Should You Accept Or Refuse Maiko In Cyberpunk 2077?

Summary

• The ”
  Pisces
  ” side job in
  Cyberpunk 2077
  has multiple outcomes, affecting the fate of the club called Clouds, and influencing V’s relationship with Judy.
• Players hoping to romance Judy should make their decision carefully, as putting the Mox in danger will anger her.
• Players will also need to carefully navigate interactions with Maiko, and make certain choices during her meeting with the Tyger Claws.

Side quests in Cyberpunk 2077 can sometimes have outcomes that will limit options down the road, particularly when it comes to relationships with NPCs. One side job in the game, “Pisces,” has just such a conclusion, where players will need to choose carefully if they are looking to have romance blossom between V and Judy. Lives are on the line, as they always seem to be in the gritty world of Night City, and V has several options about how to proceed, particularly in one very important dialogue exchange with Maiko, Tyger Claws associate and unofficial manager of the club Clouds.

Judy, one of the romance options in Cyberpunk 2077, has several quests that affect her feelings about V, and the “Pisces” side job featuring Maiko and the Tyger Claws can instantly put a halt to any possibility of a future involving her. This quest decides the fate of Clouds, the Tyger Claws, and V’s relationship with Judy all at once. With so much on the line, there is plenty of reason to take precautions here. Maiko will put players in a bit of a precarious situation with the Tyger Claw leaders, as she hopes to be able to take over Clouds’ management and Hiromi Sato’s job. In the course of this not-so-simple side job, there are three main courses of action that V can take.

What Happens In Cyberpunk 2077 After Accepting Maiko’s Deal

Pros & Cons Of Siding With Maiko In “Pisces”

“Pisces” begins with a text message from Judy, in which she explains that her plan to take over Clouds, along with some of her fellow employees, is ready to be put in motion. She’s arranged a meeting with the Tyger Claws to discuss the prospect. At the meeting with the two Tyger Claws, one of V’s options is to play along with Maiko’s new scheme and convince the bosses to hand Hiromi’s job over to Maiko.

In this situation, the bosses will be easily satisfied, and kill off Hiromi themselves with the katana on the table. The bosses will tell Maiko that they will make it look as if this was their plan all along, and propose at a future meeting for her to head the Clouds operation. As a result, the Tyger Claws are pleased, and this also leads to the bosses offering V jobs down the line as a working relationship with the Tyger Claws is formed. Maiko will be very satisfied and ask V to follow her into the hall, before paying V for the service.

Judy will only be open to a romance with V if they have the feminine body type and voice.

Judy will become immediately angry after this interaction, but still ask the player to meet her out on the street by some food vendors. Judy will air out her frustration with V for letting Maiko use them to gain control of Clouds, when the point of the job was to free them. If the player accepts Maiko’s eddies when offered, Judy will become even angrier and will not be interested in romancing V afterward. This choice should only be made if it makes sense for V in a roleplaying capacity, or if the player simply likes getting under Judy’s skin.

However, it’s also possible to hand Clouds over to Maiko, but still refuse her payment for doing so. If the player refuses the eddies, the outcome remains a peaceful one and a romance with Judy is still on the table. Judy will still be mad, of course, and they may have to make up the affinity gain with her later. However, she will come to terms with Maiko’s leadership, eventually acknowledging that the Tyger Claws will offer Clouds’ staff better protection than she ever could. That said, if V comes back to the club to ask around later, they’ll learn that working conditions are scarcely better under Maiko.

Even so, this is the only option in this side job that doesn’t end in violence. While it doesn’t materially do anything to improve the conditions at Clouds, it does satisfy Judy, and doesn’t end in anyone’s death. As a result, if romancing Judy isn’t the player’s priority, siding with Maiko, but refusing her money, is probably the best option.

What Happens In Cyberpunk 2077 If V Kills Maiko

Pros & Cons Of Killing Maiko In “Pisces”

Alternatively, at the meeting with the two Tyger Claws bosses, V can take the situation into their own hands and cut the chatter by outright fighting them. Maiko, obviously, does not like this change in plans, and she will become very agitated as she tries to tell the player that the other Tyger Claws will return to Clouds to get revenge. V can then become equally confrontational, suggesting their differences can be solved with violence. In this situation, Maiko reminds the player that she also has a doll chip and will immediately proceed to fight V for Clouds’ benefit.

Once V has successfully slain Maiko, Judy will ask the player to meet her on the ground level near the street food vendors. Judy will be very surprised to hear about V killing Maiko and become upset. The player can apologize to Judy, which she will appreciate, but she will still be angry and need to gather her thoughts before speaking to V on the subject. She’ll end up leaving V here awkwardly, to process everything that just went down.

This outcome is a semi-neutral, semi-negative thing to throw Judy’s way if the player is interested in romancing her. It leaves the possibility for romance on the table down the line, but may make getting there more difficult. Then again, later in the story, V will learn that other Tyger Claws members indeed retaliated for the violent attack, killing Tom, causing Roxanne to go into hiding, and forcibly taking over the club.

What Happens In Cyberpunk 2077 After Refusing Maiko’s Deal

Pros & Cons Of Siding With Judy In Cyberpunk

The third option that V can choose in the meeting with the two bosses of the Tyger Claws and Maiko lets V actively choose to work against Maiko without killing her. In this instance, the leaders will not take Maiko seriously, and V ultimately has to kill off the two in the deal along with Hiromi Sato. This will cause Maiko a great deal of anger, but she will not fight V. Maiko will say that the Tyger Claws will eventually come for Clouds, but V and Judy feel that the Tyger Claws would rather cut their losses and let go of Clouds.

Maiko and Judy will both agree that V should get out of there immediately after this action, and V heads out to the food stalls on the street outside the apartment. This will relinquish the Tyger Claws’ hold on the business and return freedom to the Moxies. As a member of the Mox, Judy will be very happy with V’s choice here. She will express her frustration that the situation had to go down the way that it did and that Maiko tricked her and V. Once V reminds her of the real goal, she’ll express her gratitude before leaving. For now, this is the most positive ending players can get out of the “Pisces” side job and is the best choice for anyone wanting to romance Judy.

But if V continues this storyline, they will find – same as if they had killed Maiko – that the Tyger Claws returned to Clouds and exacted revenge. So, while the immediate result is much more positive, the long-term outcome may be considered a net negative.

Throughout the game, the best immersion comes when players roleplay such situations as how they feel that their unique V would act, within the parameters of choices that the game provides. If V truly has their heart set on Judy, then hopefully they will naturally want to free the Moxies and help Judy, but sometimes the heat of the moment can make for some tricky outcomes or unexpected results.That can be part of the fun of games such as Cyberpunk 2077.