Cyberpunk 2077 levelling guide, how to get fast XP, and Cyberpunk 2077 max level cap explained
How V's progression system works.
Levelling in Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the many things you need to become a legend in Night City - alongside money making and improving your Street Cred.
All three will help you become one of the most famous mercenaries in Cyberpunk 2077 - but only one will physically and mentally improve your stats: earning XP.
With experience, players will be able to learn new abilities that'll help you progress throughout Night City. It also rewards players with different points, some that will go directly into your 'stats' like Body and Cool - which improves your Health and Stealth and others that'll improve your abilities.
So, as you can probably gather, it's in your best interest to level up so that Night City doesn't feel as scary of a place as it actually is.
On this page we'll explain how to get XP fast in Cyberpunk 2077, how Cyberpunk 2077's level system works, as well as what the Cyberpunk 2077 max level cap is for the base game. Stick with us, and you'll be a legend in no time.
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For more help with Cyberpunk 2077, we have pages on life paths and attributes.
Cyberpunk 2077's levelling system explained
Experience, like in most games, helps your player character climb through the ranks by giving you things like more health, stamina, magic, etc. It isn't all that different in Cyberpunk 2077, though experience works in a way that's actually similar to Bethesda's Skyrim.
If you're quickhacking, you'll improve your Netrunning, if you're using blades to slice and dice your enemies then you'll get experience in Shinobi. In fact, if you're doing something then you're probably earning experience points, and if it sounds that simple, then it's because it is.
The only part where it starts to become a little tricky is understanding the difference between Attribute Points and Perk Points. Honestly the game doesn't explain it all that well, but that's why we're here to help.
Attribute Points - In Cyberpunk 2077 you have 5 different attributes that make up your character. These attributes are Body, Technical Ability, Reflexes, Intelligence, and Cool. When you reach enough experience to level up as a whole - as in get to say, level 14 to 15 - you'll receive a single Attribute Point.
Attribute Points are used to increase your attributes and are only given out when you level up, unlike Perk Points. Attribute Points points can only go up to 20 each, and as of now, it's impossible to get them all up to 20 - so be wise on what you're spending your points on.
To spend an Attribute Point, you need to assign it to one of your Attributes. Assigning your points can be difficult to understand at first, but it helps if you know what you want your V's strengths to be. For example, I chose a V that was more technical based and didn't rely too much on raw strength, but engineering and crafting - so I placed a lot of my Attribute Points in the Technical Ability attribute.
Vice versa, if you'd rather your V to be a bit of a musclehead, then you would put the majority of your points into Body in order to help increase both health and stamina.
Perk Points - Perk Points are a little different from Attribute Points, but are just as important to get. Like we mentioned earlier, the best way to get them is by just doing things. That could be stealthing around a place, using a certain type of weapon that you've not used before, or quickhacking. No matter what you do, you're improving something and that's the perfect way to get Perk Points. The most consistent way to get Perk Points is by levelling up.
But what do Perk Points do? Well, to put it simply, they help in choosing - as well as upgrading - what perks your V has.
The perks that are complete and can't be upgraded anymore are fully yellow. If a point is still blue or dull yellow then you still need to add more perk points for it to be fully upgraded.
Perk Points can be a matter of life and death, so be sure to invest them in perks as much as humanly possible. Otherwise you won't get the best out of your V, and the game will be a lot harder as a result.
How to get XP in Cyberpunk 2077
Getting XP in Cyberpunk 2077 is pretty easy, as even the littlest of things can give you at least 100 to 200 XP. But there are better ways, and certainly ways that'll actually feel like you're progressing instead of going at a snail's pace.
Progressing through main missions - Playing main story quests is a guaranteed way for you to gain XP and level up. The range of XP you earn changes with how far in you are in Cyberpunk 2077's main storyline, but expect 5000 to 10,000 XP as you progress.
Doing side jobs, gigs and NCPD missions - While playing through the story is guaranteed to get you XP, it surely isn't enough to get you to the max level cap and give you the chance to try out everything. That's where side jobs, gigs and NCPD missions come in.
All three activities give out around about the same amount of XP, but the rate of the XP changes depending on the difficulty.
For example, you're going to get way more XP for taking out a target in a quest that's labelled as 'Very Dangerous' (1000-2000 XP mark) than if you did the same quest that's only labelled as 'Moderately Dangerous.'
Doing your own thing - This may seem a little open, but as we explained before, using quick hacks, weapons, running, jumping and so much more, will give you experience points. These points are minimal in comparison to doing the main story and side missions, but despite all of that, they do add up in the end.
The fastest way to get XP in Cyberpunk 2077
Crafting is one of the most rewarding things about Cyberpunk 2077. Schematics can be found in most vendor stores, and as long as you're hands-on with scavenging and then dissembling your loot, you'll have a range of different things to create and then sell - also making it a useful money making technique.
But what's important about that isn't the eddies you receive - which can be a lot, yes - but the amount of XP you receive from crafting.
To put it bluntly, as long as you have enough components to create uncommon / rare items, you can raise your level - and gain attribute/perk points - at an almost unlimited rate.
Even crafting some of the easiest things like medicine will give you 120XP, whereas quickhacks and rare weapons will give you nearly 200 to 250 XP.
That's nothing to sniff your nose up at, especially when you could be earning triple the amount of XP in crafting a ton of common medicine and quickhacks than you could if you were just doing side quests. The same goes for upgrading - which also falls under the crafting section in your character menu.
So, if you want to get your XP as fast as you possibly can, we suggest taking up crafting in order to gain access to perks and attribute points at a faster rate.
What is the max level cap in Cyberpunk 2077?
Everyone has their limit, and while we don't doubt that there's more than enough content to get you to level 100, the max level cap in Cyberpunk 2077 is level 50.
It isn't too hard to shoot for it either, as there are a load of things to do and if you decide to use our 'unlimited crafting' method, you'll reach the higher levels quite easily.
However, if you've got the Phantom Liberty DLC, your V's Level Cap will increase to 60 instead!