Cyberpunk 2077 — PlayStation 5 native edition: Complete main-story walkthrough (base game, Phantom Liberty excluded)

1. Confirm the installed application is the native PS5 version

From the PS5 home screen, highlight Cyberpunk 2077 and open the options menu or product information screen. Confirm that the selected application is labeled PS5. If both PS4 and PS5 versions are installed, launch the PS5 application; the PS4 version can run on PS5 but is not the dedicated next-generation edition covered by this guide.

Patch 1.5, released on February 15, 2022, introduced the dedicated next-generation PS5 version and its platform features. Treat that date and patch as the edition marker, not as the update you should stop at. Later updates also support the PS5 base game, so open the game’s update screen and install the newest patch available for your copy before beginning the campaign. The current version number may differ depending on when and how the game was installed.

• The application selected on the PS5 home screen is labeled PS5.
• The PS4 application is not the one being launched through backward compatibility.
• Every update currently offered for the PS5 application has finished installing.

2. Select a graphics mode that suits your display

Open the game’s graphics settings at the title screen or after entering the game. On the standard PS5 version, the original next-generation update provides Performance and Ray Tracing modes. Performance Mode targets smoother gameplay at 60 frames per second with dynamic 4K scaling. Ray Tracing Mode targets 30 frames per second and adds ray-traced local-light shadows with dynamic 4K scaling.

Choose Performance Mode if you value smoother aiming, driving and combat. Choose Ray Tracing Mode if you prefer the lighting and shadow presentation and are comfortable with the lower frame-rate target. The choice does not change missions, dialogue, endings or save compatibility, and you can change it later in the settings.

• A graphics mode is selected deliberately rather than left unknown.
• You understand that the setting changes presentation and performance, not story progression.
• The display and HDR settings are comfortable before starting the prologue.

3. Configure DualSense, audio and accessibility options

Review the controller settings and set Haptic Feedback and Adaptive Triggers to your preference. The PS5 version uses haptic feedback according to in-game activity and adaptive-trigger resistance for actions including weapons and driving. These features are optional conveniences: disabling or reducing them does not remove an input required to complete a mission.

Review audio output and enable the PS5’s spatial-audio features if your headphones or television setup supports them. The native version supports Tempest 3D AudioTech through compatible 3D-audio headphones and built-in TV speakers. Set dialogue volume high enough to distinguish conversations from music and effects.

Turn on subtitles if you want spoken instructions and dialogue displayed during missions. Adjust text size, subtitle background and other accessibility settings until they are readable from your normal seating position. Review aim assistance, color and control options before the prologue, but do not assume any accessibility setting is required for progression.

• Haptic Feedback and Adaptive Triggers are enabled, reduced or disabled intentionally.
• Dialogue and effects are balanced for clear mission conversations.
• Subtitles and accessibility options are readable and usable from your normal position.

4. Create an opening save rotation

Once you reach playable gameplay, pause and create a manual save. Create another manual save after the opening tutorial and early objectives have settled into normal exploration. The game also creates autosaves, but those are temporary recovery points and may be overwritten as you move between objectives.

Maintain at least three separate manual saves during the campaign. Use one for your current position, one for the start of the latest important mission and one older fallback. Let the game’s timestamps distinguish the files, and avoid overwriting all three during one play session. Before accepting a mission with a major decision, create a fresh manual save so an unwanted choice or failed approach can be reversed without replaying a large section.

• At least three separate manual saves exist.
• The save timestamps make the newest and older fallback positions easy to identify.
• Autosaves are being treated as supplementary recovery points, not as the only backup.

5. Back up the saved-data package when cloud storage is available

PlayStation Plus cloud storage is optional, not automatic for every account. If you have PlayStation Plus, enable PS5 saved-data synchronization in the PS5 saved-data settings and keep the console connected to the internet. You can also use the console’s Upload/Download Saved Data command to upload the Cyberpunk 2077 saved-data package manually.

Cloud storage works at the game’s saved-data level, so the upload contains the game’s save file and its available slots rather than creating a separately named cloud copy of one in-game slot. After uploading, verify that the transfer completed. If PlayStation Plus is unavailable, retain several local manual saves and do not delete the older fallback.

Do not assume that automatic synchronization preserves every earlier state. It normally synchronizes the most recent data, so a deliberate manual upload immediately after creating an important recovery point is safer than relying only on an unattended sync.

• PlayStation Plus cloud storage is enabled if you intend to use it.
• The Cyberpunk 2077 saved-data package has completed an upload or synchronization.
• If cloud storage is unavailable, multiple local manual saves remain intact.

6. Preserve the Pre-Nocturne recovery point

Much later, before starting Nocturne OP55N1, stop and create several fresh manual saves. Keep one save slot clearly identifiable by its timestamp as the Pre-Nocturne point. This is the most useful recovery point for the base game because the mission leads into the final sequence and ending choices.

If you have PlayStation Plus, upload or synchronize the saved-data package after creating the Pre-Nocturne save, then verify completion. Do not overwrite or delete the local Pre-Nocturne slot after finishing an ending. To attempt another base-game ending, load that save and make a different rooftop decision rather than replaying the entire campaign.

The setup chapter is complete once the PS5 application is confirmed, settings have been reviewed, multiple recovery saves exist and you understand that the Pre-Nocturne backup must be created before the late-game point of no return.

• A future Pre-Nocturne save is reserved before Nocturne OP55N1 begins.
• The saved-data package containing that slot is backed up when cloud storage is available.
• The Pre-Nocturne local save will be retained after the first ending.

1. Verify the native PS5 version before creating V

From the PlayStation 5 home screen or Game Library, select the version labeled for PlayStation 5 rather than launching the PlayStation 4 release through backward compatibility. The native version is the separate next-generation SKU introduced with Patch 1.5. Its gameplay progression is the same campaign described here, but it includes PS5-specific presentation features such as performance and ray-tracing modes, adaptive triggers, haptic feedback and Tempest 3D Audio support.

Phantom Liberty is not required for this chapter and is outside the assigned base-game route. Begin a new base-game character from the native PS5 application, then confirm the selected difficulty and accessibility settings before entering character creation.

• The installed application is the PlayStation 5 version.
• You are starting the base game rather than a Phantom Liberty save or skip.
• Difficulty, subtitles and accessibility settings are configured before the opening.

2. Choose Nomad, Streetkid or Corpo for context

Nomad starts in the Badlands outside Night City. V deals with a vehicle problem and attempts to cross the border while carrying contraband. Select Nomad if you want V to enter the city as an outsider with connections to the nomad world.

Streetkid begins in Heywood, where V is already familiar with local people and street-level dealings. Choose it for a V whose identity is rooted in Night City’s neighborhoods. Corpo begins inside Arasaka, placing V in a corporate operation before that position collapses. Choose it for a character shaped by corporate power, espionage and betrayal.

Each choice has a different opening main job and unlocks occasional life-path dialogue options in later conversations. These options may provide extra context or a different way to approach a discussion, but the life path does not lock V out of weapons, cyberware, romances or the base-game endings. The choice is permanent for this character, so make it before confirming New Game.

• Nomad: outsider arriving from the Badlands.
• Streetkid: local mercenary with Heywood roots.
• Corpo: former Arasaka employee with corporate knowledge.
• Choose based on roleplay and dialogue preference, not combat statistics.

3. Set appearance, body and voice before starting

Adjust V’s face, hair, tattoos, scars, clothing details and other available appearance options. Select the body and voice combination you want before confirming the character. These choices establish V’s presentation and can affect which romance opportunities are available later, but they do not determine V’s combat role.

Do not spend time trying to optimize cosmetic choices for damage or survivability. Those decisions come from attributes, perks, cyberware, weapons and quickhacks after the opening. If you are choosing for a first playthrough, prioritize a presentation you will be comfortable seeing throughout the full campaign.

• Confirm appearance, body and voice before accepting the character.
• Treat cosmetic selections as roleplaying decisions.
• Remember that romance eligibility can depend on body and voice choices.

4. Complete the selected life-path opening

Follow the objective marker for the opening job associated with your choice. Nomad’s introduction takes place around the border crossing, Streetkid’s takes place in Heywood, and Corpo’s takes place in an Arasaka corporate setting. These missions are guided introductions, so use them to learn movement, driving, scanning and conversation prompts rather than searching for a full open-world route.

Finish the complete mission until its final scene resolves. The opening then moves into a montage showing V and Jackie Welles working together during the following six months. This montage is the bridge between the unique life-path introduction and the shared campaign. After it ends, V and Jackie receive the job that leads into The Rescue.

• The entire life-path main job is complete.
• V has met Jackie Welles and the six-month montage has played.
• The Rescue is available as the next shared main job.

5. Complete The Rescue in Watson

Start The Rescue from the Journal and meet Jackie at the vehicle. If Jackie offers Practice Makes Perfect, you may complete the optional combat tutorial or decline it; either choice leaves The Rescue available. Ride to the scavenger hideout, enter the building with Jackie and follow the marked route toward the apartment.

Use scanning to identify doors, hazards and enemies. You can fight through the scavengers or use stealth for portions of the approach. Continue through the hideout until you find Sandra Dorsett. Defeat or bypass the remaining scavengers as necessary, then remove Sandra from the tub and carry her to the terrace. Wait for Trauma Team and place her on the stretcher when prompted.

After Sandra is taken away, speak with Jackie and follow the return objectives. The mission concludes after V returns home and goes to bed. Do not treat the mission as complete when Sandra is first extracted; finish the return trip and the apartment objective so the Journal records The Rescue as completed.

• Sandra Dorsett has been found and removed from the scavenger hideout.
• Trauma Team has taken Sandra from the terrace.
• V has returned home and completed the apartment objective.
• The Rescue is marked complete in the Journal.

6. Choose a build direction after the prologue

Once The Rescue is complete, test the weapons and tools available during the next low-risk activities before spending most of your attribute and perk points. V is not assigned a class by Nomad, Streetkid or Corpo. Any life path can become a firearm specialist, blades fighter, stealth infiltrator, netrunner, smart-weapon user or hybrid.

For a straightforward first build, choose one dominant damage or control method and support it with survivability. Reflexes can support several weapon and mobility approaches, Body favors durability and close-range fighting, Technical Ability supports equipment and cyberware investment, Intelligence supports quickhacks and smart weapons, and Cool supports stealth and precision-focused options. Avoid spreading every point evenly across all five attributes. If you are uncertain, delay some discretionary spending until you know which weapons and operating system you prefer.

Keep a secondary option available for enemies or situations that counter your main approach. Your early choices can be adjusted later, but a focused build is easier to use than several unfinished attribute trees.

• You have tested at least one direct-combat option.
• You have tested at least one stealth, scanning or hacking option.
• One primary combat direction is identified.
• Most early attribute and perk spending supports that direction.

1. Complete the life-path opening

Finish the Nomad, Streetkid or Corpo introduction until V meets Jackie Welles and the game reaches the shared Night City section. Your life path changes the opening location, dialogue options and some later conversations, but all three routes converge on the same Act 1 campaign.

Continue through the introductory objectives until The Rescue appears in the Journal. Complete any tutorial prompts that the game requires before leaving the opening area.

• The life-path prologue is complete.
• The Rescue is active in the Journal.
• V and Jackie have reached the shared Night City storyline.

2. Complete The Rescue

Follow Jackie to the scavenger hideout and enter through the marked route. Scan rooms, identify enemies and use cover while advancing through the apartment complex. You may fight, sneak or use quickhacks; these choices do not alter the main-story route.

Locate Sandra Dorsett, stabilize her when prompted and carry her to the extraction point. Follow Jackie after Trauma Team arrives, complete the call outside and finish the mission. The Ripperdoc should then become available.

