Cyberpunk 2077 - Why the Corpo Lifepath Makes More Sense Than I Thought (Game "Theory" + Thoughts)

[@EyeofCenter]

I've been working on these types of videos for a little while, but I'm still working it out as I go. I had a Cyberpunk Edgerunners video written that I was going to put out along with this one, but unfortunately that video never got finished. I'd love to hear what you think. I'd appreciate any feedback I can get: CP2077 Theory - What is Going on Down in Mexico: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m52sop1uYpeaaqs Cyberpunk Edgerunners Review: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYfOdYFmq9qMd8k CP2077 Theory - How Trace Santiago Could Be Rogue's Son: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnPCf5ipgctmaLs CP2077 Theory - Could V Have Been a Soldier for the NUSA: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJuuo4KwgdeAeac CP2077 Theory - Cyberware You Just Can't See + Lore Faithfulness: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmPLl2iqq96lqNE

[@РулонОбоев-н9ъ]

This video clarified a lot for me, because I also had some dissonance about Corpo-V before my current second playthrough. But when I tried to understand the story and psychology of Corpo-V, things fell into place. Not everyone who gets into a corporation is a cold-blooded careerist-psychopath, capable of rising to the highest positions by any means. V turned out to be different, he is adventurous, ballsy, emotional, and quite sincere. This mindset didn't allow him to win the game of corporate intrigues. As you said, V was a high-rank field executive in Arasaka (with some offices duties lately), not a schemer in a jacket. I assume he generally enjoyed his early work as an operative, until it's became to late to quit. And later his moral questions were drowned out by privileges and a large bonus. When V became a victim of a showdown among his bosses, he was thrown out into streets without his previous capabilities and connections, but with valuable experience and understanding of the corporate world, as well as increased contempt for its rat races. Apparently, a man with his nature liked many aspects of street mercenary life and some minimal humanity and camaraderie even among gangsters, compared to the absolute meanness of the corporate world. I think this life path provides the most mature story of the three. Corpo-V is a complex character, rethinking his old life, more seedy and cynical than the inexperienced romantics Streetkid and Nomad. There is also additional depth in the relationship with Silverhand, resulting in a very large arc from justified ideological hatred to friendship.

[@EyeofCenter]

A beautifully elegant summary of the Corpo Lifepath, friend. I agree. One of the many reasons why I personally think the Corpo Lifepath is the best Lifepath.

[@alakazam3270]

Nailed it

[@Senko4509]

Yeah, before i even watch the vid I agree 100% for a couple reasons, maybe I'll hear them soon from ya- 1. Jackie's friendship makes the most sense here and is more impactful with Corpo. He supposedly saved your ass during a conflict in Mexico and became a good friend well before the main events. Granted we know practically nothing about what went down or how he saved V (and is about to again) least its implied that he's been your best friend from the start -Beats Streetkids meeting by a long shot (we tried to rob each other, lets eat and become besties for some reason) and Nomads is slightly better that SK still kinda meh (I like working with you for some reason, lets partner up outta nowhere) 2. V being counter-intel not only sounds badass asf, but also can explain V's wits and their combat capabilities. (Also your V being a former NUSA soldier theory also adds to this) 3. I'm a sucker for working for the "bad guys" type of storylines 4. (my personal favorite) I love the poetry of it all. Game starts in Saka tower. Game ends in Saka tower. Fuckin' beautiful

[@EyeofCenter]

Thanks, friend. All points that prove this game was a hell of a roleplaying game when it wanted to be. The narrative of the game lets us make V whatever we want in so many ways. Hopefully, you found this interesting. Definitely touched on a lot of those in this video. Great point about the poetry of Arasaka Tower. And as a side-note on Jackie: As much as I like this character, I've always thought that Jackie comes across as a two-bit scumbag and a small-time hack in any of the other prologues. *In the Street Kid's, he waits for V to do all the work of stealing the car before he jumps out from the shadows to take it for himself. *In the Nomad's, he hires V to smuggle goods for him and his clients, then admits he was planning on robbing V blind and taking everything for himself. He ends this prologue by turning around and robbing the fixer who hired him AND the original client so he can find a new buyer and make a little more money. In the CP series, "honour among thieves" very much is a thing and people who don't keep their word are very much pariahs. I've always believed the reason Jackie was never able to go anywhere in Night City's underworld before V showed up was because he always went for the easy cash like this. We find out he's been working the streets for almost 10 years, yet Dex won't even meet with him. He only wants to speak to V.

