Cyberpunk 2077 Best Quickhacks | How to get a better Cyberdeck

Hack your way around Night City

Guide by James Billcliffe Guides Editor

Published on Dec. 11, 2020

There are many ways to complete your objectives in Cyberpunk 2077, but one of the most powerful tools at your disposal are Quickhacks.

From your state-of-the-art Cyberdeck, you can unleash digital viruses on your enemies, compromising their defences, distracting their attention, and causing their cyberware to malfunction.

A lot of these Quickhacks can turn the tide of an feisty encounter, but they just as easily help you to move through areas unseen.

Here are some of the best Quickhacks we’ve seen in Cyberpunk 2077, as well as some guidance on how to get a better Cyberdeck:

What is a Cyberdeck in Cyberpunk 2077? What are Quickhacks?
How to get a better Cyberdeck in Cyberpunk 2077
Best Quickhacks
Ping
Friendly Mode
Short Circuit
Overheat
Reboot Optics

What is a Cyberdeck in Cyberpunk 2077? What are Quickhacks?

V's Cyberdeck is one of the cyberware implants in their body — part of the extreme, tech-assisted body modification that forms a core part of the world and story of Cyberpunk 2077.

While most cyberware implants are associated with a specific part of the body, there are two exceptions — Operating Systems and Cyberdecks. Broadly speaking, the Operating System gives a full-body boost to V's physical abilities and stamina, but it's their Cyberdeck that is really unique. It gives them the ability to interface with the technology in the world around them.

This includes using Breach Protocol — which is enough of a one-off in terms of gameplay that we've given it its own guide — as well as Quickhacks.

Quickhacks pop up when you scan a person or device, and you perform them directly from there. They're largely useful in combat situations, and fall under four broad categories:

Combat Quickhacks: These allow you to deal damage to your enemies by going on the offensive.
Control Quickhacks: Allows you to take control of an enemy's cyberware, impeding their abilities.
Stealth Quickhacks: As an alternative to confrontation, these help prevent your enemies from detecting your presence in the first place.
Ultimate Quickhacks: The least common and rarest type, these have the aim of instantly pacifying or killing the target.

How to get a better Cyberdeck in Cyberpunk 2077

Your roster of Quickhacks is closely tied to the strength of your Cyberdeck. The Militech Paraline you have at your disposal at the start of the game is good for getting to grips with the basics, but is slow to recharge and has very limited RAM.

The small RAM space means you’ll find it difficult to take on more than just a couple of enemies at a time, while more powerful Cyberdecks let you wreak havoc on rooms full of bad guys.

Not just that, but higher quality Cyberdecks have more slots for Quickhacks, giving you much greater tactical flexibility.

To buy a better Cyberdeck, visit your friendly neighbourhood Ripperdoc and look in the top right corner.

Here you’ll see the selection of Cyberdecks on offer. They’re pretty pricey, but very much worth it once you reach the required level of Street Cred.

I’d recommend saving up for an Epic level Cyberdeck - specifically the Stephenson Tech Mk.3, which costs €$25,000 and carries no Street Cred requirement - since it's the best one you’ll see until much, much later in the game.

There’s not much point working your way up through rare and the like, so save your eddies.

Cyberpunk 2077 Best Quickhacks

Even if you’re dedicated to the most violent resolutions to every situation in Cyberpunk 2077, there’s still a Quickhack out there for you.

Not only can some of them give you vital information about the battlefield, but also soften up tougher enemies from a distance.

There are three ways to collect more Quickhacks:

Buy them from netrunning stores
Make them yourself
Loot them from netrunning enemies

Check back periodically for stores to get new stock, and shop around because different places throughout Night City carry different items.

To craft Quickhacks, you need Quickhack Components. You get these from jacking into terminals and solving the puzzles you find. They’re indicated by the little red hexagon on your mini-map, and often show up in enemy strongholds like clubs and mission locations.

We have a full page on how to solve Breach Protocol hacking puzzles, here.

Ping

While it’s not the most exciting, Ping is probably my most used Quickhack.

For a relatively low RAM cost, it reveals all of the locations of enemies connected to the same network as the pinged target.

This is invaluable for planning stealthy routes through crowded missions, and useful for pinpointing hidden bad guys as well.

Friendly Mode

While it’s easy to turn off most security cameras and turrets you see on reflex, try switching them to friendly mode.

This means that they’ll work for you if things go sideways, which they often do.

For example, cameras will outline the location of enemies in combat, while turrets will draw aggro away from V.

Short Circuit

Short Circuit seems a bit weak in the early game, but when you buy or craft a more powerful rarity, it turns into a great stealth tool.

Wiping out a large chuck of an enemies health without causing a combat alert, or even downing them outright, is at a premium in Cyberpunk 2077, and Short Circuit is a good option.