Dazed and Confused

Key takeaways

The mission is primarily an investigation and dialogue encounter, with several ways to handle the central conflict.

Investigate before escalating The mission's important information is delivered through conversations and the setting. Let the relevant characters explain their positions before choosing a hostile response.
Lina Malina is central to the case The search leads V to Lina Malina's braindance operation in Dogtown, where the apparent disappearance becomes a more complicated question of identity and control.
Dialogue can shape the outcome Dazed and Confused is not only a combat assignment. The player's approach to Lina Malina and the person being held can influence how the situation ends.
Treat the mission as missable content As with other optional Phantom Liberty jobs, it is safer to complete Dazed and Confused when it appears rather than assuming it will remain available indefinitely.

Dazed and Confused is a character-focused side mission set in Dogtown during Phantom Liberty.

Dazed and Confused sends V to investigate a troubling situation connected to the braindance performer Lina Malina. What initially appears to be a straightforward search quickly becomes a dispute involving identity, consent, exploitation and the unstable effects of advanced cyberware. The mission is less about clearing a combat arena than about understanding who is in danger and deciding how far V is willing to intervene.

The investigation takes place around Lina Malina's braindance operation in Dogtown. Conversations and environmental clues provide most of the mission's context, while the player's handling of the people involved determines the tone of the resolution. The job can be approached as a negotiation, but aggressive choices remain possible and can close off more peaceful outcomes.

Because the mission deals with altered identity and a person whose behaviour is not entirely reliable, it is worth listening to the available dialogue before committing to a response. Dazed and Confused does not require a specialised build, but a patient player can gain more context by examining the situation rather than treating every suspicious character as an immediate enemy.

Where this sits

Enter DogtownGain access to the expansion district

Receive the investigationFollow the lead connected to the missing person

Meet Lina MalinaReach the braindance operation

Resolve the disputeChoose how V handles the people involved

●Dazed and Confusedside-missionCurrent mission page

The mission belongs to Phantom Liberty's optional Dogtown content and is separate from the expansion's main infiltration storyline.

Requirements

V must have access to Dogtown through Phantom Liberty. No specific attribute, weapon, cyberware or companion is required.

RequiredPhantom Liberty accessDazed and Confused is part of the Phantom Liberty content and cannot be played in the base-game districts alone.
RequiredDogtown accessReach the expansion's restricted district far enough to receive and pursue its optional jobs.
RecommendedA combat-ready loadoutA normal combat setup is recommended because an otherwise conversational investigation may become hostile depending on V's decisions.
OptionalManual saveSave before the major conversations if you want to compare the available approaches without replaying earlier content.

Objectives

Investigate the report surrounding the missing person.Follow the mission marker through Dogtown and gather enough information to understand why the case is connected to Lina Malina.
Reach Lina Malina's braindance operation.The investigation leads to Lina's location. Speak with the people present instead of assuming that the first account is complete.
Determine what happened to the person at the centre of the dispute.Use dialogue and any available environmental context to separate the claims made by the people involved.
Decide how V will resolve the situation.The final approach can remain conversational or become violent, and the choice affects the mission's immediate aftermath.

WalkthroughSpoilers

01
Investigate the report
Follow the lead into Dogtown
Begin by following the objective marker to the location associated with the missing-person report. The route is through Dogtown, so hostile street activity can interfere with a direct approach even though combat is not the mission's main purpose.
Location: Dogtown
TipKeep the mission tracker active so that the correct entrance and conversation area remain highlighted.
02
Find Lina Malina
Search for the braindance connection
Continue toward the braindance business named by the investigation and look for the people who can explain the connection to Lina Malina. Do not rush past the surrounding area: the setting establishes that this is an operating entertainment business rather than an ordinary hideout.
Location: Lina Malina's braindance operation
Watch outStarting a fight before speaking with the relevant characters can remove dialogue and may force a less informative resolution.
03
Question Lina Malina
Speak with Lina Malina
Talk to Lina Malina and let the conversation reveal her relationship to the person V is trying to locate. Her account is important, but it should be weighed against the other evidence instead of accepted or rejected automatically.
Location: Lina Malina's braindance operation
TipExhaust the non-hostile dialogue options before selecting a response that threatens Lina or the business.
04
Understand what happened
Examine the identity dispute
The central problem is not simply finding a body in a room; it concerns a person whose identity and behaviour have been affected by the braindance and cyberware situation. Use the available dialogue to clarify who is speaking, who has authority and what the person at risk wants.
Location: Braindance studio
Watch outSome choices are framed as quick solutions but can prevent V from hearing the full explanation.
05
Resolve the conflict
Choose whether to negotiate or use force
Once the competing accounts are clear, decide whether V will try to settle the matter through persuasion or respond with violence. A negotiation preserves more of the mission's character context, while an aggressive approach turns the scene into a confrontation.
Location: Braindance studio
TipA manual save before this decision is useful if you want to see how the alternate approach changes the outcome.
06
Finish the mission
Complete the agreed resolution
Carry out the course of action V selected and remain in the area until the objective updates. If combat begins, focus on the immediate hostile targets and avoid shooting an uninvolved person while the scene is still unfolding.
Location: Dogtown braindance operation
Watch outKilling a central participant can end the negotiation path and alter who remains available for the final conversation.
07
Conclude Dazed and Confused
Speak to the survivors and collect the result
After the conflict or negotiation is over, complete the closing conversation and check the updated objective before leaving. The mission's resolution is delivered through this aftermath rather than through a large final boss encounter.
Location: Dogtown
Checkpoint

Mission mechanics

Dazed and Confused uses investigation as its primary mechanic. The objective marker brings V to the relevant building, but the important progression comes from conversations with the people connected to the braindance operation. The mission rewards players who pause to hear the conflicting explanations before choosing a side.

