Cyberpunk 2077 asks you to pick a life path before you’ve seen anything, then drops you into Night City, where it’s easy to get lost in menus, perks and dozens of map icons. This guide is for newcomers on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Mac and Switch 2, and it covers version 2.x (the current patch is 2.31). You’ll learn which Lifepath to choose, how attributes and perks work, what to do in your first hours and which tips from older guides you can safely ignore.
Lifepath: Nomad, Street Kid or Corpo
At the start you choose one of three Lifepaths: Nomad, Street Kid or Corpo. You always play as the mercenary V, but the Lifepath decides where V comes from. Each one has its own prologue and adds its own dialogue options now and then throughout the game.
| Lifepath | Where you start | Starting situation |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad | the Badlands, the wasteland outside Night City | V is a loner without a clan, smuggling a cargo into the city with Jackie |
| Street Kid | El Coyote Cojo bar in Heywood | local contacts and knowledge of the gangs |
| Corpo | Arasaka Tower | V works in Arasaka’s counterintelligence |
After the prologue all three paths merge into the same main story, so you can’t really ruin anything with this choice. Pick whichever opening and point of view on the city appeals to you most: life on the road, the streets and their gangs, or the corporate offices.
Start a new game, even if you have old saves
Update 2.0, released on 21 September 2023, overhauled the game: new perk trees, Cyberware Capacity, a police system, vehicle combat and buying cars through AUTOFIXER. That’s why CD PROJEKT RED’s 2.0 patch notes recommend starting a new game for the best experience. Your old saves still work, you just won’t ease into the new systems from the beginning.
For the same reason, take guides from 2020 to 2022 with a pinch of salt. They describe the old perk and armour system, which no longer applies since 2.0.
Attributes, perks and skills at a glance
V has five attributes: Body, Reflexes, Technical Ability, Intelligence and Cool. The Phantom Liberty expansion adds the Relic tree on top. Every attribute starts at 3, and you get one attribute point each time your character levels up.
Perks sit in the tree of each attribute. Since 2.0 you can refund them one by one for free and reassign perk points at any time outside combat, so feel free to experiment. Attributes are stricter: you can only reset them once.
On top of that there are five skills: Headhunter, Netrunner, Shinobi, Solo and Engineer. They grow as you do the activity they cover. The cap is level 60, and every five levels unlocks a passive bonus. Our attributes and perks guide breaks the whole system down.
Your first hours in Night City
You start with no money and no gear. The currency is eurodollars, which players call “eddies”. A few habits make the early game much easier:
- Loot and sell. Almost everything in the game is worth something. Sell what you don’t need or break it down into components for crafting.
- Use your stash. You can store items in the stash in V’s apartment and in the trunk of your own car, so you don’t have to carry everything.
- Try the doors. A high Body or Technical Ability opens some locked doors and passages.
- Watch out for the police. Since 2.0 the NCPD chases you after a crime, on foot and in vehicles. Depending on your wanted level, MaxTac can join in too.
What not to do in Cyberpunk 2077
Don’t dress for armour
The old advice to wear whatever has the most armour no longer applies. Since 2.0 armour comes mainly from cyberware, while clothing is mostly cosmetic and has no mod slots. Wear what you like and put your money into implants instead.
Don’t burn your attribute reset early
Both existing and new characters get a one-time attribute reset. Use it in the first few hours and you won’t be able to reassign attributes later. Save it for when you know how you want to play.
Don’t plan blind
Before you start spending points, try putting a character together in the official Build Planner. CD PROJEKT RED’s web planner covers the base game trees as well as the Relic tree from Phantom Liberty.
Replaying the tutorial and when Phantom Liberty starts
Forgot what the game explained at the start? Since 2.3 you can replay the tutorial at any time under Settings → Controls.
The Phantom Liberty expansion doesn’t open up straight away in a new game. Songbird contacts you only after you finish the main job Transmission. The base game’s main story alone takes roughly 15 to 20 hours according to PC Gamer and GamesRadar+, and much longer with side content. Our playtime guide has the details.
Join our Discord to ask other players which Lifepath they picked and how they built their first character. Head over to the GamersTogether Discord.
How players and critics rate the game after Update 2.0 is summed up in our Cyberpunk 2077 review (8/10).
FAQ
The one whose opening appeals to you most. Nomad starts in the Badlands, Street Kid in Heywood and Corpo in Arasaka Tower. The Lifepath changes the prologue and adds some dialogue options, but after the prologue all three merge into the same main story.
Perks yes: since 2.0 you refund them one by one for free at any time outside combat. Attributes can only be reset once, so don’t use that reset right away.
CD PROJEKT RED recommends it for the best experience, because 2.0 reworked perks, cyberware and the police. Your old saves still work, though.
Not much since 2.0. Armour comes mainly from cyberware and clothing is mostly cosmetic, so you can dress for looks.
In a new game, after you finish the main job Transmission, when Songbird contacts you. You need the base game to play the expansion.
Information verified on 20 October 2026. More guides are waiting in the Cyberpunk 2077 hub.