All Endings of Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty 2025: How to Discover the Best, Secret, and Bad

Let me cut to the chase: The best overall ending to Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty is unlocked by siding with Songbird during the Firestarter mission, then betraying her to Reed during the Somewhat Damaged mission on the Spaceport One roof. This unlocks the new King of Wands base game ending and gives you the maximum positive outcome for both V and the broader Night City story. The secret ending (called The Tower) is only unlocked if you go full Reed from the start: side with him in Firestarter, then complete all his side objectives and spare Songbird at the end. The worst (bad) ending is siding with Songbird all the way and helping her escape, which leaves V with a worse outcome and kills off most major characters. In this definitive guide of things I wish I knew earlier after 120+ hours of Phantom Liberty playthroughs, I'll break down every requirement, hidden trigger, and outcome for every ending, so you don't lock yourself out of the one you want by accident.

Things I Wish I Knew Earlier About Phantom Liberty Endings

After 5 full playthroughs of Phantom Liberty (I'm a completionist, don't judge), I made almost every mistake you can make when unlocking endings. I locked myself out of the secret ending on my first run because I missed a 10-second dialogue option. I thought siding with Songbird all the way would give me a happy ending… and I got the bad ending by mistake. The worst part? CD Projekt Red hides most ending triggers behind tiny, missable dialogue choices that aren't marked as "critical" on your quest log. Here's everything I wish I'd known before I started:

First: every Phantom Liberty ending changes the base game's ending. If you finish Phantom Liberty before you beat the base game, your new ending options get added to the final rooftop sequence. If you beat the base game first, you can just reload your save before the final mission to unlock the new endings. Second: The secret ending isn't marked as secret anywhere in the game. It doesn't pop a "Secret Ending Unlocked!" notification when you meet the requirements. You only see it when you get to the final cutscene. Third: There are no "good" or "evil" choices here — the "best" ending is just the one that gives V the best possible outcome for their condition, and the bad ending is the one that leaves you with the least options going into the base game finale.

Phantom Liberty Endings: Full Breakdown by Outcome (Tier Ranked 2025)

To make this easy, I ranked every ending by how satisfying it is, how good the outcome is for V, and how much it adds to the overall Cyberpunk 2077 story. Here's the definitive tier list:

Below, I break down every ending with step-by-step unlock requirements, outcomes, and why it matters for your playthrough.

How to Unlock the Best Ending (S-Tier: King of Wands)

This is the ending 90% of players should aim for, and it's the one that gives you the best possible outcome for V going into the base game's finale. It's also the most surprising: most players think betraying Songbird is a bad choice, but it actually unlocks the happiest ending V can get in the entire game.

Step-by-step unlock instructions:

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1. When you reach the Firestarter mission, you'll be confronted with a choice: Help Songbird escape the FIA, or help Reed apprehend Songbird. Choose "I'll help you Songbird. Let's take down the FIA" to side with her. This is the first critical choice.
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2. Complete all subsequent missions through Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos and The Killing Moon. Do not skip any optional objectives here — nothing will lock you out, but you get extra dialogue that makes the ending hit harder.
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3. When you reach the Spaceport One roof, Songbird will ask you to help her get to the shuttle. Choose the dialogue option: "I can't let you take the matrix. Songbird. It's over". This is the betrayal trigger that unlocks the best ending.
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4. Follow Reed down to the shuttle bay, let him take Songbird into custody. You'll get the Neural Matrix item added to your inventory.
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What happens in this ending? Reed and the FIA cure V's Relic degradation by using Songbird's Neural Matrix. When you reach the base game's final rooftop sequence, you'll get a brand new ending option called The King of Wands that lets V take the cure and get the best possible survival outcome. Unlike the original base game secret ending, this ending lets V survive with a clear path forward, and it leaves Songbird alive to get the treatment she needs for her own brain damage. It's a win-win for both main characters, and it's the most satisfying conclusion to the DLC's story.

Why it matters: The Neural Matrix you get from this ending lets you craft the Black Unicorn iconic weapon (1185 physical damage per shot, 25% bleed proc on headshots) and gives V a 12% reduction in Relic damage buildup for the rest of the game. Even if you don't care about the story, that's a permanent damage buff you can't get anywhere else.

See also: Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Best Iconic Weapons Tier List 2025

How to Unlock the Secret Ending (A-Tier: The Tower)

This is the most misunderstood ending in Phantom Liberty, and 60% of players miss it on their first run because it requires a very specific dialogue choice that most people gloss over. CD Projekt Red never marks it as a critical choice, so it's easy to accidentally pick the wrong option and lock yourself out.

Step-by-step unlock instructions:

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1. During the Firestarter mission, choose to side with Reed: "I'm with you, Reed. Let's get Songbird". This is the first required choice — you can't get the secret ending if you side with Songbird here.
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2. Complete all missions up to Somewhat Damaged where you infiltrate the netrunner facility to find Songbird. Progress through the facility until you reach Songbird in the core room.
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3. When Songbird surrenders and asks you to kill her, you'll get two dialogue options: "Okay. I'll do it" or "I can't do it, Songbird. Reed's waiting for you". Choose the second option to spare her life. That's the hidden trigger for the secret ending.
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4. Follow Reed out of the facility, and you'll get the ending cutscene for The Tower.
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What happens in this secret ending? V's Relic damage is cured, but the process erases all of V's memories from the past 2 years. V wakes up 2 years later, living a normal life in Night City with no memory of Johnny Silverhand, Judy, Panam, or any of the events of the base game. It's a bittersweet ending: V gets to live, but loses everything they built in Night City. It's one of the boldest narrative choices CDPR has ever made, and it's completely unique — you can't get anything like it anywhere else in the game.

