Phantom Liberty will be so big and elaborate that the main game will also have to change radically for it. We summarise our findings for you so far.

I”m sure CD Projekt would rather everyone was talking exclusively about Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, their big role-playing game add-on in the tradition of The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, which comes out on 26 September and caused quite a stir at the Xbox Showcase with a spectacular trailer.

And hardly anyone is likely to do the same in as much detail as we did. In an extra-large preview, I dissect all the impressions from my extensive play session with Phantom Liberty for you.

However, the addon intervenes so deeply in the basic game mechanics of Cyberpunk 2077 that it automatically raises the question of what CD Projekt will deliver to everyone via an update and what will be reserved for buyers of the addon.

Important disclaimer: The following summary is not official information from CD Projekt, but logical conclusions on my part based on what I experienced and asked about at the play event and what was in the materials accompanying the demo. So let”s take another look at the trailer and then get down to the nitty gritty!

What do add-on buyers get?

CD Projekt talks about Phantom Liberty as the biggest and most expensive addon in the company”s history. That doesn”t necessarily allow conclusions to be drawn about the playing time, but it is nevertheless noticeable in every detail of the expansion how much effort the development team has put into it.

New Story Campaign: Phantom Liberty tells an espionage thriller in which you are tasked with rescuing the President of the NUSA on behalf of the mysterious netrunner Songbird and, to this end, ally yourself with the secret agent Solomon Reed, played by Idris Elba.

Keanu Reeves also returns to the role of Johnny Silverhand. The campaign is not unlocked after the end of Cyberpunk 2077, but happens parallel to the main storyline. Your decisions in Phantom Liberty will also have an impact on the story of the main game.
(Hollywood actor Idris Elba takes a central role in the addon.)

New Region: With Dogtown, Phantom Liberty adds a completely new district to Night City, which you can only enter if you also own the addon. CD Projekt promises an even higher level of detail here than in the rest of the city, because the entire team was able to concentrate only on this region.

New skill tree: Those who play Phantom Liberty can unlock a sixth Relic skill tree, which contains eight particularly powerful abilities – including a nanowire upgrade, with which you can transfer quickhacks to other enemies.

(Dogtown is separated from the rest of Night City by a huge wall and can only be accessed by addon owners).

New quests and activities: In Dogtown, there should be many more side quests and activities tailored to the region in addition to the main campaign. During our play session, we discovered new tarot graffiti and hidden Relic abilities, among other things. The official Q&A for the demo also promises air drop and courier missions.

New Weapons, Items and Vehicles: Phantom Liberty is designed to give your arsenal an appropriate boost. During our play session, we learned that in addition to the standard stuff, each merchant also has special items on offer that are only available there. The highlight, however, will be the new armed vehicles, with which addon owners can really let it rip, especially in car chases.

What should come as a free update?

Now we come to the things that affect all Cyberpunk players – simply because they have to be introduced with the addon for the entire campaign and all of Night City.

Revised skill system: Cyberpunk 2077 is getting completely new skills, distributed across talent trees that have also been redesigned. The aim of the revision is to give you fewer, but cooler skills, according to the developers during our play session. Among them are finishing moves for gorilla arms, mantis blades and mono wire.

New Weapon and Loot System: Weapons will differ from each other in five categories starting with the update: Attack Speed, Damage per Hit, Reload Speed, Effective Range and Weapon Handling. In addition, clothes will no longer grant armour, but only minor perks. The armour value will in future depend on your installed cyberware.

(Shooting will also cost stamina in Cyberpunk 2077 in the future.)

Revised combat system: With the update, all activities will cost stamina, even shooting. Dashen gets its own button and is supposed to be much more important. In addition, there are lots of new special manoeuvres, coupled with skills. In future, projectiles can be blocked with melee weapons, provided the appropriate reflexes and skills are available. And Netrunners will be able to perform as many quickhacks simultaneously as their cyberdeck capacity allows.

New police system with chases: The more mayhem you cause – even during missions – the faster you increase your chase level from one star to five stars. With each level, your pursuers become stronger and use nastier tactics, such as roadblocks. At five stars, you will finally have to deal with MaxTac. The chases within the story missions will therefore no longer be scripted, but will be systemic.

(Chases including the use of weapons are available for everyone, the car on the left is probably exclusive to addon owners.)

Additional Open World Activities: CD Projekt wants to use the new tracking system for “dynamic world events”, according to the info accompanying the demo. Gangs are supposed to fight each other on the streets, and the NCPD is also heavily involved. And of course you can also take part.

What do you think about the new information on Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty? Are you going straight into the add-on, or are you so excited by the numerous changes to the main game that you”ll also restart the main campaign? Let us know in the comments!

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