Keep a save before the lock
Update 2.5 groups saves in the Load Game menu by playthrough. The slot limits are 20 auto saves, 10 quick saves, and 20 manual saves. Point of No Return saves and End Game saves sit outside those limits.
Keep a manual save in addition to the Point of No Return save. Use it when you want the moment before the lock again.
Act 1 windows
Two jobs close Iconic weapons before any finale. Save before the hotel escape in The Heist, and before the All Foods negotiation in The Pickup.
Base game · Nocturne Op55N1
The Point of No Return is inside Nocturne Op55N1. Passing it is the lock. Overwatch stays in your inventory after that point. If an older save lost the rifle there, load an earlier save and play through the Point of No Return again.
Finale Iconics are picked up on a route past this lock. Open the finale table and keep the manual save if you want another route.
Base game · Rooftop choices
Nocturne Op55N1 ends on the rooftop with Johnny, where you choose who helps with the attack on Arasaka. Hanako’s Arasaka option is always offered. Panam’s option needs her side job Queen of the Highway. Rogue’s option needs Johnny’s side jobs Chippin’ In and Blistering Love. Finish those jobs before the Point of No Return.
The secret ending, (Don’t Fear) The Reaper, starts from Chippin’ In. Pick the friendly dialogue with Johnny on that job. On the rooftop, do not choose a plan and wait until Johnny suggests attacking Arasaka Tower without a crew, then accept. That assault has no retry: if V dies, the game ends and the credits roll. Keep the manual save from before the Point of No Return.
Phantom Liberty · Dogtown branches
To start the expansion on an ongoing save, own Phantom Liberty and finish the main job Transmission in Act 2. Songbird then calls, and Dog Eat Dog starts. New Game also offers Skip Ahead to Phantom Liberty, which starts V at level 15.
Phantom Liberty is the Dogtown story with President Myers, Songbird, and Solomon Reed. Songbird unlocks the Relic tree at the first meeting, during Dog Eat Dog. The first Songbird meeting unlocks the Relic tree; repeating that meeting does not grant extra Relic points.
Firestarter is the job with Kurt Hansen. The stadium security datashard comes off his body, and the job uses that shard. Siding with Songbird is one branch of Firestarter, and Bald Eagle can be picked up on that branch. The rest of the Reed and Songbird Iconic split is on the Phantom Liberty weapon table.
The Killing Moon is the drive to the spaceport, then the shuttle, carrying Songbird.
Somewhat Damaged is the bunker. The job uses the Neural Network, a port in the core, and Cerberus. When Cerberus is loose, hiding is what lets the job continue. Observation Room doors do not require an attribute check. Militech Canto Mk.6 is on this job.
Siding with So Mi is the route that grants the Quantum Tuner.
A new game that skips ahead to Phantom Liberty marks some earlier quests completed. On a skip-ahead Phantom Liberty start, earlier simulated quests appear in the Journal; Dex's body is in the landfill, and Jackie's guns can be taken from the altar in El Coyote Cojo.
Phantom Liberty · The Tower
After you complete Things Done Changed, you cannot go back to the Point of No Return. That epilogue grants no rewards, and the story ends. Load a manual save from before the Point of No Return if you still want another finale.
Questions
Where is the Point of No Return?
It sits inside Nocturne Op55N1. The game stores a Point of No Return save outside the auto, quick, and manual slot limits. Keep a manual save from before you pass it. Update 2.5 groups Load Game saves by playthrough.
I finished The Tower and the game ended.
Things Done Changed is The Tower, the Phantom Liberty ending. After you complete it, you cannot go back to the Point of No Return. That epilogue grants no rewards, and the story ends. Load a manual save from before the Point of No Return.
I skipped ahead to Phantom Liberty and older jobs are already finished.
On a new game that skips ahead to Phantom Liberty, earlier simulated quests appear in the Journal. Dex's body is in the landfill, and Jackie's guns can be taken from the altar in El Coyote Cojo. Other pickups that needed a skipped job can already be closed. The missable Iconic list names the quest that closes each weapon.
Which Phantom Liberty jobs are the late branches?
Firestarter is the job with Kurt Hansen and the stadium security datashard. Siding with Songbird on that job still leaves Bald Eagle. The Killing Moon is the spaceport shuttle with Songbird. Somewhat Damaged is the bunker with the Neural Network, the core, and Cerberus. The Tower is Things Done Changed, and completing it ends the story without a return to the Point of No Return.
How do I unlock the secret ending, (Don't Fear) The Reaper?
Finish Johnny's side job Chippin' In and pick the friendly dialogue with him on that job. At the end of Nocturne Op55N1, on the rooftop with Johnny, do not choose a plan and wait. Johnny then suggests attacking Arasaka Tower without a crew; accept it. If V dies during that assault, the game ends and the credits roll.
Which rooftop options need side jobs first?
Hanako's Arasaka option is always offered. Panam's option needs her side job Queen of the Highway. Rogue's option needs Johnny's side jobs Chippin' In and Blistering Love. Finish them before the Point of No Return in Nocturne Op55N1.
How do I start Phantom Liberty?
Own the expansion and finish the main job Transmission in Act 2. Songbird then calls, and Dog Eat Dog starts. New Game also offers Skip Ahead to Phantom Liberty, which starts V at level 15 and marks some earlier quests completed.