When you come to the choice of calling or killing Reed in Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty, you’re facing a critical decision that heavily influences the game’s progression. You can either reconcile with Reed and the NUSA, remembering how they’ve supported you, or you can kill Reed to wrap up Songbird’s storyline. This decision will affect which ending you experience in Phantom Liberty and may also influence the main story endings in Cyberpunk 2077. Below, we’ll explore what happens depending on whether you choose to call Reed, accept his proposal, or eliminate him to advance Songbird’s narrative.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the ‘Help Songbird’ storyline in Phantom Liberty!
Understanding the Call or Kill Reed Choice in Phantom Liberty
If you choose to assist Songbird during the Firestarter mission, you’ll navigate through the spaceport terminal together to reach the train bound for the Moon rocket. While on the train, So Mi reveals she has been dishonest with you, explaining that the Neural Matrix can only be utilized once. This leads to your first big decision regarding whether to call Reed or not. Afterward, Reed will appear as you carry Songbird, and you’ll need to determine how to handle the situation, concluding Phantom Liberty’s storyline.
Call Reed or Pick Up Songbird in Phantom Liberty
As the train approaches the rocket launch zone, you’ll have to decide whether to carry Songbird to the rocket or call Reed for a deal regarding the Neural Matrix cure. If you choose to carry Songbird, you can directly go to the rocket pod and confront Reed without missing out on any endings.
If you opt to call Reed, he will ask you to hand over Songbird to receive the promised cure. You’ll then encounter the following responses to Reed:
- “Deal.” – You agree to Reed’s terms, locking you into a specific ending described below.
- “Song’s yours, fine. But I don’t want anything from you.” – You agree to give up Songbird but decline the cure, which does not exclude you from the new main story ending.
- Hang up | “No deal, not handing Songbird over.” – You turn down the offer. Again, this choice doesn’t lock you out of the new main story ending.
No matter how you navigate this choice, you’ll always end up carrying Songbird to the rocket pod, where you’ll confront Reed. It’s crucial to put Songbird down; if you don’t, Reed will shoot you, forcing a checkpoint reload.
Eliminate Reed in Phantom Liberty
The option to kill Reed will not be available immediately; you need to have a conversation with him first. If you didn’t call him or turned down his deal when you did, after setting Songbird down, V will draw a revolver, and you’ll have a choice of dialogue options. You can say things like “Song’s dying” or “can’t let you take her”, which will then lead to options about drawing your weapon. You can keep chatting with Reed, but eventually, you’ll reach a point where you can choose to holster or draw your weapon.
If you decide to draw your weapon, the game will slow down, prompting you to shoot Reed in the head before he gets a chance to shoot you. Once Reed is eliminated, you can pick up Songbird and place her in the rocket as it launches while you have a conversation with Johnny Silverhand. After this, the credits will roll, and you’ll find yourself at the spaceport the following morning talking to Johnny. There won’t be any missions left after this; Phantom Liberty’s story concludes with this ending.
Accept Reed’s Deal in Phantom Liberty
There are several paths to this ending in Phantom Liberty. The simplest way is to directly call Reed on the train and agree to his terms. Once you do, you’ll be locked into this ending. Alternatively, if you didn’t call him or rejected his offer, make sure to choose the “holster weapon” option when it becomes available to negotiate peacefully with Reed.
Once you accept the deal, Reed will take So Mi, and the credits will roll. You’ll then have a conversation with Johnny, and subsequently receive a call from Reed. This leads into a mission titled “Through Pain To Heaven”, where you’ll have a final conversation with Reed at a gas station, during which he provides details about the new Cyberpunk 2077 ending for the main storyline.
If you choose to accept Reed’s proposal but refuse anything in return (which can be done while calling him or after holstering your weapon), you won’t be entirely excluded from the new story ending either. After the credits, Reed will contact you, giving you one last opportunity to either accept or turn down the promised surgery. Based on testing, rejecting the cure here seems to prevent access to this ending, while accepting it will lead you into the “Through Pain To Heaven” mission as expected.
