In the gameplay reel of weapons shown off during the stream, CDPR introduce the various kinds of ranged and melee options available. For guns, Cyberpunk 2077 has Power Weapons, Tech Weapons, and Smart Weapons. Power Weapons are the closest to contemporary guns, says senior gameplay designer Paweł Kapała during the livestream. Aside from the fact that they can ricochet bullets to hit enemies around corners and cover, that is. Tech Weapons are beasts that propel solid metal projectiles that tear through walls as well as enemies. Smart Weapons have guided missile tech that can track targets—good for those of us RPG players who are more comfortable with sabers than sights I hope. Beyond the guns, V will also be able to carry melee weapons like katanas and cyberware like the mantis arms. Today’s weapon video also shows off some super-strong Gorilla Arms as well. It’s a pretty wide selection of options, before even digging into the different in-world weapon manufacturers, Legendary Weapons, and the various software modifications that can be made. I have no doubt at all that I’ll find a favourite. In an interview with our corpo siblings at VG24/7, Kapała says that they are hoping to encourage players like me to change things up. “We have so many weapons that we don’t want the player to kind of spend their entire game using only one,” Kapała says. “And what you have to also know is that some legendaries will have—I wouldn’t say drawbacks, but will behave in a certain way. And we expect players to pick and choose their favourite guns, and some of those guns will not fit your playstyle. And we’re completely okay with that, because, again, we’re making an RPG, so this is part of the choices that you want to make.” Beyond quirks of the weapons themselves, situations will call for finding comfort with both ranged and melee weapon types. “If you take out a katana, and the encounter, for example, has two snipers, they will not oblige you. They will still shoot at you with their sniper rifles,” says Kapała. “Yes, it’s technically possible to run around everywhere with a katana. However, if you see a helicopter, would you charge at it with a knife? I don’t think so. It might not be a very good strategy.” There’s quite a lot more in the interview above, along with the livestream itself. Kapała talks about how weapons are distributed as quest rewards, how RPG progression for weapon proficiency works, and how CDPR are working to make melee weapons feel just right in an FPS game. CDPR also gave us a new look at V’s three Lifepaths in this livestream. During the first Night City Wire, CDPR showed off Braindances, the brain-hacking investigations, and announced the anime spinoff series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Cyberpunk 2077 is planned for release on November 19th.
