Diving straight into Cyberpunk 2077‘s gorgeously twisted and colorful world is both exhilarating and overwhelming. For those unfamiliar with CD Projekt Red‘s previous games, it can even be a burden to try and absorb and understand everything about the world around them while also making a coherent character build. With so many features, things are bound to get messy.
Luckily, after a few weeks of the game being available, it’s evident there are recurring mistakes and issues that players face when starting the game for the first time. Without knowing exactly what to do or what to focus on, the game can end up punishing you in the long run. Here’s just a few things that might make your stay in Night City miserable, and how to fix them as soon as possible.
Updated on February 20th, 2021 by Anastasia Maillot: Now that players have been able to explore the streets and hidden spots of Night City even further, it’s even easier to see the things that most people miss out on or fail to do correctly. While the game isn’t by any means hard, it can be frustrating to play if certain features are ignored or misused.
With that in mind, there’s a few more additional tips and tricks to keep in mind to get more out of your time in Night City. Whether it’s faring better in combat or just finding more loot and quests, here’s a few more roadblocks beginners should avoid when starting the game.
15 Forgetting To Explore Vertically
Before Cyberpunk 2077 was even released, the developers revealed that Night City would be smaller than the world of The Witcher 3. That being said, while its sheer size as a map is tinier, it does make up for it by being an extremely vertically build world with tons to explore at heights.
In the beginning, this might be a bit tough since you won’t have double jump available as a cyberware mod, but you can still use elevators and stairs to take you to locations you would normally not visit. Keep your eyes peeled for such spots, since a hidden quest or item could be hiding just above your head.
14 Not Scouting
The really cool feature about the game is that there’s more than one approach to each gig and quest. No matter what kind of character build you go for, there’s always a way for your V to complete the quest in their own way. Going in guns blazing, even against tough enemies, isn’t always the only options.
When you need to tackle a mission, make sure to check out the area before that. You might find backdoors or ladders or other alternative entrances that can make harder missions significantly easier, as well as better serve your V’s special skills.
13 Not Checking Every Dialogue Option
The NPCs of Night City all have their own story to tell, and it’s important to listen to that story. Although the most important line is always highlighted in yellow, it’s recommended to explore the blue dialogue lines since they can open up alternative paths and choices later down the line.
In fact, some gigs and quests even depend on V exploring these options, which often reveal something new and unexpected about a character. Never simply skip or rush through dialogue options, as it might cost you a better mission ending.
12 Buying Gear And Vehicles Early
At the beginning of Act 2 and as you begin to level up your street cred, you’ll notice fixers will be contacting you quite often to try and sell various vehicles. Moreover, visiting merchants early on can also be tempting since the gear you start with is generally quite bad.
Despite this, you should absolutely avoid buying anything. The best gear in the game are usually quest rewards or randomly found. That also includes a range of free vehicles you can earn through quests, so try to be patient at first and explore the city and its quests before rushing off to spend your hard-earned money.
11 Spending Perk And Attribute Points Early
There’s a whole myriad of perks to spend points on, and with perks comes attributes that you’ll be really tempted to level up, just to be able to open a door or force yourself through a situation. However, this is the opposite of what you actually need to do when it comes to leveling up your skills.
It’s much better to wait in order to get a bunch of perk and attribute points, rather than spending them one at a time. This might mean having to level up several times before actually investing into anything, but it gives you a better sense of what kind of build you want to go for and commit to.
10 Not Adjusting Your Graphics Settings
It’s really no secret by now that the game is still not optimized, even for PCs. If you’re looking for a perfectly smooth experience, it might be smarter to just wait for patches to come through in the next few weeks and months. However, if you’d like a dose of Cyberpunk 2077 right now and you’re on next-gen console or on PC, you can make it work.
On PC, make sure to tweak crowd density in particular and put it on low. Other tweaks include turning off chromatic aberration and motion blur. Also make sure to lock your FPS to 60 and set the value under it to 60, as it tends to be 30 by default. For a full guide on how to get an FPS boost, check out these additional graphics tips.
9 Spending Little Time In Character Creation
As of now, there’s no way for players to modify the appearance of their V once they’ve loaded into the game, unless they install a mod that was recently published. If you’re on console or you rather not play around with mods, you’ll have to wait for a potential future feature by CD Projekt Red to change your V’s appearance.
That’s why, you might as well take all the time you need in character creation. This is the time to make the character of your dreams, the V you’ll be spending the next 30 hours playing with. They’ll appear in a few cutscenes, so you want them to look just the way you prefer.
8 Spreading Your Points Too Thin
A common mistake for a lot of beginner RPG players is not wanting to commit too hard on a specific attribute to perk tree. Cyberpunk 2077 currently has five attributes, with a sixth one most likely coming up in a future DLC. Within these attributes are several perk trees, which amounts to a lot of different skills.
