With huge patches and fixes released throughout its existence, it's clear that Cyberpunk 2077 is dedicated to ensuring the game will make up for its sloppy release in the long run. For those who finally dare to dip their toes into the world of Night City and the story of mercenary V for the first time, there's a ton of content on offer. Players beginning their journey in Cyberpunk 2077 will need all the help they can get, especially at higher difficulties.

Related

10 Video Games With the Most Disastrous Launches

There have been many disastrous video game launches over the years, with these 10 standing out as the most significant so far.

With the game-changing in many fundamental ways following a series of updates, players should become well-versed in how they should approach this title and its gameplay now. Some things have changed in a major way, while others have experienced more minor changes. Regardless, new players can still get overwhelmed by the game's many systems, and it's never bad to have a head start in this department.

Updated May 4, 2024 by Ritwik Mitra: The redemption arc of Cyberpunk 2077 serves as one of the best feel-good stories in the video game community. A game that should've been hailed as one of the best cyberpunk tales ever told in a video game to date was rightfully lambasted for its poor technical performance. Thankfully, CD Projekt Red has redeemed itself in the eyes of many with the numerous updates, extra content, and patches that have elevated this game's quality to the heights it should've always reached.

As a result, more and more people are getting into this wonderful RPG, stepping into the shoes of V in a story that is simply mind-blowing in every way. Beginners who want to make a well-informed start to this game (especially with the many patches and updates that have been released) will appreciate some tips to make their journey as smooth and satisfying as possible.

1 Craft And Sell A Ton Of Quickhacks To Get Eddies

An Easy Way To Gain A Lot Of Money In No Time

Crafting is one of the many systems that has been overhauled significantly following Update 2.0, with players loving how useful this mechanic is compared to its earlier iteration that made it more of a slog to get through. Quickhacks are one of the many things that can be crafted in this game that players shouldn't ignore.

Despite most quickhacks being pretty plentiful in the game world, the main reason why players should interact with this mechanic is that it lets players craft a ton of valuable quickhacks that can be sold for heaps of eddies. V's financial problems will soon become a thing of the past.

2 Perk Points Can Be Refunded Any Time, So Don't Stress Out

Unlike Attribute Points, Perks Are Way Easier To Experiment With

Update 2.0 does a lot of wonderful things to make Cyberpunk 2077 worth checking out for many players. One aspect of the game that was improved was the way perks work in the game, making them more meaningful and encouraging players to pursue proper builds instead of trying to be a jack-of-all-trades.

The best part about this is that perk points can be redeemed at any time, so players don't have to worry about constricting themselves to a single build. That being said, attribute points can only be reallocated once, so players should be more wary in that department.

3 Healing Isn't Spammable Anymore, So Be Cautious

The New Update Adds A Much-Needed Cooldown To This Mechanic

There was a time when healing in Cyberpunk 2077 could be pretty broken. No matter how much damage players incurred, they could always dart behind cover and huff one of the many healing consumables in their inventory. It wasn't the most ideal system, with players hoarding healing items as much as possible to have all their bases covered.

Related

Best Open-World Games Set In Dystopian Cyberpunk Megacities

Dystopian cyberpunk worlds are an increasingly popular setting for open-world games. These are the best games that make use of such worlds.

This has become a thing of the past following the 2.0 Update, which does a great job of making combat hectic and challenging once again by adding a cooldown to healing. This means that hoarding healing items is meaningless, and players need to be smarter in combat to prevent any unnecessary damage while healing during opportune moments.

4 A 5-Star Wanted Level Is A Death Sentence

MaxTac Is No Joke

The police system was one of the worst parts of Cyberpunk 2077, with this system being outright broken at launch. Since the police never came in vehicles, they just ended up spawning out of nowhere, chasing the player and shooting them down in the most unrealistic manner possible. Thankfully, this has changed with the new update, actually making players pay for causing havoc on city streets.

There's a wanted level like GTA that governs the severity of the police's response to V. The highest 5-star wanted level leads to MaxTac making an appearance and completely obliterating V, unless players cheese these foes or are just skillful enough to withstand their assault, although a game over will come sooner rather than later if players take on these foes for too long.

