You’ll Either Kill or Recruit Bronkin Bucko in High on Life 2 – Here’s How Both Paths Really Work

Why the Bronkin Bucko Bounty Matters (and How I First Messed It Up)

After blasting through the first three bounties in High on Life 2, I went into the Movie Star Bronkin Bucko contract expecting a classic infiltration: sneak into a studio, dodge cameras, pull off a flashy assassination. Instead, the game tossed him right in front of me on a sidewalk… and I instantly shot him without thinking.

That knee‑jerk headshot does complete the bounty, unlocks a weird twist with his brother Peter, and gives you a new NPC back at Quarters. But on a second run, I realised there’s a slower, non‑lethal route that:

• Lets you spare Bronkin,
• Recruit him to your team instead,
• And unlock the missable Starstruck achievement.

This guide walks you through both outcomes step by step, including exactly how long to wait, what dialogue to pick, and when you’re about to accidentally lock yourself into the lethal path.

Getting the Bronkin Bucko Bounty and Reaching Damien Coldstone

Once you’ve wrapped up the third bounty and had your usual debrief at Quarters, interact with the Bounty Hunter 5000 and select the contract for Movie Star Bronkin Bucko. The mission sends you to Circuit Arcadia, a neon‑heavy area you’ll probably recognise from earlier story beats.

Before you head out, here’s what I recommend bringing based on my runs:

• Gus equipped: You’ll need Gus’ dialogue option for the non‑lethal route later.
• One fast-firing gun: For cleaning up security if you go lethal (Kenny‑style weapons work great).
• Skateboard practice: You’ll be weaving around cars and cover if a fight breaks out.

Follow your waypoint into Circuit Arcadia. The game eventually marks an alley near a tall tower where your informant, Damien Coldstone, is waiting. He’s your entry point to this bounty.

Walk into the alley and talk to Damien. No matter what dialogue flavour you pick with him, what really matters is triggering this conversation. Once you back out, the mission’s real setup begins: Bronkin Bucko himself walks past on his way to a commercial shoot, flanked by bodyguards.

This is the point where most players (me included, the first time) see “target in the open” and immediately start blasting. That’s actually Path #1. If you want the non‑lethal Path #2, this is where you need to show some restraint.

Bronkin on the Sidewalk: The Real Point of No Return

As you step back out of Damien’s alley, you’ll see:

• Bronkin Bucko walking down the street,
• Two bodyguards behind him,
• Civilians and a general “busy set” vibe leading toward his shoot.

The game heavily tempts you to take the clear shot. Your HUD highlights him, your guns crack jokes, and it feels like a rare “easy bounty.” That’s deliberate design: the mission is basically testing whether you’ll grab the low‑effort solution or hang back and see what happens.

From here, you’ve got two main routes:

• Route 1 – Lethal: Shoot Bronkin now, fight security, meet Peter.
• Route 2 – Non-lethal: Don’t fire, walk with him to 8th & Central, listen to his monologue, and recruit him.

I’ll break down both so you can pick the one you actually want instead of the one your trigger finger chooses by reflex.

Route 1 – Lethal: Take the Shot and Let Peter Take Over

Step 1: Kill Bronkin Bucko in the Street

If you decide to go lethal, just aim at Bronkin and fire. A headshot will drop him, but any focused burst will do. As soon as he goes down:

• His two bodyguards aggro immediately.
• Additional security and set personnel spawn in around cars and cover.
• The sidewalk turns into a mid-sized firefight arena.

What worked best for me here was:

• Using the skateboard to keep moving across the street when enemies grouped up.
• Swapping to a fast-firing weapon to melt the first wave of guards.
• Taking cover behind parked cars and props whenever the farther shooters started chipping my health.

It’s not the hardest fight in the game, but on higher difficulties it can punish standing in the open. Once you clear all hostile markers, things quiet down and the game points you back to Bronkin’s “corpse.”

Step 2: Approach the Body and Meet Peter

Walk up to Bronkin’s body. As soon as you get close, a short scene kicks in: the body stands back up, addresses you, and you realise someone else is in there – Peter.

The game plays this purely for dark comedy. Different players have called Peter a conjoined twin, a second personality, or some creepy sci‑fi passenger. The important bit is that:

• Peter says he’s not involved with Rhea Pharma.
• He knew Bronkin was dirty and basically shrugs off his brother’s death.
• He offers his legal expertise and wants to join your side.

You don’t really get a meaningful choice here; the bounty is considered complete, and Peter effectively replaces Bronkin as the person you’ll see later back at Quarters.

Step 3: Return to Quarters

With the firefight done and Peter officially introduced, you’re free to head back to Quarters. Interact with the Bounty Hunter 5000 to turn in the bounty and then look around your home base – Peter will be hanging out, usually with quips about contracts, liability, and how “doing things by the book” might keep you out of deeper trouble.

Lethal Route Summary:

• Time: Fast – mostly just one street fight.
• Outcome: Bronkin is dead, Peter joins you.
• Pros: Quick, straightforward, fun combat.
• Cons: You miss the Starstruck achievement and never see Bronkin as an ally.

Route 2 – Non-lethal: Escort Bronkin and Unlock “Starstruck”

I only found this route because I’d heard there was a missable achievement tied to Bronkin and decided to replay the bounty. The trick is simple to describe but easy to fail in practice: don’t shoot, and then don’t get impatient.

