Cyberpunk 2077 is full of moral decisions that can be tough to pick between, and this is especially true in the Phantom Liberty DLC. One such decision is whether to kill or spare Leon Rinder, a man you encounter during the gig The Man Who Killed Jason Foreman.
If you’ve found yourself wondering whether or not to kill Rinder, you’ve come to the right place. This article breaks down the gig, the decision, some considerations, and the consequences of your choice.
The Man Who Killed Jason Foreman gig in Cyberpunk 2077
Accept side gigs from Mr. Hands and you’ll eventually get the one that leads you to Rinder.
The gig starts with a dark, noir-esque vibe. You meet in Dogtown with your contact, Briana, during a candlelight vigil held for the dead man by the community that cared about him. She takes you to a private location and explains that everyone in the community already knows who killed Jason Foreman: Leon Rinder.
Rinder is a former triggerman for a man named Hansen who Jason worked for prior to his death. She reveals that Rinder has killed many people and other triggermen throughout their community as her cool demeanor snaps and anger seeps into her voice.
Briana offers V a shard with info found on Jason’s body at the crime scene. Before you head out on the trip, Briana informs you that she wants his dog tag as proof. From here, you conduct detective work, scoping out the crime scene for clues and leads.
Just like a noir film, you’ll track Rinder down to an abandoned motel where you’ll have to take out a few enemies before finding him. You’ll be attacked in the final room by a large man in heavy cyberware armor called Yasha Ivanov. After taking Ivanov out, you meet Rinder, a small immobile man wrapped in heavy bandages.
Rinder explains that he was going to Dogtown to sell his cyberware. As he tells his story, it quickly becomes apparent that the situation is more complicated than you first realized.
Should you kill or spade Rinder in Cyberpunk 2077?
As you talk to Rinder, it becomes apparent that he’s not aware of the people that he killed. He explains that he went into a blackout, and that he’s had this problem for a while. Johnny Silverhand tells you this is probably the truth, and that the sheer extent of his cyberware likely gave Rinder cyberpsychosis—something that affected Johnny as well.
Throughout all of this, as sympathetic as it gets, Rinder remains angry, bitter and uncooperative. Put a gun to his head, and he’ll change his tune.
Panicking, Rinder lets you know that in his state, he might as well be dead. If you let him live, he’ll guide you to a stash of his weapons. Unlike Fiona’s offer, this one has consequences. If you accept, he’ll hand you his dog tags and send you the stash’s location. Briana never finds out you didn’t complete the mission and you get a Legendary Shotgun as a reward for your troubles.
If you kill Rinder, nothing particularly interesting happens, but you’ll have the moral satisfaction of knowing you avenged the death of Foreman and made Briana and Jason’s mother happy. You can shoot Rinder at pretty much any point in the conversation, taking him out before he has time to explain himself or weasel his way out. Johnny Silverhand strongly encourages you to kill him as he doesn’t buy his sympathy.
There’s a third option if you pick the right dialogue options. Sympathizing with Rinder and not letting him cut a deal with you lets you talk to him about the possibility he has Cyberpsychosis. Though he resists the implications of being told this, he eventually becomes receptive when he realizes that his life is on the line. You can even call your contact Regina who deals with these issues.
This encourages Rinder to finally get the mental health treatment he sorely needs—he gives you his dog tags and no one finds out that you spared him. This is a more moral option than cutting a deal and letting him run free, but it doesn’t give you the cool free stuff.