5 Take Advantage Of Vehicular Combat

A Fresh And Much-Needed Addition In The 2.0 Update

Another new addition to Cyberpunk 2077 is vehicular combat, another addition that players wanted for the longest time. The fact that players couldn't shoot their guns out of a car was a source of great anger among players, and this has been changed with the advent of the 2.0 Update. In fact, Phantom Liberty adds cars with mounted turrets and machine guns that players can use to blast their foes to smithereens.

Vehicular combat is a ton of fun to mess around with in the game, and it's a shame that the main campaign doesn't have too many options for players to mess around with this gameplay system. However, Phantom Liberty does a way better job in this regard and makes these high-speed car combat scenarios feel pretty engaging in every way.

6 Focus Your Playstyle

The RPG Mechanics Are Tighter Following The 2.0 Update And Promote Build Specialization

As of 2.0, Cyberpunk 2077 has become a far stricter RPG experience, where being a jack of all trades is detrimental. Now, making a choice as early as possible on what kind of build to follow is absolutely key, since many of the game's core mechanics are locked behind perks. As such, each perk unlocked feels more rewarding now.

Related

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty – Best New Areas, Ranked

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty brings many new interesting areas into the game, and here are the coolest of the bunch.

Fortunately, the game already separates the main archetypes with each skill tree as of 2.0: stealthy Netrunners, agile shinobis, strong solos, etc. While it's possible to diversify to a degree, beginners should stick to one archetype to avoid facing a brick wall later due to thinly spread-out skills. Note that each attribute is also tied to a different weapon archetype, which further restricts how much players can diversify.

7 Focus On The Side Quests

Some Of The Best Writing And Themes In The Game Are Present In The Side Quests

Players familiar with CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3 know exactly how much effort the studio puts into its side content, with the wealth of characters and unique scenarios present in the optional parts of the game being just as fleshed out as the main story, and possibly even more enjoyable depending on how much players relate with these side stories. Cyberpunk 2077 is no exception here, with its wealth of side content being quite impressive indeed.

In fact, some people would argue that players should ideally focus on the side content as much as possible since the main quest runs its course after a certain point and players need to do a bulk of the side content if they want to gain access to all three ending paths. Ignoring most of the side quests will lead to players getting the worst endings in the game, which aren't really worth exploring and can dampen the ending's mood.

8 Try To Get Along With Johnny

Silverhand Is The Key To Unlocking The Path For The Secret Ending

Keanu Reeves has done a brilliant job of portraying Johnny Silverhand. Despite the performance being somewhat cheesy, Johnny ends up being a character that players grow to love despite his abrasive behavior early on. He can seem a bit too radical for his own good, but players will end up spending enough time with Johnny to realize that there's more than what meets the eye.

While this doesn't need to be stated, players should still try and be as nice to Johnny as possible. Not only does pursuing his questline to the end unlock another ending route, but being on friendly terms with Johnny also unlocks a secret ending path where V takes on the entirety of Arasaka on his own.

9 Don't Ignore The NCPD Scanner Hustles

A Great Way To Enjoy Some Rewarding Combat Scenarios

Throughout Night City, various NCPD scanner hustles will pop up as the player levels up. These usually involve investigating criminal activity or stopping an assault in progress. Although these mini-quests don't have a lot of substance to them in terms of plot and storytelling, players should still complete them for a few reasons:

• They can drop valuable crafting specs and gear.
• They're fantastic for earning extra eddies to afford better vehicles.
• Players will level up quickly and increase their street cred by grinding these mini-missions.

Related

Cyberpunk 2077: Broken Builds That Are A Lot Of Fun

Players have a lot of freedom when it comes to their preferred build in Cyberpunk 2077, and these broken builds will make quick work of enemies.

Of course, players shouldn't go out of their way to see out these hustles, especially since there are so many of these scattered across the map. They're better off just exploring the map organically and going to any ongoing commotions if they're occurring close by.

