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Your V is a blank slate for you to build however you want inCyberpunk 2077. From the moment the game starts, you canplay the game how you wantand create a character the way you want. Through earning XP and building up your abilities, you may craft a V that is uniquely your own.
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And while there are a lot of ways to earn XP to build your character up, there are a few methods that are better if you are looking tobuild your V up fast. So, before you jump into Night City and get leveling, be sure you know what you need to do to verify your V gets as powerful as possible,as fast as possible.
Updated by Shane Black on August 09, 2025:This guide was updated to give specific examples of side missions that you can complete in order to gain more XP, describe how performing actions will increase stats, as well as mention the level cap change that comes with the Phantom Liberty expansion. Also added more links to relevant guides and articles to help players.
Main Missions
While open-world RPGs are certainly known for their side activity, which gives you a break from the game’s main story, the main missions of Cyberpunk 2077 are definitely one of the best ways tolevel up your character. Not only will you get to know the characters better and learn more about what is happening to you, but you will alsoearn a solid amount of XPfor each mission that you finish.
The exact amount will differ depending on the mission and, of course, how you complete the mission, but you may expect anything from5,000 to 10,000 XPwhenever you finish a main mission. Not a bad chunk of XP at all, and well worth it.
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Do Side Stuff At A Higher Difficulty
Main missions aren’t the only thing that can help you, as the game’s many side activities will get you XP really fast. However, this changes drastically when you complete missions thatare labeled as Very Dangerousfor you.
These missions will lower in difficulty as you raise in level, but completing them at a higher level will causea decent reduction in XPthat you will get from it. This means that if you have missions that are labeled as Very Dangerous, it’s better to tackle and complete them at this point rather than wait. As you progress, you will just get diminishing returns as you finish these activities.
There are several missions chains in the game that you can embark on that will get you a good amount of XP. These chains have a consistent supply of stuff to do. You can embark on these chains and when they are done, you will net yourself a ton of XP - and money!
Check out the following chains that can give you a good amount of XP:
Mission Chain
Length of Chain
When You Can Complete It
Beat on the Brat
5 missions
This chain will be given to you early on, but will take you most of the game to complete due ot the need for a higher level for many fights.
Chippin' In
4 missions
Can be completed in Act 3 as you help various members of Johnny’s old band.
Epistrophy
7 missions
Will be given to you in Act 1 if you pursue the quest with Delamain. Can be completed pretty quickly.
Psycho Killer
17 missions
One of the first chains you will find in the game, and can be done by the time you reach Act 2.
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Craft, Craft, Craft
Beyond just helping you get better gear, crafting will also net you a good chunk of XP.You can find schematicsall around the game, especially at vendors, and when you craft different items, you can get anything from100 to 250 XP.
Now, this doesn’t look like much at all, but when you can craft multiple items at once, you are going to get a lot of XP to make up for it. This kind of XP will add up fast, especially when you realizehow many materials you will collectas you play through the game. Just keep an eye out for new schematics that you can pick up and craft whenever you want to. Not only can you get yourself more useful items like health packs, but you can also boost your character’s level really fast.
All of these tips will help you reach the base game’s level cap of 50 (which has not changed with the new 2.0 update). However, should you add the Phantom Liberty to your game, then you willraise that cap to 60.You can then implement these tips to get to that new cap as well.
Do Specific Actions
It’s not just completing quests that will give you XP. you may alsoperform actions repeatedlyto gain special XP togo into the skill areait pertains to. For instance, if you repeatedlycraft different items, then you will gain XP that goes into the Crafting skill tree.
Of course, Crafting is a more time-consuming past-time that you may do this with. But if you shoot a handgun or use a sword during a mission, the same thing will happen for their skill trees ata much faster rate.
