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Those who are on the Very Hard difficulty might think this challenge is too much to bear and be tempted to turn things down. But remember that harder difficulties mean more experience in Cyberpunk 2077. Even Easy mode players will want to consider turning it up for this just to get the extra leveling in. The first few entries will focus on general strategies, but gamers who are feeling confident will find the locations of these fights and how to handle each one as points five through one.

Updated on November 16th, 2021 by Hodey Johns: Welcome to the hardest gig in the game, side gig or otherwise. The Beat the Brat mission is one of the first available after the semi-tutorial yet it can easily be failed by players who have fully cleared everything else in Night City. Lacking the right strategy and a particular build, it can be impossible for even veteran players to achieve victory during one or more of the gigs. The game has been getting patched and new players are slowly coming back, but Beat the Brat remains a brutal obstacle in between players and 100% completion. This guide has been updated with additional tactics and strategies so that any player with any build and at any skill level can get this gig done on the game’s toughest difficulties.

How To Cheese The Fights

If players are looking for a fair fight with even odds, then they shouldn’t be living in Night City. The very first fight in the mission is stacked against V in a very obvious way using a very stupid technicality. So don’t play by the rules. Use a solid first-week mod if that’s what it takes.

In all of these fights, the opponents refuse to fight close to the edge of the ring. Stand on the edge and notice how they will stop in place. Go just close enough so that the fighter will charge in. Then move behind the target and strong attack them so they stumble outside of the area where they are comfortable. Their script tells them to get back to the main area and they will not fight until they do so. Block their path and they will be stuck either running in place or in a T pose, allowing V to win the fights easily.

The Exploit To Use A Blunt Weapon

During a Beat the Brat fight, V will be locked out from using inventory items. But before the fight, it’s all fair game. This is a trick that will allow the player to use a blunt object during the fight. Gamers can choose some of the best options from the Reflexes tree to win, but a baseball bat works just as well.

Take a blunt weapon and set it down, then queue up the fight. Then pick it up with the “Equip” option and V will be holding it. Make sure it’s blunt because if it isn’t, the target will die and the questline will break. Also, don’t try this trick with a gun as it won’t work properly.

Equip The Gorilla Arms

With conventional means, weapons have essentially been eliminated from use in these contests with one major exception. Other arms weapons like the Mantis Blades and Monowire have been appropriately disabled but the Gorilla Arms are not. The Gorilla Arms are an unquantifiable magnitude better than regular unarmed strikes.

The most important part of the Gorilla Arms is that they so much damage (varies based on weapon rarity and perks). Plus, the attack speed is over two times faster than regular punches. Many players report needing to get off hundreds of regular punches to defeat some of these fighters so just imagine how handy these can be. Plus, after getting enough regular punches off, the Gorilla Arms charge up a strong attack that deals vastly more damage than an average strong attack.

Buy them from a Ripperdoc at 45 street cred.

Use Consumables

V might be built using the very best abilities in the Cool tree, but those benefits won’t work in the boxing ring. Don’t fret, take some consumables before the battle begins and keep 100% of the benefits.

The best choices are ones that increase V’s max health, health regeneration, and stamina regeneration. Even on the hardest settings, stamina is usually not too much of an obstacle, though these fistfights can be prolonged, so this is a good opportunity to make use of stamina-boosting consumables.

Since each respec costs $100,000 eddies, it’s unwise to do so just for this side gig. Hopefully, that cost is something that gets fixed later, but there are many other fixes the game needs first. Yet there are a few perks to take a look at because they will help players of all builds.

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Nearly everything in the Athletics and Street Brawler trees will help with these battles, but the two best ones are Regeneration (allows health to increase during battle) and Rush (regenerate health on melee strikes).

Ideal Cyberware Enhancements

It’s not a good idea to go broke just for this side gig. There is usually not enough money for the game’s cars with a 100% completion, so spending eddies for a single gig isn’t smart. Thankfully, most of these can be found or lower quality versions can be sold for cheaper prices.

