Start with one main attribute lane, one supporting lane, and a cyberware plan. After Update 2.0, spreading perk points across all five attributes produces a weak character, while focused investment quickly gives you a coherent combat loop. For a first playthrough, use Body for forgiving close-range combat, Reflexes for blades and mobility, Technical Ability to raise your cyberware ceiling, Intelligence for quickhacks and smart weapons, or Cool for stealth and precision shooting. Save before major quests, loot Konpeki Plaza carefully, and begin Phantom Liberty after Transmission at roughly level 15–20.
What changed in Update 2.0
CD PROJEKT RED released Update 2.0 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on September 21, 2023. It rebuilt the perk trees, changed police behavior and made cyberware central to character power. Because the overhaul was extensive, the studio recommended starting a new playthrough rather than continuing an old save.
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The redesigned trees contain fewer, more consequential perks. You can redistribute perk points outside combat, so an early choice is not permanent. Attribute points still define your broad capabilities, but the best results come from committing to a lane instead of buying shallow upgrades everywhere.
Cyberware now determines much of your power
Most armor moved from clothing to cyberware. Clothing is therefore primarily a style decision after Update 2.0, while your Cyberware Capacity determines how many implants you can install. Technical Ability improves this capacity and unlocks perks that make a heavily augmented build practical. The Edgerunner perk can let you exceed your normal capacity, but it imposes a health cost.
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This changes early spending priorities. Buy useful cyberware and an operating system before paying for cosmetic outfits. A build with modest clothing and well-chosen implants is generally more capable than an expensive wardrobe with an underdeveloped cyberware loadout.
The five attributes and the playstyles they support
| Attribute | Natural lane | Typical combat distance | Resource or advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | Health, stamina, shotguns and blunt-force survivability | Close range | Durability and sustained aggression |
| Reflexes | Mobility, blades and fast firearms | Close to medium | Movement and weapon speed |
| Technical Ability | Cyberware capacity, tech weapons and capacity-related perks | Any | Higher augmentation ceiling |
| Intelligence | Cyberdecks, RAM, quickhacks and smart weapons | Medium to long | RAM management and hacking control |
| Cool | Stealth, headshots, pistols and precision play | Medium to long | Low-profile, high-damage openings |
Pick one primary lane and one supporting lane. For example, Intelligence plus Body creates a hacker who can survive aggressive fights; Reflexes plus Technical Ability supports a mobile blade user with enough capacity for demanding implants. The important rule is to deepen the trees that match the weapons and abilities you actually use. A level-20 character with points scattered among all five trees can be weaker than one with fewer, better-synergized perks.
How to choose skills without wasting points
Choose the weapon before the perk
Decide whether you will spend most encounters hacking, using blades, firing fast weapons, fighting with shotguns and blunt weapons, or opening from stealth. Then buy the early perks that improve that activity. Do not purchase a perk merely because it is available; ask whether it changes your normal turn in combat.
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Technical Ability is useful even when it is not your damage attribute. Cyberware Capacity is a build-wide limit, so a Reflexes, Body, Intelligence or Cool character can all benefit from a supporting investment. It also helps you reach the cyberware combinations that make a specialized build durable.
Respec outside combat when your plan changes
Update 2.0 allows perk redistribution outside combat. Experiment with efficient early perks, test a weapon family, and reassign perks if your equipment or preferred approach changes. Attribute choices should be more deliberate, but you do not need to restart because one early perk was imperfect.
Four reliable beginner build lanes
1. Netrunner and smart-weapon hybrid
Choose this if: you want to disable enemies, control a fight from range and still finish targets with smart weapons or a Monowire.
Primary attribute: Intelligence. Support: Technical Ability for capacity, then Body when you want more health for aggressive Overclock play.
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- Take Optimization early to improve RAM regeneration.
- Move into Hack Queue and Data Recycler so you can queue hacks and recover resources efficiently.
- Return to the middle branch for Overclock, which lets the build trade health for more aggressive hacking output.
- Add Body’s Adrenaline Rush when you want an overshield and a safer way to fight while using Monowire.
The official Hack-&-Slash Netrunner plan identifies the Militech Paraline, your starting cyberdeck, as a flexible option because it supports Monowire and smart weapons while using relatively little capacity. Keep an eye on RAM and health: this build’s power comes from maintaining its resource loop, not from buying every Intelligence perk at once.
