The Game Awards 2020 featured a ton of announcements, ranging from world premiers of new games to gameplay teasers for already anticipated titles. And plenty of those announcements had to deal with games coming to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.
On this episode of Generation Next, Lucy, Jordan, and Tamoor provide their immediate reactions to what went down at The Game Awards. The trio also talk through their respective impressions of the show as a whole and how it has contributed to the conversation surrounding the new generation of consoles–from the reveal of Xbox Series X to the advertisement of upcoming AAA titles and indie titles coming exclusively to the new consoles in 2021 and beyond, including The Callisto Protocol and Perfect Dark.
Generation Next is a weekly video series focused on discussing Xbox Series X|S and PS5. Sometimes that means sitting down for a serious discussion and other times that means mixing in some good points among lots of silly bants. It’s usually the latter.
I’ve waited a long time to say this with confidence: Microsoft is finally – finally – set up for sustained first-party success. Xbox Studios’ on-paper portfolio was capped off by The Game Awards’ riveting reveal of Perfect Dark, which will revive a beloved N64-era franchise that has been dormant for 15 years. It’s been entrusted to The Initiative, Microsoft’s lone new homegrown studio located in the development hotbed of Santa Monica that’s staffed by talent with impressive resumes. Perfect Dark’s director, for instance, is Drew Murray, who also helmed the sublime Sunset Overdrive.
But let’s back up a bit first. The story of the Xbox One’s disastrous launch has been well-told at this point, though I’d argue that Microsoft’s failures in the first-party/exclusive games department over the past generation have been just as damaging to the brand, if not more so. Funny enough, Xbox One had a pretty solid launch window’s worth of exclusives, including Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Titanfall. But since starting reasonably strong on the software side, the well has gone and stayed dry, year after year. And while there have been somegems, they’ve been overshadowed by studio closures, franchise failures, and high-profile cancellations and even higher-profile delays.
You know the recent Xbox story: a host of studio acquisitions, a megaton Bethesda purchase, the rise of Xbox Game Pass, and the release of a great new next-generation console in the Xbox Series X. The last and most important piece of the puzzle has always been first-party and/or exclusive games, though, and it’s also the problem that takes the longest to solve. You simply can’t get major, system-selling exclusives overnight, even when you pay $7.5 billion.
That brings us to today, when we can finally take a holistic view of Microsoft’s first-party roadmap and genuinely get excited about what we see:
Halo Infinite
Perfect Dark
Fable
Starfield
The Elder Scrolls VI
Avowed
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Everwild
Forza Motorsport
State of Decay 3
Microsoft Flight Simulator (Xbox Series X version)
That’s a damned impressive list, and that doesn’t even include unannounced-but-inevitable sequels like Forza Horizon 5, Gears 6, Fallout 5, and Doom 3. Nor do we know what talented studios like Machinegames (Wolfenstein) and Compulsion (We Happy Few) are up to yet. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also inked a handful of third-party console launch exclusives, including Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and the Vin Diesel vehicle Ark 2.
The bad news is that most of those are still pretty far away. Granted, 2021 should still see a number of exclusives land on Game Pass, though not many heavy hitters. The Medium, Scorn, CrossfireX, Psychonauts 2, Warhammer, 12 Minutes, The Ascent, and the console release of Flight Sim are all on tap to be appetizers for 2021’s main Xbox course in the Fall, Halo Infinite.
And look, no one’s saying these games are “better” than PlayStation’s exclusives. Sony has earned its sterling reputation amongst gamers by consistently delivering fantastic first-party games. I’m not writing this as a comparison at all. Quite frankly, Microsoft has to get its own house in order before it can worry about Sony. All of these games have to actually be stellar, not just good, in order for that to happen.
But there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel for Xbox gamers. Perfect Dark, a first-person “more than a shooter” according to The Game Awards reveal video, gives Microsoft the chance to do what a new IP can’t: tap into a groundswell of nostalgia and resurrect a fan-favorite franchise in a way Xbox has never really done before. It could prove to be the perfect complement to the rest of the newly impressive first-party roster. Here’s hoping Microsoft can pull the whole thing off, and that Xbox’s first-party problems finally become a thing of the past.
