The first choice you’ll make in Cyberpunk 2077 (after difficulty) is your Lifepath. You have literally no experience with the game at this point, so it can be a confusing decision.

Our Cyberpunk 2077 Lifepath guide will introduce you to the three options for V’s Lifepath, explain all Lifepath differences, and what they mean for your character.

Cyberpunk 2077 Lifepath differences explained

V’s Lifepath isn’t about choosing a class or picking out baseline stats. As we mentioned in our beginner’s guide, Cyberpunk 2077 is a role-playing game first, and an action game second. Choosing your Lifepath is where the role-play begins.

The Lifepath you choose doesn’t have any effect on your stats or abilities. All you’re choosing is (your version of) V’s personality and personal history.

Image: CD Projeckt Red via Polygon

You’ll choose between:

• Nomad. “Roaming the Badlands, looting the scrapyards, raiding fuel depots — life on the road wasn’t easy. But growing up in a nomad clan has its perks. Honesty, integrity, and a love of freedom — qualities that few in Night City possess, and no amount of money can buy.”
• Streetkid. “They say if you wanna understand the streets, you gotta live ‘em. Gangs, fixers, dolls, small-time pushers — you were raised by them all. Down here the law of the jungle dictates the weak serve the strong — the only law in Night City you have yet to break.”
• Corpo. “Few leave the corporate world with their lives — fewer still with their souls intact. You’ve been there — you’ve bent the rules, exploited secrets, and weaponized information. There’s no such thing as a fair game, only winners and losers.”

Which Lifepath should you choose in Cyberpunk 2077?

V’s Lifepath doesn’t effect your stats, ability, or even your character, really. Your Lifepath will determine the introductory mission to the game — each path has a different mission: “The Nomad,” “The Streetkid,” and “The Corpo,” respectively. They all result in the same ending —befriending Jackie. Your Lifepath also determines your starting wardrobe and outfit.

After that, you’ll mostly see your Lifepath in conversations. You’ll have Lifepath-related dialogue occasionally that results in additional details or insight. A V with a Nomad background will have more to talk about with a fellow Nomad than a V with the Corpo background, for example.

Each Lifepath also has its own unique side job and a unique item or two:

• The Nomad will be able to retrieve the Nomad starter car that you drove during the prologue in a side job called “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” They’re also able to convince Jackie to modify his motorcycle and, later, drive that modified bike.
• The Streetkid has an option to collect a knockoff “Jimmy Silverham” bomber jacket during a side job called “Small Man, Big Mouth.”
• The Corpo can find a custom Apparition variant of the Kenshin tech pistol during the “War Pigs” side job.

None of the unique items are game-changing, though. And that means that there’s no “best” Lifepath in Cyberpunk 2077. You’re just making your first role-playing choice.