V isn't a good guy...

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Not necesarily, the story does not revolve around a certain V, there is no ''main V'' or so to speak which is what I think this whole thread is ultimately about.

There are a few archetipes that can be combined to create a personalized V in the end, or so I experienced during my multiple playthroughs.
Agree, obviously, the story have nothing to do with how V could be :)
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In my first post I didn't ignore the story at all.
My previous V, I would say nothing or almost.
All of the quests and GIGs were completed without been detected, so no one was able to see my V in any way. She never got a single NCPD bounty during the whole game and I don't remember that she killed anyone. All the enemies were knocked out, She even spare Nash, Sasquatch (gave up her 15K eddies bounty), Woodman or the XBD family. All the targets were knocked out and put in the fixer's car trunck, so at best, a bounty hunter.
So no, maybe not the best NC citizen, but definitely not a "bad girl", a criminal or a hitman :)
And to take the opposite example, always with following the story :
A street Kid V, who have for only objective to be a legend and for whom all nothing else matters :
- She will kill and destroy without any pity whoever gets in her way.
- She will complete all the quests/GIGs/objectives, weapon on her hand and she will let a whole lot of deads behind her. Stealth and discuss are for the weaks !
- She won't bother about romances or friendships.
- She'll care about characters (Johnny included), not because she'll appreciate them, but only because they could be usefull at some point to reach her goal.
To take a quote from Jack on Mass Effect : "More people die, more my survival chances increase"

So no need to ignore the story to have a "good", "bad" or "greyish" V :)
 
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Agree, obviously, the story have nothing to do with how V could be :)
There's also an argument that one's able to play a V that has nothing to do with the story at all, which I think the post that reacted to mine suggested.

It's not entirely true when it comes to the subjective terms relaied by the game lore.

But indeed you can play precisely into the V suggested by the story, or you can play your own V within the mechanics provided which can be reflected through the narrative of the game itself, more or less, there are insrances which the narrative doesn't cover for as in, mass murder and grand theft auto for example...
 
But indeed you can play precisely into the V suggested by the story, or you can play your own V within the mechanics provided which can be reflected through the narrative of the game itself, more or less, there are insrances which the narrative doesn't cover for as in, mass murder and grand theft auto for example...
Anyway I believe the story let enough liberty for playing very different V.
I watched easily a twenty "let's play" and in each one, the story itself remains pretty similar for sure, but players "played" with their own vision how V could do or react at different situations.
There are players who searched to be discret, to discuss or to be "good" as much as possible to resolve situations. When others, to summarize, simply opened the door and throw a grenade without asking any question (and without pity) :D
 
There's also an argument that one's able to play a V that has nothing to do with the story at all, which I think the post that reacted to mine suggested.

It's not entirely true when it comes to the subjective terms relaied by the game lore.
Correct on both counts.
 
I tried the tranquilizer darts. Didn't seem to work. I though it was just my bad luck, and then I read something about the tranq darts being nerfed sometime back, so that they no longer take out cyberpsychos. That's disappointing.
The TDarts are nerfed but not the Electric Stun Baton I disabled all Cyberpyschos with mine successfully.
 
I play mostly good guy, spare as much as I can guards and other not so clearly bad guys. I do kill bad guys with prejudice, especially Maelstrom and scavvers, but those deserve it. Clearly justified given V's vigilante role. Even then, if you do all the gigs as they supposed to some leave a bad taste. A few are outright hits. Codename V-47. You can still refuse to do the dirty work, but then you won't complete the gig and with the new system that has new ones opening only if you complete previous ones, well...
The cutscene between meeting Jackie and saving Sandra Dorsett shows V and Jackie as a pair of low-lifes. But they could also be in that gray area just doing gigs for fixers.
OTOH, V is sort of a bounty hunter doing all those NCPD assaults, so that's a point in favor. Anyway, this is just a philosophical discussion :think:

Oh and I forgot to mention, crossing red lights and jay-walking 8*D
Normally I play like you, but this time around decided to play a "Stone Blooded Killer" to test whether the nonlethal aspect of the game has any meaning story wise, or simply an ethical option. So far, am inclined to say that it just serves as an option for the player to not have to kill anyone and complete the story, then to get a different ending or extra dialog options or loot, SC, etc.

Having said that, in the op with Hanako if you didn't kill anyone, she does mention that, but nothing else is different after. So it's totally up to the player. Good or evil, killer or nonkiller, it doesn't matter for the story.
 
Normally I play like you, but this time around decided to play a "Stone Blooded Killer" to test whether the nonlethal aspect of the game has any meaning story wise, or simply an ethical option. So far, am inclined to say that it just serves as an option for the player to not have to kill anyone and complete the story, then to get a different ending or extra dialog options or loot, SC, etc.

Having said that, in the op with Hanako if you didn't kill anyone, she does mention that, but nothing else is different after. So it's totally up to the player. Good or evil, killer or nonkiller, it doesn't matter for the story.

To my knowledge the only "story" implications or really more "Quest outcome" that are actually changed depending on lethal or non-lethal is Depending on how you got the Bot from Maelstrom and who survived that encounter it can change a side mission later on. And then of course there are the cyberpsychos keeping them all alive does net a better reward as well as dialogue with Regina.

Everything else is just some extra dialogue or "flavor" it doesn't actually mean anything. For example, you can save the Monk without killing anyone and he thanks you for it, but if you kill them, you still pass it just changes his response a little, and it never really comes up again, the post mission conversation with johnny is a little different too but that's about it. There are a bunch of small changes to individual quests like that,or doing stuff in a different order can change things slightly but most of it is Inconsequential.

