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Locationmajor

I-9 East

I-9 East is a fast-travel point on Interstate 9 in the eastern Badlands, north-east of Night City.

Importancemajor

Key takeaways

  • I-9 East is in Rocky Ridge, within the eastern Badlands It is not a separate Badlands sub-district.
  • The location’s principal function is its fast-travel dataterm It has no confirmed unique shop, apartment, quest hub or named settlement attached to the marker itself.
  • The nearest substantial area is the ghost town of Rocky Ridge, including its abandoned bar, fuel station and power substation.
  • The wider Rocky Ridge area contains several activities, including Ghost Town, Riders on the Storm, NCPD scanner activities and cyberpsycho encounters.
  • The most important progression change is connected to Panam’s storyline the Mobile Camp becomes the Nomad Camp after the relevant Aldecaldos jobs, changing one nearby fast-travel point but not turning I-9 East into a new settlement.
  • I-9 East is useful for completionists because the dataterm counts towards the game’s fast-travel discovery requirements.

About this guide

Scope: Cyberpunk 2077 base game, including the Badlands as they exist in the 2.0-era game. Phantom Liberty content is excluded unless it directly changes the base-game location. Status: Research-based guide. I-9 East is a fast-travel dataterm and roadside point of interest, not a formally separate district or settlement. The surrounding area belongs to Rocky Ridge, a sub-area of the eastern Badlands.

Overview

I-9 East is a fast-travel point on Interstate 9 in the eastern Badlands, north-east of Night City. It sits within the broader Rocky Ridge sub-area rather than forming a separate town, district or explorable region of its own. The marker is useful primarily as a travel hub and as a convenient starting point for exploring the abandoned settlements, industrial ruins, Wraith territory and scattered activities around Rocky Ridge.

The name refers to the highway itself. In the setting, Interstate 9 runs east from Santo Domingo across the Badlands, passing through or near locations such as Rocky Ridge before continuing towards Vasquez Pass and northern California. In gameplay, however, “I-9 East” identifies a particular dataterm beside the highway, not the whole Badlands road network.

What “I-9 East” actually covers

I-9 East should be treated as a small named map point, not as a broad region. Its practical boundary is the immediate highway-side area around the dataterm. The surrounding landscape is part of Rocky Ridge, one of the eastern Badlands sub-areas.

This distinction matters because the eastern Badlands contain many nearby named locations, but they are not all part of I-9 East. For example, Rocky Ridge, Sunshine Motel, Old Turbines, Big Rock, Edgewood Farm, Far Ridge and Wraith Camp are separate map locations or sub-areas. They can be reached from I-9 East, but should not be folded into the I-9 East entry itself.

Neighbouring locations, not part of I-9 East

These places form the surrounding exploration network. They should be recorded as separate entries even when a route from I-9 East passes close to them.

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I-9 East is a piece of desert highway rather than a conventional settlement. Its surroundings are defined by dry ground, open sightlines, scattered industrial structures and the remains of infrastructure built to support an expanding road network. The area has the sparse, exposed quality typical of the Badlands: there are few buildings, little cover and long stretches where the highway is the most obvious feature.

The road is part of the wider Interstate 9 corridor. In the Cyberpunk setting, the highway begins in or near Santo Domingo, crosses the eastern Badlands and continues through Vasquez Pass towards northern California. The road’s importance is therefore regional even though the I-9 East fast-travel point is locally modest.

Rocky Ridge gives the surrounding landscape much of its identity. The town was planned as a self-contained residential community connected to new industrial and transport development, but the project collapsed. By 2077 it is an abandoned ghost town, visited by looters and Raffen Shiv groups. Its derelict buildings, unfinished development and failing infrastructure contrast with the highway, which continues to carry traffic.

Named geographical and infrastructural entries

Rocky Ridge area

The wider Rocky Ridge directory includes locations that are not necessarily visible from the I-9 East dataterm. They are included here because they belong to the same recognised sub-area or its immediate exploration network, not because the I-9 East marker encompasses them.

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Immediate or directly associated

Rocky Ridge area

Reaching I-9 East from Night City

The most straightforward approach is to leave Night City through Santo Domingo and follow the Badlands highway east. I-9 is one of the major roads crossing the region, so the route is easier to follow than the smaller dirt tracks branching towards farms, camps and industrial sites.

The exact approach can vary depending on the player’s starting point and whether a quest is active. The marker is most useful when reached during ordinary Badlands travel rather than as a mission objective.