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2. Reflex blade or fast-gun build
Choose this if: you prefer constant movement, close-range pressure or rapid-fire weapons.
Prioritize Reflexes perks that improve mobility and the weapon family you intend to use. A blade-focused character and a fast-firearm character both belong in the Reflexes lane, but they should not spend points on every branch. Add Technical Ability as a support investment so Cyberware Capacity does not become the limiting factor.
This is a specialization choice, not a proven universal best allocation. Keep your equipment aligned with the branch you are developing: a mobility perk has little value if you spend every fight planted behind cover, and a weapon-specific perk is wasted when you rarely use that weapon family.
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3. Body shotgun or brawler build
Choose this if: you want the most forgiving first-playthrough combat style and do not mind fighting at close range.
Body raises the health and stamina foundation for shotguns and blunt-force combat. Pair it with enough Technical Ability to support your implants, then select cyberware that reinforces survival. Close-range builds tolerate mistakes because they can keep fighting after taking damage, but they still need a plan for enemies that punish a direct approach.
Spend perks on the attacks and stamina tools you use most. A shotgun character should not dilute the tree with unrelated ranged bonuses, while a brawler should focus on the blunt weapons and survivability tools that define the build.
4. Cool stealth and precision build
Choose this if: you prefer quiet infiltration, pistols and deliberate headshots.
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Invest in the Cool perks that match your chosen weapon and stealth behavior. Add Technical Ability or Body for survivability rather than purchasing shallow perks across all five attributes. Cool rewards preparation: identify a target, create a clean opening and avoid turning every encounter into a prolonged firefight.
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If stealth fails, the build still needs a recovery plan. A modest support investment in capacity or health gives you room to survive detection without abandoning the playstyle.
Build comparison at a glance
| Build | Primary weapon or tool | Resource loop | Survivability profile | Attribute demand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netrunner hybrid | Quickhacks, cyberdeck, smart weapons or Monowire | RAM, then health during Overclock | Strong control; Body improves aggressive play | Intelligence plus Technical Ability; optional Body |
| Reflex blade/fast gun | Blades or fast firearms | Mobility and weapon uptime | Relies on movement; Technical Ability raises the cyberware ceiling | Reflexes plus Technical Ability |
| Body shotgun/brawler | Shotguns or blunt weapons | Health and stamina | Most forgiving at close range | Body plus Technical Ability |
| Cool stealth/precision | Pistols and precision weapons | Stealth openings and accurate shots | Low-profile approach; support with Body or Technical Ability | Cool plus one defensive support lane |
No source establishes one objectively best Reflexes, Body or Cool allocation. These are role-based starting points designed to keep your perks, weapons and cyberware pointed in the same direction.
Your first hours: a practical progression route
- Finish the prologue and first Ripperdoc mission. This introduces the essential systems and gives you a safe point from which to plan your build.
- Use Watson as a tutorial area. Its missions let you test a weapon family and perk lane before committing to harder content.
- Sell surplus weapons and junk at drop points. Keep equipment that supports your current build, but convert unused loot into money for cyberware and an operating system.
- Buy function before fashion. Clothing is mainly cosmetic after Update 2.0; implants and your operating system have a direct effect on how your character plays.
- Save manually before major missions and conversations. Automatic saves are useful, but a manual save gives you a clean branch to revisit after a consequential decision.
- Watch both progression bars. Character level governs attributes, perks and gear access. Street Cred is separate: it unlocks fixer work, vendors and discounts.
Early choices that can be difficult or impossible to revisit
The Pickup
Make a manual save before beginning The Pickup. Its mission outcomes and conversations can alter what follows, so preserving a pre-mission state is more useful than trying to remember every dialogue result.
Jackie’s body during The Heist
Save before deciding where to send Jackie’s body. This is one of the Heist’s consequential choices and can affect later content. If you are unsure, keep the manual save until you have seen the immediate result.
Konpeki Plaza loot
Treat the Konpeki Plaza visit during The Heist as effectively one-time content. Before leaving, search for the unique Satori and Kongou weapons and the Iguana Egg. They are easy to miss if you rush from objective to objective, and the area is not presented as a location you can freely return to later.