• Sandra Dorsett has been delivered to Trauma Team.
• The Rescue is marked complete.
• The Ripperdoc is available in the Journal.

3. Visit Viktor during The Ripperdoc

Meet Jackie outside the clinic and follow the objective to Viktor Vektor’s shop. Complete the mandatory installation of V’s Kiroshi optics and ballistic coprocessor, then leave the clinic when Viktor’s conversation ends.

Viktor’s debt is not required to advance the main story. You may repay it later; keep enough money for any purchases or upgrades you want during the opening missions. When you leave the clinic, follow the next objective to Misty’s shop rather than heading directly to All Foods.

• The Kiroshi optics and ballistic coprocessor installation is complete.
• Viktor’s debt decision is understood but does not delay the campaign.
• The Ride is available or active.

4. Complete The Ride before the two preparation jobs

Enter Misty’s shop and speak with Jackie. He directs you to Dexter DeShawn, who is waiting nearby in his vehicle. Travel to Dex’s marked location, get into the limo and listen to the briefing about the Relic job.

After the ride, return to Jackie and discuss the next step. The mission lets you indicate whether you intend to handle The Pickup or The Information first, but this only determines which job is tracked first. You are not locked into that order.

Finish The Ride completely before attempting either preparation job. The Pickup and The Information both require The Ride, and The Heist does not become available until The Ride, The Pickup and The Information are all complete.

• You met Dex in his limo.
• You returned to Jackie after the briefing.
• The Ride is marked complete.
• The Pickup and The Information are available.

5. Complete The Pickup at All Foods

Meet Jackie at the marked location and travel to the All Foods warehouse. Contacting Meredith Stout before entering is optional. Follow the route through the facility until you reach the Maelstrom negotiation for the Flathead.

The Militech shard, payment decision and dialogue choices can change who survives, whether the meeting becomes hostile and which rewards or later conversations are available. Any valid resolution advances the campaign. You may negotiate, use the shard or fight your way through the warehouse.

Create a manual save before the negotiation if you want to preserve the outcome. Continue until the Flathead is secured and the mission is marked complete.

• The All Foods negotiation is resolved.
• The Flathead has been obtained.
• The Pickup is marked complete.

6. Complete The Information at Lizzie’s Bar

Travel to Lizzie’s Bar and meet Evelyn Parker and Judy Alvarez. Follow the braindance tutorial, then inspect the recording using the available visual, audio and thermal layers.

For the required investigation, switch to the thermal layer and scan the hidden safe containing the Relic at the appropriate point in the recording. Optional clues can provide extra context, but the required objective prompts identify when the investigation is sufficient.

Exit the braindance, speak with Evelyn and Judy, then leave the workshop when instructed. The Heist becomes available only after both The Pickup and The Information are complete.

• The required braindance evidence has been scanned.
• You spoke with Evelyn after leaving the recording.
• The Information is marked complete.
• The Pickup and The Information are both complete.

7. Prepare for and complete The Heist

Make a manual save before starting The Heist. Go to the Afterlife, meet Jackie and speak with Dexter DeShawn and T-Bug. Follow the briefing, enter the Delamain transport and travel to Konpeki Plaza.

Inside the hotel, follow the marked objectives, help T-Bug establish the Flathead’s route and reach Yorinobu Arasaka’s penthouse. Stealth and combat are both valid. After the Relic is taken, stay with Jackie and follow the escape objectives through the hotel and vehicle sequence.

When Delamain asks where to take Jackie, choose deliberately. Sending him to his family or telling Delamain to wait produces the fuller Heroes side job later. Sending him to Viktor changes the follow-up and shortens Heroes, but does not block the main story. Save before making this choice if you want to compare outcomes.

• The Afterlife briefing is complete.
• The Relic has been taken from the penthouse.
• The escape from Konpeki Plaza is complete.
• Jackie’s body-destination choice has been recorded.
• The Heist is marked complete.

8. Complete Love Like Fire and enter Act 2

After The Heist, continue through the automatically triggered Love Like Fire sequence. This is not an optional flashback: it is a playable main-story mission in which you control Johnny Silverhand during the 2023 assault on Arasaka Tower.

Follow the linear objectives from the stage to the helicopter, operate the turret when prompted, fight through Arasaka’s forces, arm the bomb in the elevator and reach the extraction point. The sequence is largely self-contained, so follow the objective marker rather than searching for optional loot.

When Love Like Fire ends and the following Relic transition is complete, V regains free movement in Act 2. Create a new manual save and avoid overwriting the pre-Heist save.

• The Heist is complete.
• Love Like Fire has been played through to its conclusion.
• The Relic transition has occurred.
• Johnny Silverhand is present.
• V has regained free movement in Act 2.
• A post-Heist save exists.

9. Handle optional Watson content without losing the route

After entering Act 2, you may complete Watson gigs, NCPD Scanner Hustles, cyberpsycho sightings and available side jobs for money, experience, weapons and additional context. None of these activities is required to unlock the later Panam, Johnny, Rogue, Judy, River or Kerry questlines.

Use the Journal’s Main Jobs, Side Jobs and Gigs categories to distinguish optional work from the campaign route. Keep both the pre-Heist and post-Heist saves even if you plan to continue immediately with Act 2.

• All mandatory Act 1 main jobs are complete.
• Optional Watson content is complete or deliberately postponed.
• The pre-Heist and post-Heist saves are preserved.

1. Complete Playing for Time and select a practical branch order

After meeting Takemura at Tom’s Diner, complete Playing for Time. When free travel returns, open the Journal and review the available main jobs. Automatic Love, Ghost Town and Down on the Street are separate branches, so their overall order is flexible. The Pacifica missions themselves should be completed in their normal sequence once you begin that branch.

Make a manual save before each major branch and another before difficult interiors. This protects you from failed objectives, unwanted dialogue outcomes and combat problems without relying on autosaves. Keep one post-Playing for Time save as a general Act 2 recovery point.

• Playing for Time is complete.
• Automatic Love, Ghost Town and Down on the Street are available or already active.
• A manual save exists before starting the next major branch.

2. Finish Evelyn’s investigation and the Pacifica branch

Start Automatic Love at Clouds in Megabuilding H8. Investigate Evelyn’s disappearance, follow Judy’s braindance-related objectives and continue through The Space In Between, Disasterpiece and Double Life. Complete the apartment and braindance objectives until Double Life is recorded as finished.

After Double Life, begin M’ap Tann Pèlen and follow the objective markers to Placide and the Voodoo Boys operation. Continue into I Walk the Line at the Grand Imperial Mall. During I Walk the Line, the NetWatch agent offers a choice that changes the outcome of the Voodoo Boys encounter in Transmission. Either path can continue the campaign, but siding with NetWatch causes the Voodoo Boys to become hostile later, while accepting the Voodoo Boys’ arrangement leads to a different escape sequence.

When Transmission begins, follow Brigitte into the Voodoo Boys’ underground area and enter the ice bath. The game then shifts into Never Fade Away, a playable Johnny Silverhand memory embedded within Transmission. Complete Johnny’s stage, including the microphone, Alt and clinic objectives, then return to Transmission. Continue to Alt, touch the Blackwall when prompted, speak with Alt and escape the hideout. Do not list Never Fade Away as a separate preceding main-job stage: it is an internal section of Transmission.

• Automatic Love, The Space In Between, Disasterpiece and Double Life are complete.
• M’ap Tann Pèlen is complete.
• I Walk the Line is complete and the NetWatch outcome is understood.
• Transmission is complete.
• Never Fade Away was completed as the embedded playable Johnny sequence within Transmission.
• The Tapeworm conversation following this branch has been completed when it appears.

3. Build Panam’s route through Life During Wartime

Begin Ghost Town by meeting Rogue at the Afterlife, paying for the information and travelling to the Sunset Motel. Contact Panam, recover her vehicle and cargo, then assault Nash’s Raffen Shiv group at Rocky Ridge. Use the rocks, vehicles and elevation as cover while clearing the attackers, then finish the motel objectives.

Continue through Lightning Breaks and Life During Wartime. During the AV operation, follow Panam’s instructions, locate Anders Hellman and complete the interrogation sequence. Once Panam’s later calls arrive, start Riders on the Storm, then With a Little Help From My Friends. Complete Queen of the Highway afterward if you want the Aldecaldo assistance choice available at Nocturne OP55N1.

During With a Little Help From My Friends, do not reveal Panam’s Basilisk plan to Saul if you want the Aldecaldo chain to continue normally. After the required wait, answer Panam’s call and return to the Aldecaldo camp for Queen of the Highway. Romance is not required for the ending route; the relevant requirement is completion of Panam’s questline through Queen of the Highway.

• Ghost Town, Lightning Breaks and Life During Wartime are complete.
• Riders on the Storm and With a Little Help From My Friends are complete if the Aldecaldo route is wanted.
• Panam’s Basilisk plan was not revealed to Saul.
• Queen of the Highway is complete if the Panam option is required.

4. Advance Takemura’s investigation through Search and Destroy

Start Down on the Street at the Channel Street docks in Japantown. Meet Takemura and Oda, then visit Wakako for information about the parade. When the next objective appears, begin Gimme Danger and travel to Arasaka Industrial Park.

Scout the industrial park, choose an infiltration approach and place the shard in the security system. Optional reconnaissance changes how you enter the compound but is not required for progression. Continue to Play It Safe and then Search and Destroy.

Create a manual save before entering Search and Destroy. Complete the building encounter, follow the objective involving Hanako’s proxy and remain in the mission after the proxy leaves. V collapses and the final Tapeworm sequence follows. Stay through every Tapeworm objective and conversation. Once that sequence is finished, Chippin’ In becomes available as a Side Job.

• Down on the Street, Gimme Danger and Play It Safe are complete.
• Search and Destroy is complete.
• The Tapeworm sequence following Search and Destroy is complete.
• A manual save exists before Search and Destroy.

5. Complete Chippin’ In and preserve Johnny’s ending routes

Start Chippin’ In at the Afterlife and follow Johnny and Rogue through the Ebunike operation. Deal with Grayson, lower the crane, open the container and take Johnny’s Porsche if you want the vehicle reward. Then travel to the Northern Oil Fields and save before the grave conversation.

For Blistering Love and the normal Rogue route, select the conciliatory options that acknowledge Johnny’s failures and give him another chance. For the secret Don’t Fear The Reaper route, select these three oil-field responses exactly when they appear: “Nah, fucked that up too.”, “What do you want from me?”, and “OK. But as second chances go, this is your last.” The rest of the conversation can vary, but these three choices are the critical checks. Keep a separate save before the conversation because the choices cannot be repaired from a later Nocturne save.

After Chippin’ In, complete Blistering Love when it becomes available if you want Rogue’s date and standard Rogue assault route. Blistering Love is useful for Rogue’s route, but it is not a replacement for the three Chippin’ In oil-field choices required for the secret solo assault.

• Chippin’ In is complete.
• The Johnny oil-field conversation has been completed.
• The three exact secret-route dialogue choices were selected if Don’t Fear The Reaper is wanted.
• Blistering Love is complete if the standard Rogue route is wanted.
• A separate save exists before Nocturne OP55N1.

6. Finish optional companion arcs and verify the Act 2 completion state

Judy’s, River’s and Kerry’s side jobs are optional for completing the base-game campaign, but they add character outcomes and can affect epilogue scenes. Review the Side Jobs category after major main missions and answer calls when you want to continue those arcs. Do not confuse these optional jobs with the required main-job branches.

