Key takeaways
- Hierarchy Desert Film Set is in the Badlands, within the Rocky Ridge subdistrict, at the local site known as Jeff’s Dirt Track. It is not a separate Badlands region.
- Access Drive east-north-east from Rocky Ridge town, or use the Desert Film Set fast-travel Dataterm once discovered.
- Main activity Entering the area starts Dressed to Kill, whose objectives are to search the scene and get into the abandoned car.
- Reward The mission grants the Thorton Colby CX410 “Gran Butte”, a free vehicle that is otherwise associated with a paid vehicle model rather than a conventional shop purchase.
- No permanent settlement The site has no verified shop, apartment, fixer office, resident population or conventional service facility.
- Version note In Patch 2.0, the job no longer necessarily appears as a normal map icon beforehand. It starts when V approaches the vehicle area.
About this guide
Scope: Cyberpunk 2077 base game, including locations and systems present in the post-launch 2.0-era version where they affect the site. Spoiler warning: This guide discusses the hidden Minor Job Dressed to Kill, its outcome and the vehicle reward.
Overview
The Desert Film Set is a small abandoned production site in the eastern Badlands of Cyberpunk 2077. It is best understood as a named fast-travel location and a compact environmental set piece rather than a broad Badlands district. The site lies within the Rocky Ridge subdistrict, at a place identified in quest documentation as Jeff’s Dirt Track, east-north-east of Rocky Ridge town.
Its main purpose is to host the hidden Minor Job Dressed to Kill, added in Patch 1.3. V discovers the aftermath of a failed fashion photoshoot involving Wraiths, models and a luxury clothing executive. The location’s most valuable reward is the free Thorton Colby CX410 “Gran Butte”, which can be claimed after searching the scene.
The film set is easy to overlook because it has no large settlement, vendor district or major story hub. Its importance comes from three things:
Location and boundaries
Regional hierarchy
The Badlands are the desert region surrounding Night City. Reference material divides the wider Badlands into several different zones, including Rocky Ridge, the Southern Desert and other eastern and southern areas. Rocky Ridge is described as an abandoned town in the eastern part of the Badlands.
The Desert Film Set should therefore not be described as synonymous with the entire eastern Badlands, Rocky Ridge or the Badlands as a whole. It is one named site within the Rocky Ridge area. Fast-travel listings place it among the eastern Badlands points, alongside Rocky Ridge, Sunset Motel, Sunshine Motel, Big Rock, I-9 East, Far Ridge, Old Turbines, Wraith Camp, Edgewood Farm and Medeski Fuel Station.
Local extent
The location consists of a small group of production-related structures and props on open desert ground. The named fast-travel marker represents the film-set complex and its immediate surroundings, not a large administrative area. Sources consistently place it north-east or east-north-east of Rocky Ridge town, close to the route running out into the eastern Badlands.
The site is visually recognisable from its artificial scenery, temporary-looking structures and the shallow water area containing mannequins. Community documentation commonly identifies the mannequins and the strange illuminated pool as part of the set dressing rather than living victims or a separate combat encounter. This detail is supported mainly by player reports rather than official documentation, so it should be treated as environmental interpretation rather than a fully documented quest mechanic.
Included and excluded places
These are neighbouring or wider Badlands locations, not subareas of Desert Film Set. The eastern and southern fast-travel lists distinguish them as separate locations.
Regional hierarchy: The correct hierarchy is
- 01Night City’s wider playable setting
- 02The Badlands
- 03Rocky Ridge
- 04Jeff’s Dirt Track
- 05Desert Film Set
Geography and visual identity
The film set sits in the open desert rather than inside a developed settlement. Its isolation is important to the location’s story: a commercial photoshoot has been staged in territory where the Wraiths can approach without immediate city intervention.
The environment combines natural Badlands terrain with artificial production scenery. The set uses the desert as a backdrop for a deliberately rustic fashion campaign, creating a contrast between expensive clothing, a polished vehicle and the harsh, lawless surroundings. The location consequently looks less like a functioning studio and more like a temporary outdoor shoot abandoned in a hurry.
Named local entries
The last entry should not be treated as a canonical map label. It is included because the feature is a recurring point of interest in player exploration reports, but no reliable source found for this guide establishes a formal in-game name.
Named local entries
Access and routes
From Rocky Ridge
The simplest land route is to leave Rocky Ridge and follow the eastern or north-eastern road into the desert. The set is described as lying east-north-east of the abandoned town. If the fast-travel point has not yet been discovered, watch for the map marker and the cluster of temporary-looking structures away from the main settlement.
Fast travel
Once unlocked, it can be selected from the world map like other Badlands fast-travel points. It is listed among the eastern Badlands Dataterms.
Recommended exploration route
This route keeps the film set within its actual regional context without treating every eastern Badlands landmark as part of the location.
Fast travel: Approach the local Dataterm to unlock
Recommended exploration route: For a short eastern Badlands circuit
- 01Start at Rocky Ridge.
