Cyberpunk 2077‘s attributes and perks – Learning the basics
First, let’s talk about the general leveling system in Cyberpunk 2077, as well as how attributes and perks apply. I’ve mentioned these concepts briefly in our beginner’s guide and character creation guide, but here’s a quick refresher.
Character and street cred level caps
The max character level you can attain in Cyberpunk 2077 is level 50. You primarily gain character EXP by finishing missions, sidequests (jobs/gigs), and open-world encounters, as well as by successfully hacking or defeating opponents.
Likewise, street cred (your reputation in the game) also caps at level 50. These open up new sidequests and allow vendors to sell new/high-end items. This is also increased by mission, sidequest, and encounter completions. Additionally, some clothing items in the game have boosts to how much street cred you get (i.e., per kill).
Leveling attributes and the cap
When you first create a character in Cyberpunk 2077, you’re prompted to allocate seven points for the following attributes: Body, Reflexes, Technical Ability, Intelligence, and Cool. For the character creation process, these attributes are capped at level 6. However, their actual cap after starting the game is level 20.
Now, for each level-up, you gain one attribute point to allocate. With Cyberpunk 2077‘s level cap in mind (50 attribute points plus the seven points from character creation), you know it’s going to be quite a grind to try and max out all attributes.
Leveling perks and the cap
Perks, meanwhile, are governed or boosted by a specific attribute, and attributes themselves offer particular stat increases when you increase their rank. Like attributes, perks also cap at level 20 and you gain one perk point whenever you level-up in Cyberpunk 2077. However, the biggest difference here is that each perk has a separate means of being leveled-up further.
Here’s a rundown:
| Attribute and Playstyle Focus | Perks and Leveling Process | Effects per level/point |
| Body – Heavy firearms, melee combat/blunt weapons, defense, and stamina | Athletics – Sprinting, climbing, sliding, and grappling Annihilation – Using heavy machine guns and shotguns Street Brawler – Fisticuffs (unarmed combat), using Gorilla Arms, and using blunt weapons | +5 HP; +3 stamina points; +3 damage with fists and Gorilla Arms; +1.5% damage with melee weapons; Movement while grappling an enemy and grapple duration; 6% decreased movement penalty while grabbing an enemy or while wielding a heavy machine gun |
| Reflexes – Maneuverability, light firearms, and bladed weapons | Assault – Using assault rifles, sniper rifles, and submachine guns Handguns – Using pistols and revolvers Blades – Using swords, daggers, and Mantis Blades | +1% passive evasion vs. enemy attacks; +1% crit chance; +3 Mantis Blades damage |
| Technical Ability – Tech weaponry and grenades | Crafting – Crafting new items or disassembling them Engineering – Using “tech”-type weapons (i.e., energy/charged weapons) | +5% armor rating; Door unlocking via tech |
| Intelligence – Hacking | Breach Protocol – Successfully completing a Breach Protocol sequence Quickhacking – Successfully using Quickhacking skills | +0.5% quickhack damage and +1% quickhack duration; +4% cyberdeck RAM capacity (basically your “mana” when you hack objects and NPCs) |
| Cool – Stealth and other quirks | Stealth – Killing or attacking enemies without being detected (this includes those affected by Quickhacking skills) Cold Blood – Getting more kills while the effect is active, as well as critical hits or executions (i.e., equipping a sword, holding the attack button, and chopping off an enemy’s head) | +2% crit damage; +1% resistance vs. all damage types; +10% stealth damage; +3 Monowire damage; +0.5% enemy detection speed when you’re stealthed |
At certain intervals, you’re awarded extra points that can be allocated to any perk. Still, a perk will hit a “soft cap” if it reaches the current level of the attribute that governs it. For instance, if the Reflexes attribute is level 10, then Assault, Handguns, and Blades can’t go above level 10 until Reflexes is increased further. Furthermore, once perks reach level 20, you can unlock the “ultimate” skill/passive for that perk.
Anyway, you’re free to allocate perk points as you see fit, especially if you want a particular build that suits your playstyle in Cyberpunk 2077. But, if you feel that you’ve made mistakes, there’s a way to reset your perks/skill nodes.
