Quickhacking in Cyberpunk 2077 is a unique mechanic that lets you tap into the world’s network to practically cast spells on your opponents. But what exactly are the best Quickhacks in the game? This article will walk you through a brief guide.
The best Quickhacks in Cyberpunk 2077
Best Quickhacks in Cyberpunk 2077: Cyberpsychosis
Kicking off our list is the Ultimate Quickhack that turns your enemies into loose cannons. Hitting an enemy with Cyberpsychosis puts them into a frenetic state for 20 seconds, attacking anyone around them.
Some say Cyberpsychosis isn’t as good as Suicide, but we beg to differ. With a great Cyber Ninja build, you can cast Cyberpsychosis from afar and defer attention from yourself as you rack up kills.
If no targets are around the enemy hit with Cyberpsychosis, they’ll kill themself, so sometimes you get the perk of the Suicide Quickhack without ever using it. Sure, it isn’t as quick and efficient as Suicide, but we would argue that it’s absolutely the best distraction tool in the game.
Its biggest disadvantage is the sheer amount of RAM it eats up, which keeps it from being in the top tier of best of the game.
Cyberpunk 2077 Quickhacks: Ping
A covert Quickhack, Ping might not deal damage, but it’s the Quickhack you’re going to use the most in the game. It lets you see the location of any enemy throughout the area, even through walls, for a brief period of time, practically working as a mini radar. It also practically costs no RAM to use, so there’s really no downside to it.
When you upgrade this to its Legendary version, you can even scan and hack enemies through the walls, making it the perfect reconnaissance tool.
Though not the most glamorous, there’s a good case to be made that this is the most useful Quickhack in the game. You’re not going to want to go into stealth-mode without it, and it bleeds into every aspect of your gameplay.
Best Quickhacks in the Game: Reboot Optics
This is another one that’s not great in combat but fantastic for utility. This hack scrambles your opponent’s systems, leaving them temporarily blinded.
Your foes’ blinded state allows you to sneak past them and complete objectives nonviolently, or to line up some high-critical-damage stealth shots.
If you have to use it in combat, it’s not bad either. Since they’re blinded, it’ll make it difficult for your opponent’s to line up a clear shot. If you get found out, you can use it for escape, making this still pretty good as a stealth option.
Upgrades generally increase the duration of the base effect, but in higher tiers also increase your headshot damage by 15 percent, making it even better for stealth takeouts.
Reboot Optics also spreads much better than you might expect it to allowing you to sneak through whole rooms full of foes without being detected. This Quickhack is great for those who are making use of a throwing-knife based build. Throwing knives are extra-deadly when you have the chance to line up headshots, and since they’re shorter-ranged than guns, this can be hard to do in the game.
When your enemy is blind… well… it isn’t so hard anymore, now is it?
Top tier Quickhacks in Cyberpunk: Suicide
Dark in name but funny in nature, the Suicide hack does exactly what it says on the tin. When hit with Suicide, opponents will put their weapons to their heads and take themselves out in one shot.
Not the most subtle or nuanced Quickhack, Suicide nevertheless is a great killing tool. If you’re approaching opponents from afar, you can cue it up and line up a shot, knowing exactly which enemies you’re going to take out quickly.
This Quickhack is unfortunately a bit hard to get, you’re going to need to unlock the Hacker Overload perk if you want to make use of it.
The upgraded version turns you into some sort of horrifying health-vampire, regenerating 10 percent of your health after your target takes their own life. We’re not so sure about the moral implications, but you should take any opportunity to regenerate health that you can.
Contagion: Best damage Quickhacks
You’re not always going to come upon single enemies that you can sneak up and take out quickly. More often than not, enemies are grouped together in clusters.
Contagion is perfect for group combat. It hits your enemies with a Cyberware virus that deals a low level of poison damage over time and spreads to other enemies around them. Hit a cluster with Contagion at the top of a battle and you’re going to have a much easier time taking them all down.
By upgrading Contagion, you can spread it up to four enemies, effectively shifting the tide of a group battle in your favor. The effect will also last one more second and up the damage output, giving you a better of chance of racking up kills.
Upgrading Contagion one stage further causes burning damage, overheating their software, and a stage further than that increases the damage dealt by 15 percent for every enemy spread to.
Most powerful Quickhacks: Detonate Grenade
Detonate Grenade is another one of those “does exactly what it says on the Tin Quickhacks. It forcibly blows up an enemy grenade, dealing damage to them and any other enemy in the vicinity. It won’t kill them per-se, but it’s strong enough to take out most of the game’s lesser enemies.
The effect of Detonate Grenade changes based on the grenade that your opponent is wielding, so make sure you consider which opponent you’re blowing up. Sometimes their grenades aren’t so powerful, so this Quickhack can be a bit of a toss up.
Upgraded versions of Detonate Grenade increase the quickness of the explosion and eventually RAM cost reduction for using the Quickhack in the first place.
Breach Protocol: the universal Quickhack
Breach Protocol is a unique Quickhack in the game. A Device Quickhack, every Cyberdeck in the game comes installed with it, so anyone can use it.
Breach Protocol allows you to hack into the security system of a network and upload daemons to it. You can use this to weaken enemies, open up access points and loot them, and decode shards that are encrypted. Decoding shards is key to getting the good outcome in many side and main gigs across the game.
Short Circuit
Short Circuit is another one of the best combat Quickhacks out there you can use to neutralize opponents. This one hits your enemy with a non-lethal electronic jolt.
It’s not as strong as some of the other options at base level and doesn’t have the same multi-person effect as Contagion. But it’s short upload time and low RAM usage might make it the best Quickhack in the game. It’s not a one-trick pony; its quickness and reliability make it effective when enemies are advancing, its discrete nature makes it effective when you’re sneaking around, and its electric damage makes it perfect for turrets.
When you upgrade Short Circuit, you can get its base damage close to 5K and one-shot most enemies in the game. Combine this with its upload time and low cost and you have a machine of death in your hands. Speed kills.
System Reset
System reset is the ultimate stealth combat Quickhack. Taking out a foe’s nervous system, it allows you to knock enemies out without making a single sound.
Though it has a long cooldown, pairing it with great stealth perks and the Cool attribute makes it come in clutch. When you upgrade it, you can get it to spread to multiple enemies, rewarding your patience with an “off” switch that can clear out a couple of foes and open you up for success.
Cripple Movement
Quickhacks have a pretty good track record of unambiguous names huh?
Cripple Movement is a control Quickhack that renders your enemies immobile for 8 or more seconds—depending on upgrades. It’s great when paired with a blade to take foes out with a 1-2 punch and never raise the alarm.
When upgraded, it can spread to 2 or more enemies allowing you to get away from any situation that you need to. Even if you find yourself surrounded in a firefight, Cripple Movement is a great tool to make the fight more manageable.
Published: Nov 28, 2023 01:17 am