Disappointed in Corpo life path

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Nomad is my favorite cause mad max. My main is a techie brawler covering faces with fists and everything else with tech shotgun bullets. Technically 35%-70% of the time I'm using quickhacks but that's besides the point...

My corpo is number two cause living large and in charge... errr... feeling large and in charge. Please don't hurt me people who are larger and more in charge than I am.

Last is street kid. This path is cool but feels more like generic. Please don't get mad and beat me up street kids. This is just my personal opinion. I'm just a friendly netrunning techie that hangs out at the boxing club on wednesdays and Saturdays.
 
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Let's be honest, there is no corpo lifepath, nor is there a nomad one. Those two clearly got cut at some point and left in the game in name only. The main stoyline is clearly meant for streetkid and the other two are tacked onto it.

nah, the corpo lifepath is mostly the main questline;
V, a Young counter Intel specialist for Arasaka aligns with the wrong faction, kicked out on the street, they use their training to live the merc life, until a job brings them crashing back into their former employer, but maybe by playing it smart, and showing them they are a valuable asset, they can return to the fold.

the nomad lifepath is the panam/aldecado sub plot.

streetkid actually is the one with least development. It mostly relies on the game world itself, rather than quests or plot points that coincide with a streetkid perspective/life/origin.


what about this game makes you think its from a streetkid perspective?
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Nomad is my favorite cause mad max. My main is a techie brawler covering faces with fists and everything else with tech shotgun bullets. Technically 35%-70% of the time I'm using quickhacks but that's besides the point...

My corpo is number two cause living large and in charge... errr... feeling large and in charge. Please don't hurt me people who are larger and more in charge than I am.

Last is street kid. This path is cool but feels more like generic. Please don't get mad and beat me up street kids. This is just my personal opinion. I'm just a friendly netrunning techie that hangs out at the boxing club on wednesdays and Saturdays.

exactly, streetkid is very under developed. I like the concept, but the execution isn't really there narrative wise. After the 1st chapter, streetkid has like nothing. There is a few tie ins, but no overarching plot.
 
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Well, I've tried all 3 paths and corpo is still my favorite, so there is a difference because of the lifepaths, even very little.
Corpo is my favorite as well. The problem I have with nomad and street kid, is that they sound ignorant when they go all anti corpo, because they don't have a reason to be anti corpo until jackie. While Corpo V had everything they ever knew ripped from them by the corpos, and Jackie in the Corpo lifepath, has been Vs friend for years, so his death hits harder for corpo V than the other two.
 
In my opinion game should reduce in size, cp is too big for its own good, there is no way to fill world that huge and complex without breaking it, also cost with animating and voicing insane ammount of characters and so on. Its why i think Bloodlines are one best of RPG in terms of replayability
 
Yeah, corpo life path is the most disappointing in the game, but after all all three are basically a the same, there are just not enough differences. Only the first mission is different and thereafter they all feels like you are playing the streetkid path.
 
You are playing the streetkid path
I'm desappointed, why it's seem not clear (maybe it's just me) :(
In street kid path (life), you steal cars, steals handbags, robs businesses,... in short do nothing "official" and especially not work with fixers (like Jackie before leaving the Valentinos).
After Chapt 1, V is a merc (whatever his/her previous life). She/He's execute contracts, works for Fixers (mostly) and gain is life like that. Nothing to do with Street Kid life...

Edit : Maybe if the StreetCred (SC) was called MercCred (MC) instead, it would be clearer :)
 
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Corpo is my favorite as well. The problem I have with nomad and street kid, is that they sound ignorant when they go all anti corpo, because they don't have a reason to be anti corpo until jackie. While Corpo V had everything they ever knew ripped from them by the corpos, and Jackie in the Corpo lifepath, has been Vs friend for years, so his death hits harder for corpo V than the other two.

well, the game doesn't really tell you explicitly about the lore, but

Everyone in NC has a reason to be anti corpo. They had 2-4 wars without any government backing, the last of which lead to a nuke going off in the middle of the city. (militech lead the attack on Arasaka, johnny just inserted himself to save the alt AI)

They destroyed the food and wildlife in the area with designer viruses to reduce competition. They are constantly exploiting and destroying the average joe.

They promote and profit off "crime" maelstrom is supported by militech. Arasaka used to control tigerclaws.

And everybody knows it, they also know they can't do anything about it. So most regular people have a general distaste for corporations in NC.
 
well, the game doesn't really tell you explicitly about the lore, but

Everyone in NC has a reason to be anti corpo. They had 2-4 wars without any government backing, the last of which lead to a nuke going off in the middle of the city. (militech lead the attack on Arasaka, johnny just inserted himself to save the alt AI)

They destroyed the food and wildlife in the area with designer viruses to reduce competition. They are constantly exploiting and destroying the average joe.