Before entering Nocturne OP55N1, verify the ending prerequisites. The Panam option requires Queen of the Highway. The normal Rogue option requires the Johnny and Rogue chain through Blistering Love. The secret option requires the exact Chippin’ In oil-field dialogue choices and becomes selectable by waiting silently during the rooftop decision sequence rather than immediately choosing a helper. Create and protect a clearly labeled Pre-Nocturne manual save after all desired prerequisites are complete.

• The required Pacifica progression is M’ap Tann Pèlen, I Walk the Line, then Transmission.
• Never Fade Away was completed only as the embedded sequence within Transmission.
• The Panam, Takemura and Johnny branches are complete through their required Act 2 transitions.
• Queen of the Highway is complete if the Aldecaldo route is wanted.
• Chippin’ In and the desired Johnny dialogue checks are complete.
• A protected Pre-Nocturne save exists.

1. Start Chippin’ In after Tapeworm

Continue the main story until Tapeworm is complete and Chippin’ In becomes available as a Side Job. The job begins at the Afterlife. Before entering, create a manual save so you can repeat the oil-field conversation if a required response is missed.

Play through the Afterlife, Ebunike and Grayson sections normally. Chippin’ In contains several optional interactions, but the ending-related conversation occurs after V and Johnny drive to the oil fields and sit beside Johnny’s grave.

• Chippin’ In is available in the Journal.
• A manual save exists before starting the job.

2. Use the complete oil-field dialogue sequence

At Johnny’s grave, select the dialogue that acknowledges Johnny’s role in saving V and gives him a measured second chance. The verified sequence is: “[Inscribe Johnny’s Initials] Let’s do something about that,” “The Guy who Saved My Life,” “Nah, fucked that up too,” “What do you want from me?,” “OK. But as second chances go, this is your last,” “You were a real dick in the beginning,” “When you said you let down your friends…,” “Smasher biz really got to her,” and finally “Yeah, I’ll call Rogue.” The displayed wording can vary slightly by localization, so follow the same meaning and order if your text differs.

The final “Yeah, I’ll call Rogue” response confirms that Johnny’s relationship has progressed far enough for Blistering Love. The “The Guy who Saved My Life” and “Nah, fucked that up too” responses are especially important for the secret-route flag. If the conversation ends without the Rogue call option, reload the save made before the oil-field discussion rather than continuing.

• The oil-field conversation reaches “Yeah, I’ll call Rogue.”
• The Journal adds Blistering Love after Chippin’ In.
• The specified dialogue was used if Don’t Fear The Reaper is desired.

3. Complete Blistering Love for Rogue’s route

After Chippin’ In, track Blistering Love and call Rogue when the job instructs you to do so. Travel with Johnny to the abandoned drive-in and complete the date sequence. The ordinary conversation choices during the date do not replace the Chippin’ In prerequisite; the important requirement is finishing the job and reaching its conclusion.

Blistering Love is the required Rogue-side job for the normal Rogue assault option at the Nocturne OP55N1 rooftop. It is not necessary to romance Rogue, and it is separate from the secret solo assault. Keep the completed job in your Journal before beginning the finale.

• Blistering Love is marked completed.
• Rogue’s route is being preserved without relying on a romance choice.

4. Establish Panam’s Aldecaldo questline

Complete Panam’s Badlands story in sequence: Ghost Town, Lightning Breaks and Life During Wartime. Afterward, accept Riders on the Storm when Panam contacts V. Complete the rescue and return to the Aldecaldo camp rather than abandoning the job.

When With a Little Help From My Friends becomes available, assist Panam’s plan to use the Basilisk. Do not reveal the plan to Saul. Betraying the plan can end Panam’s questline before Queen of the Highway becomes available, removing the Aldecaldo assistance option from the finale.

• Riders on the Storm is completed.
• With a Little Help From My Friends is completed without betraying Panam’s plan.
• The Panam questline remains active rather than failed.

5. Finish Queen of the Highway

After With a Little Help From My Friends, leave the camp and wait for Panam’s call. The job normally becomes available after approximately 24 in-game hours. If the call does not arrive immediately, leave the camp area, use the in-game wait function, and check the Journal and phone notifications.

Return to the Aldecaldo camp, enter the Basilisk and complete the driving, synchronization and target-practice objectives. When the Raffen Shiv attack begins, use the Basilisk’s weaponry to defend the camp. Finish the post-battle conversations with Saul and Panam and follow the remaining objectives until the job fully completes.

Romancing Panam is optional. Completing Queen of the Highway is the relevant requirement for asking Panam for help during Nocturne OP55N1.

• Queen of the Highway is marked completed.
• The Basilisk practice and Raffen Shiv defense are finished.
• Panam’s romance was not treated as a prerequisite.

6. Verify the ending routes before Nocturne OP55N1

Before entering Embers for Nocturne OP55N1, check the Journal. For Rogue’s route, confirm that Blistering Love is completed. For the Aldecaldo route, confirm that Queen of the Highway is completed. For Don’t Fear The Reaper, confirm that the oil-field dialogue sequence was followed; the displayed Johnny percentage is not a reliable substitute for those choices.

Create a manual save labeled Pre-Nocturne only after all desired prerequisites are complete. At the rooftop, Queen of the Highway makes the Panam option available, while Blistering Love makes the normal Rogue option available. The secret solo option requires the earlier Chippin’ In dialogue state and then requires waiting during the rooftop discussion when the game presents no immediate new choice.

Do not assume these side jobs can be added after Nocturne OP55N1 begins. If an ending option is absent, reload the pre-Nocturne save or an earlier save before the missing side job was failed.

• Blistering Love is completed for Rogue’s route.
• Queen of the Highway is completed for Panam’s route.
• The required Chippin’ In dialogue was selected for Don’t Fear The Reaper.
• A separate Pre-Nocturne manual save exists.

Confirm that the PS5 build is using the current gameplay systems

The native PS5 version was introduced with the February 15, 2022 Patch 1.5 next-generation release, but the systems used in this chapter come from Update 2.0 and later PS5 patches. Before preparing for Act 3, install the available game updates and open the current Perks, Cyberware and crafting screens to confirm that the redesigned systems are present.

This chapter excludes Phantom Liberty missions and Dogtown progression. The base-game systems introduced by Update 2.0 still apply to a PS5 base-game campaign, so prepare V using the current menus rather than older guides that describe the pre-2.0 perk, armor and crafting rules.

• The installed game is the native PS5 version rather than the PS4 version running through backward compatibility.
• The Perks menu uses the redesigned Update 2.0 structure.
• The Cyberware menu displays Cyberware Capacity and tiered implants.

Choose one primary combat method and keep a backup

Review your Attributes, Perks and equipped weapons, then choose one main way to finish ordinary enemies. Firearms, blades, blunt weapons, stealth weapons and quickhacks can all work, but spreading points across unrelated weapon trees makes the build less reliable. A hybrid is fine when one method remains clearly dominant.

Keep a backup that covers the weaknesses of your main method. A melee-focused V should retain a firearm for distant or elevated enemies. A gun-focused V benefits from a close-range option. A netrunner should carry a usable weapon for moments when RAM is low, enemies resist a particular quickhack, or combat prevents a safe upload sequence.

• Your main weapon category has several perks that directly improve it.
• Your backup weapon handles a different range or enemy position.
• You can defeat ordinary enemies without spending every healing charge.

Refund scattered perks and spend toward a coherent build

Perks can be refunded individually without cost. Open the Perks menu and remove points that improve equipment or tactics you no longer use. Reinvest in the Attribute branches that support your chosen weapon class, quickhacks or movement tools, then use remaining points for survivability and utility.

Do not wait for the finale to repair a build that already feels weak. Equip the weapons and cyberware that your selected perks improve, then read the resulting bonuses in the item and character screens. If a perk supports a weapon category you rarely draw, it is a candidate for refunding.

• Your equipped weapons match the perk branches you are using.
• Your primary combat loop has enough damage, control or resource recovery to function in a prolonged fight.
• You know which Attribute or perk branch receives your next planned investment.

Visit a ripperdoc and manage Cyberware Capacity

Open the ripperdoc interface and inspect every occupied slot, not just the operating system. In the current system, cyberware provides most of V’s armor, while clothing is primarily cosmetic. Replace weak or obsolete implants with pieces that improve your actual combat loop, such as defensive protection, health recovery, RAM support or weapon-related bonuses.

Check the Cyberware Capacity cost of each purchase before installing it. Leave room for the operating system and other core implants instead of filling every available slot with minor improvements. Capacity rises as V progresses, and capacity-related upgrades can also affect how much chrome you can install. Some cyberware slots are tied to perk progression, so inspect the relevant perk trees if a slot remains unavailable.

• Your important defensive and playstyle-specific slots are occupied.
• Installed cyberware stays within available Cyberware Capacity.
• Your operating system matches your approach: cyberdeck for hacking, Sandevistan for time-slow combat, or Berserk for an aggressive melee build.

Improve cyberware and replace obsolete weapons

At the ripperdoc, compare newly available implants with the pieces already installed and use the upgrade function when it produces a meaningful improvement. Prioritize implants that support your combat loop instead of buying chrome merely to occupy every slot.

Do not plan to raise every ordinary gun or blade forever. Under Update 2.0, ordinary weapons are generally replaced by better Tier versions, while Iconic weapons can be upgraded through the relevant crafting interface. Keep a dependable current-tier weapon, or maintain an Iconic weapon when its effect suits your build.

• You checked both new cyberware and upgrade options.
• Your defensive effects and armor improved or your core combat resource became easier to manage.
• Your main weapon is a current Tier item or a maintained Iconic weapon.

Prepare consumables, ammunition and a field test

Before a major story mission, restock healing items, ammunition and grenades or other tools that support your approach. Sell or dismantle equipment you do not use so that mission pickups remain easy to identify. Clothing can be chosen for appearance unless a particular item provides a useful bonus; do not delay a cyberware improvement because an outfit is not the highest rarity.

Take the finished setup into a gig, NCPD Scanner Hustle or another non-critical encounter. Test the entire sequence you expect to use: opening hack or grenade, primary attack, healing, retreat and recovery. If RAM empties too quickly, damage is poor or you remain exposed, return to the Perks and ripperdoc screens before advancing the main story.

• You have healing items, ammunition and a usable emergency tool.
• Your primary and backup weapons behave as expected in live combat.
• The build completes an ordinary encounter without depending on a lucky drop or an untested tactic.

Save the prepared setup before continuing

Create a manual save after the field test and before the next major story mission. Keep an earlier manual save as well if you are about to enter a long combat sequence or a mission that restricts access to normal vendors and equipment menus.

Use the prepared save if a new cyberware combination performs badly or if you discover that your chosen weapon class does not suit your playstyle. Rebuilding before the mission is safer than trying to diagnose a weak setup during a late-game assault.

• A fresh manual save preserves the prepared build.
• An earlier recovery save remains available.
• You can identify the save to reload if the field test or next mission goes badly.

Resolve the Evelyn and Voodoo Boys branches

Complete Automatic Love at Clouds, then follow the objective markers through The Space in Between, Disasterpiece and Double Life. These jobs take V through Kabuki, Judy’s investigation and the underground braindance operation. When Double Life ends, the Evelyn branch is complete and the Pacifica jobs can be pursued.

Start M’ap Tann Pèlen by contacting Mr. Hands and meeting Placide in Pacifica. Follow Placide to the butcher shop, then continue through the Voodoo Boys’ hideout until the objective directs you to the Grand Imperial Mall. I Walk the Line begins there; infiltrate the mall, deal with Sasquatch and reach the cinema projector room to meet the NetWatch Agent.

