One of Cyberpunk 2077‘s first main questline missions is to acquire a Flathead robot from the Maelstrom Gang, a ruthless cyberware obsessed group who have become quite monstrous in their appearance. Their bodies have been modified to look more machine than human and their Netrunners have a tendency to set you on fire. They’re also one of the first obstacles to getting in your way of becoming a merc legend.

Your Fixer, Dexter, sends you to retrieve the acquired Flathead from this gang after the takeover by Royce from their previous leader, Brick. Royce wants another payout, and there’s really only two ways to go about this – pay Royce his due either in silver or in lead. However, I’m a fan of the third way, and that is convincing Militech Corpo Agent Meredith Stout to get you the Flathead.

There are many ways to skin a cat, and in this article, we’re showing how your Lifepath can affect your game as showcased on the second episode of Night City Wire. This way you could infiltrate the Maelstrom base and acquire the Flathead, with little to no penalty on your part. To activate the optional event, once you’ve completed your mission brief with Dex, give Meredith a quick call. She’ll agree to meet up.

This article contains spoilers for one of the first main missions of Cyberpunk 2077 and will show you the different ways you can go about it depending on your lifepath.

Send A Corpo Rat To Deal With One

Having a former Corpo meet up with another Corpo seems to work on paper. They’re both cocky, ruthless, and will play dirty to get what they want. Having a Corpo there also brings up insider info, meaning you and Meredith speak the same rat language. One of the conditions Meredith brings up (note: at gunpoint), is she will help you acquire the Flathead, with Militech money.

Other Lifepaths won’t be able to know off the bat that the credit chip being given to Royce is tagged with a virus that shuts down the Maelstrom base. You can hack the chip to get it clean, cut a deal with Maelstrom and you’ll get a third party crashing in- Anthony Gilchrist who took advantage of you seeing through Meredith’s double cross. You may or may not get more work with that guy, but hey you got what you needed.

The Nomad Convoy

What could an outsider offer a corporate exec? It’s almost as if you’ve signed your death sentence already coming in as a Nomad. Nomads have access to information on clan dealings with Night City Corpos and they’re pretty well connected. A little bit of clan knowledge will stay Meredith off her trigger finger.

You could also offer to be a convoy in exchange for more work, but Meredith and the company that she represents – Militech – isn’t that interested. If you survive the mission, she will still call for your services though, you know, the meat shield kind of jobs.

Street Kid and Street Smarts

For all your street smarts as a Street Kid, you’re pretty stuck like a Nomad on cutting something extra. You can either go in with nothing on the table, with just your moxie to cut the deal. Best thing you could do as a Street Kid is know what kind of drugs the Maelstrom brass is smoking. And from the look of it, black lace isn’t exactly something you should be putting into your system.

Your Play

Play it however you want to, but how it differs will be on how you use your Militech chip. If you walk into a firefight and eventually defeat Royce in a power suit, you will have Meredith as a contact in the future besides the sweet swag you’ve bagged. Also it’s an easy way to free Brick as the virus on the chip disables the security in the All Foods bunker, owing him a favor.

You could also fuck over Meredith and you get a more neutral ending and you end up fighting two power suits in the process. You really get no extra swag and no new street cred with the deal, but everything’s dandy. Everything remains status quo.

You could also pay off Royce with your own cash. Either way, you end up with the neutral outcome, which is Gilchrist taking over after you take out Meredith’s muscle. It’s much worse because you’ve promoted this slimy bastard with your own dime and had to go through fighting Meredith’s Militech grunts anyway.

There’s another currency you can use – cold, hard lead. You get Royce’s iconic gear, but getting Brick out takes more effort, and you don’t get Meredith as a contact. At least you don’t have to fight any power suits.

My take, take the deal with Meredith and take out Royce in a blaze of glory. It opens new pathways for the future plus you get more street cred taking Royce out. It also looks cool with your live stream. If you want to go your own way though, I’m not gonna stop you.

Lifepaths are great way to see the branching storylines in Cyberpunk 2077. Maybe your Lifepath could make your life easy, maybe that Lifepath can make it hard. There are always benefits and drawbacks to your life choices, but in the end, it’s how you make your play.