King of Pentacles Cyberpunk 2077: DLC Ending of Refusing Songbird Walkthrough and Story Explained
King of Pentacles Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the endings of Phantom Liberty, the DLC of the game, and also an achievement that can be unlocked after reaching the end. In tarot cards, the King of Pentacles is the symbol of power and fortune, representing characters fulfilling the peak of their life, both in terms of fortune and the maturity of their values. Is that the perfect representation of V in this ending? This post will walk through how to obtain this ending and interpret the King of Pentacles Cyberpunk 2077 ending in depth.
What Is Phantom Liberty?
Before going into the details of the King of Pentacles ending, it would be best to lay the ground with background information regarding Phantom Liberty, the DLC of Cyberpunk 2077.
Phantom Liberty was released in 2023, three years after the official release of Cyberpunk 2077, the base game. As the expansion pack, Phantom Liberty introduces a new area of Night City, Dogtown, with its own political dynamics, governance, major NPCs, and unique city layouts.
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Other than the new areas, the expansion pack also brings new side quests to the game, related to the fixers in the base game, such as Mr. Hands and El Capitan. Moreover, new characters in Dogtown will commission V to do Barghest-related quests, too. There are areas guarded by strong enemies for players to obtain high-tech weapons.
However, the most important thing is the added main storyline and new endings for V and Johnny Silverhand. The main story of this DLC revolves around the president of NUSA, President Myers. Songbird, the chief netrunner for Myers, offers a solution to V’s situation with the Relic. In return, V needs to help rescue the president and secure Songbird’s safety.
King of Pentacles Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the endings players can achieve against the above-mentioned story background. Players can achieve different endings based on their choices during the main jobs in the DLC.
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King of Pentacles Cyberpunk 2077 Ending Walkthrough
Phantom Liberty will take almost the same hours as all the main jobs in the base game combined. Before reaching the point of choosing sides, the DLC will take players through a series of jobs first, for players to familiarize themselves with each main character in the DLC. After choosing sides at “Firestarter”, the game will lead players to different endings of the DLC.
Before “Firestarter”
This series of jobs starts from “Dog Eat Dog” and ends with “Firestarter”, and includes about eight jobs in total. During these eight jobs, players will save President Myers from the crash landing and send her to Reed for the secret transportation to escape Dogtown, Hansen’s turf. V loses contact with Songbird halfway, and later, Songbird reveals her plan of using Cynosure tech to cure herself of Blackwall and V of the Relic.
Reed, the previous veteran who recruited Songbird to NUSA, would like to know the reasons for Songbird crashing the President’s ship and committing treason with Hansen. He asks V to slip an ICE breaker to disable Songbird.
All in all, the tension between Reed and Songbird, between the agents (Reed, Songbird, and Alex) and NUSA (President Myers), leads to the choices presented in front of V.
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“Firestarter”: Side with Reed
“Firestarter” is the main job in which V and Reed need to impersonate netrunner twins, Aurore and Aymeric, and negotiate with Hansen using the fake identity. This is planned by Songbird as her way of escaping Hansen’s grip.
To reach the King of Pentacles ending, players need to choose:
BETRAY SONGBIRD | One more second…
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Betraying Songbird will cause her to be penetrated by the Blackwall and turn her into a half-cyberpsycho.
Due to the malfunctioning of the impersonation implant under the Blackwall’s attack, Hansen will kill Alex.
The choice will also lead to a fight against Hansen. He will be waiting for V on her way out to the escape route. After slaying him, players can loot Bold Eagle (iconic power revolver), Wild Dog (iconic power light machine gun), and Guillotine (iconic power submachine gun) from Hansen’s body.
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“Somewhat Damaged”: Refuse Songbird
After “Firestarter”, players need to rescue and trace Songbird with Reed and get into an abandoned Cynosure facility to track down Songbird.
However, Songbird will tell V that it is too late for her to use the neural matrix to cure herself of the Blackwall corrosion. To escape the fate of being imprisonated by NUSA and President Myers, Songbird will ask V to kill her. For Songbird, going back to NUSA means imprisoning and is a fate worse than death.
To unlock the King of Pentacles Cyberpunk 2077 ending, players need to choose:
That’s not a solution!
In the following conversation, choose:
Spare So Mi | Won’t do it.
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The rest of the mission will take Reed, V, and Songbird to the president. NUSA will take over Songbird’s recovery, and Reed promises to contact V about the neural matrix treatment.
“Leave in Silence”: Talk to Johnny
Johnny will talk to V in V’s apartment, and he does not like V’s choice. Contrary to V’s thinking, he does not believe that Songbird will get the right future at NUSA, and going back to the president will end her freedom. What’s more, he shares his insights about Reed, who is an idealist but turns a blind eye to the fact that his ideal has buried everyone he cares about to the ground, including Alex and Songbird, in this ending.
