eXputer
Subscribe

Locationmajor

Totentanz

Totentanz is a Maelstrom-controlled nightclub in Northside, Watson, housed in an abandoned, unfinished hotel on Pershing Street.

Importancemajor

Key takeaways

  • Location Totentanz is in Northside, Watson, on or near Pershing Street, inside an unfinished hotel.
  • Faction The club is owned and operated by Maelstrom, which uses it as a social venue and important base of operations.
  • Main visit V visits during Second Conflict, part of Kerry Eurodyne’s side-job chain.
  • The Pickup determines the encounter Your earlier treatment of Royce, Dum Dum and Brick changes who receives V at the club and whether the visit is peaceful or turns into a firefight.
  • Missable weapon Doom Doom, Dum Dum’s iconic revolver, can be obtained during Second Conflict if the required earlier conditions are met and Dum Dum is killed and looted.
  • No ordinary commercial district Totentanz has no verified player-facing shop, ripperdoc, food vendor, apartment, vehicle service or regular fast-travel facility.

About this guide

Base-game guide. This article covers the Totentanz club and its immediate playable interior in Cyberpunk 2077. It does not merge the club with the wider Northside district, All Foods, or the separate Totentanz location from earlier Cyberpunk tabletop continuity.

Overview

Totentanz is a Maelstrom-controlled nightclub in Northside, Watson, housed in an abandoned, unfinished hotel on Pershing Street. In 2077 it functions as one of Night City’s most notorious gang venues: a dark, violent club associated with deafening heavy music, drug use, cyberware, and Maelstrom’s deliberately hostile social culture. The club is primarily encountered during the side job Second Conflict, although its history and leadership are established earlier in The Pickup.

Totentanz is not a free-roaming district or a large open-world neighbourhood. It is a named club and mission location within Northside. Its accessible game space consists of the unfinished hotel’s approach, lobby and lift access, the club floors, and the rooms used during Second Conflict. Other parts of the building may appear to exist in the fiction, but they should not be treated as separately named or freely explorable subareas unless the game identifies them directly.

Location and boundaries

Where Totentanz is

Totentanz lies in Northside, the northern sub-district of Watson. The club occupies the upper levels of an unfinished hotel rather than a purpose-built entertainment venue. The building’s incomplete construction, exposed concrete, industrial interiors and improvised gang occupation are central to its appearance.

The club itself should not be expanded into all of Northside. Nearby Northside locations, including All Foods, are separate places even though both are strongly associated with Maelstrom during Act 1. All Foods is the setting for The Pickup, while Totentanz is the later club location used in Second Conflict.

Named subareas

The game does not establish a large hierarchy of named internal neighbourhoods within Totentanz. The following are functional descriptions rather than separate official districts:

The lift destination is presented in the walkthrough as Totentanz 03, making the third-floor route the practical entrance used during the quest.

Where Totentanz is: The most useful practical boundary is

  1. 01
    Exterior approach and hotel entrance
  2. 02
    Lobby and stairs
  3. 03
    Lift access
  4. 04
    Totentanz club entrance
  5. 05
    Main club and conversation area
  6. 06
    Back rooms and exit route used by Second Conflict

Named subareas

NameDetails
Hotel exterior and entrancethe approach to the unfinished building.
Lobbythe lower entrance area where V arrives during Second Conflict.
Stair and lift accessthe route leading towards the club.
Totentanz club floorthe music, party and conversation area.
Upper conversation areawhere V meets Nancy and the relevant Maelstrom representative.
Back roomused for the hostile branch of Second Conflict.
Exit route and liftthe way out after the meeting or battle.

Atmosphere, function and lore

Totentanz is more than a nightclub. It is a public expression of Maelstrom’s identity. The club’s environment is designed around intimidation, sensory overload and transgression. Heavy rock and neo-death metal are played at extreme volume, while Maelstrom members and visitors treat violence as entertainment rather than a breakdown of order. The club’s reputation is so severe that a night without multiple deaths is described as dull by its own standards.

