Cyberpunk 2077 Decision Guide: Key Story Branch Consequences

Cyberpunk 2077 Decision Guide: Navigating the Crossroads of Night City

Welcome, choomba, to the sprawling, neon-drenched labyrinth of Night City. You’ve stepped into the boots of V, and the path ahead is anything but straightforward. Cyberpunk 2077 isn't just a game you play; it's a world you inhabit, and your choices, both big and small, ripple through its narrative with profound consequences. This guide is your fixer, your trusted ally, here to illuminate the key story branches and their outcomes without spoiling the raw, emotional journey. We'll focus on the pivotal moments that truly define your ending, ensuring you have the intel to make an informed decision that aligns with your V's story.

Let's start with the most crucial relationship in the game: your parasitic passenger, Johnny Silverhand.

The Johnny Silverhand Relationship Meter: Friend or Foe?

Throughout the main story, a hidden metric tracks your relationship with the rockerboy in your head. This isn't just about dialogue choices; it's shaped by your actions during key side quests and main story decisions. Achieving a high relationship percentage with Johnny (typically above 70%) is the single most important factor in unlocking the game's most diverse and nuanced ending paths. It’s the key that opens doors you wouldn't even know were there. If you antagonize him at every turn, you're effectively locking yourself out of the most content-rich conclusions.

The Point of No Return: Embers

The mission "Nocturne Op55N1" is your final checkpoint. Once you meet Hanako Arasaka at Embers, you are committing to the endgame sequence. The game will warn you explicitly—heed that warning! This is your last chance to complete side jobs, especially the critical ones tied to your companions like Panam, Judy, River, and Kerry, as they directly influence your available options in the finale.

Now, let's break down the critical decision points and their consequences.

The Rogue AI: Misty's Tarot Cards and the Mysterious Stranger

Early on, you'll encounter a side job called "Automatic Love." During this, if you explore the back alley of the Totentanz, you can find a dying man who gives you a shard, starting the "Dream On" questline. This leads you to meet with Garry the Prophet, who rants about AIs and "the Black Wall." Your choices here seem minor, but they tie into one of the most enigmatic decisions in the game.

Later, when you meet Hanako at Embers, you'll have a moment to make a final choice. If you have completed the side quests for Panam Aldecaldos and built a strong relationship with Johnny, you'll have several new options. But there's a hidden one.

• The "Secret" Ending Path: (Don't Fear) The Reaper
  • How to Unlock: When you are on the rooftop with Misty after meeting Hanako, and Johnny offers you the choice of who to call for help, you must wait. Do not select any dialogue option. Stay silent for about five minutes. Johnny will then propose a new, incredibly dangerous plan: storm Arasaka Tower alone, just the two of you.
  • Prerequisite: You must have achieved a high relationship with Johnny (at least 70%) during the "Chippin' In" quest by selecting specific, supportive dialogue options (most importantly, telling him to "take the piss" out of his grave).
  • Consequence: This is the "suicide run," but also the most legendary. You and Johnny, as a truly unified force, blast your way through Arasaka without endangering any of your other allies. It's brutally difficult but immensely satisfying. Success here leads directly into the same set of final choices as the "Path of Glory" but with a unique and triumphant tone. It’s the ultimate test of your bond.

The Aldecaldos vs. The Heist Crew

One of the biggest mid-game branches revolves around who you side with for the mission "Ghost Town" and the subsequent "Queen of the Highway" arc.

• Siding with Panam and the Aldecaldos:

  • Consequence: Building a strong rapport with Panam opens up the "Star" ending. In this path, you call upon the entire Aldecaldo clan to assault Arasaka Tower with you. This ending is often viewed as the most hopeful and community-oriented. V, alongside their new Nomad family and love interest (if you romanced Panam or if Judy chooses to come along), leaves Night City to search for a cure in Arizona. It emphasizes freedom and family over the corrupt promises of the city.

