This is a guide and walkthrough for the River Ward Romance in Cyberpunk 2077. All the steps you need to take to trigger the romantic outcome!

This guide is up-to-date for Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.3

Romance in Cyberpunk 2077 can be a lot of fun, and no RPG is complete without a good romance that will spark fire in your heart!

Requirements to be able to romance River Ward

There are a few romance options in Cyberpunk 2077 that you can go for, like Judy Alvarez and Panam Palmer. Romance options are available for each V gender. Though, each NPC has their own preferences.

Such is the case with River as well. River Ward is an NPC in Cyberpunk 2077 that can be romanced by the main character V and only if V is a woman.

If your V is a female and looking to woe River Ward, then you can’t go wrong dating Night City PD’s finest. The River Ward romance is one of the best side jobs series of quests in Cyberpunk 2077.

Completing the River Ward story arc is going to award you an achievement in Cyberpunk 2077. Don’t miss it.

You will meet River Ward for the first time after you get a call from Elizabeth Peralez. The Peralez’ will trigger the I fought the law side job. One of the most deepgoing and best side jobs that Cyberpunk 2077 has to offer.

In order to trigger that quest you will need to have finished the main storyline quest called Life During Wartime.

Choices during the I Fought the Law job

After you finish the Life During Wartime quest, you will get a call from Elizabeth Peralez who offers you the mission I Fought the Law.

The Peralez’ will show you a braindance that you will have to investigate and towards the end you will meet NCPD Detective River Ward for the first time trying to protect the mayor.

After the mission Elizabeth Peralez will get you the contact details of NCPD Detective River Ward. You set up a meet with him at the Chubby Buffalo. Let him know that you are investigating the demise of Lucius Rhyne and he will agree to meet you up.

You will see River and his partner Detective Han in the diner and after Han leaves you will get to talk to River properly and if you want to earn his trust then tell him who you are working for, which is the Peralez of course. If you refuse to disclose who you work for, River will just not work with you.

After the diner scene you will enter River’s car and he will fill you in on the investigation. He will talk about a Peter Horvath. A Cyberpsycho who attacked the mayor a while ago, but disappeared before he could give the Night City Police Department a statement.

In order to continue the investigation you will need to talk to two people to get the location of the Red Queen Race Club. This does not have to be done in a specific order.

Let’s go see Peter Horvath’s boss.
Let’s meet with your Confidential Informant.

The meeting with Horvath is pretty straightforward. You will get in the car and drive to The Blossom Market in Japantown and search for a woman named Christine Markov. Just talk to the vendors on the market and they will point you to the right direction.

When you find her, you will chat with her and whatever option you chose for your own dialogue you will always get the same answer. Christine will give you detailed information about Peter Horvath and more background before he became a Cyberpsycho but does not know why Horvath attacked the mayor.

Meeting the Confidential Informant

You will drive with River Ward to the Republic Way in Vista Del Rey and he will let you out at a shop. He asks if you can go in and talk to his Confidential Informant with the message that “Igor says hi” so Neil will know who you are.

Talk to Neil and mention that Igor says hi and he will try to flee through the backalley where he will be caught by River. Interrogate Neil about the location of the Red Queen’s Race Club. He will eventually tell you that you can find the club somewhere in the Bonita Street Area, near the river.

Driving with River around Night City for the side job I Fought the Law

After that you will follow River back to the car and there will be a few gangmembers of the Tyger Claw waiting. Depending on your Lifepath you can either chose to confront them or stay quiet.

If you have taken the Street Kid Lifepath an extra dialogue option available to diffuse the situation. If you are unlucky and have taken the Nomad or Corpo Lifepath you will end up in a fight with them.

If you really don’t want the confrontation, then just be quiet. Once the confrontation is over you will once again get the option to ride with him to the next location. If you are interested in getting to know River better then please hop in the car. Check out the guide on how to earn Street Cred in Cyberpunk 2077

The Warehouse

You will head over the to the warehouse where you will have to find your way into the main building. There is a secret entrance to the club in one of the containers and enter the club there. Hope down the floor and enter the Red Queen’s Race club.

Once you have taken everyone down start looking for the office. And don’t forget the loot because the club is filled with it. In the office you will find footage where you see Detective Han being his corrupt self. Take the footage with you to confront Han later.

Search the rest of the rooms to find a Braindance headset. Take a look at the Braindance and you will find that it was a spiked Braindance that caused Rhyne’s death and not a heart attack. Talk to River about this and then you are ready to leave the club.

Once you’re in the main building you’ll see a yellow rectangle on the mini map. There’s a secret entrance to the club in this warehouse, and we need to find it. Walk over to the large metal containers stacked on top of each other on the ground floor.

You can climb on top of them and grab some loot stashed away in one of them. Then, hop down onto the floor and walk over to the container on the right of the one with the yellow police tape. Press F to open the doors, and head down the stairs with River to take the elevator down to the Red Queen’s Race.

For the River Ward romance this does not really matter. None of the choices do in “I fought the law” but it is a great introduction to the character.

You won’t see any romance options until the quest “The Hunt” pops up.

Choices during The Hunt job

The Hunt is a side job that delves deeper into your character, but mostly River Ward. You will get to know him as you will be interacting with his family and familiarize yourself with his norms and values.

