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River Wardis one of the few good cops left in Night City, and while he delves deep into a disturbing case with V, he can indeed become a blossoming romance partner, should players manage to help him. River Ward is an honest man in a dishonest city inCyberpunk 2077, so why not give him some hope to carry on byfalling for him, much to the disapproval of Johnny Silverhand.
River Ward is one of the romance options available inCyberpunk 2077, and for players who want to ensure that their V ends up with River, they are going to want to follow this step-by-step guide to make sure that they say all the right things and complete all the right quests.
Requirements to Romance River Ward in Cyberpunk 2077
In order to be a viable romance partner for River inCyberpunk 2077,players must have a Female VBody Type, but the Voice Tone does not matter. If players are not a Female V, then they cannot romance River. Once players are ready to head into the fray, simply progress into Act 2 ofCyberpunk 2077and complete Life During Wartime, where eventually players will receive a call from Elizabeth Peralez, thus starting the I Fought the Law quest.
I Fought the Law is the first quest where players will meet River Ward, but the choices made here do not matter for River’s romance; it’s simply an introduction mission to River. It does not matter how players handle the enemies in the mission, or what V tells the Peralez family, or even what V tells River, as there are no consequences involved for River’s future missions. Once the quest has been completed, players will have to wait a few in-game days for River Ward to call V, so just play a few quests and gigs in the meantime, or go AFK and skip time, as players are waiting for River’s call to start The Hunt.
Complete The Hunt
While there’snothing romanticabout River’s questline, it’s clear to see why V and River might bond the way that they do. After all, the case ahead of them is a sensitive subject, and V with River must discover the location of the kidnapped children of the notorious serial killer, Anthony Harris, AKA, Peter Pan. River informs V that he’s been let go from the NCPD, and his nephew, Randy, is one of his victims. Players will want to help River in any way that they can, proceeding through the quest until they meet Yawn Packard. When Dr. Packard asks for V’s input, be sure to select:Hasn’t let me down yet, to stick up for River. After leaving the building with River, head back to his car and have a conversation with him. Towards the end of the conversation, players are given a dialogue option that they will want to select:Sign me up for that beer.
After riding with River in his car, players will arrive at his sister’s place, where they will begin looking through Randy’s stuff. The important things to note here are the key on Randy’s shelf, the computer that can be scanned underneath Randy’s bed, and the Record Player. With all three, players can access Randy’s computer and access the Drugs Are Bad site on the Net page, where clicking the image reveals a secret webpage from Anthony Harris. Now, enter Files and watch the creepy ATT_CART_VIDEO. With all the evidence River needs, it’s time tomeet back with Joss, where River will ask V if they are staying, andV needs to reply: ‘Course.
In the morning, V is placed into a BD to locate Anthony Harris. There are quite a few clues to look for in the third Brain Dance with an adult Anthony Harris, and locating all of them is key to identifying the correct farm to find Harris:
After discovering all of these clues in the Brain Dance, River Ward will use his detective skills to figure out that Harris’s victims are at Edgewood Farm. If players failed to locate all of the clues, then it’s vitally important that theyselect Edgewood Farmin the dialogue options. If players do not select Edgewood Farm, then Randy will die, and they will fail River’s romance questline. Players can also fail River’s romance questline if they arrive at Edgewood Farm and leave instead of helping River.
Once at Edgewood Farm, head to the cabin on the right to find an open door, where upstairs and underneath the computer terminal, players can click a secret button to reveal a terminal that will shut down the turrets and mines, along with asecret Iconic melee weapon, Tinker Bell. With this done, head through to the barn’s rooftop via the ladder and help River free the victims inside, including Randy. Afterwards, the police will arrive, and River will have a chat with V after saving his nephew, and here are the dialogue options to choose:
After this conversation, leave the area to conclude the quest. Now, players will have to wait a few in-game days for River Ward to make contact again.
Complete Following the River
After a few in-game days of completing gigs and quests, River will text V about coming over. Players will need toselect the flirtatious option:How about a new record?And then after a few more in-game hours, River will call about coming over. Players just need to accept River’s invite and then meet him at Joss’ place. Once V and River share a drink, select:Your parents - what happened?
There are a few more opportunities to flirt with River and win his affection. The first part comes from the game that River plays with his niece and nephew, and players should let the kids win this one simply by not shooting the enemies and letting them do it. Afterwards, Joss asks if V would want a family, and she can reply:
If all goes well, River will then take V to the nearby water tower for the view, where the two can sit together. Here are the dialogue options we made to ensure a romantic scene with River Ward:
[Sit] Love this spot, too.
After an erotic night with River and thedisapproval of Johnny Silverhand, players can talk to River about their future together. If players want to continue their relationship with River and make him their boyfriend, then select these dialogue options:
After that, River’s questline has been completed, and V now has a boyfriend.
