Early in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, you and President Myers will hole up in a ruined skyscraper on the edges of Dogtown. Just before the game lets you out into the open world, you have one last chat with Myers. She offers you the opportunity to swear an oath to the NUSA. It’s part of officially becoming an agent of the FIA in search of Songbird. But should you take the NUSA Oath from President Myers in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty?
Should You Take the NUSA Oath from President Myers in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty?
Like many of the choices you make early in Phantom Liberty, taking or not taking the NUSA oath from President Myers is purely a flavor choice. Your decision will ultimately hinge on whether you think your version of V would find the oath necessary.
The Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty take the oath for NUSA dilemma occurs during a main mission called Lucretia My Reflection. This happens a short while after reaching your hideout and talking to the strangers. Once you’ve gotten some sleep, you’ll find President Myers by the balcony.
You’re then presented with two choices at the start:
- Take oath: “Okay, oath it is.”
- Take coin: “Yeah, no… let’s skip the oath.”
If you decide to take the NUSA oath, you’ll have to select the top responses, such as “pledging to protect your country,” and “faithfully serving the NUSA.” We would also note that the second dialogue option allows you to skip the oath even while you’re in the middle of the act.
The cannon choice seems to be avoiding the oath. It makes up five sets of dialog options. All five give you the choice to back out of continuing to give the oath well before it’s completed.
We think canon V also would turn down the opportunity. In my playthrough, after declining the oath, V says they can’t pledge their allegiance to something they don’t believe in. Lore-wise, this makes sense. V is a Night City native through and through, and Night City is independent of the NUSA. Myers, like almost everyone in Cyberpunk 2077, also doesn’t have anyone’s interest at heart but her own. That makes the oath less a pledge to the country than to her.
What Happens if You Take the NUSA Oath?
If you do go through with the oath:
- President Myers thanks you for your pledge. She then presents you with a coin signifying your newfound loyalty to the NUSA and directs you to find Solomon Reed. In the elevator down to Dogtown, Johnny Silverhand will disapprove of your choice. He explains that he was once fooled by a sense of loyalty to his country. After all the horrible things he was forced to do in its name, he realized he wasn’t sure what he’d pledged loyalty to in the first place. He ends the conversation by giving a mocking salute. He then puts his fingers to his head in the shape of a gun, saying you were due for a chewing out.
What Happens if You Don’t Take the NUSA Oath?
- President Myers “understands.“ As both of you need to contact Solomon Reed, she still gives you the coin marking you as an NUSA agent. Johnny approves of your choice, as well, giving the same explanation of his past. However, it’s in the context of your shared disillusionment with the government.
A Reference to the NUSA Oath at the End of the Campaign
If you took the NUSA oath in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, President Myers will mention it again much later. However, you need to choose a particular storyline branch and finale:
- In Firestarter, you must help Reed capture Songbird.
- Proceed to complete the finale missions: Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos and Somewhat Damaged.
- At the conclusion of Somewhat Damaged, choose to spare Songbird.
The above decisions lead to a closing arc called Leave in Silence. There, Songbird will be airlifted back to NUSA’s territory. President Myers herself will appear and give you a medal (purely commemorative). Likewise, she cites that you took an oath to serve your country, and that you did your job well.
We’ve tried the other arcs, such as not sparing Songbird in Somewhat Damaged and not helping Reed in Firestarter. We can confirm that those outcomes won’t cause Myers to reference the oath at all. She won’t even appear in some of those endings due to how you handled the mission.
In short: taking (or not taking) the oath to the NUSA is a roleplaying choice based on how you think V would react to the situation. It has no larger effect on gameplay. For more on the Phantom Liberty expansion, and Cyberpunk 2077 more generally, check out our guides on [guide], [guide], and our guides hub to the game.
Published: Sep 25, 2023 09:21 am