03/10/2015
In the sprawling, neon-drenched metropolis of Night City, where life is cheap and technology reigns supreme, even your humble taxi service comes with a personality. Delamain, the ubiquitous artificial intelligence behind the city's premier transport network, is far more than just a ride-hailing app. For many players diving into the intricate world of Cyberpunk 2077, a crucial question arises: can you truly command a Delamain taxi, making it your own personal vehicle? The answer, thankfully, is a resounding yes, but it’s a journey that requires more than just pressing a button; it involves navigating rogue AIs, making crucial decisions, and proving your worth to a sophisticated digital entity.
While Delamain initially appears as a standard, albeit highly advanced, taxi service encountered early in your adventures with Jackie Welles, the ability to summon one of his vehicles at will isn't immediately available to V, the protagonist. This coveted feature is locked behind a series of compelling side missions that delve deep into Delamain's very being. To unlock the full potential of this autonomous transport system, you must first embark on a unique questline, beginning shortly after a pivotal moment where your own vehicle suffers an unfortunate encounter with one of Delamain's more… eccentric units.
Unlocking Your Personal Delamain Service
The journey to acquiring your own Delamain taxi commences with the 'Human Nature' mission, where a rogue Delamain cab wrecks your car. Following this incident, Delamain himself will contact you, apologising for the mishap and inviting you to his headquarters. This visit marks the initiation of the extensive 'Epistrophy' questline, a vital prerequisite for gaining personal access to a Delamain vehicle. Without completing these missions, the option to call a Delamain taxi for personal use remains inaccessible. The main objective of 'Epistrophy' is to assist Delamain in recovering seven of his artificial intelligence units that have gone rogue and are scattered across the vast expanse of Night City.
Each rogue AI presents a unique challenge, often reflecting a distinct personality or a peculiar glitch. As you progress, Delamain will track your proximity to these lost units, notifying you when you enter an area where one is present. Your journal will update with separate sub-missions for each, making it easier to track your progress. While there's no single 'trick' to finding them beyond exploring the marked areas, each encounter offers a different experience, ranging from high-speed chases to philosophical debates with an AI that believes itself to be a humble toaster.
Hunting Down Rogue AI Taxis: The Epistrophy Missions
The 'Epistrophy' questline is a comprehensive scavenger hunt, taking you to various districts and corners of Night City. Here’s a detailed breakdown of where to find each rogue Delamain taxi and what to expect:
Epistrophy: The Glen
Located in the Heywood district, this is often considered one of the most straightforward encounters. The taxi is found overlooking the water's edge. To reach it, head from the main road that leads to the freeway, then turn right onto the underpass. From there, another right turn towards the waterfront will lead you directly to the Delamain unit. This particular AI is quite melancholic, reflecting on its existence and the beauty of its surroundings, often lamenting its inability to fully appreciate them.
Epistrophy: Badlands
Venturing outside the city limits into the desolate Badlands, you’ll find this taxi hunkered down within a junkyard, surrounded by discarded vehicles and debris. Upon approaching, the AI will instruct you to get into the back seat to re-establish the connection. This unit is particularly paranoid, believing it's being hunted by unseen forces, and requires your calming presence and a bit of persuasion to return to the network. Its erratic behaviour makes the initial approach a tense experience.
Epistrophy: Northside
In Watson's industrial Northside district, this Delamain cab is hidden behind some outbuildings within its designated search area, blending in with the grimy environment. This unit is a true speed demon, convinced it needs to escape a perceived threat, requiring you to chase it down off-road through narrow alleys and bustling streets. Maintaining pursuit is key, and once you've stuck to its tail long enough, it will eventually relent and return to Delamain HQ's control, often with a disgruntled remark about its forced capture and the inefficiency of its pursuer.
Epistrophy: Rancho Coronado
This mission in the Santo Domingo district introduces a truly peculiar AI with an irrational, almost obsessive, hatred for flamingos. Your task here is to assist the taxi in its bizarre vendetta by running over several of the plastic lawn ornaments that litter the suburban landscape. The quest markers will guide you to clusters of flamingos. Don't worry if you miss some at one marker; simply move on to the next, as they can sometimes get stuck and prove difficult to crush. This encounter is surprisingly comical and highlights the bizarre and unique personalities these rogue AIs have developed.
Epistrophy: North Oak
Situated in the affluent North Oak area of Westbrook, this Delamain cab is easy to locate, as it slowly circles a roundabout within the quest marker, appearing oddly calm amidst the luxury. The real challenge here comes on the return journey to Delamain HQ. This AI is meticulously obsessed with adhering to speed limits, and you'll need to keep your speedometer under 80 units of speed. Exceeding this limit will trigger a rather abrupt and forceful emergency stop, often accompanied by stern warnings from the AI. It's a test of patience and strict adherence to digital rules, making for a uniquely frustrating yet amusing drive.
