When you can start to explore more of Night City.
Guide by Matthew Reynolds Contributor
Updated on
The lockdown in Cyberpunk 2077 is an event which sees Night City closed off for the start of the game.
Similar to open-world adventures such as the Grand Theft Auto series of old, it's designed to limit how far you can travel initially in Cyberpunk 2077, possibly to prevent you from getting lost or overwhelmed - or, more likely, being distracted by everything Night City has to offer.
This page explains how to wait for lockdown to end in Cyberpunk 2077, which is the requirement for side mission The Gig, and what you receive as a reward for your patience.
On this page:
- How to wait for lockdown to end
- The Gig rewards
For more help with Cyberpunk 2077, we have pages on Cyberpunk GOG rewards, life paths and attributes.
How to wait for lockdown to end in Cyberpunk 2077
When the life path specific prologue ends, you'll begin Act 1 in V's apartment, situated in Watson, described as "the bad neighbourhood of Night City" by developer CD Projekt Red.
Though Watson is a sizable area, due to story events, you cannot explore past it due to the region being in a lockdown state. This also locks off one of the initial side missions, The Gig, which asks you to "wait for the lockdown to end".
In practical terms, it means any attempt to leave the area by one of the many freeways to other regions will see you being met with a blockade and some rather hefty automated defences.
As the game says, you need to 'turn back, nothin' out there for you... just yet'.
To wait for lockdown to end, you must simply continue playing the main story of the game and progress to Act 2. This isn't too far in terms of missions, having you complete The Pickup, The Information and The Heist, but in terms of hours, can be as much as five hours from the start of Act 1, depending on how much you play.
The good news is The Gig won't go anywhere until you've completed these - and is designed to tease there's more out there in the city when lockdown lifts. So continue playing the story and when Act 2 begins, you can venture beyond Watson.
The Gig rewards in Cyberpunk 2077 explained
Once you have access to The Gig, set it as a waypoint and pay Wakako a visit.
After the conversation, you are given a number of credits, and are told to visit a Ripperdoc elsewhere. They will then give you a tattoo with a Tyger Claws Dermal Imprint, allowing you to use the smart-targeting module in Smart weapons.
This is particularly useful for taking down Cyberpsycho Sightings non-lethally - so be sure to grab this before taking on any of the optional mini-bosses.
With that done, there's also a lot out there in Night City now you can explore - just remember to unlock some fast travel points as you go...
