On February 15, CD Projekt Red finally showed and released the long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 next-gen update. Not only does the 1.5 patch optimize the game for Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5, but it also adds new content for fans to enjoy. However, it seems like it'll be a little while before the community can enjoy the game again with New Game Plus.
There's no doubt that there is still a lot of room for more refinement, but some important improvements that are worth noting have been made as well. Here are the features that stand out the most in Cyberpunk 2077's 1.5 patch.
8 Selling Cyberware
It's now possible to sell cyberware when visiting a Ripperdoc. As long as the piece of cyberware isn't being used, it can be sold.
This was something that fans had been requesting for a while now, since they'd accumulated lots of unwanted cyberware as they progressed through the game and upgraded their parts. Before, they couldn't do much about it, but now these upgrades are easy to dispose of.
7 Map UI Improvements
The map has received some significant improvements and is now much less confusing. There are four different filters to choose from: dynamic, jobs, service points, and custom. The custom filter lets players choose the type of filter they'd like to apply from a select list.
The hands symbol now shows how many jobs have been completed for a certain fixer, and there are now special rewards for completing all fixer jobs, except for Mr. Hands, who according to the patch notes "just doesn't like you."
6 Rejecting Holocalls
It's no longer mandatory to pick up calls that aren't essential to the game's story. They could be a bit annoying because they'd come through whenever the player went by certain areas. Now, if the call is rejected, the person will send a text message instead.
Fixer and NCPD dispatcher holocalls can also be muted. NCPD dispatcher holocalls are muted by default once the update is installed. This can be changed in the Gameplay Settings, in the Holocalls section at the bottom of the list.
5 Improved NPC And AI Behavior
Another fan complaint was how lifeless the NPCs in the game felt — they lacked reactions. So, to improve this, more NPC animations were added. Now, they'll react to the environment in a much more natural way. So, they'll take cover from the rain, act panicked and run away from V's car if they go over the sidewalk, and other drivers will also react to this.
On top of this, AI combat has also been improved, so difficulty will depend on the player's skill rather than the strength and power of the NPC.
4 New Romantic Interactions
Romance always plays a big part in games of this scale. Unfortunately, it is something that fans felt was a bit lacking in Cyberpunk 2077. With the 1.5 patch, CD Projekt Red made it so dateable characters would text and interact with V more often. And, now if V sleeps over at their chosen significant other's place, they'll wake up next to each other which is a sweet interaction.
Sadly, there are no new characters that V can get romantically involved with, and there seems to be no new missions or major changes for now. Hopefully, a future update will really extend this feature.
3 Rebalanced Economy
The economy in Night City has changed a bit. There's an achievement that can only be earned once players have bought all available cars in the game and, before, this could take a lot of grinding since it required an immense amount of eurodollars. Now, cars are cheaper — but that's not all! Cyberware has decreased in price as well, thankfully.
Jobs and open world activities will also grant V more money than before. This is particularly helpful since there is a new feature that allows V to rent apartments. It'll now be easier to get the money necessary to pay up. Wilson's 2nd Amendment shop will sell some weapons at discount prices from now on, and it has new guns, scopes, and attachments that are worth taking a look at.
2 Ability To Change V's Appearance
In the world of Cyberpunk 2077, pretty much anything can be modified. There are tons of different options when it comes to cyberware and clothing which players were always able to change whenever they played through the game. So, it always puzzled fans how it wasn't possible to change V's appearance after starting the game.
The mirror can now be used to change V's appearance. Interacting with it will bring gamers back to the same customization menu they went through to create their V. It's possible to change them completely — and there are even new options.
1 Cheaper To Reset Perks
In Cyberpunk 2077, each person can pick their character's strengths by choosing their perks. However, at first, the tree can be a bit confusing and it's not uncommon to want to change it midway through the game. Before the update, this was quite hard to afford. To reset perks, it was necessary to get the legendary Tabula E-Rasa shard from a Ripperdoc, which cost 100,000 eurodollars.
Thankfully, now, each player gets a free reset because the perks system has been reworked. It's much cheaper, it can be accessed from the Character menu, and the cost depends on how many perks have been bought.
Cyberpunk 2077 was released on December 10th, 2020, and is available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PC.