After I Walk the Line, continue into Transmission with Brigitte. Follow her to the chapel’s lower area, enter the ice bath and complete the cyberspace objectives. Never Fade Away occurs during this mission as the playable Johnny memory involving Alt Cunningham. Finish that sequence, return to V, complete the Blackwall and Alt objectives, and escape or fight your way out of the Voodoo Boys’ hideout. Transmission is complete only after the final exit objective is finished.

• Automatic Love complete
• The Space in Between complete
• Disasterpiece complete
• Double Life complete
• M’ap Tann Pèlen complete
• I Walk the Line complete
• Transmission complete
• Never Fade Away completed inside Transmission

Finish the Panam and Takemura main-job branches

Complete Ghost Town through the Afterlife meeting with Rogue, Panam’s vehicle recovery and the convoy ambush. Continue with Lightning Breaks and Life During Wartime. Follow the objectives through the crashed convoy, locate Anders Hellman and bring him to the Sunset Motel to complete the interrogation sequence.

Complete Down on the Street, Gimme Danger and Play It Safe. In Gimme Danger, scout the Santo Domingo industrial compound, enter the warehouse and install the transmitter at the marked location. In Play It Safe, follow Takemura through the Japantown parade operation and defend the assigned sniper positions. Search and Destroy becomes available afterward.

During Search and Destroy, defend the building and advance through the damaged interior. Takemura’s survival is optional for the main story and for the Panam, Rogue and secret routes. If you want his later scenes or the Devil trophy, return through the damaged building after the collapse instead of immediately following the escape objective; locate him in the upper section, free him, then leave the building.

• Ghost Town complete
• Lightning Breaks complete
• Life During Wartime complete
• Down on the Street complete
• Gimme Danger complete
• Play It Safe complete
• Search and Destroy complete
• Takemura rescued if his later scenes or the Devil trophy are wanted

Complete all four Tapeworm activations

Tapeworm is a single main-job entry with four separate Johnny conversations. The activations occur after Automatic Love, after Transmission, after Life During Wartime and after Search and Destroy. Whenever Johnny’s conversation starts, complete the dialogue before leaving the area or continuing the surrounding main job. The precise meeting location depends on the preceding mission, so follow the active objective rather than searching for one fixed location.

After Search and Destroy, complete the fourth Johnny conversation outside the motel. Johnny then takes V to the abandoned Pistis Sophia hotel in Pacifica. Enter the marked room through the window, search the room and open the small compartment when prompted. Take the dog tags, then leave after the objective updates. This completes the final Tapeworm activation and awards Johnny’s Tank Top.

Open the Journal after leaving the hotel. Tapeworm must be marked complete before you proceed to Embers. If a Johnny conversation or the hotel objective remains active, finish it first; do not assume the job is complete merely because the previous main mission ended.

• Tapeworm activation after Automatic Love complete
• Tapeworm activation after Transmission complete
• Tapeworm activation after Life During Wartime complete
• Tapeworm activation after Search and Destroy complete
• Pistis Sophia hotel sequence complete
• Tapeworm marked complete
• Nocturne OP55N1 available in the Journal

Complete Panam’s prerequisite for the Aldecaldo route

Continue Panam’s side-job chain through Riders on the Storm and With a Little Help From My Friends. During With a Little Help From My Friends, support the Basilisk plan and avoid reporting Panam’s operation to Saul if you want the quest to proceed normally. After the job ends, leave the camp and wait 24 in-game hours for Panam to contact V.

Start Queen of the Highway when Panam calls. Return to the Aldecaldos camp, enter the Basilisk and complete its calibration and target-practice sequence. When the Raffen Shiv attack begins, use the Basilisk’s weapons to defend the camp, then complete the remaining objectives and conversations. Verify that Queen of the Highway is marked complete, not merely available. This completed side job enables Panam’s rooftop option during Nocturne OP55N1.

• With a Little Help From My Friends complete
• Queen of the Highway complete
• No active required Panam job remains
• Panam’s route is ready before Nocturne OP55N1

Complete Johnny’s prerequisites and protect the restore points

Complete Chippin’ In through the Ebunike, oil-field and Johnny conversation sections. To unlock Blistering Love, use the conciliatory oil-field responses that acknowledge Johnny’s mistakes and give him a final chance. When Blistering Love appears, complete the drive-in meeting with Rogue. This unlocks the normal Rogue-led route from the Nocturne rooftop.

The secret Don’t Fear The Reaper route requires the specific oil-field dialogue sequence in Chippin’ In. The key responses are “Nah, fucked that up too,” followed by “What do you want from me?” and then “OK. But as second chances go, this is your last.” Select the matching choices shown by your current localization. Blistering Love is not a replacement for these oil-field choices; it supports the normal Rogue route, while the secret assault depends on the Chippin’ In dialogue state.

Create a manual save after all desired Panam and Johnny prerequisites are complete and label it externally as “Act 3 Ready.” Then create another protected manual save before starting Nocturne OP55N1, ideally before entering the Embers elevator or accepting the point-of-no-return prompt. Record each save’s timestamp, location and purpose. Do not overwrite these slots after choosing a rooftop route.

• Chippin’ In complete
• Correct friendly oil-field dialogue selected for the desired routes
• Blistering Love complete for the normal Rogue route
• Queen of the Highway complete for the Panam route
• Act 3 Ready manual save recorded externally
• Pre-Nocturne manual save recorded externally
• Nocturne rooftop decision not yet finalized

1. Prepare while Nocturne OP55N1 is active

When Nocturne OP55N1 appears in the Journal, do not assume that accepting the mission marker has already locked the game. You can leave the objective active and continue exploring Night City. Finish optional companion jobs, visit ripperdocs, improve weapons and cyberware, and make any other preparations before traveling to Embers.

The practical point of no return is at the Embers elevator. The game warns you that continuing will suspend ordinary exploration and side activities. Stop before entering that elevator if you still have jobs to complete. If you enter and proceed through the warning to the 13th floor, the finale sequence begins and unfinished activities cannot be handled normally until you return after an ending.

• Nocturne OP55N1 is visible in the Journal.
• All side jobs needed for your intended ending routes are complete.
• You have stopped outside the Embers elevator before accepting the lockout.

2. Confirm Panam’s route before entering Embers

To make the Aldecaldos assistance choice appear on the rooftop, complete Panam’s side-job chain through Queen of the Highway. Meeting Panam during the main story, or completing only Ghost Town, Lightning Breaks and Life During Wartime, is not enough. The relevant later chain includes Riders on the Storm, With a Little Help from My Friends and Queen of the Highway.

If With a Little Help from My Friends is finished but Queen of the Highway has not started, leave the Aldecaldos camp and advance in-game time as the quest requires. Panam’s call starts the final job after the required delay. Complete the Basilisk sequence, defend the camp from the Raffen Shiv and finish the closing conversation at the camp. Romance choices are not required for the ending route; the important check is that Queen of the Highway is completed.

• Riders on the Storm is complete.
• With a Little Help from My Friends is complete.
• Queen of the Highway is complete and recorded as finished in the Journal.

3. Confirm Johnny and Rogue’s progression

Complete Chippin’ In and then complete Blistering Love if you want the Rogue-led assault option. Meeting Rogue at the Afterlife or completing an earlier Johnny scene does not by itself unlock that rooftop choice. Blistering Love is the useful confirmation that the required Johnny/Rogue branch has advanced far enough.

The secret solo assault is an additional condition rather than an automatic reward for finishing Blistering Love. During Chippin’ In, the conversation with Johnny at the oil fields uses specific responses that determine whether the later hidden option can appear. If this route matters to you, preserve a save from before that conversation or follow a verified dialogue list while playing. Completing Blistering Love remains necessary for the normal Rogue branch, but it does not prove that the secret option is available.

• Chippin’ In is complete.
• Blistering Love is complete for Rogue’s route.
• The Chippin’ In oil-field dialogue was handled deliberately if you want the secret assault.

4. Create protected manual saves before the lockout

Before entering the Embers elevator, create a manual save in one slot and immediately create another in a different slot. Do not rely on an autosave or on a single file. Identify both saves by their slot, timestamp, location and a personal note such as “before Embers elevator,” because a custom in-game label is not a dependable recovery method.

After confirming that both files were created before the elevator sequence, back up the correct save through your available PlayStation storage option if you use one. Do not overwrite either local file after completing an ending. Keep one untouched until you have finished every route you intend to play.

• Two manual saves exist in separate slots.
• Each save can be identified by timestamp and location as being before the Embers elevator.
• At least one copy remains untouched after the first ending.

5. Enter Embers and reach the rooftop choice

When your preparations are complete, enter the elevator at Embers and select the 13th floor after the point-of-no-return warning. Meet Hanako, leave the restaurant, follow the story back to Viktor’s clinic and take your pills and weapons. Then speak with Misty and follow her to the rooftop above the clinic.

The rooftop discussion with Johnny is where the ending approach is selected. Hanako’s Arasaka option is available by default. The Panam option appears only after Queen of the Highway. The Rogue option appears only after Blistering Love. The secret solo option requires the earlier Chippin’ In dialogue condition and is revealed through the rooftop conversation after waiting instead of immediately choosing a standard plan. If an expected option is absent, reload your pre-Nocturne save; it cannot be added later within that locked sequence.

• The point-of-no-return warning was accepted knowingly.
• Hanako’s option is present at the rooftop.
• Panam and Rogue are present only when their prerequisite jobs were completed.

6. Return and replay after an ending

Complete the selected finale and allow the ending sequence and credits to run. The game then offers One More Gig, which returns the character to the pre-finale state so you can continue exploring or replay Nocturne OP55N1. Use this return option for convenience, but retain the independent manual saves because they are the safest way to recover a specific pre-finale state.

To try another route, load the protected save or use the returned state and select another available rooftop plan. If a choice was missing, finish its prerequisite side job before starting Nocturne again. This chapter concerns the base-game finale only; Phantom Liberty missions and its separate ending content are outside this route checklist.

• The selected ending’s epilogue and credits have played.
• One More Gig or a manual save returns you to the pre-finale state.
• The original pre-Nocturne backup remains available for another route.

1. Confirm the edition and protect the restore point

This chapter applies to Cyberpunk 2077 running as the native PlayStation 5 version, not the PS4 version running through backward compatibility. CD PROJEKT RED introduced the dedicated PS5 version with the February 15, 2022 Patch 1.5 next-generation update. Later PS5 updates changed broader game systems, but the rooftop route names and base-game ending structure covered here remain applicable. Phantom Liberty is a separate expansion and is not required for these base-game routes.

When Nocturne OP55N1 appears in the Journal, stop before entering Embers in The Glen. Create a manual save in a dedicated slot outside Embers. Record the save’s timestamp and location in an external note, such as “before entering Embers, outside the restaurant.” Make a second manual save in another slot if you want an additional backup, and record that one separately. Do not rely on the rotating autosave or overwrite the protected slots with ordinary exploration saves.

• The installed game is the native PS5 version.
• A manual save exists before entering Embers.
• The save’s timestamp and location are recorded outside the game.
• A second backup slot is available if possible.

2. Check the companion prerequisites before entering Embers

For the Aldecaldo route, complete Panam’s chain through Queen of the Highway. Earlier jobs such as Riders on the Storm and With a Little Help from My Friends are not enough by themselves. The completed Queen of the Highway entry is the practical check that Panam’s rooftop plan should be available.

For the normal Rogue route, complete Johnny’s Chippin’ In chain and then Blistering Love. Blistering Love is the relevant completed side-job check for the Rogue plan. If it is missing, do not assume that unrelated side jobs will cause Rogue to appear after Nocturne OP55N1 has started.