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Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
Bad Robot Productions, JJ Abrams’ movie, and TV production company, has launched a video game division under the guidance of former Valve executive Michael Booth.
In 2018, Abrams announced that Bad Robots will be expanding into video games with Bad Robot Games, but the newest venture under Booth will bring video game development in-house. Meaning Bad Robot themselves will begin developing and designing games on their own.
Booth will serve as general manager and will lead the creative team through the company’s first game, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Booth was formerly a developer for Turtle Rock Studios, the developers of Left 4 Dead and Back 4 Blood. He was project lead on games such as Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Nox, as well as working on Team Fortress 2 and Command & Conquer: Generals.
In a statement to Hollywood Reporter, Booth says, “My career has been driven by a desire to innovate new ways of bringing people together for epic adventures online, leaving them exciting stories they can tell their friends afterward.”
Booth added, “The games I create center around people working together to survive and thrive in fantastic worlds, which seems an excellent fit for JJ Abrams’ approach to moviemaking. As a huge fan of JJ’s work, I’m incredibly excited by the unique opportunity to create something new at Bad Robot Games Studios in collaboration with the world-class talent at Bad Robot.”
There has been no word on what Bad Robots’ first project will be.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Fans of competitive, block-dropping puzzle games had it pretty rough for most of the last decade. Creativity in the Tetris space was being stifled by a strict set of game-rules guidelines imposed by The Tetris Company, while Puyo Puyo was mostly trapped in Japan, playable only by those international fans fervent enough to tread import waters. Thankfully, things have changed somewhat on both fronts, bringing us the unusual mashup title Puyo Puyo Tetris in 2017 to critical and fan success. Three years later, we now have a follow-up in the form of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2. While it keeps much of what made the original game a success, it offers a few new game modes and online enhancements–but as a sequel, it lacks the same punch as the original.
Like in the original game, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is built around an engine combining these two competitive puzzle titans into a singular game entity. Players pick either Puyo Puyo or Tetris gameplay and go up against an opponent, with rules adjusted according to which style they’re using–or they can play a mode that switches between Puyo Puyo and Tetris gameplay at set intervals. If you’re feeling especially brave, you can attempt Fusion mode, which puts Puyo blobs and Tetromino blocks on the same board in a complex rules mashup that will put your puzzling skills to the true test.
But that’s just the beginning. There’s a lot on offer in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 for both solo and multiplayer play. The Adventure mode offers an all-new story, complete with a pleasant new overworld interface and featuring a cast of colorful weirdos–mostly from the expanded Puyo Puyo universe–who solve all of their problems and disagreements by tossing colored blobs and blocks at each other. The game modes change in every chapter, so Adventure Mode serves as a way to practice and learn the various styles of gameplay available while also unlocking characters, in-game shop credits, and various embellishments for your profile. While the rainbow-colored characters and their jokey personalities are certainly cute, the nonsensical nature of the narrative will either charm you to bits or leave you mashing the skip button to get to the dropping faster. This mode takes a few hours to finish, and future DLC expansions have been teased.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 on Nintendo Switch
After you’ve finished Adventure Mode–or if you want to take a break from it–you have several options for both solo and multiplayer play for up to four people (or CPU bots). Besides all the gameplay styles above, you have special rulesets like Party Mode, which puts chaos-causing items onfield, and Big Bang Mode, a challenge of who can solve certain puzzle formations quicker. If you don’t want the stress of competition, there are challenge modes like Marathon (clear 150 Tetris lines) and Tiny Puyo (make a gigantic Puyo combo with a big playfield). Of course, solo endless Puyo and Tetris modes are available as well for those times when you just want to zone out and crush some blocks and/or squish some blobs.
These modes are certainly nice, but most of them were already available in the original Puyo Puyo Tetris. However, there have been some revamps since the first game. For example, the Lessons mode now offers a wealth of playable tutorials to give you hands-on experience with some more advanced techniques. Need to work on your Puyo stacking prowess? Don’t have the slightest clue what a T-spin is or how to do it? You can now learn quickly and easily thanks to this thoughtful new addition. There are also new visual flourishes ranging from the subtle to the flashy, including an impressively elaborate background animation when a player has a particularly high combo happening.