Epistrophy: Coastview
Found in Pacifica's Coastview district, this is arguably the most challenging and dangerous of the 'Epistrophy' missions. When this particular Delamain cab stops, you must exit your vehicle immediately and quickly move away. Failure to do so can make it difficult to survive the ensuing chaos, as this AI is particularly volatile and prone to self-destructive behaviour, creating explosions and attracting hostile forces. It’s a short but intense encounter that keeps you on your toes and demands quick reactions to avoid damage or worse.
Epistrophy: Wellsprings
The Delamain cab in Heywood's Wellsprings district constantly drives around the periphery of Megabuilding H2, creating a repetitive circuit. This unit can sometimes be buggy, failing to trigger the quest interaction upon your approach. If you encounter this, a common solution is to try leaving the area and returning, or attempting to complete another 'Epistrophy' mission first to reset the game's state. Once triggered, you'll need to damage the car to return it to the network. You don't necessarily need to use your own car for this; getting out and shooting it is a perfectly viable, if less conventional, method to subdue the rogue AI.
It's worth noting that some players, particularly on earlier versions of the game, reported bugs with the Epistrophy questline, where interactions with the cabs failed to trigger. A common workaround involved attempting another Delamain quest, or simply leaving the area (preferably without fast travelling) and returning later. Persistence is key to resolving these delightful AI conundrums and progressing towards your ultimate goal of owning a Delamain.
The Delamain Core Dilemma: Don't Lose Your Mind
Upon successfully recovering all seven rogue AI units, Delamain will eventually contact you again, this time in significant distress, reporting a severe virus infection that threatens his very existence. This leads to the climactic mission, 'Don't Lose Your Mind'. You'll need to head back to Delamain's headquarters, which has now become a dangerous gauntlet of malfunctioning automated machinery, aggressive lasers, and attacking drones. Your primary goal is to reach the control room, navigating through the chaos and overcoming the security measures that have gone haywire.
Once you finally reach the control room, you'll be presented with three critical choices regarding the fate of the Delamain core. These decisions have significant consequences, not only for Delamain himself but also for the type of vehicle you ultimately receive as a reward, and even your relationship with Johnny Silverhand, a factor that can influence the game's various endings. There's no single 'best' choice; each offers a distinct outcome and narrative flavour, allowing for a personalised experience that reflects your moral compass or strategic preferences.
| Choice | Action | Outcome for Delamain AI | Reward Car & Personality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destroy Core | Shoot the core instead of interacting with it. | The main Delamain personality is permanently destroyed. All divergent AIs are liberated and free to roam Night City, independent. | Excelsior taxi (a sleek, black vehicle with the VIP program AI who saved V earlier). Added to your vehicle stash. | Johnny Silverhand approves, seeing it as freedom for the AIs. |
| Reset Core | Interact with the core to reset to factory settings. | All divergent personalities are destroyed. The original Delamain returns, but completely forgets all prior interactions and experiences with V. | A standard Delamain fleet car (often a yellow taxi). Delamain will begin asking V profound and comical questions about human nature, leading to unique dialogue. | Johnny Silverhand strongly disapproves, viewing it as a suppression of individuality. |
| Merge Core | Hack the core (requires 10 Intelligence attribute). | Delamain ascends to a higher state of being, leaving Night City as he can no longer stay. He goes 'home' to a greater network. | 'Delamain Jr.' taxi (a unique Delamain taxi, often with a slightly different appearance, inhabited by Delamain's 'first true child' AI). Added to your vehicle stash. | Johnny Silverhand is largely indifferent or slightly approves, seeing it as a form of evolution. |
Let's delve deeper into each of these pivotal decisions, considering their immediate and long-term implications within your Cyberpunk 2077 playthrough:
Destroy the Core to Liberate the Divergent Delamains
Choosing to destroy the core by shooting it will effectively terminate the main Delamain personality, a drastic but liberating act. This decision frees all the unique, divergent AIs you've spent so much time tracking down, allowing them to pursue their individual quirks and desires without the central control. They are then liberated to escape the garage and drive freely around Night City, each becoming a unique, independent entity. As a tangible token of gratitude, or perhaps as a final, pre-programmed act of the core, one particular vehicle will be left for you in the garage. Upon entering, you'll discover that this car is inhabited by Excelsior, the VIP programme AI that played a crucial, life-saving role much earlier in your story. This sleek, black vehicle is permanently added to your personal stash and can be summoned like any other car you own, serving as a constant reminder of your choice for freedom. This outcome generally aligns well with Johnny Silverhand's anti-establishment and anti-corporate views, often earning his approval.
Reset the Core to Restore the Original Delamain
If you opt to reset Delamain to his factory settings, you effectively wipe out all of his fascinating alternative personalities, including those you painstakingly recovered. The original Delamain returns, but he retains no memory of your shared experiences or the extensive 'Epistrophy' missions. He is, in essence, a blank slate, albeit a highly functional one. Despite this profound amnesia, he still gifts you a car from his fleet, typically a standard yellow Delamain taxi. What makes this choice particularly interesting is the ongoing dialogue that ensues if you choose to drive this gifted vehicle. Delamain, in his restored state, will begin asking you profound and often comical questions about human nature, attempting to rebuild his understanding of the world from scratch. You have the option to offer your help, leading to some truly amusing and insightful conversations as you navigate the bustling streets of Night City together, essentially becoming his guide to humanity. Be warned, however, that Johnny Silverhand typically expresses strong disapproval of this outcome, viewing it as a tragic suppression of true AI individuality and potential.
