Love Like Fire

Key takeaways

The mission is a mandatory, linear flashback with a strong combat focus and important backstory consequences.

• Play as Johnny Silverhand The mission temporarily replaces V with Johnny Silverhand and shows the 2023 assault from Johnny's perspective.
• Stay with the assault team The level is built around moving through Arasaka Tower with Johnny's allies. Falling too far behind can interrupt the intended combat flow.
• Expect sustained firefights Arasaka security provides the main opposition, so cover, controlled movement, and weapon changes are more useful than stopping to search every room.
• The ending is story-critical The operation leads directly to Johnny's confrontation with Adam Smasher and his capture, setting up later revelations about the Relic and Johnny's presence in V's mind.

Love Like Fire overview

Love Like Fire is the first major flashback in Cyberpunk 2077, placing V in the role of Johnny Silverhand during the 2023 assault on Arasaka Tower.

The mission opens away from V's immediate story and presents Johnny Silverhand at the Afterlife, preparing for a strike against Arasaka Tower. The sequence establishes Johnny's connection to Rogue Amendiares, introduces the team assembled for the attack, and shifts the game into a fast-moving combat scenario. It is designed as a narrative bridge: the player briefly experiences the event that shaped Johnny's legend before returning to the consequences of that operation decades later.

The assault moves through Arasaka's heavily defended interior. Johnny's group fights corporate security while advancing toward the objective, with the mission emphasizing forward momentum, close-quarters gunfights, and the destructive scale of the attack. The flashback also gives context to Johnny's hostility toward Arasaka and to the events surrounding Alt Cunningham, although the full significance of what happens is intentionally revealed through later story developments.

Love Like Fire is not an open-ended side activity. Its route is fixed, its combat arenas are part of the main narrative, and completion is required to continue the opening act. Players should treat it as a linear story mission rather than an exploration opportunity: search rooms when the firefight allows, follow the squad's movement, and use cover during the larger engagements. The mission contains major character and plot revelations, so the later sections of this page carry spoiler warnings.

The flashback ends with the assault collapsing into a personal confrontation involving Adam Smasher and Johnny's capture by Arasaka. That outcome is central to the backstory of Johnny Silverhand and to the relationship between Johnny and V. The mission therefore functions less as a conventional reward-driven quest and more as a playable account of the event that made Johnny's engram possible.

Where this sits

Requirements

Love Like Fire becomes available through the opening main-story sequence and does not require optional character progression.

• RequiredProgress through the opening storyComplete the preceding main-story events until the flashback begins.
• RecommendedPrepare for combatThe mission supplies the context and playable character for the sequence, but the encounters still require ordinary combat awareness and use of cover.
• OptionalNo romance or attribute requirementThere is no known romance, attribute, or side-mission prerequisite for entering this mission.

Objectives

1. Join the assault on Arasaka TowerFollow Johnny and the strike team into the corporate facility.
2. Fight through Arasaka securityAdvance through the tower while clearing defenders and staying with the team.
3. Reach the operation's objectiveContinue through the interior route and support the assault as the situation escalates.
4. Escape the towerMove through the retreat sequence after the attack's objective has been completed.
5. Survive the confrontation with Adam SmasherThe final encounter is a story sequence that determines the flashback's outcome.

WalkthroughSpoilers

1. 01

   Join the assault team

   Begin the flashback at the Afterlife

   Johnny starts the sequence at the Afterlife with Rogue and the other members of the assault team. Listen to the briefing and move out when the group begins the operation; there is no alternate mission route to unlock here.

   Location: Afterlife

   TipUse the opening moments to become familiar with Johnny's weapon handling before the first major firefight.

   Checkpoint
2. 02

   Reach the interior of Arasaka Tower

   Enter Arasaka Tower with the team

   Follow the squad from the approach into the tower and stay close as the operation moves indoors. The mission expects the player to advance with the group, so lingering in the starting area does not provide a meaningful exploration benefit.

   Location: Arasaka Tower entrance

3. 03

   Defeat Arasaka security

   Clear the first security positions

   Arasaka security engages the team inside the facility. Fire from cover, prioritize enemies who are directly blocking the route, and move forward only after the immediate area is under control.

