History Characters / Cyberpunk2077V

V, the playable protagonist of Cyberpunk 2077, is one such dreamer. As an up and coming mercenary out to make a name for themselves, V's appearance, past and skills are up to the player.

* BerserkButton: Dishonesty. Regardless of your own dialogue choices, one consistent thing that always pisses V the hell off is people trying to "haze" them. Since most merc work is impossible without trust, this is pretty warranted.

* YourDaysAreNumbered: Due to [[spoiler: dying while having the bio-chip in their head]], V is told they have a matter of weeks before their psyche is wiped out and [[spoiler:Johnny's personality takes their place]]. Even when they ''do'' find a way to resolve the DeathOfPersonality[=/=]GrandTheftMe issue, they're told that it has already done too much damage to their brain and that the only thing they did was buy a few months before their body will give out anyways. [[spoiler:The "Tower" ending included with ''Phantom Liberty'' averts this, with V both being freed from the Relic and saved from an early grave, but at the cost of wielding combat implants, meaning their [[CareerEndingInjury career as an edgerunner]] is over.]]

* YourDaysAreNumbered: Due to [[spoiler: dying while having the bio-chip in their head]], V is told they have a matter of weeks before their psyche is wiped out and [[spoiler:Johnny's personality takes their place]]. Even when they ''do'' find a way to resolve the DeathOfPersonality[=/=]GrandTheftMe issue, they're told that it has already done too much damage to their brain and that the only thing they did was buy a few months before their body will give out anyways.

* UnwittingPawn: Not that V can afford to be picky in Act 2, but several times they run into people who are out to use V to their own ends, without being forthright with them.

** In ''Phantom Liberty'', [[spoiler:V is used as a contingency against Kurt Hansen by Songbird, who's plotting to escape the NUSA's clutches by stranding President Myers in Dowgtown. Following a series of complications triggered by Hansen attempting to assassinate Myers instead, V save Myers's life, and Songbird surrenders herself to Hansen. From this point forward, V is a pawn of both Songbird (who's trying to finish her escape by fleeing to the moon) and Myers (who wants to bring in Songbird at any cost). The cure promised to V turns out to be real, but Songbird always planned to keep it for herself, while Myers actually can help V out provided they do her bidding.]]

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler: In "The Sun", "The Star" and "The Devil" endings, V's days are numbered, with six months at most until their terminally damaged body gives out. However, in "The Sun" ending, Mr. Blue Eyes implies he knows more about V's condition than it seems and is willing to reward handsomely for the casino heist, should V pull it off. In "The Star", Panam and the Aldecaldos make it clear they're already seeking leads on a cure outside Night City, and V was given new meds by Viktor which is helping give them as much time as possible. Overall, things may look bleak, but as long as V is alive, there's hope for a cure.]]

* TragicKeepsake: After Act I, [[spoiler:V holds onto a bullet pendant given to them by Viktor, the same one that ended their life.]] V carries this with them throughout the entire story and [[spoiler:most of the endings; they toss it aside in the desert in "The Star" ending.]]

** [[spoiler:Conversely, the ''Tower'' ending had V work with the NUSA to successfully save their life, ensuring that the Relic won't doom them to an early grave. However, this comes at the cost of them being able to wield combat implants, as well as their friends and loved ones moving on with their lives thanks to V being comatose for two years. Therefore, V will have to live the rest of their life as another face in the crowd, with their old life as an edgerunner ''gone forever''. V's new lease on life has come at the cost of the very aspirations that drove them on in the first place.]]

* SweetAndSourGrapes: V's biggest dream is to become a legend of Night City. [[spoiler:This dream comes true in the "The Sun" variant of the ending: They're rich, they have a fancy apartment, own the city's most popular nightclub and everyone knows their name as the edgerunner who massively damaged Arasaka's reputation and power. None of this matters to them, however, because they're slowly dying and has six months to live at best. None of their wealth or reputation can help them save their life.]]

** Corpo V, like Takemura, worked for the Arasaka Corporation. Beyond their difference in positions, like Takemura being Saburo Arasaka's bodyguard and V being part of counter-intelligence, V can express disgust for their former company while Takemura remains loyal. Furthermore, V was forced out of Arasaka after their boss tried to screw over a rival corpo agent while Takemura became a scapegoat [[spoiler:for Saburo's murder]].

* {{Determinator}}: V refuses to give up no matter what. Even [[spoiler:knowing that they have only weeks left to live after the ill-fated heist]] doesn't stop them from doing everything in their power to prevent [[spoiler:their death]] even if they have to fight all of Arasaka to do so. [[spoiler:In the "(Don't fear) The Reaper" ending they even go on a OneManArmy assault on Arasaka tower despite the fact that they're on their last legs due to how far the Relic has spread.]] Another standout example that can potentially be found in the ''Phantom Liberty'' exclusive ending. [[spoiler: After waking up from a two year coma due to the surgery done to remove the Relic, V is informed of the fact that their nervous system is damaged to the point that they cannot have anymore combat implants of any kind or else die, most of their associates have moved on with their lives (with their chosen love interest wanting nothing to do with them - at least at the moment), and gets robbed and beaten up by two low level thugs. Despite this, V can make it very, ''very'' clear to Misty that they refuse to just let themselves wither away and will be doing their damnest to keep going until the very end, even if it means starting from nothing again.]]

** Also very tragically, [[spoiler: the new "Tower" ending has this fear become a reality. V finally escapes their death sentence, but at the cost of a 2-year coma and nearly all of their friends practically cutting contact and moving on with their lives.]]

** [[spoiler:"The Tower" ending sees V once again losing ''everything'' they have, despite ironically actually having their life saved. Their relationships have been upended, they can no longer wield combat cyberware, and the most obvious way forward is for them to settle for a desk job at the NUSA, since hustling it out in Night City has now become far more dangerous. The final scene of the ending parallels the opening scene of Act 2, as Misty comforts a distraught V on how they can move forward in life, but while in Act 2 V was terminally injured and looking for a way to save themselves, in the "Tower" ending V has saved themselves but has to adapt to a new life that's going to be nothing like their old one.]]

* BornUnlucky: Very little goes V’s way. In each and every lifepath they’re betrayed or screwed over in some way, [[spoiler:their first major heist just happens to coincide with Yorinobu Arasaka murdering his father, and at the end despite all their struggles the best options they have are having six months left to live, surviving as an A.I beyond the Blackwall, an Engram under Arasaka control, or a friendless nobody desk-jockey for NUSA or Militech.]]