There are five attributes in Cyberpunk 2077: Body, Intelligence, Reflexes, Technical Ability, and Cool. Deciding which one to invest in might cause confusion in the beginning; however, if you understand their functions completely, you can determine the way you play the game clearly and eventually establish a functional and entertaining build.

1. Body

Body determines your raw physical power.

To put it simply, the major point of investing in this attribute is gaining physical features such as strength, health, and endurance. In other words, investing in this attribute would improve your character’s toughness and close combat capabilities in both offensive and defensive ways.

This attribute has three skill trees. The first one is Athletics, which can be levelled up by performing physical actions and exhausting your Stamina bar with melee attacks. The second is Annihilation, which can be levelled up through utilisation of firearms such as shotguns and machine guns. The third and the last one is Street Brawler, which can be levelled up by defeating opponents with melee combat through fists and blunt weapons etc.

Starting from level 3, each level of Body will add 5 health points, 3 stamina points, increase damage with fists and Gorilla Arms by 3, increase damage with Melee weapons by 1.5%, decrease movement penalty by 6% while grabbing an enemy or wielding an HMG or Defender, and increase movement while grappling on and enemy grapple duration by 5 seconds. Apart from these statistics, there are certain doors in the game which can be opened solely through the Body attribute.

As one might guess, body attribute essentially enhances the survivability of the player since it directly changes every dynamic that matters for the hand-to-hand combat. If you are planning to form a build that focuses on aforementioned situations and characteristics, Body would be the best choice for you. With enough points invested in the Body attribute, you can turn your character into a complete badass who can smash anyone. 

Get this attribute if:

• You prefer to play the game aggressively and experience every single bit of the action the game offers.
• You want to be as robust as possible.
• You want to feel every blow you deal on the digitalized world of Cyberpunk 2077.
• You want to open doors by physical force.

2. Intelligence

Intelligence determines your netrunning proficiency.

This attribute is effective in the analysis and manipulation of technological units which can be found all around the open world of Cyberpunk 2077. By investing in it, you will be mainly improving your character’s hacking capabilities.

Considering the setting of the game, the infiltration of technology into everything is inevitable, which increases the role of Intelligence attribute. The conveniences provided by this attribute, therefore, would probably be needed on many occasions throughout the game. There are two skill trees under this attribute which are Breach Protocol and Quickhacking.

While the former can be levelled up by conducting hacking with minigames named Breach Protocol, the latter can be levelled up by the usage of Quickhacking. This attribute is quite suitable to be combined with Engineering or similar skills. Additionally, each level of Intelligence will increase cyberdeck RAM capacity by 4%, quickhack damage by 0.5%, and quickhack duration by 1%.

Investing in the Intelligence attribute is crucial for players who want to establish a build which specialises in hacking and technological manipulation. Yet not only these but also the ability to craft and upgrade weapons and gear is improved through investing points in the Intelligence attribute.

If you want to experience a gameplay in which you are able to hack into enemy cyberware and use their own technology against them or you are able to remain undetected thanks to these hacking skills provided by Intelligence, this attribute is a must for you. As a result, you may become the ultimate hacker dominating the Night City.

Get this attribute if:

• You desire to feel the cyberpunk experience in terms of technology and hacking.
• You want to manipulate enemies and set them against each other.
• You want to improve your character’s efficiency of crafting and upgrading.

3. Reflexes

The Reflexes attribute determines your manoeuvrability.

In general, the Reflexes attribute covers your character’s movement speed, agility, and evasion. By investing in it, the player would make his or her character a fast-paced combatant and significantly enhance the combat effectiveness. 

Each level of Reflexes will increase damage from Mantis Blade by 3% per level, your chance to avoid enemy attacks by 1%, the critical hit chance by 1% and, along with increasing your proficiency with Rifles, Pistols, and Revolvers. There are three skill trees under this attribute which are Blades, Handguns, and Assault. They are levelled up by the usage of sharp melee weapons, pistols/revolvers, and long firearms respectively.

As you can see above, the proficiency offered by the Reflexes attribute is abundant in terms of weapon variety. The investment in this attribute will result in a fast-paced, evasive, close to medium range combatant who is proficient in many weapons. It is quite suitable to be combined with Athletics or similar skills due to their potential to increase mobility in conflict.

To sum up, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that this attribute has the potential to make a combination of Neo and John Wick out of you because you will be able to dodge like one and shoot like the other.

Get this attribute if:

• You want your character to be very good at the usage of a variety of weapons.
• You want to be easily dodging enemy attacks.
• You want to come up with a build capable of fighting in medium to close range, both with weapons and melee.

4. Technical Ability

Technical Ability represents your technical know-how. It allows you to unlock doors and use Tech weapons.

As the official description clearly explains, this attribute is concerned with technical issues eventually making the character significantly competent in crafting and upgrading. Investing in this attribute will provide the player with the ability to open doors, manipulate machines, and avoid security systems.

In order to safely explore the chaotic Night City, the Technical Ability attribute is quite important because of the accessibility it grants to the player. Furthermore, a character with high technical ability is good at crafting and upgrading; therefore, may possess unique gear which cannot even be compared to the ones found on the streets.

Each Technical Ability level increases your Armour by 5%. It also enhances your proficiency with weapons like shotguns and melee weapons. There are two skill trees under this attribute. The first is Crafting, which can be levelled up by crafting and dismantling items. The second is Engineering, which can be levelled up by shooting enemies with Tech type weapons, utilising grenades, and disabling turrets and cameras etc.

This attribute functions well for players who are looking for a gameplay focusing on crafting, upgrading, exploring, mastery of access and invisibility, and utilisation of explosives. By investing in this attribute, you have the potential to experience becoming the top class cybertech and craftsman of the town.

Get this attribute if:

• You want to avoid security systems easily.
• You want to access places and control other machines.
• You want your character to be an expert of crafting and upgrading gear and to possess items that are unique.

5. Cool

Cool determines your resilience, composure, and effectiveness in operating from stealth.

This attribute determines your character’s performability of stealth, calmness in the face of pressure, and resistance against enemy attacks. Just like some of the aforementioned attributes do, the Cool attribute also enhances your chance to survive in combat by increasing your damage reduction. In addition, your proficiency in stealth and assassination is affected positively by this attribute, which provides you with a unique play style.

There are two skill trees under this attribute which are Ninjitsu and Cold Blood. The first one can be levelled up by executing stealth takedowns, remaining undetected during stealthy and sneaky approaches through dumping bodies and defeating enemies without triggering combat. The second can be levelled up by defeating enemies but at least one point in the Cold Blood perk is required.

Besides, each level of the Cool attribute increases critical damage by 2%, all resistances by 1%, stealth damage by 10%, enemy grapple duration by 1 sec while reducing detection speed when you are stealthy by 0.5%. Also, this attribute improves your proficiency with some weapons such as handguns and blades, which are essential in an assassin build.

If you desire to play this game with a character who focuses on assassinations, stealthy approaches, and/or evasion from enemy attacks, you should invest in the Cool attribute. Especially when combined with skills like Athletics, you can reach the ultimate assassin/ninja who defeats his or her enemies in the shadows and dominates the Night City.

Get this attribute if:

• You are looking for a character capable of reducing the taken damage.
• You want to experience a cyber-ninja who fights stealthily.
• You want your character to be proficient in blades and handguns which makes a functional assassin.