Cyberpunk 2077: Everything about skills and the level system

Playful freedom is to become a pillar of Cyberpunk 2077. Not only in terms of quests and decisions – but also in terms of the skill and level system of the role-playing game. We have collected all the important information about attributes, perks, skill trees, and character progress so that you can get started right away at the launch on December 10th.

If you want to know everything, really everything about Cyberpunk 2077, then we recommend you our huge and spoiler-free preview:

Five attributes, twelve perk trees

Even when creating your character, Cyberpunk 2077 gives you numerous options to design protagonist V according to your taste. Yes, it reaches the size of your genitals, most of you should have noticed by now. At this point, however, we are not talking about the external but rather the internal values ​​- namely of attributes and perks.

The start attributes

With these character values, ​​your V adjusts at the beginning of the game. You can also distribute points in the five different attributes in the course of the game and thus increase your status up to a maximum value of 20.

Each attribute comes with two to three of its own perk trees in which you can invest additional points during the course of the game – there are a total of twelve skill trees. The more points you have put into the corresponding character value, the more perks you can unlock there.

Levelcap in Cyberpunk 2077:The maximum level that V can reach was 50 when we played it last – but that may change for the final release. If it stays that way, you can only maximize half of the attributes and then distribute another 20 perk points per attribute. So you have to make a few compromises!

All attributes at a glance

• Strength: This attribute determines your physical strength, also your life energy, stamina, and the damage with heavy artillery or in close combat. If you like to be close to the action and want to take as many hits as possible, you should invest points here.
• Reflex: Determines your coordination and your speed. A high value improves your chance of critical hits, increases your attack speed, and makes you more difficult to hit.
• Intelligence: Improves your intellect, but also your memory. Hackers in particular benefit from this attribute: A high value makes your hacks easier and faster.
• Technical skills: This value determines your perk in dealing with complicated technology. It also gives you additional armor and a higher chance of finding crafting ingredients.
• Coolness: This attribute improves your willpower and self-control. A high value improves your stealth skills, increases your critical damage, and makes you more resistant to negative effects. If you want to play an assassin, you should spend points here.

The most important questions about attributes and perks

What do the perks bring? Some changes are in the percentage range, but sometimes the perks cause big differences in the style of play. A tree, for example, ensures that you receive buffs when you are almost dead, which makes aggressive action much more attractive. Other perks improve the damage done by certain weapons.

Do perk level through commitment? Yes, if you have unlocked a perk and use it frequently, you unlock further benefits. The principle is reminiscent of Skyrim – you get better at the skills that you use frequently.

Can I reset the points I have spent? You can only partially undo your selection – you can reset the perk points in the skill trees for a whopping 100,000 credits. You don’t have this option with attribute points. So think about beforehand in which direction you want to develop V!

Are there pre-made classes? No, Cyberpunk 2077 does without this popular role-playing game feature. But you can still create your own class – we explain exactly how this works best in this article:

To increase perks and attributes you have to get some points somehow. This works via a level system. Cyberpunk 2077 also counts on several here. We’ll crack the whole thing up for you.

This is how character progression works

There are several important factors that you should know because these determine your progress in Cyberpunk 2077. We present them to you in an overview.

Your character level

As usual in role-playing games, V has a character level. You increase this by collecting experience points. According to the developers, most of the XP is for completing quests – so this is the most effective way to level V quickly. With a level-up, you get an attribute and two perk trees that you can distribute in the skill trees. The maximum level you can reach is currently 50 – that would be 50 attributes and 100 perk points.

Your Street Cred

That’s your reputation in Night City, so to speak. You can increase your street cred by completing assignments or bagging bounties. The higher your value, the more vendors you have available who will sell you high-quality items. For example, you can only get particularly powerful cyberware with a high reputation value. In some cases, however, you also unlock new side tasks. The maximum value of your Street Cred is 50.

Cyberware and mods are added

But it doesn’t stop with levels, attributes, and perks: You have a few more options to strengthen V and adapt it to your preferences.

Weapon Mods: With attachments such as a silencer for pistols, you can upgrade your equipment separately from your perks. Your play style can also change thanks to mods – for example, there is non-lethal ammunition for every weapon. You can craft the mods yourself.

Cyberware: This is a chapter of its own in terms of playful freedom and character customization. For example, you can equip V with extra-strong gorilla arms for slamming or use the dangerous mantis blades from the trailers. However, you have to be able to pay for the implants first, they are sometimes extremely expensive. You can get cyberware from so-called ripper docs, but you can also produce it yourself.

Clothing: Your clothes give you certain armor values ​​or other bonuses. You can also upgrade them yourself using crafting. Or you can buy better clothes – which of course are also more expensive.

Let’s summarize

CD Projekt Red promises that Cyberpunk 2077 will offer you the greatest possible freedom in play style. It goes so far that the developers are even happy if you trick them.

Do you want to find out more about the most anticipated game 2020? Then take a look at our huge info article about the open game world of Cyberpunk 2077. There we answer all questions about Night City and the gloomy future setting: