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In keeping with the traditions of the cyberpunk genre, Cyberpunk 2077 features heavy body modification. While unfortunately the game lacks any aesthetic customisation once it begins, you can continually upgrade the internal workings of your body to make it a more deadly killing machine.
READ MORE: ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ guide: the best weapons and where to find them
Most of V’s body parts can be tuned up at the various Ripperdocs – the game’s version of doctors – around the city. Eyes, heart, skeleton, legs, arms, brain and more can all be tweaked in Night City. Most of these upgrades need to be bought, though a handful can be found hidden in certain chests. In this guide, we’re going to look at which upgrades are most useful in Cyberpunk 2077, and how you can have V armed to the teeth – literally.
Best cyberware in Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberware is a huge part of Cyberpunk 2077, but it can get a little overwhelming. There are 11 different body parts which can be customised in total, and several can have multiple cyberware upgrades equipped at once.
There are four factors which determine whether or not V can purchase a cyberware upgrade: street cred, body value, level and price. These raise with rarity, but we aren’t going to tackle rarity here, just general suggestions on which cyberware rules, with the understanding that the rarer, more expensive version is better.
You won’t be able to access Legendary or Epic cyberware until near the end of the game, but will be able to get its basic cousin relatively early, so we’re sticking to the cyberware in general, and trusting that as the game goes on, you’ll upgrade the ones you get the most use out of.
Cyberpunk 2077 best cyberware at a glance
- Mantis Blades
- Reinforced Tendons
- Biomonitor
- Heal-On-Kill
- Titanium Bones
Mantis Blades – Arms
Featured in Cyberpunk 2077’s reveal back in 2012, Mantis Blades are spring loaded knives which pop out of your forearms and make melee combat a bloody whirlwind. They can one-hit kill some enemies, and with them equipped, V can leap a decent distance to impale someone with both blades.
They’re great fun and look incredibly visceral, but the end of the combo attacks leave V standing with their arms in the air, holding an enemy aloft while they sink onto the blades. In chaotic situations, this unskippable animation can leave V a little exposed.
The other melee option is Gorilla Arms, which pack extra power behind a punch and can rip open guns. For the most part, whichever option you choose is personal preference, but you can find the Legendary Mantis Blades early on in the open world, so it’s a no brainer. To get them, go to City Center, Corpo Plaza and head to the northwest corner to receive the quest “Cyberpsycho Sighting: Phantom of Night City”.
Through a yellow doorway, you’ll see this Cyberpyscho, and while they’ll be too difficult early on, if you run in and head immediately to a chest on the right, you can grab the Legendary Mantis Blades then head to a Ripperdoc to install them for free.
Reinforced Tendons – Legs
Reinforced Tendons sounds like it might be a fairly boring upgrade compared to knives for arms, but it actually unlocks one of the game’s best moves: the Double Jump. A video game mainstay, Cyberpunk 2077 includes the classic Double Jump function as an upgrade for V’s legs, where you can choose to either install the Tendons for Double Jump, or unlock Fortified Ankles for Charged Jump instead. Since there’s only one Leg slot available, you have to make a choice. Double Jump is more controlled and flexible than Charged Jump, so that’s the one you should go for.
Unlike a lot of the upgrades, there’s no rarity tiers to Reinforced Tendons. They’re classified as Rare, and will set you back 45,000 eddies, which can feel like a lot at the start of the game. However, this is a one-time purchase and makes reaching vantage points or finding objectives much easier, so the earlier you invest, the more useful this cyberware will be.
Biomonitor – Circulatory System
This upgrade gives V and instant health boost whenever their health drops below 15 per cent. The most basic version of the upgrade gives V a 30 per cent HP boost, which rises as high as 50 per cent with the top of the line Biomonitor installed. Since the circulatory system has room for three different upgrades, it leaves room for you to experiment with other upgrades too.
You can buy and pick up health packs in the game, but in the heat of battle, remembering to use them isn’t always at the front of your mind. Plus, there’s an attached animation for these health packs, which means it takes about a second from you actually choosing to use it for V to get their medicine. The Biomonitor is basically an automatic health pack which lives inside your heart. It won’t save you every time though; the most basic version has a 240 second cooldown, and even the best one still has 180 seconds, so it’s basically one freebie recovery per skirmish.
Heal-On-Kill – Frontal Cortex
If you want to make your V literally too angry to die, then this is the upgrade for you. Installed in your brain, it instantly restores 10% of your health every time you get a kill. For those missions where you need to clear out – read, kill – everybody in the building, Heal-On-Kill can make you feel invincible. With great weapons, high Cold Blood stats, and a lust for violence, Heal-On-Kill can see you walk away from a bloodbath with barely a scratch on you.
But with great power comes great responsibility, and in this case, it’s the responsibility to level V up. This is only available in a single rarity, Legendary, and cannot be equipped unless you have a Reflexes rating of 18. It costs 35,000 eddies too, but it’s the Reflex boost which will take longer to achieve.
Titanium Bones – Skeleton
Cyberpunk 2077’s world is full of things to pick up. There’s tons of junk, enemies constantly drop weapons, crafting materials, and clothes, and there’s literally hundreds of chests dotted about the city to open. All of this means you’ll constantly have stuff in your backpack, but unfortunately, Cyberpunk 2077 has a weight limit. To counteract that, equip the Titanium Bones, which can give you up to 60% extra carrying capacity.
Even with this upgrade though, you shouldn’t be hoarding items. Break down or sell guns and clothes you aren’t going to use, sell junk, and even consider selling consumables. A lot of these do the same thing and you might not find yourself using many of the lower end ones that often. Cash isn’t too hard to come by if you complete side quests, but selling off excess items is a good way to keep your account topped up, especially for some of the more expensive cyberware items here. This can be paired with the Pack Mule Perk, which gives you an instant boost of 60 to your carry capacity.
‘Cyberpunk 2077’ is now available on PC, Google Stadia PS4 and Xbox One.
Ed’s Note: The game has temporarily been removed from the PlayStation Store while Sony and CD Projekt RED resolve refund issues.
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