The Hunt is a Cyberpunk 2077 side job that sees V traveling and working alongside River Ward, (probably) Night City’s most smoldery cop, to track down and apprehend a kidnapper nicknamed Peter Pan. If you have any intentions of romancing River, then the way you complete this job is of utmost importance, as getting the wrong ending to The Hunt can lock you out of a fling with the edgy officer.
Read on for a step by step walkthrough of the side job The Hunt, and what you’ll need to do to make sure this mission has a “happy” ending.
Cyberpunk 2077: How to start The Hunt quest
Before you can start The Hunt, you need to complete I Fought the Law, which is the job that introduces V and River. I Fought the Law is automatically picked up as a side job once you’ve progressed far enough into Cyberpunk—it will start shortly after Ghost Town.
It doesn’t matter how you complete I Fought the Law, just that you’ve finished the side job. A little while after, River contacts V asking to meet up and discuss something important. This automatically triggers the start of The Hunt.
Cyberpunk 2077: The Hunt job walkthrough
Your marker leads you to a bench outside a police lab where you must wait for River. Do so, and after a time skip, you will see River’s car parked nearby.
Get into River’s car, and he explains why he called you: recently, a kidnapper was shot and arrested by NCPD after being stopped with a victim in the backseat of his car. In the video that River shows you, the victim is wearing his nephews shoes, who until now was thought to be a runaway.
River wants V’s help investigating this kidnapper (nicknamed Peter Pan by authorities) and locating/rescuing his nephew, Randy.
Cyberpunk 2077: The Hunt job walkthrough – Searching the Police Lab
Peter Pan is in a coma, and River has an idea. He tells V about a new tech is in development that is capable of turning dreams into BDs. It is designed to help autistic children, but theoretically could be used to “interrogate” a sleeping criminal.
The thing is, River doesn’t have access to the technology. To infiltrate Peter Pan’s dreams, V and River must first break into the Police Lab and secure the tech.
Breaking into the lab
You have two options here:
- If your Technical Ability is high enough, you can open a side door on the left
- There is also a window on a fire escape behind the building that does not require any Attributes to access
Get into the lab by either method, and now you have to find some info about where the tech is stored. Conveniently, there is an audit taking place that day, so the lab is totally empty. You do not need to sneak around.
How to find the right cabinet
Inside the lab, you can scan tons of different computers and file cabinets, but only one actually helps progress the job. Inside the lab, the hallway makes a square shape around a glass-walled center room. The cabinet you need is in this center room, which has two doors but only one can be opened.
The doors are on opposite sides of the room. If you’ve reached the locked one, simply follow the hallway to the other side. Once you find the right door and enter the square center room, turn right. There is a room that looks like a pediatrician office with crayon drawings all over the walls. The cabinet you need is in this room next to some arcade machines. Scan the cabinet.
Talk to Yawen Packard
After you scan the filing cabinet, you learn why River enlisted your help instead of handling things internally—he is currently suspended from the force. A doctor named Yawen Packard confronts River about the trespass, but all you have to do here is sit and listen.
Dr. Packard apparently owes River a favor, and he’s cashing in on that now. Reluctantly, she agrees to help the two of you use the technology to infiltrate Peter Pan’s dreams. There is only one problem—he isn’t dreaming.
When Peter Pan/Harris was arrested, a bullet damaged his brain and, as a result, he isn’t dreaming in his sleep. The plan becomes to find a video or soundbite to stimulate his brain and instigate dreaming.
Cyberpunk 2077: The Hunt walkthrough—Searching Randy’s trailer
Since River has no idea where to find Harris’ home, he decides to search his nephews trailer for clues and leads. Finding the right clues in the trailer is the most important part of The Hunt, and is what ultimately determines if you can save Randy or not.
Here is how this next section works:
If you find enough clues, you can pinpoint Randy’s location and save him |
If you don’t find enough clues, you have to guess Randy’s location from a list of options. If you’re wrong, you won’t make it in time to save him |
How to find clues in Randy’s trailer
The main thing you are looking for is a high tech computer under Randy’s bed and some emails on his computer.
If you have a high enough Intelligence, you can hack the computer. Otherwise, you need to figure out the password. Do this by turning on the record player near the door to Randy’s trailer, which will then prompt V to guess the name of the song playing, which is Liberum Arbitrium.