- 02Drive east-north-east to Desert Film Set.
- 03Complete or inspect Dressed to Kill.
- 04Continue south or south-east towards the other eastern Badlands roads.
- 05Use the regional fast-travel network to visit Sunset Motel, Sunshine Motel, Big Rock or I-9 East.
- 06Return to the film set if the vehicle or job did not initialise correctly.
Dressed to Kill
Overview
Dressed to Kill is a hidden Minor Job that begins automatically when V approaches the Desert Film Set or the vehicle area. It was introduced in Patch 1.3. In the 2.0-era version, the job may not appear on the map in advance and instead starts when V gets close to the scene.
Despite the small objective list, the scene tells a complete story through corpses, clothing, the vehicle and a shard.
What happened at the set?
A luxury clothing executive arranged a photoshoot in the Badlands to advertise the versatility and comfort of an expensive clothing line. The campaign attempted to combine high fashion with a rugged, rural setting. The Thorton Colby “Gran Butte” was positioned as the visual centrepiece, standing in for a luxury executive vehicle or sports car.
The shoot attracted the Wraiths. A gunfight followed between the gang and the armed members of the production team. A Trauma Team AV leaves the area as V arrives, while the surviving crew abandons the set and the vehicle. The shard found among the victims explains the incident and provides the darkly comic context for the mission.
Requirements and progression
The reliable sources agree that the job begins through proximity rather than a conversation with a named quest giver. Older vehicle guides commonly reported that the car required completion of Ghost Town, Panam’s Badlands story mission, before it would spawn. Later quest documentation describes the job itself as the relevant acquisition route, while player reports indicate that spawn behaviour changed across patches.
Because the vehicle has historically suffered from spawn bugs, its absence should not automatically be treated as a missable reward. A patch, save state or quest-progression issue may be responsible.
Overview: The job’s objectives are deliberately brief
- 01Search the area.
- 02Get in the car.
Walkthrough
- 01Approach the Desert Film Set. The job should begin as V enters the relevant trigger area. If it does not, move closer to the parked vehicle and the main scene.
Walkthrough
- 01Inspect the aftermath. Look around the set for the bodies, clothing and production equipment. A Trauma Team AV may be visible leaving the area when the scene loads.
Walkthrough
- 01Find the shard. Search the victims and nearby scene props until V obtains the shard titled New Ad Shoot: Rural Beauty – “Inspire the city, enjoy the country”. The shard supplies the explanation for the photoshoot and the firefight.
Walkthrough
- 01Approach the Thorton. The orange or otherwise distinctive Thorton Colby CX410 “Gran Butte” is parked at the set.
Walkthrough
- 01Enter the vehicle. Getting into the car completes the job and adds the vehicle to V’s available vehicles. The job listing identifies the Gran Butte as its item reward.
Requirements and progression: The safest practical procedure is
- 01Complete Ghost Town if the vehicle is not present.
- 02Travel away from the area.
- 03Save and reload, or pass time.
- 04Return to the Desert Film Set.
- 05Approach the vehicle rather than relying only on a map marker.
- 06Check that Dressed to Kill has started.
Reward: Thorton Colby CX410 “Gran Butte”
The Gran Butte is a customised Thorton Colby CX410 pickup. The standard Butte replaces the ordinary Colby’s rear storage arrangement with a pickup bed, making it suited to transport and rougher terrain. The vehicle is categorised as an economy-class vehicle and is associated with Thorton.
The Gran Butte is not an iconic weapon or cyberware item. Its significance is practical and collectible: it is a free vehicle with a distinctive appearance, and it remains one of the more useful rewards for players exploring the Badlands.
Reward: Thorton Colby CX410 “Gran Butte”
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | Thorton Colby CX410 “Gran Butte” |
| Manufacturer | Thorton |
| Vehicle type | Pickup |
| Acquisition at Desert Film Set | Complete Dressed to Kill |
| Cost at the set | Free |
| Alternative standard model | Thorton Colby CX410 Butte |
| Other acquisition route | The standard Butte can be sold by Muamar Reyes under the relevant vehicle conditions |
Characters, residents and factions
Named characters
No permanent named resident or shopkeeper is documented at the Desert Film Set.
The people associated with the site are present through the aftermath of the job rather than as ongoing NPCs:
The clothing executive and models are story-associated figures, not confirmed local residents.
Factions
The Wraiths are the principal faction connected to the scene. They are a nomad gang operating in the Badlands and are presented in the mission as the attackers who interrupt the photoshoot. Their presence at the film set is a mission backstory rather than evidence that the entire site permanently functions as a Wraith base.
Ordinary NPCs
The site has no verified permanent civilian population, vendors or recurring workers. Any bodies or production personnel encountered during the job belong to the staged quest scene. Random Badlands traffic and distant encounters should be treated as regional activity, not as residents of the film set.
