Cyberpunk 2077 Life Paths choice and which Corpo, Nomad or Street Kid life path is best

Cyberpunk 2077 Life Path choice and differences explained

Life Paths refer to the three introductions you can choose from in Cyberpunk 2077, with the choices being - Nomad, Street Kid and Corpo.

Each Life Path will give your version of V a unique backstory and offers an adjusted playthrough of the game. In summary, the differences between the three life paths are:

• A unique prologue - each around 25 minutes in length - with different locations and characters to introduce you to the world of Night City.
• How you know or meet Jackie Welles will be different in each of the prologues.
• Additional dialogue choice(s) in certain situations throughout the game. The Nomad Life Path, for example, will allow you to freely gain information from other members of the nomadic lifestyle, and gives you extra talking points when it comes to vehicles and machinery - things a Street Kid or Corpo V would never be able to do. Meanwhile, a V from the Corpo Life Path will have more experience with the dealings of the corporations and talking to their various employees.
• Access to side-quests associated with that life path.

Note your Life Path does not affect any Cyberpunk 2077 romances options - instead, those are influenced by the body type (and voice tone) you decide for V.

After you've chosen your Life Path when first starting the game, you'll be able to customise V to your liking and, then, assign your first set of stat points to your Core Attributes.

You'll receive the same number of stat points no matter which Life Path you choose, so feel free to pick whichever one you like best.

How to choose the right Cyberpunk 2077 Life Path choice for you

From our understanding from playing the game's main story pre-release, your Life Path choice gives V largely gives you an additional perspective or advantage in certain conversations and situations - allowing you to role play with your chosen background.

No one path will constrain you to play a certain build, so ultimately, the best Life Path choice to make is the one which sounds most attractive to you from a storytelling perspective. (We have dedicated sections and video on all three Life Paths following this one to help you decide which looks best from the outset.)

Once the prologue has concluded, all three paths lead to the same 'starting' point after the prologue, where from there the main mission list will be the same.

If you're particularly interested in performing certain actions early regardless of your Life Path, then putting points in certain Cyberpunk 2077 attributes is worth doing.

Corpo Life Path in Cyberpunk 2077 explained

If you're interested in the corporations that run most of the world of Cyberpunk 2077, then the Corpo Life Path is for you.

Here's the first 20 minutes of the Corpo Life Path so you know what to expect up front:

Cyberpunk 2077 Corpo prologue (first 20 minutes gameplay)

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This prologue sees V start as an employee of Arasaka Corporations, and step into world of corporate backstabbing, which you employ trusted friend Jackie to help you out with.

Choosing this Life Path will give you dialogue options unique to the Corpo Life Path when dealing with Arasaka and other corporations, such as Militech, employees.

This means that, unlike the Nomad or Street Kid Life Paths, you'll be able to see through the tricks set by corporation employees or even place your own, among other interaction or quest based options.

The downside to the Corpo Life Path is that you'll have little knowledge of both the Badlands and the streets of Night City, which will make interacting with the people who make their homes there harder.

When it comes to appearance, the Corpo Life Path is a mixture of Neomiltarism and Neokitsh, though V's ultimate style is in your hands.

Nomad Life Path in Cyberpunk 2077 explained

If you choose the Nomad Life Path in Cyberpunk 2077, then you'll start the game in the Badlands rather than in Night City.

Here's the first 20 minutes of the Nomad Life Path so you know what to expect up front:

Cyberpunk 2077 Nomad prologue (first 20 minutes gameplay)

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The prologue quest will be focused around meeting Jackie for the first time, who will help you smuggle contraband through a Night City checkpoint. If you're worried about being stuck in the Badlands for long, don't worry - you're there for only 30 minutes tops before you enter Night City.

Once there, V's knowledge of the nomad lifestyle can be used to their advantage in a number of ways, including gaining information from fellow Nomads, using their experience in the Badlands, and making small talk about vehicles and machinery.

Sadly, life as a Nomad does mean that V won't have much experience dealing with corporation employees or with those on the lower rungs of Night City society, which means you're less likely to experience unique dialogue options or optional objectives when interacting with these characters.

Unlike the other two Life Paths, the Nomad's appearance is based in the Entropism art style in Cyberpunk lore, but, once you gain more freedom in Night City, you can craft V's appearance however you want.

Street Kid Life Path in Cyberpunk 2077 explained

If you select the Street Kid Life Path in Cyberpunk 2077, then V will have grown up in Night City and have experience working within the world of street gangs.

Here's the first 20 minutes of the Street Kid Life Path so you know what to expect up front:

Cyberpunk 2077 Street Kid prologue (first 20 minutes gameplay)

Watch on YouTube

The prologue quest sees V, after returning from Atlanta, agree to help out a friend in need.

Unlike the Nomad or Corpo Life Paths, a Street Kid V won't be viewed as an outsider by many of the gang members in Night City. Instead you'll have access to dialogue options that will allow you to take advantage of V's knowledge about the gangs and their various activities.

This will, in turn, allow you to gain information that the other Life Paths might have to earn through violence or hacking.

You will, however, be at a disadvantage when dealing with either nomad groups or the corporation.

In terms of appearance, the Street Kid Life Path starts off with a Kitsh feeling, but, like with the other Life Paths, V's final style is up to you.

Good luck finding your way through Night City no matter which Life Path you pick!