Should I Kill Adam Smasher?

When It Makes Sense

• Good fit: If your V is motivated by revenge for Johnny Silverhand’s fate, Rogue Amendiares’s death, or the broader trauma inflicted by Arasaka and its enforcers, killing Smasher can serve as a direct, satisfying payoff. The character has been built up as an almost unstoppable killing machine since the prologue and Johnny’s flashbacks; defeating him for good closes that loop and gives your playthrough a sense of finality. It is especially fitting if your V has embraced a mercenary or anti-corporate ideology and sees lethal force as the only appropriate response to an unrepentant mass murderer.
• Good fit: If you are playing a combat-heavy build and treating the finale as a boss encounter to be concluded decisively, the lethal option matches your mechanical approach. It also aligns with a “no half-measures” V who believes that leaving a cybernetic war criminal alive is too risky. For players who value narrative consistency between gameplay and story, a kill can make the final showdown feel consequential rather than anticlimactic.

When You Should Avoid It

• Warning sign: If your V has spent the game questioning Johnny’s thirst for revenge, building relationships based on compassion, or rejecting the idea that more death will heal old wounds, sparing Smasher may be the more coherent choice. It reframes the victory as moral rather than physical: Smasher is defeated, but your V refuses to become another instrument of slaughter. This path tends to resonate with players who want the ending to reflect personal growth.
• Warning sign: If you have not created a manual save before the final mission and you care about seeing all content, avoid committing blindly. Depending on the ending path and game version, Smasher’s fate may affect loot availability, post-fight dialogue, or the emotional tone of the closing scenes. Locking yourself into one outcome without a backup means replaying a significant portion of the game to see the alternative.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Killing Smasher provides strong narrative closure for revenge-driven story threads and removes a recurring antagonist from the setting. It can be a cathartic conclusion for players who have been waiting to confront him since the early acts.
• It aligns with an aggressive, high-lethality playstyle and, depending on the ending route and game version, may allow you to recover equipment or rewards from the battlefield. A decisive kill can also reinforce a ruthless, professional-mercenary interpretation of V.

Cons

• The lethal choice locks out the sparing dialogue and any narrative references that depend on Smasher surviving the encounter. If you prefer subtlety or want to preserve the possibility of future story content involving him, killing him removes that option.
• It can feel thematically inconsistent if your V’s arc has emphasized growth beyond simple violence. For some endings, sparing the defeated villain is a stronger final beat because it denies him the honorable death he expects and undercuts his warrior ideology.

Decision Checklist

• Which ending path led me here, and does this route actually present a genuine kill-or-spare choice for Smasher?
• What kind of V am I roleplaying—avenger, mercenary, survivor, idealist, or someone seeking a different legacy—and which outcome completes that arc?
• Have I saved before the point of no return so I can reload and compare both versions of the scene?
• Am I interested in specific loot, achievements, or closing scenes that might be tied to Smasher’s fate in my current game version?
• Do I want the story to end on a note of revenge and closure, or on a note of restraint and moral victory?

Alternatives to Consider

If you are torn, the simplest alternative is to make a hard save before the final sequence, defeat Smasher, and then choose one outcome. After watching the scene, reload and pick the other to see how it changes the ending’s tone. If you do not want to replay the fight, recorded playthroughs can show both versions. You can also choose a different ending route on another playthrough, since Smasher’s role and the availability of the choice vary by path. Sparing him remains the main in-the-moment alternative and often suits players who prefer a less nihilistic or more defiant conclusion.

Final Recommendation

Choose to kill Adam Smasher if you are seeking revenge closure, playing a ruthless character, or simply want the most definitive end to the game’s central antagonist. Choose to spare him if your V values mercy, wants to deny Smasher a meaningful death, or you prefer a more thematically complex final beat. Neither choice is objectively right or wrong; the best pick depends on your roleplay, your chosen ending, and whether you want to collect loot or achievements. Save before the encounter, experience the version that fits your story, and remember that this decision exists only inside Cyberpunk 2077 and has no real-world application.