12 Essential Tips for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Phantom Liberty introduces players to Dogtown, a lawless district within Night City, packed with new missions, enemies, cyberware, and secrets. To help you navigate this dangerous but rewarding expansion, here are 12 essential tips to maximize your experience.

1. How to Start Phantom Liberty

There are three ways to begin Phantom Liberty:

New Game Skip: Start directly at the expansion, with a level 15 character, pre-allocated attributes, and a small amount of cash.
Load an Old Save: If you’ve already completed Cyberpunk 2077, just load your save and wait for Songbird to contact you.
New Playthrough: To access Phantom Liberty naturally, complete the Voodoo Boys arc in the main story, which triggers the new questline in your journal.

Recommendation: A fresh playthrough lets you experience 2.0’s changes and make key choices that affect Phantom Liberty’s story.

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2. Wait for the Right Time to Enter Dogtown

Once you step into Dogtown, you’ll be locked in for the first few missions.

While you can shop early on, you won’t be able to leave freely.
Eventually, Mr. Hands will contact you, giving you free entry and exit.

Before starting, tie up loose ends in Night City—especially upgrading your weapons and cyberware.

3. The Relic Skill Tree

A major addition in Phantom Liberty is the Relic Tree, offering unique cyberware abilities.

Songbird unlocks the Relic Tree early, giving you 3 free Relic Points.
Additional Relic Points can be found in Militech crates scattered across Dogtown.
You’ll know you’re near one when you hear a pulsing sound and experience HUD glitches.

Tip: These upgrades greatly enhance melee cyberware like Mantis Blades, Monowire, and Gorilla Arms.

4. Emergency Caches & Airdrops

Throughout Dogtown, red smoke pillars indicate emergency airdrops containing cash, weapons, and resources.

These respawn infinitely, so don’t feel pressured to grab all of them.
They are guarded by Barghest patrols, so expect a firefight when approaching.

5. Beware of Skull Icons

Areas marked with a skull icon contain high-level enemies and elite loot.

Battles here take place in unique locations like a crumbling Air and Space Museum.
Check every corner of Dogtown—there are hidden secrets waiting to be discovered.

6. Timing Your Side Quests

Phantom Liberty introduces fantastic gigs and side missions, but don’t rush through them.

Some main quests require you to wait for calls from key characters.
Instead of sleeping for days, use this downtime to complete gigs and side content.
Phantom Liberty’s quest markers have a unique background in the journal for easy tracking.

Must-Play Side Quest: Early on, you’ll encounter a theme park mission—definitely check it out.

7. Carjackings & Vehicle Combat

Dogtown introduces car theft missions, indicated by a blue steering wheel icon.

Stealing these triggers a chase, where you must outrun or destroy enemy pursuers.
Successfully delivering stolen cars to El Capitan’s chop shop unlocks new vehicle purchases.
Pro Tip: Look behind you and use the lock-on feature to shoot pursuers while driving.

8. A Major Late-Game Decision

Near the final act, Phantom Liberty presents a massive branching choice.

SAVE your game before making this decision, as both routes play out very differently.
This decision can unlock a brand-new ending for Cyberpunk 2077.
You don’t need to replay Nocturne Op55N1—just wait a couple of weeks in-game and let things unfold naturally.

9. Permanent Buffs from Food Vendors

Food vendors now sell consumables that grant permanent stat bonuses.

These buffs cost 10,000+ eddies but are worth the investment.
They are marked like iconic gear and activate immediately upon purchase.

10. Double Jump vs. Charge Jump

The most important piece of cyberware you can get early is either:

Reinforced Tendons (Double Jump) – Preferred by most players for better mobility.
Fortified Ankles (Charge Jump) – Allows higher leaps but requires charging.

If you skipped to Phantom Liberty, you automatically start with Reinforced Tendons.

11. Optimize Your Cyberware

Cyberware is essential, especially weapon implants like:

Mantis Blades – Fast melee execution.
Monowire – Uploads quick hacks on enemy hits.
Gorilla Arms – Increases raw melee damage.
Projectile Launch System – High-damage ranged explosives.

The Relic Tree upgrades these implants with new effects.

Example: Gold-tier quick hacks + Monowire = Auto-uploading hacks on hit.
Tip: Save before investing, then experiment with different loadouts.

12. Stylish New Outfits

The 2.0 clothing system lets you wear any outfit without sacrificing armor.

Dogtown’s clothing shops feature tons of fresh styles.
New clothing automatically adds to your wardrobe, allowing you to shred duplicates for crafting materials.
One shop even has a headset for previewing your character’s look in the real world.

Final Thoughts

With Phantom Liberty, Cyberpunk 2077 reaches new heights of depth, combat, and exploration. Whether you’re stealing cars, raiding airdrops, or making game-changing choices, Dogtown is a city within a city, offering danger and opportunity at every turn.

Follow these 12 essential tips, and you’ll be well-equipped to take on everything Dogtown throws your way.

And remember—trust no one, stay sharp, and enjoy the ride.