Dogtown is a dump. It’s a walled-off nightmare where the law doesn't exist and everybody is looking for a way to claw their way out of the dirt. If you’ve spent any time in the Phantom Liberty expansion, you know the vibe. But there is one specific side job that perfectly encapsulates the "no win" reality of Night City. I’m talking about Cyberpunk 2077 No Easy Way Out. It’s not just a mission about shooting scavs or hacking terminals. It’s a morality test that usually leaves you feeling like crap regardless of what you choose.
Most people stumble into this quest thinking it’s a standard gig for Mr. Hands. You get a call about a boxer named Aaron McCarlson. He’s a heavyweight contender with a problem: a rigged chrome implant in his head controlled by the Voodoo Boys.
The Setup: Meeting Aaron
You find Aaron in a dingy gym. He’s massive, but he looks terrified. He wants out of the rigged fight business. Basically, the Voodoo Boys—specifically a guy named Angie—have a remote "kill switch" on his combat implants. If he doesn’t throw the fight when they tell him to, they fry his brain. Simple, brutal, and very Cyberpunk.
Aaron wants you to escort him to a ripperdoc named Damir in Terra Cognita to get the chip removed. This is where the mission starts to feel different from your average "go here, kill that" objective. You actually have to talk to him. You have to listen to his desperation.
Scavengers and Sledgehammers
Getting into the clinic isn't a walk in the park. Terra Cognita is crawling with Scavengers. You have to navigate through an old, abandoned mall area that feels like a tomb for 20th-century consumerism. Honestly, the level design here is top-tier. It’s vertical, it’s cluttered, and if you’re playing on Very Hard, those Scav snipers will end your run before you even see them.
Once you reach the clinic, the tension ramps up. Damir is a nervous wreck. He knows the risks. While Aaron is on the table, under the knife, the real threat shows up. Angie.
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The Confrontation with Angie
This is the moment where Cyberpunk 2077 No Easy Way Out stops being an action game and starts being a psychological one. Angie walks in with two bodyguards. She doesn't pull her gun immediately. She offers a deal.
She tells you the truth: Aaron isn't some innocent victim. He was a low-level thug who used the Voodoo Boys to get to the top, and now that he’s famous, he wants to cut ties. Angie wants him to throw the upcoming fight against a guy named Goro. If he does, everyone gets paid. If you let her take him, she promises he stays alive.
Here is the kicker. You have three real paths here, and none of them feel particularly "good."
- You take the bribe. You walk away. Angie wins. Aaron lives, but he’s a slave to the gangs forever. You get some eddies and a bad taste in your mouth.
- You threaten her. If you have high enough Body or Cool stats (or if you’ve done certain other quests like "The Damned"), you can try to intimidate her. Sometimes she backs down. Sometimes she doesn't.
- You kill everyone. You draw your Iron and paint the walls with Angie and her crew. This feels like the "heroic" choice, right? Wrong.
The Brutal Reality of the Aftermath
If you kill Angie, Aaron finishes the surgery. He’s free. He thanks you. He says he’s going to fight for real now. You leave feeling like a legend.
Then, a few days later, you get a text. Or you go visit him.
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If you told Aaron to win the fight and you killed Angie, the Voodoo Boys don't just forget. They find him. If you go to the area where Aaron lives later, you’ll find his body in a dumpster behind the gym. That’s the "No Easy Way Out" part. Your "heroic" intervention just got a man murdered in a much more painful way than a quick brain-fry.
If you told him to lose the fight, he lives, but he hates himself. He ends up coaching kids in a slum, a broken man who lost his dignity but kept his pulse.
Why This Mission Works
CD Projekt Red is at its best when they remind you that V is just one person in a city that eats people for breakfast. You can’t save everyone. Sometimes, the "best" outcome is the one that feels the most cowardly.
There’s a lot of debate on Reddit and the CDPR forums about which ending is "canon." Honestly, the one where Aaron loses the fight and survives feels the most grounded in the Cyberpunk universe. It’s a story about compromise.
Technical Tips for the Mission
If you are struggling with the combat portion in Terra Cognita, remember that the environment is your friend.
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- Hacking: Use the overhead cameras to mark the Scavs. There are several explosive canisters near the entrance that can take out the first wave.
- Stealth: It is entirely possible to sneak Aaron into the clinic without firing a shot, though it requires a high Technical Ability to open certain side doors.
- The Angie Boss Fight: If it comes to blows, Angie uses a Sandevistan. If you don't have one yourself, or at least some Kerenzikov, she will dance around you. Use EMP grenades to disable her chrome. It makes the fight trivial.
Impact on Your Game
Completing Cyberpunk 2077 No Easy Way Out doesn't just give you XP. Depending on how you handle Angie, you can actually get her iconic pistol, the "Prosthetic." It’s a decent Power Pistol, but by the time you’re deep into Phantom Liberty, you probably have better gear like the Her Majesty or the Bald Eagle. The real reward is the narrative weight.
You’ll also see the repercussions of your choice reflected in the news reports on the radio or the screams of the crowd at the local boxing rings. It’s a small detail, but it makes Dogtown feel alive.
What You Should Actually Do
If you want the "happiest" ending—and I use that word loosely—you should probably tell Aaron to throw the fight. It’s the only way he stays breathing and isn't a total vegetable. If you're playing a V who is a pure mercenary, take Angie's money. It’s the most efficient way to finish the job.
However, if you're a V who hates the Voodoo Boys (and after what they did to Evelyn Parker, who doesn't?), go ahead and zero Angie. Just don't be surprised when you find out that your help was a death sentence for Aaron.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Playthrough
- Check your stats before entering the clinic. You need specific attributes to talk Angie down without a fight. If your Body and Cool are low, prepare for a bloodbath.
- Wait for the follow-up. Don't just delete the quest from your mind once the "Quest Complete" banner pops up. Wait 48 in-game hours and check your messages or visit the gym near the stadium.
- Loot Angie's body. If you kill her, don't forget her unique drops. They aren't the best in the game, but they are unique to this specific encounter.
- Explore Terra Cognita. There is a legendary interior designer's shard nearby that gives some hilarious lore about how the wealthy planned to live in Dogtown before the Unification War ruined everything.
Night City doesn't have happy endings. It only has people who are still breathing and people who aren't. In the case of Aaron McCarlson, you’re just the one who decides which category he falls into. This quest is a masterclass in narrative consequences, proving that sometimes, the hardest thing to do in a video game is nothing at all.