As an avid Cyberpunk 2077 fan and modder with over 200 hours played, I‘ve tried hundreds of mods in my quest to build the ultimate Night City experience tailored to my preferences.
In this guide, I‘ll cut through the noise and share the absolute must-have mods for new and veteran players alike. I‘ve carefully chosen, tested and ranked the following 6 mods that will massively improve visuals, gameplay mechanics, quality-of-life and more in Cyberpunk 2077.
Let‘s plug into the Matrix!
Why Mod Cyberpunk 2077?
While Cyberpunk 2077 delivered an impressive, content-rich open world, it also shipped with numerous bugs, visual downgrades from early trailers and lacking gameplay systems that eroded immersion.
Thankfully, mods from Cyberpunk‘s talented modding community let you enjoy the game as you want – whether that means restoring cut features, adding handy tools, rebalancing mechanics or visual upgrades breathing new life into Night City.
To showcase the transformative power of mods, over 5.3 million Cyberpunk 2077 mods have been downloaded on sites like NexusMods as players customize their experience. The top mods have added 100,000s of hours of new content and playability!
I‘ve tested mods extensively over multiple playthroughs, and carefully compiled this list of must-have mods guaranteed to help both new players and veterans fall back in love with Cyberpunk 2077!
Comparison of Top 6 Cyberpunk Mods
| Mod | Category | Downloads | Notable Effects | Endorsements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E3 2018 Lighting | Visual/Graphics | 550k+ | Restores E3 lighting and shadows for enhanced mood/atmosphere | 13k+ |
| Drone Companions | Gameplay | 430k+ | Adds drone follower system with customizable loadouts to aid in combat | 2.8k+ |
| Enhanced Police | Gameplay / Immersion | 270k+ | Overhauls police spawning and wanted system for realistic response | 5.6k+ |
| Lifepath Bonuses and Gang-Corp Traits | RPG / Gameplay | 155k+ | Adds skills, traits and depth based around lifepath; enhances enemy AI | 2.6k+ |
| Auto Scaling Weapons and Armor | Loot / Economy | 279k+ | Dynamically scales gear to player level so equipment stays useful | 2.3k+ |
| Arasaka Cyberarms | Visuals / Immersion | 139k+ | Adds awesome-looking arm cyberware options with various decorative skins | 1.7k+ |
Now let‘s explore what makes each of these incredible mods so essential:
1. E3 2018 Lighting
- Downloads: 550,000+
- Endorsements: 13,000+
- Categories Improved: Visuals/Graphics, Immersion/Atmosphere
E3 2018 Lighting is the quintessential graphics upgrade for Cyberpunk 2077. Night City‘s bright, oversaturated default look fails to capture the dark, rainy, neon-lit vibe shown in early demos.
Modder Faded994‘s superb lighting overhaul restores the dramatic high-contrast lighting and shadows that made early Cyberpunk footage look so stunning.
Key features:
- Modifies time of day, ambient light values for richer shadows
- Removes ugly grain filter for clean image quality
- Applies color correction tweaks bringing back grittier 2018 E3 mood
- Retunes scene exposure, bloom effects for balanced high-contrast look
- Functions standalone or stacks with other visual mods like REshade
The final effect brings back the atmosphere that made us fall in love with Cyberpunk 2077‘s dystopian future in the first place. This easy visual upgrade is absolutely essential and takes no time to install – just follow the instructions!
2. Drone Companions
- Downloads: 430,000+
- Endorsements: 2,800+
- Categories Improved: Gameplay, Combat, Quality-of-Life
While Cyberpunk 2077‘s gunplay and hacking are fun, less action-oriented players can struggle and may prefer avoiding fights. That‘s where the awesome Drone Companions mod shines!
Creator CensusViolence delivers an incredible alternative combat approach using flying drones. Rather than charging into the line of fire yourself, coordinated drone strikes allow completing missions in a strategic, non-lethal manner.
Key features:
- Recruit up to 3 drones with varied skills like combat, disruption, healing
- Fully customize weapon loadouts for each drone
- Unlock upgrades and new drones via detailed skill tree
- Drones have equippable quickhack suites for coordinated attacks
- Includes 40+ new items, dozens of abilities, dedicated UI
Drone Companions adds an entirely new layer of strategy while being friendly to less skilled players. The polished execution shows amazing technical skill by CensusViolence, rivalling official DLCs!
3. Enhanced Police
- Downloads: 270,000+
- Endorsements: 5,600+
- Categories Improved: Gameplay, Immersion, Quality-of-Life
No mod better showcases the incredible talent of Cyberpunk‘s modding scene than Enhanced Police. Modder McFaces utterly transformed the janky, immersion-breaking police system with an incredible AI and response overhaul.
Rather than cops teleporting out of nowhere, police vehicles now actually show up to crime scenes and realistically hunt you at higher wanted levels. The enhanced dispatch system delivers the tense, exciting feel missing before!
Key features:
- Police vehicles drive to investigate crime scenes, rather than spawning randomly
- Realistic search behavior for hiding players rather than instant knowledge of your location
- New audio dispatch system reporting crimes over radio based on wanted level
- Immersive popup messages for "busted" and "wanted fading" states
- Performance optimized scripts maintaining high framerates during chases
For me, Enhanced Police was the mod that made Night City finally feel alive – where my actions have logical consequences from a reactive police force. This mod represents what is possible when the community takes things into their own talented hands!
Expanded Modding Guide
Now let‘s dive deeper into successfully installing these incredible mods to customize your Cyberpunk 2077 experience. Follow these best practices for a smooth, seamlessly enhanced game:
Required Modding Tools
While manual mod installation is possible, using mods managers like Vortex makes the process infinitely easier.
Vortex handles file management, auto-sorting of mod order, provides update notifications and more. I cannot recommend Vortex enough as the best way for hassle-free modding.
You will also need the Cyber Engine Tweaks toolkit as a prerequisite for many mods like Drone Companions. Consider it essential.
Installation Step-by-Step
With Vortex installed and Cyber Engine Tweaks set up, follow this exact sequence for smooth installation:
- Check each mod page for required dependencies, install those first
- Carefully read installation instructions on the mod page
- Download the mod through Vortex, enabling automatic sorting
- Launch the game and verify mod is active as intended
- Incrementally add mods one at a time, testing before adding more
This controlled process minimizes likelihood of issues. Resist the urge to install 20 mods simultaneously!
Load Order and Troubleshooting
If you experience crashes, visual glitches or broken functionality after installing mods, load order may be the culprit.
Vortex auto-sorting gets things mostly right, but carefully review order manually and ensure major toolkits like Cyber Engine Tweaks load before gameplay mods.
If issues persist, disable mods incrementally until you isolate the conflict. Don‘t hesitate to ask the mod author questions – most are happy to help diagnose problems!
Following these best practices religiously, I‘ve encountered very few stability issues across multiple playthroughs. Take it slow, and your game will reward you with truckloads of new content!
Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions on your modding adventures!
Final Thoughts
Thanks to Cyberpunk 2077‘s incredible mod support and community, we can massively improve and customize the experience to our taste in ways the developers never intended.
With brilliant mods like E3 2018 Lighting, Drone Companions, Enhanced Police and more, I‘ve utterly transformed combat, visuals and immersion to new heights across multiple playthroughs.
I hope this handpicked collection of my must-have mods helps you discover new ways to enjoy everything Night City has to offer. Happy modding, and remember – we have a city to burn!
What are your favorite Cyberpunk 2077 mods? Let me know in the comments!
