Summary

• In Cyberpunk 2077, there are several important choices that players can make throughout the game.
• These choices may not always be apparent, but they can have a significant impact on the story and the player's relationship with various characters.
• Some choices also pertain to unlocking the secret ending.

Cyberpunk 2077 is full of choices that can change the outcome of the game, not only affecting which final ending is unlocked, but also which romances can be pursued, and even whether certain gigs and jobs will be available down the road. Players may not always learn the consequences of their choices until much later in the game, and some subtle decisions can even affect which of the game's multiple endings will be triggered long before the player gets to the final chapters of the game. Players may also miss some critical choices, impressive loot and weapons, and lore in Cyberpunk entirely if V doesn’t explore every side job the game has to offer, and make the right choices within them.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for important story moments and various endings of Cyberpunk 2077 and its Phantom Liberty DLC.]

While Cyberpunk 2077 usually makes it obvious which choices are going to have a major impact on the game, some of these decisions are hidden in optional objectives or side jobs. The base game's main storyline alone is 30 hours long, with the electrifying Phantom Liberty DLC adding roughly another 14 hours to that total. Add in the dozens of side jobs, gigs, and ND scanner hustles, and the game's total length is extended even more, to an average of over 100 hours of gameplay to see 100% completion. Making the wrong decision early in the game could lead to a bad outcome many hours later, or could impact V’s possible endings, long before the player even knows what they did wrong.

"The Heist": Where To Send Jackie

Main Job In Little China

At the end of "The Heist," Delamain asks V where to send Jackie’s body. It doesn’t seem like that important of a choice in Cyberpunk 2077 at the time, but V’s selection here does affect later quests and storylines. If V chooses to send Jackie’s body back to his family or asks Delamain to wait until they get back from the meet with Dex, then V will be invited to a memorial service by Mama Welles in the "Heroes" side job. This unlocks some moving dialogue about Jackie's life and loved ones, and also gives V a rare chance to make friends with some of the Valentinos.

If V chooses to send Jackie’s body to the ripperdoc, they miss out on the memorial, but get additional dialogue and storylines later in the game. Jackie's body will instead be stolen by Arasaka thugs, who will turn him into an engram, not unlike Johnny Silverhand. This will come back to haunt V later, so it's best to send Jackie back to his family.

"Automatic Love": Kill Woodman or Let Him Live

Main Job In Kabuki

In "Automatic Love," V needs to deal with Woodman, the owner of Clouds, who’s partially responsible for Evelyn’s fate. V has three options: storm into Woodman’s office guns blazing and kill everyone, sneak in and interrogate Woodman before killing him, or interrogate Woodman and let him live. If V chooses to kill Woodman, it’s a pretty standard boss fight, and then he’s removed from the story.

If V lets Woodman live, they’ll have to deal with that decision in Cyberpunk 2077 later, specifically in Judy’s side job "Ex-Factor." Woodman will come back a second time, and Judy will ask V to kill him once again. Players can try to convince Judy to back down, but either way, Woodman exits the story after this mission.

"I Walk The Line": Attack Or Spare The Netwatch Agent

Main Job In Pacifica

During the main job "I Walk The Line," V is forced to help the Voodoo Boys find and attack a Netwatch agent who's been causing them problems. V eventually tracks down the agent, Bryce Mosley, in the projection room of a cinema. Mosley warns them that the Voodoo Boys are planning to abandon them as soon as they've completed the job. He offers to help V remove the virus the Voodoo Boys implanted in their head in exchange for mercy.

If V follows their original directive and attacks the Netwatch agent, the virus will continue to cause them trouble, damaging Netwatch infrastructure across the country and nearly killing them. But they'll survive, and ultimately maintain positive relationships with the Voodoo Boys. However, if they betray the Voodoo Boys and help the Netwatch agent instead, the Voodoo Boys will become hostile, and they'll be forced to fight Placide during the later main job "Transmission."

