As V struggles to find a cure for their terminal condition in Cyberpunk 2077, they begin to look at unconventional methods and entrust their mortality to the hands of those who do not have V’s best interest at heart. If players want to ensure the best Cyberpunk 2077 ending for V and Johnny Silverhand, then there are a few mistakes that they will need to avoid.
Cyberpunk 2077: The 18 Best Decisions V Can Make
Cyberpunk 2077 is full of choices that can directly impact V’s life and the lives of those around them. These are the best decisions players can make.
Progressing through Cyberpunk 2077 can be a blast, and the streets of Night City might be immersive, but they are most certainly unkind. For those seeking to see somewhat of a happy ending for V, the biggest mistakes in Cyberpunk 2077 will need to be avoided.
Updated on December 11, 2024, by Jake Fillery: The best ending in Cyberpunk 2077 is always up for debate, and it's often discussed that there isn't necessarily the best ending, but just the chosen ending for V and Johnny. Yet, if players want to get the most satisfying Cyberpunk 2077 ending for them, then they must hear a few tips and look to a few pointers that will direct them on the right path so that they are not disappointed in the conclusion that they end up with.
Potential spoilers ahead for Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty
11 Never Trust Arasaka
Oda, Takemura, and the Arasaka Brand Must Fall
Players would be making a big mistake if they thought that Arasaka actually wants to help V. This is a corporation that Johnny has dedicated his life to destroying, and his radical speech on why he is the way he is will certainly be something to listen to when trying to understand him and understand why Arasaka is so blatantly evil.
One of the biggest mistakes players can make is to trust a corporation that has an unlimited amount of military power and Eurodollars, and if players get the opportunity to let the chess pieces fall, then they should. Saburo has already fallen, and it's not worth saving Oda or Takemura, as Arasaka cannot be trusted.
10 Choosing to Give Up and Fade Away
Letting V Commit Suicide is a Bad Ending For All
After a conversation with Johnny at the rooftop of Misty's Esoterica, V can decide that they aren't going to let this terminal illness take their life before they are done with it, so instead, they decide to take matters into their own hands and end it all. V committing suicide is a horrifying ending that players should actively avoid.
Not only does the suicide ending fill players with immense dread and misery, but they will also have to watch the mourning reactions of V's friends who they have made along the way to this point. If players make this decision, they are stopping themselves from reaching a satisfying conclusion for Cyberpunk 2077.
9 Don't Expect a Happier Ending For Everyone Involved
For Folks Like V and Johnny? Wrong City, Wrong People
If there's one thing players need to know about getting the best ending, it's that there really is no definitive best ending. Someone is always going to die. Whether it's one of V's allies, Johnny, or V themselves. Night City isn't for the weak, nor is it for the happy. It's a soul-sucking city and players need to understand that when they go into an ending, they aren't always going to leave satisfied, but they will leave with an understanding.
To get the best possible ending, it's important that players don't make the mistake of expecting everything to be sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes, some things just can't be beaten with a rocker-boy attitude and the best gun a merc can find, and at the end of the day, people die.
8 Entering Embers to Meet Hanako Before Concluding Other Quests
Nocturne Op55N1 Locks Players Out of Finishing Incomplete Side Jobs
The final mission of Cyberpunk 2077, Nocturne Op55N1 involves the directive to meet Hanako at Embers. The game warns players as they approach Embers that doing so will close them to a point of no return, but it's better to re-state the fact that players who are not ready for the ending should not follow through with Nocturne Op55N1 until they are ready to do so.
Meeting Hanako at Embers is irreversible, and it’s going to be a blatant mistake to get the best ending. Following this path has the potential to lock players out of quests, so it is best to complete all side missions and gigs before jumping here, as this is the finale.
7 Refusing to Speak to Johnny During Four Specific Missions
Tapeworm Provides Insight Into Johnny, So Taking Omega Blockers Shuts Him Out
Johnny Silverhand’s first impressions are filled with assault, verbal abuse, and a threat to kill one’s self. It’s safe to say that Silverhand and V do not get on the best of terms with their first impressions, but maybe in V’s weakest moments, it’s time to listen to what Johnny has to say. The Tapeworm main job takes place during four main jobs:
- Automatic Love
- Life During Wartime
- Search and Destroy
- Transmission
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During these main jobs, it’s essential that players at least give Johnny a chance to explain himself, and to better get to know him to determine whether this is a friend or foe. Despite his aggressive nature, players should definitely not take the omega blockers to shut Johnny out.
