Not far into Cyberpunk 2077L Phantom Liberty, players will encounter one of the expansion’s more unique side-quests. While Cyberpunk 2077 is already stuffed with fascinating missions that involve more than running and gunning through the streets of Night City, the quest titled “Dazed and Confused” is certainly up there in terms of breaking the regular gameplay loop, and it’s one of the more interesting to complete. Seemingly named after the iconic Richard Linklater movie of the same name, the same one which gave us a very young Matthew McConaughey dropping the line, “Be a lot cooler if you did,” this particular chapter in the DLC tasks V with helping one of Mr. Hands’ clients make a movie. Not just any movie though. A Brain Dance film with a superstar.
If that all sounds incredibly risky, that’s because it is. Regardless, it’s a fun distraction from attempting to uncover who tried to assassinate the President of the United States with Idris Elba. If you’re wondering how to complete “Dazed and Confused,” then scroll on, because I’ve got a walkthrough on how to get started, what choices to make, and the reward you’ll get for successfully making your movie.
How to Begin “Dazed and Confused” in Cyberpunk 2077
You won’t be able to leap into the “Dazed and Confused” quest in Cyberpunk 2077 straight off the bat. You’ll first need to complete the opening mission of Phantom Liberty, the one titled “The Damned.” Once that’s complete, the enigmatic Mr. Hands will hit up your phone and tell you he’s got a client who needs an actress named Lina Malina (sadly not played by Liza Minnelli) rescued since she was kidnapped. After you accept the quest, a map marker will take you to a new location called The Brainporium. The actual building itself is incredibly difficult to miss since it’s a massive concrete head with a visor covering its stony eyes. It kinda looks like the leader of The Mutants in The Dark Knight Returns, if that means anything to you.
Related: How to Complete the Epistrophy Quest in Cyberpunk 2077
Climb up to the entrance only take the stairs down to one of the lower floors. You’ll meet two guys, one of whom will explain that your client, named Tool, is slightly confused. After a recent Brain Dance, he believes that he’s the real Lina Malina. Ever the opportune businessman, Shank now offers you a new opportunity: Bring him the real Lina so she can make a movie with her imposter and mega fan. He’ll charge Tool for the experience and you’ll get half of the cut. He gives you the details regarding your target’s personal address and tasks you with recruiting her for the film. Sounds easy enough, right?
Before you leave The Brainporium, you’ll want to do a little more digging around the area since a note that may prove essential can be found to the right of Tool. It’s a letter he wrote to Lina that you’ll want to remember because it’ll be very useful later on.
Before you progress any further, Johnny Silverhand will appear, as he usually does, and shares his views on the situation. He makes it clear that while he’s no expert on Brain Dancing, he’s sure that someone stuck within a hallucinogenic state will suffer severe side effects. I’ve seen some folks say that you can also immediately phone Victor and Judy and ask about Tool’s complications. This isn’t necessary to complete the quest, though. I only found out I could have done this after the fact.
Follow the latest quest marker through Night City until you eventually arrive at what looks like a fairly rugged, industrial apartment block. You can’t just take the stairs up though. Two thugs will be waiting for you and they’re instantly hostile. How you deal with them is up to you; either kill them for loitering in your way or convince them that leaving is the healthier option for everyone. If you do end up killing them, make sure you take a moment to hide their bodies. If you don’t, you’ll learn that Lina actually hired them as protection and she won’t be very happy to find her security guards dead.
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Lina will be waiting to greet you so approach her and discuss the Brain Dance. It quickly becomes clear that she’s not all that eager unless you can cough up some cash. How much? Just a measly 10,000. Depending on how long you’ve been playing Cyberpunk 2077, you might have that in pocket change, in which case just hand it over.
If you’re strapped for currency then I’m afraid you’ll have to come back a bit later once you’ve earned enough; There’s no other way to convince her to work with Shank and Tool. Money really does make the movie industry go round. Once she’s accepted your very generous offer, give her some time to get her stuff together. The next day, Lina will show up to work at The Brainporium but things aren’t going as smoothly as you’d like.
How to Solve the Fight Between Lina and Tool in Cyberpunk 2077
The “Dazed and Confused” side quest in Cyberpunk 2077 features a pretty interesting choice. Shank, the guy who first explained the details about Tool and his love of Lina, will give you a call and ask if V can make it to the Brainporium to help resolve what sounds like a major conflict that’s getting in the way of the Brain Dance. Confused about the fact that there are seemingly two Linas, you’ll be tasked with directing the scene in and effort to get the best out of both performers.
Here’s the catch: At this point, you can choose to be a good person and help Tool remember who he is, or you can simply let it play out normally and make some cash off of the confused man. The decision is yours! If you want to help the puzzled man, task Lina with reading the note that you found next to Tool when you first started the quest. Doing this will snap him out of his delirium and you’ll be rewarded with some cash and a thank-you message from Tool. The reward is nowhere close to your initial 10,000 eddie investment but Johnny Silverhand will respect you for it.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you enjoy the chaos of the scene unfolding before you just have Lina read any line that’s not included in Tool’s letter to her. You’ll be rewarded with some eddies and a gift from Lina: The Baby Boomer. This snazzy melee increases its chance to crit with every consecutive hit in a combo. It’s a Tier 5 Iconic Weapon and it’s truly quite good if your build is focused on running around like a maniac bludgeoning everything to death. As far as I know, there isn’t another opportunity to unlock this weapon in Cyberpunk 2077, so I guess if you really want to unlock every iconic weapon you’ll need to be a bit of a villain to get it done.
Once you’ve completed the “Dazed and Confused” side quest in Cyberpunk 2077, you may find yourself wondering if Phantom Liberty has a secret ending — and it does. Here’s a guide to getting Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty’s secret endings.