"Chippin' In": Unlocking The Secret Ending

It's pretty unassuming from the outside, but proper completion of the side job "Chippin' In" is required to unlock the (Don't Fear) The Reaper secret ending. This is considered one of the happiest possible endings for V in Cyberpunk 2077, but it's near impossible to get on a first playthrough. First, players will have to make it to the Oilfields with Johnny, where they'll discover what just might be his final resting place. They'll have to be kind to Johnny here, and inscribe "The Guy Who Saved My Life" on his unmarked grave when prompted. V and Johnny then have a heart-to-heart, during which the player will have to choose three hyper-specific, counter-intuitive dialogue options in a row:

• "Nah, f***ed that up too."
• "What do you want from me?"
• "Ok. But as second chances go, this is your last."

Finally, V must agree to call Rogue when Johnny asks them to. It won't be apparent until much later, but completing this sequence of events unlocks Cyberpunk 2077's secret ending. However, activating it later still requires a certain sequence of actions on the player's part.

"Ghost Town": Unlocking Panam's Romance

Main Job In Watson

Although they're not the only way to do so, V's dialogue choices during "Ghost Town" may unlock Panam's romance subplot in Cyberpunk 2077. During this job, V and Panam will attempt both to rescue her stolen car, and to interrogate one Anders Hellman. After finding Panam's car, she'll ask V to go with her to get revenge on Nash, the man who stole it. If V agrees to go back to his hideout and completes that section of the mission, the two will look for a place to stay the night.

Panam will only pursue a romance with V if they've chosen a masculine body type.

Choosing to book a single room instead of two can also help progress Panam's romance quest line. Panam agrees to get a double room, if only to save some money, but the first night es uneventfully. However, sharing a room begins to forge a bond between the two characters, which the player may choose to further during later quests.

"Gimme Danger": Reconnaissance With Takemura

Main Job In Japantown

In "Gimme Danger," Takemura decides to do some reconnaissance before the parade, and V has the option to him. Doing so gives V information about the building’s weak points, and allows them to have a deep conversation with Takemura that will cement their friendship. This has a significant impact on future dialogue choices in the game, and can affect one of the endings. If V sent Jackie’s body to Vik at the end of "The Heist," Takemura will share that Jackie’s body was intercepted by Arasaka, and that they plan to use Soulkiller on him to extract information and create an engram.

"Play It Safe": Defeating Oda

Main Job In Japantown

In "Play It Safe," V needs to take down Oda, Hanako Arasaka’s bodyguard. After V defeats Oda, Takemura calls and asks them to spare Oda’s life. If V chooses to shoot Oda, he’s gone from the game for good, but if V spares his life, then Oda can potentially show up later in one of the endings. This choice in Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t influence the story in any real way, but it can add some extra flavor to the ending of Cyberpunk 2077.

"Search And Destroy": Rescue Takemura

Main Job In Vista Del Ray

This is a truly hidden decision in Cyberpunk 2077 because there isn’t a quest objective or dialogue option that tells V this is a possibility. After Arasaka forces storm the building in "Search and Destroy," V gets separated from Takemura and needs to fight a bunch of enemies and escape. The quest objective leads V out of the building, but in order to save Takemura, V will need to go upstairs and find him first. Saving Takemura allows players to unlock the trophy or achievement called The Devil (if they chose the corresponding ending), and Takemura will show up during the Epilogue.

"Happy Together": Save Barry

Side Job In Little China

In "Happy Together," V’s neighbor Barry is going through a tough time after the death of his best friend. Barry’s colleagues from ND ask V to check in on him. In order to get the best outcome of this quest, V must speak to Barry within an unspecified amount of time, or the quest will auto-complete and fail. After speaking to Barry, V can visit Andrew’s memorial, where they find out he’s a tortoise. Then V needs to report back to the ND officers and tell them the truth about Andrew. If V leaves that part out, the officers don’t realize how much danger Barry is in, and Barry ends up taking his own life.

Barry doesn't play a particularly large role in the story, but this decision is still important. As Barry's neighbor, players will see the repercussions of their actions directly, and will be forced to grapple with the consequences of their actions.