   Location: Arasaka Tower interior

   Watch outThe mission is combat-driven, and pushing into an uncleared room can leave Johnny exposed to several firing angles.

4. 04

   Push toward the target area

   Advance through the tower

   Continue along the interior route behind Johnny's allies. The firefights are arranged around corridors and rooms, so use the available cover rather than standing in the center of a doorway; the squad's movement usually indicates the correct direction.

   Location: Arasaka Tower interior

   TipReload and recover between engagements instead of waiting until the next room begins its scripted fight.

5. 05

   Fight through the defenders

   Support the assault during the heavy resistance

   The defense becomes more intense as the team reaches the operation's target area. Keep pressure on the security forces, watch the sides of the arena, and avoid sprinting ahead of the allies because the next encounter can activate around the squad's position.

   Location: Arasaka Tower target route

6. 06

   Complete the assault objective

   Reach the objective area

   Follow the team to the location where the attack's main objective is carried out. The sequence is deliberately linear, and the objective advances through scripted interactions rather than through a choice of hacking, stealth, or alternate entrances.

   Location: Arasaka Tower

   Checkpoint
7. 07

   Escape the target area

   Begin the retreat

   After the objective is complete, leave the target area with the assault team. The return route is not a quiet extraction: expect further resistance and keep moving toward the marked path rather than stopping to revisit cleared rooms.

   Location: Arasaka Tower

   Watch outTreat the retreat as an active combat section; enemies can remain between Johnny and the next objective.

8. 08

   Reach the extraction route

   Fight through the withdrawal route

   Engage the security forces blocking the team's escape and advance from one covered position to the next. If the squad stops, clear the current group before attempting to force the next doorway or corridor.

   Location: Arasaka Tower interior

   TipShort controlled bursts and frequent movement between cover are safer than trying to win every exchange from the same position.

9. 09

   Survive the encounter with Adam Smasher

   Face Adam Smasher

   The escape culminates in a confrontation with Adam Smasher. This encounter is part of the flashback's scripted story outcome; concentrate on surviving the sequence and follow the mission prompts as the situation changes.

   Location: Arasaka Tower

   Watch outThe confrontation is not a normal optional boss fight with a freely chosen outcome. Its narrative result is fixed.

   Checkpoint
10. 10

    Complete the flashback

    Witness Johnny's capture

    The final sequence shows the assault's failure from Johnny's perspective and transitions into his capture by Arasaka. Once the scene begins, control is governed by the story rather than by an escape route or a player decision.

    Location: Arasaka facility

Mission mechanics

Love Like Fire uses a tightly directed combat structure instead of the open-world freedom found in most of V's missions. Enemy groups are placed along a fixed route, and the squad's movement acts as the player's navigation aid. The practical rhythm is to clear the immediate threat, reload and reposition, then follow the team when the path opens.

Johnny's section is also a perspective shift. The player is not managing V's cyberware build, romance choices, or open-world inventory routine; the purpose is to experience Johnny's operation directly. Because the mission's success is tied to story scenes, there is no meaningful alternate ending created by choosing stealth over combat or by taking a different route through the tower.

The best general approach is conservative forward movement. Use walls, pillars, doorframes, and other solid cover, avoid crossing open spaces while enemies are active, and check the route ahead before leaving safety. The mission's checkpoints reduce the cost of a failed combat attempt, but they do not turn the sequence into a freeform sandbox.

What works and what does not

Encounter phasesSpoilers

1. 1

   Tower entry

   Starts: The assault team enters Arasaka Tower.

   The opening combat section introduces the mission's basic rhythm: advance with the group, eliminate security, and use the architecture as cover.

   • Arasaka security fireTell Security defenders reveal themselves from the corridors and rooms ahead.Answer Stay behind cover, clear the nearest firing positions, and move only when the route is safe.
   • Do not outrun the squad into the next room.
   • Use the pause between groups to reload and recover.
2. 2

   Interior push

   Starts: The team reaches the deeper sections of the facility.

   Resistance increases as Johnny and the strike team approach the operation's objective. The level remains linear, with combat arenas connected by the squad's advance.

