10 Phantom Liberty Choices That Still Haunt Me in 2026

Hey choombas, I'm gonna spill the synth-café on the decisions that turned my Phantom Liberty run into a rollercoaster of triumph and gut-punches. It's 2026, and after more playthroughs than I can chrome-count, these fork-in-the-road moments still make me sweat. Whether you're a fresh-faced edgerunner or a battle-hardened solo, every choice here can flatline a beloved character, lock you out of entire endings, or leave you staring at the credits with a hollow feeling. So if you're about to jump into Dogtown, keep this list preem and ready. Oh, and spoiler alert—I'm gonna talk about all major endings and the new base-game finale unlocked in the DLC. Don't say I didn't warn you.

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🔟 Letting Eric Take the Fall in "Heaviest of Hearts"

This side quest hit me right in the feels. V gets tangled in a father-son drama that reeks of desperation. Georgina Zembinsky, the DA, has a recording of Michael Maldonado admitting his boy Eric is guilty. Michael sends you to smooth things over, but wow—when she plays that audio, you can almost hear the regret in Michael's voice. Now you've got two paths: let her release the evidence anonymously or demand she delete it.

I went full idealist and told her to scrap it. Big mistake—her bodyguard didn't appreciate that, and I barely passed the Body check to avoid getting a knuckle sandwich. If you let her release it, Eric's gonna do time, and Michael will be one bitter choom. The funny (read: tragic) thing is, no matter what, Michael stays alive, but this choice stains the rest of your interactions with him. Not world-ending, but a solid lesson in how Cyberpunk doesn't do clean wins.

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9️⃣ Grabbing the Car vs. Going on Foot in "Spider and the Fly"

First mission, and already the game tests your style. After pulling President Myers from a flaming spaceplane, Songbird hacks a nearby enemy ride and offers it up. On foot means stealth, crouching through debris, praying no drone scans your chrome. In the car? Loud, proud, and a chance to demo the new vehicle combat—hello, mounted guns and ramming gonks off the road.

I say, take the wheels. Not only is it easier to blast through checkpoints, but if you fail the rescue because you got spotted sneaking, you'll reload faster than you can say "Oh sh—." The car is a no-brainer if you ask me. Plus, Johnny's commentary when you mow down Barghest soldiers? Pure gold.

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8️⃣ Saving President Myers… or Not

Here's where things get wild. You'd think letting the NUSA president flatline is a game over, right? Nope. If your V is a true NC anarchist, you can just watch her ship explode and walk away. The DLC locks out immediately, but you unlock a rare secret scene: Johnny wakes you up, shrugs about "that corpo witch biting it," and the two of you grab drinks at the Afterlife.

It's a morbidly refreshing ending. I tried it once out of pure curiosity, and honestly? It felt… liberating. But it also means you miss all of Phantom Liberty's juicy content. So unless you're doing a nihilist RP run, maybe keep her breathing. After all, you didn't crawl through that wreckage just for the lulz.

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7️⃣ Killing or Sparing Jacob and Taylor

Two clueless gonks bust into your safehouse while you're guarding Myers. President's screaming "Zero them!" but your gut says these chromeless squatters are no threat. I hesitated, and that pause changed the whole vibe: spare them, and they become surprisingly helpful. They'll tip you off about Hansen's airdrops with sweet, sweet loot.

Execute them, and you're just another merc with corpo-washed hands. The kicker? If you kill them, Myers praises your "professionalism," but Johnny calls you a sellout. I kept them alive on my main playthrough, and those airdrop locations saved my edgerunner wallet. Morality with a side of profit—that's the Night City way.

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6️⃣ Who Gets the Throne in Dogtown? ("Run This Town")

Kurt Hansen won't make it out of this DLC, no spoilers needed. His death creates a power vacuum so big you could drive a Basilisk through it. Mr. Hands, your fixer with the creepy smile, wants you to back Jago—the level-headed gang leader with corporate ties. Bennett is the hot-headed alternative, but he's about as stable as a malfunctioning Sandevistan. Or you can try to make them play nice.

This choice reshapes the entire district post-DLC. I backed Jago on my first run, and Dogtown felt more orderly, if a little corpo-slick. Letting Bennett take over turned it into a constant warzone. The "work together" option is the hardest to pull off but gives the most chaotic-neutral result. Whatever you pick, Hands will remember.

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5️⃣ Agreeing to Help Myers and Reed… or Walking Away

Early in the DLC, after you've already rescued her, Myers and FIA agent Solomon Reed corner you with a plea: help us catch Songbird. If you say "Nah, I'm out," the main quest dies right there. V gets shown the door, and you're stuck with Dogtown's B-plot but no main storyline.

I accidentally refused on a second playthrough just to see what would happen. Turns out, it's a whole lot of nothing. You can still free-roam and do gigs, but the narrative momentum evaporates. Unless you're role-playing a V who's done with spies and politics, just say yes. Trust me, the rabbit hole goes deep.

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4️⃣ Siding with Songbird or Reed at the Stadium

The moment the music swells and you know everything is about to go nova. Alex is in position, Songbird's plan is on a knife's edge, and Reed is barking orders in your ear. At the stadium, you choose your loyalty for the first critical time.

If you side with Reed, Alex dies brutally (I still cringe), Songbird goes cyberpsycho and escapes, and you'll have to chase her in "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos." Back Songbird, and everyone survives, leading to the moonlit finale "The Killing Moon." I went Songbird first time because I'm a sucker for the underdog, but man, the price later is steep.

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3️⃣ Betraying Songbird at the Spaceport ("The Killing Moon")

If you stuck with Songbird at the stadium, you'll learn the hard truth: she's been lying. There's only one cure, and she plans to take it. You've got to deliver her to a spaceport so she can board a lunar shuttle. Then Reed shows up, and the game asks the gut-wrenching question: hand her over or let her go?

Siding with Songbird again means you have to flatline Reed—a man who truly believed he was saving her. It's a brutal shootout that left me staring at the screen, numb. Giving her up feels like the ultimate betrayal, but it might be the "safer" play for your own survival. This is Night City, after all; nobody gets a clean conscience.

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2️⃣ Pulling the Trigger on Songbird

If your loyalty chose Reed earlier, you'll corner Songbird in a Militech facility, and she's a wreck. She begs you to end her suffering. You can do it or spare her, and either way, Myers and Reed still hand over your reward—the promise of a cure. But from a story perspective, mercy pays off.

Let her live, and Reed will find a cure for her after the dust settles. The President pins a medal on you, and you walk away with something resembling closure. Kill her, and the ghost of that decision will haunt your endgame slides. I spared her on my canon run; it felt like the only human thing to do.

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1️⃣ Accepting Reed’s Deal (The New Base-Game Ending)

If you sided with Reed at any of the critical forks, you're offered a ticket to D.C. for experimental surgery. The quest "Things Done Changed" gives you a brand-new ending to the base game. V gets their life back—no Relic, no death sentence—but at a cost that chills the soul: all your cyberware is fried. You become a faceless normie, a shadow in a crowd.

It's not a "good" ending, but damn, it feels fitting for some. Johnny is gone, and V gets to live, but without the edge that defined them. I tried it once, and the quiet emptiness of those final moments hit harder than any boss fight. This ending only unlocks if you don't kill Reed, so choose wisely. It's a one-way street.

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Every one of these decisions forced me to pause the game and stare at the ceiling. And here's the kicker: many come with a ticking timer. That pressure forces you to trust your gut, and in Night City, your gut is often as chrome-addled as the rest of you. So keep your eyes open, choom, and remember—there's no new game plus for your soul. Good luck out there in Dogtown.