The expansions may be world changing events **MAIN STORY SPOILERS**

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Surma.

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When interviewing Mike Ponsmith, he is often referenced with quote "It's not about saving the word - but saving yourself." when referring to Cyberpunk story, but in other interviews he's stated “Cyberpunks don't save the world; they save themselves. If saving the world comes out of that, then that's great.”

This in fact is also prevalent theme on other cyberpunk themed stories like Ghost In the Shell where there's no clear good or bad guys. Things just happen and world changing events are taking place in front of the audience, and these people who we follow have to adapt to the changing world. There is a few key events in cyberpunk movies like Bladerunner that take effect only because key character does something to advance their own desires, when something unexpected happens as a side effect. Sometimes things just happen anyway and the main protagonist is just a passenger who can't alter the changing story.


I wonder if this was potentially considered when creating the original Cyberpunk 2077 story, and the self serving actions of V are in fact causing some chain event that would eventually lead into some sort of world changing event. Even if V's actions personally don't lead to these event's there's some indication of something sinister looming in the horizon.

Now everything following this is a major spoiler so if you haven't played through the story or skipped some side missions, you may not have heard this:

Now what would there need to be saved, or what bigger conflict we may take part on? We already know this:
- There's some shadowy organization running the Night City who has potentially corrupted all the politicians, or at least those who fight it's agenda
- Corporations have been waging war with each other for 50 years
- Gangs are used by corporations to do their dirty business
- Something is causing people have Cyberpsychosis
- Some rumors in Maximum Mike (Mike Pondsmith) radio broadcast talking about factories operating by themselves in Korea and how this whole operation has been hidden in secret, some assumption is that there's some AI that is running things on background
- The AI known as Alt Cunningham gained access to Mikoshi and assimilated the souls inside into herself and throughout the game you get to know it was her goal to gain access there
- In one of the endings there is talks of new corporation war about to start up, so things are potentially heating up after a brief peace

So following V's actions in the end of the game, and assuming that there is some effect which will impact the more larger conflict in the world, I'd be fair to assume that disrupting Arasaka and gaining access to Mikoshi is in the center of all of this. Considering that V already did "save" himself in the end of the game, I doubt the expansions will focus much more in just V trying to save his skin. Of course in the end of all of the expansions we might finally get some way to V save for himself, but I doubt it's going to be enduring narrative that'll expand multiple expansions.


Considering in one of the endings, V was talking with Mr Blue Eyes (who was also responsible on controlling politicians) and was sent into a mission, it's very likely that mind control isn't going away any time soon and the sinister forces are soon to show themselves.

This is Johnny's opinion after done with the Peralez mission about who's behind this whole operation:

I wonder if there's going to be some apocalyptic event taking place where most of the population are going to be "switched on" and basically becoming remote controlled zombies, where V and other non-slaved people fight this entity.


Certainly if you look Witcher 3 expansions there was a bunch of new characters introduced as antagonists. I think one thing for sure is the Casino is going to be coming either by DLC or Expansion and I'd imagine there's some significance in that area. Perhaps it's going to serve as a hub for new quests like Afterlife, where stakes are bigger and you're going to be taking down some more influential people. We've barely heard from other companies than Arasaka and Militech, even though there must be numerous other corporations providing military gear. Will we be gaining access to lets say Kiroshi Optics cyberware manufacturing facility to disrupt the production of new prototype of cyberwear?

What new enemies are we going to face? If it was indeed some larger scale war, we could see more futuristic weaponry, tanks bipedal mecs, flying aircraft carriers similar to what we see in Avengers?

If it's AI take over we might see some androids which bleed while liquid as they're killed, who could be ultra accurate killers who are really hard to take down just by going guns blazing.

What type of new enemies might we see? Where would the story take us?
 
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I was listening some PS4 review from just couple days ago when I heard this statement:

I never heard the full quote, and I've only heard Mike Ponsmith being referenced by saying "It's not about saving the word - but saving yourself.", but in other interviews he's stated “Cyberpunks don't save the world; they save themselves. If saving the world comes out of that, then that's great.”


I wonder if this was potentially considered when creating the original Cyberpunk 2077 story, and the actions of V taking in Night City are in fact causing some chain event that would eventually save the world as side effect.

