Starting with the lifepath intro mission opens your entire journey - either streetkid nomad or corpo works fine here Just focus on getting through the rescue and ripperdoc missions, they're essential setup before hitting the heist which is when things really kick off. After love like fire wraps up, you'll move into the meat of the story with playing for time.

Most of your gameplay happens in the middle section where you'll tackle major storylines with panam, judy and the whole takemura situation, plus all the dogtown content if you're running the expansion. Take your time here since this is where the bulk of important choices happen. Good to know that doing side activities between main missions lets you naturally level up which makes later challenges more manageable.

The finale triggers with nocturne op55n1, and the game clearly warns you when you're about to cross that threshold. From there, your earlier decisions shape which ending path opens up - could be storming arasaka tower, rolling with the aldecaldos, or even some special options involving johnny if you played your cards right. Maybe interesting that you'll want to be around level 30 before tackling the endgame content, though exact timing depends on your playstyle and build choices.