The name Totentanz is German for “dance of death”, an appropriate title for a venue where partying, bodily modification and lethal violence are deliberately mixed. In the wider Cyberpunk setting, the name has a longer history. A separate earlier Totentanz existed in the old City Center, at the top of Burleson Tower, before Maelstrom eventually moved into the unfinished hotel in Watson. That tabletop history should not be confused with the physical 2077 club, although it explains why the venue is an established Maelstrom institution rather than a newly opened bar.

In-universe role

By 2077, Totentanz is described as Night City’s most popular Maelstrom club and a major “drink and riot” venue. It provides:

The band Tinnitus is associated with performances at the club.

Factions and control

Maelstrom

Maelstrom owns and controls Totentanz. Their presence is not limited to a few guards at the entrance. The club is presented as a gang-controlled building where visitors are admitted according to Maelstrom’s recognition and internal politics.

The club’s social order is therefore progression-sensitive. A familiar face does not guarantee a friendly reception, and a violent outcome in The Pickup can turn the later visit into an armed escape.

Law enforcement and security

There is no normal NCPD or corporate security presence at Totentanz during the documented quest sequence. Security is provided by Maelstrom members, including entrance guards and armed occupants. The club is effectively a privately controlled hostile location.

This is important for navigation. A confrontation inside Totentanz is not normally a public street crime encounter in which police arrive from outside. The immediate threat is the gang itself, and the quest determines whether the player can leave peacefully or must fight through the building.

Named residents and story-associated characters

Totentanz has few permanent named residents in the base game. Most named people connected with it are visitors or story participants rather than ordinary club inhabitants.

Named directory

Maelstrom leadership and members

Visitors and mission participants

The distinction matters: Nancy, Kerry, Johnny and the others are story-associated visitors. They should not be listed as club residents or regular performers.

Ordinary NPCs and background population

The club contains unnamed Maelstrom guards, gang members, partygoers and background performers. Their exact placement and behaviour can depend on whether the location is being visited during the mission and which branch is active.

These are not a fixed shopkeeper or vendor population. Totentanz does not provide a stable services loop comparable to a market, bar with purchasable drinks, ripperdoc or weapon shop.

Access and routes

Normal quest access

The most reliable route is through Second Conflict:

A walkthrough of the mission describes the route as going up the stairs, passing the bouncer and taking the lift to Totentanz 03.

Can you visit before Second Conflict?

The building and surrounding area can be encountered as part of the open world, but the meaningful club interior is primarily tied to the mission. Access, NPC placement and hostile-state behaviour should therefore be treated as mission-dependent, not as a fully persistent nightclub activity.

Do not assume that returning later will reproduce the same characters, loot or conversations. Totentanz is a story location whose state is strongly controlled by The Pickup and Second Conflict.

Normal quest access

  1. 01
    Complete the preceding requirements for Kerry’s side-job sequence.
  2. 02
    Travel to the Totentanz marker in Northside.
  3. 03
    Speak with Johnny outside or near the entrance.
  4. 04
    Enter the unfinished hotel.
  5. 05
    Use the stairs and proceed to the lift.
  6. 06
    Select Totentanz 03.
  7. 07
    Walk towards the club entrance.
  8. 08
    Wait for the appropriate Maelstrom representative to respond.

About this guide

Major spoilers for The Pickup and Second Conflict.

Second Conflict: branch guide

The Totentanz section of Second Conflict changes according to V’s earlier choices at All Foods. The broad outcomes are as follows.

Guides consistently identify the earlier The Pickup outcome as the major factor controlling the Totentanz scene.

Peaceful Royce route

This is the least dangerous route and preserves the possibility of obtaining Doom Doom later in the same quest if Dum Dum becomes hostile and is defeated.

Brick route

If V rescued Brick during The Pickup and the later state places him in control:

Brick’s appearance is therefore not simply a matter of having spoken to him earlier. The required leadership state must also be in place.

Hostile Patricia route

If the relevant Maelstrom leaders are dead and Brick is not available:

PowerPyx and other walkthroughs describe this branch as a fight through the club followed by departure from the location.

