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MissionsupportingSide missionModerate

New Person, Same Old Mistakes

A Dogtown side mission involving Aaron McCarlson, a boxer whose future depends on a dangerous choice involving his handlers and the violence surrounding his career.

RoleSupporting side mission in Dogtown
StatusAvailable in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Importancesupporting
RewardMission-specific outcome and rewards vary according to the player's decisions.
TimeNot verified
  • GameCyberpunk 2077
  • ExpansionPhantom Liberty
  • Mission typeSide mission
  • Primary settingDogtown
  • Central characterAaron McCarlson
  • Combat emphasisSituational
  • Choice sensitivityYes
  • DifficultyModerate

No verified mission duration, mission number, or reward values were available in the source pack.

Key takeaways

The mission is most useful to approach as a dialogue-led character story with a choice-sensitive outcome.

  • Stay alert during conversations Aaron's situation is explained through dialogue, and rushing past his account can make the later decision harder to judge.
  • Expect a personal conflict The mission is concerned with Aaron's boxing career and the people controlling or influencing it, not with a conventional military objective.
  • Save before committing A manual save is advisable before the major decision because the mission can produce different consequences depending on V's response.
  • Treat Dogtown as part of the story The setting is not just a backdrop; the district's power structure helps explain why Aaron has difficulty making a clean break.

Overview

New Person, Same Old Mistakes is a supporting side mission in Dogtown that follows , a boxer caught between his own ambitions and the people profiting from his fights.

New Person, Same Old Mistakes is one of the character-focused missions connected to Aaron McCarlson in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Rather than sending V through a conventional corporate operation or a large combat zone, the mission focuses on Aaron's attempt to change his circumstances while remaining surrounded by the coercion, exploitation, and violence that define Dogtown. The title reflects the central tension: leaving one bad situation does not automatically prevent the same patterns from returning.

The mission is built around a personal decision rather than a single combat objective. Aaron's boxing career, his relationship with the people managing it, and the consequences of earlier choices all shape the encounter. Players should pay attention to dialogue and avoid treating every conversation as a simple binary between helping and refusing. The people involved may present their demands as practical solutions, but the mission repeatedly asks whether Aaron is being given genuine freedom or merely a different form of control.

Because the mission is connected to Aaron's wider storyline, its most important content is easy to miss if the player rushes through conversations. The safest approach is to speak with Aaron fully, inspect the surrounding situation before committing to a response, and make a manual save before major decisions. The mission's exact rewards and prerequisite chain should be checked against an updated guide before publication, because the available reference material for this entry is model-derived rather than verified against a current game build.

Where this sits

Aaron McCarlson storylineCharacter-focused side content
New Person, Same Old MistakesCurrent mission
  1. 1DogtownlocationThe mission takes place within the expansion's main district.
  2. 2Aaron McCarlsoncharacterThe mission's central character and boxer.
  3. ●New Person, Same Old MistakesmissionThe current side mission.

The mission belongs to Aaron McCarlson's Dogtown storyline, but the precise unlock order should be verified for the relevant game version.

Requirements

The mission is tied to Phantom Liberty's Dogtown content and 's storyline.

  • RequiredAccess to DogtownThe mission takes place in Dogtown and therefore requires access to the Phantom Liberty area.
  • RequiredAaron McCarlson's storylineThe mission is presented as part of Aaron's connected character content rather than as an unrelated open-world activity.
  • RecommendedA save before the final decisionThis is not a gameplay requirement, but it is strongly recommended if the player wants to compare the available outcomes.

Objectives

  1. Meet with Aaron McCarlsonFind Aaron in Dogtown and listen to the explanation of his current situation.
  2. Investigate the conflict surrounding Aaron's boxing careerUse the available conversations to understand who is influencing Aaron and what is at stake.
  3. Decide how V will respondChoose whether to support Aaron directly, challenge the people applying pressure, or leave the matter in Aaron's hands.
  4. Resolve the missionFollow the selected response through its concluding conversation and any resulting confrontation.

Walkthrough

  1. 01

    Meet Aaron McCarlson

    Travel to Dogtown and locate Aaron McCarlson

    Go to Aaron's marked position in Dogtown and approach without immediately leaving the area. The mission is dialogue-led at the start, so make sure the conversation has fully concluded before moving on or fast-travelling.

    Location: Dogtown

    TipCreate a manual save before beginning the conversation if you want to test different dialogue outcomes.

  2. 02

    Understand Aaron's situation

    Listen to Aaron's account of the problem

    Let Aaron explain what has happened to him and why he is seeking V's help. His description establishes the pressure surrounding his boxing career, so avoid skipping dialogue if you want enough context for the later choice.

    Location: Aaron's meeting area in Dogtown

    Watch outThe mission's important information is delivered through conversation rather than a large objective marker or an extended investigation sequence.

  3. 03

    Investigate the conflict surrounding Aaron

    Examine the people and circumstances around the fight

    Pay attention to the names, demands, and promises presented during the mission. The conflict is not simply about winning a bout; it is about whether Aaron can act independently while the people around him continue to benefit from his situation.

    Location: Dogtown

    TipRead optional dialogue before selecting a response that commits V to a side.

