One of the most defining aspects of Cyberpunk 2077 is its Lifepath system, allowing players to choose a unique origin story for their protagonist, V. Among the three options — Streetkid, Corpo, and Nomad — the Nomad Lifepath offers a deeply personal introduction grounded in themes of freedom, identity, and exile. The very first mission in this path, aptly named “The Nomad,” sets the tone for a rugged and emotionally layered journey.
🌵 Setting the Scene: The Badlands
Unlike the other Lifepaths, which begin within the towering walls of Night City, the Nomad path kicks off in the Badlands — a vast, sun-scorched desert surrounding the neon metropolis. It’s a barren yet beautiful landscape populated by scattered shacks, rundown garages, and roaming Nomad clans. Nomads are part of a decentralized society that lives outside the corporate and urban systems, relying on community, mobility, and self-reliance.
At the start of the mission, V is introduced as a drifting outsider, recently separated from their Nomad clan. This context immediately creates a sense of isolation and reinvention: V is looking for a fresh start and has chosen Night City as the place to find it. The player’s first task involves fixing up a broken-down car at a dusty auto shop — a humble, hands-on beginning that contrasts sharply with the high-tech chaos of the city they’re about to enter.
🤝 Meeting Jackie Welles: A Key Partnership
Soon after repairing the vehicle, V heads to meet Jackie Welles, a charismatic street-smart mercenary with big dreams and a loud personality. Jackie becomes a central character throughout the game, but in the Nomad prologue, their relationship begins as a business arrangement: smuggling an unknown package across the Night City border.
The package’s contents are initially mysterious, but the mission quickly reveals that it’s a live iguana, an extremely rare and illegal animal in the world of Cyberpunk 2077. The deal is risky — crossing corporate-controlled borders with contraband is no small feat — but the mission highlights the kind of desperate hustles that shape the lives of outcasts like V and Jackie.
🚓 Crossing Into Night City: Tension and Turmoil
The crossing itself is a tense and cinematic experience. As V and Jackie roll toward the checkpoint, they’re scrutinized by corporate border agents. The encounter serves as an introduction to the constant surveillance and control that permeate the world of Cyberpunk. Even in this early scene, players can sense the city’s oppressive atmosphere encroaching on the freedom Nomads value so highly.
Naturally, the crossing doesn’t go smoothly. V and Jackie are pursued by Arasaka agents, leading to a high-speed chase and a chaotic shootout just outside the city’s limits. The two characters escape, barely, with the help of V’s driving skills and Jackie’s firepower. It’s a thrilling, high-stakes moment that blends action and storytelling seamlessly.
🌆 Arrival: The First Glimpse of Night City
After the dust settles, V and Jackie finally enter Night City, their dynamic forever changed by the shared danger they’ve just survived. Though they began as strangers, the mission forges a strong bond between them, laying the groundwork for a friendship that becomes central to the game’s emotional core.
This transition also marks a symbolic turning point for V: the Nomad has left the open Badlands behind and stepped into the sprawling chaos of an urban jungle driven by greed, ambition, and technological excess. It’s the end of the prologue, but the real story is only just beginning.
🔍 Narrative Themes and Lifepath Significance
“The Nomad” mission isn’t just a tutorial — it’s a statement about identity. Choosing the Nomad Lifepath gives players a character shaped by loyalty to a clan, life on the road, and a disdain for the city’s synthetic culture. Throughout the game, Nomad V has access to unique dialogue options and perspectives rooted in this upbringing.
This path resonates especially with players who value freedom, anti-establishment ideals, and a strong moral compass. While Night City is full of betrayals and backstabbing, the Nomad Lifepath begins with something rare in that world: trust.
✅ Conclusion: A Personalized Beginning
“The Nomad” prologue is a powerful and atmospheric opening chapter to Cyberpunk 2077 for players who want to experience the world from the outside in. From a lonely desert road to the heart of a corrupt megalopolis, the mission balances intimate storytelling with cinematic action, offering a unique lens through which to view the game’s sprawling narrative.
For many, it’s not just the beginning of V’s story — it’s a declaration of who they are, and where they truly belong in a world that wants to tell them otherwise.