Mastering Cyberpunk 2077's 'Hole in the Sky' Mission: A Player's Guide

I’m still catching my breath, tumbling out of that long metal tube as Air Force One screams overhead. Dogtown is chaos—flames, smoke, and the metallic screech of collapsing infrastructure. This is no ordinary joyride through Night City. The President of the New United States of America is trapped in the wreckage, and every second counts. V’s lifeline is ticking, and I know that if I don’t move fast, Hansen’s private army will silence her forever. This mission, the opening gauntlet of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, is a masterclass in tension. I’ve run it half a dozen times, and it never gets old. Here’s how I navigate the hole in the sky and make it out alive.

After landing in a pile of scrap, I scramble to my feet. The clock is already running. Vehicles are scattered everywhere—cars, trucks, bikes. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what you grab, as long as you grab it fast. But I always, always snag a motorcycle. Dogtown’s streets are clogged with debris and stalled traffic. A bike slips through the gaps like a needle, and those conveniently placed metal ramps? They’re a godsend. Nothing beats the adrenaline of hitting a ramp at full speed, soaring over a barricade, and hearing the Barghest goons shout in frustration. If you’re a completionist who loves a clean run, the motorcycle is non-negotiable.

Soon, I hit the first Barghest checkpoint. A wall of armor and bullets. I’ve tried three approaches: speeding through like a maniac, going loud and clearing everyone, and ghosting past with stealth. Speed is risky because the enemies will still fire, chipping away at V’s health. Stealth is possible if you’ve spec’d into it, but honestly, that early in the DLC, my cyberware probably isn’t maxed for invisibility tricks. My favorite? Hit them hard and fast. I hop off the bike, activate Sandevistan, and slice my way through with a katana. It’s cinematic and efficient. A word of warning: if you dawdle here, President Myers dies. I learned that the hard way on my first run. The screen fades, Songbird’s voice crackles with disappointment, and Johnny Silverhand just shrugs it off. You get a secret ending that kicks you out of Dogtown entirely. So, no pressure.

The next leg throws me straight into a warzone. I climb a rusted ladder into a crane where Songbird is jacked in, her eyes glowing as she manipulates the machinery below. NUSA security bots are slugging it out with Barghest, and I’m about to drop right into the middle of it. The key here: don’t shoot the bots. They’re friendlies, and I’ve accidentally aggroed them before—messy and stupid. I focus on Hansen’s men. The revamped combat from Update 2.0 makes this a brutal ballet. I lean on quickhacks like Cyberware Malfunction and Overheat, then mop up with a smart SMG. Headshots are so satisfying now.

Once the last Barghest soldier falls, more debris crashes down, trapping me in a tunnel of smoke and twisted metal. I slide under the rubble—always a cool animation—and emerge on the other side where Air Force One lies in a smoldering heap. There are a few guards here, but nothing a few well-placed contagion quickhacks can’t handle. Stealth is viable, yet it’s more fun to unleash. Cyberpunk 2.0’s adrenaline-fueled combat perks reward aggression, so I lean into it. I’m not here to be quiet; I’m here to save a president.

Now comes the tense boarding. I step into the fuselage, stepping over the bodies of dead civilians. It’s grim, but my eyes are on the prize: a suitcase with a unique NUSA Suit. It’s a cosmetic treat, nothing game-breaking, but I snag it every time. Then I move to the secured room. Songbird hacks the door, and I brace myself. Rosalind Myers isn’t waiting meekly—she ambushes me. No matter how fast I hit the quick-time event, she always gets V pinned with a rifle to the face. Stay calm. Answer her. Both dialogue options lead to the same outcome: she trusts you. It’s a scripted moment that feels powerless, but it builds character.

The aftermath is a siege. Hansen’s elite forces swarm the crash site, and Myers is no damsel—she fights alongside you with precision. I set up behind the wrecked fuselage, using a SOR-22 rifle I found in her room. That gun is a beast: semi-auto, accurate, and deadly at range. Ammo crates are plentiful in the back, so I never run dry. But the true threat is the big robot enemy. Without the Vulnerability Analytics Relic skill, it’s a bullet sponge. I once tried to brute-force it with a shotgun—big mistake. Now, I always slot that Relic before the mission. Insta-kill on the robot feels like cheating, but in a good way.

After wave after wave, the shooting stops. Songbird’s voice comes through the comms, exhausted but triumphant. The mission ends, and Spider and the Fly begins. That first playthrough in 2023 was a blur, but revisiting it in 2026 with all the patches, it’s still a standout. Dogtown is unforgiving, but that’s why I love it.