Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Firestarter: Should You Help Songbird Or Reed?

During the Firestarter main quest in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty, you'll need to make a fateful decision which will to an entirely different finale.

Cyberpunk 2077 Shouls You Help Songbird
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty: At some point in the game you need to decide if you want to help Songbird or not. | © CD Projekt Red/ EarlyGame

Once you enter the Phantom Liberty expansion in Cyberpunk 2077 it's hard to take your eyes of the district Dogtown and the spy-thriller story, surrounding Solomon Reed and Song So Mi, or also known as Songbird.

During the Firestarter mission, you'll need to make an important choice, and side with either Songbird or Solomon Reed. This decision will have lasting consequences on your journey, so it might be a tough one to make.

Luckily for you, we've gathered all the necessary information, so you can decide who to side with!

Please be reminded, this article contains spoilers for Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty. Especially for the content later on in the campaign!

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty: Time To Decide To Side Either With Songbird Or Reed

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Songbird
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty: Songbird is helping you during your time in Dogtown. | © CD Projekt Red/ EarlyGame

The Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty occurs during the final scenes in the Firestarter quest. As you're talking with Songbird, who is activating the device, you'll be presented with two options:

  • Help Songbrid escape: "I'm with you."
  • Help Reed capture Songbird: "One more second.."

Think carefully before choosing to support either of them without understanding the consequences each choice holds for you. And most importantly: Save manually before you choose anything!

So let's get into it!

Side With Songbird

Cyberpunk 2077 Songbird
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty: Side with Songbird or Solomon Reed? | © CD Projekt Red/ EarlyGame

Once you sided with Songbird the events come thick and fast and that's what's happening:

  • Alex will kill Hansen, and you won't need to worry about him anymore.
  • Songbird will aid you by using her hacking abilities as you make your way out of the stadium.
  • Once you've cleared out the entrance area, do not go down the elevator.

If you'll take the elevator into the basement, Reed will be waiting for you down below. He'll instantly kill you on sight, as you betrayed him.

After you escaped the stadium, Songbird will contact you eventually and give you the next quest, "The Killing Moon". Where another particular decision will wait for you...

Side With Reed

Cyberpunk 2077 Solomon Reed Car
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty: Siding with Reed will grant you a new ending in the main campaign. | © CD Projekt Red/ EarlyGame

Once you sided with Reed, things will go down an entirely different road:

  • Hansen will kill Alex, and you'll have to escape the stadium on your own.
  • Hansen will show up later on, and you need to fight him.
  • You'll then ride the elevator and escape inside Reed's vehicle.

After the events, you two will see Songbird captured by Night City's security forces, but this isn't the end... right?

Correct! This finale has two separate missions you need to complete in order to move forward. After completing the mission "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" and "Somewhat Damaged", you'll witness the conclusion of the Phantom Liberty expansion and have access to the new ending for the main campaign as well.

It's not easy, but you can handle it!

Ewelyn Derc

Hey, I'm Ewelyn! I've been working in the gaming biz for over a decade and am a Junior Content Creator at EarlyGame. My main focus is the Gaming category, where I write guides, news, reviews, opinion pieces and more....