Just had to pick between Reed and So Mi. Who did you take and why?

[CyverIV]

I took the Song bird side because i knew Reed was lying about setting her free after they all escaped

[Tokenn]

I've played it both ways. First time, I sided with Songbird after a really shockingly brutal act by Reed and Alex, and I was bummed. Second time, I sided with Reed, mainly to see what happened...and it was a very different experience. Both Reed and So Mi are extremely 'grey' morally compromised people, so there's no clearly right choice. It all depends on whose lies and history you are more comfortable with accepting and overlooking, IMO.

[EricHVela]

Songbird lied and used everyone. She had her reasons, but she was always out for herself. Collateral damage happened on whims to get what she wanted.

Reed was used through his blind and naïve loyalty and never lied. The people he trusted he knew he shouldn't trust, but he only did things for others. Collateral damage was by necessity only.

But I can't side with Reed because of that awful robot even if siding with Songbird ends up with an entire airport slaughtered (of which she thinks is an acceptable loss for her freedom though Reed was only obeying orders mindlessly).

[Liquid Inc]

Songbird was always shifty. My first instinct, almost the moment i met her, was "it was her".

Not sure i could side with her, given everything, though i disliked siding with the NUSA because that's not what my Streetkid V would have done. She hates corpo's, as we're frequently reminded of in dialogue, so siding with a corrupt government seems like a step too far, but siding with Songbird just leaves a bad taste....

[Tokenn]

Related -- Did anyone find that taking the Loyalty Oath from Myers made any difference to anything? I've played it both ways and couldn't tell.

[Bjørn]

I helped So Mi the first time I did this as it felt like the most moral choice, although I got a bit disappointed throughout the quest chain the more I learned what she has done, but still...

I'm thinking of trying some other choice this time around, mainly to try that stealth mission many seem to hate so much, but sounds like my kind of mission The constant waves of mobs and slaughter on the So Mi path was a bit boring and mindless, I thought.

Originally posted by Tokenn:

Related -- Did anyone find that taking the Loyalty Oath from Myers made any difference to anything? I've played it both ways and couldn't tell.

I've refused to take it both times I've done this so far, and I noticed the relationship 'icon' with Johnny mentions something about this, if I'm understanding it correctly. Like 'refused to join the powers that be' or something (probably something completely different).

It might have been related to something completely different, though, since maybe these descriptions were written before the DLC (I started playing after the DLC)? And I also think my relationship with Johnny went up to 70% after doing this, but not sure about that either (at 85% now after the first part of Chippin' In where you let him use your body).

Also I've read here somewhere that the medal thing you get from Myers after taking the oath can be given to a homeless person later, which would be a bit fun to try.

[Irinka]

Siding with Song is betrer imo. But I kinda love the fact both paths aren't black and white like The Witcher 3 dlc where it's extremely clear which is the best ending

Song has ben turned into a weapon/tool. Myers forcing her to use the Blackwall for her political agenda. And as she said herself "Weapons don't get to have an opinion or retire" Myers literally violates international laws and shoots up the entire orbital space center to get her back. So Mi is desperate she is slowly losing herself to the Blackwall becoming more AI than human "A snowflake lands on my glove, I can calculate it's unique fractal structure... but what did my mom's voice sound like?" So can you really blame her for lying? Besides she does end up telling you the truth. She could've easily not told you anything until she is safe or straight up never but she does, proving that deep down she trusts you and cares

Helping her represents an act of empathy and compassion, aligning with a more humanistic approach to the story which is exactly how I always play my V

Also the whole game has this anti-authoritarian theme. So siding with the NUSA/Militech felt extremely anti climatic to me. While supporting Song felt as an act of rebellion against them

Helping Song offers a path toward redemption, not just for her but potentially for V as well
offering a chance to do genuine good in a bleak and dystopian world

Also never liked "metagaming" breaks the immersion for me. So picking Reed just because I know Song lies to me makes no sense since V doesn't know that and in Reed's path you never actually discover it

Also gameplay and story wise I like her final quest way more. Infiltrating the space center, getting the "Objective: Survive" while V faces an army of Spec Ops. With the amazing OST "Contra la Luna". Using the blackwall, getting the revelation from Song and then having a cowboy showdown with Reed. Literally a total rollercoaster

So in summary siding with Song not only aligns with the game's themes of resistance against oppressive forces and corporate greed, but it also provides an opportunity for empathy and redemption in a world often devoid of such possibilities

[Irinka]

Originally posted by Tokenn:

Related -- Did anyone find that taking the Loyalty Oath from Myers made any difference to anything? I've played it both ways and couldn't tell.

Johnny will be pissed at you for taking the oath. Also President Myers mentions if you took it or not in Reed's ending but besides that doesn't really matter

[Nar!]

I picked Song. I think we had this same discussion in a previous topic not long ago, as I remember Irinka's profound reasons up there from another thread.

I found more common ground with Song than I did with anyone else in PL and I also didn't avoid the fact that I was playing a similar card she did, starting with my first lie to Stout when she asked me if I came alone. We're all saying and doing what we must, to stay alive in Night City.

Over time, Song realized I was a friend she could trust and despite being upset over her revelation to me, I felt I understood where she came from, better than anyone else.

I wasn't a good fit for the NUSA anyway. tosses coin :P
I was a street kid trying to make a name for myself in Night City and I did things I ain't proud of through my journey.

Sending her to the moon to get healed had a mirroring effect on me.
Almost as if I was hoping someone would do the same for me before my time was up.
I hated having to take Reed down though. That really sucked.
I'm glad I wasn't forced to do the same to Alex.