  4. 04

    Determine how to help Aaron

    Discuss the available solution

    When the mission presents its central decision, consider what each person actually gains from the proposed arrangement. Some options may sound like a clean escape for Aaron while still leaving him dependent on the same power structure.

    Location: Dogtown

    Watch outThe outcome is choice-sensitive. Save before the decision if you want to preserve the ability to review the alternatives.

  5. 05

    Make the mission's major choice

    Choose V's response

    Select the response that best matches how you want V to handle Aaron's situation. The available path can support Aaron, oppose the people controlling the arrangement, or allow Aaron to take responsibility for the decision rather than having V decide everything for him.

    Location: Dogtown

  6. 06

    Resolve the immediate conflict

    Handle the resulting confrontation

    If the chosen response turns the conversation hostile, deal with the resulting enemies before attempting to leave the area. Keep the fight contained to the marked encounter space and confirm that the objective updates before travelling away.

    Location: Dogtown

    TipUse the surrounding space for cover and avoid moving away from the objective marker while the encounter is active.

  7. 07

    Complete Aaron's storyline for this mission

    Speak with Aaron after the decision

    Return to Aaron or remain with him until the concluding dialogue is complete. This final exchange confirms how the decision affected his immediate future and is the point at which the mission's personal consequences become clear.

    Location: Dogtown

    Watch outLeaving before the final conversation can make it unclear whether the mission has fully advanced.

    Missable

Mission mechanics

The mission's main mechanic is conversational evaluation. Aaron's problem is introduced through dialogue, and the player must distinguish between what characters say they will do and what their proposed arrangement means in practice. There is no need to force a combat solution before the story calls for one; the early portion is best handled by exploring the available conversation options.

Combat, when it occurs, is secondary to the decision structure. If hostilities begin, the objective normally changes from discussion to resolving the immediate threat, after which the player must return to the mission's narrative thread. Because the exact enemy composition and encounter layout are not verified here, players should rely on the active objective and environmental cover rather than a fixed enemy-count route.

A manual save is particularly valuable before the mission's defining choice. The save allows the player to understand one outcome without treating the first response as irreversible, while still preserving the role-playing value of choosing based on Aaron's stated wishes rather than simply selecting the option that appears most profitable.

What works and what does not

Strengths

  • Keeps the focus on a named character and a specific personal dilemma.
  • Uses Dogtown's atmosphere to reinforce the mission's themes of coercion and survival.
  • Provides a choice-sensitive resolution rather than reducing Aaron's problem to a standard combat encounter.
  • Can be approached by players who prefer dialogue and role-playing over extended firefights.

Weaknesses

  • The mission's most important information can be missed by skipping conversations.
  • The correct response is deliberately subjective, so the game does not provide a universally best moral answer.
  • Its exact reward structure and unlock order are not confirmed in the available reference material.

Best uses

  • Play it as part of Aaron McCarlson's connected storyline.
  • Make a save before the central decision.
  • Use the mission to explore a non-corporate conflict within Dogtown.

Choices and consequencesSpoilers

  • Support Aaron's attempt to change his situation

    V can take a position that prioritizes Aaron's independence and immediate safety. The precise follow-up and reward details require verification.

  • Challenge the arrangement offered by the people around Aaron

    V can reject the forces benefiting from Aaron's predicament, potentially turning the discussion into a confrontation. The resulting state of the relevant characters should be checked against the current game version.

  • Allow Aaron to decide for himself

    V can avoid taking complete ownership of Aaron's future and leave room for him to act on his own judgment. The exact long-term consequence is not confirmed in the supplied material.

Checklist

  • Reach Dogtown before starting the missionThe mission is located within the Phantom Liberty district.
  • Speak with Aaron McCarlson without skipping his explanationHis account provides the context for the central decision.
  • Review all available dialogue before choosing a sideThe mission's conflict is primarily explained through conversation.
  • Create a manual save before the major choiceThe mission has choice-sensitive consequences.
  • Resolve any confrontation that follows the decisionDo not leave the marked area while the combat objective is active.
  • Complete the final conversation with AaronThe concluding exchange confirms mission completion and its immediate aftermath.

Failure conditions

  • Leaving the active objective area during a combat sequenceIf a confrontation begins, moving too far away can fail or interrupt the encounter. Stay near the marked location until the objective updates.
  • Skipping the concluding interactionDeparting immediately after the decision may leave the mission's final state unclear. Remain in the area and follow the updated objective.
  • Committing to a choice without a saveThis does not fail the mission, but it can prevent an easy comparison of the available outcomes if the player changes their mind.

On failure

The exact checkpoint behavior is not verified; use manual saves before major conversations and rely on the active objective after combat.

Characters in this mission

AftermathSpoilers

Aaron's future depends on the decision

The mission does not treat Aaron's problem as a simple job with one universally correct answer. The response chosen by V changes the immediate outcome of the situation and can affect how Aaron's storyline is understood afterward. Make a save before committing if you want to examine the alternatives.

Trivia

  • The mission's title points to its central theme: changing one's circumstances does not necessarily break the habits or systems that created the original problem.
  • Aaron's storyline contrasts the public image of boxing with the private pressure placed on the people who perform for an audience.
  • The mission is a comparatively intimate use of Dogtown, emphasizing personal leverage and local power rather than the expansion's largest political conflicts.

Relationships

Characters