Cyberpunk 2077 is an action RPG by CD Projekt Red, set in Night City, a dystopian megalopolis. Players control V, a mercenary who becomes entangled with a digital ghost of legendary rockerboy Johnny Silverhand (played by Keanu Reeves). After major updates and the Phantom Liberty expansion, the game has become critically acclaimed.
🎮 Getting Started
Life Paths
| Life Path | Starting Area | Unique Dialogue | Best For |
|---|
| Street Kid | Heywood (Watson) | Street knowledge, gangs | Roleplay, street connections |
| Corpo | City Center (Arasaka) | Corporate knowledge, business | Dialogue options with corpos |
| Nomad | Badlands | Vehicle knowledge, Aldecaldos | Vehicle-focused, outsider perspective |
Life path only affects prologue, some dialogue options, and a few side quests. All three converge after the prologue. Choose based on roleplay preference.
Attributes and Perks
5 main attributes, each with perk trees:
- Body: Health, melee, athletics, shotguns/light machine guns. Annihilation (shotguns) and Street Brawler (melee) are powerful.
- Reflexes: Crit chance, handguns, blades, assault rifles. Gunslinger (pistols) and Blades are strong.
- Technical Ability: Crafting, cyberware, tech weapons. Crafting lets you make legendary gear. Tech weapons charge and penetrate walls/cover.
- Intelligence: Quickhacking, breach protocol, smart weapons. Netrunner build—hack enemies from cover.
- Cool: Stealth, crit damage, cold blood, precision rifles. Stealth/sniper build. Cold Blood is incredibly strong (stacking buffs).
💡 Recommended starting build: Reflexes + Body (gunslinger/shotgun hybrid) or Intelligence + Cool (netrunner/stealth). Put early points into your primary damage attribute and some Body for HP.
⚔️ Combat and Builds
Best Builds (2.0+ / Phantom Liberty)
1. Netrunner (Intelligence)
- Attributes: Intelligence 20, Cool 15+, Body 10+
- Perks: Quickhacking (all), Breach Protocol, Cyberware (System Collapse, Overclock)
- Cyberware: Sandevistan or Kerenzikov, Biomonitor, Cyberdeck (NetWatch or Militech Paraline)
- Quickhacks: Short Circuit, Synapse Burnout, Cyberware Malfunction, System Reset, Suicide
- Playstyle: Stay in cover, scan enemies, chain quickhacks. Overclock for unlimited RAM.
2. Sandevistan Blades (Reflexes + Body)
- Attributes: Reflexes 20, Body 18+, Technical 12+
- Perks: Blades (all), Gunslinger (backup), Athletics, Annihilation
- Cyberware: Militech "Apogee" Sandevistan (slow time), Kerenzikov, Biomonitor, Subdermal Armor
- Weapons: Monowire or Mantis Blades (cyberware), or katana (Byakko or Satori)
- Playstyle: Activate Sandevistan, slow time, slice through enemies. Extremely powerful in 2.0+.
3. Power Gunslinger (Reflexes + Cool)
- Attributes: Reflexes 20, Cool 18+, Body 12+
- Perks: Gunslinger (all), Cold Blood (all), Stealth, Handguns
- Cyberware: Kerenzikov, Biomonitor, Subdermal Armor, Optic (target analysis)
- Weapons: Malorian Arms 3516 (Johnny's gun), Pride, or any iconic revolver/pistol
- Playstyle: Slow time with Kerenzikov (dodge), headshots with pistols. Cold Blood stacks for massive damage.
4. Tech Shotgun (Body + Technical)
- Attributes: Body 20, Technical 20, Reflexes 12+
- Perks: Annihilation (all), Crafting, Athletics, Tech weapons
- Cyberware: Sandevistan, Biomonitor, Subdermal Armor, Cyberware (all armor pieces)
- Weapons: Guts (iconic shotgun), Sovereign, or any tech shotgun. Craft your own legendary.
- Playstyle: Close-range devastation. Tech shotguns charge through walls. Tanky with high Body.
🗺️ Main Story Walkthrough
- Prologue: Life path intro → meet Jackie → the heist at Konpeki Plaza (goes wrong → get the Relic → Johnny Silverhand in your head).
- Act 1:
- Wake up with Johnny. Meet Viktor (ripperdoc) and Misty.
- Main jobs: The Ripperdoc, The Ride, The Information, The Pickup, The Heist (already done), Love Like Fire, Automatic Love, The Space in Between, Disasterpiece, Double Life.
- Recruit Panam (nomad, vehicle missions) and Judy (braindance tech).
- Act 2:
- Search for Alt Cunningham (the ghost). Meet the Voodoo Boys in Pacifica.
- M'ap Tann Pelen → Never Fade Away (flashback as Johnny) → Transmission.
- After Transmission: choose to help Hanako Arasaka or go your own way.