[@Senko4509]

@@EyeofCenter Oh absolutely I found it interesting, love how detailed your analyses are Didn't even consider that last part you mentioned, wow yeah that checks out

[@EyeofCenter]

Since you commented on a few of my videos, I'd love to get your thoughts on this Edgerunners review I put together in case I want to do more in the future (if you've seen Edgerunners, that is): kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6OcgKOGlNaImNE

[@Senko4509]

@@EyeofCenter Sure thing, I'm pretty busy as of now, but once I get the chance, I'll comment

[@EyeofCenter]

@@Senko4509 Thanks friend. Really appreciate it.

[@alexhulea2735]

V's background IS in the corebook (Red's at least). And it's even in the Exec section. V is part of the team that every Exec builds as they advance in their role. He's a Company Covert Operative (by his in-game 'Saka file at least), but could have been a Company Tech, Company Netrunner or Company Bodyguard :3 It's no wonder he'd fit so well with being an Edgerunner. It's his old job, but he's more or less self-employed now

[@EyeofCenter]

I didn't even think of that. That's an awesome angle! Personally, I like to think that V is a multiclassed Exec-Solo. To me, it would make a lot of sense all-around given we see V with his/her own office with legitimate managerial duties. On the other hand, V's employee profile describes V as a natural field operative who's captured enemy spies and defended the corporation from threats all-around. V's profile says that he/she is an Arasaka "Agent." And we see Arasaka Agents several times throughout the game around the city and during quests. They're usually either making shady deals out on the streets or outright assassins sent to kill people. And during the prologue, V even gets tasked with putting together their own team for a hit job - and they already seem to have a team back at the office doing ops for Arasaka.

[@Dadore17]

There as a time during the Betas / Alphas, were the story would varied between to characters, Valerie (female V) a Streedkid Solo and Vincent (Male V) a Corpo Netrunner. Some of that might have make it to the actual game we got. Beside the version on the trailers that is Clearly a Male V StreedKid with a reflex build

[@PurveyorTube]

Love the long form lore videos on cyberpunk. Keep up the good and entertaining videos.

[@EyeofCenter]

Thanks, friend. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@michaelinyanguko7060]

Corpo v is actually badass and according to their file was an excellent operative which would explain their skills

[@EyeofCenter]

That was mostly what inspired this whole video. That one set of write-ups that can easily be missed on the first playthrough completely changes one's impression of the entire Corpo character. It really tells us that V is more akin to the Arasaka assassins chasing after the player and Takemura rather than traditional Corporates/Execs like Jenkins or Meredith Stout.

[@thebigshep]

Fun fact for anyone that doesn't know: that glowing red number on the mirror at the beginning is the originally slated release date for the game before it was delayed (NC=Night City, 77=2077, 0416= April 16th)

[@EyeofCenter]

Nice catch. If you look on Corpo V's computer, that number also acts as his/her employee number.

[@pm.meowth4850]

vids are spot on mate

[@EyeofCenter]

Glad you think so, friend. Thanks.

[@namekiz3199]

more over, i heard somewhere that V might heard about David event in the game but end up didn't have to deal with it, that's amazing

[@EyeofCenter]

Loved the connection after seeing Edgerunners. Since Corpo V's been working with Arasaka Counterintel for 2 years by 77, he/she would have been around when David comes up against them. If you wanna see that text message, it's right here (just go to 18 min. if you wanna skip all the nonsense I included in the video): kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKOyfqSXn6h2pcU

[@namekiz3199]

@@EyeofCenter thanks, that confirmed it

[@daemonredfield3211]

I wonder what company Corpo V's parents worked for; he mentioned growing up in Charter Hill (which is where a lot of corpo families reside) but Arasaka didn't return to Night City until 2070.

[@EyeofCenter]

I talked about that at 36:44 in this one. Arasaka is almost certainly ruled out. It could have been any of the companies in the game - and even some companies from the TTRPG books that don't exist anymore by the 77 era. I personally think the idea of them working for Ziggurat would be kind of cool - and it would definitely explain why V never followed in their footsteps. Night Corp is another interesting one. We know from the game that they don't have the best track record when it comes to how they treat their employees, that would also kind of justify why a Corpo V stayed away from them (and it would add a lot more depth to V telling Sandra Dorsett that anyone attacking Night Corp deserves respect).

[@L11ghtman]

Something people don’t get is that Corpo is not just a job. It’s not like Cyberpunk Corpos are the same as just having a white collar job in real-life 2024. Being a Cyberpunk Corpo is like being in a separate social caste entirely. It’s a lifestyle. Most of us, even those of us with good jobs today, would not be Corpos if we lived in Cyberpunk. There is no middle class in cyberpunk.