As you level up, try not to add points here and there just because you want to open one sealed door in a building. Try to commit to the build you initially start off with, because spreading your points too thin will amount to an immensely weak character build. If your V starts off as a melee weapon specialist, don’t put points into every possible firearm perk tree.
7 Tackling Quests With High Danger
As you open your quest log for the first time, you’ll be greeted by the sight of a bunch of different quests. There’s main jobs, side jobs and gigs. Each of these quests are marked with a danger level, which should be respected if you’re just only starting the game and have little experience in Night City.
These dangers levels will change as you level up and become more powerful, so don’t get discouraged if a side mission feels incredibly difficult. Just do a few Moderate or Low level gigs for fixers, which should help you level up your V and lower the danger threshold for other quests. On your map you can also click around on various missions and side jobs that are unnamed, as they’ll still tell you the difficulty level for them. The highest you should attempt is a Moderate or High level mission.
6 Fast Traveling Everywhere
Fast travel is limited in the game, meaning you can only travel by using a fast travel terminal. These terminals are scattered all around Night City and the badlands, so it’s usually pretty easy to find one relatively nearby. However, especially early on in the game, using these fast travel points is a bad idea.
By driving or walking around, you’ll discover a lot more interesting gigs and side missions that you would otherwise miss while playing the game. Initially, it’s better to just take your time and travel the world slowly, while getting to know your surroundings better. You never know what you might find, and you wouldn’t want to miss on rare items.
5 Focusing On The Main Quest Only
The main quest is a very immersive ride, and it’s easy to get carried away by it. Each mission feels exciting and empowering, as it reveals more and more about the Relic that both Johnny and V now have to deal with. However, this is a terrible idea if you’re looking to get a decent ending.
Side missions in the game actually have a huge impact on the final ending you’ll get. Depending on your relationship level with certain side and main characters, you’ll have more or less options when it comes to deciding how you’ll want to proceed after reaching the point of no return. Moral of the story: finish your side missions!
4 Not Having A Plan For A Fight
Cyberpunk 2077 feels empowering with all the cool, special features it introduces for combat. However, enemies aren’t just cannon fodder for V. They’ll take advantage of their surroundings just as much as V, and sometimes they might even employ a netrunner to attack V from afar.
Due to this, it’s better to go in with a plan. Not every situation is resolved with violence either. Sometimes, an alternate route, or a back door is the easier, better way to go. If you have to take a fight, be aware of your surroundings and take advantage of cover. Some perks will even boost your damage if you shoot from cover. Netrunners in particular should take every chance they can to use their surroundings to hack and distract enemies.
3 Forgetting To Upgrade
Another big mistake players commit is forgetting about their old friend Viktor. No, but in all seriousness, don’t forget about Viktor or any of the other vendors and ripperdocs stationed around Night City. Visiting them regularly will allow you to grab some seriously good-looking and powerful gear, provided you have money.
The most important part to upgrade regularly is cyberware. As you progress, more powerful versions of your cyberware parts will become available at various ripperdocs. Remembers those Kiroshi optics Vik gives you? They can eventually be upgraded to a better one. Remember the cyberdeck you get at the beginning of the game? A more powerful version will be available at netrunner shops, so always keep some eddies on you for upgrades.
2 Getting In Trouble With The Police
The police of Night City is often painted as a powerless entity. However, they can become a real annoyance to V very quickly. Breaking the law can sometimes happen accidentally, if you crash into a civilian or a stray bullet hits them in a fight against some gang members. In that scenario, a warrant will be issued and the police will pretty much just spawn on you automatically.
Evading the police isn’t hard, but once you have a warrant on you, driving or walking past police patrols will turn them aggressive quickly. Moreover, if you fight a police force that spawns on you, they’ll keep reappearing in waves, making it increasingly more difficult. So, if you’d rather not deal with the police, try to pull enemies from the streets into areas that aren’t as crowded. And of course, don’t drive all over the place.
1 Not Checking Street Cred Rewards
Street cred is a measure of how believable your V is in the streets of Night City. Every set level your street cred will reward you with unlockable features, such as new clothing and weapons. Cyberware is also locked behind street cred limitations.
To keep an eye on your street cred and check each level reward, go to your inventory. You can also check progress for specific skills and how every level affects your capabilities with pistols or melee weapons for instance. Knowing these things will make you more aware of how you play, but also of the possibilities you have when visiting vendors around Night City. Reaching level 50 in street cred is the maximum, and it’s also an achievement for the game.
NEXT: 10 Biggest Quality-Of-Life Changes Cyberpunk 2077 Needs
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Tea lover and video game obsessed writing enthusiast with her very own Overwatch team, Anastasia writes about games that leave an impression on her and make her come back time and time again.
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