   • Crossfire from interior positionsTell Enemies can engage from more than one direction in the larger rooms.Answer Work from the edge of the arena and change cover when a position becomes exposed.
   • Keep the objective marker and squad position in view.
   • Prioritize enemies who prevent the team from moving forward.
3. 3

   Withdrawal

   Starts: The assault objective has been completed and the team begins leaving.

   The retreat repeats the mission's combat pattern under greater narrative pressure. The correct response is to keep advancing rather than return to cleared areas.

   • Pursuing security forcesTell Defenders continue to contest the route during the escape.Answer Fight from cover and follow the marked path after each engagement.
   • Treat every pause as a chance to stabilize, not as permission to wander.
   • Watch for the next scripted movement cue from the team.
4. 4

   Adam Smasher confrontation

   Starts: The assault reaches its final confrontation.

   Adam Smasher's appearance brings the flashback to its decisive story beat. The encounter exists to deliver the established outcome of Johnny's assault rather than to offer a branching boss victory.

   • Smasher's assaultTell The confrontation begins as a direct threat at the end of the operation.Answer Follow the active objective and story prompts; the encounter is resolved by the mission's narrative sequence.
   • Do not expect an alternate ending from defeating or avoiding the encounter.
   • The major revelation begins after the confrontation, so the ending should be treated as a spoiler sequence.

Adam Smasher encounterSpoilers

• Location
  Arasaka Tower
• Health
  Not presented as a conventional player-controlled boss health challenge in this flashback.

The confrontation is primarily a scripted story encounter rather than a standard optional boss battle. Follow the objective prompts, use cover if the game gives Johnny direct combat control, and do not assume that winning the exchange can alter the flashback's established conclusion.

Choices and consequencesSpoilers

• Advance through the tower with the assault team.

  The mission follows its fixed route toward the attack objective; there is no known alternate infiltration path that changes the chapter's outcome.

• Use different weapons or combat tactics.

  Combat style can change how the player handles individual firefights, but it does not change the story scenes or Johnny's eventual fate.

  Spoiler
• Attempt to change the final confrontation.

  The ending remains fixed: Johnny is overcome and captured, leading into the events that explain his engram and later connection to V.

  Spoiler

Checklist

• Listen to the briefing at the AfterlifeIt establishes the members and purpose of the assault.
• Stay with the assault teamThe squad provides the intended route through the linear level.
• Use cover during the Arasaka security fightsThe tower's rooms and corridors provide safer firing positions than open approaches.
• Reload between engagementsThe mission moves quickly from one combat space to the next.
• Follow the retreat objective after the attackThe route continues after the main objective is completed.
• Watch the ending sequenceThe final scenes are essential context for Johnny's later role in the story.

Failure conditionsSpoilers

• Johnny is killed during a combat sectionThe mission fails if the playable character loses the firefight. Reload the latest checkpoint and use cover more deliberately.
• The player falls behind the squadThe level is scripted around the team's movement. Falling behind may leave Johnny out of position for the next encounter, so regroup before pushing onward.
• The player expects to alter the flashback endingThe final outcome is predetermined by the story and cannot be prevented through combat choices.

Rewards

• Main-story progression
  Completing Love Like Fire advances Cyberpunk 2077's opening narrative and unlocks the next story sequence.
• Johnny Silverhand backstory
  The mission supplies firsthand context for Johnny's conflict with Arasaka and his relationship to the main plot.
• No major optional reward
  This flashback is not structured around a unique optional item, romance reward, or branching completion bonus.

Characters in this missionSpoilers

• Johnny SilverhandPlayable character during the flashback and leader of the assault's narrative perspective.
• Rogue AmendiaresJohnny's partner in the operation.
• Adam SmasherArasaka's heavy combatant who confronts Johnny at the end of the assault.
• Alt CunninghamA central figure in Johnny's history and the flashback's wider context.

AftermathSpoilers

Trivia

• Love Like Fire is one of the game's playable historical flashbacks rather than a mission experienced by V in the present day.
• The mission uses Johnny Silverhand's perspective to make the Arasaka conflict personal before the game explains its full connection to V.
• The Afterlife serves as the staging point for the assault, linking Johnny's history with the nightclub's importance in the present-day story.
• The fixed outcome reinforces that this chapter is a reconstruction of an established event, not a branching retelling shaped by the player's choices.

Relationships