While a lot of Cyberpunk 2077 players are already imagining how sweet life will be when the Phantom Liberty Expansion arrives and they can ditch their old flame Keanu Reeves for a fresh celebrity companion in Idris Elba, some are still hanging out in Night City while they wait.
For veteran players who’re busy scything through the last few gigs and missions in their quest log or exploring the dangerous depths of CD Projekt Red’s dense urban jungle on foot or by car to try and unearth hidden secrets, having an effective combat strategy is a must.
If you’re someone who always avoids rushing head-first into combat with your guns blazing and wish the game would offer you more rewards and incentives for your stealthy efforts, a new mod might be worth adding to your load order.
Feel like Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't spend enough time encouraging you to be sneaky?
The mod in question is called ‘Stealthrunner - Stealth Gameplay Expansion’ and is the work of prolific modder Rmk1234. Some of their previous projects have made Cyberpunk’s healing items mildly toxic and its blunt weapons non-lethal.
This time, they’ve decided to add new and tracked stealth-related objectives to all of the missions in the game in which this is feasible, with main story quests, side stories and even NCPD scanner gigs being affected.
These objectives are divided into five different sub-categories, such as ‘Pacifist’ ones, which are based around sparing human enemies or subduing them non-lethally, and ‘Shadow’ ones, which seemingly work a bit like the Hitman series’ ‘silent assassin’ achievements, forcing you to avoid being noticed or having bodies be found.
The aim of this is to: “motivate and reward stealthy gameplay” without fundamentally changing Cyberpunk’s existing stealth movement and AI sight mechanics, with completing any of these additional goals providing you with some generic boons and a few more unique goodies.
As you can see in the showcase video above, chief among the latter are perks from a brand new skill tree included in the mod, which you can find under the freshly added ‘Stealthrunner’ section of the pause menu and includes the likes of ‘Cyberninja’, which makes melee attacks less likely to trigger open combat.
Also up for grabs are some special weapons and cyberware, such as the ‘Arasaka Lurker Camo’, which grants you 13 seconds of invisible movement, something which could be very useful if you end up getting caught out in the open.
Sadly, one thing you won’t be able to sneak past is the mod’s lengthy list of requirements, so make sure you grab all of them before downloading Rmk1234’s mod.
Regardless of whether you’re now hiding behind some crates patiently waiting for some gang members to turn around, make sure to follow us for more interesting Cyberpunk 2077 mods and info on the Phantom Liberty expansion. You can also check out our mods of the month for February 2023.