10 Explore The Verticality Of The City

V's Parkour Capabilities Help Them Traverse This Sprawling Urban Landscape With Ease

CDPR stated before the game's launch that the world of Cyberpunk 2077 would be much smaller than that of The Witcher 3, but this is primarily because of the verticality of the city. There are many rooftops and areas that can be reached with good mobility or just by grabbing an elevator.

Of course, to explore the extent of the city's verticality, players will need good mobility. Players can double-jump and enhance the height of their base jump, but what they can also do with the addition of the new update is dashing in mid-air, which is pretty helpful in its own right.

11 Get The Best Cyberware ASAP

Lets Players Use A Wealth Of Cool Abilities In Battle

Cyberware upgrades at Ripperdoc clinics are the bread and butter of the game. Players should keep an eye out for new cyberware, which is unlocked at higher street cred levels. The right cyberware completes a powerful character build, so having the right upgrades is key to success in combat.

The 2.0 Update fundamentally changes how cyberware works in the game, turning it into an essential component of V's build instead of something that players could just randomly mix and match. Armor is also tied to this system, meaning that players should definitely get state-of-the-art cyberware to prevent themselves from being completely annihilated in a firefight. The amount of cyberwar V can have is also locked behind the Tech tree, so leveling Tech is pretty much a must for players as of 2.0.

12 Explore The World At Your Own Pace

There's No Need To Rush In A World Jam-Packed With Content

The new update brings about a major change that fans are bound to adore — players don't have to worry about walking into an encounter that is at a high level. Instead, everything scales to the players's level, meaning that there's no reason to avoid certain areas and only tackle certain quests when players are assured that they won't be obliterated by enemies in this location.

Related

Cyberpunk 2077: All Fist Fight Locations & How To Beat Them (Updated For 2.0 Phantom Liberty)

Cyberpunk 2077's Beat on the Brat quest involves V taking part in multiple fist fights. Where are the opponents and how can they be defeated?

This change was much welcomed, with players being able to explore Night City without any restrictions whatsoever after Johnny becomes a permanent part of V's life. Level-gating has become quite outdated in most games that don't implement it properly, and Cyberpunk 2077 was a damning example of the same, until now.

13 Don't Stress Out Over Choosing A Life Path

Barring A Different Introduction, Exclusive Quests, And Some Dialogue Options, There Aren't Too Many Changes

In a game full of choices, one of the first choices players have to make in Cyberpunk 2077 is choosing a Life Path for V. There are three options: Corpo, Street Kid, and Nomad. Even though it's called a "Life Path," the implications of this choice aren't anywhere near as deep as the phrase would suggest. By choosing a Life Path, players essentially choose where they want the game to start.

This will affect the prologue, some dialogue options, and a few acquaintances later on. Other than that, the Life Path has no actual bearing on the play-through of the game. So don't sweat the choice. While it's not as big as it seems, it does offer a lot of replayability down the line.

14 Don't Focus So Much On Headshotting

RPG Mechanics Mean That Headshots Aren't Necessarily Lethal

Cyberpunk 2077 is, at its core, an FPS. This will lead many players to believe that headshots are perhaps the fastest way to take an enemy down. In reality, headshots in Cyberpunk 2077 aren't nearly as lucrative as they are in other FPS titles. While players will see a bit of a damage boost, it's nothing like what gamers are used to seeing when they manage to land a few projectiles to the head of an enemy.

Instead, players should focus on upgrading weapons, understanding their limitations when battling certain enemies, and that there is actually quite a lot that goes into how Cyberpunk 2077 calculates damage values. Eventually, those sniper shots to the dome will make quick work of V's foes, but it's not as clear-cut as it is in other shooters.

15 Be Aware Of Your Choices

Can Completely Change The Path V Walks On And Affects His Relationship With Others

When playing games, some players have a tendency to make snap decisions, and the consequences usually arise immediately or soon after–then the decision gets forgotten. Despite the Life Path's similarity, it is not indicative of how much the game takes players' choices into account. Whereas in other games players would rarely see the effects at all, Cyberpunk doesn't forget.