Second Conflict: branch guide

Earlier outcome in The PickupTotentanz contactGeneral result
Royce and Dum Dum survive and remain aligned with MaelstromDum Dum, then RoyceMeeting proceeds peacefully
Royce and Dum Dum are deadPatriciaHostile escape, with Maelstrom combat
Brick was rescued and becomes the relevant leaderPatricia, then BrickMeeting generally proceeds peacefully
Mixed or unusual outcomesMay vary or behave inconsistentlyCheck the current quest state and patch behaviour

Peaceful Royce route: If Royce and Dum Dum survived

  1. 01
    Enter the club.
  2. 02
    Dum Dum approaches V and leads them towards Nancy.
  3. 03
    Meet Nancy and Royce.
  4. 04
    Allow the conversation to proceed.
  5. 05
    Leave the club through the lift when instructed.

Brick route

  1. 01
    Enter the club.
  2. 02
    Patricia approaches and leads V inside.
  3. 03
    Meet Nancy and Brick.
  4. 04
    Sit through the conversation.
  5. 05
    Leave without the forced combat sequence.

Hostile Patricia route

  1. 01
    Patricia meets V.
  2. 02
    Follow her to the back room.
  3. 03
    The situation turns hostile.
  4. 04
    Fight through the Maelstrom members.
  5. 05
    Loot the area if desired.
  6. 06
    Reach the lift and leave Totentanz.

Items and rewards

Doom Doom

Doom Doom is the principal named item associated with Totentanz in the base game. It is an iconic Darra Polytechnic DR-5 Nova revolver with explosive ammunition behaviour, increased dismemberment potential and heavier recoil and spread.

The weapon is missable because killing Dum Dum during The Pickup, preventing his appearance, or completing the peaceful branch without later defeating him can remove the normal acquisition route.

Other loot

Totentanz contains ordinary mission and combat loot, but there is no reliably documented permanent collection of fixed named weapons, shards, cyberware or clothing unique to the location. Random weapon and equipment drops should not be presented as guaranteed collectibles. Their quality can vary with game level, difficulty and mission state.

Doom Doom: To obtain it through Totentanz

  1. 01
    Preserve Dum Dum during The Pickup.
  2. 02
    Ensure the later Second Conflict branch brings him to the club.
  3. 03
    During the conflict, defeat Dum Dum.
  4. 04
    Loot his body before leaving Totentanz.

Shops, services and facilities

No verified player-facing commercial services are established inside Totentanz.

Decorative bars, counters, stages, speakers and club furniture should be treated as scenery unless the game provides an interaction or purchase prompt.

Shops, services and facilities

FacilityStatus
Weapon shopNone verified
Clothing shopNone verified
RipperdocNone verified
Food vendorNone verified
Bar with purchasable serviceNot verified as a functional service
Fixer officeNone
Apartment or purchasable propertyNone
Fast-travel terminalNone documented inside the club
Vehicle garageNone
Quest checkpointMission-specific entrance and lift route

Hazards and combat advice

Totentanz’s danger comes from confined interiors and short sightlines rather than from a single conventional boss fight. Maelstromers can occupy doorways, stairs and back rooms, making retreat difficult if the player begins combat at close range.

The fight is not a separate repeatable activity. Once Second Conflict has resolved, Totentanz’s mission state may change permanently for that playthrough.

For a first visit

  1. 01
    Save outside the hotel.
  2. 02
    Inspect the entrance and lobby for environmental details, but do not expect a separate collectible quest.
  3. 03
    Take the lift to Totentanz 03.
  4. 04
    Listen to Johnny’s comments before entering the club.
  5. 05
    Identify which named Maelstrom character is present.
  6. 06
    Decide whether your priority is a peaceful mission completion or Doom Doom.
  7. 07
    If combat begins, search Dum Dum’s body before using the lift.
  8. 08
    Leave the club and continue the rest of Second Conflict.
  9. 09
    Do not confuse the later Denny and Henry sequence with Totentanz itself.

Progression changes

Totentanz’s most important progression change occurs between the two connected missions:

The outcome also affects access to Doom Doom. This makes Totentanz one of the clearest examples of a location whose content is determined by earlier narrative choices rather than by district level or character build.

Sources