They promote and profit off "crime" maelstrom is supported by militech. Arasaka used to control tigerclaws.

And everybody knows it, they also know they can't do anything about it. So most regular people have a general distaste for corporations in NC.
Streetkid V has some specific dialogue options about their dislike for corps in some gigs, and when talking to Goro, River and Johnny. About corps producing antibiotics that no one can afford, throwing their trash in the streets, not giving a damn about other people in NC and so on.
 
well, the game doesn't really tell you explicitly about the lore, but

Everyone in NC has a reason to be anti corpo. They had 2-4 wars without any government backing, the last of which lead to a nuke going off in the middle of the city. (militech lead the attack on Arasaka, johnny just inserted himself to save the alt AI)

They destroyed the food and wildlife in the area with designer viruses to reduce competition. They are constantly exploiting and destroying the average joe.

They promote and profit off "crime" maelstrom is supported by militech. Arasaka used to control tigerclaws.

And everybody knows it, they also know they can't do anything about it. So most regular people have a general distaste for corporations in NC.
My problem with most of that is it all happened way before V's time, and is too impersonal to drive a Narrative in my opinion. I mean, Johnny's reasons for doing everything he did was personal. Everything that drove him came from persanal experience. Corpo V is the only one that provides that right from the start.
 
So anyone that has read my posts here for the last few months knows I love this game. However, I was disappointed in the Corpo life path (all of the paths really). Perhaps I assumed too much or was partially mislead by the marketing, but here is what I had imagined would be in this game when I decided my first play thru would be Corpo:

I was excited that this would be the first time in all my years of Narrative RPG or Narrative Shooter games that I would be playing an evil character by choice (we all know some games we played where we were the bad guy but did not know it until the end of the game).

Anyway so I never played EVIL before (40 years) and was deliciously anticipating my first evil run ever. I knew I would probably not go FULL Sociopathic dirt bag pervert, but still I wanted to try for once to be greedy, selfish, and manipulative. Kind of “lawful evil”?

A Corpo methodically takes what they want within the limits of their code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts.
They care about tradition, loyalty, and order but not about freedom, dignity, or life. They play by the rules but without mercy or compassion. They are comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve. They condemn others not according to their actions but according to associates, homeland, or social rank.

My Corpo might have particular taboos, such as not killing in cold blood (but having underlings do it) or not letting children come to harm (if it can be helped). My V imagines that these compunctions put them above unprincipled villains.

I was ready to have Corporate battles and Corporate espionage using the best and most expensive equipment in the game conveniently waiting for me in my office supplies room. I was not sure how the DEV was going to balance this (giving the player all the best equipment immediately) but I was ecstatic to see what clever way they would come up with.

Could I make alliances in lieu of friendship?
I knew picking this path would leave me with no real friends at the beginning and a long list of enemies so I would have to be constantly looking over my shoulder to watch my back. And I wondered how the DEV would test the limit of my selfishness by throwing escalating moral dilemmas at me and both rewarding and punishing me for my choices.

I expected to solve problems one bullet at a time, but also with hired computer hackers, politics, and blackmail. And I anticipated having such battles within my own company with fellow corporate officers as well as with other corporations and the other people in this world (the nomads and street people).

Imagine my surprise when after pulling the trigger on THIS Corpo life path, that I ended up a broke street kid with good friends and a slow grind accumulation for better equipment.

And just in case you missed it, I did already say this is mostly my own fault for probably assuming too much.
 
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My wife playing the Corpo life path in Japanese and she really likes it, its funny how changing the language really adds a different flavor.
 
So anyone that has read my posts here for the last few months knows I love this game. However, I was disappointed in the Corpo life path (all of the paths really). Perhaps I assumed too much or was partially mislead by the marketing, but here is what I had imagined would be in this game when I decided my first play thru would be Corpo:

I was excited that this would be the first time in all my years of Narrative RPG or Narrative Shooter games that I would be playing an evil character by choice (we all know some games we played where we were the bad guy but did not know it until the end of the game).

Anyway so I never played EVIL before (40 years) and was deliciously anticipating my first evil run ever. I knew I would probably not go FULL Sociopathic dirt bag pervert, but still I wanted to try for once to be greedy, selfish, and manipulative. Kind of “lawful evil”?

A Corpo methodically takes what they want within the limits of their code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts.
They care about tradition, loyalty, and order but not about freedom, dignity, or life. They play by the rules but without mercy or compassion. They are comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve. They condemn others not according to their actions but according to associates, homeland, or social rank.

