Which life path you should choose in Cyberpunk 2077

Before playing the game, you should see which life path in Cyberpunk 2077 is best for you, considering each path’s drawbacks and advantages. Then again, you’re reading the article, so I already know you’re doing exactly that.

Regardless of your choice of parts, you’ll be playing as V, a mercenary who wishes to gain street cred and become a legend throughout Night City. Right as the game starts, you need to choose between Corporate, Nomad or Street Kid.

But which is best? Let’s find out.

Corporate

The name is pretty self-explanatory. Choosing the Corporate life path means you’ll start the game as a so-called Corpo rat and you’ll be starting the quest with the same name.

Corporates are all about money and luxury, and they certainly expect to climb the ladder at the megacorporation they work at. The bad thing about corporates is that they don’t care about anyone other than themselves and they do not mind stepping on other people’s heads so long as they get to reach their own selfish goals.

If you choose this life path, you’ll start off the game as a stressed out individual who is puking their guts out at the company’s lavatory, in Night City.

• Advantages

As you’ve lived your entire life in the Corporate world of the Night City, you’ll be pretty good at telling when another Corporate is trying to screw you over. You’ll be able to see through every trick and scheme the Militech and other Corporate associations are up to, and act accordingly.

• Disadvantages

As a Corporate, you might be able to see everything form a Corporate perspective, meaning you will have little to no knowledge of both the Badlands and the streets of Night City. You’ll also have a hard time socializing with NPCs who are from the Badlands or the streets.

Nomad

If you choose the Nomadic life path, you will start your game in the Badlands, rather than the Night City. Nothing comes easy to the Nomad, and your entire life up to this point has revolved around looting scrapyards, raiding service stations, and stealing just to get a proper meal.

You’ll begin the game with a broken down car and you’ll have to climb out the pit and work hard to get your name around. You’ll also start The Nomad questline, which has you work together with Jackie to smuggle contraband into the Night City.

• Advantages

The best advantage that comes with being a Nomad is how easily you can get info. The Night City is full of Nomads and so V can reach out to them as use them as a social network to get valuable intel.

Another advantage of being a Nomad is that criminal activities come easy to you. You’ve been stealing and looting all your life, so it’s all rather natural.

• Disadvantages

Being a Nomad also comes with certain issues, like the fact that you will not be experiencing special dialogue options whenever you’re speaking to Corporates, High Society folks, or even the city’s Street rats, a.k.a. Street Kids. You are a true outsider in the Night City.

Street Kid

As a Street Kid, your childhood experiences were spent in Heywood. Everyone in the neighborhood was your family, and everyone helped each other.

As a frequent brawler you are quite familiar with the taste of your own blood, and in fact you start the game with a broken nose you’ll have to fix. You’ll also start the Street Kid questline.

• Advantages

You’ll know what makes the city tick and you are solely focused on thriving in this dystopian city. You know where the best bars and shops are at, you know which gang turfs to steer clear of, and unlike the Corporates and Nomads, gang members won’t look at you as an outsider. In fact, you will have access to many new and unique dialogue options, thanks to your knowledge of gangs and their activities.

Simply put, you’ll get information that the other life paths can only access through violence.

• Disadvantages

Unfortunately, not all things can be good. That means the Street Kid will face a lot of difficulty when dealing with Corps and Nomads. You also won’t be able to see behind Militech’s schemes, and will often fall prey to them or get ambushed.

By now you can see that each life path has its strengths and weaknesses. To be honest, I first chose the Corporate life path, as it looked to me as it might be the safest option since I’d be spending a lot of time in Corporate parts of Night City.

However, I soon came to realize that’s not entirely true. The main questline in Cyberpunk 2077 will lead you through all 6 districts, meaning all life paths will face trouble at some point. And gangs swarm all over the place, though they are hardly ever seen in City Center and Westbrook.

What I mean to say is that, no matter what you choose, you’ll face good times and hard times. So just really choose the one that feels best for you and go with it.

Have fun, and feel free to check out the beginners guide for Cyberpunk 2077, in case you need some tips and pointers!