Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is set to redeem CD Projekt RED’s latest game with one of the largest expansions we have ever seen. While we have gotten glimpses of it, developers have revealed several exciting bits about the new in-game content, detailing new features.
While Phantom Liberty is known to be focused on bringing in new combat mechanics, one should also expect a new vehicular combat system, the perk redesign, and the police AI revamp (including Maxtac fights). The additions include a new Relic Skill Tree and the new district “Dogtown”, exclusive to the expansion.
However, moving on to the more interesting bits revealed in the recent dev stream, here is how the game will shift towards improving combat mechanics combined with the Relic Skill Tree. Credits to the Reddit user u/DrunkLad for compiling the information from the stream:
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Relic Points will be scattered around Dogtown in unmarked locations for the player to explore.
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The more you fight, there’s an Adrenaline mechanic that gives you momentary buffs (they mentioned extra health) and special abilities. The more people you apply your abilities to, the more health you regain.
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There will be perks in the Tech Tree that allow you to push your cyberware limit (called Edgerunner). But if you go above that limit, you get into “fury mode” where your health lowers, but if you combine it with the Adrenaline mechanic, you can keep going as long as you are aggressive and keep fighting.
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The aforementioned “fury state” will not make you lose control of your character, so it’s not full cyberpsychosis.
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You will be able to target the cyberware of enemies and it’ll work as a weak point for enemies. Destroying the cyberware will have an AOE-like explosion.
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Monowire will be able to apply and spread quickhacks via attacks.
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Optical Camo will have an upgrade that pulls you back to where you enabled it.
The above-mentioned changes prove that the expansion will focus on making the combat experience much better. Moreover, skirmishes with the police will now be much more involved, thanks to police AI mechanics having been vastly bumped up, allowing them to give you a much more complex combat experience.
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Police will chase you and if they lose you they will keep searching for you around the area. There will be icons on the minimap of where the police is and the area they’re searching.
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MaxTac comes down via AVs
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Police can hack and disable your car if you try to escape.
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MaxTac can hack and reveal your location if they lose you.
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MaxTac’s minimum difficulty is Hard, even if you have the game on Easy.
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Police can have different tactics, such as trying to T-bone you or set up roadblocks.
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You can run away from the police, but it’s more difficult than the current iteration, especially as you gather more stars. Police responsiveness will depend on which district you are.
- Dogtown will have the Barghest instead of the Police; in the Badlands, it will be Militech.
The opportunity to acquire new cars has also expanded significantly, as the developers have revealed that they have extensively worked on bringing new “Car Gigs” with the new expansion. Here are the changes in Car Gigs you can expect in Phantom Liberty:
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Muamar will contact you when you enter Dogtown and assign you the task of grabbing cars from around Dogtown and NC and you have to bring them back to a garage.
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Other gangs will be fighting you for the cars with vehicles.
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Through these Car Gigs, you can unlock new cars and gun-mounted vehicles.
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Some cars you must follow, others you must get via fighting other gangs, others are time-sensitive.
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You have to lose your tail (gangs or police) before you deliver the car.
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Muamar will comment on the car’s condition if it’s a wreck by the time you deliver it.
Phantom Liberty could be pivotal for the revival of the franchise. Moreover, with the inclusion of DLSS 3.5, the quality of ray tracing will be much higher, allowing RTX users to experience the expansion at its fullest. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty launches on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 on September 26.
News Source: u/DrunkLad