Now what would there need to be saved? We already know this:
- There's some shadowy organization running the Night City
- Corporations have been waging war with each other for 50 years
- Something is causing people have Cyberpsychosis
- Some rumors in Maximum Mike (Mike Pondsmith) radio broadcast talking about factories operating by themselves in Korea and how this whole operation has been hidden in secret
- The AI known as Alt Cunningham gained access to Mikoshi and assimilated the souls inside into herself and throughout the game you get to know it was kinda her goal all along to gain access there

So following V's actions in the end of the game, and assuming that there is some effect which will impact the more larger conflict in the world, I'd be fair to assume Mikoshi is in the center of all of this. Considering that V already did save himself in the end of the game, I don't think it's likely the expansions will focus too much more in just V trying to save his skin.

Would V's self-interested actions lead to more massive power shift in the City or the world or is there going to be something completely different entirely, and what would it be?

I think the expansions will focus on some sort of AI takeover based on earlier clues, which might end saving the world in process. Or at least give V chance to fight for something that matters the larger picture of the world.

Considering in one of the endings, V was talking with Mr Blue Eyes and was sent into a mission, kinda give it away that there's some sort of zombification going on with the population. Mind Control has been some of the scary ideas thrown in the background of some of the side missions, and even Arasaka has long studied it.

I wonder if there's going to be some apocalyptic event taking place where most of the population are going to be switched to fight V and other free thinkers as you're trying to gain access to the main computer that is controlling all of the people with help of your chosen allies, or would it just be too similar to the main game story?


What do you think? Are they going to make expansions less about V and more about the world?
You already avoided a 5th Corpo war in all endings except 1 and in the rest you grant immortality for the rich or not...doesn't seem bad for a Monday,but people seems to forget that couple of "minor" details. It seems to me, that they already implemented Pondsmith quote about saving the world if possible.
 
You already avoided a 5th Corpo war in all endings except 1 and in the rest you grant immortality for the rich or not...doesn't seem bad for a Monday,but people seems to forget that couple of "minor" details. It seems to me, that they already implemented Pondsmith quote about saving the world if possible.
Also this:
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Somehow really don't see V as a hero, or even 'accidental' hero archetype to set any significant chain of events. Night City is the main character to me. Everything else is just a part of that ecosystem, the product.
Aaand, honestly, there are so many stories about saving the World..
Would really like to see the world that does not need "saving".
:shrug:
 

"THE EXPANSIONS COULD BE ABOUT SAVING THE WORLD..."

Am more expecting and hoping for expansions consisting out of extra (rich) neighbourhoods, like Beverly Hills with lots of villas, or flashbacks of Pacifica in it's sprouting days, or a new story with the Bakkers, or
how Laguna Bend got flooded,
or fill-ups of current neighbourhoods. Would also love for an Airport. I mean, how can such a grand metropolis be without an airport?
 
Would also love for an Airport. I mean, how can such a grand metropolis be without an airport?
I don't know too well the world background, but for me and with what I heard/see/read, airplane seem to be quite risky for common people (possible war in NUSA for example). I think this is not the safest way to travel.

And save the world ?
No, there is nothing to save and most of poeple don't want to change it (Goro&V's words).
 
I don't know too well the world background, but for me and with what I heard/see/read, airplane seem to be quite risky for common people (possible war in NUSA for example). I think this is not the safest way to travel.

And save the world ?
No, there is nothing to save and most of poeple don't want to change it (Goro&V's words).
Guess all those VTOL vehicles make an airport pretty much absolute. But, if you wanna make your city count, you should make connections with the rest of the world. For that, it's necessary to have an airport, assuming VTOL capability was invented later, and some countries haven't mastered it yet. Besides, NC already has a launchpad to outer space, so why not an airport?
 