Of course, a big draw for competitive puzzlers is online play, and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 delivers on that front. Besides offering a ranked mode in the form of Puzzle Leagues, you can also play casual matches with friends or random players across several different game modes with an easy-to-use lobby system. Online play is smooth and hassle-free, and I had no connectivity issues with players as far away as Europe and Australia, even on Wi-Fi.
Gallery
The marquee feature in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, however, is the Skill Battle mode. In this mode, you form a team of three characters, each with individual stats and battle skills, to fight an opponent’s team of three. You can also equip special items earned through certain quests in Adventure Mode to further augment your team’s stats and grant additional boons, such as bonuses to chains.
You then proceed to pick your game of choice and square off against a foe, but instead of trying to make them top out, you set off combos and complete line clears to deal damage to their health bar. You’ll also be able to make use of the three character skills you have assigned, which have a variety of effects ranging from changing colors of Puyos to clearing up garbage waiting to be dropped–you can even spontaneously create a perfect set of lines for a Tetris or T-Spin combo instantly. Provided, of course, that you have the MP available to do so. It’s a cool idea, and the shift in focus to damaging an opponent’s lifebar instead of making them top out adds a new way to think about offensive and defensive play–in some Skill Battle setups, topping out and getting a clean board to work with is actually a good thing if you have recovery options in place.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 on Nintendo Switch
However, the most interesting elements of Skill Battle are undermined by its implementation of RPG-style stats and enhancement items. Characters gain experience points in certain Adventure Mode nodes, which grants them better stats, and helpful items to equip are also farmable in these areas. These items and stats carry over to every other Skill Battle mode, both single-player and multiplayer, on- and offline, including the Puzzle League. This leads to some serious problems: If you’re underleveled or lack good items compared to your opponent, you’re at a severe disadvantage that skilled play and technique usage can only slightly compensate for. Needing to grind for items and levels in a puzzle game simply to be competitive–or even just to beat some of the tougher Adventure Mode quests–is tedious and unfair on several levels, and ruins much of Skill Battle’s appeal. I suspect that eventually the Skill Battle leaderboards will be dominated by level 99 teams that have poured hours into securing optimal item loadouts, leaving new players with an incredible hill to climb if they even want to become slightly competitive.
There’s no denying that Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 offers a lot of value–and even if you’re just here for simple Tetris or Puyo play, there’s plenty to satisfy. But as a sequel, the new additions it brings to the table feel rather inadequate, particularly the flawed Skill Battle mode. If you’ve never had a taste of this flavorful mashup before, then Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 will certainly quench your thirst for wacky puzzle antics and then some. But if you’re a veteran looking for a truly substantial upgrade to the original game, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 might leave you feeling rather unfulfilled.
Cyberpunk 2077 is finally out, and it has already become apparent that navigating Night City may be a more daunting task than many players were expecting. Maybe you missed an important tutorial because the guy you were talking to started aggressively T-posing, or perhaps there just… wasn’t a tutorial, because this is Night City, and you are basically on your own. With an RPG as robust as Cyberpunk, there’s a lot of mechanics to wrap your head around right at the start, different systems to manage and keep track of, and you can get just as lost in the back alleys of Night City as you can in the game’s never ending menus and inventories. The information overload is Braindance-levels of real
During my first hours in Night City, I spent so much time trying to steal cars I couldn’t keep, searched in vain for access points, and wondered who the hell kept lighting me on fire. I think it’s safe to say we’ve all run into plenty of problems long before Keanu Reeves shows his dreamy face, and I know you’ve all seen your fair share of frustrations based on our behind-the-scenes Cyberpunk 2077 Strategy Guide traffic data. While I can’t help you if you run into terrifying bugs like your character going bald if you look in a mirror (don’t worry, you’re still breathtaking), now that I’ve made my way deeper into the game, I can try and help you make sense of Cyberpunk 2077’s complex world with a handful of in-depth guides that may hold the answers you seek. And yes, we’re keeping it spoiler-free!
