One of the most difficult fights in Cyberpunk 2077 can be trivialized with the help of an exploit recently shared online. While the game's fistfights are normally a test of V's reflexes, the exploit enables players to turn the tables on a would-be boxing champion.
While many players spend their time in Cyberpunk 2077 augmenting V's hacking skills, it is entirely possible for players to approach the game with a melee-only build. This approach requires players to invest heavily in V's Body Attribute and gain experience with katanas, or blunt weapons like baseball bats for those who would prefer a non-lethal approach. V's melee skills are put to the test in the Beat the Brat side-quest chain, which sees V participate in a number of high-stakes boxing matches around Night City.
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The final fight of the Beat the Brat sequence sees V face Razor Hugh, a cybernetically-augmented boxer. Given that the fight is taking place in a small boxing ring, and Razor Hugh deals extraordinary damage, it's a hard fight even for those who have augmented themselves with Gorilla Arms. However, if V places a katana in the ring prior to the match, as shared by Reddit user AJSmith01, V can instead use the katana once the match begins. Unsurprisingly, this makes the match substantially easier.
It's interesting to note that Hugh only appears knocked-out after facing the wrath of V's katana, rather than dead. This is confusing, since katanas are valuable for their ability to kill during a normal playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077. This confirms that the ability to bring a katana into the ring is an exploit, rather than an intended strategy; the developers likely never considered the possibility that players would actually kill Hugh in the ring.
Sadly, while it may be exciting to turn the fistfight into a cakewalk, the quest barely awards V anything meaningful for doing so. In fact, the player can actually bet against themselves and throw the match beforehand, as a way to earn some easy Credits. While V's nominal mentor Coach Fred will praise V in the event of winning, there is no special equipment waiting for V after he or she wins.
While many of Cyberpunk 2077's more intriguing strategies are exploits, rather than intended solutions, there's no denying they make the game far more interesting. Whether players are relying on exploits to earn extra experience or using parkour to bypass driving challenges, the game rewards creative thinking for those capable of figuring out and exploiting the game world's rules. Unfortunately, as often as not the game's glitches serve to hinder gameplay, rather than enhance it, so it is nice to see instances where players can actually benefit.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions coming later in 2021.