The secret solo route has a separate Chippin’ In dialogue condition. During the oil-field conversation with Johnny, choose the conciliatory responses “Nah, fucked that up too,” “What do you want from me?” and “Okay. But as second chances go, this is your last.” The game’s displayed Johnny percentage is not a reliable substitute for these dialogue choices. If you already completed Chippin’ In with different responses, use an earlier save if you want to repair the condition.

• Queen of the Highway is complete for Panam’s route.
• Blistering Love is complete for the normal Rogue route.
• The three required oil-field responses were selected for the secret route.

3. Enter Embers and reach the rooftop

Enter Embers only after checking the prerequisites and protecting the manual saves. The game displays a point-of-no-return warning. Meet Hanako and complete the restaurant conversation. Follow the objectives after leaving Embers until V reaches Viktor’s clinic.

Take the medication at the clinic, then speak with Misty outside. Follow Misty through the alley and take the elevator to the roof. Sit beside her and continue the conversation with Johnny. The ending route is not fixed during the meeting with Hanako; it is chosen during the rooftop discussion after Johnny presents the available plans.

• The point-of-no-return warning has appeared.
• Hanako’s meeting is complete.
• Viktor’s clinic sequence is complete.
• Misty has led V to the rooftop.

4. Identify the available plans before confirming one

Review Johnny’s plan options carefully. Hanako’s Arasaka plan is always available. The Panam plan appears when Queen of the Highway is complete. The Rogue plan appears when the required Rogue progression, including Blistering Love, is complete. Path of Least Resistance is always available and requires no companion questline.

If Panam or Rogue is missing, do not continue expecting the option to appear later in the same run. Leave the rooftop decision unresolved if possible, then reload the protected save from before Embers. Complete the missing prerequisite from an earlier state and start Nocturne OP55N1 again.

• The rooftop plan list is visible.
• Hanako and Path of Least Resistance are present.
• Panam appears if Queen of the Highway was completed.
• Rogue appears if Blistering Love was completed.

5. Select Hanako’s Arasaka route

Choose the plan that asks Hanako and Arasaka for help if you want the corporate route. Confirm the decision when Johnny asks whether you are certain. The Journal should advance to Last Caress, which confirms that the Arasaka branch has begun.

This route does not require Panam’s or Rogue’s side jobs. If you selected it accidentally, reload the protected save from before entering Embers rather than depending on a later autosave.

• Hanako’s plan was selected deliberately.
• Last Caress appears in the Journal.
• The protected pre-Embers save remains intact.

6. Select Panam’s Aldecaldo route

Choose the plan that calls Panam for help if Queen of the Highway is complete. Confirm the choice and check the Journal for We Gotta Live Together. This confirms that the Aldecaldo assault branch has begun.

The route’s objectives, allies and combat spaces differ from the Arasaka and Rogue branches. If the Panam option is absent, reload the protected save and verify that Queen of the Highway is listed as completed before restarting Nocturne OP55N1.

• Queen of the Highway was completed before entering Embers.
• The Panam plan is visible on the rooftop.
• We Gotta Live Together appears after confirmation.

7. Select Rogue’s route or trigger the secret solo route

Choose the Rogue-related plan if you want the normal Rogue assault. Confirm it and check that the Journal advances to For Whom the Bell Tolls. Johnny takes control of V’s body for the initial operation, and Rogue joins the assault sequence.

To attempt (Don’t Fear) The Reaper, select the Rogue plan first. When Johnny asks you to confirm, do not immediately choose a confirmation response. Leave the decision screen active and wait for Johnny to suggest attacking Arasaka alone. This can take several minutes of real-world time. Accept his proposal when it appears; the Journal should advance to (Don’t Fear) The Reaper.

The solo assault has no normal companion support and is intentionally difficult. Death during the attempt ends that run rather than returning V to an ordinary combat checkpoint. Keep the pre-Embers manual save so you can retry the route without losing the rest of the playthrough.

• Blistering Love is complete for the normal Rogue plan.
• The required Chippin’ In oil-field dialogue was completed for the secret route.
• The Rogue plan was selected before waiting for the solo proposal.
• (Don’t Fear) The Reaper appears before beginning the solo assault.

8. Choose Path of Least Resistance only for the immediate ending

Choose the option that puts everything to rest if you intend to use Path of Least Resistance. It requires no Panam, Rogue or Johnny prerequisite. V ends the run from the rooftop instead of beginning the usual Arasaka, Aldecaldo or Rogue assault sequence.

This is not a normal route to Mikoshi and does not provide the standard final-assault missions. If you selected it accidentally, reload the protected pre-Embers save before confirming the choice.

• You understand that Path of Least Resistance ends the run immediately.
• The protected pre-Embers save remains available.

9. Verify the branch and preserve the replay point

Check the next Journal entry before continuing. Last Caress confirms Hanako’s route, We Gotta Live Together confirms Panam’s route, For Whom the Bell Tolls confirms the normal Rogue route, and (Don’t Fear) The Reaper confirms the secret solo route. Path of Least Resistance proceeds directly toward its own ending sequence instead of starting one of those assault missions.

Complete the selected route and allow the ending sequence and credits to run. When One More Gig becomes available, it normally returns V to the pre-ending state, but keep the protected manual save outside Embers anyway. Use that save to retry another rooftop choice, attempt the solo route again or complete a prerequisite before replaying the finale.

• The expected route-specific Journal mission appears.
• The selected branch is deliberate before the assault continues.
• The protected pre-Embers save remains intact after the ending attempt.
• The credits run and One More Gig becomes available.

1. Prepare the rooftop choice and protect the recovery save

Before starting Nocturne OP55N1, create and preserve a clearly labeled manual save. This is the practical master save for replaying the base-game endings. Equip your preferred weapons, healing items, cyberware and quickhacks before entering Embers, because the finale includes extended combat and scripted transitions where normal saving may be unavailable.

At the rooftop, the default Hanako option is always available. Asking Panam for help requires Panam’s quest chain to be completed through Queen of the Highway. Asking Rogue for help requires the Johnny and Rogue chain to reach Blistering Love. The secret solo option, Don’t Fear the Reaper, appears only when the required Chippin’ In dialogue conditions were satisfied; Blistering Love is not itself the requirement for the solo option, although it is needed for Rogue’s normal route.

Select the plan only after confirming that the intended option is visible. If you want to attempt several endings, do not overwrite the pre-Nocturne save. The finale’s route-specific allies, objectives and epilogues are not interchangeable.

• Keep a manual save from before Nocturne OP55N1.
• Confirm Panam, Rogue or the secret solo option is present before selecting it.
• Use tested equipment and a build that can handle armored enemies and groups.

2. Hanako’s Arasaka route: Last Caress, Totalimmortal and Where Is My Mind?

Choose the Hanako plan to begin Last Caress. Travel to the Arasaka Estate and advance through the grounds toward Hanako. Stealth is optional; if the guards detect V, clear the combat and continue following the objective markers. Rescue Hanako, escort her to the AV and board it. The mission continues after the AV lands, so do not treat the extraction as the finale’s completion point.

At Arasaka Tower, follow Hanako into Totalimmortal. Continue through the tower, attend the board-meeting sequence and fight the attackers when the mission turns hostile. Stay near cover in the atriums and around elevator approaches, then follow the active objective after each combat. Takemura can appear if he survived Search and Destroy, but his survival is not required to unlock or finish Hanako’s route.

Where Is My Mind? follows the tower sequence. Complete the orbital-facility objectives and proceed through the Mikoshi-related scenes until the game presents the final body-ownership decision. Choose whether V returns to the body or Johnny takes it, then allow the selected epilogue and credits to load. Finishing Totalimmortal alone is not a completion check.

• Complete Last Caress, including the AV landing transition.
• Follow Hanako through Totalimmortal and the board-meeting aftermath.
• Finish Where Is My Mind? and watch the epilogue and credits.

3. Aldecaldo route: We Gotta Live Together, Forward to Death and Belly of the Beast

Choose Panam’s rooftop option to begin We Gotta Live Together at the Aldecaldo camp. Attend the briefing, speak with the required members and follow the objectives to the Basilisk. The next stage, Forward to Death, begins the assault through the construction site. Follow the convoy and use the Basilisk’s weapons during the vehicle sections when instructed.

When the Basilisk is disabled, exit it and protect the vehicle while Panam repairs it. Clear the attacking drones and enemies around the marked area, then re-enter the Basilisk only after the repair objective is complete. Continue with the convoy and leave the vehicle again when the mission directs V to cover the Aldecaldos or escort named allies. Staying inside during an objective that requires V on foot can prevent progress.

Belly of the Beast takes V through the underground route toward Mikoshi. Follow the drilling and tunnel objectives, assist the Aldecaldos through the interior fights and advance into Arasaka’s defenses. Defeat Adam Smasher, connect to Mikoshi and make the body-ownership decision. The decision determines whether the Aldecaldo-related Star epilogue or the Johnny-related Temperance outcome follows.

• Complete We Gotta Live Together, Forward to Death and Belly of the Beast in that order.
• Exit the Basilisk during the repair objective and protect it until repairs finish.
• Defeat Adam Smasher, reach Mikoshi and complete the final identity choice.

4. Rogue and Johnny’s route: For Whom the Bell Tolls and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door

Choose Rogue’s plan to begin For Whom the Bell Tolls. Johnny controls V during the preparation sequence at the Afterlife. Meet Rogue and the assault team, enter Arasaka Tower and advance through the security areas. Follow the active objectives rather than stopping to search for every ally who separates from the group.

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door follows For Whom the Bell Tolls. Move through the tower, find the commanding officer and obtain the access needed to continue. Follow the route through the elevator and security areas, connect Alt to the system when instructed and continue toward Mikoshi. Rogue’s team changes the route and the fate of its members, so do not use the Hanako or Aldecaldo instructions as if the same allies were present.

At the Mikoshi access point, defeat the route’s final defenses and complete the body-ownership choice. Returning V to the body leads toward the Sun epilogue; giving the body to Johnny leads toward Temperance. Allow the epilogue and credits to run before judging the route complete.

• Complete Blistering Love before Nocturne if you want Rogue’s rooftop option.
• Finish For Whom the Bell Tolls before Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.
• Reach Mikoshi and complete the body-ownership decision.

5. Secret solo assault: Don’t Fear the Reaper

If the secret rooftop option appears, selecting it begins Don’t Fear the Reaper. V enters Arasaka Tower without the normal Rogue or Aldecaldo assault team. This is a high-risk route: there is no companion assault group to absorb pressure or rescue V if the solo attempt fails.

Advance carefully from cover to cover. Eliminate dangerous netrunners early, use healing and defensive cyberware before V is critically injured and clear the immediate area before pushing toward the next objective. Do not assume that an apparently empty corridor is safe; later rooms can contain concentrated elite resistance. If V dies, reload the latest usable finale save or return to the protected pre-Nocturne save and try again.

A successful solo run continues through Arasaka Tower, Adam Smasher and Mikoshi. The final body-ownership choice determines the ending variant. The secret route does not return V to the rooftop after a successful assault; it proceeds into the ending sequence.

• Confirm that Don’t Fear the Reaper is visible before selecting the solo plan.
• Use a proven combat build and preserve healing resources for later rooms.
• Reload the pre-Nocturne save if the solo assault fails.

6. Path of Least Resistance: immediate ending route

Path of Least Resistance requires no Panam, Rogue or secret-ending prerequisite. On the rooftop, first select one of the available plans or continue the conversation until Johnny presents the option to end the situation immediately. Choose the dialogue option to put everything to rest, then confirm by selecting the option to toss the pills.