[lehuan5062]

I sided with Reed. Songbird proposed to kill everyone to get out, while Reed proposed a cleaner plan. Even though it ended with a massacre anyway, V did not know that.

Everything happened to Songbird, she signed up for. She had been messing with corpos, and she had to get away from that by joining the FIA.

[Phynrae]

First time, i sided with Reed. But honestly, it was mostly because i wanted to see the new ending.

On balance though, i do think Reed is the better option.

The only reason to side with Songbird is out of compassion. Problem is though, we have absolutely, positively, no clue if we are helping her, or if we are delivering her to and even worse fate.

Her entire plan hinges on a shady deal she has struck with Mr. Blue Eyes, the very same guy who is involved with the plot to brainwash the Paralez'es. Dude doesen't seem very trustworthy to me, and we never do hear from her again.

So basically, she lies to you, you don't get the cure, an entire Spaceport full of innocents get slaughtered, and at the end, we don't even know if she actually gains her freedom or if it was at all worth it.
Mr. Blue Eyes (or rather, whatever shady organization or group he is a proxy for) could just want to exploit her for themselves. She is a living weapon, afterall, and once delivered to them, she would be completely at their mercy.


With Reed, atleast you know what you're getting.

[Bloodartist]

Originally posted by CyverIV:

I took the Song bird side because i knew Reed was lying about setting her free after they all escaped

I will always choose So Mi. I will always choose dreams over rules.

[Huntn]

I've had PL DLC for some time, but just decided to play it through. My gut says Songbird is a user, mostly interested in saving herself. I know she lies to V at the end. I also like Alex and Reed.
Because I'm a big chicken, and I don't like spending 100s of hours in a game for a crappy ending. I've looked in advance at the options. The best ending seems to be help Songbird escape, then turn her over to Reed, and say no thanks to the cure.
Why?
All three characters stay alive. I think this is the King of Swords ending, minus the cure, which allows you to keep going into the original ending options... I hope.
As far as PL, I'm sorry if Songbird ends up miserable, but 2 other important characters to me live, besides the fact that Songbird lies to you about everything, why the acft crashes in DT, that she has a cure for you. It's hard to sacrifice both Reed and Alex for her.

Secondly I pick this ending, because I'm in love with the original ending (Along the Watch Tower ending?) where you ride into the sunset with your boyfriend or your girlfriend depending on how you played, Johnny ends up staying behind the Black Wall with Alt, and therefore you might rationalize there is a chance for V beyond the 6 months she/he was told she/he had to live.

Virtually all the other endings suck from a romantic aspect, you lose everyone and everything.

One other thing. If Songbird told me she wanted to die after I helped her escape and then handed her over to Reed in the scenario described above, I'd help her if the game would allow me to, but I don't think it would, does it?

[[=]Josiah]

Originally posted by Huntn:

I've had PL DLC for some time, but just decided to play it through. My gut says Songbird is a user, mostly interested in saving herself. I know she lies to V at the end. I also like Alex and Reed.
Because I'm a big chicken, and I don't like spending 100s of hours in a game for a crappy ending. I've looked in advance at the options. The best ending seems to be help Songbird escape, then turn her over to Reed, and say no thanks to the cure.
Why?
All three characters stay alive. I think this is the King of Swords ending, minus the cure, which allows you to keep going into the original ending options... I hope.
As far as PL, I'm sorry if Songbird ends up miserable, but 2 other important characters to me live, besides the fact that Songbird lies to you about everything, why the acft crashes in DT, that she has a cure for you. It's hard to sacrifice both Reed and Alex for her.

Secondly I pick this ending, because I'm in love with the original ending (Along the Watch Tower ending?) where you ride into the sunset with your boyfriend or your girlfriend depending on how you played, Johnny ends up staying behind the Black Wall with Alt, and therefore you might rationalize there is a chance for V beyond the 6 months she/he was told she/he had to live.

Virtually all the other endings suck from a romantic aspect, you lose everyone and everything.

One other thing. If Songbird told me she wanted to die after I helped her escape and then handed her over to Reed in the scenario described above, I'd help her if the game would allow me to, but I don't think it would, does it?

You are correct -no option to end her life in that series of choices.

Also, great point that all three survive -I never did the math for that ending but that’s totally right.

[Mander]

I ended up siding with So Mi for mainly 3 reasons (not all of them can find purchase with everyone, but it is what it is).

- On the cold, logic side, So Mi is too dangerous to remain in N-USA hands. The moment it came out she was punching through the blackwall to communicate with you, my decision was taken: bullet to the head or shuttle to the moon, So Mi had to leave N-USA grasp for good. Leaving the equivalent of a net nuke in Meyers’s hand is imo, the dumbest decision anyone can make in the setting of Cyberpunk 2077, regardless of potential rewards. We know what corpos did to the world and So Mi has all the potential to become another steppingstone to the road to human extinction in the setting. So no, Mayers: your personal cyberdoll of mass destruction gets removed from the story pronto.

- On the caring side: So Mi deserves to be free, even with all the gonk things she did and the horrible things done to her. Our V is not that different from her, and because we can’t be saved in the end of Phantom Liberty (at a price I'm willing to pay), at least I chose to be a savior. I can only hope that, So Mi will make of the rest of her life something worthy, but she at least deserves the chance to try.

- On the setting side: long and happy lives are an aberration in the Cyberpunk setting. The fact that So Mi organized the Space Force One crash was… quite evident if you took the time to explore Dog Town and find the escape pod. None the less, our bottom line is that we’re a solo merc hired to save her. And on the pride of a potential living legend and edgerunner supreme, I did it, even when it was clear from the start she was at best a duplicitous client. But we’ve done worse jobs for much more despicable clients, so nothing new there. -shrugh-