“I want to get online – I NEED! A COMPUTER!” – Keanu Reeves
As you might expect, almost everything in Cyberpunk 2077 can be hacked, but there’s a lot of weird terminology and methods for different kinds of hacking. Breach Protocols? Netrunning? Access Points? Let’s put it in simple terms: In Cyberpunk, you can hack a local wi-fi router and upload some janky viruses to everything and everyone nearby. Then you can set about disrupting electronics or giving someone’s eyes a 404 error. But don’t forget to look for places to plug your extendable USB stick in and download free prizes! But seriously, these hacking tips and explainers are worth your time:
Like any RPG, Cyberpunk is all about growing your character from a nobody into a legend of Night City, but you’ll find there are more ways to level up your character than you might think. Taking on certain tasks may raise your character level and give you attribute points to spend, but undertaking gigs and fighting crime can up your street cred to unlock new merchandise and opportunities. On top of that, simply performing actions like hacking, punching, or even just jumping around can raise individual skill levels like an Elder Scrolls game, so you might as well parkour at every opportunity, and take a look at these explainers to help level your character:
No, I don’t actually own this bike, but the previous owner is in too many pieces to care right now.
No offense to Jackie, but the car you start the game with stinks. I then spent the next several hours beating up Tyger Claws to steal their motorbikes, only to find out I couldn’t keep them even if their owners met an untimely death. Turns out, there’s a little more work involved if you want to start acquiring vehicles that will stay with you and can be summoned like a cyberpunk Roach. If you’re looking to buy, fix, or fast travel – check these out:
With enough hard work, beating up thugs, and hacking literally every access point you can find, you too can look this successful!
Look, those fancy mantis blade cybernetics aren’t going to pay for themselves. My Corpo character may have started the game with over a hundred thousand eurodollars, but it turns out the prologue is a pretty great equalizer for ensuring you’re broke. Fortunately, Night City seems to have a pretty laid back “finders keepers” rule allowing you to loot every dildo and legendary pair of jeans you come across. If you’re looking for a quicker path to making big bucks, maybe these guides can help you get rich or die trying (and then reloading a previous save):
Hopefully some of your most burning questions were answered, but if it hasn’t become obvious, there is a lot to Cyberpunk than you may realize at first glance (who knew the simple act of putting away your weapon would be hard to figure out). We’re hard at work making sure every last how-to guide is available to help you in your time of need, and these other sections may help you get where you need in Night City:
These guides were written by Miranda Sanchez, Brendan Graeber, Janet Garcia, Angie Harvey, and Felicia Miranda. We’re still hard at work building the perfect Cyberpunk 2077 Guide, and are adding new walkthroughs, side jobs and gigs, weapon locations, characters you can romance, and plenty of Easter eggs too! If you’re stuck anywhere else in Cyberpunk 2077, we want to know! Leave a comment below or, from the guide, hit the “Was this page helpful?” button to contact us.
Alongside a celebration of 2020’s best video games, The Game Awards was packed with new trailers and world premieres for upcoming titles.
If you didn’t sit through the entire three-hour long show but still want to catch the big announcements from the event, we’ve got you covered with this round-up of the 12 biggest trailers from The Game Awards 2020. The compilation features the surprise reveal of Perfect Dark, the first game from Microsoft’s “AAAA studio.” The Initiative is helmed by talent from Crystal Dynamics, Naughty Dog, Bungie, and more. We also included two teasers from Bioware: one for the next Dragon Age, featuring everyone’s favorite egg, Solas, as well as a glimpse at the next Mass Effect. We also had to include Sepiroth’s introduction video to Smash Bros. Ultimate, featuring that now-iconic image of him and Mario, as well as Ark 2, starring Vin Diesel.
If you want to catch the full Game Awards replay, check it out on youtube.com/GameSpot, and subscribe for all the latest and hottest game trailers.
The 2020 Disney Investor Day live stream was PACKED with news and announcements. Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige revealed the MCU’s plans for the next few years. From trailers and casting announcements, to new movies, TV shows, and specials, Marvel Studios had a LOT to show off. Here are the biggest reveals you need to know!