The mission can shift from dialogue to combat if V threatens the wrong person or deliberately takes an aggressive route. This makes positioning and target identification more important than raw damage output: the scene contains named characters who are part of the dispute, so indiscriminate fire can remove outcomes that would otherwise remain available.

The identity theme also affects how the player should read the dialogue. Statements made during the mission may reflect altered memories, performed personas or conflicting claims rather than a simple account of events. There is no need to use a particular skill tree, but a save before the final decision protects against an accidental commitment to the violent path.

Once the immediate dispute is resolved, the final objective is conversational rather than a separate dungeon crawl. Stay near the mission area, complete the concluding exchange and verify the reward or journal update before returning to unrelated Dogtown activities.

entity_links_note: The mission's central interaction is with Lina Malina and the person known as Tool.

What works and what does not

Strengths

The mission uses dialogue to explore identity and consent rather than reducing the situation to a routine elimination objective.
Its central location keeps the investigation focused and easy to follow once the correct Dogtown lead has been found.
The possibility of negotiation gives non-lethal and role-play-focused characters a meaningful way to approach the encounter.

Weaknesses

The mission can be confusing if the player treats every statement as an objective instead of listening for the conflicting accounts.
An early hostile action can remove context and close off the more nuanced resolution.
The journal guidance is more useful for navigation than for explaining the identity problem at the heart of the mission.

Best uses

Play it as a dialogue investigation before attempting other Dogtown side content.
Make a manual save before the confrontation if you want to preserve alternate outcomes.
Use the mission to test a V build that prioritises persuasion, restraint or social role-play.

Choices and consequencesSpoilers

Hear Lina Malina and the other involved person out before acting.
V preserves the mission's central context and keeps the negotiation-oriented resolution available.
Threaten or attack the people involved.
The situation can become a combat encounter, potentially removing dialogue and changing who is present for the aftermath.
Spoiler
Try to resolve the dispute without killing the central participants.
V can complete the mission while retaining more of the character-focused conclusion.
Spoiler
Kill a participant during the confrontation.
The affected character's later dialogue and the final state of the mission are no longer available in the same form.
Spoiler

Checklist

Enter Dogtown through the Phantom Liberty content.The mission is expansion content.
Follow the missing-person lead to the braindance operation.Use the active objective marker.
Speak with Lina Malina before escalating.This preserves the most information.
Identify the person known as Tool in the investigation.Tool is part of the mission's central dispute.
Create a manual save before the final decision.Useful for comparing outcomes.Optional
Attempt the non-lethal resolution.Choose dialogue and restraint where available.Optional
Complete the closing conversation.Do not leave immediately after the confrontation.
Confirm the reward and journal update.Check the mission screen before moving on.

Failure conditionsSpoilers

A central participant is killed before the negotiation is complete.The mission may end or change course immediately, removing the corresponding dialogue and peaceful outcome.
V abandons the active objective.Leaving the area usually pauses progress rather than completing the mission; return to the marked Dogtown location and follow the updated objective.
The mission is left unresolved while progressing through other content.Because this is optional expansion content, availability and state should not be assumed to remain unchanged indefinitely.

On failure

A manual save before speaking with Lina Malina is the safest way to recover from an unintended hostile choice.

Rewards

Mission completion reward
Completing Dazed and Confused grants the reward shown in the post-mission journal or notification.
Dogtown side-content progression
Finishing the mission records the outcome and contributes to V's completed Phantom Liberty side content.
Dialogue-dependent aftermath
The final state of the involved characters depends on whether V negotiated or used force.

Characters in this mission

AftermathSpoilers

The resolution depends on who survives

Dazed and Confused does not end with a single mandatory combat result. V's treatment of Lina Malina, Tool and the surrounding dispute determines which characters remain available for the closing exchange, so save before the confrontation if you want to preserve the alternate outcomes.

Trivia

The mission's title reflects both the braindance setting and the uncertainty surrounding the central character identities.
Dazed and Confused is an example of Phantom Liberty side content that places a moral and interpersonal problem inside Dogtown's entertainment economy.
The mission can be approached without committing to a particular combat build, although a violent resolution still benefits from ordinary combat preparation.

Relationships

Characters

Lina MalinaCentral characterBraindance performer whose operation is investigated during Dazed and Confused.
ToolCentral characterPerson at the centre of the mission's identity dispute.

Locations

DogtownLocationPhantom Liberty district where the mission takes place.

Content

Phantom LibertyExpansionExpansion that contains Dazed and Confused.