On the computer, a list of emails between Randy and Harris reveal how Harris has been luring in his victims. It also informs you of what to do next. If you’d rather not take the time to read them all, simply:
- Go to Net on the computer, and click on the image of two red people from the Drugs Are Bad webpage
- From the secret web page, go to Join Us, then Files
- Return to Files on Randy’s computer and watch the video that Randy downloaded before it was deleted from the site—ATT_CART_VIDEO
- This cartoon is what will cause Harris to begin dreaming
At this point, you’ll have what you need to cause Harris to dream, but River asks if you’re tech savvy enough to track Harris’ IP address while you’re at the computer.
How to get Harris’ IP address in The Hunt
This is quite simple—stand up from the computer, and you’ll have dialogue response options to River’s request of tracking the IP address. If your Intelligence is high enough, you can select the option “Definitely.” This brings up a Breach Protocol screen. All you must do is succeed in the hacking matrix, and you will acquire Harris’ IP address.
What does getting Harris’ IP address do?
The purpose behind getting Harri’s IP address isn’t completely clear, especially if you actually do it. As I mentioned, you must gather enough clues to pinpoint Harris’ location with certainty. Getting the IP address enables you to automatically succeed at tracking the kidnapper later on, so nothing is left to chance.
If your Intelligence isn’t high enough, don’t worry. You can still accurately pinpoint Randy’s location, you just have to be more meticulous about finding all of the clues, which are laid out in the next section.
Cyberpunk 2077: The Hunt walkthrough—How to find clues in Harris’ dream Braindance
Now that you’ve got the cartoon, River tells you that you’re welcome to spend the night in Randy’s trailer for convenience. Do so, and River will wake you up in the middle of the night saying that the plan worked—Harris is dreaming.
There are three dreams you’ll watch as Braindances, and each one has it’s own clues that help you pinpoint Harris’ location. If you got the IP address earlier, you don’t really have to worry about finding them all, but you do have to sit through the Braindances either way.
How to find the clues in the first dream Braindance
The first dream is from Harris’ childhood and takes place in a school cafeteria. In this dream, you’re looking for:
- Bulletin boards by the entrance to the hallway at 1:19 (visual layer)
- A trophy on display in the hallway at 1:22 (visual layer)
After scanning these two items, exit the Braindance to automatically continue to Harris’ second dream.
How to find the clues in the second Braindance
This dream also takes place during Harris’ childhood, only this time he is on a family farm with his father. Here are the clues you must find in this dream:
- A sick cow at 0:01 (visual layer)
- Harris’ father at 0:08 (visual layer)
- An injection system at 1:01 (visual layer)
- The cartoon from the website at 2:03 (visual layer)
Again, all clues are in the visual layer, so you don’t have to do any extra searching. Finally, you’re ready to move on to the third and final Braindance.
How to find the clues in the third Braindance
This dream takes place in the present day, and shows how Harris’ is keeping his kidnapped victims. Here are the clues you need from this dream:
- The sound of AVs overheard at 0:39 (audio layer)
- The exterior horizon of the farmland at 1:12 (visual layer)
Exit the braindance, and you now have enough clues to determine Randy’s location.
Cyberpunk 2077: How to find Randy’s location in The Hunt
If you scanned all of your clues from the three dreams, you shouldn’t have any options—River simply tells you where the farm is.
Alternatively, getting Harris’ IP address eliminates any uncertainty.
If, for any reason, you weren’t able to do either of these two things, you can find a key next to the door of Randy’s trailer, which unlocks the nightstand near his bed. Scanning the board game within will reveal the correct farm.
Finally, if, for some reason, you still have to guess from a list, the correct answer is Edgewood.
Scan all clues from the three Braindances |
(or) Get Harris’ IP address |
(or) Select Edgewood from the list of options |
Cyberpunk 2077: The Hunt walkthrough—Rescue Randy from Edgewood farm
Now that you’re Edgewood bound, you’re nearly there. Ride with River to the farm, and once there, you can enter the barn and rescue Randy. The farm is full of turrets, cameras, and landmines, however—so its best to enter the house first to disable them all.
How to find the farm security code and disable the turrets
You can enter the house in three ways:
- The front door (requires Technical Ability)
- The back door (requires Body)
- A window on the roof (no Attribute required)
Once you’re inside the house, some scans of the computer and the wall above the bed on the second floor reveal a fake wall. Look underneath the computer desk, and you’ll find a button to open the fake wall. The farm security control system can be disabled by using the terminal inside the hidden room.
How to rescue Randy
Now that the security is disabled, you can freely enter the barn and rescue Randy. There are some other victims inside as well, and you have the option to rescue them, too.
So long as Edgewood farm is the first location you searched (either because you scanned clues, got the IP address, or “guessed” correctly), Randy will still be alive when you enter the barn. If you went to a different farm first, it will be too late.