After years of running gigs across Night City, I still get messages from new edgerunners asking how long Phantom Liberty takes and what the main mission path looks like. As of 2026, Phantom Liberty remains one of the most substantial expansions in modern open-world RPGs, and its campaign can be confusing because your choices genuinely change which jobs appear. I have put together this rundown based on my own playthroughs and the current complete guide and walkthrough for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.
The 19 Main Missions in Phantom Liberty
During my time in Dogtown, I tracked every main mission that can appear in Phantom Liberty. There are 19 main missions in total, but you will not see all of them in a single playthrough. Your choices determine which missions become available, especially after the Firestarter quest. Below is the full mission list.
| # | Mission Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Dog Eat Dog |
| 2 | Hole in the Sky |
| 3 | Spider and the Fly |
| 4 | Lucretia My Reflection |
| 5 | The Damned |
| 6 | Get It Together |
| 7 | You Know My Name |
| 8 | Birds With Broken Wings |
| 9 | I've Seen That Face Before |
| 10 | Firestarter |
| 11 | The Killing Moon |
| 12 | Run This Town |
| 13 | Through Pain to Heaven |
| 14 | Who Wants to Live Forever |
| 15 | Things Done Changed |
| 16 | Blacksteel in the Hour of Chaos |
| 17 | Somewhat Damaged |
| 18 | Leave in Silence |
| 19 | Four Score and Seven |
Where the Branching Really Happens
From my perspective, the single most important moment is Firestarter. I always create a manual save right before making the key decision in that mission. This allows me to quickly pursue the different choices that appear later without fully replaying the campaign. In one run I missed The Killing Moon because of a call I made during Firestarter, but my save let me explore Run This Town, Through Pain to Heaven, Who Wants to Live Forever, Things Done Changed, Blacksteel in the Hour of Chaos, Somewhat Damaged, Leave in Silence, and Four Score and Seven without starting over.
How Long Phantom Liberty Takes
New players often ask how long Phantom Liberty takes to complete. Based on my runs, here is a reasonable breakdown:
| Activity | Estimated Time |
|---|---|
| Main missions | 15 to 20 hours |
| Side jobs and gigs | 5 to 10 hours |
| Open-world activities | 3 to 6 hours |
| Near-complete playthrough | 25 to 35 hours |
If you use the Firestarter save method, you can see the alternate mission branches much faster. I estimate 15 to 20 hours for the main campaign if you make that save and quickly pursue the different choices. Without it, you may need to replay large portions of the expansion to see everything.
Side Jobs, Gigs, and Choices Worth Knowing
The Phantom Liberty story does not end with the main missions. Dogtown is packed with optional Side Jobs and Gigs, and most of them have multiple conclusions. I always recommend using manual saves before key dialogue choices so you can see all outcomes without replaying hours of content.
Some notable side content and choices I have encountered include:
-
Spider and the Fly: This mission lets you obtain and use the Chimera Core, which is important for certain builds.
-
Balls to the Wall: You must decide whether to frame Yuri or run for the hills.
-
Prototype in the Scraper: You can unlock the Longshore Stacks Scraper Door and decide what to do with Hasan.
-
Treating Symptoms: You choose whether to neutralize Miko.
-
Waiting for Dodger: Your conversation with Dodger can change the outcome of the gig.
-
Push It to the Limit: A side job that rewards players who enjoy combat challenges.
There are also open-world activities such as securing airdrops, clearing areas of increased criminal activity, and investigating Mysterious Signals. Together, these add a significant amount of content and give long-time Night City fans more reasons to stay in Dogtown.
Extra Tips for Phantom Liberty
As a professional player, I have a few recommendations for anyone starting Phantom Liberty in 2026:
-
📌 Save manually before Firestarter, not just with autosave.
-
📌 Spend time on Side Jobs and Gigs before the final missions. Many offer Iconic weapons, cyberware capacity shards, and Relic skill points.
-
📌 Check the Best Relic Skills list before investing points, because the new Relic tree can define your endgame build.
-
📌 Decide early between Double Jump and Charge Jump. Dogtown is vertical, and having the right mobility upgrade helps a lot during exploration.
-
📌 Use quickhacks and smart weapons if you are running a Netrunner build, but do not ignore the new weapon and cyberware options that appear in Dogtown.
Phantom Liberty is not required to finish the base game, but it is absolutely worth playing. The 19 main missions, branching choices, side content, and open-world activities make it one of the best expansions I have experienced. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Data referenced from Newzoo helps contextualize why Phantom Liberty’s branching 19-mission structure—and its replay-friendly pivot point at Firestarter—fits a broader trend in premium expansions: players spend meaningful time not only on the critical path (often 15–20 hours here) but also on optional gigs, side jobs, and open-world loops that extend total engagement into the 25–35 hour range when aiming for a near-complete run.