Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 Skill Progression is divided into five different types of skills, whose XP is earned by engaging in various activities or specific actions in the world of Night City. By progressing each of these skills, you can earn various rewards such as passive bonuses as well as perk points at different levels.
- Skill Progression in Cyberpunk 2077 is based on five different in-game stats, which grant useful passive bonuses at various ranks.
- Players can also earn Skill XP Shards as rewards through various sources to boost their XP gains for a specific Skill path.
- Headhunter: Progressed by defeating enemies, achieving headshots, and targeting weak points.
- Netrunner: Perform Quickhacks on enemies, gadgets, or various tech objects in Night City.
- Shinobi: Use Katanas, Mantis Blades, or Machete in combat and Dashing or Dodging.
- Solo: Use heavy artillery such as LMGs, Gorilla Arms, or Blunt weapons such as Baseball bats.
- Engineer: Utilize Smart Weapons, Craft items or weapons, or use throwables during combat.
- Why Trust Me: Usama has spent more than 80 hours in Cyberpunk 2077, making his guides trustworthy!
What Are Skills In Cyberpunk 2077
The five different types of skills are Headhunter, Shinobi, Netrunner, Solo, and Engineer. Each of these Skill categories in Cyberpunk 2077 requires a specific feat to achieve in-game and progress.
Upon reaching a certain level in each skill, you will be rewarded with stat bonuses and a chance to earn perk points. You can then invest them in your Ability categories to purchase any of the best perks the game offers for V and to enhance your play style.
All Skill Types & Rewards
While you can naturally earn XP for these skills by simply playing through Cyberpunk 2077, you can specifically progress the desired one of your choice by specific actions or influences. It is also worth noting that you can acquire XP Shards from defeated enemies, which will reward you with bonus XP for a particular skill, as shown in the image above.
Below, I have discussed each of the Cyberpunk 2077 Skill Progression Rewards in brief detail, along with their respective ranks:
| Skill Type | Progression Method |
|---|---|
| Headhunter | Defeat enemies, headshots, target weak points |
| Netrunner | Perform Quickhacks on enemies, gadgets, or tech objects |
| Shinobi | Use Katanas, Mantis Blades, Machete, Dash, or Dodge |
| Solo | Use heavy artillery, Gorilla Arms, Blunt weapons |
| Engineer | Use Smart Weapons, Craft items or weapons, use throwables |
Headhunter
As the name implies, the Headhunter Skill tree can easily progress by defeating enemies using headshots. I personally found that it is the easiest to level up since it can also naturally level up when performing stealth takedowns on enemies and targeting weak points during combat scenarios.
Following are the rewards of the Headhunter skill path, along with the associated ranks:
| LEVEL | REWARD |
| Rank 5 | Decreases visibility to enemies by 10% |
| Rank 10 |
|
| Rank 15 | +1 Perk Point |
| Rank 20 | No weapon swaying when crouched |
| Rank 25 | Decreases visibility to enemies by 10% |
| Rank 30 |
|
| Rank 35 | +1 Perk Point |
| Rank 40 | Optical Camo is active while grappling enemies. |
| Rank 45 | Decreases recovery time after a throw by 30%. |
| Rank 50 | 30% faster movement speed when crouch-walking or crouch-sprinting. |
| Rank 55 | Damage Bonuses gained from being undetected outside of combat persist for 3 Seconds after entering Combat. |
| Rank 60 | +15% Optical Camo charge when neutralizing an enemy in the following ways:
|
Netrunner
The Netrunner is another Skill tree in Cyberpunk 2077, which has an easy-to-understand progression technique. You can level it up by simply performing Quickhacks on targets, as shown in the image above. You can also earn XP for it by hacking various terminal objects or successfully solving Breach Hacks in the world. If you’re running a Netrunner build, you will easily gain the best amount of experience points for it.
I have written the rewards of the Netrunner skill path, along with the associated ranks down below:
| LEVEL | REWARD |
| Rank 5 | Increases RAM Recovery Rate by 5%. |
| Rank 10 | Increases RAM by 1. |
| Rank 15 | +1 Perk Point |
| Rank 20 | +20% Lock-on range with Smart Weapons |
| Rank 25 | Increases RAM Recovery Rate by 5%. |
| Rank 30 | Increases RAM by 1. |
| Rank 35 | +1 Perk Point |
| Rank 40 | -20% RAM cost for Quickhacks used on Devices and Vehicles. |
| Rank 45 |
|
| Rank 50 | +40% duration for Overclock. |
| Rank 55 | -10% Health Loss from using Quickhacks during Overclock. |
| Rank 60 | When active, Overlock now reveals enemies within 10 meters and allows you to Quickhack Non-Netrunner Enemies through cover. |
Shinobi
If you’re like me and use a Katana build along with the newly added Dash abilities, chances are you’ll easily gain skill progression for the Shinobi in Cyberpunk 2077. Dodging, Air Dashing, and general parkour during combat also seem to grant minor progress occasionally, according to my tests in-game. Using the Mantis Blades Cyberware in combat also grants XP progress for the Shinobi Skill.
