In Cyberpunk 2077, early on, the protagonist receives a side quest «Cyberpsycho Sighting» from Regina Jones, who asks to find and neutralize seventeen cyberpsychos in the city and its surroundings. Battles with these elite enemies will be available as you explore the game world. All opponents are needed alive by the fixer for research purposes, so they must only be neutralized. Below, we detail all the possible ways to non-lethally take down cyberpsychos.
To complete the task, it's enough to get close to the enemy and deliver a large number of punches or use the butt of the weapon. This method is considered the longest, as cyberpsychos have much more health than regular enemies, so the fights with them will take a considerable amount of time. However, it's not necessary to fight them this way. It's sufficient to leave the enemy with about 3-5% health using ranged weapons and then finish them off with one of the options mentioned above.
A modification for the «Kiroshi» optical implant, which is often found throughout Night City, changes the damage from all used weapons to non-lethal. Additionally, it disables extra headshot damage, and all smart weapons aim for limbs.
Before combat, it's necessary to install this modification in the used weapon. It disables the possibility of lethal hits and allows players to attack opponents without killing them. Now the cyberpsycho cannot receive fatal damage, so when their health bar drops to zero, the enemy will be alive.
A non-lethal combat script that can be remotely used on a cyberpsycho. It causes an overload in the enemy's circuits for a while, dealing significant damage and applying an electromagnetic pulse effect on the target. Formally, there are two more scripts in the game: «Synapse Burnout» and «Suicide». The lethal effect of these daemons does not work on psychopaths, so they can also be used when fulfilling the fixer's contract.
This weapon, in «Pacifist and Puppies» mode, also does not deal lethal damage. However, there's a catch. After finding the item, you need to select «Stone Cold Killer» mode and, after 50 kills of regular enemies, the pistol will permanently switch to the required mode. It can be found in the «Vista Del Rey» neighborhood of the «Heywood» district. To do this, move to «Arasaka Tower» and follow the necessary point on the map. Turn off the main road into the alley and climb over the fence. The weapon can talk and will be lying next to the corpse of an unknown person. The pistol automatically upgrades as the hero levels up and is equipped with smart bullets that follow enemies. The item has increased critical damage, as well as reduced damage to an enemy previously hit by the player.
Despite the possible ways to neutralize cyberpsychos without bloodshed, the game does not require the use of additional means for successful task completion. Any weapon can be used, as cyberpsychos do not die. After dealing fatal damage, the enemy will fall in front of the hero and writhe in pain, and Regina Jones will call V to report the successful completion of the mission.