Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion is nearly upon us, and developer CD Projekt Red is recommending players start the game over before jumping into it and the 2.0 update that reworks a lot of its systems. But, as many have noted, that is a lot of playtime to add to your schedule, especially if you’ve already done this before. But, I’ve played through all of Phantom Liberty, and have spent a lot of time with the new update, so I’m here to unpack the studio’s suggestion.
It wouldn’t hurt to start Cyberpunk 2077 over
If you want to get the “full” experience of all the updates and changes CD Projekt Red has implemented since 2020, you should start Cyberpunk 2077 from the beginning. The 2.0 update alone is a significant overhaul that, should you choose to just reload an old playthrough, might overwhelm you—I know that was my experience. I dumped points into the new skill trees and equipped some of the new Cyberware to completely transform my character’s build, and it was disorienting just how different things felt. Buttons no longer did what they once did, and it took a lot of unlearning years’ worth of established muscle memory to feel proficient with some of the new tools.
Read more: Cyberpunk 2077 – Phantom Liberty: The Kotaku Review
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Even if you don’t love the story of Cyberpunk 2077, there’s been enough patches and new features added since its launch that a lot of it is either much improved or will be entirely new to a returning player who might have put the game down three years ago. So while, yes, CD Projekt Red’s insistence that you play the game from the start might sound like an easy marketing beat of “our game is so much different than it was when it launched busted,” it’s not an unfounded claim.
What if I don’t want to start Cyberpunk 2077 over?
That’s certainly your prerogative, but if you don’t start the game from scratch, I’d recommend taking some time to test out the new skill trees and cyberware before jumping into Phantom Liberty. If you’re reloading an old save and open your skill tree, you’ll be met with a notification that all your points have been removed so you can completely rebuild your V. For my own roleplaying purposes, I specced into “Cool” as I did in the base game so I could stealth my way through fights and smooth-talk my way through conversations, but this is a chance to experiment with new toys before you head into some pretty difficult fights in the expansion.
If you want to respec and try different builds, you’ll have to either reload your save before dumping your points, or pay the price relative to your level. Go to the Character screen and you’ll see the “Reset Attributes” option in the bottom left corner. If you’ve got the cash to do it, you’ll be able to try entirely new builds before meeting up with Idris Elba, who plays Solomon Reed, one the leads in Phantom Liberty. Whatever leveling decisions you make, find your nearest combat encounter by bothering the local gangs or cops and test out the new abilities so you have a feel for them. Then you’ll be ready to embark on the new story and possibly reach a brand new conclusion for V and Johnny Silverhand. As for when you start the expansion itself, that’s a separate conversation.
For more on Phantom Liberty, check out Kotaku’s review.