"The Beast In Me": Revenge Or Mercy

Side Job In Arroyo

"The Beast In Me" involves a series of street races organized by Claire, a bartender at the Afterlife. After the Santa Domingo race, Claire reveals to V that she wants help to kill Sampson as revenge. V can try to convince Claire not to take revenge or to her, which affects Cyberpunk 2077 choices made later in the questline. Regardless of what V chooses, in the last race, Claire wants V to stick close to Sampson's tail, so she can shoot him. If V ignores Claire and treats this like a normal Cyberpunk 2077 street race, they’ll get the winnings, but Claire will act coldly towards them when they see her later in the Afterlife.

If V does what Claire asks, they’ll lose the race, and be faced with another choice. If V allows Claire to take her revenge, they’ll win Claire’s unique truck as a reward. If V tries to convince Claire to spare Sampson, the outcome depends on what V chooses to do after the Santa Domingo race. If they tried to talk Claire out of revenge, Claire will spare Sampson now, and V will get both Claire’s truck and Sampson’s unique car as rewards. If V didn’t try to talk Claire out of revenge before, attempting to at this point will fail and Claire will kill Sampson.

Dream On: What To Tell Jefferson

Side Job In Charter Hill And Corpo Plaza

In "Dream On," V finds evidence that a mystery organization is performing mind control on the Peralez couple and altering their memories. Elizabeth Peralez begs V not to tell Jefferson the truth out of fear for his safety. When V meets with Jefferson at the end of the quest, they can choose to tell him the truth, or lie and point the finger in another direction. Whichever option V chooses, Jefferson thanks them and concludes the mission.

After that moment, V receives some concerning text messages from Jefferson and Elizabeth before they block V’s number, and V doesn’t hear from them for the rest of the game. If V chooses to tell Jefferson the truth, he’ll call during the end credits of Cyberpunk 2077 and talk in a panicked voice about how “they” are changing him.

Phantom Liberty: Rescuing President Myers

DLC Main Job In Dogtown

Cyberpunk 2077's expansion DLC, Phantom Liberty, revolves around the story of what has happened to President Rosalind Myers and V's mission to save her. Interestingly, however, V can choose to simply let the President die. This will not be a game over, but it does lock the player out of being able to experience the DLC content on that character anymore. Instead, Johnny will explain to V that they are responsible for the President's death and then the rest of the base game for Cyberpunk 2077 can continue.

Phantom Liberty: Choosing Reed Or Songbird

DLC Main Job In Dogtown

The ultimate choice in the Phantom Liberty DLC for Cyberpunk 2077 is whether to side with Solomon Reed or Songbird in the events following the mission "Firestarter." There are two different, yet equally important, points here that require choice. First, whether to activate the Icebreaker at the stadium, and second is what V will do when confronted with Reed at the spaceport. The decisions made will decide not only the ending V gets for the expansion, but can also unlock a new ending for the base game. In order to unlock the new ending to Cyberpunk 2077, ultimately, V must leave Songbird alive while also siding with Reed.

"Nocturne Op55N1": Activating The Secret Ending

Main Job In Heywood

Finally, in order to activate Cyberpunk's secret ending, players must make a series of correct choices during "Nocturne Op55N1," ostensibly the final main job in the game. After the initial conversation with Hanako, players will discuss options with Johnny. All of them seem to require some kind of sacrifice, but there is an alternate option that's only unlocked if players earlier made the right choices during "Chippin' In."

However, in order to activate the (Don't Fear) The Reaper ending, the player will have to remain on the dialogue screen without choosing any of the options for about five minutes. At that point, if everything else was done correctly, Johnny will pipe up and say he has another idea. Choosing to hear him out unlocks Cyberpunk's secret ending.

In a game as long and complex as Cyberpunk 2077, it can be frustrating to face unexpected consequences hours after making an innocuous decision. Most of the hidden choices do not have a major impact on the ending, but they can add depth to the story and unlock more side quests later in the game. For those quests that do change outcomes, it can be disappointing to find out too late that one small choice led to a desired ending being blocked off in Cyberpunk 2077.