Considering how many positive reviews the game has received, I thought I should post my negative experience with installing and playing on patch 2.31a.

This is my response to the thread from the esteemed PaladinNO.

https://www.gog.com/forum/cyberpunk_2077/my_positive_experience_with_patch_231a

Overall, I got the strong impression that the developers haven't played their game and don't understand what they're doing.

Let me start with a fun fact: the game used to have a 'breach protocol and demons' mechanic that could be applied to enemies. The mechanic was removed, but the demons it involved are still mentioned in dialogue. Some quests (the conversation with Militech or the quest with the Bartmoss deck) were supposed to reward you with demons for hacking the deck or the Militech chip. Now, you get nothing as a reward for hacking...

Next, I would like to draw attention to the skill tree and some implants.

Next, I'd like to highlight the skill tree and some implants:

1) I'll start with the Cold-Blooded skill tree. I tested all the sniper skills (I'll attach a video of my build being tested).

The Focus skill doesn't work with any sniper rifle in the game. With the spt32-grad, the rifle simply doesn't have time to reload after firing before the Focus effect wears off. With the Nekomata, the slow-motion effect means you spend more time reloading your shot. Ashura is a smart 'fire and forget' rifle, but because of the focus skill, after each shot, instead of reloading, you have to hold the sight until the shot hits the enemy, otherwise you will lose stamina and the skill will not work.

I won't mention that pistols are simply useless outside of stealth ;D Who came up with the idea of ​​giving pistols the ability to shoot from the hip without spending stamina? I'll add that the entire skill tree itself simply doesn't work with Smart Weapons. Stamina doesn't affect Smart Weapons, but you have to manage your stamina for the skills to work.

I can also comment on the tech weapon skill tree. Tech weapons now have a sound indicator to track the lightning bolt mechanics. Try speeding up the weapon's charge with mods. The sound indicator breaks, making it impossible to accurately determine the firing time)

Did I mention that the sound effects for the tech weapons and the 'Deadeye' sniper skill are like arcade games and take all the fun out of shooting? It can't be turned off.

2) Implants... It's just a laughing stock

We have two useful leg implants for parkour, and instead of giving variants of these legs with bonuses for each stat, they limited these implants to variants for strength and dex. And this is despite the fact that for the same build of sniper rifles you don’t need agility and crits due to the 100% crit chance skill..

I'll mention optical camouflage, I noticed that turning on accuracy reduces the accuracy of my shooting...You can test this by firing a rifle at the same spot with and without camouflage. With camouflage, the spread of your shots increases. This is also noticeable in my video. Having received two slots for palm implants, we still have no option for technical weapons.

The ability of eye implants to highlight enemies only works occasionally, maybe during the first phase of the moon or according to some other principle (this is also visible in my video, I use the stalker eye implant)

All iconic implant variants except one are locked behind DLC, which isn't sold in my country, and I don't know when I'll be able to play it, so I can't say anything about it.

Finally, I'll add a gameplay video of myself with a Nekomata and optical camo at level 50 against Maxtac. I might add more to the list of problems in the future (I'm tired).

https://youtu.be/YuXst6EHwtY

Making the other side of the coin to my thread, eh? Please do, I made mine mainly to counter all the complaints about the game constantly crashing, failure to install, failure to launch etc.

When I started writing my thread, I hadn't progressed far enough into th egame itself to find many technical issues with the gameplay mechanics. Now, though, having maxed out everything...I find many issues with various perks. ...This is a direct quote from my thread though. You may want to rephrase it a bit. :|

The Tech weapon perk "Bolt" definitely being one of them. Having tried it, I didn't bother with it much. The trigger window was too narrow, the sound issue like you mentioned and the damage felt underwhelming. I find it a bit ironic, that back on the 1.6 patch, Tech weapons where my go-to just about every single time.

I had my suspicions regarding pistols and the optical camo. I too felt the aim was off while in stealth, despite my crosshairs being where it should on my target. But I always shrugged it away due to the crosshairs being more difficult to see during stealth. And I never bothered to test it specifically. Good to know it wasn't just a fluke on my end though.

As for the Focus, I always assumed that was intended for pistols only. Specifically the auto-pistols, to get off more shots. Otherwise, it felt like a "the 1st shot only"-type of perk. Can't speak for the Sor-22, as I don't use that rifle. And the Ashura is a single-shot rifle anyway. But for Tech rifles it should work. Try the Achilles, and charge it with hip-fire, then scope, and then release the shot. Focus should work under those conditions. Still only works for the first shot though.

The leg implants...yeah, no objections there. "Reinforced Tendons" (double-jump) is the way to go, all the time. Maybe the Lynx Paws or that other one which gives increased movement speed, so bruisers can get faster into the fight or close distances.

As for the ocular implant, I swear by The Oracle. Tried the others, but Oracle gave me the best experience. And as for the "see enemies through obstacles"-part, I found it only working if there weren't anything else blocking the view. Through walls works fine, but if there is a slot machine in between, that blocks the view of the enemy. But yeah, it does feel inconsitent.

