Most players will find that the first side gig they ever get in Cyberpunk 2077 is the questline called "Beat the Brat." It's a major side gig and not just a one-and-done, involving a challenge for V to fight opponents of increasing difficulties throughout Night City. Coach Fred warns V that the enemies aren't pushovers and he is not lying. Without the right tactics, setup, and build, V is going to be in a world of pain.

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Those who are on the Very Hard difficulty might think this challenge is too much to bear and be tempted to turn things down. But remember that harder difficulties mean more experience in Cyberpunk 2077. Even Easy mode players will want to consider turning it up for this just to get the extra leveling in. The first few entries will focus on general strategies, but gamers who are feeling confident will find the locations of these fights and how to handle each one as points five through one.

Updated on September 27th, 2023 by Hodey Johns: Welcome to the hardest gig in the game, side gig or otherwise. The Beat the Brat mission is one of the first available after the semi-tutorial yet it can easily be failed by players who have fully cleared everything else in Night City. Lacking the right strategy and a particular build, it can be impossible for even veteran players to achieve victory during one or more of the gigs. The Phantom Liberty expansion and update 2.0 have changed the way this fight can be approached (for example, the blunt weapon exploit no longer works). This mission is doable in the current patch and this guide has been updated to show how victory can be achieved.

How To Cheese The Fights

Cyberpunk 2077 Beat The Brat Fighter Stuck In T Pose
  1. Fight close to the edge of the fighting area
  2. Sidestep an attack.
  3. Get behind the attacker and use a strong melee attack to stagger them outside of the area.
  4. Physically stand in front of the opponent to prevent them from getting back into the ring.

If players are looking for a fair fight with even odds, then they shouldn't be living in Night City. The very first fight in the mission is stacked against V in a very obvious way using a very stupid technicality. So don't play by the rules. Players are loving the 2.0 patch and, thankfully, this exploit hasn't been fixed.

In all of these fights, the opponents can't use their moves outside of the fighting area. Stand on the edge and notice how they will stop in place. Go just close enough so that the fighter will charge in. Then move behind the target and strong attack them so they stumble outside of the area where they are comfortable. Their script tells them to get back to the main area and they will not fight until they do so. Block their path and they will be stuck either running in place or in a T pose, allowing V to win the fights easily.

Equip The Gorilla Arms

Cyberpunk 2077 Opening Door With Gorilla Arms
  • Buy the Gorilla Arms from a Ripperdoc.
    • Tier 5 (highest) costs $35,450 and requires 45 street cred.
  • Beating the game automatically yields the Gorilla Arms when loading back in.

With conventional means, weapons have essentially been eliminated from use in these contests. Other arms weapons like the Mantis Blades and Monowire have been appropriately disabled but the Gorilla Arms are not. The Gorilla Arms are a huge magnitude better than regular unarmed strikes, especially with the game's best perks for every build.

The most important part of the Gorilla Arms is that they do so much blunt damage (varies based on weapon rarity and perks). Plus, the attack speed is over two times faster than regular punches. Many players report needing to get off hundreds of regular punches to defeat some of these fighters so just imagine how handy these can be. After getting enough regular punches off, the Gorilla Arms charge up a strong attack that deals vastly more damage than an average strong attack.

Use Consumables

Cyberpunk 2077 Health Booster Description In Inventory Menu

Take some consumables before the battle begins and keep 100% of the benefits. There are some consumables that all V builds should have on their person at all times. The best choices are ones that increase V's max health, health regeneration, and stamina regeneration.

On the hardest settings, stamina can be an obstacle and these fistfights can be prolonged, so this is a good opportunity to make use of stamina-boosting consumables. There is little worse than losing a fight because of a lack of energy at the very end. Win these fights with consumables, then collect the cash and get back to buying cars.

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Comeback Kid Perk
  • Painkiller
  • Comeback Kid
  • Wrecking Ball
  • Breakthrough
  • Kinetic Absorption

It's hard to justify an entire respec just for one mission but many players find themselves doing exactly that. Those who really want to win this gig without cheesing the fights may feel they have to respec. If so, make it count and go heavy in the Body skill branch.

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Note that after some testing for the Phantom Liberty expansion, the Gorilla Arms do indeed count as a melee weapon for the purposes of using skills like Wrecking Ball and Quake. And they are still good for use in the Beat the Brat gig. So embrace this advantage and get back to discovering Phantom Liberty's multiple endings.

Ideal Cyberware Enhancements

Cyberpunk 2077 Legendary Subdermal Armor In Purchase Menu

It's not a good idea to go broke just for this side gig. There is usually not enough money for the game's cars with a 100% completion, so spending eddies for a single gig isn't smart. Thankfully, most of these can be found or lower-quality versions can be sold for cheaper prices.

