Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that has no shortage of incredible characters. While everybody’s reception of the game varies, one of the best aspects of the game almost no one will discredit is its rich and deep lore, and this extends to some of the personalities fans meet in Night City.
Night City, with all of its bells, whistles, and wonders, is also one of the most unsafe places on the planet. The city and its outskirts are filled with mercenaries, gangs, cyberpsychos, and suits with overpowered Ripperdoc upgrades which they use to kill without a second thought. Players will have to face a couple of them or step in their shoes in Cyberpunk 2077.
Updated October 4, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: Night City is a place where legends are made, so it’s only a given that several people come here in the hope that they’ll attain glory in some form or the other.
However, the truth is that Night City is actually a vicious place where most people are used by others in power, with a small percentage of these hopefuls actually becoming the legends they crave to be. Here are some of the strongest characters in Night City that deserve a mention for becoming just enduring parts of the city’s heritage and culture.
15 Jackie Welles, An Ex-Member Of The Valentinos
Jackie Welles is V’s close friend who meets an untimely end near the start of the game during a heist that goes terribly wrong. He suffers a mortal injury after a huge drop that breaks the biochip and leads to a series of events that kickstart the game’s main plot.
The fact that he was grievously wounded yet still managed to shoot down waves of Arasaka agents competently proves that Jackie definitely had a ton of grit. Unfortunately, he met an early demise before he could really make the most of his potential.
14 Panam Palmer, A Member Of The Aldecaldos
Panam is easily one of the most resourceful and hardy characters in the entire game. She has wild and crazy plans that almost always work out, and her romance with V is the icing on the cake that is her character.
She might not boast any major cybernetic augments, but she more than makes up for it with a zeal to aspire for more instead of settling into a basic rhythm. This is one of the major reasons why players love her character and consider most interactions with her to be a highlight of the game.
13 Placide Of The Voodoo Boys
Placide is the second-in-command of the Voodoo Boys, one of the most powerful and terrifying gangs of Night City. Most people who encounter Placide will attest to the man’s threatening aura as if he exudes power.
Placide is a man of few words, often relying on his actions to speak for him. Depending on the player’s actions in the game, Placide will either be an enemy or a hesitant neutral. Fighting him will make more sense to the story, but if the player isn’t powerful enough yet, they should avoid this encounter.
12 Razor Hugh Of The Animals
Razor Hugh is the final fighter V must face to complete the Beat on the Brat side gig. This side gig, of course, involves the players having to go around Night City to participate in and win fistfight matches. These matches aren’t exactly easy either. Each of the competitors V will have to face are tough in their own way, and Razor Hugh is the toughest one of them all.
Razor is a member of the Animals gang. He was already a formidable fighter but became even tougher after receiving sponsorships for cyberware upgrades.
11 Chase Coley, Night City’s Most Dangerous Cyberpsycho
The cyberpsychos in Cyberpunk 2077 may not be mandatory encounters, but whenever V faces them, they’re often some of the hardest bosses this game has to offer. Thankfully, going through these side gigs will often reward players will incredible items that will help them on their journey. The hardest of these cyberpsycho encounters is Chase Coley.
Chase Coley is a cyberpsycho who fights players using a heavy and powerful mech suit. Defeating this enemy is easier said than done and will require a bit of strategizing. Facing him head-on is essentially suicide, but defeating him will be worth it.
10 Royce, Leader Of The Maelstrom
Being a leader of a gang is no small feat. The gangs of Night City are ruthless and are filled to the brim with extremely powerful individuals that will waste no time in ensuring that they get what they want at the cost of any life, innocent or otherwise.
The leader of the Maelstrom, Royce, is one such individual who can prove to be a major threat in his own right. Players can definitely ally with him and fight against Militech forces instead, but deciding to take on the Maelstrom ends up being a challenging endeavor because Royce and his crewmates absolutely wreck the house!
9 Sasquatch, Leader Of The Animals
Sasquatch is the leader of the Animals that players can encounter while infiltrating the Grand Imperial Mall in the Pacifica district. The GIM is full to the brim with the Animals, who’ll waste no time in trying to shoot V down.
However, V is strong enough to take all of them on, leading to Sasquatch herself coming out in a bid to stop V in his tracks. This proves to be a challenging endeavor, but V has enough power to take Sasquatch while also dealing with the many aggressive hacks of an unknown Netrunnner who turns out to be a member of NetWatch.
