Cyberpunk's new patch means the game will no longer strike you down like a fickle god right before the ending
I think that's how Dixie Flatline died.
Cyberpunk's 2.02 patch has hit, bringing with it a surfeit of tweaks, fixes, and improvements to Night City in the wake of the game's sweeping 2.0 update and accompanying redemption arc. As usual there's a whole lot of bullet points here, and I'll put the full patch notes below, but there are a couple of entries worth highlighting in particular.
First up is an issue that was striking players pursuing a specific ending. I won't spoil anything, but suffice it to say that there are numerous reports from players of their V clambering into a car as part of the endgame Path Of Glory quest and immediately, inexplicably dying. Although that would be admirably outré if it had been CD Projekt's intended ending for V on that path, it turns out it was just a bug, and "V will no longer flatline" randomly after the game's 2.02 update.
There's also a fix that stops Johnny Silverhand appearing—Tyler Durden-style—during the game's Trauma Drama bits if you do them before the end of act 1, and the game will no longer give you a small heart attack with random "Warning - Detected" messages. Most tragically, though, giving money to a homeless person will no longer reduce your wanted level. Frankly, I think the fact that's not how it works is a bug with real life rather than the game.
The only tweak I don't really understand is the fact that the game will now remove the crafting specs for iconic weapons from your inventory after you craft the gear. I'm not entirely sure what the reasoning behind that is; it's not as if Cyberpunk is a multiplayer game that has to keep a throttle on its economy and the proliferation of high-level gear. If I want to spend all my time churning out Ba Xing Chongs, I believe that's my constitutional right as a Night City resident.
Ah well, you can't have everything. Here are the full patch notes. Beware a spoiler for an Act 1 character's fate on the 8th bullet point, chooms.
Phantom Liberty-specific
- Rebalanced the time limits for Vehicle Contracts.
- Various fixes for animations, lighting, scenes, VFX and more.
- Fixed collision issues in various locations that could cause players to get stuck.
- When starting a new game and skipping ahead to Phantom Liberty, quests that were simulated as completed will now be visible in the Journal.
- Fixed an issue where the Quadra Sport R-7 "Vigilante" wasn't available for purchase on the Autofixer website in some circumstances.
- Fixed an issue where roadblocks were present in front of the Dogtown gates, thus preventing entry.
- Sasquatch's Hammer will now appear in the vendor's stock at the stadium's black market if it was originally missed after the boss fight with Sasquatch.
- Dex's body will now spawn in the landfill on saves where the option to skip ahead to Phantom Liberty was selected.
- It will now be possible to pick up Jackie's guns from the altar in El Coyote Cojo on saves where the option to skip ahead to Phantom Liberty was selected.
- Fixed an issue where a placeholder pop-up would be displayed on Xbox Series X|S instead of an error message regarding Phantom Liberty's installation.
- Addicted To Chaos - Fixed an issue where it could become impossible to complete the quest if the stash is looted before receiving the message with the code.
- Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos - Fixed an issue where, under specific circumstances, the quest could remain active even after failing it by not following the traces left by Songbird.
- Firestarter - It will no longer be possible to disassemble the stadium security datashard after looting it from Hansen's body, thus blocking quest progression.
- Firestarter - It will now be possible to pick up the Bald Eagle weapon after siding with Songbird.
- Gig: Roads to Redemption - Fixed an issue where the door leading to the stadium's weapons factory could be opened by accident earlier in Firestarter, which later interfered with gig progression and could lock the player behind the door.
- Hi Ho Silver Lining - Fixed an issue where the objective "Leave Heavy Hearts" might not be marked complete after leaving Heavy Hearts.
- I've Seen That Face Before - Fixed an issue where the "Go to the vantage point" objective might not be marked complete after reaching the vantage point.
- Moving Heat - Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to get in the car because it didn't spawn.
- Moving Heat - Fixed an issue where the quest could remain stuck on the "Leave with the car" objective even after getting in the car and leaving the area.
- Run This Town - Fixed an issue where the Black Sapphire could become inaccessible because of closed shutters if the player had triggered combat in the lobby at the end of You Know My Name.
- Run This Town - Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to meet Mr. Hands in Heavy Hearts because the elevator was disabled.
- Run This Town - Fixed an issue where the character menu and fast travel remained blocked after removing Aguilar's imprint.