  • Biomonitor: Restores health every few minutes when life gets below 15%.
  • Blood Pump: Activate to instantly restore health.
  • Second Heart: Restores V to full health after taking fatal damage.
  • Syn-Lungs: Increases stamina regen.
  • Cataresist: Increases all resistances (including physical resistance).
  • Pain Editor: Reduces all incoming damage by 10%.
  • Biodyne berserk: Activate to increase melee damage and all resistances (including physical resistance).
  • Bionic Lungs: Increases stamina.

Armor isn't listed here because armor does not reduce melee damage. All the damage taken in this mission is going to be from melee sources, so it's not effective. Going through the Phantom Liberty mission list will yield some more mod choices, but these should be enough to win the fights.

Kabuki Location

Cyberpunk 2077 Beat The Brat Kabuki Location On Map
  • Sidestep so that one twin is always in between the other.
  • Both twins are vulnerable when their arms are outstretched to the side.

By lining up the combatants so that one is in front of the other, V only has to fight one at a time, so keep strafing left and right to make this a battle of two separate one-on-ones. Fists are hardly iconic melee weapons but since this is the first fight, it won't take too many hits to achieve victory.

Cyberpunk 2077 Kabuki Twins Fight Lining Them Up

The twins have the same moves, so don't worry about which is which. If they flip places, accept it, and keep going; lining them up feels like a one-on-one anyway, so taking out one first isn't important. They also have a very obvious tell for when they are vulnerable. When they spread both their arms out to the side in a related t-pose, stop blocking and give them some swift hits.

Arroyo Location

Cyberpunk 2077 Beat The Brat Arroyo Location On Map
  • Do not block strong attacks during this fight.
  • Dodge when Buck punches and counter while he's recovering.
  • Time out strong punches to land just as Buck recovers.

Do not try to block Buck's strong strikes, as his powerful punches will go straight through. His biggest weakness is dodging because he's very slow in his recovery and easily staggered. Dodge when he throws a hit and unleash a flurry of strikes to whittle him down.

Cyberpunk 2077 Beat The Brat Buck Getting Staggered

Some crafty players have discovered that Buck has a very severe weakness to exploit. When he is staggered, he will always go back to blocking after exiting the stagger. This enables him to be looped eternally with heavy punches that will stagger him with each blow. Charge up a heavy hit, release it when he blocks, charge up another, and when he finishes staggering and returns to blocking, let it loose. Repeat this until it is over.

The Glen Location

Cyberpunk 2077 Beat The Brat Glen Location On Map
  • Wait to dodge until after Cesar dashes, then strike a few quick times afterward.
  • Trigger Cesar's dashes by running away from him.

If V is flat-footed, Cesar can be the hardest of the fight in the Beat the Brat series because of his signature attack that hits like a ton of bricks. He'll pump his fists to his side, dash two or three times, and then jump in the air to deliver a punch. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to spot and dodge after seeing it a few times and he's got no variety, so dodge this attack and then deliver a haymaker each time until it's done.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Beat The Brat Cesar Throwing Punch In Midair

It is tempting to see how many punches V can get in after this dodge maneuver, but cut off the assault at three punches and run away. Backing off will trigger his signature move, but this move is his greatest weakness. In a straight-up fight, V will take damage too quickly but keeping Cesar dashing and then dodging will be an easy win.

Rancho Coronado Location

Cyberpunk 2077 Beat The Brat Rhino Location On Map
  • Dodge and counterattack Rhino's wind-up.
  • Use the Double Jump mod to leap over her attacks.
  • Use strong melee attacks when Rhino blocks.

The champion here is a self-proclaimed animal named Rhino. Rhino doesn't have a "special" attack specifically, but her hits will take away most of V's health. Even a Vody-specialized V will probably only be able to take three hits before it's game over. She's got a wind-up that takes a long time to unleash, so either interrupt her or dodge and hit her on the follow-through.

Cyberpunk 2077 Beat The Brat Rhino Missing Her Blow

Double jumping with Reinforced Tendons is the best way to dodge her attacks, especially since there is not much room to run around. Dodge her this way and stay away from her until she blocks. When Rhino blocks, hit her with a heavy attack to stagger her, take a few extra swings, and then retreat again when she recovers.

The Final Fight With Razor

Cyberpunk 2077 Beat The Brat Final Location
  • Take the bribe for an easy "win."
  • Stay on the opposite side of Razor and then dodge or block his charge forward.

The easiest way to "win" this fight is to lose. V makes more credits that way thanks to a bribe presented before starting the brawl. By winning outright, the reward is more street credit, but that's easier to earn.

For those who still want to win in a normal fashion, stay in the back of the ring opposite of Razor. He'll burst forward and can be easily blocked and countered. He's got a lot of life and will automatically heal up to 50% when he hits 10% health, but just keep repeating this for ten minutes until he goes down.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and PC.

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