[@EyeofCenter]

Definitely. While V's background is certainly unconventional, V does allude to growing up in a wealthy and privileged family. Being a Corporate is something characters are born into most of the time.

[@Fourm4t]

I'm a fan of people's views on things in general and like this type of content. Trouble I have (apologies) with is more of a preference the back ground fan noise? Is there any voice alterations going on I want to raise volume but something sounds off to me.

[@EyeofCenter]

The background noise is just part of the recording. I've tried to mitigate, but I don't really have the best set-up for audio. I was going to re-record some of this video because of it, but things have been a little hectic as it is. I see you liked and subscribed, so I'm glad you still enjoyed the video.

[@Polumetis]

The Corpo lifepath has a big problem in my opinion: as someone who's experienced the "big leagues" already and knows it's not all peaches and cream, V's motivation for the first act seems forced to me. To me, the Streetkid lifepath is the one true lifepath.

[@EyeofCenter]

Even a monarch won't be excused for speaking such blasphemous words. In all seriousness though, the corporate big leagues are very different from the mercenary big-leagues that V is trying to break into during the rest of the game. I went into this in the video, but the corporate world is a very warped and even more dangerous than the streets in a lot of ways. The way I see the Corpo Lifepath is that V is one of the few people who actually manages to see this and get out before it's too late (something a lot of other characters in this game die before they manage to do). Also, Corpo V hadn't really seen "the big leagues" per se. V is just middle-management. Fully disposable and forgettable. Even V's boss and his boss are much the same. As Jackie points out, the Arasakas are the ones in the "big leagues" while most of the Corporates work and toil down below. In the Corpo prologue, even Takemura or Oda would be very far up the ladder compared to V.

[@Polumetis]

@@EyeofCenter I disagree. I don’t believe there’s much difference between corpo and solo big leagues, nor would I place the Arasakas there. They’re so far beyond the big leagues since the family itself is basically a global super power on their own. For me, Corpo V’s story would thematically make more sense if he somehow went to the Star ending straight from the prologue.

[@EyeofCenter]

@@Polumetis (Wall of text ahead, very interesting debate, lots of thoughts) There's a connection between the two from time to time, but I think the corporate world is very different and very seperate from the world of the Afterlife and Fixers that V is trying to break into. The corporate world in this series revolves entirely around megacorps and people who work for them. These are supposed to be the elites of the world who a lot of time were born into the jobs they have. These are also people who make decisions that affect entire cities and deal with governments all around the world on equal footing. While they'll use street connections and hire street mercs here or there, they're very much supposed to be removed from what goes on in the streets. Concepts like "Street Cred" or "rep" have nothing to do with them and they live their whole lives in the corporations. Also, the corporate world is very much entirely controlled and overseen by people like the Arasakas (which is why I mentioned them). The "street world" is supposed to have its shot-callers and power-players, but they're nowhere near as powerful or as influential. And as we see in the game and the tabletop, these people actually have nothing to do with the corporations most of the time. In fact, a lot of these people are even opposed to the corporations (this was more a thing in the books). These are supposed to be street criminals who live in and run the underworld. There are Solos like Morgan Blackhand or Adam Smasher who work exclusively for a corporation - but even these people are very much just high-ranking grunts beneath corporates. And that's not really what V is trying to do. But this is why I said the Lifepaths in this game were very detailed. There was so much nuance to each background that players can roleplay the same characters in so many ways down to some of the smallest details.

[@Wizard_Pikachu]

After replaying the game for the first time in a year, and choosing the Male V nomad life path and going with the ending with Panam, that honestly feels like the best life path, and I'm just starting on the corpos so we'll see how well it all ties together

[@EyeofCenter]

@@Wizard_Pikachu All the Lifepaths in this game make for very interesting character arcs overall. I think I said this in the video, but CDPR did do a very good job writing these backstories for V. That's no small feat given that you only hear about these things in passing throughout the game.

[@Bee_Mavrick]

I'd wish this game had more life path choices. Sometimes I wonder when playing corpo is if my choices to take certain jobs would be considered corporate choices. Like there's no sign saying this is the corpo path besides dialogs. I saw no need to kill Nash as a corporate.

[@EyeofCenter]

This game should have had more roleplaying elements. Definitely. Also, there is one role from the CP books I definitely think could have made it into this game. A fourth Lifepath could have been made out of the Lawman. It would have opened up a whole bunch of new dialogues with a lot of different characters in my opinion.