- Run This Town - Fixed an issue where the Journal incorrectly suggested that the player had to complete Gig: Spy in the Jungle to continue the quest when, in fact, Gig: Heaviest of Hearts was required instead.
- Somewhat Damaged - Fixed an issue where Cerberus wouldn't spawn until the corridor chase scene if the player fired a weapon in a specific spot near terminal Sierra.
- Somewhat Damaged - Removed the attribute check from doors when locked in the Observation Room and adjusted the objective to make it clearer that hiding from Cerberus is required to progress.
- Spider and the Fly - Fixed an issue where the boss fight with the Chimera might not start.
- The Damned - Fixed an issue where the quest objective disappeared after the meeting in The Moth, thus blocking progress.
- The Killing Moon - Fixed an issue where it was possible to trigger the police system while driving to the spaceport.
- Things Done Changed - Fixed an issue where the screen could go black after calling the nurse.
- Tomorrow Never Knows - Fixed an issue where completing Heroes made it impossible to ask Misty about the tarot cards.
- New Person, Same Old Mistakes - Fixed an issue where the door to Bill's hot dog stand was still closed for some players on 2.01.
Quests & Open World
- Fixed an issue where the Quadra Type-66 "Wingate" wasn't visible in the Call Vehicle menu after being purchased.
- Johnny will no longer appear when collecting the reward for Trauma Drama prior to completing Act 1.
- The Trauma Team website will now be accessible on V's computer when the Killing in the Name quest is active.
- Beat on the Brat: Arroyo - Fixed an issue where beating Buck while having Microgenerator cyberware equipped could block the completion of the quest.
- Gig: We Have Your Wife - Fixed an issue where the gig might not start after approaching the quest area.
- Life During Wartime - Fixed an issue where Panam might not get on the motorcycle and ride to the gas station if V got on theirs first.
- Path of Glory - V will no longer flatline after entering the Delamain AV.
- The Beast in Me - Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to shoot from the vehicle during the race.
Gameplay
- Rebalanced the stats of some weapons based on player feedback.
- The Malorian Arms 3516 received a buff. Recoil is easier to handle, even at low stamina, and damage was increased.
- Crafting specs for Iconic weapons will now disappear after crafting the item.
- Added stats to the tooltip of Monowire that were missing.
- Fixed an issue where it was possible to duplicate junk items.
- Bullets now deal damage correctly when shooting through glass.
- Fixed an issue where it was possible to easily obtain Tier 5 Skill Shards early in the game. Their prices have also been adjusted.
- Disabled the Bait quickhack on enemies standing at the edge of an area they're not supposed to leave.
- Fixed an issue where the Data Recycler perk recovered the base RAM cost without taking RAM reduction perks into account, thus recovering more RAM than was actually spent.
- Fixed some specific instances where crowd NPCs could clip through vehicles while walking.
- Fixed an issue that could cause elevators in various quests to spawn on an incorrect floor if a save/load was performed after they started moving.
- Fixed an issue where the appearance of V's hands in first-person perspective might not change correctly after installing or uninstalling arm cyberware.
- Giving money to a homeless person will no longer lower your NCPD Wanted Level.
- Fixed an issue where cyberware could get downgraded to Tier 1 after updating the game to 2.01.
PC-specific
- Selecting default graphics settings should now pick the proper Quick Preset based on your hardware and according to the latest system recommendations.
- Introduced a mechanism for the detection of mismatched or corrupted scripts which are caused by outdated mods or file corruption during update/installation. It will now show a descriptive error message and close the game instead of resulting in a crash.
Miscellaneous
- Various optimizations, performance improvements and crash fixes.
- Fixed an issue where some achievements or trophies could unlock after loading a pre-2.0 save on 2.01 despite not meeting the criteria for them. Please note that this fix will not reset already unlocked achievements.
- Fixed an issue where, under specific circumstances, a "Warning - Detected" message could be displayed instead of "Completed" when having your vehicle scanned or when connecting your personal link.
- Fixed an issue of blinking trash that could sometimes be visible when crawling out of the landfill in Playing for Time.
- Fixed a misaligned glitch effect on Johnny.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs could appear stretched out when affected by explosions or the Savage Sling ability.
- Fixed an issue where tooltips on the map and interaction prompts for renting apartments showed double the actual price.
- Blocked Cross-progression from uploading saves bigger than the max save size limit on consoles to prevent crashes and issues when importing such saves.
- Remastered the voiceover to improve audio quality in German, Simplified Chinese and Japanese.