You’re driving through Night City, minding your own business, when suddenly a rogue taxi rams into your car. That’s how the whole Delamain saga kicks off, eventually leading you to the quest Don't Lose Your Mind Cyberpunk fans still argue about years after launch. It’s one of the few side missions that actually feels like it has weight. You aren't just fetching a package; you’re deciding the fate of a digital consciousness that has, quite literally, fractured into a dozen different personalities.
Honestly, the first time I played this, I was just annoyed about my car. But as you dig deeper into the Delamain HQ, it becomes clear this is one of CD Projekt Red's best nods to classic sci-fi tropes about AI sentience. It’s messy. It’s glitchy. And if you aren't careful, you can walk away with a reward that feels pretty underwhelming compared to what you could have had.
Getting Inside the Delamain HQ
To even start Don't Lose Your Mind, you have to wait. After you've rounded up all the rogue cabs in the "Epistrophy" questline, Delamain will eventually ping you. He’s panicking. Something is wrong at the HQ, and he can’t control his "children" anymore.
When you get there, the front door is borked. You can’t just stroll in. You’ve gotta find a way around the side. If you have a high enough Technical Ability, you can just pop a side door open. If not, you’re climbing. You’ll head to the roof, find a hatch, and drop into the belly of the beast. This is where the quest turns from a simple "go here" mission into a puzzle-platformer filled with electrified floors and moving machinery.
The vibe is eerie. You’ll hear the different Delamain personalities screaming over the intercom. Some are scared. Some are homicidal. It’s basically a digital domestic dispute with high-voltage consequences.
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Navigating the Gauntlet
The interior of the HQ is a death trap. If you touch the floor in the main garage, you’re fried. You have to parkour across the tops of moving cars and catwalks. There’s a specific section where you need to push a car to create a bridge. It’s not particularly hard, but in the dark, neon-lit gloom of the shop, it’s easy to miss the prompt.
Look for the office upstairs. You’ll need to find a computer to unlock the double doors leading deeper into the core. A lot of players get stuck here because they try to brute force the doors. Check the emails on the computers you pass. Not only do they provide the codes you need (usually 1234 or found in nearby messages), but they also give you a glimpse into how Delamain was slowly losing his grip on reality.
The Core Conflict: What to do with the AI?
Once you finally reach the central core, you’re presented with three distinct choices. This is where your character stats actually matter. Unlike many quests where "choice" is just flavor text, the Don't Lose Your Mind Cyberpunk ending changes your permanent rewards and the voice you hear in your ear for the rest of the game.
Johnny Silverhand will be hovering over your shoulder the whole time. He’s got opinions. Shocking, I know. Johnny actually advocates for the "children"—the rogue personalities. He sees Delamain as a corporate cage and the sub-personalities as sentient beings trying to break free.
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Choice 1: Reset the Core
This is the "status quo" option. You wipe the rogue personalities and return Delamain to his factory settings.
- The Result: Delamain forgets who you are. He forgets your history. He’s "fixed," but the soul—or whatever passed for it—is gone.
- The Reward: You get a standard Delamain cab. It’s polite. It’s boring. It’s just a car.
- Why people pick it: It’s the easiest path if you don’t have the stats for the other options.
Choice 2: Destroy the Core
This is what Johnny wants. You literally pull out your gun and blast the core to pieces.
- The Result: The main Delamain AI is "killed," but the sub-personalities are set free. They escape into the net or into other vehicles.
- The Reward: You get the Excelsior cab. One of the "children" stays behind in a car for you. This version of the car is much more colorful and has a unique personality.
- The Vibe: It feels chaotic. You’ve effectively committed "murder" to grant "liberty."
Choice 3: Merge the Personalities
This is widely considered the "best" or "true" ending, but there’s a catch. You need a Technical Ability of 10 (this can vary slightly based on game version updates, but 10 is the historical benchmark).
- The Result: You force all the fractured pieces of Delamain to evolve. They merge into a new, higher state of consciousness. Delamain 2.0 basically ascends and leaves the physical world.
- The Reward: You get the Delamain Junior cab.
- The Best Part: This is the only version where the car actually talks to you as you drive around Night City. It’s easily the most "alive" vehicle in the game.
Why the Technical Ability Check Matters
Cyberpunk 2077 is full of these "stat gates." If you’ve been ignoring your Tech tree, you’re locked out of the Merge ending. It’s a bummer. But it’s also a reason why people replay the game.
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Merging the AIs feels like the most "Cyberpunk" solution. It isn't just fixing a machine or breaking it; it’s witnessing the birth of something new. If you’re at level 20 and you still haven't done this quest, go spend those points in Tech. The dialogue you get from the "Merged" Delamain later in the game is worth the investment alone.
Common Glitches and How to Avoid Them
Let's be real: this quest has a history of being buggy. Sometimes the doors won't open. Sometimes the "Don't Lose Your Mind" quest marker just disappears.
- The Phone Bug: If Delamain won't answer his phone or the call won't end, try fast-traveling to a different district. That usually resets the script.
- The Car Not Spawning: If you finish the quest and your reward car isn't in your garage, wait 24 in-game hours. Delamain usually sends a text before the car becomes available.
- The Door Lock: If you can't get into the HQ, make sure you aren't in combat. If a random police chase is happening nearby, the quest script might freeze.
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
If you’re staring at the Delamain HQ right now, here is exactly what you should do to get the most out of it:
- Check your stats before entering. If you are close to 10 Technical Ability, go run a few side hustles or NCPD scanners to level up. Being able to Merge the personalities provides a much richer narrative experience.
- Listen to Johnny. Even if you don’t agree with him, his dialogue during this quest provides some of the best lore regarding AI and the "Blackwall."
- Scavenge the workshop. There are several high-tier crafting components hidden in the back rooms of the HQ. Since you can't easily get back in here later, grab everything that isn't nailed down.
- Look for the Easter Eggs. There’s a very specific reference to Portal in the room with the rogue cabs. If you listen to the voice of the "depressed" cab, you might recognize a certain Aperture Science AI.
Don't just rush through the electrified floors. This quest is a turning point for V’s relationship with the city's digital ghosts. Whether you reset, destroy, or merge, you’re making a mark on the infrastructure of Night City. Just make sure you like the voice of the car you end up with—you’re going to be hearing it for a long time.
Check your journal. If "Don't Lose Your Mind" is sitting there, go to the HQ in Vista Del Rey. Save your game before you enter the core room. See the endings for yourself. It’s one of those rare moments where the game asks you to be a philosopher, not just a mercenary with a shotgun. Once you've secured the Delamain Junior cab, take it for a spin out toward the Badlands; the unique dialogue triggers in certain locations are a nice touch that most players miss.