You won’t be able to unlock The Hunt until 24 hours after you finished I Fought the Law so either move your timer forward with 24 hours or just do a few gigs, side jobs or the main story to level up your character, earn more Street Cred and make some extra Eurodollars.

The Hunt is the quest where you can finally get your romance with River Ward going. During The Hunt, if you choose to make a pass at him, then make sure you pick ALL of the flirty options.

Use your transport to get the place where you and River set up a meet. Once he is there, hop in the car and the two of you will watch a news clip where he will tell you that the news item is about his missing nephew.

Let River drive to the police lab. During the trip you will have a conversation. During this conversation you will have to pick the following dialogue option for that romance:

During the car ride you will have a chat with River and several dialogues will pop up but you will only want to pick: “Sign me up for that beer”. That’s all you will need.
A request to use Kiroshi to find the right cabinet, the one you need is in the waiting room that is close to the central office.
Stick up for River Ward after you get busted by Doctor Packard by choosing the following dialogue option: “Hasn’t let me down yet”

When you are done with the police lab part of The Hunt then Johnny Silverhand will appear, “River’s alright!”

You will then head over to River’s family trailer in order to find clues for the braindance that you will need in order to save Randy.

Talking to River at the dining table in the trailer

Once you arrive at the trailer, you will have to look for clues to help find Randy. There are a few things to pick up by using your scanner and a few without your scanner.

The posters in Randy’s room.
The locked cabinet in Randy’s bedroom. You can find the key in the living room of the trailer.
Open said cabinet with the key and you will find a shipping code.
Look under Randy’s bed and use your scanner for the laptop.

Helping River look around the trailer for clues

If you have high enough intelligence, you can crack the laptop without any hassle. If you do not have the points, then play the record on the record player.

Talk to River and you will find that the correct password is “Punch the track title” which is the name of the album of Randy’s favorite band Liberum Arbitrium.

Interact with the laptop, read all messages and visit the website with the hidden layer. Watch the Cartoon in Files.

Then it is time for the Braindance. Scan the clues and you will find out that Randy is being held on a farm.

If you have done all of this correctly then you will find that the correct farm is “Edgewood”. If you go to the wrong farm, then you won’t be able to rescue Randy and that means that love is no longer in the air.

Go to the farm and rescue Randy. After you have rescued Randy, the chat with River will be filled with the flirty options. Pick all of them to make clear that you are interested in him romantically. “I’ll help you” and “Just remember that you can count on me”.

You must make it clear that you are interested in romancing him. If you don’t, you will end up friend-zoning him and you must make sure that he knows that you are available for the next quest with him.

Romantic moment with River at the end of the quest

Choices during the Following the River job

When The Hunt is done, keep playing the game until River sends you a text that says: “Need your help again”. Hit reply and continue to get the River Ward romance going:

How about a new record?
Been a rollercoaster of a ride lately
We could knock a few back together if you want
See ya later

Skip time forward and you will get another phone call. Hit “Definitely, be glad” and accept his final side job entitled “Following the River”.

During the quest, whenever the kissing options pop up, go ahead and kiss him. After you kiss him on the water tower then you will get into a steamy romantic scene with River.

The morning you wake up you have to tell him that you like being with him and the one-night stand will turn into a romantic relationship. This concludes the River Ward romance guide. You clicked to read this guide to romance him, so we consider this the right ending of the quest.

How to romance River Ward in Cyberpunk 2077

Step-by-step instructions for you to follow if you want to guarantee your romantic relationship with River Ward in Cyberpunk 2077.

Instructions

Complete Life During Wartime main job.
Answer the call from Elizabeth Peralez shortly after Life during wartime. This will start I Fought the Law side job for you.
- When you talk to River, tell him that you are investigating the demise of Lucius Rhyne.
- Talk to Horvath's boss and the Chief Informant.
- Meet with the Chief Informant. Say "Igor says hi" to start the dialogue.
- Go through the Warehouse and Red Queen's Race club. Your actions there do not impact the romantic outcome.
After you complete I fought the Law, wait 24 hours for River to call you and start The Hunt.
- Help River save his nephew.
- Stick up for River when you get caught by Doctor Packard. Choose "Hasn't let me down yet" dialogue option.
- When you talk to Johnny Silverhand shortly after, select "River's alright".
- While driving with River to his family's trailer park, choose "Sign me up for that beer" option.
- To rescue Andy, you need to correctly discover that the farm he is in is called "Edgewood".
- In the dialogue after you rescue his nephew, let River know that you are interested in a romantic relationship. Pick "I'll help you" when it appears.
After you complete The Hunt, wait a bit for the final side job with River to start. He will text you for Following the River. Choose the following options to get the romantic relationship going:
- "How about a new record"
- "Been a rollercoaster of a ride lately"
- "We could knock a few back together if you want".
After more time has passed, River will call you and start the final side job with him.
- During that mission, whenever the option to kiss him appears, use it.
- In the morning, after the romantic scene, tell him that you like being with him and want a relationship. This will unlock a unique recording during the credits after the ending of the game.

Notes

River Ward is heterosexual character in Cyberpunk 2077. He can only be romanced if you play as female V.

River's missions don't reflect on the ending of the game, but provide a unique message you will hear from him during the ending credits.

Read below the in-depth instructions for each step to make sure you do not miss anything.

Requirements to be able to romance River Ward