I’ve also jotted down the rewards of the Shinobi skill path, along with the associated ranks:
| LEVEL | REWARD |
| Rank 5 | Increases Movement speed by 5%. |
| Rank 10 | -5% Stamina cost from Dodging and Dashing. |
| Rank 15 | +1 Perk Point |
| Rank 20 | Improved Accuracy after dodging or dashing for a short time. |
| Rank 25 | Increases Movement speed by 5%. |
| Rank 30 | –10% Stamina cost from dodging and Dashing. |
| Rank 35 | +1 Perk Point |
| Rank 40 | Increased Mitigation Chance the faster you move. |
| Rank 45 | +25% damage with Fast attacks. |
| Rank 50 | Air dashing and sliding reload 20% of your equipped weapon’s ammo. |
| Rank 55 | When attacking from midair or when time is slowed, low stamina does not affect Ranged Accuracy or Melee Attack Speed. |
| Rank 60 | When the Sandevistan Cyberware is active:
|
Solo
The Solo Skill progression heavily correlates with using heavy or close-range powerful weapons such as the Shotgun and Light Machine Guns. But the most simplistic method to gain experience for Solo would be to use Blunt Weapons in Cyberpunk 2077, such as the Baseball Bat or the Gorilla Arms Cyberware, to defeat enemies.
I have also written the rewards of the Solo skill path, along with the associated ranks for convenience:
| LEVEL | REWARD |
| Rank 5 | Increases Carrying Capacity by 50. |
| Rank 10 | Increases Health by 10. |
| Rank 15 | +1 Perk Point |
| Rank 20 | Fists and Gorilla Arms have:
|
| Rank 25 | Increases Carrying Capacity by 100. |
| Rank 30 | Increases Health by 15. |
| Rank 35 | +1 Perk Point |
| Rank 40 | +10% Crit Chance against enemies within 5 meters. |
| Rank 45 | +25% Damage with Strong Attacks and Quick Melee Attacks. |
| Rank 50 | +25% Health after performing a Finisher. |
| Rank 55 | When Adrenaline Rush is active, Adrenaline decays 50% slower and cannot decay below 10%. |
| Rank 60 | When Berserk is active:
|
Engineer
Lastly, using Smart Weapons or Throwables in combat can progress the Engineer’s Skill path. But if you ask me, I’ve found the best way to gain experience is by crafting various items and weapons from your Inventory menu, which seems to be the most efficient strategy. You can also gain minor progress sometimes by using Elemental Effects or causing any type of explosive effects during combat.
| LEVEL | REWARD |
| Rank 5 | Increases Armor by 15. |
| Rank 10 | Increases Cyberware Capacity by 5. |
| Rank 15 | +1 Perk Point |
| Rank 20 | +10% Grenade Damage and Explosion radius. |
| Rank 25 | Increases Armor by 25. |
| Rank 30 | Increases Cyberware Capacity by 10. |
| Rank 35 | +1 Perk Point |
| Rank 40 | Increased Shock Chance from charging a Tech weapon or electric Baton. |
| Rank 45 | +15% Healing Item effectiveness. |
| Rank 50 | +30% to all Cyberware Stat modifiers. |
| Rank 55 |
|
| Rank 60 | When Fury is active, you occasionally release an EMP Blast. |
My Thoughts On Skill Progression With The Latest Update
Cyberpunk 2077’s Skill Progression in the 2.0 update injects a dynamic layer of engagement and versatility into the game’s progression system. Its compatibility with various in-game actions mirrors the diverse ways players can approach the game.
Whether you’re a precision-focused headshot artist, a tech-savvy Netrunner, an agile Shinobi, a powerhouse Solo, or a crafty Engineer, the system accommodates your preferred approach. For me, the Shinobi and Headhunter skill paths have been particularly enticing, adding depth and excitement to the game, and I appreciate the effort to cater to different styles of play, making the Cyberpunk 2077 experience even more enjoyable.
Aside from that, if you’re a returning player experiencing Update 2.0’s massive changes, you might be enticed to purchase the recent story expansion, so be sure to read eXputer’s Review of Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty DLC.
Up Next:
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Best Ending
- Cyberpunk 2077: How To Holster Your Weapon
- Cyberpunk 2077: How To Call
- Cyberpunk 2077: All Iconic Weapons
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