Updated at: 23-05-2023 - By: Leo Hall
This Cyberpunk 2077 beginner’s guide was written with the hope of introducing those unfamiliar with Cyberpunk and Night City to the genre.

The role-playing video game Cyberpunk 2077 has a wide variety of systems, mechanics, and details for players to learn and master.

This makes each playthrough feel fresh and new, but it also makes skipping over important details in the gameplay, progression, and main story more likely.

This problem is most noticeable in the beginning of the game, while you are still getting used to playing as V.

This guide will provide you with the fundamentals you need to explore all that Night City has to offer.

So log in to your nearest terminal as we explore Cyberpunk 2077 in depth.

Okay, so let’s begin!

Complete Every Tutorial

Jackie provides V with a specialized chip early on that serves as a combat training simulator. The manual is divided into parts devoted to activities like hiding, sneaking, firing, and hacking.

Although only the first two are required to be finished in order for V to leave the simulation, the other two are highly recommended due to their extensive detail.

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You can learn the interplay between hacking, sneaking, and combat in these scenarios that combine these elements.

Adjust Your Game Settings

It’s not recommended to jump into Cyberpunk 2077 without first making some changes to your settings.

Targeting, navigation, and driving are all areas for improvement. Thankfully, you can tweak these using the in-game sliders.

In addition to adjusting the camera’s sensitivity and ADS blur, controller dead zone, and camera height in-car, you can adjust a number of other settings.

We suggest spending a considerable amount of time adjusting various options until everything is just right for you.

Spend Attribute and Perk Points Wisely

Character creation involves distributing points among five different categories: body, reflexes, technical ability, brains, and coolness.

Since you don’t yet have enough information to make an informed decision, trust your gut.

You should spend your experience points and unlock abilities that fit your playstyle as you progress through the game and earn more experience and levels.

Before you go crazy lumping everything into one pile, though, it might be worth it to save some information until it’s more relevant.

Different options become available in dialogue checks, certain doors can be hacked or pryed open, and so on, depending on the amount of effort put into a given stat.

By saving up your points, you’ll have the freedom to use them when it matters most in the story.

Upgrade Your Cyberware

Cyberpunk 2077 takes an innovative tack with enhancements.

Many of the Ripper-Docs strewn about Night City are happy to install whatever cyberware you find during your travels, earn as you increase your Street Cred, or buy outright.

Since the game leaves it up to you to visit Ripper-Docs outside of the main story, it’s easy to forget about this detail.

The Integumentary System and Operating System are two areas you should prioritize upgrading right away.

The operating system (OS) affects hacking and how much RAM storage you can use for quick-hacks, while the Integumentary System affects your armor and overall survivability.

You can improve your chances of survival and access to hacking tools by making this investment.

Don’t Worry About Landing Headshots

In Cyberpunk 2077, headshots aren’t always a guaranteed one-hit kill, which is different from the vast majority of first-person shooters.

When you’re first starting out, most characters are bullet sponges that take multiple headshots to kill.

We recommend upgrading your preferred weapons and investing points into their respective perks to increase damage rather than constantly attempting to line up the perfect headshot.

At some point, you’ll reach a level where a single headshot will be enough to kill your weaker opponents.

Tag Enemies When Possible

In Cyberpunk 2077, scanning is a common mechanic that can yield useful information or make your life easier.

Enemy tagging is a useful feature for stealthy players because it reveals enemies even when they are behind walls or cover.

You can “tag” an opponent by entering Scan Mode, then aiming at them, and pressing R3 (on a controller) or clicking the mouse wheel (on a computer).

Security cameras can be hacked to identify enemies and map out their locations before you enter a building.

Master The Breach Protocol Minigame

You should try to hack as much as possible in order to defeat enemies and get around obstacles. The catch is that you have to beat a timed minigame in order to “breach protocol,” as the name suggests.

You’ll be given a series of codes and given a limited amount of time to find identical sequences in rows and columns.

When a matching code is located, the current row or column is automatically updated to the next available one.

Since there is no undo and the cooldown to retry is quite long, you should make sure you don’t miss any by planning out each step in your head before you begin.

Remember that you have access to all the necessary data from the get-go, so your attention should be directed toward identifying the optimal strategy for matching each code.

Working backwards from the last code and switching between rows and columns may help you crack the code more quickly.

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Level Up Your Street Cred

As we’ve already established, Cyberpunk 2077 features a wide variety of paths to advancement and the acquisition of previously unavailable gear.

Earning Street Cred in addition to regular XP affects what kinds of gear V can buy and equip, especially cyberware.

V’s pitiful starting Street Cred makes it impossible to acquire many things. You can change that by going out into Night City and participating in its many Side Jobs, Gigs, and Events.

