No Easy Way Out is a side quest in the Phantom Liberty DLC for Cyberpunk 2077 that revolves around V helping out an up-and-coming boxer named Aaron.
As is to be expected, things aren’t quite as simple as they first seem. It’s up to you to help Aaron so that he can move on from his past and get a second chance at life.
In this guide, we will walk you through everything that you need to know to get through the No Easy Way Out mission as well as what rewards you can potentially gain from it.
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty No Easy Way Out quest walkthrough
A text from Coach Fred
If you played the boxing tutorial mission at the beginning of Cyberpunk 2077, then you might remember Coach Fred, as he is the one who gives you the basics when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.
You will receive a text from him not long after you come to the Dogtown district when you begin Phantom Liberty. Fred asks for some help regarding his boxing pal named Aaron. Once you text him back, a marker will appear on the map that will lead you to Aaron.
I’m not entirely sure if the boxing tutorial mission has to be completed before you will get this text from Coach Fred, as I had already completed it by the time I entered Dogtown. If you don’t receive Fred’s text and you haven’t completed the boxing tutorial, find it on the map and head over there to complete it to see if this activates the No Easy Way Out mission.
Watch the boxing match (and make a bet if you want to)
The marker will lead you to Aaron, but he will be in the middle of a boxing match. You can either make a bet on the fight, or you can wait for it to be over. If you want to make a bet, talk to the fight coordinator who is standing nearby. You can bet on Aaron or his competitor, but Aaron will win, so make sure that you bet on him.
You won’t be rolling in eddies from this bet, as you will bet 100 and receive 125 for his win, but extra eddies are extra eddies. It’s also a good chance to see that Aaron is very much a skilled boxer and has earned his one-to-watch reputation.
Talk to Aaron
When the match is done, Aaron will go and sit down on a nearby bench. Approach him and a dialogue prompt will appear. He will explain that he is in need of help. You have to offer your assistance in order to continue the mission. Aaron will then ask you to meet him nearby at a place called Terra Cognita a little bit later, so head there next.
Go to Terra Cognita
Another marker will appear on the map showing you the way to Terra Cognita, where you can wait for Aaron to show up. Not long after you meet, he will tell you all about what his desperate need for help is about. Turns out that Aaron is an ex-member of the Animals gang and that they would fix his fights via a chip in his head that would force him to take a dive if necessary.
The goal here is to visit the nearby ripperdoc to get the chip permanently removed from Aaron’s head so that he no longer has to be controlled and forced to throw his fights. This is particularly important to Aaron, as he has a huge fight coming up against the former heavyweight boxing champion, so no pressure.
Get into the ripperdoc’s building
The biggest challenge in this mission is getting past the scav security so you can get to the ripperdoc, whose office is on the top floor of the building marked on the map. Stealth is an option here, but it is going to be particularly tricky if you do opt for this as there are tons of scavs in the building. Killing them is much easier and there doesn’t seem to be any kind of repercussions for doing so (other than perhaps feeling a bit guilty).
How to get to the ripperdoc with stealth
If you are dead set on trying things the sneaky way, then you can enter the building by climbing up the scaffolding next to the main entrance. You will need to get past some laser mines in the process, so having the ability to deactivate them with cyberware is very helpful. Enter the building through the hole directly above the main entrance. You’ll know that you are in the right place when you find two more laser mines. Go through the hatch once you have dealt with the mines and you’ll be inside the building, but there are still some hoops to jump through if you want to get through undetected.
There are three guards in your immediate path as you enter. The two guarding the main entrance have their backs to you and won’t notice you as long as you remain crouched to sneak around. There is also one right in front of the security door who will see you if you come out of hiding. The best way to deal with him is to hack one of the nearby electronics to distract him and then take him out silently. You can also take out the entrance guards quietly and without much fuss, as Aaron will knock one out while you take down the other.
