Cyberpunk Secret Ending Explained: How to Raid Arasaka with Johnny & Only Johnny

Cyberpunk secret ending is one of the best endings players can obtain in Cyberpunk 2077. At the same time, it is also a more difficult and demanding ending to achieve in the game. In the secret ending, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”, Johnny decides to propose to V to raid the Arasaka tower and find Mikoshi with no other allies’ help. V and Johnny conduct the mission solo with no backup, no help, and no pills taken, so Johnny is still functioning in V’s head. On the other hand, because of the relic’s malfunctioning, the health of V will be cut down during the mission, making it more difficult to confront the enemies and Adam Smasher. This post explains thoroughly how players can unlock this ending, what this ending takes to be finished, and what results this ending will lead to!

How to Unlock the Cyberpunk Secret Ending?

The Cyberpunk secret ending is called “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”, and for now, there is only this one secret ending for Cyberpunk 2077. Compared to other normal endings, this ending requires players to make specific choices at the oil fields in “Chippin’ In” to unlock. What’s more, the intimacy with Johnny does not seem to affect the access to the secret ending. Even if players have high intimacy with Johnny, he will not propose to raid the Arasaka alone if players do not choose accordingly at the oil fields.

“Chippin’ In” Oil Fields

“Chippin’ In” is a side quest in Cyberpunk 2077, in which players get to retrace Johnny’s past and familiarize themselves with Johnny’s old friends, especially Rogue. The side quest “A Cool Metal Fire” is triggered after players finish the main job “Tapeworm.” In this side quest, Johnny will hunt down Adam Smasher with Rogue but only find his pistol, car, and grave.

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At the oil fields, where his grave lies, there are a series of dialogue choices that players need to make to trigger the secret ending. The correct options are:

1. “The Guy who Saved My Life.”
2. Nah, fucked that up too.
3. What do you want from me?
4. OK. But as second chances go, this is your last.
5. You were a real dick in the beginning.
6. When you said you let down your friends…
7. Smasher biz really got to her.
8. Yeah, I’ll call Rogue.

These options not just make the Cyberpunk secret ending available at the end, but also open the pathway to “Blistering Love” side quest in which Johnny can mend his relationship with Rogue, and make the sun ending available at the end.

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Nocturne Op55N1

The next step is to wait for Johnny to propose raiding Arasaka without help in “Nocturne Op55N1”. “Nocturne Op55N1” is the main job that leads to different endings in Cyberpunk 2077, and the point of no return until players finish one of the endings. Then, the game will send players back to the point before “Nocturne Op55N1” for them to try out other endings.

Players need to wait 5-10 minutes at the top of the building without asking for anyone’s help. If the exact options are chosen at the oil fields, Johnny should say

Kinda tough deciding which of your friends get to die, isn’t it?

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After that, simply accept his proposal, and the game will take players directly to the front door of Arasaka Tower. Compared to other endings, (Don’t Fear) The Reaper is rather straightforward and skips the preparations and planning stage, echoing the Johnny Silverhand style. Therefore, it would be best for players to prepare all the gear before the main job “Nocturne Op55N1”.

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What to Prepare for the Cyberpunk Secret Ending?

There are several things that players can pay attention to in the Cyberpunk secret ending. Because different from the normal endings, the secret ending is more straightforward in terms of planning, and more difficult in terms of finishing the mission.

Firstly, there is no planning and no preparation stage. Agreeing to Johnny’s plan will take players directly to the front door of the Arasaka Tower and start the mission of blasting through Arasaka’s security teams. Other endings, however, have thorough planning and preparations for the infiltration and how to contact Alt, etc. For example, in the star ending, Panam and her people draft the plan of going through the construction tunnels and drilling down to Mikoshi’s level.

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Every time the Relic malfunctioning sign shows, V’s health will drop. At the start of the mission, V’s health will drop by 20%. The health keeps dropping every time the Relic malfunctions. Thus, the longer the players take to finish the mission, the lower V’s health will be. Therefore, players can stack V’s health up before starting “Nocturne Op55N1” by building up good implant combinations.

Finally, because V does not call for any backups, V and Johnny need to face Adam Smasher alone. In other endings, V will have the allies’ help in distracting and defeating Adam Smasher. Takemura will be in the fight if V saves him and opts for the devil ending. Panam will be helping in the star ending. And Weyland will be V’s assistant in the sun ending.