Step 1: Holster Your Gun and Wait

When Bronkin walks past after your chat with Damien, do not fire at him or his guards. Instead, walk up close enough to trigger his dialogue. After a bit of banter, he asks you to lead him to 8th & Central.

At this point:

• You should keep your gun holstered (do not aim at anyone),
• Stay near Bronkin so he continues following you,
• Avoid shooting or meleeing his bodyguards – they’ll peel off naturally as you move away.

If you accidentally tag a guard, the situation can flip into a firefight and shove you back toward the lethal resolution, so this is where I had to unlearn my usual “shoot anything that looks at me funny” instinct.

Step 2: Lead Bronkin to 8th & Central

Follow the mission marker toward the intersection he mentions. You don’t have to take a specific route, but a few things make this smoother:

• Don’t rush too far ahead on the skateboard – if Bronkin goes off-screen for too long, he slows down or stops.
• Glance back regularly to make sure he’s still following and not stuck on geometry or NPCs.
• If he does glitch on a corner, walk back toward him; in my run he snapped free as soon as I stepped close again.

Once you reach 8th & Central, Bronkin will stop and start opening up about his situation, Rhea Pharma, and how he feels trapped in the whole arrangement.

Step 3: Let the Full Monologue Play (This Is Where Most People Fail)

This is the make‑or‑break step for the non‑lethal route. Bronkin goes into a long confession – in my runs it took roughly 3–5 minutes of continuous talking. Don’t wander off, don’t shoot anything, and don’t interrupt him.

As he talks, he lays out:

• How deep Rhea Pharma’s ties go,
• His discomfort with what they’re doing,
• And his growing desire to walk away from it all.

From a design angle, this is the game rewarding patience and curiosity. On my first attempt I assumed he’d said all the important stuff after about a minute and wandered toward a side alley – the scene broke, nothing special happened, and I had to reload. On my successful run, I literally just stood there and listened until the very last line.

Step 4: Pick Gus’ Dialogue Option to Recruit Bronkin

After Bronkin finishes his monologue, you’ll get a set of dialogue choices represented by your talking guns. To stay on the non‑lethal path and persuade him to flip on Rhea Pharma, you need to pick Gus’ dialogue option.

Gus basically pushes the angle of leaving the pharma deal behind and doing some actual good. Choose that, and Bronkin agrees to break ties with Rhea and join your team instead of dying on the sidewalk.

If you choose one of the more aggressive or cynical voices instead, you risk talking yourself back into a lethal outcome, so if you’re hunting achievements, don’t wing it – go with Gus.

Step 5: Quest Completion, “Starstruck,” and Back to Quarters

Once Bronkin agrees to join you, the bounty completes without a single shot fired. You still get your reward, and you’ll also unlock the Starstruck achievement for resolving the contract non‑lethally and recruiting the big‑name movie star instead of killing him.

Head back to Quarters, cash in at the Bounty Hunter 5000, and you’ll now find Bronkin Bucko himself hanging around your base, reacting to later story beats as an ally rather than a corpse you left on the pavement.

Non‑lethal Route Summary:

• Time: Slower – you need to walk him and sit through the full monologue.
• Outcome: Bronkin survives, joins your side, Starstruck achievement unlocked.
• Pros: Unique dialogue, achievement, and a fun twist on typical bounty design.
• Cons: Easy to mess up by shooting too early or interrupting his speech.

Common Mistakes (I Made Most of These)

Here are the main failure points I ran into, plus how to fix them quickly:

• Reflex-shooting Bronkin: If you kill him but wanted the non‑lethal route, reload the last checkpoint. In my runs the autosave was right before talking to Damien, so you only lose a couple of minutes.
• Tagging a bodyguard by accident: Any stray shot that starts combat will push you toward the lethal outcome. If that happens, either commit to the firefight or reload immediately.
• Walking away during the monologue: If you stray too far while Bronkin is talking at 8th & Central, the scene can fizzle out or fail to progress. Stay put until the dialogue wheels appear.
• Picking the wrong gun’s dialogue: If you don’t choose Gus at the end of the speech, you can miss the recruitment. If you see the conversation heading in the wrong direction, don’t be afraid to reload and try again.

What Changes Later Depending on Your Choice?

Whichever route you pick, the main story still moves forward: you’ve completed the fourth bounty, earned your payout, and advanced the Rhea Pharma plot. The differences are mostly in flavour and achievements:

• Lethal route: Peter appears at Quarters with legal-themed jokes and commentary.
• Non‑lethal route: Bronkin himself hangs out at Quarters, commenting on showbiz, the bounty world, and his decision to turn on Rhea Pharma. You also bank the Starstruck achievement.

From a gameplay perspective, neither path locks you out of future missions, but the non‑lethal outcome is easy to miss on a blind playthrough. If you care about seeing the “full” cast in Quarters and grabbing as many achievements as possible in one run, it’s absolutely worth doing the slower escort-and-monologue version at least once.

If you’ve made it this far, the rest of the game’s bounties will feel a lot more manageable. Bronkin’s mission is less about difficulty and more about testing your patience and curiosity. If I can force myself not to pull the trigger on a literal bounty target walking in front of me, you can too.