Cyberpunk 2077 Character Leveling: Attributes & Skills

In our Cyberpunk 2077 guide you will learn:

• What you need to keep in mind when leveling up Cyberpunk 2077
• How the level system of the role-playing epic works
• What the difference is between attributes and advantages

Cyberpunk 2077 has been released for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One after years of waiting. In addition, the next-gen version of the action role-playing game for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X is supposed to follow as early as the beginning of 2021. In terms of content, you take on the role of the character V, who wants to build a new life in the fictional city of Night City. To make your reboot a success, we'll introduce you to the leveling system of the RPG epic and tell you what you have to keep in mind when it comes to Cyberpunk 2077 skills.

Check out our Cyberpunk 2077 tips and tricks if you're new to Night City and want to save yourself unnecessary missteps.

How does the skill system work in Cyberpunk 2077?

It doesn't matter if you're hitting the streets in Cyberpunk 2077 () on PC () or console. The new role-playing epic from The Witcher 3 developers CD Projekt Red relies on - unprecedented - gameplay freedom. Already in the first minutes of the game in Night City, you will be introduced to countless game mechanics, activities and possibilities.

This includes the complex skill and leveling system of the open-world game. Although die-hard role-playing game fans will quickly find their way around it, leveling in Cyberpunk 2077 is a bit confusing - especially in the first hours of the game. That's because there are a total of five areas where you can get level ups: Character Level, Street Cred, Attributes, Advantage Trees and Advantages.

Character level and street cred

But first things first: The overarching game mechanic of the level and skill system in Cyberpunk 2077 is the character level. You increase it by collecting experience points (XP). The fastest way to level up your character is to complete main missions - they give you the most XP. Furthermore, you earn experience points from almost all activities in Night City, so fight, hack or craft away.

Once you have enough XP, your character level will automatically increase by one level. However, this will not improve your character stats or teach you new skills. Instead, you'll earn one attribute point and one advantage point for each level up - more on that later.

In addition, there is the Street Cred, which stands for your reputation on the street. To access the best weapons, armor or cyberware in Cyberpunk 2077, a certain amount of street cred is essential. Street Credleveltihramfastest by completing orders or NCPD activities - you can find them in your journal.

You will also gain additional attribute and advantage points when you improve your Street Cred level. However, keep in mind the level cap in Cyberpunk 2077 : at level 50 you have reached the maximum character level - the same applies to the maximum Street Cred level.

Attributes, advantages and advantage trees

You use your hard-earned attribute points to specifically improve V's character. Attributes represent the five most important character traits in the role-playing game: Constitution, Reflexes, Intelligence, Technical Abilities and Coolness. As the level of an attribute increases, the protagonist's basic stats also improve, including life energy, stamina, resistances, crit damage and crit chance.

The distribution of the attribute points has a direct effect on the character values.

Furthermore, a total of twelve different skill trees are hidden behind the attributes. Each skill tree contains up to 25 skills or perks, which are called "advantages" in Cyberpunk 2077. You learn and level up advantages by using advantage points.

The point system gives you the greatest possible freedom in character development. You improve Vs stats as well as active or passive bonuses individually and adapt the protagonist's character as you wish. To give you an overview, we present all Cyberpunk 2077 attributes and the corresponding advantage trees:

• Technical abilities increase the armor value as well as the chance to find crafting materials. Behind the attribute are the skill trees for item crafting and techie skills.
• Constitution improves your physical strength, life energy and endurance. It includes the skill trees Destruction, Athletics and Street Brawl.

Through the skills you adapt V to your personal play style

• Reflexes are important for coordination, speed and crit chance. They also give you access to the Cyberpunk 2077 advantage trees Handguns, Rifles and Blades.
• Intelligence doesn't strengthen your memory as well as efficiency and speed of hacks and breaching attempts. In addition, they include the advantages of the Breach Protocol and Quickhacks categories.
• Coolness is a skill that will help you sneak better, deal more critical damage and increase your resistance in Cyberpunk 2077. You'll also use it to access the advantage trees of the Ninjutsuand Battle Machine skills.

Earn advantage points: Cyberpunk 2077 rewards your individual play style! If you use the advantages of a category regularly, the level of the corresponding advantage tree will improve. To illustrate: If you prefer to play with guns and use them during a mission, your level in the Guns skill category will increase automatically. This will give you additional bonuses, including advantage points.

What do I have to keep in mind when I skill up for Cyberpunk 2077?

You can already distribute the first five attribute points in Cyberpunk 2077 during character creation. Take the chance and look carefully at the in-game descriptions of all attributes to inform yourself about the concrete effects of the upgrades.

You can't do much wrong when distributing the first attribute points, but as the game progresses you'll inevitably have to specialize. In theory, you can improve each attribute up to its maximum value of 20. In practice, the overriding level cap in Cyberpunk 2077 puts a stop to this. Think carefully about which attributes you want to bring to the highest level. As soon as you reach character level 50, that's it.

In addition, there are different solutions for each mission in Cyberpunk 2077. That's why you'll always come across locked doors or other items that require a certain attribute value to use. We recommend that you always save a few attribute or advantage points and use them when needed. If it is not worth using them, simply load the last save game.

How can attribute and advantage points be redistributed?

The bad news first: It is not yet possible to redistribute attribute points in Cyberpunk 2077. The situation is different for the advantage points, which you can reset in exchange for a few Eurodollars. Since the latest patch, this can be done conveniently from the character menu. There you will find the item "Reset Advantages" in the lower left corner. The price varies according to the number of points you have already invested.

So feel free to play around with the countless advantage combinations. If you are not satisfied with the result, the few Eurodollars are not a big hurdle.

You no longer need to visit a ripper doc to reset your benefits

However, there is a catch: Advantages and the associated advantage trees can only be as high in level as the superordinate attribute. Therefore, it can happen that certain advantages remain inaccessible to you even after the reallocation of your advantage points in Cyberpunk 2027. This makes it all the more important that you pay meticulous attention to the distribution of your attribute points.

What are the best Cyberpunk 2077 perks?

Are you new to Night City and still don't know which advantages you should learn? No problem, at the end of our guide we present you the best three advantages that will help you get started and should not be missing in any Cyberpunk build.

More Cyberpunk 2077 guides and gaming news at GameZ:

• Cyberpunk 2077: The best tips and tricks
• Cyberpunk 2077: This is how good the role-playing epic looks with ray tracing
• Cyberpunk 2077: Netflix series officially announced!

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