My Corpo might have particular taboos, such as not killing in cold blood (but having underlings do it) or not letting children come to harm (if it can be helped). My V imagines that these compunctions put them above unprincipled villains.

I was ready to have Corporate battles and Corporate espionage using the best and most expensive equipment in the game conveniently waiting for me in my office supplies room. I was not sure how the DEV was going to balance this (giving the player all the best equipment immediately) but I was ecstatic to see what clever way they would come up with.

Could I make alliances in lieu of friendship?
I knew picking this path would leave me with no real friends at the beginning and a long list of enemies so I would have to be constantly looking over my shoulder to watch my back. And I wondered how the DEV would test the limit of my selfishness by throwing escalating moral dilemmas at me and both rewarding and punishing me for my choices.

I expected to solve problems one bullet at a time, but also with hired computer hackers, politics, and blackmail. And I anticipated having such battles within my own company with fellow corporate officers as well as with other corporations and the other people in this world (the nomads and street people).

Imagine my surprise when after pulling the trigger on THIS Corpo life path, that I ended up a broke street kid with good friends and a slow grind accumulation for better equipment.

And just in case you missed it, I did already say this is mostly my own fault for probably assuming too much.

why do people keep associating streetkid with merc? I can assure you that the average street kid doesn't live the life of a gun for hire or private eye
also corpo path is actually a path of slow accumulation, merc life actually pays way better than corpo life. (for most) the main difference is mercs die fast, and don't get access to corpo freebies, like housing and health insurance (trauma team). For this reason, a number of corpos moonlight as mercs/fixers


anyhow, I get your overall point. Many people had big ideas about what lifepaths could be.
 
why do people keep associating streetkid with merc?

Maybe because of the DEV marketing [Street Kid life path] :
.




And I take it back, I did NOT assume all that much [CORPO life path] :
.

There is not even one STREET or back alley shown in the Corpo life path... :rolleyes:
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In office poltics and black mail:


Using the best and most expensive equipment:


I knew picking this path would leave me with no real friends:

They even say in this part of the clip V was corporate counter intelligence (a higher ranking employee with subordinates and with company benefits from what I remember in game), not a mercenary.

OK, OK I know I was never promised a Rose Garden, but they did say they would sell me a garden and instead I got a garage. Luckily it was a really cool garage so I do not regret the purchase.
 
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A little "head" canon :ROFLMAO: on how the story may have gone with more filled out life paths!

Street kid would be the same as what we got more or less. Stealing the chip goes wrong.

Nomads: Hired as mercenaries "mountain guides" by Arasaka Corporation to help the Saburo Arasaka's security team navigate thru the badland mountains with the chip because air flight was determined to be too exposed to such things as EMP weapons. Caravan is attacked and in the attack the chip storage is broken and bla bla bla...

or

Nomads: Hired as mercenaries "mountain guides" by Arasaka Corporation to help the Saburo Arasaka's security team navigate thru the badland mountains with the chip because air flight was determined to be too exposed to such things as EMP weapons.
The Nomads having no love for this corporation decide to take the chip and in the fire fight the chip storage is broken and bla bla bla...


Corpo: special black ops type job dictated to you by the Kei Arasaka to move the chip before his father comes to get it. Unknown to you Kei was then going to blame you for stealing it after arranging for you to be attacked and the chip to go missing. To sneak the chip past the guards and other security your plan is to store it temporally in your brain jack. Opps, that may have been a mistake...

or

Corpo: special black ops type job dictated to you by the Saburo Arasaka to move the chip before his son can spirit it away as he (Saburo Arasaka ) has discovered may happen from his spies. To sneak the chip past the guards and other security your plan is to store it temporally in your brain jack. Opps, that may have been a mistake...




Corpo: Security footage you hack unlocked shows the Saburo Arasaka murder.
Nomads: Brain dance from one of Kei's paid (now dead) "companions" shows the Saburo Arasaka murder.
 
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Much like the Witcher series...for which CDPR was universally hailed and praised...you follow a reasonably linear story with some branching variants in execution, maybe a short choice-effect sequence that stays localized and is generally well done but not main line affecting, and trivial outcomes like romance partners. Its the same formula, I'm not sure why people are pretending they were getting a TTRPG?
 
well, the game doesn't really tell you explicitly about the lore, but

Everyone in NC has a reason to be anti corpo. They had 2-4 wars without any government backing, the last of which lead to a nuke going off in the middle of the city. (militech lead the attack on Arasaka, johnny just inserted himself to save the alt AI)

They destroyed the food and wildlife in the area with designer viruses to reduce competition. They are constantly exploiting and destroying the average joe.