• Siding with Rogue Amendiares:

  • Consequence: Choosing Rogue's plan locks you out of the Aldecaldo assault. You and Rogue undertake a more traditional, solo-minded assault on Arasaka. This path leads to the "Sun" ending. Here, you become the undisputed king or queen of the Afterlife, a living legend of Night City. However, this comes at a great cost—Rogue may perish, and V is left with only six months to live, having become the very thing they perhaps sought to transcend: a myth built on sacrifice.

The Arasaka Devil's Bargain

This path is available if, during the mission "Search and Destroy," you choose to trust Hanako Arasaka instead of fleeing with Johnny.

• Consequence: This leads to the "Devil" ending. You are captured by Arasaka and your consciousness is engrammed. The entire ending is a chilling, clinical experience aboard the Arasaka space station. You are presented with a series of bleak choices:
  1. Sign the Contract: Your engram becomes the property of Arasaka, to be potentially reloaded into a new body, but you are now their property forever. This is the ultimate loss of freedom.
  2. Return to Earth: You go back to your body on Earth, but with your condition unchanged and only a few months to live, having betrayed Johnny and all your principles.
  3. Become an Engram in Mikoshi: You willingly become a digital ghost, stored in Mikoshi forever. This ending is a powerful commentary on corporate control and the loss of soul, and is widely considered the most pessimistic conclusion.

The Final Choice: Who Gets the Body?

Regardless of which assault path you take (Aldecaldos, Rogue, or Secret), you will eventually reach the climax inside Mikoshi. Here, you face the ultimate story branch consequence.

You are presented with a choice that will define V and Johnny's fate forever. The specific options can vary slightly, but the core ones are:

1. Return to Body (V Takes Control): V returns to their body, but the Relic has permanently damaged their neural pathways. They have six months to live. Johnny's engram is deleted or fades away. This is the core outcome for the "Star," "Sun," and "Temperance" variations.

   • In the "Star" ending, V leaves with the Aldecaldos.
   • In the "Sun" ending, V becomes a Night City legend.
   • In the "Temperance" ending (achieved by offering your body to Johnny), V's soul peacefully moves on, and Johnny, forever changed by V's experiences, takes the body and leaves Night City to start a new, more mindful life.

2. Take V's Body (Johnny Takes Control): Johnny keeps the body, as per the original "deal." V's engram is merged with Alt Cunningham beyond the Black Wall, effectively ceasing to exist as an individual. This is the "Temperance" ending from Johnny's perspective. It's a bittersweet conclusion where Johnny honors V's memory by trying to be a better person.

3. The "Secret" Third Option (If Available): In some paths, you might have the option to trust Arasaka for a "cure," which loops back into the "Devil" ending's choices, a path fraught with peril and corporate deceit.

Companion Loyalty and Romance Consequences

Your choices with key characters don't just unlock endings; they define their personal conclusions.

• Romancing Panam: Crucial for accessing the "Star" ending. If you are not in a romance with her, she will still help as a friend, but the emotional payoff is different.
• Romancing Judy: She will leave Night City in disgust after the "Pyramid Song" quest if you side with the Voodoo Boys over her. However, if you maintain a strong relationship and achieve the "Star" ending, she will join you and the Aldecaldos, finding the happiness she desperately sought.
• River Ward: His outcome is less tied to the final ending but depends on your choices during his personal questline. Supporting him leads to a stable, if grounded, conclusion.
• Kerry Eurodyne: His arc is about rediscovering his passion. Your support helps him break free from his corporate chains, and his ending is positive if you encouraged his rebellion.

Navigating the story of Cyberpunk 2077 is about understanding that there are no purely "good" or "bad" endings, only different shades of sacrifice and legacy. Your key story decisions shape what kind of legend you become—a free soul with a family, a lonely king on a throne, or a cautionary tale about bargaining with devils. So choose wisely, listen to Johnny, and make your mark on Night City. It's your story, after all.