[@Bee_Mavrick]

@@EyeofCenter I rp lawman a few times in the game. I hope the next game goes into that more. Also if picking corpo v you can trick a guard when planting a bug on the floats adds to the game. The rest don't get something special like that besides nomad v giving Jackie advice about a muffler. Not sure what street v gets though. But street v should be neutral to the Valentinos where a Corpo v wouldn't and have to bribe his way in to places.

[@EyeofCenter]

@@Bee_Mavrick I remember the one you're talking about. V gives a fake name and tells him he's there for inspection. There are more (like the Street Kid telling the cops to leave it to him/her during Only Pain) and I definitely wished we had more moments like that which really affected the game.

[@EyeofCenter]

@Gr8sc0tt Definitely. I think there would have been a few unique moments in this game with a Lawman Lifepath. It would have made moments like V and Jackie seeing MaxTac so much more interesting. Of all the roles in the books, I think this would have fit perfectly in the game.

[@hardlife3844]

Are all the videos done in this processed fake whisper voice? I'm interested in the content, but can't get past the delivery.

[@EyeofCenter]

Most of that was pitch editing/speed editing to try and make the audio less boring and more bearable. I've been working on this kind of stuff for a while now and I tried a lot of different ways of recording and playing with sound/adding filters and whatnot because listening to myself reading these scripts in my regular speaking voice is a painful experience. Because this was Cyberpunk, I started trying a full-blown filter in some later videos, but I found a better space to record and I've done away with the effects/filters/pitch edits nowadays. I still think my basic reading/speaking voice is just boring and annoying to listen to for 30-40-50 minutes on end. But if you're interested, you can check out my later work and see for yourself which one is better: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ml6uaqJqndGBbLM

[@basedgamer6624]

How would you build a Corpo V? I know he’s not your typical Corpo and can be a solo.

[@EyeofCenter]

I went for a Brawler in my game. Definitely max out Body and Cool. You can put the rest of the points in whatever you want. Probably Reflexes, if you want a combat-versatile build. For most builds, my advice is to ignore Tech entirely unless you absolutely need it. Tech is absolutely useless unless you want specific weapons that can only be obtained through crafting. You can find Legendary armor (and even Legendary weapons with unique modifiers you normally can't even craft) lying around in the game world that matches your current level. You can also just buy whatever armor/weapon mods you need from vendors.

[@basedgamer6624]

@@EyeofCenterwow you’re the first person that I seen that doesn’t recommend Tech! From what I seen around the community people usually recommend tech to create the most powerful weapons.

[@EyeofCenter]

@@basedgamer6624 Those weapons are pretty important if you're planning builds that need them. For a Brawler build though, they're pretty useless. You can't have Body, Cool, Tech, and Reflexes raised high enough to use those weapons to their maximum potential as a Brawler. As a Brawler, you're better off focusing on brawling and equipping unique Legendaries for whenever you feel like going John Wick.

[@brianegendorf2023]

I think the lifepaths were wasted in several ways in this game. If I had made the game: 1. V should have been a Nomad with some weapons perks and had her storyline as is. 2. Jackie would have been the street kid with slightly different weapons perks..His story and a different set of missions would start much earlier, and dying in the car with V would have been the end of his game/story. I am torn between the Corpo being Takemura or Hanako, but they would get start with a basic cyber set and a few perk points in Breaching and Quickhacking. Their part of the story would be get V to agree to being soulkilled so that Arasaka can get Johnny back..

[@EyeofCenter]

That would make a very good story arc for a video game. Personally, I like the Lifepaths in this game. I definitely think they all should have been more fleshed out, but there's actually a lot of subtle details and backstory info that makes for some very good roleplaying.

[@eusuntlupulalb]

We need more than 3 life path in Cyberpunk. We need and want more life path as militech, fixer

[@EyeofCenter]

A Lifepath from the tabletop series I always thought could have fit in perfectly in this game would have been Lawman. That would basically be a cross between Street Kid and Corpo. There's already plenty of interactions with Lawman characters in this game. They easily could have made it a distinct Lifepath and given V unique Lawman dialogue in the same vein they did Corpo and Nomad.

[@Coach_Gaming_Today]

For me street kid is the best

[@EyeofCenter]

That is heresy and blasphemy and may God have mercy on your soul.

[@Coach_Gaming_Today]

@@EyeofCenter i hope he has mercy on my soul for he has not had mercy on my life

[@EyeofCenter]

@@Coach_Gaming_Today Sorry to hear, friend. I know that feeling.

[@Coach_Gaming_Today]

@@EyeofCenter well whatever you do go with god

[@Nico-zm2yq]

𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙢 🤘