Investigating crimes with the NCPD is a simple way to increase your Street Cred because it usually only requires you to take out a few bad guys and collect evidence.

Since a lot of cool stuff becomes available once your Street Cred reaches level 10, you should work quickly to get there.

Remember To Save Frequently

Cyberpunk 2077, like most games, has autosaving during pivotal moments in the story or during specific missions. This will prevent you from losing any work, but there may be times when you need to save the game manually.

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you were interested in trying out various methods for accomplishing the same goal. This is fairly typical of role-playing games, so you should make saving your progress a habit.

In order to save the game manually, press the pause button. You can quickly save your progress by pausing the game and pressing Triangle, Y, or F5.

Scan Every Room For Loot

Scanners can be useful for locating enemies and hackable objects, but what about loot? By scanning a space, V can identify what kinds of objects are in the immediate vicinity.

Anything from food and drink to broken down machinery and discarded pieces of furniture can be found in this category.

While you’re free to carefully examine each container, pressing the Scan button for an extended period of time may be inefficient.

If you do this, any nearby NPCs or items that might pique your interest will be marked with a pulse.

Always Be Hacking

Players who choose to specialize in hacking will have a much easier time in Cyberpunk 2077, despite the game’s ability to accommodate a wide variety of play styles.

Quick Hacks can be used to take control of security cameras and turrets, while Breach Protocol can be used to steal money and materials from terminals.

Even if you’re more of a “guns blazing” player, hacking is still a good idea before going into battle, thanks to hacking tools like Breach Protocol.

A Netrunner deck isn’t for everyone, but even a modest investment in hacking can pay off in the long run.

Scrap Or Sell Any Gear You Don’t Need

Better weapons and armor are constantly being thrown at you, so you’ll constantly be upgrading and replacing your equipment.

Rather than discarding something every time you acquire something better, consider selling it to a vendor or breaking it down for use in future creations.

Selling weapons early in the game can net you a healthy profit because they are among the most common items.

Instead of dismantling weapons for their materials until you have enough money to buy upgrades, vehicles, or whatever else you’re into, try doing so now.

In order to make room for more gear and increase your access to rare and legendary crafting materials, scrapping weapons of this tier is a great idea.

Upgrade Iconic Weapons

Regarding weapons, there is a specific rarity tier that you should avoid discarding in favor of upgrading.

Iconic weapons are extremely hard to come by because they can only be obtained in very specific circumstances, such as during specific story missions or sidequests.

The special features that come standard on these weapons are what make them stand out from the crowd.

These bonuses are worth keeping even if you don’t currently meet the requirements, as they will be applied to the upgraded weapon.

Use Vehicles To Stash Your Gear

One of our favorite design choices in Cyberpunk 2077 is the ability to use vehicles as Stashes for stowing away gear, weapons, and other items.

Even though you have a Stash at home, it makes more sense to keep everything you need for your adventures in one convenient location.

One restriction is that you need to own the vehicle in order to use it as a storage space. To add or remove items, the vehicle must be called into the world.

Stash locations can be accessed by walking up to a vehicle and pressing the corresponding button.

Complete Optional Objectives

The games’ optional goals are always shrouded in mystery.

How will this change the plot? When presented with a voluntary activity, we typically ask ourselves two questions: and.

Completing the optional objectives in Cyberpunk 2077 will affect the story even if there is no super secret weapon behind them.

We’ve found that completing the side quest often leads to better rewards, such as more money, contact with a new character, or unique lines of dialogue.

Because the outcomes of your actions may not become apparent until much later in the mission or story, it’s best to err on the side of caution and complete as many of the available optional tasks as possible.

The 15 Best Characters In Cyberpunk 2077, Ranked

Hanako

Hanako is a nebulous figure, even by “villain” standards. She isn’t the bad guy per se, but she does have a lot of power at the end of the day. The player has the option of ignoring Johnny Silverhand’s warnings and accepting her assistance in planning another heist in Arasaka.

The Arasaka ending, which also features Goro Takemura, is where we see most of Hanako’s true colors. She may be crafty, but she has enough respect for others to listen to what Takemura and V have to say about Yorinobu.

Dum Dum

In the grand scheme of Cyberpunk 2077, Dum Dum is a minor character, but in Act 1 he plays a crucial role as V prepares for the Arasaka heist. Getting on his good side and maybe even becoming friends with him can be very useful.

In a later side quest, Dum Dum and his leader Royce make a return appearance. If he was spared the first time, players can take their chances with him here, or they can choose to maintain peace with the Maelstrom out of deference to a fellow hustler in Night City.

Kerry Eurodyne

Kerry is a great protagonist who doesn’t get nearly enough praise. He is more of an endgame character, with endgame-themed quests, so most players probably won’t ever meet him. Kerry is a jaded old-school musician who at first dislikes his rivals but eventually comes to respect them.