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Guess all those VTOL vehicles make an airport pretty much absolute. but, if you wanna make your city count, you should make connections with the rest of the world. For that, it's necessary to have an airport, presuming VTOL capability was invented later, and some countries haven't mastered it yet. Besides, NC already has a launchpad to outer space, so why not an airport?
Like I said, I didn't know too much the world background.
But i could said "money".
Rich people already have their own AV, their own transport system (safe). Airport is usually for "common" poeple.
Honestly, I could be wrong :)

(the price for have a "simple" dog is already prohibitive... so taking a plane for a "vacation"... I don't see that very well for the basic people of Night City)
 
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Oh yes fantastic because the setting was not ruined enough. Let's make a save the world scenario in a setting that makes of his own brand "Cyberpunk is not about saving the world but save yourself"..

What's next?

Mobile suit Gundam?
 
What do you think? Are they going to make expansions less about V and more about the world?
I personally think that the story of V is done. Given the different amount of endings there is, I see it as being quite difficult to make a story that would fit them all. Then again, the current story is not really about V anyway, you are more a placeholder for Silverhand. V as a character have basically nothing to do with Adam Smasher and really no reason to hate him.

I have no idea where potential expansions might go, but I hope they will be more open and free roaming where players can developer their own character as they see fit, so we can have more of an RPG.
 
I personally think that the story of V is done. Given the different amount of endings there is, I see it as being quite difficult to make a story that would fit them all. Then again, the current story is not really about V anyway, you are more a placeholder for Silverhand. V as a character have basically nothing to do with Adam Smasher and really no reason to hate him.

I have no idea where potential expansions might go, but I hope they will be more open and free roaming where players can developer their own character as they see fit, so we can have more of an RPG.

why would you think Adam smasher was supposed to be important as a charachter? He is barely developed. The story is only about silverhand if you make it so. star and devil paths aren't focused on him
 
why would you think Adam smasher was supposed to be important as a charachter? He is barely developed. The story is only about silverhand if you make it so. star and devil paths aren't focused on him
Maybe it was just the ending I got, but as I saw it, Adam smasher is the end boss, at least from Silverhand's perspective he is sort of important in completing his revenge cycle or what to say.
And agree Smasher is not well developed as a bad guy, personally I didn't care about him at all, I think I "interacted" with him one/two times in my whole playthrough, looking at it from the perspective of V, meaning I saw him in some of the scripted events.
 
Maybe it was just the ending I got, but as I saw it, Adam smasher is the end boss, at least from Silverhand's perspective he is sort of important in completing his revenge cycle or what to say.
And agree Smasher is not well developed as a bad guy, personally I didn't care about him at all, I think I "interacted" with him one/two times in my whole playthrough, looking at it from the perspective of V, meaning I saw him in some of the scripted events.
This as tabletop "fan"-i dont forget the cyberpunk 3.0...- is something that I noticed in CP2077, it assumes some pre-reading of the characters and the lore (even if there is a big amount of info in-game). Smasher has a well established story,but I would not call him a "primary antagonist" really its why I guess he is not that elaborated.
Gamewise, I was a bit dissapointed that they went with the boss system but is gaming convention I guess...but I found more challenging Oda than Smasher( i guess it depends on your pace on character progression and playstyle).
 
This as tabletop "fan"-i dont forget the cyberpunk 3.0...- is something that I noticed in CP2077, it assumes some pre-reading of the characters and the lore (even if there is a big amount of info in-game). Smasher has a well established story,but I would not call him a "primary antagonist" really its why I guess he is not that elaborated.
Gamewise, I was a bit dissapointed that they went with the boss system but is gaming convention I guess...but I found more challenging Oda than Smasher( i guess it depends on your pace on character progression and playstyle).
Adam Smasher as a bad guy could easily have worked in my opinion. My problem with him during my playthrough at least, which obviously might be because how I chose to approach the game, which was that I mixed a lot between a large number of side content vs main quests. And because of that, there would be hours of gameplay between me even thinking about him, because the stuff you do, have no connection to him at all. So when I finally reached him and had to fight him, i honestly didn't care. And it didn't help that, Rogue I think it was (the girl from the bar), didn't care either, even though that Silverhand want revenge for her or something, but she tells you straight up that it has nothing to do with Smasher, so none of the characters were really invested in him.

If they wanted Smasher as a bad guy, they should have made him kill some of the characters you cared about or do stuff that would make you care.

