Cyberpunk 2077 is well on its way to becoming a major franchise, with Project Orion serving as the next chapter in the story. While it's not clear exactly how much of Cyberpunk 2077 Project Orion will change, it's sure to take a swing at a couple of significant improvements, hopefully resulting in an ideal sequel experience: an expanded, iterative, and polished version of its predecessor.

And Cyberpunk 2077, for all its strengths, has a lot of room for improvement. Infamously bad launch state aside, Cyberpunk has some gear and progression problems that can undermine the role-playing experience. For instance, the game adopts something of a looter-shooter approach, showering players with gear at just about every turn which, while perhaps a welcome feature for fans of the looter-shooter genre, isn't so appealing for those looking for a more honed-in RPG. The game's handling of gear and customization can also feel a bit lackluster at times, with weapon mods often having insubstantial impacts on stats and gameplay. Weapon and armor mods, alongside craftable gear, feed into the game's overall issues with loot and inventory.

cyberpunk 2077 johnny silverhand sitting and looking serious
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Project Orion Can Revamp Cyberpunk 2077's Crafting

Crafting In Cyberpunk 2077 Can Be Underwhelming

Cyberpunk 2077 lets players craft powerful weapons, mods, clothing, and linear upgrades for gear that they already have, but this system is nowhere near as complex or gratifying as it could have been. The biggest reason for this is the game's aforementioned item economy: with enemy NPCs dropping high-end loot left and right, crafting gear is redundant. There aren't weapons, mods, or pieces of clothing that can only be obtained through crafting, so there's no real incentive to engage with the system.

As a result, crafting is relegated to being purely practical. There are a lot of things Cyberpunk 2077 players can craft, but most players will only craft for the following reasons:

  • To create more ammo or healing items
  • To earn XP
  • To turn components into sellable items and make eddies
  • To re-craft gear they sold or lost

It's not unreasonable to find this sort of creeping, repetitive gameplay loop enjoyable—it's similar to the gameplay staples of many beloved survival and simulation games—but it doesn't make for a satisfying crafting mechanic. If the primary reason for crafting is to get more ammunition, then it would probably be better for the game to just hand out more ammo instead of crafting components. Similarly, if a player is only crafting to make XP or eddies, then the system is reduced to a method of cashing in meaningless loot, and serves the same purpose as grinding for XP or selling items to a vendor. This framework is something Cyberpunk 2077's sequel can improve.

Improving Crafting for Project Orion

How crafting can be refined and expanded in Project Orion will have to be left up to CD Projekt Red's development team; the studio could decide to leave the system as it is, or even outright remove it if it doesn't align with the overall vision for the game. Having said that, there are some general tweaks and considerations that could make Project Orion better than Cyberpunk 2077 in the crafting department.

For one thing, crafting ought to lead to more exclusive rewards not found in the game's overworld. If everything players can craft can also be found in the open-world, then there isn't a strong enough incentive to use the system or invest in associated skills, crafting components, et cetera. In a similar vein, crafting could be a pathway to further, deeper customization, allowing players to make truly unique items that rival Cyberpunk 2077's best pieces of gear. In this way, crafting in Project Orion could foster creativity, making the system rewarding both extrinsically and intrinsically.