I also had a bug - more than once - where the see enemies through walls feature didn't work at all. And I had to visit a ripperdoc, remove any implant with that feature, insert a more basic implant, then go back to insert the Oracle again. So there is definitely something off with it.

As for access to iconic cyberware, that is not an issie with the game itself. Personally, I don't care for games not being sold in certain countries for certain reasons, as that does not have anything to do with the matter. So there I suggest you find yourself a .torrent on your favourite pirate site and download Phantom Liberty that way.

If you can't buy something somewhere, I see no reason to spend potentially more money to buy it elsewhere. Pirate, install and enjoy, I say. As for the cyberware itself, have you tried installing the CET (CyberEngineTweaks) mod, and used the console? I got a lot of codes, if you want to try. Let me know what you want to get, and I'll check if I got the code for it.

My biggest issue with any of the cyberware is the random stats they give. And many times have I used the CET console to give me multiples of a cyberware item, just to make it give the stat that I am looking for (primarily "health item recharge speed").

Hi! Yes, I used the phrase from your topic. And no, I don't want to change it, if you don't mind.

I don't mind, but common courtesy is to reference the source when you copy something, or at least explain why you copied it specifically.
But I think you want to recheck the quote.

I assume you meant ...if this was supposed to be a direct opposite of my thread.

No, you're wrong about several things:

1) The entire Focus tree is only useful for revolvers. It doesn't help automatic pistols or regular pistols at all. You get a weak damage bonus and a useless stamina reduction when hip-firing (why bother, if you don't spend any stamina when aiming down sights thanks to the Focus?)

2) Regarding the Ashura, you misunderstood me. When you fire it, you want to fire and immediately reload. But since the projectile isn't instantaneous, you're forced to hold down your aim, delaying your reload, to get a critical hit.

3) The problem with technical rifles is that slow-mo doesn't work well with charging (you just waste the entire slow-mo effect on charging instead of aiming and shooting).

4) From the above combined factors, it follows that the entire Focus tree is only useful for revolvers (and maybe precision rifles, I haven't tested them). However, for sniper rifles and pistols, these skills have very poor synergy. Your assumption is interesting, but unfortunately, it's incorrect. Often, the ocular implant doesn't illuminate even if there's only one wall between me and the enemy. Yes, I saw that you confirmed my observations about the problems with eye implants. Thank you. I should apologize here; I'm probably to blame for the misunderstanding. I didn't consider the fact that I can't purchase DLC to be a flaw in the game. I just wanted to say that I can't comment on the problems with the DLC implants because I couldn't try them out. Yes, thank you! I corrected the text and added a link to your topic. Oddly enough, I have no complaints about the random stats. It's a fun mechanic that slightly increases the interest in upgrading implants and helps drain the money (there's simply nothing to spend it on besides cars and four apartments).

The only thing I can think of that could be changed is to allow the implant to be upgraded infinitely at the final level (without boosting its stats, just for the chance to change additional stats). Because right now, you have to buy a new implant, upgrade it to level 5+, sell it, and repeat if you're not happy with the stats, it's inconvenient.

I think I can add a couple more of my videos to support my arguments.

1) This is a video with an Ashura; you can see that I keep aiming after the shot. if I stop holding aim before the bullet reaches the enemy, the critical hit doesn't occur. In the video, I'm using the gambiet modifier, which accelerates the bullet; without it, the situation is even worse.

https://youtu.be/pAk-_KboGvM

2) Regarding the problems with the eye implants, I tagged the video. The enemy is running towards me, with only a burned-out car between us. But the implant doesn't highlight the enemy, and I was only able to hit him by tracking his feet.

https://youtu.be/mLBL505jc6I?t=39

By the way, the lightning bolt is a very powerful mechanic. It ignores enemy armor and can set them on fire, activating the Pyromania perk. And thanks to the Gaki scope (for sniper rifles only), you can always fire lightning without recharging.

In the case of the scope, this is due to a discrepancy between the description and the implementation. The T5 gaki sets the weapon's minimum charge to the middle, which automatically activates the lightning bolt. So the mechanics are interesting, but the implementation, like much of what's been mentioned, is atrocious.

I can't speak to Focus with revolvers - even being 190+ hours into my current playthrough, I still haven't fired a revolver even once. And both Crash and Archangel went straight into my apartment trophy wall. ^^

But I think you missed my point with the Tech rifle. If you got the perk for it, you can charge it fully without it auto-firing. As far as I know, Focus only trigger when you aim. So try hip-charging (press and hold the trigger, without aiming), then aim, and then fire.

I have to admit, I haven't actually tried it, but it should work. I don't remember whether Focus only works with precision rifles, or specifically sniper rifles as well (Nekomata is a sniper, whereas Achilles is precision as recall - haven't used the Achilles either in this playthrough).

"Infinite reroll" on the cyberware would be a nice addition. I don't have anything else to spend my money on anyway, and cheat-adding more of a certain cyberware, just to get the stats I want, just feels tedious and an oversight on the developers part. And buy a new one, then sell if I don't get the stats I want only works once per ripperdoc. I haven't checked when, if or how frequent their inventory restocks.

