Most players finish their first run of Night City feeling a bit empty. You either sell your soul to Arasaka, run away with the Nomads, or let Johnny take the wheel while Rogue handles the heavy lifting. But there is a secret. A suicide mission. Cyberpunk 2077 Don't Fear the Reaper is that legendary hidden path that most people miss because, frankly, the game doesn't want you to find it. It requires you to be a specific kind of jerk to Johnny Silverhand—but not too much of a jerk.
It’s the ultimate power fantasy. Just you. No backup. Just a dying mercenary and a dead rockstar storming the front gates of the world's most dangerous corporation.
Getting the timing right is a total nightmare
Seriously. If you’re sitting on that balcony with Misty and nothing is happening, you aren't alone. To trigger the Cyberpunk 2077 Don't Fear the Reaper ending, you have to wait. Real-time minutes. You just sit there staring at Johnny for about five minutes after he suggests his initial plans. Most gamers have the attention span of a goldfish, so they just click a dialogue option and lock themselves out.
But waiting isn't enough.
The real gatekeeper is a specific conversation at a literal oil fields grave site during the "Chippin' In" side quest. You can't just be "nice" to Johnny. If you’re a total suck-up, you fail. If you're a hater, you fail. You have to call him out on being a "raging dick" and then give him a second chance. Specifically, you need to choose "The Guy who Saved My Life," and then "Nah, fucked that up too," when talking about his legacy. If you don't pick those specific lines, the "secret" ending stays secret.
It's a weird design choice by CD Projekt Red. Usually, RPGs reward you for maximum affinity. Here? Johnny respects you more if you treat him like the flawed, narcissistic terrorist he actually is.
The stakes are higher than your GPU temps
Once you're in, the game changes. This isn't just another mission. In every other ending, if you die, you just reload the last checkpoint. Not here. In Cyberpunk 2077 Don't Fear the Reaper, if your health hits zero during the assault on Arasaka Tower, the credits roll. V dies. Everyone you love in the game gets a depressing holocall message about how you just disappeared or ended up as a stain on the floor.
It's brutal.
The difficulty spikes significantly. Enemies are higher level, and your max health is constantly ticking down because of the Relic malfunction. You are literally dying while you fight. It forces a completely different playstyle. You can't just hide behind a box and wait for your health to regen. You have to move. You have to be the "Legend of the Afterlife" the game keeps promising you’ll become.
I’ve seen builds focused entirely on "Sandevistan" blades fail here because one stray bullet from an Arasaka guard catches them at the wrong moment. You need a plan. You need high-tier cyberware. If you haven't visited a Ripperdoc for the best "Second Heart" or "Biomonitor" available, don't even bother sitting on that balcony.
Why this path feels more "Cyberpunk" than the others
Cyberpunk, as a genre, is about the individual versus the machine. In the "Star" ending (the one with Panam), you rely on the Aldecaldos. People die for you. Bobby, Teddy... names you know. It’s a great story, but it’s a tragedy for the clan. In the "Sun" ending, Rogue takes the fall.
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Cyberpunk 2077 Don't Fear the Reaper is the only version where V takes full responsibility.
There’s a specific kind of chill you get when the music kicks in—that heavy, distorted synth track "The Rebel Path"—as you walk through the front door of Arasaka Tower alone. No elaborate heist plan. No distraction. Just a shotgun and a dream. It feels earned. When you finally reach Mikoshi, the dialogue with Johnny hits differently. There’s a mutual respect there that doesn't exist in the other paths. You didn't need anyone's help. You just went in and did it.
The technical reality of the 70% mistake
There is a massive misconception floating around Reddit and old YouTube guides that you need a "70% Friendship" rating with Johnny.
That is flat-out wrong.
You can have 40% or 50% and still trigger the ending. The percentage is just a UI element that tracks specific milestones. What actually matters are those three lines of dialogue in the oil fields. If you messed that up forty hours ago, you are out of luck unless you’re on PC and can use a save editor or console commands. On console? You’re starting a new save file.
Surviving the Arasaka Lobby
The first room is the hardest. The Arasaka lobby is an open killing floor. If you're playing on "Very Hard," you’ll get shredded in seconds.
The trick is movement.
- Cyberdeck Users: You better have "System Collapse" or "Synapse Burnout" ready. You need to thin the crowd before they pin you down.
- Berserk/Sandevistan Users: Use the environment. The pillars aren't just for decoration.
- Healing: Since your max health is capped, you need "Blood Pump" and "Pyromania" perks to keep your mitigation strength up.
Honestly, if you can make it past the elevators, you’ve probably got the win in the bag. The basement and the labs are cramped, which favors the player. But that lobby? That's where dreams of being a Night City legend go to die.
Adam Smasher is still a problem
Even after the 2.1 and 2.11 patches, Smasher in the secret ending feels like a different beast. He has more mobility. He uses his Sandevistan more aggressively. Because you’re fighting him solo, you are the only target for his missiles.
There is no Rogue to distract him. No Wayland to provide fire support.
It’s just you and the borg. Most players find that using "Cripple Movement" quickhacks or heavy impact weapons like "Comrade's Hammer" (if you can handle the reload) is the only way to keep him from turning you into a puddle. If you’re a netrunner, make sure you’ve got "Memory Wipe" Tier 4 or higher to break his lock-on, otherwise he will just jump on your head and it's game over.
Actionable Steps for your Reaper Run
If you're planning to attempt this, don't just wing it. Night City eats people who wing it.
- Check your quest log: Look for "Chippin' In." If you haven't done it, go to the Afterlife and talk to Johnny. If you already did it and didn't pick the "Guy who saved my life" line, look for a previous save or prepare for a new playthrough.
- Level to 50+: Don't try this at level 30. You’ll get one-shot by a security camera. With the Phantom Liberty expansion, the level cap is 60. Use every one of those points.
- Optimize Cyberware: You need the "Edgerunner" perk. You want your cyberware capacity pushed to the limit. "Armor" is more important than "Damage" in this specific mission because of the health drain mechanic.
- The Balcony Wait: When you get to the end of the "Nocturne Op55N1" mission, tell Johnny "Think you and Rogue should go." Then, when the option to "Put this all to rest" or "Call Rogue" comes up, just stay still. Don't move the camera. Don't open a menu. Just wait. After roughly five minutes, Johnny will realize you're a psycho and suggest the solo run.
The Cyberpunk 2077 Don't Fear the Reaper ending doesn't just give you a trophy; it gives you the "Sun" ending rewards but with the satisfaction of knowing nobody died for your survival. It’s the cleanest way to go out. Or the loudest way to stay alive. Either way, it’s the only ending that feels like it belongs to V and V alone.
Go get your chrome in order. Arasaka is waiting.