don't fear the reaper is one of those Cyberpunk 2077 questions where the accepted answer is nearly right and the gap matters.

Short answer

In most cases the straightforward approach works. The exceptions are specific and listed below.

Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have. It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see.

Why it works this way

Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one. Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of Cyberpunk 2077.

The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests.

Worth knowing alongside this

Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts.

  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.
  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Region and platform change more than people expect, so confirm both.
  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.
  • Do not build a routine around an edge case.
  • Prefer the in-game option over an external tool when both exist.

What to do instead

Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. Everything below is framed around the current state of Cyberpunk 2077 rather than a launch-week impression.

Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work.

The practical answer

Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional. Cyberpunk 2077 is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of.

It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep.

When the usual advice fails

If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration.

Where people go wrong

  • Treating a rare edge case as the normal behaviour and planning around it.
  • Copying a setup wholesale from a streamer without understanding what each part does.
  • Trusting a video thumbnail that promises a result the video never actually shows.

Cyberpunk FAQ

How long does this take?

Minutes if it goes cleanly, an evening if you hit the edge case in the caveats list. Neither is unusual.

Do I need any mods or third-party tools for this?

No. Everything described here works with the base game on any supported platform.

Is this still accurate after the latest Cyberpunk 2077 update?

The method is; individual numbers may not be. If a value on your screen differs, trust the screen and keep the sequence.

Why do people disagree about this?

Mostly because they are describing different versions. Version drift explains the majority of contradictory advice about Cyberpunk 2077.

Bookmark it if you like, but honestly, once you have done it once you will not need to come back.