This choice bypasses Last Caress, Totalimmortal, Where Is My Mind?, We Gotta Live Together, Forward to Death, Belly of the Beast, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and Don’t Fear the Reaper. There is no Arasaka assault, Basilisk section, Mikoshi approach or route-specific companion mission afterward. The game proceeds directly into its ending sequence and credits.

Use the pre-Nocturne save if you selected this route accidentally or want to play a normal assault ending. Do not overwrite that save before confirming that the immediate ending is the route you intended to complete.

• Select the rooftop dialogue that puts everything to rest.
• Confirm the toss-pills choice.
• Wait for the ending sequence and credits; no assault mission follows.

Prepare before entering the final route

Before starting Nocturne OP55N1 or committing to a rooftop option, make a manual save outside Embers and retain it separately from ordinary autosaves. If you have already reached the rooftop, create another manual save before selecting a final route whenever the game permits saving. This is the most reliable way to replay the Hanako, Panam, Rogue or secret assault paths.

Visit a ripperdoc and confirm that your operating system, primary weapon and defensive cyberware support the build you have actually been using. A netrunner should have a usable cyberdeck and a quickhack sequence that can disable or damage priority targets. A Sandevistan or berserk build should have enough survivability to cross open spaces. A weapon-focused build should carry a reliable ranged weapon even when its main damage comes from blades or close combat. Refill healing items, grenades and ammunition before entering the route.

• A separate pre-Nocturne manual save is preserved.
• Your primary weapon and operating system are upgraded for your build.
• Healing items, grenades and ammunition are stocked.
• Your combat rotation has been tested before the final assault.

Clear each arena in controlled advances

At the start of every firefight, remain behind solid cover and identify netrunners, heavy weapons, armored enemies and elevated shooters. If a quickhack warning appears, break line of sight behind solid cover while locating the attacker. Do not advance merely because the immediate target is hidden; clear the visible group, recover health and ammunition, then move to the next defensible position.

Use cameras, turrets and environmental devices when they let you expose or separate enemies without crossing open ground. Throw grenades at clustered enemies or targets hiding behind cover rather than spending them on a lone opponent already under control. Do not chase a retreating enemy through a doorway until the current arena is quiet, because the next room can activate another group while you are already damaged.

• Enemy netrunners are interrupted or removed early.
• Heavy and elevated threats are identified before advancing.
• Each arena is cleared before entering the next room.
• You move between solid cover instead of standing in doorways.

Deal with armor, defensive effects and fast attackers

When an enemy has visible armor, a defensive effect or another protection state, use the control, stagger or damage option your build normally relies on to create an opening. Do not spend every cooldown into a protected target if your attacks are producing little result. Once the enemy is staggered or exposed, concentrate damage until the opening ends, then return to cover.

Against heavily armored or cybernetic opponents, keep moving laterally and avoid trading damage in the open. If a fast enemy closes distance or uses Sandevistan-like movement, create space immediately with cover, movement abilities, a control effect or a high-damage interruption. Current 2.1 behavior allows Adam Smasher to activate Sandevistan, so older advice that treats him as a slow, passive target is unreliable. During his fight, use the arena’s structures for protection, attack after his active sequence or recovery, and relocate when area attacks or additional threats make your position unsafe.

• Protection states are disrupted before major cooldowns are committed.
• Fast enemies are separated from V before close combat begins.
• Adam Smasher is attacked from cover and during openings.
• You relocate when the arena becomes unsafe.

Use checkpoints and recover from failure

Checkpoint placement differs between final routes. After dying, note which objective or room has reset before changing your equipment. If the same section defeats you repeatedly, reload the manual save before the route and change one factor at a time: lower the difficulty, replace a weapon, alter cyberware, change the opening target or use a different approach to the first arena.

Don’t Fear The Reaper is the exception to ordinary save management. Normal manual and quick saving are unavailable during the assault, although the game can create automatic checkpoints. Do not rely on an exact checkpoint location or assume every failed attempt will restart at the same point. Enter only with a build you have already tested, keep healing and cooldowns available for the whole run, and preserve the pre-Nocturne save in case you decide to abandon the attempt.

• A failed attempt produces a deliberate change in equipment or approach.
• You do not mistake an autosave checkpoint for a permanent manual backup.
• The secret route is attempted only with a tested build.
• The pre-Nocturne save remains untouched.

Protect the intended ending state

Some deaths and absences are scripted consequences of the selected route, so they cannot be prevented by changing combat tactics. Reload when a mission objective fails, when you lose a route-specific ally through a preventable failure, or when you decide that the selected route is not the ending you want. Do not continue expecting the epilogue to restore an earlier state.

After the credits, record the rooftop option and epilogue that played. The game can return you to a pre-point-of-no-return state, but your own dated save is safer than relying on that restoration. Reload the pre-Nocturne save to test another route without replaying the campaign.

• The selected route completes its mission objectives.
• The intended epilogue loads after the final mission.
• The original pre-Nocturne save still loads.
• The rooftop choice and resulting epilogue are recorded for replay planning.

1. Finish the route selected at the Nocturne OP55N1 rooftop

After the conversation with Johnny on Misty’s rooftop, follow the mission chain created by your choice. Hanako’s route leads into the Arasaka endgame and the orbital-station epilogue. Calling Panam starts the Aldecaldo assault, including the Basilisk operation. Calling Rogue places Johnny and Rogue at the center of the Arasaka raid. If the secret option appears, Don’t Fear The Reaper sends V into Arasaka Tower alone with no allied assault team.

Path of Least Resistance works differently. Select the option to end V’s suffering rather than choosing an assault plan, then confirm the decision. This bypasses the normal final missions, Mikoshi assault and standard epilogue structure, proceeding instead to its immediate closing sequence and credits. It is a complete base-game ending, but it does not test your combat readiness or produce the same route scenes as the other choices.

• The mission chain created by the rooftop choice is complete.
• If using a normal assault route, the Mikoshi and cyberspace sections have concluded.
• If using Path of Least Resistance, the decision has been confirmed and its closing sequence has begun.

2. Complete the final identity or contract decision

On the normal assault routes, continue past the final confrontation instead of quitting at the first cyberspace scene. At Mikoshi, the game presents the decisive choice involving V’s body and Johnny’s future. Returning to V’s body and allowing Johnny to continue produces different epilogue missions, even when the preceding assault was the same.

The Hanako route has its own additional decision during the Arasaka orbital-station sequence. After the medical procedure and conversations, decide whether V accepts Arasaka’s contract or returns to Earth. Finish this conversation and the following scene before treating the route as complete. The choice changes the final result of the Arasaka branch.

• The body-ownership choice has been made on the selected assault route.
• The Hanako orbital-station contract choice has been completed when playing that route.
• The game has advanced into the route-specific epilogue rather than returning to ordinary free roam.

3. Watch the entire epilogue and credits

Continue following the objectives and scenes after the final decision. Depending on the route and body choice, the epilogue may follow the Aldecaldos, V’s rise as an Afterlife legend, Johnny’s life in V’s body, or V’s return from the Arasaka station. Romance and companion progress can alter calls, messages and appearances, so these scenes are not identical between saves.

Do not use the end of the last firefight as the completion point. Allow the epilogue scenes, closing conversations and end-credit messages to play. The base-game completion check is satisfied when the selected route has reached its epilogue and the credits have appeared. Don’t Fear The Reaper does not create a wholly separate fifth epilogue: it changes the assault route, then feeds into the available Sun or Temperance outcomes according to the later choice.

• A route-specific epilogue has loaded.
• The epilogue scenes and closing messages have played.
• The base-game credits have appeared.

4. Use One More Gig to replay another available ending

After the credits, select One More Gig when the continuation prompt appears. The game returns V to the point-of-no-return state before Nocturne OP55N1, allowing you to continue exploring Night City or prepare another finale. Nocturne OP55N1 remains available because the game is restoring the late-game state rather than permanently continuing after the ending.

Keep a separate manual save before entering Nocturne OP55N1, preferably before the rooftop conversation. That save is useful if the automatic return is overwritten or if you want to compare several endings without replaying the opening part of the finale. From this state, complete any still-missing prerequisite side jobs before starting Nocturne again.

• One More Gig has returned V to the pre-Nocturne state, or the protected manual save has been loaded.
• Nocturne OP55N1 is available again in the Journal.
• The manual pre-Nocturne save has not been deleted or overwritten.

5. Check prerequisites before selecting another route

For the Aldecaldo option, Panam’s relevant side-job chain must be completed before the rooftop choice. For Rogue’s route, complete Johnny’s Chippin’ In sequence and the Rogue follow-up Blistering Love so the Rogue plan is available. The secret solo assault depends on the required Johnny relationship dialogue history from Chippin’ In; when replaying Nocturne, choose the Rogue plan and then leave Johnny’s rooftop proposal unanswered for about five minutes until the solo option appears. Select it only if V is prepared for the difficult one-person assault.

Hanako’s route and Path of Least Resistance do not require those ally prerequisites. These options are therefore useful for checking a base-game ending even when Panam, Rogue or the secret solo route is unavailable. The rooftop choices are not an exhaustive list of epilogue scenes: the final Mikoshi decision, companion state and route-specific circumstances create additional variations.

Do not count Phantom Liberty’s The Tower as one of these base-game completions. For this chapter, the ending must begin from Nocturne OP55N1 and conclude with the associated base-game epilogue and credits.

• The desired Panam, Rogue or secret-route prerequisite is complete if that route is intended.
• The intended rooftop option is visible before committing to the finale.
• The ending began from Nocturne OP55N1 rather than a Phantom Liberty-only conclusion.

Confirm that the ending is complete

Follow the selected finale through its route-specific mission, final decision, epilogue and credits. Do not stop after the last combat encounter or after reaching Mikoshi. The run counts as completed when the relevant epilogue has played and the credits have appeared.

At the post-credits screen, choose One More Gig if you want to keep using this V. The game returns to the pre-finale state rather than establishing a permanent free-roam timeline after the ending. Keep your own manual save as well, especially if you want to preserve the exact state before Nocturne OP55N1.

• The selected epilogue has played.
• The credits have appeared.
• One More Gig is available, or the manual pre-Nocturne save is intact.
• The ending route has been recorded.

Return to the restored campaign state

Select One More Gig and allow the game to reload. Check the Journal and map after returning. Nocturne OP55N1 should remain available as the main job leading to the point of no return, allowing you to replay the finale after completing more side content.

If you left the ending screen without selecting One More Gig, load the manual save made before Nocturne OP55N1. This is also the correct recovery method if the restored state does not contain the activities or equipment you expected.

Ending rewards may remain with V after the reload. Treat these as rewards from the completed route, not as evidence that the story has permanently advanced beyond the finale.

• Nocturne OP55N1 is available again, or the manual backup loads.
• Expected Side Jobs and activities are visible in the Journal.
• Your character and equipment are usable for further cleanup.
• The original pre-Nocturne save remains untouched.

Finish companion arcs for epilogue content

Review the Side Jobs category and complete any unfinished companion chains whose conclusions you want to see. Prioritize Panam’s Aldecaldos jobs, Judy’s questline, River’s investigations, Kerry’s jobs and Johnny-related missions. These arcs are valuable for character resolution and can change calls, messages, relationship scenes or epilogue appearances.

Do not treat Judy, River or Kerry as prerequisites for the alternate Arasaka assault choices. Their arcs affect character and epilogue content, but the relevant route options are controlled by Panam’s Aldecaldo progression and Johnny/Rogue progression. For Panam’s route, complete Queen of the Highway. For Rogue’s route, complete Chippin’ In and the follow-up Blistering Love when it becomes available.