They promote and profit off "crime" maelstrom is supported by militech. Arasaka used to control tigerclaws.

And everybody knows it, they also know they can't do anything about it. So most regular people have a general distaste for corporations in NC.


Yeah that's all well and good. So yeah you're playing the "bad guy/gal". You play anti-hero. But having played through all the endings I can definately say that the game rewards you less for playing this way than if you go the other way and play the rebel.
Yeah, corpo life path is the most disappointing in the game, but after all all three are basically a the same, there are just not enough differences. Only the first mission is different and thereafter they all feels like you are playing the streetkid path.

I don't think they are the same because there are moral connotations in the different endings which do tell a story of V through their character arcs and again here a corpo V is rewarded less then a different life path or progression towards a life path other than corpo. If you "succeed" as a corpo V you are rewarded less I would say than if you "fail" as a rebel - that's bakes in into this game's narrative outcomes.
 
Yeah that's all well and good. So yeah you're playing the "bad guy/gal". You play anti-hero. But having played through all the endings I can definately say that the game rewards you less for playing this way than if you go the other way and play the rebel.


I don't think they are the same because there are moral connotations in the different endings which do tell a story of V through their character arcs and again here a corpo V is rewarded less then a different life path or progression towards a life path other than corpo. If you "succeed" as a corpo V you are rewarded less I would say than if you "fail" as a rebel - that's bakes in into this game's narrative outcomes.

this is true, but the way in which V approaches the corpo life, and the situation they are in, this is the logical conclusion.

The corpo V that you are playing in the Arasaka ending is one who believes in serving the corporation in exchange for "security" or order You arent playing the corpo who believes in winning at all costs and coming out ahead. Jackie mentions this in the prologue. All the risks V took as a corpo were for the benefit of Saburo Arasaka.

V gives hanako EVERYTHING, in exchange for very little.

The ending gives V the best chance for survival, and the most direct/easy/telegraphed path. I hated experiencing it, but it was definitely the logical culmination of the choices V made.
1) V is rejecting almost all the charachters he knows way of life, so they are lonely. This is also the shortest and most direct transactional path, so its likely V has developed no strong relationships, instead focusing on Arasaka plotlines.

2)Arasaka path is transactional, Arasaka has no particular love/respect for V, so the ending is transactional, its lonely hospitals, cost benefit analyses and contracts.

3)Arasaka honors their end, giving V a job if they leave, Or seeking to aquire V for their use. Signing V to what is essentially a immortal lufe time contract with Arasaka. Offering V the surest safest way to a cure (if you believe them). They already have a method that has worked(on saburo) to solve V's problem, They just need to refine it. Which is in Arasaka's best interest and stated goals anyway. The other endings just have vague possibilities.


I think if you want the hungry self interested corpo who wants to be a king, you transition into the Sun ending. Which leaves you as the leader of a business with power and resources at your disposal. This is the equivalent of a start up.


I will say the three endings, they probably needed to write more wiggle room into them, so each one could house more blurred charachter motivations. They designed them to be very different. And fairly tailored for a very specific motivation. They write a very tiny escape hatch, by having a slightly vague dialogue choice path(motivation wise) in each on path. But the game they designed is very open, so the endings misalign. They should have some exposition(dialogue, events) tied to how each type would react/end up in that ending.

For example there is a "family" motivation for each ending, but they expect everyone seeking that to go nomad. There are some corpo's who choose Arasaka out of loyalty to takemura, or zealous belief in Arasaka, even with the same circumstances, thier perspective/thoughts on it might be different.

All that said, it is cyberpunk, and in cyberpunk corporations are one of the main antagonists, so ending up contractually enslaved to one is not generally going to be presented as a win win scenario
 
All that said, it is cyberpunk, and in cyberpunk corporations are one of the main antagonists, so ending up contractually enslaved to one is not generally going to be presented as a win win scenario
To quote someone ingame :
"What I understood during this war, is that Corpos always win and normal people always lose..."
With all shards and stories (like in "On a Tight Leash", Valentinos attack Arasaka for Arasaka), who could want to comeback in Corpos.
An analogy, for Corpos, V's poor life has as much value as a ranion for the VDB, that is to say none.
For my V, it impossible to choose that (even more in Corpo life's path since V knows how it works) :(

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And that's where I find it's really well written (that's my impression).
Throughout the game Takemura said that help Arasaka is your best chance, the best (only) solution.
And Hanako always addresses V haughtily, except once when she speaks through the proxy. If V tell her that she's there because she's all alone and that she has no other choice. She seems surprised that someone is talking to her like this.
At first glance, it doesn't seem too bad to help Arasaka after all, but if you dig a little deeper, it's a lot less obvious.
 
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