A practical route is

  1. 01
    Leave Night City through the eastern Badlands exit.
  2. 02
    Join the Interstate 9 corridor.
  3. 03
    Follow the highway towards Rocky Ridge.
  4. 04
    Watch for the fast-travel marker and dataterm beside the road.
  5. 05
    Activate the dataterm to add I-9 East to the fast-travel network.

Reaching nearby Rocky Ridge

From I-9 East, travel towards the Rocky Ridge settlement and follow the local roads into the abandoned town. Rocky Ridge is the more substantial destination, with recognisable buildings, combat areas and quest activity.

For exploration, it is usually more efficient to treat I-9 East as a waypoint rather than a destination:

Nearby fast-travel network

The eastern Badlands have a dense chain of dataterms compared with the amount of built-up development. A commonly used north-to-south route includes:

The exact list and order depend on the map source’s regional grouping, but I-9 East is consistently identified as one of the eastern Badlands fast-travel points.

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Fast travel

The I-9 East dataterm is the location’s confirmed functional service. Once activated, it allows V to travel to other discovered dataterms.

It is worth activating even if you do not intend to explore the highway immediately. Fast-travel dataterms contribute to the game’s wider discovery and completion systems, and I-9 East is easy to miss when travelling quickly through the Badlands.

Vendors and shops

No dedicated shop or vendor is verified at the I-9 East marker itself. The nearest confirmed vendor associated with the broader Rocky Ridge area is a Meds Vendor, but this is a Rocky Ridge service rather than evidence that I-9 East has a medical shop.

Do not treat highway signs, abandoned fuel infrastructure or decorative storefronts as working services. The Badlands contain many buildings that look like businesses but are abandoned, inaccessible or only used as combat scenery.

Verified service directory

The bar and fuel station are named places, but they should not be presented as normally operating player services in 2077.

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Rocky Ridge ghost town

Rocky Ridge is the main landmark near I-9 East. It was planned as a residential development intended to provide a practical alternative to life in Night City. The project failed after nearby businesses went bankrupt and construction was abandoned. By 2077, the town is empty apart from scavengers, hostile groups and quest-related visitors.

The bomb shelter is a particularly worthwhile exploration target. It contains ammunition, weapons and other loot. It is located at the rear of a house on the side of town opposite the windmills. Following the power transmission line is a useful way to locate it.

Rocky Ridge Bar

The bar is a named building in the ghost town. In earlier use it contained a bar area, pool table, arcade machines, private booths and vending machines. In 2077, it is primarily an abandoned or mission-related interior rather than a functioning nightlife venue.

The building is relevant for environmental storytelling and quest exploration. It should not be confused with an active bar such as Afterlife or Totentanz.

Rocky Ridge Fuel Station

The fuel station is another named Rocky Ridge landmark. It is associated with the Wraith presence in the area and sits close to the substation and the town’s roads. A locked interior door has prompted player investigation, but the available evidence does not establish a unique permanent service or a separately named business operating there. Treat it as an explorable, quest-related or loot-related location rather than a functioning petrol station.

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Former residents

Rocky Ridge had named former residents before its collapse. These include:

These people are associated with Rocky Ridge’s history rather than being a normal resident population in 2077. The town is not a functioning community when V reaches it.

Wraiths

The Wraiths are the most important factional presence around Rocky Ridge. They are a Raffen Shiv group that uses abandoned Badlands infrastructure, including the town and nearby roadside facilities.

Their presence explains the hostile encounters around Rocky Ridge and their involvement in Panam Palmer’s stolen vehicle. Nash and his Wraiths take Panam’s truck and cargo, leading directly into the main job Ghost Town.

Aldecaldos

The Aldecaldos do not permanently occupy the I-9 East dataterm. They become important through Panam’s story and the nearby mobile camp. After the relevant jobs, the camp relocates and is represented by the Nomad Camp fast-travel point instead of the earlier Mobile Camp marker. This is a progression change in the wider eastern Badlands, not a change to I-9 East itself.

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Ghost Town

Ghost Town is the most important story mission associated with Rocky Ridge and the surrounding I-9 corridor. V works with Panam Palmer to recover her stolen vehicle and confront Nash’s Wraith group. The mission includes travel through the Badlands and a major combat encounter in Rocky Ridge.

Practical advice

The Widow Maker and Archer Quartz “Bandit” are associated with the mission’s dependent outcomes. Their availability depends on how the mission is handled and the relevant story conditions.

Riders on the Storm

The Aldecaldos side job Riders on the Storm uses the Badlands and Rocky Ridge area. The job takes V to a Wraith-controlled location to help rescue Saul. Although the mission is not limited to the I-9 East dataterm, the dataterm is a useful travel point for reaching the surrounding terrain.