Biomonitor: Restores health every few minutes when life gets below 15%. Blood Pump: Activate to instantly restore health. Second Heart: Restores V to full health after taking fatal damage. Syn-Lungs: Increases stamina regen. Cataresist: Increases all resistances (including physical resistance). Pain Editor: Reduces all incoming damage by 10%. Biodyne berserk: Activate to increase melee damage and all resistances (including physical resistance). Bionic Lungs: Increases stamina.

Armor isn’t listed here because armor does not reduce melee damage. All the damage taken in this mission is going to be from melee sources, so it’s not effective.

Kabuki Location

The twins are the first challenge for V. Cyberpunk 2077 is full of plot holes, but maybe the biggest one is how nobody calls out that “twins” count as one person. No matter, it’s the last fight where this garbage happens, so just get through this. By lining up the combatants so that one is in front of the other, V only has to fight one at a time, so keep strafing left and right to make this a battle of two separate one-on-ones.

The twins have the same moves, so don’t worry about which is which. If they flip places, accept it, and keep going; lining them up feels like a one-on-one anyway, so taking out one first isn’t important. They also have a very obvious tell for when they are vulnerable. When they spread both their arms out to the side in a related t-pose, stop blocking and give them some swift hits. The reward isn’t anything to complete the stash wall with, but V does get to go to the next mission.

Arroyo Location

Buck is not going to give one of the best quotes in the game, he likes to let his fists do the talking. Do not try to block his strikes, as his powerful punches will go straight through. His biggest weakness is dodging because he’s very slow on his recovery and easily staggered. So dodge when he throws a hit and unleash a flurry of strikes to whittle him down.

Some crafty players have discovered that Buck has a very severe weakness to exploit. When he is staggered, he will always go back to blocking after exiting the stagger. This enables him to be looped eternally with heavy punches that will stagger him with each blow. Charge up a heavy hit, release it when he blocks, charge up another, and when he finishes staggering and returns to blocking, let it loose. Repeat this until it is over. The sequence is much easier to understand than any of the endings.

The Glen Location

If you’re flat-footed, César can be the hardest of the fight in the Beat the Brat series because of his signature attack that hits like a ton of bricks. He’ll pump his fists to his side, dash two or three times, and then jump in the air to deliver a punch. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to spot and dodge after seeing it a few times and he’s got no variety, so dodge this attack and then deliver a haymaker each time until it’s done.

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It is tempting to see how many punches V can get in after this dodge maneuver, but cut off the assault at three punches and run away. Backing off with trigger his signature move, but this move is his greatest weakness. In a straight-up fight, V will take damage too quickly. After it’s over, grab one of the game’s fastest motorcycles and head off to the next fight.

Rancho Coronado Location

The champion here is a self-proclaimed animal named Rhino. Rhino doesn’t have a “special” attack specifically, but her hits will take away most of V’s health. Even a body attribute V will probably only be able to take three hits before it’s game over. She’s got a wind-up that takes a long time to unleash, so either interrupt her or dodge and hit her on the follow-through.

It has been discovered that double jumping with Reinforced Tendons is the best way to dodge her attacks, especially since there is not much room to run around. Dodge her this way and stay away from her until she blocks. When Rhino blocks, hit her with a heavy attack to stagger her, take a few extra swings, then retreat again when she recovers. Much like how the game is too ambitious for its own good, Rhino’s offense or formidable, it’s her defense that is found to be lacking.

The Final Fight With Razor

The easiest way to “win” this fight is to lose. V makes more credits that way thanks to a bribe presented before starting the brawl. By winning outright, the reward is more street credit, but that’s easier to earn. For those who still want to win in a normal fashion, stay in the back of the ring opposite of Razor. He’ll burst forward and can be easily blocked and countered. He’s got a lot of life and will automatically heal up for 50% when he hits 10% health, but just keep repeating this for ten minutes until he goes down.

Players have discovered that Rhino’s script is busted when using a specific item. By using the Thermal Knuckles, Rhino will always do a straightforward dash and punch, which can be blocked, then leaving him exposed for two jabs. He never does any other moves with this technique.

Congratulations on completing Beat the Brat, one of the hardest gigs in Cyberpunk 2077!

Cyberpunk 2077 was released on September 17, 2020, and is available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and PC.

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