Having experienced the majority of bugs in this game, I always play with the mentality that any perk doesn't work properly, so I just go in guns blazing or hack everything from a distance as a netrunner.

Huh, that was wildly inconsistent. I agree, something was really off there. The issues I have had was both at much closer range, and with an interactable / hackable object in between. Especially after using Ping. For doodads and "dead" objects - burned out cars, floors etc. - it has always worked for me, that I remember. Exception being distance, of course, if the enemy was far away. So I find the whole feature unreliable at best outdoors. Goodness, how do you even look for these things? I haven't tried the Gaki much either, as I find the scoping distance to simply be too long.

Reason why I don't want to use the Lightning Bolt perk is so I can safely snipe a single target, without accidentally injury - thus notify - everyone in the vicinity of my presence. Same with the Pyromaniac (which I also haven't even tried).

I prefer picking targets off one by one without them wildly running around. Also, I much prefer the SPT32 Grad (recently found a gold plated version), over the Ashura or Nekomata. 4 shots, and I can fire the first shot without any delay with locking or charging. Only Ashura I use is a literally modded one, where I added 1000 damage to the base damage stat (requires a character editor).

Yes, this is possible, and I've used it a couple of times. This trick has two problems:

1) First, you can't use a fully charged Lightning Bolt, and you want to use the Lightning Bolt because it's much more powerful.

2) This still has counter-synergy with the entire sniper weapon tree because the Focus skill requires you to continue shooting while focused, and do not exit the aiming state after each shot to charging

If you're wondering why I sometimes did this, there's another bug I forgot to mention. Even though the lightning bolt description says it's a fully charged shot, it can't penetrate walls like a fully charged shot... I can tell you that you don't need to change the ripper-doc. You just need to sell him the implant you bought, and then he'll have a new one available. Here I want to add that many of the things I mentioned are not even bugs, but either laziness or complete inattention of the developers and a lack of understanding of their own game. If I like something about a game, I always pay close attention to these mechanics. So, if you have any questions, please contact me, and I'll try to help the same way as with ripperdoc above. :D

And yeah, I like Grad too, even though it doesn't work well with the skill tree either. I plan to play with it sometime.

Oh, right. I can point out one more problem with the new skill tree:

Before 2.0, the skill tree could already limit your weapon selection. After 2.0, the problem only got worse. Now we have machine guns and shotguns locked behind the Strength stat, pistols and rifles behind Cold-Blooded, and only submachine guns are left for Reflexes...

Unfortunately, this greatly limits the fun, since you always have to give up some weapons due to lack of stat points.

More stupid bugs:

My favorite Rayfield Aerondight is currently broken. While driving, the textures of the wheels and the hood collide. The wheels constantly lift up through the hood, and it looks terrible.

Yes, it's probably worth mentioning that in five years they still haven't bothered to make separate slots for grenades, optical camouflage, and the hand cannon. It's so stupid that I have to choose one of three. If I can understand grenades and the hand cannon, then why should I give up grenades and use camouflage (which is buggy and reduces accuracy)?

Perhaps I should combine all the problems into one big list later. There are too many of them.

Hi All,

One thing I noticed with the 2.31a patch is that, when I start the game for the first time after I booted up my computer (Win11, GTX 3800 Ti), I can't load my saved game file. I have to quit the game and then I start it again, and now I load load my saved game. About 98% of time, when I finish playing and I'm back to my Win11 desktop...after a short while my monitor will go black and I need to restart my computer. This is the only game that does it, other games are just fine...I first thought it was a driver issue. So a tried different drivers...it still happens....strange.

Peter

It would probably be best if you had made a new thread for this, but here goes:

That honestly sounds like WIndows 11 issue to me. I don't have much experience with W11 (I am definitely sticking to W10 for as long as I can), because of the dreadful bugfest that it still is. And the issues with files located in the user profile in W11 should have been fixed now as far as I know.

Did this issue start with 2.31a, or did it happen on earlier patches too? Depending on how far you've come in the game, and how old of a patch you came from, I would honestly suggest starting over, to see if that changes anything.

Regarding the black screen, does the PC actually freeze or does the monitor just lose signal? This one is a long shot, but have you checked the input on the monitor when it goes black? I have seen monitors suddenly change input for no apparent reason.

If the input is still correct, try plugging the monitor into the onboard graphics, if you can - my computer have done the same, before I got the config correct, where Windows suddenly sent the video signal to the iGPU instead of the video card. I have seen a lot of weird issues when Windows / drivers is switching from a fullscreen application and back to the desktop, so I run everything I can in windowed mode.

Some other options to check: run the game in Windowed Borderless. Make sure your RTX 3080 Ti is set as the primary GPU in the Nvidia Control Panel (and not just "Auto"). And as a last resort, disable the iGPU in the BIOS.

Also, updating your driver to the latest is not always the recommended solution. Try rolling back to an earlier version, if nothing else work. I have a RTX 3080, but I'm still on driver 531.79.

I also use Windows 10 and have never encountered this error, so I can't offer any advice.