Cyberpunk 2077 dev highlights three of the biggest changes coming in Phantom Liberty

Cyberpunk 2077’s Pawel Sasko recently spoke to Sportskeeda about upcoming updates in Phantom Liberty. Among these were some of the most impactful changes coming to Night City, when the expansion drops in September 2023. It is far more than simply a new story. Gamers can expect a wide assortment of new features, gameplay changes, and more.

From a new skill tree, enhanced vehicle combat, and the updated police system, Night City is going to be a more interesting region to explore. However, this isn’t a comprehensive list of updated features for Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty. In our recent exclusive interview, these are the high points, from Pawel Sasko, Quest Director at CD Projekt RED.

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What are some of the biggest changes coming to Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty?

According to Pawel Sasko in a recent exclusive interview about Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, there’s a great deal to love about the upcoming expansion. However, the Quest Director wanted to highlight three of the biggest changes fans should be excited about.

The first change was to the police system of Cyberpunk 2077. If the player is being particularly aggressive in Night City - shooting innocent people, stealing cars, and the like - they’ll encounter more powerful opposition. Now you won’t need to use a mod to adjust the police.

The police of Night City are going to be a bigger threat in Phantom Liberty. (Image via CD Projekt RED)

Just because it’s a dangerous city doesn’t mean the police won’t try and stop the player from doing what they want. Here’s what Pawel Sasko had to say about the upcoming expansion:

“In essence: the more crimes you commit and the more aggressive V’s behavior is, the higher your heat level, and with that — the tougher opponents the police (or Barghest — the militia that runs Dogtown) will send your way.”

If the player is too aggressive, they’ll even see mini-boss fights, with the MaxTac squads showing up. They dynamically spawn in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, making the player pay for the consequences of their actions. Phantom Liberty and the ensuing update promise to be quite interesting.

Players will even be able to hack vehicles on the go! (Image via CD Projekt RED)

One thing that has let players down in Cyberpunk 2077 was the lack of vehicular combat. That’s all going to change when Phantom Liberty drops. Players will be able to take part in battle while riding a vehicle in a few ways, according to Sasko:

“. . .either by using your own handguns and rifles and shooting through the front windshield (or from the seat of your motorbike), or by triggering mounted gatling guns or rocket launchers attached to certain vehicles.”

However, not all vehicles in Cyberpunk 2077 will have weapons in Phantom Liberty. Some vehicles will be given as quest rewards, and they will have weapons you can take advantage of. Otherwise, you’ll have to go to the AutoFixer website and customize your vehicles that way.

Your enemies will also be smarter on the road, and they will have access to the same weapons you do. Another awesome feature will be that you will be able to quickhack vehicles, for all those netrunner players out there.

The last major new feature is the Perk System. According to Sasko, the system is almost entirely overhauled. They shifted away from minor stat change perks and offered perks that gave new skills and use actively - such as an air dash. This will make builds more enjoyable to use, as you explore Cyberpunk 2077.

The Skill Tree was completely overhauled for this upcoming expansion. (Image via CD Projekt RED)

He also highlighted a new skill tree, the Relic tree, which is only available in Phantom Liberty:

“This is only available with the expansion, and provides a range of new skills, including ones that impact certain pieces of cyberware. This tree works a little differently than the others, as instead of putting points into it from leveling up, you’ll need to explore Dogtown to find specific Relic upgrade points.”

Phantom Liberty is going to open up Cyberpunk 2077 in a wealth of ways, changing the game for the better. Newcomers and veterans alike will have plenty to see and do in Night City.

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Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty drops on Xbox X/S, PlayStation 5, and PCs on September 26, 2023. If you want to know more about why it’s a good idea to jump into the game in 2023, you can learn more here.