Firestarter

Key takeaways

These are the most important points to understand before starting Firestarter.

• This is a major story branch The mission contains the decisive choice between helping Songbird and helping Solomon Reed's operation. The selection changes the missions that follow, so it is worth creating a separate save before committing.
• The opening rewards restraint The first section is an infiltration of the Black Sapphire during an event. Avoiding unnecessary combat keeps the approach cleaner, although the mission eventually moves into a more openly hostile sequence.
• The choice is made after the approach Do not assume that reaching the objective completes the mission's main decision. Continue through the operation until V is presented with the explicit opportunity to support one side.
• Both routes continue the expansion Choosing either side does not immediately end Phantom Liberty. Each route leads into its own sequence of missions and reveals more about the FIA, Songbird, and the situation around the neural matrix.

Firestarter overview

Firestarter is one of Phantom Liberty's major turning points, combining a covert operation at the Black Sapphire with a choice that determines which side of the conflict V supports.

V enters the Black Sapphire with Alex during a high-profile arms expo in Dogtown. The mission is built around infiltration, conversation, and controlled movement through a hostile facility rather than a simple assault, so keeping a low profile helps preserve the operation until the story forces the situation into the open.

The objective is to reach Songbird and help execute the extraction plan, but the operation changes when V must decide whether to assist Songbird's escape or follow Solomon Reed's plan to stop her. This decision is not a cosmetic dialogue variation: it sends the story toward different missions and changes which characters remain aligned with V.

Firestarter is therefore best approached as a branch-point mission. Make a manual save before the decisive interaction if you want to experience both routes, and complete any preparation you want to do in Dogtown before entering the Black Sapphire. The mission's later consequences are substantial, while the early infiltration can generally be handled with stealth, dialogue, or combat depending on V's build.

Where this sits

Requirements

Firestarter is reached through Phantom Liberty's main story and is not a freely selectable side activity.

• RequiredPhantom Liberty accessThe mission belongs to the Phantom Liberty campaign and requires access to Dogtown and the expansion's main storyline.
• RequiredComplete The DamnedThe preceding story progression leads V toward the operation at the Black Sapphire.
• RecommendedCreate a manual saveSave before entering the decisive sequence if you want to compare both branches without replaying the full approach.
• RecommendedPrepare for mixed encountersA build that can handle stealth, dialogue, and direct combat is useful because the mission shifts between infiltration and confrontation.

Objectives

1. Reach the Black SapphireTravel to the Dogtown venue where the operation begins and follow the access route provided by the mission.
2. Infiltrate the arms expoMove through the event area while avoiding or dealing with security and other hostile forces.
3. Meet Songbird and advance the planLocate the target of the operation and continue through the facility until the extraction decision becomes available.
4. Choose how to proceedDecide whether V will help Songbird escape or support Solomon Reed's attempt to stop her.
5. Survive the resulting confrontationFollow the selected route through its immediate combat and escape sequence.

WalkthroughSpoilers

1. 01

   Reach the Black Sapphire

   Travel to the Black Sapphire

   Follow the mission marker through Dogtown to the Black Sapphire and approach the operation's entry point. The location is heavily controlled, so avoid wandering away from the marked route before the infiltration begins.

   Location: Dogtown

   TipMake a manual save before entering the venue if you want a clean replay of the mission branch.

2. 02

   Infiltrate the Black Sapphire

   Enter the event without starting a needless fight

   Use the designated access route and move into the Black Sapphire's public area. The early section is easier to manage when V does not attract attention, and an unnecessary firefight can make navigation through the crowded venue more difficult.

   Location: Black Sapphire entrance

   Watch outDo not treat every armed person in the venue as an immediate combat target; the operation is initially presented as an infiltration.

3. 03

   Reach the interior of the venue

   Cross the arms expo

   Proceed through the expo and follow the objective markers toward the deeper sections of the building. Security and event personnel can obstruct the route, so use cover, quiet takedowns, or direct combat according to the approach V has chosen.

   Location: Black Sapphire arms expo

   TipKeep the objective marker in view rather than exploring every side area during the operation; the venue is designed to funnel V toward the meeting.

4. 04

   Meet Alex

   Regroup with Alex

   Continue until V connects with Alex and the covert team can advance the plan. Listen to the conversation before moving on, because it establishes the operation's immediate purpose and makes clear that the venue is more dangerous than a normal public event.

   Location: Black Sapphire

   Checkpoint
5. 05

   Reach Songbird

   Find Songbird

   Follow the route from the expo toward Songbird's position and remain ready for the mission to shift from social infiltration to a more controlled security encounter. If combat begins, use the venue's cover and corners instead of standing in the open central lanes.

   Location: Black Sapphire interior

   Watch outThe mission's story route is not complete when V first reaches the interior objective; continue following the prompts and conversations.

