Cyberpunk 2077: Beginner's Guide

Getting Started in Cyberpunk 2077

Choose your Lifepath (Nomad, Street Kid or Corpo). It sets V's background, starting location and prologue and adds dialogue options, but it does not give gameplay advantages (per Wikipedia). More important is your build. Since update 2.0 there are five attributes, each with one skill that levels up through related activities: Body (Solo), Reflexes (Shinobi), Cool (Headhunter), Technical Ability (Engineer) and Intelligence (Netrunner). Skills have milestone levels every five levels, and several grant a Perk Point (Fextralife).

Core Mechanics to Master

Cyberware is bought from ripperdocs. Vik in Watson is an early ripperdoc. Fextralife lists Mantis Blades (a leap toward enemies, extra melee damage and a chance to inflict Bleed) at Dr. Chrome in Kabuki and at Ripperdoc Fingers in Japantown, among other vendors, and Fextralife's Skills page says the Sandevistan gives +40% crit chance and removes the stamina cost of movement while it is active. Check each vendor's stock and your character level before you save up eddies.

Choosing a Build

You do not have to lock in at the start, but spreading attribute points thinly makes it hard to reach the higher perks in any one skill. Netrunner builds lean on Intelligence and quickhacks, Solo builds on Body, and Shinobi builds on Reflexes for movement and blades. Phantom Liberty adds the Relic attribute and its own skill tree. Treat these as starting points rather than a fixed ranking: the game lets you experiment as you level.

Essential Tips

1. Buy cyberware when you can afford it, but check the vendor and tier first; prices vary widely by tier.
2. Do the optional character questlines. Panam, River, Judy and Kerry are all romance options (Panam and Kerry for a male V, Judy and River for a female V, according to guides). Sources disagree on how much these relationships change the endings, so do not rely on one side quest to lock or unlock an ending.
3. Look at the endings before the point of no return. Wikipedia describes three outcomes for the final act (uploading V's engram to Mikoshi, living on in V's body with a shortened lifespan, or giving the body to Johnny and going beyond the Blackwall with Alt). Phantom Liberty adds endings of its own, with Fextralife listing five.
4. Disassemble or sell junk as needed; carrying capacity is limited.

Early Bosses and Oda

PowerPyx lists the boss fights in story order as Royce (The Pickup), Oswald Forrest (Automatic Love), Matilda K. Rose, known as Sasquatch (I Walk the Line), Akira (Never Fade Away), Placide (Transmission) and Sandayu Oda (Play It Safe). Oda is therefore a mid-story fight, not the first. According to PowerPyx he attacks with dual melee weapons early on, then alternates homing bullets with melee, climbs to high ground to fire, and at lower health uses a stealth cloak and disappears from the minimap while his health recharges. Look for his blue outline near the construction huts, shoot him to stop the recharge, and keep health items and ammo stocked. Red circles mark most attacks; dodge them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the game fixed now?
A: The PS4 and Xbox One launch in 2020 was widely criticised. The game was later reworked, and update 2.0 (September 2023) overhauled core RPG systems. Reception of the current-generation versions was positive; Metacritic lists 86 on PC, 87 on Xbox Series X|S, 75 on PS5 and 85 on Switch 2, but 57 on PS4 and 61 on Xbox One (per Wikipedia).

Q: Do I need Phantom Liberty?
A: It is optional. It is a paid expansion (September 2023) that stars Idris Elba, adds the Dogtown district and the Relic attribute, and has its own endings. The Switch 2 Ultimate Edition and macOS releases include it (per Wikipedia).

Q: How many endings are there?
A: Wikipedia describes three outcomes for the main final act, and Phantom Liberty adds more. We have not verified an exact total for the base game, so check a dedicated ending guide before making the final choices.