Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty DLC Complete Guide
Overview
Phantom Liberty is the sole expansion for Cyberpunk 2077, adding the walled district of Dogtown, a spy-thriller main storyline, the Relic skill tree, and an entirely new ending to the base game (The Tower). The DLC integrates into the existing campaign after the Transmission quest (Voodoo Boys encounter). It is not post-game content — you play it during Act 2, and your choices in Phantom Liberty directly affect the final ending options available in Nocturne Op55N1.
The expansion adds approximately 25-30 hours of content including the main questline, 10 gigs from Mr. Hands, numerous side jobs, airdrop events, and vehicle contracts. The writing quality, character depth, and set-piece design represent CD Projekt Red at their peak.
Prerequisites and Entry
When Does Phantom Liberty Unlock?
Phantom Liberty becomes accessible immediately after completing Transmission, the quest where V meets Alt Cunningham beyond the Blackwall in Pacifica. After the Voodoo Boys encounter concludes, Songbird (Song So Mi) contacts V through the Relic with a proposition: she can save V's life if V helps her with a mission in Dogtown. The call triggers the quest "Dog Eat Dog."
Recommended level: 25 minimum. Enemies in Dogtown scale but have higher base stats. Barghest soldiers are significantly tankier than Arasaka or Tyger Claws equivalents. I recommend entering at level 30+ on Very Hard.
Build preparation: Dogtown's Barghest faction uses heavy armor, explosive weapons, and their own netrunners. EMP damage from Short Circuit or the Errata thermal katana are highly effective. The expansion introduces the Relic skill tree, but you cannot invest in it before entering Dogtown.
Dog Eat Dog
Songbird directs V to the Dogtown gate in Pacifica. The gate is a Barghest checkpoint — the private army of Kurt Hansen, Dogtown's warlord ruler. You meet Songbird at the entrance, and she hacks the gate's security to let you through. The sequence introduces the Relic malfunction mechanic: V experiences a new kind of seizure that temporarily stuns them and reveals flashes of Songbird's perspective.
After entering Dogtown, you are immediately arrested by Barghest soldiers and taken to meet President Rosalind Myers, whose Space Force One shuttle has crash-landed in Dogtown. Myers reveals the real objective: Songbird is a netrunner asset for the NUSA, and they need to extract her — and the president — from Hansen's territory before a diplomatic incident becomes a catastrophe.
Dogtown: District Overview
Dogtown is a fully realized new district, roughly the size of Pacifica but with far more verticality and interior density. It's divided into three main sub-districts:
| District | Description | Key Locations |
|---|---|---|
| Longshore Stacks | Derelict cargo stacks converted into a shantytown. High Barghest presence. | The Moth (bar/safehouse), Heavy Hearts Club, Longshore Stacks Ripperdoc |
| Luxor Heights | High-end resort converted into Hansen's command center. | The Black Sapphire (Hansen's HQ), Stadium Market, Barghest training facility |
| Terra Cognita | Abandoned research and biotech zone. Militech relics. | Cynosure Facility (endgame dungeon), EBM Petrochem Stadium, Organitopia |
The district features airdrop events — Barghest supply drops that land at random intervals. These are timed, contested loot events where you fight Barghest patrols for high-tier loot and iconic weapon crafting specs. Red smoke marks active drops. The airdrop timer is approximately 90 seconds — if another NPC reaches the drop first, it's gone.
Main Story Walkthrough
The Phantom Liberty main quest consists of 10 missions divided into two halves — the first half setting up the heist of Hansen's headquarters, the second half spiraling into a choice-driven finale with four distinct endings.
Part 1: The Setup
Dog Eat Dog → Enter Dogtown, meet Myers, establish the safehouse.
Hole in the Sky → V and Myers clear the crash site of Space Force One to recover sensitive NUSA data before Barghest scavengers find it. Combat against Barghest patrols and a Chimera (Militech prototype tank). The Chimera is a multi-phase boss fight: Phase 1 uses a frontal minigun (take cover), Phase 2 deploys drones, Phase 3 fires homing missiles. Short Circuit disables all Chimera phases briefly.
Spider and the Fly → Meet Solomon Reed (Idris Elba), a sleeper agent embedded by the NUSA seven years prior. Reed has been living as a Dogtown bouncer, waiting for reactivation. He agrees to help extract Songbird and Myers. This quest introduces the moral core of the DLC: Reed's unwavering loyalty to the NUSA versus Songbird's desperate desire for freedom.