Watch the video above for the latest updates on Fantastic Four, Thor: Love and Thunder, Captain Marvel 2, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Black Panther 2, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Secret Invasion, Ironheart, What If…?, and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
The new trailer for Loki on Disney Plus features Tom Hiddleston’s God of Mischief causing all sorts of, well, mischief across the multiverse. But the big thing that caught our eye is what appears to be the return of Natasha Romanoff aka the Black Widow. Loki managed to escape death in Avengers: Endgame, so will he help Nat do the same on his wayward adventure? Let’s break down the trailer to find out.
Check out our trailer breakdown by watching the video in the player above or by flipping through the slideshow gallery below:
Christian Bale is confirmed to be playing Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder.
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Joshua is a Senior Editor and Producer of Features at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Star Wars are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.
Cyberpunk 2077 gives you a lot of options in terms of how you can approach its world through gameplay. While you’ll have to make your way through plenty of hostile territories throughout the course of the game, there are many choices for how you do so, whether you’re fighting enemies, hacking their systems, or sneaking by. Those options are determined by the stats you assign to V, your protagonist, and these decisions will shape your path through Night City.
Especially if you’re new to the game, you might be at a loss as to where to spend your points and which perks you want to snag. Cyberpunk 2077 has no traditional RPG “classes,” or character archetypes–you’re able to freely mix and match abilities based on how you play and what you want to do. But if that gives you a bit of choice paralysis, we’ve broken down the character-building process to show you how it all works and help guide your decisions so you can get the most out of trying to build yourself into a living legend.
As in most RPGs, where your skills lie in Cyberpunk 2077 depends on points you assign to specific attributes. Some of those attributes make you a better melee brawler; others define how you handle firearms or your capabilities as a hacker. Your attribute stats also factor into how you deal with people at specific moments–if you know a lot about engineering, for instance, you might get insight into a conversation about machinery that a hacking-focused V might not. And of course, if your stats are high enough in certain areas, you’ll open up different ways of progressing through levels, like gaining the ability to force open certain doors or talk your way out of bad situations.
You often won’t know what gains your abilities will offer you in specific story moments until you get there, so it can be useful to bank a few attribute points you earn from leveling up to dump into a skill during a key conversation or at a pivotal point in a level. But for the most part, investing your ability points will be how you grow your V into a powerful, capable mercenary. Here’s what you need to know about Attributes and what they do. Each Attribute also has various categories of perks, organized in skill trees, and some of those perks are gated until you have invested enough points into the associated Attribute.
Body
This determines your overall strength. Points in Body increase your melee damage, your overall health pool, your stamina, and your carrying capacity. It also affects movement speed when carrying enemies and bodies or using certain guns, including heavy machine guns.
You’ll find perks in the Body that align with fist-fighting, athletics, and storming the enemy’s gates, focusing on using big weapons like shotguns and machine guns.
Adds Health points
Adds Stamina points
Adds melee damage
Determines how well you can intimidate people
Determines whether you can force open some doors
Skill trees: Athletics, Annihilation, Street Brawler
Reflexes
The Reflexes stat generally determines your capability with firearms, your movement speed, and your evasion capabilities. How well you handle swords is also determined by your Reflexes.
Perks for Reflexes are mostly about speed and effectiveness with guns, especially handguns. You’ll also find a whole skill tree of sword perks, and perks that give you benefits for aiming and reloading, as well as bonuses when you kill enemies at range.
Increases Evasion chance
Increases Critical Hit chance
Increases Mantis Blades damage
Skill trees: Handguns, Blades, Assault
Technical Ability
This is essentially your knowledge of machines. It mostly dictates your ability with Tech guns and determines your ability to craft weapons and clothing (both of which you can sell if you’re hard-up for cash), while increasing your armor protection. Technical ability perks also make your grenades more effective and protect you from explosions.
Increases armor
Determines Tech gun ability
Allows for crafting rarer gear
Allows for opening certain doors
Skill trees: Crafting, Engineering
Intelligence
All your hacking capabilities are based on the Intelligence stat, and your points here will determine whether you can even attempt to hack certain computer systems. It also controls the capabilities of your Cyberdeck and the effectiveness of your quickhacks.