- Side jobs become crucial: Panam's questline (Riders on the Storm, With a Little Help from My Friends, Queen of the Highway), Judy's questline (Both Sides Now, Ex-Factor, Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution, Pyramid Song), River's questline, Kerry's questline.
- Act 3 (Point of No Return):
- Nocturne Op55N1 → meet Hanako at Embers. This is the point of no return.
- Choose your ending path based on completed side quests:
- Trust Hanako (Arasaka ending)
- Call Panam (Nomad ending—requires Panam's questline complete)
- Call Rogue (Johnny's ending—requires Chippin' In/Blistering Love)
- Do it solo (secret ending—requires very high relationship with Johnny, specific dialogue choices in Chippin' In)
⭐ Phantom Liberty DLC
Phantom Liberty is a massive expansion (15-20 hours) that adds a new area (Dogtown), new story, and the 2.0 update overhaul.
- Access: Starts automatically after Act 1 (receive a call from Songbird). Recommended level 15+.
- New area: Dogtown (Pacifica)—lawless district ruled by Kurt Hansen.
- New characters: Songbird (netrunner), Solomon Reed (spy, Idris Elba), Kurt Hansen (antagonist).
- New ending: A new ending for the main game, unlocked by completing Phantom Liberty.
- New features: Vehicular combat, new cyberware, new weapons, new perks (relic tree).
- Recommendation: Play it after Act 1 or Act 2 for best experience. It's essential content.
👑 Important Side Quests (Don't Skip)
- Panam Palmer: Riders on the Storm → With a Little Help from My Friends → Queen of the Highway. Unlocks Nomad ending and romance option.
- Judy Alvarez: Both Sides Now → Ex-Factor → Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution → Pyramid Song. Unlocks romance option (female V only).
- River Ward: I Fought the Law → The Hunt → Following the River. Romance option (female V only).
- Kerry Eurodyne: Holdin' On → Second Conflict → A Like Supreme → Rebel! Rebel! → Off the Leash → Boat Drinks. Romance option (male V only, gay/bi).
- Johnny Silverhand: Chippin' In → Blistering Love. High relationship with Johnny unlocks secret ending.
- Cyberpsycho Sightings: 17 missions (Regina Jones). Great XP and loot.
- NCPD Scanner Hustles: Open-world activities. Good for leveling and crafting materials.
🔧 Crafting and Gear
- Iconic weapons: Unique weapons with special effects. Can be upgraded at crafting stations. Don't sell iconic weapons—you can upgrade them to your level!
- Crafting spec: Technical Ability → Crafting tree. Legendary crafting perk lets you make legendary items.
- Upgrade iconic items: At any crafting table, you can upgrade iconic weapons to your current level (costs components).
- Best early iconic: Skippy (smart pistol, found in Heywood), Dying Night (Militech pistol, from Wilson in Afterlife), Overwatch (sniper, from Panam mission).
- Cyberware: Buy from ripperdocs. Legendary cyberware from specific ripperdocs (e.g., Viktor in Watson, Fingers in Pacifica—though he's creepy).
🏆 Essential Tips
- Save before major decisions: Some choices are permanent and affect endings.
- Do side content: The best stories, weapons, and endings are in side quests. Don't rush the main story.
- Upgrade iconic weapons: They scale to your level if you upgrade them. Don't sell them!
- Use quickhacks: Even non-netrunners can use basic quickhacks (camera control, ping, distraction).
- Vehicles: Buy vehicles from fixers. The best cars are from side quests (Panam's truck, Jackie's bike).
- Money making: Sell junk, complete NCPD hustles, craft and sell items, do cyberpsycho sightings.
- 2.0 changes: The 2.0 update completely overhauled perks, cyberware, and combat. Old builds may not work—relearn the systems.
- Don't ignore Cool: Cold Blood perk tree is one of the strongest in the game—stacking damage and resistances.
❓ FAQ
Q: Do I need to play Phantom Liberty?
A: It's highly recommended. It adds a new ending, new area, and the 2.0 update (which is free and overhauls the game). If you only play the base game, you're missing the best content.
Q: What's the best ending?
A: The 'best' ending is subjective. The Nomad ending (with Panam) is generally considered the most hopeful. The secret ending (solo assault on Arasaka) is the hardest but most badass. The Arasaka ending is the darkest. Play multiple playthroughs to see them all.
Q: How do I get the secret ending?
A: During Chippin' In (Johnny's quest), choose specific dialogue options to raise Johnny's relationship to 70%+. Then in Nocturne, choose 'Think' and wait—Johnny will offer the secret solo path.
Q: Can I respec my character?
A: In 2.0+, you can respec perks for free at any time (in the menu). Attributes cannot be reset—plan your attribute points carefully!
Q: How long is the game?
A: Main story: 25-30 hours. Main + side content: 60-80 hours. With Phantom Liberty: 80-100+ hours. Full completion: 150+ hours.
Written by Alex Chen, gaming guide writer and RPG specialist with 15 years of experience. He has completed Cyberpunk 2077 with every ending and specializes in build optimization.