Cyberpunk 2077 players have a lot of options when it comes to crafting their perfect build, particularly when it comes to their choice of perks. From crafting a stealthy assassin to a bruising melee fighter, Cyberpunk 2077's intricate perk tree gives players every choice they could want, as well as some they might not.
While there are many Cyberpunk 2077 guides that will instruct players on how to optimize their character's build, there are also many perks players should be cautious of spending a point to level up. These perks are among the least useful in Cyberpunk 2077.
Some perks may seem harmless at first glance or even useful in some situations. Unfortunately, players who have completed the game will likely attest that these five perks will never be needed to complete the many main and side missions in Cyberpunk 2077. When finalizing a build, players should avoid taking certain perks.
Cyberpunk 2077: Commando
Coming from the Stealth tree, this perk prevents the player from being detected by enemies while underwater. While this does seem very useful, especially for players who want to make an assassin-type build for their Cyberpunk 2077 character, there are only a few instances where players will have the opportunity to use it. To begin, none of the main quests feature underwater exploration. There is one significant side quest that does take place underwater, but it is a non-combat mission so the need to evade enemies is not needed.
In addition, when attacking Cyberpunk 2077's smaller side quests, gigs, and open world events, there are few opportunities for players to attack from the sea. The geography of Night City means that only a few missions in Pacifica and City Center take place along the coast, where the ability to surprise enemies from the water will come in handy. Unfortunately, players will have to wait and see if future DLC will add missions that make this perk more useful.
Cyberpunk 2077: Dagger Dealer
Another perk from Cyberpunk 2077's Stealth tree, this allows the player to throw knives for a silent attack. Once again, this seems useful for those stealthy builds on the surface, as it provides an alternative to silenced weapons for long-range attacks. The problem comes when looking at the mechanics behind throwing knives. Because there is no "ammo" system for throwing knives and no way to get back the knife after using it with the Dagger Dealer perk, players are forced to constantly craft knives to throw. This depletes the player of crafting materials that could be used to upgrade weapons and takes up inventory space.
Ultimately, this perk is rendered obsolete by the inclusion of silenced weapons in Cyberpunk 2077. While this perk may allow players to perform unique kills, the benefits don't outweigh the costs.
Cyberpunk 2077: Stronger Together
Moving away from the Stealth tree up to Cyberpunk 2077's Body tree, Stronger Together increases the damage dealt by a player while carrying a body. There are certainly a few side missions where the player has to carry a body to a location, so this perk does seem to have some applications. However, the player is not able to shoot or melee attack while carrying a body in Cyberpunk 2077 without equipping an additional perk. The player needs to equip the Transporter perk in the Body tree, which allows the player to shoot with pistols and revolvers while carrying a body.
Even with this combination of perks in a player's build, there are still only a few missions where carrying a body and shooting will be needed, such as the mission Big in Japan. More often than not, the better strategy is to sneak around enemies while carrying the body, or dropping the body before engaging in combat.
Cyberpunk 2077: Lead Sponge
This perk in the Handguns tree allows the player to shoot with pistols and revolvers while dodging. Dodging is an extremely useful skill to master, even within firefights, as it allows players to dip into and out of cover quickly.
The problem with Lead Sponge is that it almost entirely overlaps with the Acrobat perk in the Handguns tree. Acrobat allows players to perform dodges while aiming a pistol or revolver, meaning that the player can aim, fire, and then dodge without lowering their pistol. This tends to be more useful than shooting while dodging, which can harm accuracy even with something like Kerenzikov equipped to slow down time.
Cyberpunk 2077 Hacker's Manual
Hacker's Manual is a Cyberpunk 2077 perk that comes from the Quickhack tree, which allows the player to unlock crafting specs for uncommon quickhacks. This may seem tempting to players, especially at the beginning of the game, to power up their quickhacks. However, in most cases, players will be able to find or buy uncommon quickhacks easily.
Instead, it's a better idea to wait and add points to those perks that let the player recover and restore RAM while quickhacking. Hacker Overlord and Bartmoss' Legacy, lower down the Quickhack tree, are also both better investments, as the Epic and Legendary quickhacks are hard to come by.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in development.