After the talk, the game will unlock the achievement, King of Pentacles.
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Pros and Cons of King of Pentacles Cyberpunk 2077 Ending
To explain the pros and cons of the King of Pentacles ending in Cyberpunk 2077, the interpretation of the meaning of the term is necessary in the context of tarot card fortune telling.
In tarot cards, the King of Pentacles represents wealth, leadership, and security when it is upright. Contrarily, it brings obsession with wealth and social status when reversed. The king achieves his fortune and wealth with his capability in securing resources, stability, and leadership. At the same time, he values what he gains and is proud of his achievements.
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V: Climb Up the Social Ladder
In the King of Pentacles Cyberpunk 2077 ending, V sides with Reed and rejects Songbird’s request to kill her. The choice of deciding Songbird’s fate for her twice, first for the ICE breaker and the second time for rejecting her request, is already a show of power and manipulation over her, albeit the choices are made in the name of helping her.
In return, V has become Reed and Johnny Silverhand in the past in a sense. V has chosen to put faith in the government and the system, even when she knows how flawed the system is. Songbird becomes the sacrifice of her willing belief.
As a result, V earns a medal and the promise of solving her problem from President Myers. The reward symbolizes her way and connection to the powerful upperclass in NUSA, the president herself.
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Alex and Songbird: the Sacrifice along the Road
In this ending, both Alex and Songbird are sacrificed in a sense. Kurt Hansen kills Alex immediately after the malfunction of the impersonation imprint. Songbird never appears again after being transported to President Myers.
Reed does not know beforehand that the breaker and the Blackwall infection from Songbird together will disable the impersonation imprint. This alone kills Alex, because Alex is alone in the room with Kurt Hansen.
Songbird mentions at the core that by not killing her, V is leaving her to a fate worse than death. She is well aware that, as a powerful weapon and an agent who performed many dirty works for President Myers, she will lose her freedom forever if she returns to Myers. But sadly, that is the decision made by V and Reed together.
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What about the Pros of this Ending?
King of Pentacles gives players the chance to challenge Kurt Hansen one on one. It is an interesting boss fight that will change the political dynamics in Dogtown, and will make Mr. Hands happy. Earlier in the main jobs, Mr. Hands reveals that Hansen has taken too many business opportunities under control and he would like to see Hansen being removed.
Players can gain three iconic weapons after defeating Hansen by looting his body.
President Myers will reward V with a medal. Reed tells V that it is the same medal that Songbird received when she finished her first operation. Players can keep the medal as a memento or sell the medal for cash.
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Infographics of How to Unlock the King of Pentacles
FAQs
How to get the King of Pentacles ending?
In sum, players need to side with Reed at “Firestarter” and reject Songbird’s request to kill her at “Somewhat Damaged”. Then, the game will lead players to V’s apartment to have a conclusive conversation with Johnny Silverhand. Players will achieve the achievement and the ending after the conversation.
What does the King of Pentacles tarot card mean?
King of Pentacles symbolizes fortune, leadership, business, discipline in the upright, and obsession with fortune and power in the reversed. The king holds power and control over power and material gains, and builds up his fortune and status through his resolution and capability. The material gain and social uprise become the center of his life, but that also leads to materialistic obsession.
What does the King of Pentacles mean in cyberpunk?
The tarot card of the King of Pentacles in Cyberpunk 2077 looks drastically different from the common tarot. In the game, the tarot is a figure looming in front of a star. The king is heavily chromed and looks more like a grim reaper than a king. The star evokes the reminiscence of NUSA.
In the ending of King of Pentacles, V has finished her mission as an agent and served President Myers. However, the recognition and reward from NUSA do not earn her solid power and sway in the NUSA government.
The tarot King of Pentacles is a reflection of the agents working for NUSA, like Songbird, Reed, and Alex. They are under the government’s influence, but that only turns them into the grim reapers working for the star.
Conclusion
In King of Pentacles, almost all of the main characters survive excepet Alex. This ending also brings an end to Kurt Hansen’s dictation over Dogtown. It seems like an acceptable ending.
However, the outcome is not as satisfying as it seems from the survival rate. Songbird is corrupted by the Blackwall and kept in the custody of President Myers for the rest of her life. Reed will have to face his inner struggle of whether he serves Songbird right by handing her back to Myers. And V, in Johnny’s opinion, has become someone who is similar to Reed and himself in the past.
In short, the sacrifice of freedom and principles is bleak in the King of Pentacles ending. Is there a better choice? The sense of hollowness after this ending leaves us thinking.
