No Easy Way Out

Key takeaways

The mission is straightforward to play but important to approach carefully because its last conversation changes Aaron’s outcome.

• Follow Aaron’s problem, not a standard bounty The mission is driven by Aaron McCarlson’s attempt to regain control over his boxing career. Treat the early objectives as an escort and protection assignment rather than a hunt for a conventional target.
• Prepare for a clinic ambush The medical sequence becomes a combat encounter involving the Animals. Bring healing supplies and take positions that let you watch the entrances while keeping Aaron from being boxed in.
• Save before meeting Angie The meeting with Angie is the mission’s decisive point. A manual save before that conversation is the safest way to compare the available outcomes without replaying the entire assignment.
• There is no single purely mechanical solution The final choice weighs Aaron’s safety and independence against the protection and payment offered through the Animals’ arrangement. The preferred result depends on the player’s interpretation of Aaron’s priorities.

No Easy Way Out overview

No Easy Way Out is a Phantom Liberty side mission about Aaron McCarlson, a boxer in Dogtown whose career is being controlled through a coercive arrangement with the Animals. V becomes involved when Aaron asks for help dealing with the consequences.

No Easy Way Out begins with a personal problem rather than a conventional contract to eliminate a target. Aaron McCarlson is a boxer trying to continue his career in Dogtown, but a deal connected to the Animals has put his future under someone else’s control. V’s role is initially framed as practical assistance: accompany Aaron, help him reach medical support, and make sure the procedure he is seeking is not interrupted. The mission uses that setup to establish Aaron as a vulnerable participant in a system that treats violence, cyberware, and debt as parts of the same business.

The mission’s middle section combines an escort-style objective with a hostile encounter. Aaron cannot simply walk into the clinic and leave the problem behind, because the Animals have an interest in preserving the arrangement. During the procedure, V must keep the area secure while enemies attack. The fight is more manageable when the player uses the clinic’s cover and controls the approach routes instead of allowing the attackers to surround Aaron. Once the immediate threat is dealt with, the mission shifts from protection to negotiation.

The final portion takes V to Angie, a representative of the Animals who has authority over Aaron’s agreement. This conversation determines whether Aaron is released from the arrangement, whether Angie survives, and what kind of future Aaron can pursue. The decision is not a simple reward-versus-penalty exchange: the available outcomes reflect different judgments about Aaron’s safety, autonomy, and willingness to risk his career. Because the conversation contains the mission’s major consequences, players who want to see every result should create a manual save before meeting Angie.

No Easy Way Out is best approached as a character-focused side mission with a short combat section and a consequential final conversation. It does not require a specialized build, although cyberware, healing items, and a weapon suited to close-quarters combat make the clinic encounter easier. The mission also illustrates how Dogtown’s factions exploit people who depend on cyberware and organized violence, making Aaron’s personal dilemma more important than the amount of combat involved.

Where this sits

Requirements

No specialized build or named item is required. The mission is available within the Phantom Liberty portion of Cyberpunk 2077, but the exact unlock trigger is not verified here.

• RequiredAccess to Phantom Liberty contentNo Easy Way Out is a Phantom Liberty side mission set in Dogtown.
• RecommendedCombat readinessThe clinic section includes a fight against the Animals, so healing items and a dependable weapon are recommended.
• RecommendedManual save before the Angie meetingSave before the final conversation if you want to compare its branching outcomes.
• OptionalA close-range fallback weaponThe clinic environment favors weapons that remain effective when enemies push through entrances and cover.

Objectives

1. Talk to Aaron McCarlsonLearn what Aaron wants V to do and agree to help him.
2. Accompany Aaron to the clinicFollow Aaron through Dogtown and reach the location where he intends to address the problem affecting his career.
3. Protect Aaron during the procedureHold the clinic against the Animals while the treatment is underway.
4. Meet AngieAfter the clinic encounter, go to the Animals’ representative and discuss Aaron’s agreement.
5. Decide Aaron’s futureChoose whether to accept Angie’s arrangement, oppose her directly, or allow Aaron to determine how he proceeds.