The Hunt

The Hunt can include Rocky Ridge as a dependent location. Its main investigation concerns River Ward’s storyline and the search for Randy, but the exact areas visited depend on the mission’s progression. I-9 East may be useful as a nearby travel point, but it is not the mission’s defining landmark.

NCPD and minor activities

The Rocky Ridge sub-area contains several minor activities:

The organised crime activity is associated with Wraiths and a named enemy, Bruce Ward. The cyberpsycho activities are separate encounters and should not be treated as permanently active enemies at the I-9 East dataterm.

Activity directory

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I-9 East itself is not documented as having a permanently fixed enemy group. Hostiles encountered nearby are generally connected to the wider Rocky Ridge area, an active mission, an NCPD activity or a random Badlands encounter.

There is no evidence that I-9 East has a dedicated NCPD checkpoint, permanent corporate security force or unique boss encounter. The nearby NorCal-SoCal border facilities and other Badlands checkpoints are separate locations and should not be folded into this entry.

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No unique collectible is confirmed as belonging specifically to the I-9 East dataterm. The useful loot is located in the surrounding Rocky Ridge and mission spaces rather than at the fast-travel marker itself.

Confirmed nearby loot opportunities

The distinction between fixed and random loot is important. Weapons and ammunition found in ordinary containers may vary by level, difficulty and loot-table behaviour. Mission rewards and named quest items are more reliable, but can depend on progression or decisions.

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For a thorough but efficient visit, use this route:

If Ghost Town or Riders on the Storm is active, follow the mission objectives first. Quest staging can alter enemy placement and the availability of certain doors or interiors.

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Confirmed nearby loot opportunities: steps

  1. 01
    Activate I-9 East and confirm that the marker has entered the fast-travel network.
  2. 02
    Follow the road towards Rocky Ridge.
  3. 03
    Explore the abandoned streets and identify the bar, fuel station and power substation.
  4. 04
    Search the houses, especially the side of town near the windmills.
  5. 05
    Follow the power line to locate the bomb shelter.
  6. 06
    Clear any active NCPD, cyberpsycho or mission encounter before looting.
  7. 07
    Continue towards the nearby Badlands points of interest, such as Big Rock, Sunshine Motel, Old Turbines or Edgewood Farm.
  8. 08
    Return to I-9 East and fast travel onward if the area has been fully searched.

Before Panam’s storyline

The Badlands may contain the Mobile Camp fast-travel point. It is used before the Aldecaldos relocate their camp.

After the relevant Panam jobs

The camp becomes the Nomad Camp in a different position. This can make older guides appear inconsistent, because they may show the camp in the centre of the Badlands while later playthroughs show it farther north. I-9 East remains a separate dataterm and does not move as part of this change.

Mission-state changes

Rocky Ridge can change from an apparently empty ghost town into a combat area during:

A location that looks empty during free roam may therefore contain enemies, objectives or temporarily available interiors when entered during a quest.

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Is I-9 East a town?

No. I-9 East is primarily a fast-travel dataterm on Interstate 9. The nearby town is Rocky Ridge, an abandoned settlement in the eastern Badlands.

Is I-9 East part of Rocky Ridge?

Yes, in practical map terms. I-9 East is located in the Rocky Ridge sub-area, but it is still a distinct named point from Rocky Ridge ghost town.

Is there a shop at I-9 East?

No dedicated shop is verified at the marker. The wider Rocky Ridge area has a Meds Vendor listing, but this should not be described as a service attached to the highway dataterm.

Where is the best loot?

The concealed bomb shelter behind one of Rocky Ridge’s houses is the most clearly documented nearby hidden loot location. Mission zones and NCPD activities can provide additional rewards.

Can I find Panam here?

Panam is associated with the wider Rocky Ridge storyline, especially Ghost Town, but I-9 East is not a permanent Panam meeting point. Her location depends on the active mission.

Does I-9 East disappear?

The I-9 East dataterm itself is not documented as a progression-dependent location. The nearby Mobile Camp/Nomad Camp marker can change after Panam’s storyline, which may cause confusion when comparing maps.

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The available sources consistently identify I-9 East as a fast-travel point in the Rocky Ridge area, but they do not provide a reliable official coordinate or a precise measured boundary around the dataterm. Community map sources also warn that some map placements may be slightly misplaced. For that reason, this guide deliberately avoids invented coordinates and treats the marker’s immediate surroundings separately from the full Rocky Ridge sub-area.

The named-directory sections include verified locations associated with Rocky Ridge and its immediate exploration network, but they should not be read as proof that every listed building is physically inside the dataterm’s small roadside footprint.

Sources