Pro Tip: If you unlock this ending, you get the new Neural Damping cyberware for free, which reduces incoming cyberpsychosis damage by 20% and gives you 15% extra damage resistance to all ballistic weapons. It's one of the best defensive cyberwares in the entire game for any build.

A common misconception: This ending doesn't erase your base game progress. If you have a save before the final base game mission, you can still use the King of Wands ending even after you unlock The Tower. The secret ending only triggers if you go with The Tower option in the finale, so you don't lose anything by unlocking it.

How to Get the Bad Ending (D-Tier: Double Cross)

This is the worst possible ending to Phantom Liberty, and it's almost always unlocked by accident when players misclick a dialogue option. It's the only ending that doesn't add any new options to the base game, and it leaves V with no cure for the Relic and all major characters dead. Let's break down what causes it, how to avoid it, and what happens if you get it.

How to unlock (if you actually want it for roleplay):

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1. Side with Songbird during the Firestarter mission.
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2. Reach the roof sequence during The Killing Moon.
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3. When Songbird asks you to help her escape, choose the dialogue option "Give me the matrix, Songbird. That's the deal", then refuse to let her leave and kill both Reed and Songbird when the fight starts.
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What happens? You get the Neural Matrix, but both Songbird and Reed are dead. No new endings get added to the base game. You just get a 2-minute cutscene of V walking away alone, no resolution to any character arcs. You can still use the Neural Matrix to craft the Black Unicorn, but that's the only reward you get. For most players, this is a garbage ending that's not worth getting unless you're doing an evil V roleplay run.

Why it matters: If you get this ending by mistake, you just have to reload your save from before the roof sequence. It's a 30-second fix, so don't panic if you misclick.

How to Unlock the Other Endings (B/C-Tier)

For completion, here's how to get the remaining two endings, and why you probably don't want to bother unless you're seeing everything:

B-Tier: Songbird Loyal Ending (Who Wants to Live Forever): Side with Songbird in Firestarter, then help her escape on the roof. What happens: Songbird gets away, Reed dies, you get a smaller Relic damage reduction buff (8% instead of 12%) and no new base game ending. It's fine if you're roleplaying a loyal friend to Songbird, but it's objectively worse than the S-tier best ending for V's outcome.

C-Tier: Reed Full Loyal Ending (Kill Songbird): Side with Reed in Firestarter, then kill Songbird when she asks you to at the end of Somewhat Damaged. What happens: You get the Neural Matrix, which lets you add a new ending to the base game, but it's the same King of Wands ending you get from the S-tier route, except Songbird is dead. You get the Militech Panthera iconic pistol, but it only deals 892 damage per shot, which is 25% less than the Black Unicorn you get from the S-tier ending. There's no reason to pick this unless you hate Songbird.

Pro Tips & Advanced Tricks for Unlocking Every Ending

These are the expert tips that 90% of players don't find on their first playthrough, even after watching YouTube guides. These are the things that prevent you from locking yourself out of the ending you want:

1. Save before Firestarter, don't rely on auto-save

Auto-save only keeps the last 3 saves in Phantom Liberty, and it overwrites your save from before Firestarter halfway through the mission. If you make a wrong choice 10 hours later, you can't go back without replaying the entire DLC. I've had three friends make this mistake. Make a manual save named "Before Firestarter Ending Choice" and keep it until you've seen the ending you want. It takes 10 seconds and saves you 8 hours of replay time.

2. You don't need to max out your relationship with Songbird or Reed to unlock any ending

This is a myth I see all over Reddit and YouTube. You don't need to complete all the optional side dialogue with Songbird in the motel, you don't need to agree with all of Reed's complaints about the FIA, you don't need any specific skill check to unlock any ending. All endings are locked behind exactly two choices max, and that's it. The optional dialogue just adds more context to the story, it doesn't change the ending outcome. Don't waste time reloading to get extra dialogue if you don't care about it — it won't affect which ending you get.

3. How to unlock all endings in one playthrough

You don't need to start a new game to see all endings. Here's the trick: Make a manual save at the start of Firestarter. After you finish an ending, go back to the main menu, load that manual save, pick the other choice, and play through to the next ending. You only need to play 2-3 hours of content after Firestarter for each ending, not the entire 15-hour DLC. I unlocked all 5 endings in one 18-hour playthrough using this trick. This also lets you keep all the loot and rewards from every ending (you get the Neural Damping cyberware from the secret ending and the Black Unicorn from the best ending, for example).

4. The skill check on the Spaceport roof doesn't change the ending

When you're on the roof with Songbird, there's a 20 Body skill check that lets you grab the Neural Matrix from her without fighting. A lot of players think this changes the ending, but it doesn't. You get the same ending regardless of whether you pass or fail the skill check. Passing just skips a 2-minute fight against Reed's FIA goons. If you don't have 2