There are many ways to dismantle enemies in Cyberpunk 2077. For many, the goal is to blast them apart with bullets, rip them apart, or collect all of Johnny Silverhand's gear and swagger in like a living legend.
However, none of these are the greatest power a player can wield in Cyberpunk 2077. Perhaps fittingly for the setting, the strongest power is one employable without ever setting foot in battle: hacking. Utilizing Breach power and Quickhacks, players can clear out rooms of enemies without firing a shot or cracking a single skull. For builds like this, Quickhacks are king, so here's a guide to some essential ones.
Updated October 27, 2023 by Erik Petrovich: There are a lot of quickhacks in Cyberpunk 2077, and tons of high-level options for players to pursue for Intelligence and Netrunner builds. Generally, though, even the most powerful quickhacks Cyberpunk 2077 players can possible get have downgraded, lower-tier options that provide the same effects but lessened. For example, the Suicide quickhack is extremely powerful in its own right, but Cyberpsychosis is essentially a quickhack that turns a target against their allies, and then forces them to kill themself as long as V isn't in sight. But even quickhacks like Contagion and Overheat have high-tier variants that deal extra damage compared to low-tier ones, too. Generally, there are two types of quickhacks, being combat quickhacks and control quickhacks. This guide now distinguishes between these two, and offers two new powerful suggestions no matter their tier: Reset Optics, and Short Circuit.
The Right Equipment
Everyone in Cyberpunk 2077 is tricked out with powerful cybernetics, and V is no exception. Getting hardware that can handle and boost Quickhacks is very important, especially a cyberdeck to host them. A legendary cyberdeck can be obtained early for a reasonable cost, assuming the player has stopped to make money along the way. Beyond the cyberdeck, getting more powerful versions of the key Quickhacks is important as soon as possible, and crafting is not a great option as of this writing. Be sure to scour the city for the right Quickhacks and save a lot of money for them.
Best Quickhacks For Damage
Short Circuit
The Short Circuit quickhack is a reliable way to deal a chunk of damage to regular enemies or deal an enormous amount of damage to mechanical targets, often killing them outright. Short Circuit works well in tandem with other abilities, particularly the damage-over-time Quickhacks Contagion and Overheat. Upgraded versions increase the duration of other Quickhacks on enemies affected by Short Circuit and increase the player's damage on affected targets, too.
Cyberpsychosis
This Quickhack is arguably a more powerful version of the Suicide Quickhack if used correctly. It will cause enemies to attack everyone around them randomly, and if no other targets are nearby, the hacked enemy will commit suicide. This can be easily exploited by staying away from the target, and thanks to Ping that's not a problem.
Overheat and Contagion
Overheat is a Quickhack that targets one enemy, and causes them to take a high amount of damage over a few seconds. This damage-over-time Quickhack is best used against solo opponents, like Cyberpsychos. Against multiple enemies, Contagion's ability to spread amongst foes makes it the better choice, even if it deals less damage overall.
Contagion is unique in that it can spread to other nearby hostiles, and even back to its original host, making it especially useful when facing down a group of enemies. The effect stacks twice, so be sure to queue up two Contagions on the same target for added damage over time.
Best Quickhacks For Utility & CC
Reboot Optics
The Reboot Optics Quickhack is one of the most-used Quickhacks by stealth players, but it can be useful for all playstyles when used correctly. Reboot Optics will essentially blind the target, letting players more easily sneak by enemies. It also reduces the accuracy of enemies affected by this Quickhack, and upgraded variants can even spread to enemies and unlock new options for Breach Protocol.
Ping
Even if Quickhacks were not part of one's desired build, Ping would still be a must-have. After breaching a network from any point connected to it, all enemies and pieces of technology attached to that network are revealed. Breaching a network is no harder than cracking something like a Ritual Shard, and seeing all enemies through walls is utterly broken. Legendary Ping even lets them be scanned and hacked through walls.
Cyberware Malfunction
This one is for a specific breed of enemy: netrunners. These enemies also utilize Quickhacks, and can facilitate an unlimited money glitch with the high-tech hacks they're packing. Cyberware Malfunction completely shuts them down, making it a worthwhile investment.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions coming in 2021.