Increases Quickhack RAM
Increases Quickhack duration
Increases Quickhack damage
Determines whether computers are hackable
Skill trees: Breaching Protocol, Quickhacking
Cool
This stat is all about your stealth abilities and composure under pressure. Cool determines how much damage you do in stealth and with critical hits, affects your Monowire damage, unlocks some dialogue options when you’re threatened, and determines how quickly you’re detected by enemies. Cool also comes with a skill tree that gives you bonuses for being a cold-blooded killer.
Increases Critical Damage
Increases all Resistances
Increases Stealth damage
Reduces enemy detection speed during Stealth
Allows you to see through characters’ attempts to intimidate you
Increases Monowire damage
Skill trees: Stealth, Cold Blood
Skill Progression
In addition to Attributes and Perks, you get one other kind of character progression in Cyberpunk 2077, called Skill Progression. This is a set of points that don’t come from leveling up, but are rather earned by doing specific things in the game. For instance, fighting enemies with handguns will earn you Skill Progression points for the handgun skill tree, unlocking a series of passive bonuses. You’ll find the list of Skill Progression points for each skill tree in the bottom-left corner of each tree’s screen.
Skill Progression is a way you can advance V according to your playstyle just by playing the game. Hacking, running and jumping, crafting gear, slicing through enemies with blades, favoring heavy weapons–all of it gives you points for the applicable Skill Progression bar. Because this all happens as you play, you don’t need to play close attention to Skill Progression, but it’s worth taking a look at the perks you can unlock for each one. Knowing what bonuses you’re getting for how you play can be a useful thing to keep in mind, and knowing what you could earn might incentivize you to play with weapons or abilities you’ve been neglecting if you want to change your approach to the game.
Starting Character Builds
One of the best things about Cyberpunk 2077 is how adaptive your character can be–you’re not restricted to “classes” that make you good at one or two things at the expense of others. Instead, you can drop points into any specialization at just about any time, customizing your V to exactly how you want to play. While you’ll get some big bonuses for specializing, it’s by no means essential to enjoying the game, and dabbling in a little bit of everything is an effective way to work your way through Night City.
That said, if you want to create a character who’s good for a particular playstyle, we’ve got your back. Below, you’ll find some general suggestions for a few class-like character builds, and we’ll highlight some specific perks along the way. Since you have so much flexibility, however, you can freely mix and match parts of our suggestions to create a V all your own.
Solo
In the tabletop RPG, Solo describes a mercenary who can handle anything from protection to assassination–essentially, your one-person-army type. They’re characters who favor combat and resilience over technological capabilities, although stealth can be a component of the Solo approach, since it’s easier to kill a target when they don’t know you’re coming.
We’re prioritizing a guns-blazing approach here so you can survive well in combat, but your Solo might favor blades or hand-to-hand and blunt-weapon combat (which is nonlethal) and stealthier approaches, so adjust accordingly. You might also want to invest a bit into Technical Ability, with perks focusing on powering up your grenades and hardening you against explosions.
Key Attributes: Body, Reflexes, Cool
Perks To Start With
Body – Athletics
Regeneration (replenishes Health in combat)
Invincible (increases max health by 10%)
Body – Annihilation
In Your Face (reduces reload time for shotguns and machine guns)
Blood Rush (increases movement speed when carrying shotguns or light machine guns)
Hail of Bullets (shotguns and machine guns deal more damage)
Reflexes – Assault
Covering Killshot (higher critical chance with rifles and SMGs from behind cover)
Bullet Jock (Increased damage from SMGs and Rifles)
Cool – Stealth
Sniper (more damage when sneaking)
Silent and Deadly (increased damage with silent weapons while sneaking)
Cool – Cold Blood
Cold Blood (various benefits for killing enemies, but you’ll need to purchase other perks based on what bonuses you want)
Will to Survive (increased Resistance per stack of Cold Blood).
