpunk 2077 is all about the story. This news can be a bit surprising to players when they find out that the main story is actually not all that long. Where the game shines isn’t the main storyline, but the side quests you complete along the way. The game rewards players that take their time with the story by unveiling the branching storylines and even connecting the side missions back to the main narrative. This unlocks secret endings and lets players see different aspects of the game. So slow down and enjoy the side-quests to learn what the hype is all about.
4. Spend points on crafting
While crafting might seem easy at the start, it is still a difficult ability to master. Weapons in the game are color-coded to make it easier to understand how useful your weapon is. The weapon types are:
- White – Common
- Green – Uncommon
- Blue – Rare
- Purple – Epic
- Orange – Legendary
Once you understand the weapon tiers, it is time to start gathering blueprints. Blueprints can be found from vendors, Ripperdocs, and even from completing quests. Gathering rare blueprints and crafting them is your best bet at gathering overpowered weapons early in the game. The final step to crafting is to spend your perk points on the crafting skill tree. We recommend spending points on the Crafting and Quickhacking skill tree, as both of these can make finding blueprints and crafting strong weapons easier. Be sure to get the Mechanic, Tune-up, and Cost Optimization perks for best results.
5. Leveling up
Now we get to the nitty-gritty details of the game. Leveling up in Cyberpunk will directly affect your playstyle as it helps decide how you want to approach a mission. Do you want to be stealthy and sneak your way in? Do you want to charm and intimidate people without ever drawing a weapon? Or do you want to go in guns blazing and destroy everything in sight? All of this depends directly on your character’s attributes.
The five attributes in the game are:
- Body
- Intelligence
- Reflexes
- Technical Ability
- Cool
Each attribute has a skills subsection under it, and every one of those has a list of perks beneath. Covering all of these would not be possible in this article, but what we can do is help you understand how these attributes, skills, and perks come together to create a character that you would enjoy.
- Body – The body perk increases the player’s strength, stamina and athletics and also augments melee damage and unarmed damage.
- Intelligence – Intelligence is the section that determines your netrunning proficiency. It also gives you access to the Quickhacking perk tree.
- Reflexes – Reflexes increase movement speed and crit chance. It also unlocks the assault, handguns and blades perk trees.
- Cool – Cool determines your composure and ability to carry out missions with stealth.
- Technical Ability – This is the attribute that contains the crafting and engineering perk trees. It also allows you access to certain tech weapons and increases player armor by 5%.
If you want to play while focusing on stealth and hacking then it would be better to put your points into Intelligence, Technical Ability, and Cool. However, if you want to play as a character that enjoys getting into firefights, then Body and Reflexes are better options for you. Unlike other games, Cyberpunk 2077 allows players to build a well-balanced character. So don’t think that putting a few points into every attribute is not an option.
6. Visit your local Ripperdoc
If we are talking about abilities that will enhance your gameplay experience, then how can we forget the bionic augmentations that V can get at the Ripperdoc. A Ripperdoc is a medical practitioner in Cyberpunk 2077 who V can visit to get a variety of cybernetic enhancements. These enhancements can range from cybernetically enhanced eyes to full-body armor. Do yourself a favor and get these upgrades as soon as you can.
7. Quicksave is your friend
The final tip for all players is to make yourself familiar with the quicksave button. We all know that Cyberpunk 2077 is filled with bugs, but when these glitches get in the way of your gameplay and make you lose multiple hours of progress, it can be a truly frustrating experience. Keep these handy tips in mind and remember to quicksave every chance you get.