Indeed, choices made over 15 hours of gameplay ago can later affect the trajectory of a side mission, change dialogue, and may even affect the actions available to V. For this, the best action is to pay attention. There's nothing wrong with making snap decisions, but players should remember those choices because chances are, they've already set things in motion.

16 Gather Up That Street Cred

Useful For Unlocking New Equipment And Gigs

In CD Projekt Red's previous title The Witcher 3, Geralt is a hardened loner who's unbeatable, he just needs levels. When playing such a character, it's tempting to ignore all else in favor of advancement. The Witcher encouraged this, but Cyberpunk is different. Instead, players must monitor, along with levels and upgrades, another system called "Street Cred."

Related

CD Projekt Red: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Studio Behind The Witcher Series & Cyberpunk 2077

Here are some fascinating but lesser-known facts about CD Projekt Red, the studio behind The Witcher franchise and Cyberpunk 2077.

Save Night City or destroy it, just as long as V goes down as one of the most infamously bad-ass mercenaries ever. That's where Street Cred comes in. One earns Street Cred by completing gigs. The more renowned V becomes across Night City, the more there is. The more that's done, the more there will be to do. It's a simple part of the game that automatically levels up as players accomplish many tasks, but optimizing its growth is still recommended regardless.

17 Don't Sleep On Crafting Components—And Crafting

Update 2.0 Makes This Mechanic More Rewarding Than Ever Before

Although crafting isn't necessary in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, it can come in handy. Crafting has been improved quite a bit with the 2.0 Update, giving players more freedom in a system that did feel rather restrictive at times. It's a simple change, but a welcome one nevertheless that changes the way players approach this system in the game now.

There's no need to put points into crafting as of 2.0, but players should keep an eye out for crafting components of various tiers, which are required to not just craft certain weapons but also upgrade cyberware.

18 All That Glitters Is Eddies

Money Is A Resource That Should Be Prioritized, Especially In The Early Stages

Eurodollars/"Eddies" are the in-game currency, and whatever it's called, it makes the world go round. When players begin their journey, money is tight and everything needs Eddies, so a fair amount of the early game should be focused on completing jobs and gathering as much as V can hold.

One of the best ways of getting Eddies fast early in the game as of 2.0 is to pick up all weapons from dead enemies and sell them at drop-off points. Also, any local gigs or NCPD scanner hustles are likely to net a nice bit of extra cash for V.

19 Let The Story Ride Shotgun

Can Be Easy To Lose The Plot If Players Are Too Distracted

Sometimes an open world can be overwhelming and players will just move through the story. This temptation in Cyberpunk is evident, particularly with Night City's unprecedented amount of activities to do. Add the urgency into the narrative, then there's a population of players who just breezed through the story. The story alone is satisfying, but to isolate it from the whole experience that is Night City is to severely undercut all it offers.

Not just a comprehensive experience of the game, it comes down to the fact that exploration and engagement with Night City is half the story and can even go on to affect the overall ending. So, players should ignore the urgency and go ahead and live a little in Night City.

20 Bank Attribute And Perk Points For The Right Time

Both Resources Are Valuable And Should Be Invested Wisely

Two vital point systems to keep track of in-game, Attribute Points and Perk Points are similar to Street Cred and Levels, as all are vital to game progression. There are four difficulties: easy, normal, high, and very high. Yet, no matter which level fans play at, without upgrades, the level disparity is punishingly felt. Still, don't go tossing those points instantly, either. In truth, that'd be just as unhelpful.

Related

Cyberpunk 2077: Can Skippy Change Modes?

Using the iconic Skippy weapon in Cyberpunk 2077 comes with a couple of choices that impact which mode Skippy will use throughout the game.

Cyberpunk is a situational game where there are multiple ways to beat one level, and what's required to pull it off is uncertain until the moment it's needed. This is when Attribute and Perk Points should be used. Upgrades can be done at any time, even mid-firefight, and it can be the decision that cheats death or avoids a reloaded save.