You were brought to Dogtown by Songbird with the promise of finding a cure, and while matters have become predictably complicated, staying in Songbird’s good graces has remained a priority. To that end, you’ve decided to help Songbird make her escape from both Hansen and the FIA - and by extension, Myers and the NUSA. This means betraying Reed and Alex, but more importantly, riling up BARGHEST, and you’ll need to make your escape before your enemies - or former allies - can catch you. This page will provide a walkthrough for the Songbird route of the main job Firestarter in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty, including information on how to obtain the iconic weapons Bald Eagle, Wild Dog, and Murphy’s Law.
During the main job Firestarter, you’ll have to choose to betray Reed or Songbird - choose to betray Reed to start Songbird’s route.
How to Side With Songbird During Firestarter¶
The main job Firestarter will begin immediately after completing I’ve Seen That Face Before, with V and Alex impersonating the netrunner twins originally encountered during You Know My Name. During the first part of Firestarter, your primary objective is meeting with Hansen and passing his scrutiny in order to rendezvous with Songbird, whereupon you’ll be presented with two choices:
- Betray Reed | I’m with you.
- Betray Songbird | One more second…
(1 of 2) Give Alex the thumbs up and she’ll handle Hansen,
Give Alex the thumbs up and she’ll handle Hansen, (left), after which you’ll need to grab some weapons to help effect your escape. (right)
To start this route, you must select Betray Reed | I’m with you., and after some scenes, you’ll be making your escape attempt with Songbird. There are three major boons to this route - Alex doesn’t die (since she’s not immediately killed by Hansen), you’ll have Songbird assisting you during your escape, and you won’t encounter Hansen as a boss during the mission, as Alex will take care of him for you. This generally makes this version of the quest easier. On the downside, you won’t get Hansen’s iconic knife, Fang, but you’ll get the iconic weapon Murphy’s Law, which you otherwise wouldn’t acquire.
(1 of 2) In the helicopter room you can convince Songbird to contribute in two ways.
In the helicopter room you can convince Songbird to contribute in two ways. (left), Spinning up the helicopter blades is a gory way to get rid of some of the BARGHEST troopers ahead. (right)
Escape the Secured Area With Songbird¶
For the rest of Firestarter, your overarching objective is to escape the stadium with Songbird, starting with the secure area where the mainframe was being kept. You turned over your weapons in the earlier phase of the job, so you won’t have them. Fortunately, you won’t need to make do with fisticuffs (or with any arm cyberware, if you have it installed), as you’ll find a variety of weapons near the door out of the room. The quality is random (and roughly scaled to your level), but it’s better than nothing. Grab it and equip what appeals to you most, then head into the next room, which features numerous BARGHEST troopers and a burning helicopter.
There are numerous ways to deal with these troopers, not the least of which is just running in and gunning them all down. They’re nothing special, and you’ve certainly defeated stronger enemies with worse weapons. That said, Songbird will follow your example, if you want to be sneaky-like, and while you may not have the best weapons for stealth at the moment, if you’re a competent netrunner, Sonic Shock + Short Circuit should suffice. Songbird is not a slouch in the netrunner department, either, and when you enter the room you’ll get two prompts:
- “Helicopter - get the rotor spinning.”
- “Activate those bots.”
Both of these will have rather painful consequences for the BARGHEST troopers ahead, so pick their poison and press on past the burning wreck of the helicopter and head upstairs.
After clearing the helicopter room, return to the lounge where you met with Hansen to pick up his iconic weapons.
Where to Find the Iconic Weapons Bald Eagle and Mad Dog¶
Once upstairs the quest trail will guide you to the left, where you’ll find some lockers containing your confiscated weapons. Groovy. Before you go there, however, continue following the circular balcony around the helicopter room until you find a hallway to the left leading back to where you met Hansen. Alex was kind enough to leave behind Hansen’s iconic weapons, Bald Eagle and Wild Dog - look for a box containing them, Hansen’s body is gone by now. You can also score a Stadium Security Datashard left behind by Hansen.
(1 of 5) Murphy and a throng of BARGHEST troopers await past the helicopter room - you can use quickhacks to thin the herd.
How to Defeat Murphy and Get the Iconic Weapon Murphy’s Law¶
Return to the side passage where your weapons were forfeited (follow the destination trail) and go through a doorway at the end of the hallway once Songbird unlocks them, beyond which you’ll find many BARGHEST troopers, led by Murphy. These enemies are already on high alert, but if you hang back you can safely thin the herd via quickhacks. Among their number, you’ll find Murphy, the soldier who escorted you through the stadium to your meeting with Hansen, and to call him a “boss” would be an insult to every proper boss in the game. He doesn’t do anything particularly dangerous or interesting in this fight, he doesn’t even get a proper boss bar atop the screen. Heck, the first time we went through this we dispatched him with our standard Sonic Shock + Short Circuit + Sonic Shock combo without realizing he was special.
That’s not to say there aren’t dangers ahead, however, as there are a few heavy gunners in the area and more troops will pour in from the stairs ahead, flooding down from the upper level of the stadium. They’re convenient targets for grenades but can be troublesome if you’re not ready for them. Fortunately, Songbird will once again contribute, just enter the room a ways and you’ll get two options:
- Start the cars.
- Fire up the turret.
Once again, this is mostly a choice between damage and distraction, with the cars likely taking out a few troopers (potentially even Murphy!) while the turret will likely get gunned down after drawing attention to itself. However you manage it, be sure to grab Murphy’s iconic weapon Murphy’s Law, then continue upstairs, wiping out BARGHEST troopers as you go.
(1 of 2) When you reach the sewers, you’ll spot some drones.
When you reach the sewers, you’ll spot some drones. (left), You can evade them easily enough and/or disable/destroy them with quickhacks. (right)
Escape the Stadium With Songbird¶
After dealing with the enemies near Murphy, you’ve completed the most interesting parts of this job. Go upstairs to reach the stadium market and from there continue through the market, dispatching the scattered BARGEST troopers that stand in your way. Aside from the odd sniper and heavy gunner, you’ve little to worry about. When you near the exit, go through a side door to the left, then wait for Songbird to unlock some doors, beyond which you’ll find some crates you need to shove out of the way, near a fence. Shove the crates, go through the opening in the fence they covered, follow the linear path ahead, and then down some stairs. You’ll encounter some BARGHEST workers down here, but they’re non-combatants - just a chance to roleplay how merciful V is. Do what you wish, then continue through the boiler room and drop down a ladder to reach the sewers.
Continue forward and you’ll reach the main channel, where two drones will hover past to let you know you’re not quite in the clear just yet. There are three drones down here in total, and if you get spotted more will be summoned, but you can, if you’re patient enough, hide from them and work your way down side passages until you reach a tunnel to the left that leads to freedom… or you could just put them down with quickhacks like Short Circuit (debuffs like Sonic Shock and Reboot Optics should make sneaking easier, too). Deal with the drones however you wish until you reach the aforementioned side tunnel, then continue forward down the mostly linear path ahead to reach a grate. Fortunately, it’s no match for V’s foot and a little aggression, so boot your way to freedom and help an increasingly decrepit Songbird stumble her way through a homeless camp and into an escape vehicle. Say what you will to Songbird as she gets in her vehicle, after which the quest will end, and the next - and last significant - main job in Phantom Liberty will begin, [The Killing Moon].
Escort Songbird to the escape vehicle to complete the job.
Now that you’ve completed what is effectively the penultimate main job in Phantom Liberty, check out the following pages if you want to take care of some busywork while you wait for The Killing Moon to ramp up, or if you want to see how things could have played out differently…
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