Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty guide to surviving Dogtown

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty screenshots
(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Phantom Liberty is a huge expansion - not DLC - to the already massive world of Cyberpunk 2077, adding a spy-thriller story led by none other than Idris Elba, and the new Dogtown area to Night City. In this new storyline for Cyberpunk 2077 – which you can get only on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X – has you team up with a mysterious netrunner known as Songbird to infiltrate Dogtown and rescue the President of the New United States of America after crash landing in the area. Eventually, Solomon Reed is roped in to help, but a deeper conspiracy starts to unravel, leaving you to work out what's really going on.

As mentioned, Phantom Liberty is an expansion, so it's actually intwined with the main Cyberpunk 2077 story and doesn't happen before or after. Accompanying it is the Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 update, which has acted as a way to revamp the whole game with an entirely new perk system, more weapons, reworked cyberware, and so much more. The subsequent Cyberpunk 2077 2.1 update has capped things off for the RPG, adding even more features to liven up Night City further. 

With Phantom Liberty and the two updates, Cyberpunk 2077 is in a great place, but it doesn't sound like it's getting any more updates in the future. However, there are plenty of other upcoming CD Projekt Red games to be excited about. Phantom Liberty is the perfect excuse to hop back into Night City, so if you want to know what it's all about, this Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty guide should provide all the answers you need.

Be wary of spoilers in this guide as we have covered pretty much everything in Phantom Liberty's story, including endings and major choices!

Recent updates

Our Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty guide was last updated on December 21, 2023, and is all up to date with our essential guides to help you navigate the dangers of Dogtown. Remember, Phantom Liberty, along with the 2.0 and 2.1 updates, represent the final major updates to Cyberpunk 2077, so there will be no more additions to the RPG.

Phantom Liberty review

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty screenshots

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Our Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty review is live, and we found the first expansion to Night City to be "the culmination of CD Projekt Red's efforts to right the wrongs of a challenging launch." The premium DLC package pairs nicely with the changes introduced in Patch 2.0 to build an experience that is undoubtedly one of the best RPGs on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.   

Phantom Liberty length

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty V posing next to Solomon Reed

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

As we've said, Phantom Liberty is a pretty chunky expansion to Cyberpunk 2077's main story. As for how long it takes to beat Phantom Liberty, the amount of time can vary wildly, but we reckon it alone should take at least 20 hours to beat for most players, then you've got the whole rest of Cyberpunk 2077 to play!

How to start Phantom Liberty

how to start phantom liberty in cyberpunk 2077

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

If you've bought the expansion, it's important to know how to start Phantom Liberty in Cyberpunk 2077 as there are several ways to do so. Obviously you can start fresh – which is actually what developer CD Projekt Red recommends – and work your way through the game normally, but you can also play it on an existing character, assuming you've got past the 'Transmission' quest.

Phantom Liberty choices

cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty take the oath

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty features quite a few choices to make ranging from small choices that add a bit of flavor to your story and get unique dialogue responses from characters to mission-altering decisions that change the course of the story. We've laid out most of the choice-based guides below, but we've saved the major ending-related ones for further down:

Phantom Liberty side missions

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Treating Symptoms NetWatch agent Alan and Netrunner Milko choice to kill or spare Milko

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

With Phantom Liberty adding Dogtown into the mix, there are plenty of new gigs to take up in this area, usually dished out by Pacifica fixer Mr Hands, We've got guides on a few of the particularly tricky ones you might undertake:

Phantom Liberty Relic points and skills

phantom liberty relic points

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Thanks to some help from Songbird, V gets some nice upgrades to their Arasaka Relic chip from Phantom Liberty. As you play the story and explore Dogtown, you can get Cyberpunk 2077 Relic points to spend on the new Relic skill tree, upgrading V's combat capabilities quite substantially.

New Cyberpunk 2077 collectibles, items, and secrets

Cyberpunk 2077 V posing with Errata katana with angry face standing outside dogtown stadium

(Image credit: CS Projekt Red)

Phantom Liberty and the 2.0 update added plenty of new features to the game, including new weapons, vehicles, and even collectibles like extra tarot cards. Here are some of the major discoveries we've made:

Phantom Liberty endings

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty V looking at Johnny Silverhand in a mirror

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

There are four Phantom Liberty endings you can get, though you'll need to make very different choices to get each one. The ending you get for Phantom Liberty is determined by who you decide to help, and then whether you decide to:

If you want to experience all the endings, you'll definitely need to make sure you before these major choices and scrub back. It's also important to mention that two of these four endings offer you the opportunity for a new Cyberpunk 2077 ending, giving V another way to deal with their Relic-based problems that ties in with Phantom Liberty itself.

Cyberpunk 2077 future DLCs and sequel

Cyberpunk 2077 sequel

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is the only "planned" expansion for the RPG, and CDPR's global community director has confirmed that update 2.1 was the final patch for Cyberpunk 2077.

However, we do know that Phantom Liberty was just one of the many projects currently in development at CDPR. We know the Polish studio is working on The Witcher 4 (and two games to follow, forming a new saga) and a brand new IP, codenamed Project Hadar. But CDPR is also developing a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, codenamed Project Orion. The studio says this of the mysterious initiative: "A Cyberpunk 2077 sequel that will prove the full power and potential of the Cyberpunk universe," adding that it plans to "take the Cyberpunk franchise further and continue harnessing the potential of this dark fantasy universe."

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Will Sawyer
Guides Writer

Will Sawyer is a guides writer at 12DOVE who works with the rest of the guides team to give readers great information and advice on the best items, how to complete a particular challenge, or where to go in some of the biggest video games. Will joined the GameRadar+ team in August 2021 and has written about service titles, including Fortnite, Destiny 2, and Warzone, as well as some of the biggest releases like Halo Infinite, Elden Ring, and God of War Ragnarok.

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