6. 06

   Continue the operation

   Advance to the decisive interaction

   Stay with the operation as Songbird's plan and Reed's interests come into direct conflict. The game presents the important choice through an explicit interaction, so read the available actions carefully rather than selecting a response automatically.

   Location: Black Sapphire control area

   Watch outThe next decision changes the subsequent Phantom Liberty mission route and cannot be treated as a minor dialogue variation.

   Missable
7. 07

   Make the operation's decisive choice

   Choose Songbird's escape or Reed's intervention

   When the choice is presented, select the option that either helps Songbird break away or enables Solomon Reed and the FIA to stop her. Both choices are valid story routes, but they lead to different missions, character situations, and revelations.

   Location: Black Sapphire

   Watch outCreate a manual save before confirming the choice if you want to see both branches.

   Missable
8. 08

   Survive the aftermath of the choice

   Complete the selected escape or capture sequence

   After the decision, follow the new objective through the immediate confrontation and leave the Black Sapphire by the route the mission provides. Expect the previously controlled operation to become more dangerous, and use healing, cover, and crowd control rather than trying to force a single combat style.

   Location: Black Sapphire and its exit route

   Checkpoint
9. 09

   Complete Firestarter

   Leave the venue and wait for the next assignment

   Finish the selected route's final objective and allow the mission to close before judging the long-term result. The next Phantom Liberty missions depend on the side V supported, so check the journal after the conclusion rather than abandoning the chain midway.

   Location: Dogtown

Mission mechanics

Firestarter alternates between social stealth and conventional combat. The Black Sapphire's expo creates a crowded environment in which cover, sightlines, and movement matter more than simply maximizing damage, while the later sequence gives combat-focused builds more room to use weapons, cyberware, and quickhacks.

The mission's most important mechanic is its branching objective structure. Once V reaches the decisive interaction, the game stops treating the operation as a single shared path and directs the player into a route associated with either Songbird or Solomon Reed. The early portion is therefore shared preparation; the confirmed choice is the point at which the mission's consequences become permanent.

Because the mission can be approached in different ways, there is no single mandatory build solution. Stealth can reduce pressure during the expo, dialogue and observation help preserve the covert tone, and a combat build remains useful once the operation collapses into open conflict. A balanced loadout is safer than preparing only for a quiet infiltration.

What works and what does not

Choices and consequencesSpoilers

• Help Songbird escape

  V supports Songbird's attempt to break free, leading into a different sequence of Phantom Liberty missions focused on her escape and the consequences of that decision.

  Spoiler
• Help Solomon Reed and the FIA stop Songbird

  V allows Reed's side to intervene, creating the alternate mission route and changing the immediate status of Songbird, Reed, and Alex within the story.

  Spoiler

Checklist

• Complete The Damned before expecting Firestarter to appearFirestarter is part of the Phantom Liberty main-story sequence.
• Prepare a loadout for both stealth and combatThe mission begins covertly but can become an open confrontation.
• Make a manual save before the decisive interactionThis preserves access to both story branches without replaying the full operation.
• Follow the objective markers through the Black SapphireThe venue's public areas and security routes can make the intended path easy to lose.
• Read the choice prompt carefullyThe two options represent different commitments involving Songbird and Solomon Reed.
• Finish the selected route before leaving the mission chainThe consequences are carried into the next Phantom Liberty missions.

Failure conditions

• V is killed during the expo or escape sequenceReload the latest checkpoint or manual save and approach the encounter with more cover, healing, or crowd control.
• V abandons the active objectiveLeaving the marked mission area or moving away from the operation can fail the current objective; return to the route indicated by the journal.
• The player confirms the branch without a backup saveThis does not fail the mission, but it removes the convenient option to compare the alternate route without replaying the shared section.

Rewards

• Phantom Liberty story progression
  Completing Firestarter advances the expansion's main narrative and unlocks the mission route associated with the player's choice.
• Branch-specific follow-up missions
  The Songbird and Solomon Reed choices lead to different subsequent assignments and story circumstances.
• Access to the next Dogtown objectives
  The mission's conclusion moves V into the next stage of the Phantom Liberty campaign.

Characters in this mission

• VThe player character carrying out the operation.
• SongbirdThe netrunner whose escape is central to the mission.
• Solomon ReedThe FIA agent directing the opposing intervention.
• AlexThe operative accompanying V during the infiltration.
• Kurt HansenThe Dogtown power broker connected to the Black Sapphire and its arms expo.

AftermathSpoilers

Trivia

• Firestarter takes place during an arms expo inside the Black Sapphire, making a public commercial event the backdrop for a covert operation.
• The mission's title reflects its role as an ignition point for the major Phantom Liberty story routes rather than a self-contained side job.
• The operation brings V, Alex, Songbird, and Solomon Reed into direct conflict within the same story sequence.

Relationships