After finishing a companion job, wait for any required call or message, then check the Journal again. A quest chain is ready for ending planning only when its relevant job is marked complete.

• Panam’s desired chain is complete through Queen of the Highway.
• Chippin’ In is complete if you want Johnny or Rogue routes.
• Blistering Love is complete if you want Rogue’s route.
• Judy, River and Kerry arcs are complete if you want their additional epilogue content.
• Johnny dialogue choices for the secret route were preserved where applicable.

Clean up optional activities without confusing them with ending requirements

Use Journal and map filters to review remaining Gigs, NCPD Scanner Hustles, cyberpsycho encounters, vehicle jobs, races and miscellaneous Side Jobs. These activities are optional for reaching a base-game ending unless a particular job belongs to an ending prerequisite chain.

If a Side Job has not appeared, check the Journal for its prerequisite and allow time for the required call or message. Travel, complete another activity or use the in-game time-skip function when appropriate, then check again. Save before testing a missing quest so you do not overwrite your only recovery point.

When cleanup is complete, create a new manual save named something like Cleanup Complete or Pre-Nocturne Final. Keep the older pre-Nocturne save as an emergency backup and as the master save for replaying endings.

• Required ending-related jobs are complete.
• Optional activities are finished or deliberately skipped.
• A fresh cleanup backup exists.
• The original pre-Nocturne save has not been overwritten.

Replay Nocturne OP55N1 for the remaining base-game routes

Start Nocturne OP55N1 only after checking which route you want. Proceed to the rooftop conversation and review the available choices. Hanako’s route is the default corporate path. Panam’s option requires the completed Aldecaldo chain, and Rogue’s option requires the relevant Johnny and Rogue progression.

The secret Don’t Fear the Reaper assault is conditional. Its availability depends on the required Johnny dialogue state from Chippin’ In and the associated progression; completing ordinary companion quests does not guarantee it. If the option does not appear, reload a save from before the relevant prerequisite choices rather than continuing and hoping it will unlock later.

For a full base-game ending checklist, record Hanako’s route, Panam’s route, Rogue’s route, Don’t Fear the Reaper and Path of Least Resistance. Path of Least Resistance is the immediate self-termination choice on the rooftop and does not require Panam or Rogue’s questline.

Complete each selected route through its epilogue and credits. Afterward, choose One More Gig and return to the preserved pre-finale state before trying another route.

• The desired rooftop option appears.
• The selected route reaches its epilogue and credits.
• Path of Least Resistance has been included if you are tracking all base-game endings.
• One More Gig or the master save allows another replay.
• Each completed route is recorded separately.

Keep the base-game checklist separate from Phantom Liberty

Phantom Liberty is a separate expansion and its Dogtown missions and additional ending route are outside this chapter’s completion goal. Do not count its missions as unfinished base-game story content.

A save containing Phantom Liberty progress is not automatically unusable for the base game. It may simply contain additional quest, inventory and world-state changes that are irrelevant to this checklist. For a clean record, label saves by purpose and route instead of relying on downloaded or unverified files.

Recommended labels include Base Game Pre-Nocturne, Hanako Complete, Panam Complete, Rogue Complete, Secret Assault Complete and Path of Least Resistance Complete. Keep at least one independent manual save from before Nocturne OP55N1.

• Base-game and expansion objectives are separated.
• At least one independent pre-Nocturne save remains.
• The intended base-game routes are recorded.
• Phantom Liberty missions and its separate ending are excluded from the base-game count.

Confirm that the native PS5 application is installed

From the PS5 Games home, open Game Library and highlight Cyberpunk 2077. Press the options button or open the game hub, then use the version selector to choose the PS5 version rather than the PS4 version. PlayStation identifies the PS4 application with a PS4 label; the native PS5 version is shown without that PS4 label. If both versions are installed, confirm the selected version every time you troubleshoot a save or trophy issue.

The native version arrived with the February 15, 2022 Patch 1.5 next-generation update. It has a separate SKU and a separate trophy list. CD PROJEKT RED states that trophies earned in backward compatibility do not transfer to the native next-generation version, although PS4 saves can be transferred to PS5. Therefore, a missing trophy may mean that the PS4 application was used or that the trophy must be earned again in the native PS5 version. Do not delete the PS4 installation or its saves until the transfer has been checked.

• Open the version selector from the PS5 Game Library.
• Launch the application marked as the native PS5 version, not the PS4 application.
• Expect a separate PS5 trophy list.
• Keep the original PS4 save until the PS5 save transfer is confirmed.

Update the game before replaying a broken objective

On the PS5 Games home, highlight Cyberpunk 2077, press the options button, and select Check for Update. Restart the game completely after an update finishes. The next-generation update and later patches include fixes for quests, crashes, save-related problems, controller input, audio, and other progression issues. The latest official base-game patch verified for this guide is Patch 2.31, released September 11, 2025; install any newer update if the console offers one.

Use the official Cyberpunk 2077 patch-notes archive to search for the exact job name and objective. This is more useful than searching only for a general symptom such as “door locked” or “NPC missing.” Patch notes sometimes identify fixes that apply only after loading a save from before a specific trigger, so updating alone may not repair a state that has already been recorded incorrectly.

• Use Check for Update before repeating the mission.
• Restart the application after patching.
• Search the official notes for the exact job and objective.
• Reload a save from before the first abnormal behavior if the problem remains.

Recover from a quest that will not advance

First check the Journal for another related quest or prerequisite activity. CD PROJEKT RED's PlayStation troubleshooting guidance specifically recommends checking whether another quest must be completed before the blocked objective can progress. Track the affected job and avoid overwriting the oldest usable save made before the problem appeared.

If the objective is still blocked, close the game and power down the PS5 completely; do not use Rest Mode. Wait until the console lights turn off, unplug the power cable, wait at least two minutes, reconnect it, and start the console again. Launch Cyberpunk 2077 and load a save created before encountering the issue. Replay the conversation, combat, or transition that caused the failure rather than repeatedly loading an autosave created afterward.

If the problem persists across an earlier save and a fully restarted console, record the job name, objective text, game version, and what happened, then report the issue to CD PROJEKT RED. Do not treat a later autosave as proof that the underlying problem has been cleared.

• Check for related Journal prerequisites.
• Preserve the first save made before the malfunction.
• Fully power down instead of using Rest Mode.
• Unplug the PS5 for at least two minutes as directed by support.
• Load a pre-problem save and replay the trigger.

Protect saves before using cloud storage or deleting data

Keep at least three manual saves: a current working save, a recent pre-mission save, and a long-term recovery save. Use recognizable descriptions such as “Before troubleshooting” or “Before final mission.” Autosaves and checkpoints are useful during combat, but they are replaced frequently and should not be your only recovery points.

Before deleting local data or downloading a replacement from PlayStation Plus cloud storage, inspect the save timestamps and preserve the known-good local save. On PS5, open Settings, then Saved Data and Game/App Settings, followed by Saved Data (PS5) or Saved Data (PS4), depending on the application you are using. Use Upload or Delete from Console Storage to upload the selected save. Download from cloud storage only after confirming that the cloud copy is the one you intend to restore.

For PS5 games, automatic synchronization can make both local and cloud data converge on the newest state. Turn off automatic synchronization temporarily if you need to preserve two different versions for comparison. Reinstalling the game application does not replace the separate save data, so reinstall only after the save situation is safe and documented.

• Maintain three or more manual recovery saves.
• Check timestamps before uploading or downloading.
• Preserve the local known-good save before replacing data.
• Disable automatic synchronization temporarily when comparing save states.
• Never delete every local save during troubleshooting.

Check controller, display, and audio settings

If an interaction does not register, open Settings and restore the default control layout temporarily. Review button assignments, aim settings, dead zones, and accessibility options, then reconnect the DualSense if inputs fail in both gameplay and menus. Patch notes have documented fixes for controller dead-zone and interaction issues, so record the patch number before reporting a persistent problem.

For visual issues, test Performance and Ray-Tracing modes separately. The native PS5 version supports these graphics modes, spatial audio through Tempest 3D AudioTech, adaptive triggers, and activity-specific haptic feedback. These features can be adjusted or disabled for comfort, but changing them will not repair a broken quest state. Treat graphics, audio, and controller testing as separate from save recovery.

• Temporarily test the default control scheme.
• Compare Performance and Ray-Tracing modes.
• Reconnect the DualSense if input fails across menus and gameplay.
• Record the exact patch number and symptom before submitting a report.

Prioritize the side jobs that affect finale access

For the Aldecaldo route, complete Riders on the Storm, With a Little Help From My Friends and Queen of the Highway. The final job becomes available after With a Little Help From My Friends and a waiting period. Complete it successfully before starting Nocturne OP55N1; the Journal entry for Queen of the Highway should be complete before you enter Embers.

For Rogue’s standard route, complete Chippin’ In and then Blistering Love. After Chippin’ In, call Rogue and complete the drive-in movie sequence. At the theater, use the computer in the ticket booth to obtain the entry code, then enter 0000 at the keypad. Reach the projection booth, start the film and take the pills when prompted so Johnny can speak with Rogue. Finishing the job makes Rogue’s plan available during the rooftop decision in Nocturne OP55N1.

Don’t Fear The Reaper is separate from the normal Rogue route. During the oil-field conversation at the end of Chippin’ In, choose the conciliatory sequence: Inscribe Johnny’s initials and select Let’s do something about that; The Guy who Saved My Life; Nah, fucked that up too; What do you want from me?; OK. But as second chances go, this is your last; You were a real dick in the beginning; When you said you let down your friends…; Smasher biz really got to her; and Yeah, I’ll call Rogue. If you choose a different response, reload a save from before this conversation if you want to preserve the secret route.

At the Nocturne OP55N1 rooftop, choose Johnny’s proposal to ask Rogue for help, then do not immediately select another plan. Wait through the conversation until the alternative solo-assault option appears. Choose it only if you are prepared for a difficult run with no allied assault team. If you die during this route, the attempt ends and you must reload a save from before Nocturne OP55N1.

Path of Least Resistance is always available as a base-game route once you reach the rooftop decision. It does not require Panam’s, Rogue’s or Johnny’s side-job prerequisites. Record it separately if you are collecting all base-game finale routes.

• Aldecaldo route: Riders on the Storm, With a Little Help From My Friends and Queen of the Highway completed.
• Rogue route: Chippin’ In and Blistering Love completed.
• Secret route: the required Chippin’ In oil-field dialogue completed, followed by the later rooftop wait and solo-plan choice.
• Path of Least Resistance: no companion or secret-ending prerequisite.
• Judy, River and Kerry: optional narrative-completeness arcs.

Complete Panam’s Aldecaldo chain without losing access

After completing Life During Wartime, wait for Panam’s call and begin Riders on the Storm at the Aldecaldo camp. Follow the marked objective to the Wraith camp, rescue Saul, restore power at the farm and return to the nomads. Once Panam asks you to travel to the next objective, stay with the mission route. Do not deliberately abandon the job and then let a long period of in-game time pass, because failing this mission can close Panam’s remaining chain and the Aldecaldo ending route.

After Riders on the Storm closes, wait for With a Little Help From My Friends. Return to the camp, support Panam’s plan, reach the control tower, take the punch card and activate the locomotive. Join the nomads at the junction, help deal with the Militech convoy and return to camp to meet Saul. Do not reveal Panam’s plan to Saul if you want to preserve the intended Aldecaldo storyline.