6 Failing to Work With Panam and Aid the Aldecaldos
V Can Find A Second Home With the Aldecaldos, and Perhaps Love With Panam
V and Panam don’t get on to the best of terms during their introduction in Ghost Town, but if players give her a chance, they will see that underneath that frustrating and tough exterior, there’s a vulnerable woman who just wants to help her nomad clan survive. Working alongside Panam and being loyal to her desires will ensure a second family with the Aldecaldos.
Players should make sure that they always answer the call to Panam to fulfill her questline, whether that’s as a romance partner for male V or a friend for female V. From saving Saul to capturing a military Basilisk, players will bond with Panam and the Aldecaldos, and failing to do so will result on one of the most important endings in Cyberpunk 2077 being inaccessible.
5 Denying Johnny’s Request to Use V’s Body to Speak to Rogue
Letting Johnny Take Over, Briefly, Is Essential to Unlocking the Secret Ending
Johnny isn’t the best at showing that he deserves V’s trust, but sometimes a leap of faith is required, especially since V is on borrowed time. Johnny has been respectful enough to not invade V’s body, and simply lurks in his mind as an onlooker, until now. Johnny requests to take over V’s body just to talk to Rogue about helping them.
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Except, it’s Johnny, and his first time in a body for over 50 years will see him have a bit of a wild night during Chippin’ In. Whilst V might suffer from a rough hangover, and Johnny certainly misused V’s body, he still did as promised: he talked to Rogue, thus beginning the first steps to a secret ending and further bonds between Johnny and V.
4 Trusting in the Government to Help
Solomon Reed and NUSA May Uphold Their End of the Bargain, But At What Cost?
Those who own Phantom Liberty can access the thrilling spy story involving V’s manipulation by Songbird to find the one thing that could cure them. All it requires is trusting the government and embarking through the slums of Dogtown which is ruled by an anti-government dictator, Kurt Hansen.
The politics of Cyberpunk 2077 are quite obvious, and it is rather clear that the government cannot be trusted, yet, is Songbird any different? If players are to conclude the Phantom Liberty storyline on NUSA’s side, despite Johnny Silverhand’s desperate plea to find another way, then they could be making the biggest mistake of V’s life.
3 Ignoring Johnny’s Desire to Take Rogue Out on a Date
Fulfilling Johnny's Request Proves a Mutual Trust in V's Shared Brain
During an emotional conversation with Johnny at the Oil Fields during the Chippin’ In side job, Johnny mentions that he wants to take Rogue on a date as she deserved all those years ago. V should not ignore Johnny’s request, as taking over V’s body is simply to help him make amends for his past, and the Blistering Love side job that unlocks will prove to V that Johnny just wants to move on.
Johnny can be trusted in V’s body, and the mission involves taking Rogue out on a date. Whilst it doesn’t involve any action, it’s a sweet moment that will further the bonds of Johnny and V and ensure the unlock requirements of the secret ending.
2 Believing That Goro Takemura Has V’s Best Interest At Heart
Johnny Is Right, and Goro Takemura Will Always Be Arasaka's Lapdog
Goro Takemura was the beloved bodyguard of Saburo Arasaka until the CEO of Arasaka was murdered by his own son. Cast out into Night City for failing to do his job, the loyal Goro will stop at nothing to avenge his master and regain the honor stolen from him at Arasaka. To do that, he’s going to need to find V and save the merc to use them as a bargaining chip.
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Despite Goro Takemura’s charm, he is still Arasaka, and there’s a reason that Johnny Silverhand warns V of that time and again. Even if players save Takemura’s life during Search and Destroy, there will be no loyalty gained, as Goro is entirely devoted to Arasaka, and won’t hesitate to flatline V if Arasaka is threatened.