Now that you are clear of guards (for now at least), there are a couple of options available. If you have a high Intelligence skill level, you can immediately hack the panel next to the security door to turn off all the alarms. Alternatively, if your Strength skill is high, then you can climb up a ladder next to the security door and force open a door to let yourself into the central hub of the building.
There’s also another way to disable the security system. Go up that same ladder next to the security door and you should be able to see that there is a distribution box behind the shelf next to the double doors that can be forced open. As long as you have enough points allocated to the Technical skill, you will be able to access the box and turn off the alarms.
Another way to get access to the main area without causing trouble is to use your cyberware to hack into the cameras and choose the option that lets you take control of them. Switch through the different camera perspectives until you get to the one right next to the security door on the other side. You will then be able to get into the terminal and access the code for the door.
I’m going to be honest here and say that when I realized I didn’t have the Intelligence or the Strength points to get in sneakily (I didn’t even know about the distribution box with the Tech points until I played the mission again), I gave up, walked through the security doors, set off the alarms and started shooting. I’m very impressed with those of you patient to opt for the stealthy option.
Taking out the scavs or sneaking past them
When taking the all-guns-blazing route, you will have to fight a fair amount of scavs to get to the top floor of the building. Watch out for netrunners, as there are a few of them hanging around trying to hack into your cyberware. A handy tip here is to get to higher ground as soon as possible. Most of the enemies are on the upper floors, so they will have the advantage on you the longer you stay on the ground floor.
For the sneaky route, the best advice I can give is to stick to the shadows as much as possible, watch out for the cameras and turn them off where you can, and be very, very, very patient. Even then, the amount of enemies milling around is going to make it really tough to go for a full stealth route.
No matter which way you choose to go about it, your goal is to get to the very top of the building. There are a few different sets of stairs that you can use as well as a ladder, but it doesn’t matter which path you take as long as you get up there. Be wary of the walkway on the top floor though, as you will have to jump across some glass panes in order to get to the clinic. Try not to fall, as it’s not only a long way down, but also an annoyingly long way back up.
Eventually, you will get to a set of double doors and Aaron will convince the ripperdoc to open up and let you both in. After a brief chat between Aaron and Demir, the ripperdoc, you will be asked to wait while Aaron has the procedure to remove the chip.
Confronting Angie
When the procedure is done, a woman will make her presence known by bursting into Demir’s clinic. The woman in question is Angie, the leader of the Animals gang and the one who would control the chip in Aaron’s head. With Aaron still unconscious from the procedure, you are going to have to talk to her and make a choice as to what to do about Aaron’s situation.
How to deal with Angie in No Easy Way Out
Angie wants Aaron to take a dive, but as you will remember from earlier, Aaron is determined to fight for himself for the first time. You have the choice to either kill Angie, make a deal with her and leave Aaron with her, or threaten her and scare her away.
There are multiple different outcomes to Aaron’s story depending on the choice you make. If you kill Angie, Aaron will ultimately end up dead. Handing Aaron over to Angie is a betrayal of his trust, but he will survive and you’ll get a portion of the winnings from the fight from Angie. Threatening Angie will scare her off and you will then have a chance to tell Aaron to either throw the fight for his own safety or to stick to his guns and fight genuinely. Either way, his story will end up with him reclaiming his life and moving on from his time in the Animals gang.
Once you have made the decision on how to deal with Angie, all you need to do is leave the building and you will have almost completed the mission. Wait a few in-game days and you will get a text from either Aaron or Angie. You might need to make one more stop at a certain location depending on the choice that you made. When that is done, the mission will be complete.
How should you complete the No Easy Way Out quest in Phantom Liberty?
There aren’t tons of rewards to be had in this mission, except some extra eddies should you choose to hand Aaron over to Angie. You can also get an iconic weapon—the Cheetah Power Pistol—if you kill Angie and loot her body (though it does come at the cost of Aaron’s death).
No matter how you choose to end Aaron’s story in this mission, the only thing that is certain is that you really need to stop getting yourself into these “deciding the fate of random people’s lives” situations. It’s getting a little out of hand at this point.