Walkthrough

1. 01

   Talk to Aaron McCarlson

   Speak with Aaron McCarlson

   Find Aaron in Dogtown and listen to his explanation before accepting the job. The important information is that his boxing career is tied to an agreement with the Animals, so do not treat the opening conversation as a routine request to clear enemies.

   Location: Dogtown

   TipExhaust the available dialogue if you want the context behind Aaron’s fear and his connection to the Animals.

2. 02

   Accompany Aaron to the clinic

   Follow Aaron through Dogtown

   Stay with Aaron as he travels toward the clinic. Keep close enough for the objective to advance, but do not rush ahead and trigger fights before Aaron reaches the next position; the mission is built around his movement through the district.

   Location: Dogtown streets

   Watch outLeaving the mission route or moving too far ahead can interrupt the escort flow and force you to reposition near Aaron.

3. 03

   Get Aaron ready for treatment

   Enter the clinic and prepare for the procedure

   Once you reach the medical location, allow Aaron and the ripperdoc to begin the procedure. Before the combat starts, reload your weapon, use a healing item if necessary, and identify cover that gives you a view of the entrances rather than standing in the center of the room.

   Location: The clinic in Dogtown

   TipA position near solid cover lets you break line of sight, recover health, and re-engage enemies without abandoning the room.

4. 04

   Protect Aaron during the procedure

   Defend Aaron from the Animals

   The Animals attack while Aaron is undergoing treatment. Prioritize enemies who enter the clinic and any attacker who reaches Aaron’s position, then sweep the remaining rooms and approach lanes so the encounter can finish cleanly.

   Location: The clinic

   Watch outDo not chase a retreating enemy so far away that Aaron is left exposed. The fight is safest when you keep the clinic as your defensive center.

5. 05

   Complete the medical sequence

   Leave the clinic after the attack

   When the attackers are defeated and the procedure is complete, regroup with Aaron and wait for the next objective. Check the room for dropped equipment before leaving, but do not assume that the clinic fight is the mission’s final confrontation.

   Location: The clinic

   Checkpoint
6. 06

   Meet Angie

   Travel to Angie’s meeting point

   Follow the new objective through Dogtown to meet Angie. This section is primarily a transition into the mission’s negotiation, so avoid starting unrelated encounters while travelling and make a manual save before initiating the conversation.

   Location: Dogtown

   TipThe save before Angie is the most useful safety point for players who want to examine the consequences of different dialogue choices.

7. 07

   Discuss Aaron’s deal

   Confront Angie about Aaron’s agreement

   Speak with Angie and let the conversation establish what the Animals expect from Aaron. The dialogue presents the central conflict between the deal’s protection and payment and Aaron’s desire to control his own future.

   Location: Angie’s meeting place

   Watch outThe conversation contains the mission’s major branch. Choose carefully if you want Aaron to receive a particular outcome, and use the pre-conversation save if you need to test another path.

8. 08

   Complete No Easy Way Out

   Resolve Aaron’s future

   Choose whether to accept Angie’s proposal, oppose her, or allow Aaron to accept the arrangement. The result changes the way Aaron’s story concludes, so remain for the full conversation and subsequent dialogue instead of leaving immediately after the decision.

   Location: Angie’s meeting place

   Checkpoint

Mission mechanics

The clinic encounter is an escort-defense sequence. Aaron’s presence changes the player’s priorities: eliminating enemies quickly is useful, but maintaining control of the room is more important than pursuing every hostile into the surrounding area. Use cover with a clear view of likely entrances, keep healing available, and rotate only when an enemy has forced you out of a safe angle.

The Animals are aggressive close-range opponents, so distance and vertical separation are valuable when the environment allows them. Shotguns, automatic weapons, quickhacks, and melee options can all work, but the reliable principle is to stop the nearest attacker before it reaches Aaron. Scan the room between waves or bursts of pressure so that a flank does not develop behind your position.