Netrunner
Netrunners are the traditional hackers of the Cyberpunk world, utilizing Breaching Protocols that can let you weaken the security on all the devices and people in an area, and Quickhacks against specific people and devices to create specific effects. If you want to go the Netrunner path, make sure you upgrade your Cyberdeck early at a ripper doc, as you’ll need the additional RAM and Quickhack slots to be effective. You should also try to drop by Netrunner stores to buy additional, more effective Quickhacks whenever possible.
If you’re relying more on hacking than gunplay, you’ll want to prioritize stealth as a Netrunner. That said, make sure you are at least proficient with a few weapons, as you’ll undoubtedly need to shoot your way out of situations, even if you also are hacking your way out of them. You might also want to put points into Technical Ability, mostly so you can open doors that allow you to take paths that avoid combat.
Key Attributes: Intelligence, Cool, Reflexes
Perks to Start With
Intelligence – Quickhacking
Biosynergy (increases RAM recharge)
Weal Link — Reduces RAM required for hacks
Bloodware — Increases Quickhack damage
Intelligence – Breach Protocol
Mass Vulnerability (reduces linked enemies’ Physical Resistance)
Big Sleep (Deactivate linked security cameras)
Cool – Stealth
Crouching Tiger (Faster movement while sneaking)
Assassin (increased damage to human enemies)
Assassin
Stealth can be a huge part of Cyberpunk 2077 if you want it to be. While sneaking is a part of just about any build in this game, focusing on it can give you some serious advantages in dealing damage and completing objectives. If you do want to go the full-stealth route, it’s worth investing in some Cyberware that can help, like an enhanced Cyberdeck for hacking security cameras and enemies’ optics, and tendon enhancements for your legs that will allow you to double-jump, and thus reach paths that will allow you to slip past enemies or get the drop on them. You’ll also want to equip suppressors on your weapons, and to prioritize the perks for the types of weapons you can silence.
Key Attributes: Cool, Reflexes
Perks To Start With
Cool – Stealth
Sniper (more damage when sneaking)
Silent and Deadly (increased damage with silent weapons while sneaking)
Cool – Cold Blood
Cold Blood (various benefits for killing enemies, but be sure to buy more perks consistent with your playstyle)
Will to Survive (increased Resistance per stack of Cold Blood).
Cool – Stealth
Crouching Tiger (Faster movement while sneaking)
Assassin (increased damage to human enemies)
Intelligence – Breach Protocol
Big Sleep (Deactivate linked security cameras)
Mix And Match
These builds are a good place to start, but you can greatly refine your character and playstyle by going after additional perks in any given menu. Here’s a rundown of what each set of perks emphasizes, allowing you to focus on particular approaches–like prioritizing using swords, going fully John Wick with pistols, or punching your way out of every situation.
Body
Athletics: Affects most things linked to Stamina, while also giving you the ability to run, jump, vault, slide, and dodge while fighting.
Annihilation: Perks designed to make it easier for you to go into a straight fight with heavy weapons and to absorb more damage.
Street Brawler: Increased damage and effectiveness fighting barehanded or with blunt weapons.
Reflexes
Assault: Perks for rifles and submachine guns and for fighting while taking cover.
Handguns: Pistol and revolver perks mostly focused on fast fighting and critical hits.
Blades: Sword-focused and Mantis Blade perks that make blades faster and deadlier with a focus on the Bleeding effect, while giving boosts to close-range defensive moves.
Technical Ability
Crafting: Perks that unlock the ability to craft a variety of weapons, clothes, and Quickhacks. They also provide benefits that make crafted items deadlier or more valuable for sale.
Engineering: Perks that improve the usefulness and lethality of tech weapons, offer increased protection against grenades, and make you more effective against robotic enemies.
Intelligence
Breach Protocol: Hacking systems becomes easier and more effective with these perks, allowing you to affect multiple devices at once with daemons and steal more when hacking.
Quickhacking: Improvements to the effectiveness of Quickhacks and which allow you to use them more often. Perks also offer the ability to craft your own Quickhacks.
Cool
Stealth: Perks focused on making you quicker and more effective while in stealth, while increasing the damage you do and offering silent kill abilities.
Cold Blood: Killing enemies in quick succession gives you the Cold Blood status with these perks, which give a number of benefits in the midst of combat to help you keep racking up kills.
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