Phantom Liberty Builds in Cyberpunk 2077

Explore the Phantom Liberty starting stats and builds in Cyberpunk 2077. Learn about V's initial attributes, perks, and equipment for the expansion.

To begin the Phantom Liberty expansion in Cyberpunk 2077, you can select the “Skip Ahead to Phantom Liberty” option when starting a new game. This process involves choosing a difficulty level, V’s Lifepath (Nomad, Streetkid, or Corpo), and Body Type. After confirmation, you’ll start in Pacifica, Coastview, just after the main quest Transmission, with Songbird initiating the first Phantom Liberty quest, Dog Eat Dog.

Upon skipping ahead, your pre-made V will be at level 15, possessing 14 attribute points and 14 perks. This level grants 36 attribute points in total (with 35 spent by default) and 14 perk points (with 13 spent by default). These perks can be refunded for free. At level 15, V is considered Tier 2, with corresponding Tier 2 (green) equipment and cyberware, providing an adequate foundation with ample room for growth.

The default build for the skipped-ahead V is a generalist, with attributes distributed to access Rookie and Pro tiers across all perk trees. The starting attributes are:

You have one unspent attribute point. This distribution grants access to all Rookie-tier perks and Pro-tier perks in Reflexes, Technical Ability, and Intelligence. While this offers a solid all-rounder foundation, the high Intelligence might be excessive if you dislike quickhacking or using smart weapons.

During Phantom Liberty, you can expect to level up approximately 10 times, potentially reaching Phenom-tier perks (attribute 15+) and Legend-tier perks (attribute 20). This could allow for increasing two attribute tiers. The game also provides opportunities to earn around 15 additional perk points by the end of the expansion, enabling specialization.

The starting perks also reflect a generalist build, with many being universally useful, such as Painkiller (health regen in combat) in the Body tree and Killer Instinct (+25% damage with knives, axes, and silenced guns when not in combat) in the Cool tree. The Hack Queue perk in the Intelligence tree is an exception, enhancing quickhacking capabilities. This perk choice might be suboptimal if you plan to use a Berserk or Sandevistan Operating System.

You begin with one free perk point to spend, and thirteen of your fourteen earned perk points are already assigned. These can be refunded and reallocated freely. You gain one perk point per level, and an additional perk point when any skill reaches rank 15, potentially yielding five extra perk points if all skill trees reach rank 15.

The starting perks are:

These initial perks provide health regeneration during combat, enable dashing, and increase your healing item effectiveness.