Named characters
Enemies and security
There is no confirmed permanent security force at the Desert Film Set. The job begins after the violent encounter has already occurred, so the principal combatants are found as corpses rather than as a mandatory enemy group for V to defeat.
The location is nevertheless unsafe in a narrative sense:
Do not assume that every body at the location can be revived as an enemy encounter. The mission is primarily an investigation and vehicle-acquisition activity.
Buildings, businesses and services
The site contains temporary production scenery and set structures, but no verified functioning business. The following categories should be kept separate:
A building that resembles a production trailer or prop structure should not automatically be catalogued as an enterable business. No reliable evidence found for this guide confirms a shop or service operating from the set.
Buildings, businesses and services
| Category | Status |
|---|---|
| Film or photoshoot structures | Present as environmental set dressing |
| Fast-travel Dataterm | Present |
| Vehicle acquisition | Present through Dressed to Kill |
| Functional shop | None verified |
| Food, weapon or clothing vendor | None verified |
| Ripperdoc | None |
| Apartment or purchasable property | None |
| Fixer office | None |
| Police or NCPD station | None |
| Permanent faction headquarters | None verified |
| Mission-only evidence | Bodies, shard and photoshoot aftermath |
Items and collectibles
Confirmed items
No iconic weapon, iconic clothing item, cyberware implant or named equipment drop is reliably documented as belonging to the Desert Film Set.
Confirmed items
| Name | Details |
|---|---|
| New Ad Shoot | Rural Beauty – “Inspire the city, enjoy the country” A shard found at the scene. It explains the campaign concept and the attack. |
Hazards and secrets
The mannequin scene
The shallow water feature filled with mannequins is the location’s main environmental oddity. Players sometimes mistake the scene for a mass grave or a hidden murder site. Available player reports identify the figures as mannequins connected with the film set, but the feature is not documented in the quest source as a separate mission, collectible or combat encounter.
Treat it as set dressing unless your own game version reveals an additional interaction. Do not infer a hidden quest, named horror production or supernatural explanation from the visual design alone.
Random encounters
The wider Badlands can contain roaming enemies, vehicles and other open-world activity. These should not be counted as fixed Desert Film Set content unless they appear consistently as part of the location or Dressed to Kill. The film set itself has a defined mission scene, but its surrounding desert does not appear to have a large fixed encounter table documented in the available sources.
Lore and thematic importance
The site illustrates one of the Badlands’ recurring contrasts: corporate culture importing luxury, branding and spectacle into a territory shaped by poverty, gang violence and Nomad independence.
The campaign slogan, “Inspire the city, enjoy the country”, is deliberately ironic. The production team treats the desert as an attractive lifestyle image while failing to account for the people who actually control the area. The Wraiths see the shoot not as a harmless commercial exercise but as an intrusion and an opportunity.
The mission also uses the film set to blur the boundary between manufactured image and reality. Expensive clothes, staged rurality, mannequins and a polished vehicle are all props in a sales pitch. The violence leaves the same props behind, turning the advertisement into an accidental crime scene.
Progression and version changes
| Version or state | Effect |
|---|---|
| Patch 1.3 | Dressed to Kill added to the game. |
| Patch 2.0 | The job no longer necessarily appears on the map beforehand and starts when V approaches the vehicle. |
| Earlier versions | Players reported that the Gran Butte could fail to spawn or appear dependent on Badlands story progression. |
| Phantom Liberty | No evidence found that Phantom Liberty adds a new version of this location or changes its ownership. |
Practical troubleshooting
Do not abandon the location after seeing only the Dataterm. The mission trigger is associated with the scene and vehicle area, particularly in the 2.0-era implementation.
If Dressed to Kill does not start
- 01Walk directly towards the parked vehicle.
- 02Search the entire immediate set rather than stopping at the fast-travel Dataterm.
- 03Complete Ghost Town if it remains unfinished.
- 04Leave the area and wait or reload.
- 05Return during a different time of day.
- 06Check whether the vehicle is already present but the job has not displayed normally.
- 07On older builds, update the game because the vehicle had documented spawn problems.
Sources
- Dressed to Kill | Cyberpunk Wiki | Fandom — cyberpunk.fandom.com
- The Badlands Map Guide: All Subdistricts and Fast Travel Dataterms | Cyberpunk 2077｜Game8 — game8.co
- Cyberpunk 2077 All Fast Travel Dataterms Locations — powerpyx.com
- I found a creepy lake in the middle of Badlands — reddit.com
- How to get all FREE Vehicles in Cyberpunk 2077 (Guide and Locations) - VULKK — vulkk.com
- How to Get Thorton Colby CX410 Butte | Cyberpunk 2077｜Game8 — game8.co
- Patch 1.3 — list of changes - Home of the Cyberpunk 2077 universe — games, anime & more — cyberpunk.net
- Southern Desert | Cyberpunk Wiki | Fandom — cyberpunk.fandom.com