But everything starts with you screwing with the Araska, and Smasher is hired by them to protect them, so obviously he is doing that when V shows up and starts killing people and stealing things. But that doesn't exactly make him a bad guy. :)

So it just weren't set up very well, if they wanted him to take on the role as the big bad boss that you have to deal with, but again, maybe it works better for those that focused on the main story a lot more. But for me, it didn't work at all.
 
But that doesn't exactly make him a bad guy
He is a bad guy.
During "Chippin' In", you can see and read some informations.
He threatens a guy from Militech (not sure, but it's a Corpo guy) by saying that if he does not cooperate, he will kill his wife in one hour... One hour later, he said to Grayson to kills her without any qualms...
Smasher : "I knew it wouldn't work"
Grayson : "What about the woman ?"
Smasher : "You kill her"

Yes, he is a "simple" bodyguard, but without mercy... A legend of Night City, but of the "trash" kind as Jackie says :)
 
Adam Smasher as a bad guy could easily have worked in my opinion. My problem with him during my playthrough at least, which obviously might be because how I chose to approach the game, which was that I mixed a lot between a large number of side content vs main quests. And because of that, there would be hours of gameplay between me even thinking about him, because the stuff you do, have no connection to him at all. So when I finally reached him and had to fight him, i honestly didn't care. And it didn't help that, Rogue I think it was (the girl from the bar), didn't care either, even though that Silverhand want revenge for her or something, but she tells you straight up that it has nothing to do with Smasher, so none of the characters were really invested in him.

If they wanted Smasher as a bad guy, they should have made him kill some of the characters you cared about or do stuff that would make you care.

But everything starts with you screwing with the Araska, and Smasher is hired by them to protect them, so obviously he is doing that when V shows up and starts killing people and stealing things. But that doesn't exactly make him a bad guy. :)

So it just weren't set up very well, if they wanted him to take on the role as the big bad boss that you have to deal with, but again, maybe it works better for those that focused on the main story a lot more. But for me, it didn't work at all.
I see your point, that if you don´t really "invest yourself" in the story a lot or you didn´t like the story (perfectly legit), you more or less "forget" Smasher.
But my point of view is a little bit different: in Cyberpunk all characters are morally ambiguous (I mean,V for all standards is a criminal).
Smasher himself is not a bad guy, its just "bad" by association with Yorinobu and since V cannot ally with Yorinobu then Smasher is "bad" (nothing personal Adam). What Yorinobu tried to do for me is good, but unfortunately V crossed paths and you can end up doing something "bad" or "good" depending on your ending decision (and in both you deal with Smasher in the same way, but the outcome is different).
He threatens a guy from Militech (not sure, but it's a Corpo guy) by saying that if he does not cooperate, he will kill his wife in one hour... One hour later, he said to Grayson to kills her without any qualms...
Smasher : "I knew it wouldn't work"
Grayson : "What about the woman ?"
Smasher : "You kill her"
This seems like a normal workday for a Corpo guy..., Smasher probably enjoys it a little bit more than the average but nothing else.
 
But my point of view is a little bit different: in Cyberpunk all characters are morally ambiguous (I mean,V for all standards is a criminal).
Smasher himself is not a bad guy, its just "bad" by association with Yorinobu and since V cannot ally with Yorinobu then Smasher is "bad" (nothing personal Adam). What Yorinobu tried to do for me is good, but unfortunately V crossed paths and you can end up doing something "bad" or "good" depending on your ending decision (and in both you deal with Smasher in the same way, but the outcome is different).
I agree, yep in Night City nothing is full white or full black. All seems to be greyish :)
(that's really good)
Adam like that maybe a bit more than "basic" corpo guy (to the tone of his voice in the audio recording).
But hey, he's not more bad than Araska guys who want to kill you and Goro at the start :)
 
I agree, yep in Night City nothing is full white or full black. All seems to be greyish :)
(that's really good)
Adam like that maybe a bit more than "basic" corpo guy (to the tone of his voice in the audio recording).
But hey, he's not more bad than Araska guys who want to kill you and Goro at the start :)
Goro is another example of "good"/"bad" not well defined. When he 1st meets V I don't think he wanted to invite you to a tea cerimony but circumstances forced to cooperate, then later the player can decide in a couple of ways how he ends.
 
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