Cyberpunk 2077: How character development works? Cyberpunk 2077 guide, walkthrough
Last update: 02 November 2022
On this page of the Cyberpunk 2077 guide, you will find general information on how to develop the character. You will learn what features and statistics V can be upgraded and what will it change.
You can find more tips on the separate pages Character Development and Skills and implants of our game guide. The following page describes the topic in a nutshell.
- Character class - should you choose it?
- Attributes
- Skills and perks
- Experience and street cred
- Cyberware
Character class - should you choose it?
In Cyberpunk 2077 there is no ordinary class system. In the character creator, only the initial attribute points are distributed.
The authors allow the players full freedom in creating their own game style. You can build your character according to your gameplay style, experiment with skills, perks, and implants with different effects
Attributes
There are 5 main attributes / stats of the hero in the game - Body, Reflexes, Technical Ability, Cool and Intelligence. The initial attribute values are set at the beginning of the game. In addition, each time you advance to level, you will receive 1 attribute point, which you can spend on increasing any of them.
Developing attributes is associated with passive bonuses to statistics. For example, developing the Body lengthens health and endurance bars, and increases the damage inflicted in melee combat. It will also unlock more perks related to a given attribute.
Skills and perks
Each of the main attributes is associated with 2 or 3 unique skill trees. For example, for the Reflexes attribute, these are the Handguns, Blades, and Rifles trees. Skills are increased by performing activities related to them. For example, if you want to increase your Blades skills, you have to attack enemies with this type of weapon. Each upgrade of skill will give you a bonus to stats or a free perk point.
There are plenty of perks to unlock - about 20 unique (excluding upgrades) per skill tree. They can be passive or active (e.g. new type of attack). Additionally, some of the perks can be improved in order to improve their performance. You can't buy more advanced attributes before developing the "parent" attribute.
Experience and street cred
In Cyberpunk 2077, experience and street cred points are earned separately and can be awarded (in different amounts) for doing the same thing. Experience points are needed to advance characters to higher levels. After collecting the required amount of XP you will be informed about leveling up.
Street Cred is positive karma - it is granted for helping the residents of Night City and making efforts to reduce crime in the city. Street cred can be received, among other things, for completing quests, dealing with criminals, or responding to requests from the police. Increasing your street cred unlocks new side quest. You can also count on other benefits, such as unlocking new equipment to buy.
Cyberware
Cyberware is a different kind of cyber-enhancement - the character can become stronger and gain a variety of new features - for example, it can allow you to use unique firearms, advanced blades for close combat, to scan your opponents, or perform long jumps.
The Cyberware is installed by visiting ripperdocs. Each implant (excluding quest rewards) has to be purchased and sometimes this is only possible after reaching a certain Street Cred level. The Cyberware can be further improved with mods purchased or found in the game world. Modifications can improve the performance of the implant, e.g. increase the number of enemies you can set on fire with your weapon.