I'm grinding through ACT 1 currently with the intention of picking up as much Cyberware as possible. Based on a prior aborted run, I can very easily get to 15th level prior to starting The Heist, in addition to getting things like the Gorilla Arms and other cyber ware. I have not seen if anyone else has done such heavy (excessive?) grinding in the early game, so I wanted to ask: will this cause problems that anyone is aware of? Has anyone else done this, and what happened differently if anything?

I used to make it a point to grind for the eddies before going to Viktor for my first implants. Try playing the game of very hard and people forget that min-maxing isn't the point of this game. Immersion (despite severely lacking in some aspects) and story is the intent of this game. I treat it the same way I would with my Baldur's Gate 3 toons and table-top games, I go into character creation and create an entire backstory, gimmick, personality for my character and play accordingly. Gamers these days are so used to rushing through things and breaking the game or min-maxing then forget the meaning behind "role-playing" games.

Yes, I'm aware that Cyberpunk doesn't give us as much agency as all of us would like but its not that easy to develop a game like that which is table-top rpgs are still the reigning champions of true role-play

edit: yes, I also take the time to drive carefully, come home to the apartment to change clothes and shower, I even walk around the food markets for something to eat. My favorite is the barbecued chicken intestines.

On my first and only play, my first 50 hours were completed without doing a single quest. I totally geared up. I had amassed over $300K and all the gear i could use. But after a while, I stopped gaining enough usable experience to gain any further levels. I was level 22 or so. I traded everything that required 2+ levels higher (except Cyberware/ Legendary/ iconic things) as far as alternate equipment and scrapped/sold everything else. That paid off more then anything.

At that point, most of the world does not or has not re-spawned (except for quest items and people). Gang spray painters and one group of 3 (including a bad cop) can re-spawn when you dispatch them and turn around. The police are overwhelming at this stage i'm in

I found (without using cheats) 4 iconic weapons, and 4 really powerful items that are usable at low levels. I upgraded the Unicorn Katana so many times (waste of resources) it was usable long into the game.

On V1.04 game, i could change clothing and weapon upgrades like you can do with quickhacks. On v1.06, you can no longer do it (or at least I can't). I can only replace them now - with original upgrade being lost. It may be level driven, but as this is my first play, I just don't know.