If players can get past the weirdness of romancing Kerry while picturing his friend Johnny Silverhand, he makes for a good romantic option. Kerry may not play a significant role in the game’s conclusion, but his questline is a nostalgic nod to the Samurai group’s glory days and features V center stage for Johnny’s benefit.

Rogue Amendiares

Rogue, Johnny Silverhand’s ex-lover and now the best fixer in Night City, resides in the Afterlife. V needs to earn enough eddies to meet with Rogue, but that requires him to first impress her. Given that Rogue was present during the failed heist at Arasaka Tower that resulted in Johnny Silverhand’s death, her tough demeanor is hardly surprising.

Despite this, she gets V the toughest jobs in the business and puts them in touch with Panam. One of the game’s endings features Rogue heavily; however, players should be prepared to shed some tears.

Evelyn Parker

V’s hookup for the big heist in Arasaka, the woman, is mysterious and suspicious at first. But as the plot progresses, it becomes clear that Evelyn is just as much a pawn and victim as V is.

One of the most tragic stories in Cyberpunk 2077, Evelyn’s tragic end is revealed in the course of Judy’s questline, which has her plotting revenge against the doll club where Evelyn first worked. But it seems like Evelyn never gets the justice she would have deserved, even after all the vengeance is done.

V

The destiny of V rests entirely in the hands of the player. The outcome must be the same whether one is being kind or spiteful. V is an awesome protagonist.

A voice gives V more literal character, but it does feel a little like a cheat since it is based on player choice. Since the game can only be played from the first-person perspective, players will unfortunately miss out on seeing them frequently.

Ozob Bozo

The inspiration for this character came from a tabletop Cyberpunk campaign. Bozo the Clown, a beloved children’s TV host beginning in the 1950s, is the inspiration for this piece, as the title might imply. In any case, the two missions you can do with him are worth their weight in gold. His nose, which is a literal grenade, is the most striking feature. He has a crazy appearance, which is saying something given that this game is full of such characters.

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Wakako Okada

Wakako is the most frequently encountered minor Fixer. She seems both sage and kind, taking a shine to V while also serving as the de facto leader of her group. To put it another way, she is not someone to cross. The best part is that she operates covertly behind a Pachinko parlor.

Delamain

What would a cyberpunk game be without a sassy robot? Delamain is actually an AI but the result is the same. He behaves predictably like a robot devoid of human emotion when he first appears. That is mostly true throughout the rest of the game but his side missions on recovering wonky cabs gone crazy have some hilarious moments that brighten the character.

Panam Palmer

Panam does not follow orders from higher-ups. She is initially hostile toward V, but she grows to trust that person over time. Completing all of her optional objectives leads to the game’s best (or, at the very least, happiest) ending. She’s someone you should keep close, and she may play a significant role in the sequel.

Goro Takemura

Like V, Goro begins the story strongly disliking the protagonist. Initially, he is convinced that V murdered his master, but he comes around to V’s way of thinking.

Takemura’s greatness lies in his samurai-esque sense of honor, which dates back to his youth. While Johnny Silverhand’s band might have been called “Samurai,” the game’s real samurai is Takemura.

Judy Alvarez

Besides V, Judy’s storyline is one of the most tragic in the game. Before the heist goes south, she and Evelyn are doing well. After her best friend goes missing, is found, and ultimately passes away, she is unable to exact adequate revenge on the location responsible for her death. If she is given V as a romantic partner, she will be able to confide in her and grow as a person. Featuring Judy, Pyramid Song is not only one of the game’s most exciting missions, but also one of its most eerie.

Viktor Vector

Let’s start off by all agreeing that “Viktor Vector” is the most awesome cyberpunk name ever. In addition, he is a genuine gentleman.

He has some of the best acting in the game, so it’s easy to believe that he genuinely cares about V. The hardest thing about being a doctor is accepting that you have a code of ethics that prevents you from helping when you want to.

Johnny Silverhand

Johnny is a complete dolt, but he’s also incredibly endearing. Is his previous persona that of a callous egotist? And even in his artificial form, his bad qualities remain. The interesting part is that while V’s goal is to emulate him more closely, the opposite outcome is also possible. There is no “I” in a team, as Johnny discovers. Keanu is in it, and who doesn’t like Keanu?

Jackie Welles

Despite having been shown in a trailer last year, Jackie’s death still hits hard. Most people were caught off guard because it is so simple to forget something like that. However, that is the catch with this game and the city of Night. Jackie was a character too cool and heartfelt to make it in this kind of world. Now that he’s out of the dirt, he should be much happier.

Cyberpunk 2077 can be played on PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, and X/S consoles.