The netrunner build in Cyberpunk 2077 is incredibly powerful. It allows you to interact not only with your enemies from afar by dealing devastating damage, but also with your environment by distracting your opponents, opening doors and shutting down security systems. There’s few things hacking can’t do, which just goes to show how overpowered of a build it is.
However, like with every build, power is dependent on how well the player levels up their perks win the Quickhacking perk tree. There’s quite a bit to choose from, and while most of them are immensely useful for any type of netrunner, there’s a handful which are the bread and butter of a deadly and stealthy hacker V. To unlock these, make sure to grab either Bloodware or Biosynergy.
10 Bloodware
Bloodware can be first unlocked right off the bat, which is why it’s a recommended perk for any netrunner. It’s a simple damage boost to any of your quickhacks, with each level increasing the damage by 10%. The first level starts with 10% more damage, then 20% and finally 30% as you increase your rank.
Bloodware is a pretty basic perk and extremely versatile. There are no attribute requirements either, so make sure to get it as early as you can to ensure your hacks deal a bit of extra damage.
9 Biosynergy
You’ll notice very soon as a netrunner that main character V by default doesn’t recover RAM while they’re in combat. This needs to be activated with the Biosynergy perk, which is also the second starting perk of the tree, requiring no special attribute. It’s the very first perk you should get, so that you can effectively keep using quickhacks while in combat mode.
Biosynergy is divided into three levels. The first one allows you to recover 4 RAMs before a minute, then 8, and then finally 12. To stack up your hacks on multiple targets, it’s pretty much a must-have, otherwise, you’ll have a terrible time playing a netrunner who relies heavily on quickhacks.
8 Weak Link
The first perk on this list that requires a higher attribute is Weak Link. Your Intelligence needs to be at least 7 to unlock it. As a netrunner, you’ll often find yourself against elaborate security systems that involve turrets and cameras. Cameras in particular can be a pain but also an advantage, if you can manage the hacking costs.
That’s exactly where Weak Link comes in. Every level reduces the amount of RAM required to hack devices, starting from 1, then 2, and finally 3. Since device hacking is the second most important aspect of netrunning, you should invest in this as soon as you can.
7 Signal Support
Once your Intelligence reaches level 9, Signal Support becomes available. Those quickhacks have probably served you well so far, but they could use a much longer duration to really support you in battle. Thanks to this perk, your quickhacks last longer and you reap the benefits in a fast-paced environment.
Signal support has two levels. The first increases quickhack duration by 25% and the second by 50%. These are fairly high numbers, and should give a serious boost to your quickhacks.
6 Subliminal Message
Depending on your build, you might be the type of netrunner who relies on stealth skills to get around during gigs and missions. If so, Subliminal Message is an extremely deadly perk to unlock, which will rocket your quickhack damage through the roof. You’ll need an Intelligence level of 11 to unlock it.
Subliminal Message allows you to do more damage with quickhacks to unaware targets, which encourages you to stay in stealth mode for longer. The first level boosts damage by 50% and the second by 100%.
5 Mnemonic
As time goes on, you’ll encounter more and more difficult enemies. Some will be highly resistant to quickhacks, so you’ll eventually find yourself stacking up several quickhacks on a target. This can get costly really quickly, unless you unlock the Mnemonic perk, which makes subsequent quickhacks on the same target increasingly cheaper.
Once you have Intelligence 12, grab this perk, which reduces the cost of quickhacks on the same target by 2 RAM points. Paired with Biosynergy, you’ll never run out of RAM during a mission.
4 Plague
There’s a couple cool quickhacks in the game that have the ability to spread to any targets nearby the main target. This makes dealing with large groups of enemies much easier and more doable, but you’ll absolutely want to unlock the Plague perk from the perk tree to reap all the rewards from this mechanic.
Plague can be unlocked with Intelligence 14, and each of its three levels increase the additional target number your quickhacks can spread to. The first level is 1, after which it’s 2 and 3 respectively.
3 Critical Error
Netrunners who have invested a serious amount of points into the Reflexes tree will want a bit of additional help when it comes to their quickhacks. At level 16 of Intelligence, Critical Error becomes available and will automatically transfer your Crit Chance and Damage to quickhack attacks.
This combination pairs really well with a silenced pistol wielding netrunner who prefers to stay in the shadows and hit those critical headshots on unaware enemies. The sheer damage it can deal with a high Crit Chance and Crit Damage is significant, so players with a high Reflex attribute should consider getting this one.
2 Master RAM Liberator
A high-level perk, the Master RAM Liberator is only available once you have a whopping 20 in your Intelligence attribute. However, it’s well worth the wait and the grind to get to this perk, because it significantly increases your RAM recovery rate on top of the perks you already have unlocked.
Your RAM recovery rate is increased by 50% and additionally you gain 1 additional Perk level. This is the cherry on top of the cake for any powerful netrunner.
1 Optimization
Another high-level perk for netrunner Vs who have already attained level 20 Intelligence is Optimization. The higher you go, the more you get access to these fairly simple perks that affect your overall quickhack experience. They might not be very complicated, but they’ll offer a remarkable boost.
Optimization reduces the cost of any and all quickhacks by 1 RAM unit. It’s not a significant reduction, but at level 20 of Intelligence you’ll probably already have a quick recovery rate of your RAM and this is just a nice little bonus on top of it all.
NEXT: The Hardest Fights In Cyberpunk 2077
