Highlights
- Cyberpunk 2077 has undergone a significant update, improving core gameplay systems and making it more engaging and natural.
- The game offers new perks and mechanics that enhance the gameplay experience, such as queuing up hacks, air dashing, and using blades to block projectiles.
- Players should prioritize side quests, be cautious when distributing skill points, hack as many access points as possible, and utilize quickhacks to debilitate enemies effectively.
Cyberpunk 2077 is a great RPG that takes place in the bowels of Night City, one of the most detailed urban environments in gaming. This futuristic city plays a central role in the events of the game, with V’s quest to salvage his mind taking place exclusively within this city and its outskirts. It’s a riveting storyline, with the side quests being another great addition to a game with incredible writing, fun combat, and revamped systems courtesy of the 2.0 Update and Phantom Liberty’s release.
Night City is its own entity, alive and indifferent to the player’s attempts to make it big. It is welcoming and hostile, with characters and alliances shifting around based on the player’s decisions. The city and its inhabitants are a big part of the player’s story as V and the best part of the game. Getting accustomed to this world can be hard though, which is why players can definitely learn something by checking up on some Cyberpunk 2077 pro tips.
Updated on October 7, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that has gone through a dramatic overhaul, with Update 2.0 changing many core systems of the game to make things more exciting than ever before. Gone are the outdated gameplay systems and weird inclusions that perplexed players to no end, with mechanics feeling more natural and well-thought-out than ever before. Suffice it to say, players can start out a whole new game of Cyberpunk 2077 and be completely floored by its revamped systems, which are more engaging than ever before.
23 Queuing Up Hacks Is Now Possible
Being a Netrunner wasn’t the most exciting thing during the early iteration of Cyberpunk 2077, with players having to dump a lot of points in certain perks before they could finally make the most of this build. Thankfully, the new update makes Netrunning more viable than ever before, featuring a wealth of great perks that lead to this build feeling extremely satisfying.
Players can now queue up hacks if they unlock this perk, letting them carry out numerous assaults from the safety of the shadows as their enemies are debilitated in many ways. It’s one of the many ways that builds in Cyberpunk 2077 have now become more focused instead of players finding the best utility out of being a jack-of-all-trades.
22 Air Dashing Makes Movement More Dynamic
The verticality in Cyberpunk 2077 may surprise many people, with parkour being pretty engaging in this title. There’s a ton of cyberware that players can use to aid them in this department, and a new move added to the game to make movement feel more engaging than ever before is air dashing.
The idea of gaining more ground in the air and traversing distances with ease sounds like a blast, and players will love the simple yet engaging nature of this mechanic. It may not sound like a lot, but players will jump around a lot in Cyberpunk 2077, and anything that makes this aspect of the gameplay interesting is always welcomed.
21 Blades Can Be Used To Block Projectiles Now
Being a samurai in a cyberpunk world is a dream come true in this game, and closing the distance to lop an enemy’s head off makes for a fun time indeed. Blades are pretty well integrated in this game, but they’re obviously not optimal if players want to run toward enemies in the distance without being absolutely riddled with bullet holes.
Thankfully, with the 2.0 Update, players can deal with firearms while wielding a katana in the coolest manner possible. One particular perk lets players block bullets with their blades, which is incredibly useful during tense firefights for obvious reasons. V can genuinely look like a futuristic ninja as they avoid damage from any guns and slice an enemy to ribbons who has been trying to kill them off for the longest time.
20 Don’t Power Through The Main Quest
The main story of Cyberpunk 2077 is definitely one of the highlights of the overall experience. However, while these quests seem time-sensitive, players should try and prioritize the side quests whenever possible.
This is because players will reach the point of no return in Cyberpunk 2077 pretty quickly, leaving many side quests hanging around. With this in mind, it’s better to pace the main story and take some breaks to complete the many important side quests that directly impact the game’s ending.
19 Be Wary While Distributing Skill Points
Perk points are great bonuses that players can use to improve their effectiveness across the many gameplay verticals of Cyberpunk 2077. While players may invest in perks they don’t want, it’s easy to reset all perks and start anew if players have messed up once, since the game allows for one quick reset for free.
The same is true for Skill Points, but players should still be wary when forming V’s build. They need to be smart about distributing these points since a mistake can be costly… especially if players have used up their free reset!
18 Hack As Many Access Points As Possible
Eddies are the bread and butter of Cyberpunk 2077, with everything from great cyberware to powerful weapons being acquired via some smart purchases. However, some people may feel like they’re burning through Eddies at a breakneck pace sometimes.
To ensure that players get as much money as possible, a great course of action to take is to seek out the many access points in the game. With the appropriate skills, players can hack these points to get as much money as possible.
17 Quickhacks Are A Great Way To Debilitate Enemies
Most people who decide to go for a more action-based approach in the game may miss out on several high-level quickhacks that can turn combat into a breeze. A great example of this is Contagion, which seems pretty weak early on but is actually quite powerful if used properly.
Aside from this, there are quickhacks that distract enemies, blind them, restrict their movements, and even outright kill them if the player wants to really take things a step further! The 2.0 Update makes being a netrunner more engaging than ever before, letting players manipulate their enemies from the shadows or deal extra damage while engaging them in combat.
16 Don’t Stress Too Much Over V’s Lifepath
V can choose one of several lifepaths to start off their journey in the bowels of Night City. They can either start off as a Streetkid who got stuck in a bad gig, a Nomad in the Night City outskirts, or a Corpo who endures a serious fall from grace.
While this decision may seem rather impactful at first, players shouldn’t worry about it too much. Lifepaths affect a minor part of the game intro, give V access to certain unique lines of dialogue, and allow players to interact with a unique quest or two. That’s about it.