Lucretia My Reflection → Songbird reveals the Relic connection: she has been gifted netrunning abilities by the Blackwall, and these abilities are slowly consuming her — mirroring V's condition. She offers a deal: if V helps her escape the NUSA, she'll use her Blackwall connection to save V. This is the first inkling that Songbird may not be entirely truthful.
You Know My Name → Infiltrate the Black Sapphire casino during Hansen's party. A disguise mission: V poses as a guest (with facial scrambler tech from Songbird) to plant surveillance in Hansen's penthouse. Multiple approaches: you can hack the roulette table to create a distraction (Int 12), spike the VIP bar (Body 10 to force the door), or smooth-talk through dialogue. The quest introduces Alex, another NUSA agent disguised as a dancer.
The Damned → Preparation for the heist. V and Reed plan the breach of Hansen's vault where Songbird's neural matrix is stored. Reed reveals the NUSA's true plan: they intend to use Songbird to breach the Blackwall for military applications. The NUSA sees her as a weapon, not a person.
Part 2: The Heist and Split
Firestarter → The heist of the Black Sapphire. This is the expansion's centerpiece mission and the primary branching point. You fight through the casino's back corridors with Alex disabling security remotely. At Songbird's position, Hansen intercepts you.
Critical decision point — Songbird vs Reed: Songbird triggers her Blackwall pulse, creating chaos. You must choose:
- Help Songbird escape: Turn on Reed and Alex. Songbird disables them with a Blackwave pulse. Hansen arrives — boss fight with Kurt Hansen. His weapon is the Fang (iconic knife) and he uses a Sandevistan with thermal knives that leave burn DOT. Defeat him and escape with Songbird through the underground tunnels.
- Help Reed capture Songbird: Subdue Songbird (she's desperate and lashing out with Blackwall energy). Reed secures her. Hansen still must be fought but Songbird helps remotely.
The boss fight with Kurt Hansen is identical in both paths. Hansen has three phases: Phase 1 (knife + pistol, standard combat), Phase 2 (Sandevistan + thermal knife combos), Phase 3 (Barghest reinforcements + mounted turret). In Phase 2, Cyberware Malfunction shuts down his Sandy. Phase 3 adds two elite Barghest snipers on the balcony.
The Four Endings (King of...)
After Firestarter, the remaining missions depend entirely on your choice. Each path leads to a different Tarot card-themed ending:
King of Wands (Help Songbird, Send Her to the Moon)
After escaping Hansen with Songbird, you take her to the NCX Spaceport for a lunar shuttle that will carry her to a clinic on the Moon where her neural damage can be treated. The NUSA attempts to stop you, culminating in a running firefight through the spaceport terminal against NUSA black-ops.
At the shuttle, Songbird reveals the truth: the cure she promised can ONLY save one person. She can either use it on herself or give it to V. If you put her on the shuttle, you receive the Quantum Tuner iconic cyberware (reduces cyberware cooldowns by 33%). Songbird's payment for the ticket. V gets no cure.
Consequences: Reed is furious but ultimately accepts your decision. Myers is neutralized politically. Songbird lives free, but V's condition continues. This ending adds unique dialogue to The Sun and The Star base game endings, with Songbird occasionally sending encrypted messages from the lunar colony.
King of Swords (Help Songbird, Accept the Cure)
At the shuttle, Songbird makes her confession and offers you the cure. Accept it. Songbird is captured by the NUSA but V receives the neural matrix. The cure works — V is completely healed. However, the procedure renders V unable to use combat cyberware. V is ejected from the merc life, becoming a normal civilian.
Epilogue: The Tower (New Ending): This unlocks a brand-new base game ending, The Tower. V wakes up two years later in a hospital bed. Misty and Viktor are the only contacts who kept in touch. Night City has moved on. Judy is married in Pittsburgh. Panam refuses to answer calls. Kerry is touring in Europe. River is in prison. V walks out into a Night City where they are anonymous, powerless, and alone — but alive. This is the most bittersweet ending in the entire game.
King of Cups (Help Reed, Songbird is Captured)
You helped Reed subdue Songbird. The NUSA takes her into custody. Reed promises to honor his word and get you the cure. After days of waiting, Reed delivers: the NUSA neural matrix procedure is made available. V is flown to a Militech facility for the operation.
The cure is the same as in King of Swords — V is healed but loses all combat cyberware. The Tower ending plays out identically. The difference is that Songbird is now a permanent NUSA asset, used as a Blackwall weapon. Reed, guilt-ridden, requests a transfer and is last seen at a bus stop, walking away from the life he never chose.