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What Is the Whole Process of Finishing (Don’t Fear) The Reaper?

As mentioned before, accepting Johnny’s offer at the top of the building in “Nocturne Op55N1” takes players directly to Arasaka Tower’s lobby. Players need to defeat all the enemies in the lobby first and loot the access token for the elevator.

The elevator takes V and Johnny to the level where Mikoshi lies, that is, the “Netrun Operations Control”. Players need to find the Mikoshi access point to plug in and connect Alt to the mainframe. After connecting her to the mainframe, Alt takes care of any leftover enemies for the players.

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Players need to confront Adam Smasher next on the way to Mikoshi. Because V does not call for any allies in the secret ending, Smasher will not kill anyone upon his showing up. During the fight, Smasher will call in support from time to time, similar to other endings. Thus, players need to take care of both Smasher and the security team, without any allies’ help.

Finally, V needs to access Mikoshi. Alt explains the process of copying V’s soul back to his body. Because of the damage to V’s body, V only gets 6 months to live if he chooses to have his body back. At this point, players can choose to let V have the body or let Johnny have the body. The first choice leads to the sun ending with Rogue still surviving, and the second choice leads to the temperance ending.

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Is the Cyberpunk Secret Ending the Best Ending?

The Cyberpunk secret ending is one of the best endings in terms of the story in Cyberpunk 2077 that players can achieve. On the one hand, there is no sacrifice during the process of raiding Arasaka Tower. In the sun ending with Rogue and the star ending with Panam, Rogue and Saul will be sacrificed when Adam Smasher intervenes. Moreover, Mikoshi is destroyed in the secret ending. Therefore, the ending is not as bleak as the devil ending, in which Arasaka gains more power after resurrecting Saburo.

It is also more challenging, like a secret level to unlock with the end-game build. This ending skips through the lengthy preparations and socialization with other characters and jumps right into the fighting. The intensity and difficulty of the fight are very close to the space port fight in Phantom Liberty. With the manual save disabled, players can fully experience the adrenaline rush.

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As to the shortcomings of this ending, V still does not manage to survive at the end. The tower ending from Phantom Liberty finds a solution for V to survive at the cost of his cyberwear equipment. The secret ending only gives V 6 months to survive, like other base game endings.

Another thing is about the scenery. The secret ending does not have multiple scenes for infiltration either, so it may appear boring to some players. The star ending shifts the scenes from the construction site to the tunnel, and then to Arasaka Tower. The devil ending and the sun ending with Rogue use the AV and go through the jungle.

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FAQs

What is the secret ending in Cyberpunk?

The secret ending in Cyberpunk 2077 is a mission called “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”. In this mission, V will blast into Arasaka Tower with Johnny from the front door and find the access to Mikoshi with Alt’s help. This mission will lead to either the temperance ending or the sun ending, with Rogue surviving, depending on whether players choose to let Johnny have the body or V have the body in Mikoshi.

Do you need 70% friendship with Johnny for the secret ending?

By choosing the exact dialogue options at the oil fields according to the guide, Johnny will develop a high intimacy level with V afterwards. However, if players do not choose the same options as the guide, even if Johnny has high intimacy with V, the secret ending will not be unlocked. Therefore, the easiest way is to make the right dialogue options in “Chippin’ In” without concerning yourself with the intimacy with Johnny.

Does V survive the secret ending?

No, V does not survive the secret ending, the same as in other base game endings. The only ending that V survives is the tower ending that can only be unlocked upon finishing the main jobs of Phantom Liberty. On top of that, players need to side with Reed and Myers in the end to make the tower ending available, because Songbird will betray V, and only Reed can offer V the promised cure.

Conclusion

The Cyberpunk secret ending is one of the best end-game solutions to reach Mikoshi. There are no friends sacrificed in this ending, and everyone gets to live, except V. However, it also has its drawbacks, such as the lack of scenes, friend socialization, and a complete process from planning to infiltration. Its difficulty level is higher than other endings as well, when the Relic is malfunctioning, and there is no help coming for V.

All in all, it’d be best to go through the secret ending after playing through other base game endings. While other endings offer more stories with friends, such as Rogue and Panam, the secret ending saves the friends from the sacrifice and gives players a proper sense of closure to the game.