Like the Russian fixer that Regina needs you to rob, I forget his name right now, if you do that gig before the heist AND you kill him, he obviously won't appear in Konpeki Plaza. So, there are some small details sprinkled around based on how you play it. But there are 0 major main story implications and no change to the endings. But rumor has it that some changes to the possible endings may be coming with the expansion, I doubt kill count will have any effect on that, but maybe keeping certain specific people alive will play into it. Kinda like how if you save Takemura he is in the Devil ending but if you don't its slightly different, but still mostly the same. Honestly that's all just rumor at this point so who knows. :shrug:
 
What would be best way to knockout those cyberpsychos without guns? I’d like to try to beat them by being stealth, but nope, not gonna happen with my stealth skills :)
1 remember it's only the final damage that has to be non lethal.

So if you can't sneak up. Get them to about 2/3 down.

Use some quick hacks to stop their movement, take their gun, make them blind. Then go up and hit them over the head with a blunt weapon.



As far as good guys vs bad guys. Is there anybody in night city that is an actual good guy.

Over all I think it's pretty easy to have V be a goodish guy.
 
What would be best way to knockout those cyberpsychos without guns? I’d like to try to beat them by being stealth, but nope, not gonna happen with my stealth skills :)
If you are spec'ed to it, hack them with advanced and upgraded versions of short circuit or the fire hack.
I was able to take down many with just one or 2 hacks at some point.
Alternatively (which for some reason didnt work on the badlands cyberpsycho) fenrir and let them burn to non-death
 
There are :)
Just three to not make a long list :
Jefferson Peralez seem to be a "good" guy. Misty and Mama Wells are obviously good soul too.
Haven't went all the way through Jefferson's quest yet, but as for Misty and Mama Wells One can't say they are completly good considering their tolerance of bad guys in their lives. But I would have to say Misty is a little sweet heart.
 
Haven't went all the way through Jefferson's quest yet, but as for Misty and Mama Wells One can't say they are completly good considering their tolerance of bad guys in their lives. But I would have to say Misty is a little sweet heart.
River is also a good guy (and Kerry too) :)
 
Rules, as are known today, are different in 2077's NC, i.e. the threshold to consider something criminal is much higher in the setup of Cyberpunk 2077, looking at some things. Other things might be upside down or otherwise misplaced. It gets back to what it means to live in NC in 2077. Judged by the moral compass of the present, of course, it's a repulsive criminal den. It is the context in which V operates, however, and by which V should be and is judged in-game.
 
Tree_Fox hit the nail on the head although a little too succinctly for my taste.

The cyberpunk genre is intentionally morally ambiguous. There are no heroes or villains, or even a clear definition of right or wrong. You do what you have to to survive. Survive what? For the protagonist of any good cyberpunk story, it's usually something so incredibly inevitable that it seems almost futile to try to save themselves from it, which is usually an exaggerated example of the futility of life in general for any dweller of a cyberpunk dystopia, often used as the motivating/driving force for the primary narrative but also doubling as an epitome of life in that world in general. Whether you come from the top or the bottom, you are trapped by something that will more often than not inspire your choices for you, which puts a serious question mark to the freedom to choose in general.

In other words, it's not a story about right and wrong. It's a story about navigating a world in which choices are often made for you, and just this once, you're going to make one for yourself. As a subgenre of science fiction, it also serves to pose a question that sci-fi generally doesn't. Where most sci-fi poses technological answers to modern problems, cyberpunk presents technological dangers and curveballs. Sure, it's super convenient to have a chip in your hand that you swipe over the scanner at the supermarket to pay for your groceries. Oh, except did you just write a hypercritical blog about Arasaka? Not only are your funds not currently available, but that chip is telling them exactly where you are.

This game introduces V primarily as a character who is interested in doing good things, via the quest The Rescue. He/she is clearly interested in the welfare of their subject, whether the motivation is Eddies, legitimate concern, or both, it doesn't matter. The game doesn't introduce V with a raid on a police precinct or a bank heist, it introduces V as someone who rescues people for a living. In my mind, this kinda sets the tone of V's character. And that's enough for me to conclude that V is a pretty decent person overall. But a hero? No. V is never presented as one; V never tries to be one; and V never becomes one.
 
If you look at it you start as nobody, either a street kid or outcast from your past life. Together with another no-name guy you do simple gigs for fixers. Stealing, killing and so on. But then a bigger fixer that failed at being a fixer is brought back from grave by a no-name doll, that either due to her personal greed or just being totally naive wants to double-cross VooDoo boys and steal from Arasaka. Even in Watson you can find bodies of those that tried to steal much lesser things from Arasaka. Dex as a fixer lost his position and hopes to come back with this gig just like two younglings trying to do the heist. Naive sheeps lead by a double-crossing doll. Kill, steal and do whatever it takes to be "someone".

And post heist you meet Panam which has like $3000 fine on her, not to mention you can find Aldecaldos in the city that have big criminal fines as well. Not to mention our good and friendly Aldecaldos from the camp, so desperate that they can even go and trade/work for Skavs.

Or Rogue, a fixer that made a deal with the devil to survive, selling all who was left from Atlantis and so on. Or other fixers that give you kill quests, some quite similar to corpo lifepath starting one. Not to mention Wakako selling Evelyn to Skavs as well.

NC is the epitome of society collapse where there is no morality, virtues, order.
 
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