15 Complete All Mid-Game Quests Before The Ending
Cyberpunk 2077’s ending and the options players will have available will largely depend on how many questlines they’ve finished by the time they go and speak to Hanako at Embers. Some of these quest lines are key for the endgame, such as completing all of Johnny Silverhand’s quests and helping out Panam and the Aldecaldos.
Rushing to the end too fast will leave V without any friends willing to help her face off against the final threat, and also reduce their options. Players should go through as many side quests as possible, and they should especially make sure they have a high affinity with Johnny Silverhand.
14 Consumables Are A Merc’s Best Friend
One overlooked aspect of gameplay is consumables. Since there’s a ton of loot in Night City for players to find, it’s not uncommon for V to quickly gather a ton of food and drinks. These can be great for health regeneration in a pinch.
On top of that, there are other consumables that boost certain stats for a limited time, which are a bit more valuable and worth seeking out. The bottom line is, don’t scoff at consumables, as they could be the difference between life and death at some point. However, do keep in mind that the 2.0 Update adds a cooldown to healing, so spamming health items isn’t viable anymore.
13 Don’t Ignore Crafting
Crafting might seem like a trivial task in Cyberpunk 2077, but there are many benefits to making unique weapons. In fact, some guns can only be crafted, and players will first need to find and unlock the blueprints for them.
This is also necessary for players who want to complete V’s stash wall at their apartment and grab every gun in the game. While some can be discovered through quests, others require the player to actually craft them with materials. The crafting system has been revamped in the latest update to be more accessible and enjoyable than ever before, removing a lot of restrictions and actually making it worthwhile to interact with these systems.
12 Enemies Scale With V’s Level, So Exploration Isn’t Gated
The old iteration of Cyberpunk 2077 had different recommended levels for each area in the game, which meant that players had to remain in certain low-level areas and become powerful before venturing out to tougher areas. While level-gating can still be fun if done right, the manner in which this system was implemented in the game was needlessly convoluted.
So, players were glad to see that the 2.0 Update gets rid of this needless restriction. Now, V can explore to their heart’s content after getting the Relic chip, and players can roam around Night City without feeling like they don’t belong. It’s a simple yet great way to make exploration more open-ended and engaging while maintaining a healthy degree of challenge too.
11 Explore High Grounds
Prior to the release of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red mentioned that the game’s map would be smaller than that of The Witcher 3. However, in terms of verticality, it would be much bigger and feature tons of cool high-ground areas for people to explore in the game.
For some nice views, cool loot, and secret locations, players shouldn’t ignore taking up any elevators or jumping to ledges using reinforced tendons cyberware. The former is a fantastic cybernetic upgrade any V should invest in thanks to the mobility it gives to players.
10 Be Careful Around People
Night City reacts to the player’s presence in real-time, and saying or doing the wrong thing can land V in trouble. It is wise to be careful of what button players press when around a lot of people. They might accidentally attack a person, which in the best case will only alert the police.
Similarly, players should keep their weapons holstered unless in combat. Just having their weapon out is considered an act of aggression, and players might end up in a lot more fights than they can handle.
9 Pick Up Everything
There are a lot of doors that money can open in the city, but it is hard to come by. An easy way to keep earning extra eddies throughout the game is by looking around and picking up everything. There isn’t a stealing mechanic in the game, so players can take anything they see.
Take the time to pick through the aftermath of an encounter. Look around and use V’s scanner while sneaking around. Players can even disassemble some of the loot to get rare crafting parts, and they will make a significant amount of money selling weapons and mods they don’t need.
8 Don’t Get Overencumbured
Now while V is picking all this stuff, they can fill up their inventory. When V gets over-encumbered, they start losing speed and stamina. To avoid this, players can regularly sell off their loot at drop points and kiosks.
They can also stash some stuff in the trunk of their car, once they manage to buy one. There is also a marking system, so if there’s a good piece of loot that players don’t want to miss they can mark it on their map.
7 Run! Jump! Fly!
The upgrade system in the game depends on what players do. The more players perform an action, the more perk progression points they get. So, running and jumping and climbing around the city gives a lot of points towards the athletics perks, which offer some very valuable bonuses.
Similarly, if players want to specialize in a weapon type, use that weapon as much as possible. Or if players want stealth bonuses, they should try their best to sneak everywhere. Doing whatever players want to boost is the best way to get perks for it, and the perks are pretty strong.
6 Specialization Is Key
The new perk system ensures that players don’t have to deal with any nonsensical upgrades that were rampant in the first iteration of this title. There’s nothing interesting about getting a 5% upgrade in damage, movement speed, or anything else along the same lines. Perks need to be relevant, and Cyberpunk 2077 certainly got the memo in this department.
Now, players are encouraged to make a more focused build instead of turning into a jack-of-all-trades, which makes for a more fun time in every way. Investing in the player’s perks is way more important than ever before, with the benefits being quite functional instead of largely superficial.
5 Explore Every Mission Type
Cyberpunk 2077 is full of things to do. While the explosion of icons can be intimidating while starting, a lot of them are small quests, vendors, or fast travel points. But, apart from the map, the environment has a lot of information for players.
People having conversations around the player can provide valuable info for quests or loot. Even going through some of the blue options in conversations can open up new choices. Probing every nook and cranny of the game will reward the player handsomely.
4 Fight The Bosses
Yes, even if players are going for a pacifist-ish or stealthy run, it’s best to fight the big bosses at the end of levels. They’re some of the most enjoyable encounters in the game, so skipping out on them is ill-advised for a variety of reasons.
If players somehow manage to avoid them (which is not easy), they will be missing out on a lot of great stuff. Taking down bosses gives players a lot of Eddies and experience. More importantly, though, they can drop unique loot.