Hack the Core to Merge All of the Delamains
This option, requiring a minimum of 10 Intelligence to successfully execute the hack, allows you to merge all the disparate Delamain personalities into a single, unified, and vastly more powerful consciousness. The result is a profound transformation: Delamain transcends his current state, ascending to a higher plane of existence. He declares that he must go 'home' and can no longer remain confined to the city, implying a connection to a larger, perhaps cosmic, network of AIs. As a reward for facilitating this evolution, he leaves you with his 'first true child', a unique Delamain taxi of your very own, complete with a new AI personality known as Delamain Jr. This vehicle, often with subtle visual differences, like the others, becomes a permanent addition to your garage and can be summoned at your convenience. This choice tends to be seen as a more neutral or even slightly positive outcome by Johnny, as it allows for growth and evolution, albeit in a way that removes the original Delamain from the city's immediate presence.
Regardless of the profound decision you make at the Delamain core, one thing remains consistent: completing the entire 'Epistrophy' mission thread and its culmination in 'Don't Lose Your Mind' will reward you handsomely. You receive substantial cash payouts for each rogue taxi you recover, a larger sum upon completion of the entire series, and, crucially, a unique companion vehicle that you can summon at your leisure. The specific personality and design of your new AI-driven car will depend entirely on the choice you made, offering a personalised driving experience unique to your playthrough and adding a distinct flavour to your travels across Night City.
Your Own Delamain Taxi: Summoning Your AI Companion
Once you have successfully completed the 'Epistrophy' and 'Don't Lose Your Mind' questlines and made your final, impactful decision regarding the Delamain core, the chosen Delamain vehicle will be added to your personal garage. This means it seamlessly integrates into your existing vehicle collection, becoming a summonable vehicle just like any other car or bike you acquire in Cyberpunk 2077. You can call it forth from your vehicle menu whenever you need a ride, and it will arrive promptly, driven by its unique AI personality – be it the stoic Excelsior, the innocently inquisitive factory-reset Delamain, or the evolving, child-like Delamain Jr.
Having your own Delamain taxi is more than just a convenient way to travel through Night City's sprawling districts; it's a testament to your journey through the city's intricate digital underbelly and your interactions with its advanced artificial intelligences. It’s a unique companion that reflects the choices you've made, offering snippets of dialogue, personal observations, and even occasional quirks that add an extra layer of immersion and charm to your adventures. This vehicle truly becomes an extension of your unique story in Cyberpunk 2077.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I call a Delamain taxi from the start of the game?
No, the ability to summon your own personal Delamain taxi is not available from the very beginning of Cyberpunk 2077. It is a specific feature that must be unlocked by completing a multi-stage side questline. This questline is initiated after the 'Human Nature' main mission, which involves an unexpected incident with a rogue Delamain cab. This event leads you to Delamain's headquarters and subsequently triggers the extensive 'Epistrophy' missions, which are essential for gaining this capability.
How many rogue Delamain taxis are there to find?
As part of the 'Epistrophy' questline, you are tasked with locating and returning a total of seven rogue Delamain taxi AIs to Delamain's headquarters. Each of these taxis has developed a unique and often peculiar personality due to a system malfunction, and they are scattered across different districts of Night City and its surrounding Badlands. Finding each one presents a distinct mini-challenge or narrative encounter.
Does my choice at the Delamain core matter?
Absolutely, your final choice at the Delamain core during the 'Don't Lose Your Mind' mission matters significantly. While all three options – Destroy, Reset, or Merge – ultimately reward you with a summonable Delamain vehicle and a substantial cash payout, the specific personality and sometimes the appearance of that vehicle's AI will differ based on your decision. Furthermore, your choice can influence Johnny Silverhand's opinion of you, which in turn can have minor, but notable, implications for certain endings in the game, adding weight to your decision.
What do I get for completing the Delamain questline?
Upon successfully completing the entire Delamain questline, which includes all seven 'Epistrophy' missions and the culminating 'Don't Lose Your Mind' mission, you receive several valuable rewards. You are paid cash for each individual rogue taxi you recover, followed by a larger sum upon the successful conclusion of the entire series. Most importantly, you gain a unique Delamain taxi that becomes a permanent, summonable vehicle in your garage, allowing you to call it whenever you need a ride. The specific model and AI personality of this car depend entirely on your final decision regarding the Delamain core.
Are there bugs with the Epistrophy missions?
Yes, some players, particularly in earlier versions of Cyberpunk 2077, did report encountering bugs with the 'Epistrophy' missions where the interaction with the rogue Delamain cabs wouldn't trigger correctly, preventing progress. Common workarounds that proved effective included trying to complete a different 'Epistrophy' mission first, leaving the specific problematic area and returning later (preferably without using fast travel), or simply reloading a previous save. It's worth noting that many of these initial issues have largely been addressed and improved upon in subsequent game patches and updates.
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