When Queen of the Highway becomes available, leave the camp and wait for the Basilisk preparations to finish. Return to Panam, enter the Basilisk and complete the driving calibration around the wind turbines. Shoot the marked targets, defeat the Raffen Shiv attackers and return to the camp. Follow the closing conversations with Saul and Panam until the job completes. The required progress check is a completed Queen of the Highway entry in the Journal before entering Embers.

I’ll Fly Away is optional but missable. It becomes available after Riders on the Storm and must be completed before Queen of the Highway finishes, because the Aldecaldos move their camp during Panam’s final job. If Mitch offers it, complete it before starting or completing Queen of the Highway. It adds Scorpion’s memorial scene but is not required for the Aldecaldo ending.

• Riders on the Storm completed without failing the rescue objective.
• With a Little Help From My Friends completed without exposing Panam’s plan.
• I’ll Fly Away completed before Queen of the Highway if it is available.
• Queen of the Highway completed before Nocturne OP55N1.

Complete Chippin’ In and protect Rogue or secret-route access

Play Chippin’ In through Rogue’s operation against Adam Smasher and the Ebunike. Continue through the vehicle recovery sequence and drive to the oil fields. The conversation beside Johnny’s grave is the decisive checkpoint for the secret assault and for Blistering Love. Use the exact dialogue sequence listed earlier in this chapter if you want every Johnny-dependent route available.

When the conversation ends correctly, the option to call Rogue becomes available and Blistering Love can be started. If the required response was missed, a later completion of Blistering Love may still provide Rogue’s normal route, but it does not repair the secret-route dialogue condition. Reload the earlier save if Don’t Fear The Reaper is a priority.

Start Blistering Love by calling Rogue, meet her at the Afterlife in the evening and travel to the Silver Pixel Cloud Drive-In. Enter through the ticket booth, read the computer message, use keypad code 0000, reach the projection booth and start the film. Take the pills to give Johnny control, then finish the conversation with Rogue. Choices during the date can affect its personal outcome, but completing the job is the important route check.

The displayed Johnny relationship percentage is not a dependable substitute for the oil-field conversation check. Use the completed Blistering Love Journal entry for Rogue’s standard route and the remembered dialogue sequence plus the later rooftop prompt for the secret route.

• Chippin’ In completed.
• Required oil-field dialogue completed if Don’t Fear The Reaper is wanted.
• Blistering Love completed for Rogue’s standard route.
• Johnny’s displayed percentage is not being used as the only prerequisite check.

Finish Judy, River and Kerry for narrative completeness

Judy’s principal chain runs through Both Sides, Now, Ex-Factor, Talkin’ ’Bout a Revolution, Pisces and Pyramid Song. Follow her calls and Journal entries in order. Pisces contains consequential choices for Judy’s outcome, while Pyramid Song is the closing major job in her chain. Complete Pyramid Song before the finale if you want Judy’s full character resolution and any related ending calls or messages.

River’s chain begins with I Fought the Law and continues through The Hunt and Following the River. During The Hunt, follow the investigation and rescue objectives carefully. Complete Following the River when River contacts V; it is the closing job for his main character arc and can affect the later personal scenes associated with River.

Kerry’s chain follows Johnny’s Rogue-related content. Continue through Holdin’ On, Second Conflict, A Like Supreme, Rebel! Rebel!, I Don’t Wanna Hear It, Off the Leash and Boat Drinks as each becomes available. Some follow-ups require waiting or completing the preceding job before the next call arrives. Boat Drinks is the closing job for Kerry’s main arc.

Judy, River and Kerry do not create separate final-assault allies or rooftop options. Their jobs are optional for reaching credits, but they provide character conclusions, romance or friendship outcomes, and additional calls, messages and scenes that may appear around an ending.

• Pyramid Song completed for Judy’s full arc.
• Following the River completed for River’s full arc.
• Boat Drinks completed for Kerry’s full arc.
• Desired romance or friendship outcomes settled before the finale.

Make timestamped saves and verify the Journal before Embers

Before entering Embers, create separate manual saves in different save slots. The game does not require or provide dependable custom save labels for this purpose, so record each slot’s timestamp and location in an external note. Keep one save outside Embers, one immediately before starting Nocturne OP55N1 and one additional backup in another slot. Do not overwrite the untouched pre-finale saves after viewing an ending.

Open the Journal and confirm Queen of the Highway is complete for Panam’s route and Blistering Love is complete for Rogue’s standard route. If you completed I’ll Fly Away, verify its completed entry as well. For Don’t Fear The Reaper, the Journal does not provide a dependable replacement for the oil-field dialogue check; preserve the earlier save if you are uncertain.

Start Nocturne OP55N1 only after the desired side jobs are complete. At the rooftop, choose Panam, Rogue, Johnny’s secret plan or Path of Least Resistance according to the route being recorded. After the credits, choose One More Gig to return to the point before Embers, or reload the untouched manual save identified by its timestamp and location. Use the same process to record additional base-game endings without starting a new character.

• A manual save exists outside Embers.
• A separate manual save exists immediately before Nocturne OP55N1.
• Queen of the Highway is complete if the Aldecaldo route is wanted.
• Blistering Love is complete if Rogue’s standard route is wanted.
• The required Chippin’ In dialogue was used if Don’t Fear The Reaper is wanted.
• At least one base-game epilogue has played and the credits have run.

1. Create and protect the pre-Nocturne master save

Continue until Nocturne OP55N1 is available, then travel to Embers but do not enter the building or begin the meeting with Hanako. Create a manual save in a dedicated slot before crossing the point-of-no-return trigger. Record the save’s exact timestamp, location and current mission state outside the game. You may write an explanatory note such as “Embers entrance — before Nocturne OP55N1,” but treat that as an external reminder rather than relying on a custom in-game label.

Create a second manual save in another slot if you want a local duplicate, and copy a backup to PlayStation cloud storage when available. Do not overwrite either protected slot during ordinary play or while completing an ending. The untouched save is the most reliable way to return to the branching point if the post-credits restoration behaves unexpectedly.

• A manual save exists before entering Embers.
• The slot’s timestamp, location and mission state are recorded externally.
• A second manual or cloud backup exists if available.
• The protected slots are not used for ordinary gameplay.

2. Complete route prerequisites before entering Embers

Load the protected state and inspect the Journal. To unlock the Aldecaldo route, complete Panam’s chain through Queen of the Highway. Romance is not required; what matters is completing the relevant Aldecaldo jobs without failing the chain. When the route is available, the rooftop conversation during Nocturne OP55N1 will offer Panam’s help.

For the Rogue-led route, complete Chippin’ In, make the dialogue choices that preserve Johnny’s required relationship state, and finish Blistering Love when it appears. This gives access to the ordinary Rogue assault and the related Sun or Temperance outcome branches. These jobs can be completed after Nocturne OP55N1 appears in the Journal, as long as you have not entered Embers and started the finale sequence.

After finishing missing prerequisites, make a new protected manual save before entering Embers. Keep the earlier slot if it may be useful for repairing another decision. Never assume that a prerequisite can be repaired after loading a save already inside the finale.

• Queen of the Highway is complete if the Aldecaldo route is wanted.
• Chippin’ In and Blistering Love are complete for the ordinary Rogue route.
• The required quest entries appear complete in the Journal.
• A fresh protected save exists after final preparations.

3. Repair decisions that cannot be fixed from the master save

A pre-Nocturne save cannot change an earlier story decision. If you want The Devil trophy or Takemura present in the Arasaka epilogue, load a save from before or during Search and Destroy. After the building ambush separates V from Takemura, turn back through the opening in the rubble instead of following the normal exit path. Return to Takemura’s room, defeat the enemies and escort him out. There is no required objective marker for this rescue, so it is easy to miss.

Takemura’s survival is not required to start or complete the Arasaka route. It is specifically needed for The Devil trophy and changes the associated epilogue appearance. Once the rescue is complete, progress again to Nocturne OP55N1 and create a new protected master save.

The secret Don’t Fear The Reaper route also cannot be repaired from a rooftop save if the required Chippin’ In conversation was missed. Load a save from before Johnny’s oil-field conversation, make the necessary befriending choices, finish the resulting content and then create a new pre-Nocturne backup.

• Takemura survives Search and Destroy if The Devil trophy is wanted.
• The required Chippin’ In dialogue state is established for Don’t Fear The Reaper.
• A new protected pre-Nocturne save is created after every repair.

4. Replay the five base-game route types

From the protected save, enter Nocturne OP55N1 and follow Misty to the rooftop. Before confirming a route, record the available choices. Selecting Hanako’s plan begins the Arasaka route. Selecting Panam’s help begins the Aldecaldo route when Queen of the Highway is complete. Selecting the Rogue plan begins the Rogue-led route when its prerequisites are complete. Each route has different assault missions, allies and epilogue scenes.

To attempt Don’t Fear The Reaper, first ensure the correct Chippin’ In state is present. During the rooftop decision, choose one of the ordinary plans and then choose the option to think it over. Leave the choice screen idle instead of selecting another response. After several minutes, Johnny proposes a solo assault. Accept his plan and begin Don’t Fear The Reaper. This route has no normal manual-save opportunity during the assault, and dying ends the attempt, so reload the pre-Nocturne master if necessary. The secret route is a different combat route, but it ultimately reaches the Sun or Temperance outcome structure depending on the later body choice.

Path of Least Resistance is the fifth route type for this replay record. Select the option to put an end to the situation and toss the pills. This route skips the ally-assisted assault and proceeds directly to its own ending sequence. It does not require Panam, Rogue or secret-ending prerequisites.

• Hanako, Aldecaldo, Rogue, Don’t Fear The Reaper and Path of Least Resistance are logged separately.
• The rooftop choice is written down before confirmation.
• The secret assault is distinguished from the ordinary Rogue assault.
• The protected save remains available for another attempt.

5. Record the correct final decision for each route

For the Aldecaldo, Rogue and secret assault routes, the finale eventually presents the choice of returning to V’s body or allowing Johnny to keep it. Record that decision with the route name. The Aldecaldo path can lead to The Star or Temperance. The Rogue and secret paths can lead to The Sun or Temperance. The secret route does not create an entirely separate body-ownership epilogue family.

The Hanako route does not use the same body-ownership choice. Record its Arasaka-specific final contract decision and the resulting epilogue instead. Path of Least Resistance ends without an ally-led assault, so record its direct outcome separately.

If a late manual save is created near a final decision, treat it only as a convenience for nearby variations. Never overwrite the untouched pre-Nocturne master with a late-finale save.

• The rooftop route and final decision are recorded together.
• The correct decision type is recorded for Hanako rather than applying the body-choice label to it.
• The epilogue name or outcome is written down after it loads.
• The original pre-Nocturne save remains untouched.

6. Confirm completion and maintain an ending log

Allow the selected epilogue and credits to finish. After the credits, choose Sure, Just One More Gig to return to the base-game state before the point of no return. If the option is unavailable or the restored state is uncertain, quit without saving over anything and load the protected manual slot.

Maintain one log entry per attempt. Include the rooftop route, prerequisite jobs completed, Takemura’s status where relevant, final body or contract decision, epilogue, credits result and trophy result. Use the protected save for the next route rather than deleting it after the first ending.

The base-game record should contain Hanako, Aldecaldo, Rogue, Don’t Fear The Reaper and Path of Least Resistance. Don’t Fear The Reaper is a special assault route that shares the Sun or Temperance outcome structure. Do not count Phantom Liberty’s Tower ending in this base-game completion record.

• The intended epilogue loaded and the credits appeared.
• Sure, Just One More Gig restored the pre-finale state, or the protected save was reloaded successfully.
• The ending log distinguishes all five route types.
• The protected manual save still exists.
• Phantom Liberty content is absent from the base-game record.