King of Pentacles (Help Reed, Betray Songbird to Myers)
The darkest ending. During King of Cups, you have an additional choice: hand Songbird directly to Myers rather than Reed's custody. Myers personally oversees Songbird's neural surgery, turning her into a living Blackwall weapon without autonomy. Reed quits in disgust. V still receives the cure, but the cost is Songbird's personhood and Reed's trust.
The Tower ending plays out, but with additional voicemail from Reed expressing his disappointment and a final cryptic message from Songbird — a Blackwall echo suggesting she's still conscious somewhere in the machine.
Relic Skill Tree
Phantom Liberty introduces the Relic skill tree, a third progression system completely separate from attributes and perks. Relic Points are earned exclusively by finding Militech terminals in Dogtown and completing main quest milestones. There are 15 total Relic Points available in one playthrough.
All Relic Skills
| Skill | Points | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Vulnerability Analytics | 3 | Reveal weak points on enemies while scanning. Shots to weak points deal +25% damage |
| Emergency Cloaking | 3 | Optical Camo activates automatically at 25% health |
| Machine Learning | 3 | Each quickhack kill grants +10% quickhack damage (stacks 5x) |
| Jailbreak | 3 | Monowire gains +1 quickhack slot and can apply control quickhacks on hit |
| Spatial Mapping | 3 | Gorilla Arms charge attack creates a shockwave that stuns enemies in a 8m cone |
Recommended Relic Path
For Netrunner builds: Machine Learning (3) → Vulnerability Analytics (3) → Emergency Cloaking (3). Machine Learning's stacking damage bonus applies to Synapse Burnout chains, making the already-broken Overclock rotation even stronger.
For melee builds: Spatial Mapping (3) is the highest priority. The Gorilla Arms shockwave interrupts enemy attacks and provides crucial crowd control in melee range. Follow with Vulnerability Analytics (3) for weak-point damage against bosses.
Exclusive Iconic Cyberware and Weapons
Militech Canto Mk.6 (Cyberdeck)
Awarded from Songbird during "Somewhat Damaged" if you side with Reed and then transfer Songbird to the NUSA (King of Cups path). The Canto has the highest RAM capacity of any deck (32 RAM) and a unique quickhack: Blackwall Gateway. This quickhack costs 24 RAM and instantly kills one non-boss enemy by opening a Blackwall breach. Against bosses, it deals massive damage (40% of max HP) but has a long cooldown.
Erebus (Power Assault Rifle)
Found in the Cynosure Facility during the endgame sequence. To obtain it, you need Technical Ability 20 to bypass a locked workshop door in the organ harvesting wing. The Erebus fires thermal rounds that apply stacking burn and has a unique charged shot mode that fires a single explosive round consuming 5 ammo. It's the highest single-shot damage assault rifle in the game.
Quantum Tuner (Frontal Cortex Cyberware)
Given by Songbird in the King of Wands ending (send her to the Moon). Effect: all cyberware cooldowns reduced by 33%. This synergizes massively with Apogee Sandevistan (22s → ~15s cooldown) and Second Heart (120s → 80s cooldown). It's a build-defining piece of chrome that benefits every archetype.
Hansen's Fang (Iconic Knife)
Loot from Kurt Hansen's body. The Fang applies thermal damage on hit and grants +30% movement speed for 3 seconds after a throwing knife kill. For stealth knife builds, this is the single best throwing knife in the game, outclassing even the iconic Stinger from the base game.
Side Content: Gigs and Airdrops
Mr. Hands offers 10 gigs in Dogtown, each with multiple approaches and meaningful choices. The standout gigs:
- Treating Symptoms: Infiltrate a Barghest medical facility. You can either steal the neural research data or sabotage it. Sabotaging locks you out of a follow-up gig.
- Prototype in the Scraper: Retrieve a Militech prototype from a scav den in the Longshore Stacks. The prototype is a powered exoskeleton — if you equip it during the escape, you become a walking tank for 2 minutes.
- Talent Academy: Kidnap a Barghest officer's son from a private academy. Stealth preferred; detection triggers a full Barghest response.
Completing all 10 gigs unlocks Mr. Hands' unique vehicle, the Rayfield Aerondight "Guinevere," the most expensive car in the game.
Optimal Play Order
- Unlock Phantom Liberty after Transmission
- Complete the main quest up to Firestarter (do not commit to Reed/Songbird yet)
- Complete all 10 Mr. Hands gigs and side content (Dogtown opens up more after Lucretia My Reflection)
- Finish the base game's side questlines (Panam, Judy, River, Kerry)
- Return to Firestarter and make your final choice
- If you choose King of Wands or King of Cups, play through to the Tower ending for the complete experience
- Reload Firestarter save and explore the other branch and endings