After the combat section, the mission becomes dialogue-led. There is no need to bring a special item to the Angie meeting, and the decisive factor is the choice itself rather than a skill check described by the available source material. A pre-meeting save is therefore more useful than changing equipment or spending perk points.

What works and what does not

Encounter phases

1. 1

   Clinic defense

   Starts: The procedure begins after Aaron reaches the clinic.

   Aaron must remain protected; exact health values are not verified.

   The Animals attack the clinic while Aaron is receiving treatment. The encounter rewards holding a defensible position and preventing enemies from reaching Aaron.

   • Close-range rushTell Animals push directly through the available approaches and attempt to collapse the distance.Answer Keep cover between yourself and the attackers, then focus fire on the closest threat before it reaches Aaron.
   • Flanking pressureTell Enemies can approach from more than one direction as the fight spreads through the clinic.Answer Recheck the side entrances after every burst of combat instead of aiming at only the most visible target.
   • Use the clinic’s cover rather than fighting in the open center of the room.
   • Keep a healing item ready before the procedure starts.
   • Do not abandon Aaron to pursue enemies into distant rooms.

Choices and consequencesSpoilers

• Accept Angie’s arrangement for Aaron

  Aaron’s story follows the path offered by the Animals, prioritizing the terms of the deal and the protection or payment attached to it. The exact later reward details should be confirmed against an editorial walkthrough.

  Spoiler
• Oppose Angie and kill her

  V rejects Angie’s control over Aaron and removes her from the decision. This creates a different resolution for Aaron and leaves the Animals’ local leadership changed.

  Spoiler
• Persuade Aaron to accept the arrangement

  Aaron is allowed to make the decision himself, producing an outcome distinct from V simply agreeing to Angie’s terms. The precise follow-up dialogue and reward state are not verified here.

  Spoiler

No Easy Way Out checklist

• Talk to Aaron McCarlson and understand the problem affecting his boxing career.Do not skip the opening explanation if you want the context for the final choice.
• Follow Aaron to the clinic.Stay near him so the escort objective advances normally.
• Reload and heal before the procedure begins.The clinic attack starts after the medical sequence is underway.
• Defend Aaron until the Animals are defeated.Hold the clinic instead of chasing enemies far from the objective.
• Complete the clinic sequence.Wait for the objective to update before leaving.
• Save before speaking with Angie.This preserves access to the mission’s alternate outcomes.
• Decide how Aaron’s agreement should end.The final decision is the mission’s main consequence.

Failure conditions

• Aaron is left unprotected during the clinic attackThe clinic objective is built around keeping Aaron safe while the procedure takes place. Prioritize enemies that reach his position and avoid drawing the fight away from him.
• The escort route is disruptedMoving too far away from Aaron or rushing ahead can interrupt the mission’s intended sequence. Return to Aaron’s position if the objective stops advancing.
• The final choice is made without a backup saveThe Angie conversation commits the mission to an outcome. Without a manual save before the meeting, seeing another result requires replaying the relevant section.

Rewards and dropsSpoilers

• Mission completion reward
  Completing No Easy Way Out provides a reward, but the supplied source pack does not verify its exact name or amount.
• Outcome-dependent resolution
  The final dialogue choice changes Aaron’s personal outcome and may affect the reward presentation. Exact branch-specific rewards require editorial verification.

Characters in this mission

• AngieAnimals representative who confronts V and Aaron about the agreement.

AftermathEnding spoilers

Trivia

• The title reflects the mission’s central dilemma: every available path carries a cost for Aaron rather than offering a completely consequence-free escape.
• The mission connects Dogtown’s boxing scene with the Animals’ use of physical strength and cyberware as tools of control.
• Its structure changes genre during play, moving from a personal request to an escort, then to a contained defense encounter and finally to a branching conversation.

Relationships