8 Sandayu Oda, Hanako Arasaka’s Personal Bodyguard
Sandayu Oda is a cyberninja who acts as Hanako Arasaka’s personal bodyguard. In his youth, he was personally trained by Goro Takemura, the personal bodyguard of the head of the Arasaka empire.
Sandayu Oda set foot in Night City when Hanako was summoned after the death of her father. Oda reunites with his mentor on his visit, albeit in a less respectable setting. Despite being pleaded by Takemura, Oda refuses to get entangled in the politics and intricacies of Saburo’s murder, instead focusing on defending the woman he’s supposed to protect.
7 Rogue Amendiares, Queen Of Night City
Rogue Amendiares is known and recognized by many as the best fixer in Night City. She also owns a club called “Afterlife”, a place frequented by mercenaries and clients alike. Before Rogue was renowned as a fixer, she worked as a solo and a pretty good one at that.
Due to Rogue’s position as the best fixer in Night City, a place already filled with powerful fixers, one would not want to be on her bad side. Despite the fact that she has powerful connections and resources, her experience as a solo makes her a very formidable fighter.
6 Goro Takemura, Ex-Arasaka Bodyguard
Goro Takemura is the trustee bodyguard of the esteemed Saburo Arasaka. Unfortunately for Takemura, his master died on his watch. Throughout the game, Takemura makes an unlikely ally in V as he seeks vengeance for his master’s death.
One doesn’t rise to the level of being the personal bodyguard of the head of the Arasaka Megacorporation by being weak. Goro Takemura was also handpicked by Saburo himself, seeing the strength, talent, and potential in him. Takemura is also shown to handle situations that would be impossible to do for any man with ease.
5 Yorinobu Arasaka, Heir To The Arasaka Empire
Yorinobu Arasaka is a man nobody wants to cross. First of all, he was the heir apparent to the Arasaka empire before finally reining the helm after he murdered his father. Second, prior to returning to Night City, Yorinobu started and lead his own gang called the “Steel Dragons”.
What not many people may realize about Yorinobu is the fact that he’s a very formidable fighter due to his experience with his gang. He has constantly led his group in their efforts to weaken the Arasaka empire, though he later realized this could be easier done from the inside.
4 Johnny Silverhand, Rockerboy & Terrorist
If there’s one sole individual who has done more damage to the all-powerful Arasaka Megacorporation, it is Night City’s beloved rocker boy, Johnny Silverhand.
Prior to garnering success as a musician, Johnny Silverhand served with the U.S. Military before deserting. He has also personally experienced the harshest realities of life when he grew up in the streets of Night City alone. Although he had long passed (technically) by the events of the game, Johnny was very proficient with his power revolver, easily being able to infiltrate the Arasaka HQ with very few allies.
3 Adam Smasher, The Weapon Of Arasaka
Adam Smasher’s name is one that will strike fear in the hearts of even the most powerful people in Night City. According to those who have laid their eyes on cybernetic beast, he is more cyborg than man. Most of his body is literally covered in cyberware after being hit by an RPG blast. He also shows a lack of remorse and empathy, both for enemies and allies, further demonstrating his detachment from humanity.
It goes without saying that Adam is indeed a powerful fellow. He is one of the game’s toughest bosses and he gained even more prominence for being the one who landed the killing blow on Johnny Silverhand.
2 Saburo Arasaka, The Emperor Of Arasaka
Sometimes, power doesn’t mean having the most impressive and damaging cybernetics around. Power can be earned through other means in a world that prides money over everything else, which is where Saburo Arasaka decided to reign supreme.
His creation of Arasaka Corp. was nothing short of a revolution that changed the very power dynamic of the world itself. Arasaka can do anything and everything, and the fact that his death still didn’t take Saburo Arasaka out of commission shows just how all-encompassing his presence really is in the world of Cyberpunk 2077.
1 V, Vincent Or Valerie, The Player Character
Of course, the main protagonist is the game’s most powerful character. Although it wasn’t always the case, by the end of the game, V is the most powerful character in Night City considering they managed to defeat most of the most powerful characters in Night City.
V can defeat every fighter from the Beat on the Brat side gig and all the cyberpsychos in the game. They also managed something Johnny Silverhand couldn’t do, which is killing Adam Smasher.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