Nocturne Op55N1 and the final point of no return
Clear the side content you want before using the elevator in Nocturne Op55N1. That elevator begins the final sequence and acts as the point of no return until the credits. After an ending, the game reloads you before the decision, but your safest practice is still to create a manual save before entering the elevator.
When to start Phantom Liberty
In a normal playthrough, Phantom Liberty becomes available after the base-game mission Transmission. The expansion adds Dogtown, the Relic tree and new gear. Starting around level 15–20 gives a first-time player enough core abilities to understand the new systems without delaying the expansion unnecessarily.
A Skip Ahead option creates a preset character for players who want to begin the expansion immediately. It is convenient, but it gives you less time to learn your own build through the opening acts.
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What the expansion changes numerically
| Progression element | Base game | With Phantom Liberty |
|---|---|---|
| Level cap | 50 | 60 |
| Additional attribute points | None from the expansion | 10 |
| Additional perk points | None from the expansion | 10 |
| Relic points | Not available | 15 reported: six from the story and nine from Militech Data Terminals |
Relic points are separate from normal leveling and can be reassigned. Keep manual saves before major branch missions in Dogtown because Phantom Liberty choices can affect endings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Cyberware Capacity and spending decisions
Read capacity as a build budget
Every implant competes for Cyberware Capacity. A character who spends all available capacity on one category may have no room for the defensive or utility pieces that make the build reliable. Technical Ability raises the ceiling, and the Edgerunner perk allows you to exceed it at a health cost; use that trade-off deliberately rather than treating it as a free upgrade.
Match the operating system to your lane
Your operating system should reinforce your primary attribute. The Netrunner hybrid needs a cyberdeck and RAM-focused perks; other lanes should choose an operating system that complements their mobility, weapon or survivability plan. The exact choice matters less than avoiding a mismatch between your perks and the system installed in your cyberware menu.
Upgrade in response to a problem
If you die before reaching an enemy, add survivability. If you run out of RAM, improve the Intelligence loop or reduce competing capacity costs. If your close-range attacks miss their window, improve mobility or stamina. Cyberware is most valuable when it solves the failure you are actually experiencing.
Common beginner mistakes and fixes
Spreading points across every attribute
Symptom: several weapons are usable, but none feels powerful and the character lacks a clear resource loop.
Fix: select one primary lane, stop buying unrelated perks, and use perk redistribution outside combat to remove inefficient purchases.
Ignoring Technical Ability
Symptom: your build has the right weapons but cannot install the cyberware needed to survive or scale.
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Buying clothing instead of capability
Symptom: you look prepared but lack the implants or operating system your build requires.
Fix: sell excess loot, prioritize cyberware and defer cosmetic purchases until your core combat loop works.
Entering major missions without a manual save
Symptom: a dialogue result or missed item cannot be undone conveniently.
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Confusing Street Cred with character level
Symptom: you expect a level increase to unlock a fixer job or vendor discount, or expect Street Cred to grant attribute points.
Fix: track them separately. Level controls attributes, perks and gear access; Street Cred opens fixer work, vendors and discounts.
A simple decision framework for your next perk
- What do I use in most fights? Pick the attribute and weapon branch that answers this honestly, not the one that sounds impressive.
- What resource stops me? Choose RAM, stamina, health or stealth support according to the failure you see repeatedly.
- Can my cyberware support the plan? Check capacity before taking another implant-heavy upgrade; add Technical Ability if the ceiling is the problem.
- Does this perk improve my next ten encounters? If not, save the point or redistribute a weaker purchase outside combat.
This process keeps a first character adaptable without becoming unfocused. You can test new weapons, but keep your primary lane and support lane clear enough that every upgrade contributes to the same combat identity.
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For the least complicated start, choose Body if you want forgiving close combat, Intelligence if you enjoy systems and hacking, Reflexes if movement is your priority, or Cool if you naturally play patiently and aim for headshots. Add Technical Ability as your support lane, buy cyberware before cosmetic clothing, and use Watson to confirm that the weapon and resource loop feels right.
Make the four early manual saves described above, collect the unique Konpeki Plaza items before leaving, and postpone the Nocturne elevator until your desired side content is complete. Start Phantom Liberty after Transmission at about level 15–20 unless you specifically want the preset Skip Ahead character. This approach gives you a focused build, a recoverable quest path and enough flexibility to experiment with Update 2.0’s redesigned systems.
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